The DWmegawad Club plays: Operation: BIOWAR & Equinox

[veevil]

Operation: Biowar
MAP03: Onslaught
(UV, pistol start, K: 100% / S: 100%, DSDA-Doom, complevel 2)

 

MAP03 roughly doubles the runtime and monster count of the previous maps in the set, but we're still in sub-five-minute territory here, and the map design is almost completely linear. We're starting to see a few mid tier demons, like cacos and HKs, but most of the challenge again comes from inconveniently placed chaingunners. Overall, though, I kinda like the map. Missing waterfall textures aside, I enjoyed the visuals, the dark overcast vibes, and the classic Mark Klem track.

 

I really wouldn't mind if the maps started getting a bit meatier. It's not that I hate short maps - I recently enjoyed playing through Demonfear, for instance. It's just that maps like these are a poor fit for the club's one-map-a-day format, in my opinion.

[RHhe82]

MAP03: Onslaught. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.4. K: 63/63, S: 2/2, I: 13/13. Comp. time 5:24

 

Slightly longer map this time: we traverse through a bigger outdoor area that connects tech base areas. The opposing force gets notably stronger, too: chaingunners are more prevalent, and we meet cacos and hell knights, too. I like the smaller details: the sector art lamps near the first area, the look of the final room (it's very simple, but effective).

 

The first two maps had a sort of speedmappy feel to them -- although with the tools available at the time, they most certainly were not -- but this time feels more like a complete level, or it has a sense of adventure while still being mostly linear, and speedrunners won't be spending very many minutes here.

[Celestin]

MAP03: Onslaught

 

This one definitely has more meat to sink your teeth in. Onslaught opens in a dark, brooding base, with some quality lighting (such as the lamps outside), followed by a hill climb to the nearby facility. The bulk of monsters here are imps and chaingunners, with bigger demons added in more open spaces (the pond by the "restricted area" and red key fight). Since bullets are rather scarce, shotgun is the main weapon here, I think holding down fire and maneuvering around hell knights or cacodemons was a fun excercise.
 

[Somniac]

MAP03 - Onslaught

 

 

 

A marked improvement over MAP02 as we're back to the outdoor scenery and more open space, though I found it a bit too dark in places. A nice custom waterfall texture (okay, its just the flat done as a patch but still) shows up along with some heavier enemies. Despite the essentially "straight line" layout and progression the map does convey the feeling of moving through a canyon and there's some moderately imposing architecture. Almost got wrecked in the last room as a teleporting Chaingunner caught me off-guard. The spinning cube thing is really cool but basically neuters the last fight, as you can just plink the imps without even needing to raise it. Still, I liked this map and the dramatic sounding MIDI that goes with it.

[apichatpong]

Biowar : Map 03, Onslaught.

UVmax, pistol start, single segment.

 

A map more in the spirit of the opening one still more adventurous (despite the small scale), also with that special feeling of having, for the slot, just enough enemies and where everything seems to be in its right place (a feeling which depends on the player unfortunatly, but it worked for me). It's a bit paradoxal since this add an "autopilot" aspect to the map that may contradict the adventurous one, but I liked it.

Well placed just after a map with four easy but tight fights, it's a welcome breath of fresh air.

The attention to details to make areas expressive while not overloaded, the changes of heights, the dramatic midi, all this made a pretty good map 03 !

 

 

Edited June 3 by apichatpong

[Votterbin]

Biowar -- MAP03: Onslaught

 

 

Map review:

At this point I've started replaying BW in my free time with a couple gameplay mods (Smooth Doom and Corruption Cards, not recorded) so I can get a better feel for the levels, and as a result I kind of appreciate this one more. It's a very dark map atmospherically, helped by the literal darkness and the music. I really like some of the sector lighting here on repeat playthroughs, it really lends to the map's overall mood.

It's certainly longer than MAP01 and 02, and with a higher enemy count even on HMP, which is welcome imo, and they start throwing cacodemons and hell knights at you. But even then this map feels somewhat empty, particularly in that basin where you enter into the base. I'm assuming this isn't a problem on UV, but I'm playing on HMP so that's what I'm going off of. The last room is smaller and has a couple fights with imps before the exit, which is a decent little ending.

 

Tea review: N/A. I did not drink my tea this map until the end and did not comment on it. Opinion remains the same from MAP02.

 

Map: 4/5 - enjoy the atmosphere quite a bit

Tea: 3/5 - please refer to previous tea review from MAP02

Edited June 3 by Votterbin

[Roofi]

Biowar - map 03 "Onslaught"

 

 

Shit gets a bit real here. The darkness becomes your worst enemy once combined with viciously placed chaingunners. The midi composed by Mark Klem creates suspense and the ambiant thunder you already heared in map 01 seems much more threatening here.

 

Like the previous maps , "Onslaught" is brief, specifically when you already played the mapset but the linearity, the lights shining in the middle of this darkness and the whole unwelcoming atmosphere make me feel like I'm on a real adventure in which I take a certain interest.

 

Sidenote, I also like when mappers uses teleporters sparingly, if at all. This makes for a more natural, less video-game-like progression. The previous map had too many teleporters, this one doesn't, as far as I know.

 

Grade : B- (12/20)

 

 

 

Edited June 4 by Roofi

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 03: Onslaught

by Chris Harbin

Crispy Doom, UV, pistol-start

 

The enemy count picks up noticeably. We start inside a bunker but quickly end up in a darkened outside area mostly taking place in a canyon. Arguably this section is more difficult to handle than the multiple Cacodemons. The lights outside are a nice touch and while this probably drew from the Darkening to some degree, I can always appreciate a map that's non-fullbright. Enemies are thankfully scattered, which particularly helps at the point we have to drop down into a basin with a bunker at the other end. The waterfall secret that everyone likes so much is located right before that. And the red key that's on top of a mountain is sitting on top of a random platform for some reason. Don't consider the logic too thoroughly, just head for the bunker, deal with some teleporting chaingunners and Imps in a stark white lab room, then finally deal with a small mass of Imps to finish the map.

 

Difficulty can probably be said to be picking up but combat at this point is still greatly unpolished.

 

 

[Blast_Brothers]

MAP03: Onslaught

 

Like all good vintage maps, this one gets a lot of mileage out of a few simple details. The demons are still putting up little resistance, but the vibe has shifted from explosive to moody. I felt compelled to shout "restrict this!" as I blasted the two shotgunners on the lift. And does the final ambush portend an increase in difficulty? I hope so.

[Celestin]

MAP04: The Arrival

 

First of all, the aircraft you start the map in is a cool piece of doomcute that holds up well. Check for a switch that lowers an armor, grab a shotgun and you are prepared to take on a small techbase, populated mostly by basic monsters. Two places stand out: a vat of toxic chemicals that releases cacodemons and an operating room, where I autopsies were performed on the demons (I like the new monitor textures). A secret SSG speeds up the fights against cacos and hell knights, but I don't think it's required.

 

The Arrival is a brisk map with some nifty details that saves it from being yet another techbase.
 

[Devalaous]

My mind blanked on Map 4, I had to load up the wad and noclip through it to remind me. The fourth mini-map, this one has some neat details like starting in a ship and getting locked in some biolabs with live specimens. Must be thinking of a different wad, because I thought there was a skillswitch to dispose of the specimens, but nope.

 

Also gotta love the map of the whole level at the start, albeit covered in bloodsmears

 

The map after this is where the minilevels turn into normal size ones, thankfully.

[Plerb]

Biowar MAP04 (UV, continuous, saves):

I love the fact that there's a map of the map in the starting room. One thing I appreciate a lot about 90s to early 2000s WADs (at least the ones I've played) is the usage of special sign textures for worldbuilding and making areas feel like they have a tangible purpose rather than being mostly abstract. I don't see this super often in newer WADs (again, at least the ones I've played). I've been thinking about making a thread about this sometime, I want to find more WADs that do this sort of thing.

 

I probably spent more time writing this than playing the actual map.

[Spectre01]

MAP04 - “The Arrival” by Chris Harbin

 

Visually, this reminds me of various Team TNT maps but significantly more cramped. That's the biggest issue with this level. There isn't much room to move around for you or the enemies, so the incidental combat turns into a shooting gallery where you pick off hitscanners from behind cover. Now, that can be interesting in more complex environments, but these rooms are very simple and there's little challenge here.

 

On the positive side, I like the visuals in the starting room and the implication that the player landed the ship through the opening above. The new textures like the map and the animated one with the Imp are also a nice touch.

[Pseudonaut]

Map04: The Arrival
One of the secret areas has a window that opens up later in the map, giving a hint for its location. However, this secret can be opened very early in the map, leading to a super shotgun and making repeat playthroughs fairly fast-paced. If you want to kill everything, the pace is interrupted by the helpless cacodemons in the reactor room, which conveniently teleport into the room one-by-one to be slaughtered, though they could be mildly threatening for those who haven't found the SSG. For UV-max runs, with the right route, players can do other things while waiting for the cacos to teleport in, but the wait time is inconsistent. Sometimes they've all arrived by the time you need them, and sometimes you have to wait; if it's a speedrun, that means resetting. Nonetheless, I like the level overall.

 

 

[Insaneprophet]

Map 04: The Arrival

Best map yet. Still easy fare but this standard doom facility gives you a little something to sink your teeth into and finally gives us our favorite utensil to do so with. Still thinking that this set would make the best meal if consumed all in one sitting but my multiple plays of each map strung out the way they are is making me appreciate the littler details that make this set feel like a comfort food as opposed to something to broaden ones pallet with. 😀

 

Edited June 4 by Insaneprophet

[Li'l devil]

Level 4: The Arrival

 

Small cool looking techbase. I generally like dilapidated/corrupted techbases like this. Other than that, not much to say aside from that I wish the wad gave me an SSG by this point, as fighting multiple tomatoes and hell knights with a shotgun isn't much fun.

Edited June 4 by Li'l devil

[apichatpong]

Biowar map 04 : The arrival
UVmax, pistol start, single segment

 

Since I’m no specialist on Doom history, I begin to really ask myself about the 90’s style. Sometimes it’s associated to really unfair (unorganized) experimentation on gameplay, sometimes to the contrary (easy levels), sometimes to the infamous mix : huge areas with low monsters count, other to primitive but really cool doomcutes… Well, I’m overplaying naive here, of course, nineties are, first of all, a land-clearing and organizing era, with the unavoidable freedom (for best and worst) of the « Arts premiers ».

 

While playing this map, we are mostly in the doomcute/not difficult aspect of the nineties. Nevertheless, I faced my first death here because of lack of instinct in the cacodemons trap. I played the map again and went through this fight, found after that the ssg secret and then reached the end. Replaying it today, I realized that, until now, I liked the low-key approach of this mapset : you find on the four first maps a nice, though limited, variety of easy fights and traps, you also genuinely and naturally develop the desire for speedrunning and, also, you get something as important as supposedly obvious : secrets have to be unnecessary to end the map but, when you find them, they may really simplify you run. And that’s exactly what this ssg secret do : It’s not too generous (a megasphere or megaarmor) but just make you life easier and, once again, it’s mostly the purpose of basic secrets.

 

So… all this was pretty general stuff, what about the level ? It’s a small techbase/lab you land in with your spaceship. Some wall textures really fit the scientific experiment’s atmosphere of the lab and, helped by the simple but cool cacodemons teleporting room, make this (otherwise) standard layout of a map something you want to revisit.
The midi induces, with its staccato, the feel of a cold threat and, at the same time, a still numbed but very existing need for action.

Another really cool map !

[RHhe82]

MAP04: The Arrival. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.4. K: 47/47, S: 3/3, I: 50/50. Comp. time 5:22

 

A solid tech base with all sorts of danger signs that smell faintly of DN3D influence. I'm thinking this is also a 90s things - when I was a teenager trying to do Doom maps, I too yearned for DN3D's "realistic signs" and that sort of textures. Nowadays maps feel content to do without "Doom killer" influences. I also feel the automap in the starting room is also a thing you rarely see these days, unless it's a very elaborate hint on finding a very well hidden secret, such as opening the entry to the secret map in BTSX2.

 

Anyway, that's almost beside the point - The Arrival continues the trend of maps improving in quality, and also in difficulty. While I still haven't died once, a chaingunner ambush (guarding a secret SSG) almost got me this time.

[veevil]

Operation: Biowar
MAP04: The Arrival
(UV, pistol start, K: 100% / S: 100%, DSDA-Doom, complevel 2)

 

The snackventure continues with another map under five minutes! This time we have a mini-techbase complete with shuttle bay, reactor, and bio-lab. Custom textures abound for various signs and displays, although if you're like me you'll fly right past them to find some demons to shoot. Gameplay here is very basic, and the only thing that stuck to my mind about it was the old-school (i.e. slow) caco teleporter in the reactor room.

 

I recall from the README that Icarus was an inspiration for the wad, and sure, that checks out. This one does really give the same kind of feeling.

Edited June 4 by veevil

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 04: The Arrival

by Chris Harbin

Crispy Doom, UV, pistol-start

 

Another short map, this one probably feels less substantive than the last one, with the exception of a higher enemy density per square footage. The Super Shotgun secret was located essentially through instinct, although a scrolling window in that room opens when returning from a particular key. The title seemingly rips from Charlie Sheen's best movie as it certainly fits the theme of a lab with aliens, though not academically. I don't really understand why we start in a vehicle given the last map's continuity but this makes plenty of sense otherwise. Highlight include the map listing other sections of the facility, like the one we're in right now and naturally, the labs where it seems as if there are zombie experiements of sorts from the sergeant pictures stapled here. It's only one room but it leaves a greater impact than anything else in the map. Though one more thing: spare shells are pretty spare so maybe have the regular shotgun out half the time.

 

 

[Somniac]

MAP04 - The Arrival

 

 

 

Another change of pace as we're back into a purely techbasey setting. With the player literally starting on a Berserk I was half-tempted to try and tyson my way through this, though kinda glad I didn't. Though not as much as MAP02 I still found it a little cramped in places, with Hell Knights acting as obstacles, including one who didn't seem to be able to get past the barriers that lowered. I got the secret SSG which made them much less of a potential speedbump, however.

 

The Cacos rising out of the nukage was a nice effect, and so was the map of the level at the start, and the cool little screens with displays of the enemies on them - the environmental storytelling and setpieces in Biowar continues to be its strongest points for me so far. Combat was a little underwhelming as it felt somewhat railroaded due to the tighter quarters, but as always, we're spoiled beyond reason at this stage and you should really consider this wad in its historical context. It was a good little map, with another nice bouncy Klem tune.

[rehelekretep]

i have felt bereft, BEREFT i tell you, without the DWMC. thank you @dobu gabu maru!

 

first demo attempts linked below: pistol starts, uv, cl-1, saving when i feel like it

 

map01

far too much pistol-ing for my liking. i enjoyed the shooty switch secrets

 

map02

i like the central conceit; go to each teleporter and return with key, but the scale doesnt feel right; why have they set up all this (admittedly very nice looking core) to go to these piddly places? lacking!

 

map03

an example where extreme linearity doesnt harm gameplay i think. very happy to see a waterfall secret after the first waterfall in the map betrayed me :D

 

map04

excellent frantic start and then sort of peters out... the secrets are quite entertainingly accidental. my kind of secret to be honest!

[Roofi]

Map 04 "The Arrival"

 

 

"The Arrival" resembles to a small tribute to "The Focus" from Doom 2 as they occupy the same slot and both map manage to deliver quick pump-action among cramped places. Moreover, you can find a SSG in a secret and several chaingunners taking cover behind a moving window, those things allude to Doom 2's map 04.

 

Unlike map 03, combats win over adventure and it makes map 04 a lot less memorable. Nevertheless, I have to admit that Biowar is quite rich in panels and pictograms, bringing a little innovation to an ordinary base like this. And like map 01, the doomcute vehicle is... cute.

 

Grade : C+ (11/20)

 

 

Edited June 4 by Roofi

[Celestin]

MAP05: Skybase

 

I'd say this is the classic Doom in a nutshell. Skybase is a techbase that combines several themes - underlit warehouse, hi-tech silver corridors, sewers and odd blue tunnels. It feels a bit messy, changing the style every few rooms. Regarding combat, it ranges between fine (like the hitscanner trap, imp anbush in a yellow key control room or monster closets that open when you head to the exit with the blue key) to just plain bad, with the worst example being the teleport that slowly trickle hitscanners near the blue door. There's a surprising amount of backtracking here, dragging the map out without providing interesting encounters.

 

Skybase isn't a map I enjoyed, a few solid fights can't make up for an otherwise bland experience.
 

[Horus]

MAP04 - “The Arrival” by Chris Harbin

 

The flip-flopping of themes continue as we’re firmly in techbase territory for this one. We start on a spaceship (which I didn’t realise was one until I checked the automap afterwards) and proceed to a rather cramped E1/TNT-style facility.

 

Like the previous maps, this one doesn’t have much meat to it and is over quite quickly. I found it a bit bland, although I did like the effect of the cacos rising from the illuminated nukage.

[Horus]

MAP05 - “Skybase” by Chris Harbin

 

This is the first map of significant length in the mapset so far, and also the one that granted my first death, thanks to my carelessness whilst dealing with a Baron.

 

Doomguy starts off in a crate warehouse, before rising to the skybase proper, from which point onwards the map has a rather back-and-forth pacing to it, with a decent amount of backtracking, although Chris did at least do a decent job in repopulating revisited areas via monster closets.

 

Health is also notably scarcer, and I ran under 30% health for a lot of the middle part of the map, only dipping back over thanks a berserk in a secret that I wasn’t really sure how it was marked as a secret, since the switch was right there!

 

I also got softlocked later on in the map, as the door leading towards the blue key area wouldn’t reopen. A quick check on UDB reveals that whilst there is a S1 tag to open the door, the other side of the door has a Wait Open Close trigger, also operable by monsters. So if that gets triggered, you will be softlocked when you try to return to the area.

 

One apparent thing about this map is how many textures it has, whilst a lot of them can be loosely tagged as base or rock, it does give quite a haphazard feel to the map with no consistent identity. However, I did appreciate that we had a map with a bit more meat to it and therefore more to talk about.

[E.M.]

MAP04: The Arrival

DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start

 

I like the Doomcute shuttle at the start. I also like how they give you a berserk upfront. It really comes in handy because ammo is tight here. I reached the exit with just 6 shells and 50 bullets. The Hellknights at the end can be a pain to deal with, but there's an SSG in a secret that isn't too hard to find. Said secret is an homage to Doom 2's MAP04. The whole thing is fast, energetic, and fun.

 

MAP05: Skybase

DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start

 

I think I broke the map the first time I played this because one of the doors you're supposed to go through in order to progress refused to open back up. My second playthrough went much more smoothly. It starts you off in a crate maze and then takes you to another tech base. I liked the look of the blue room, but I didn't like the part where hitscanners teleport onto a single platform. That fight was slow and boring. My favorite part was where you get the yellow key and you blow up a bunch of imps with rockets. I also enjoyed that one room beyond the yellow door where panels open up revealing hitscanners. It was quite the jumpscare the first time it happened. However, my biggest problem with the map was the backtracking. I really don't like backtracking.

[Votterbin]

MAP04 -- The Arrival

Several hours late due to other commitments, but meh.

 

 

Map review:

Back in the techbase again, and like MAP02 this one's suitably cramped (enjoyably so). I really like some of the environments here, like the autopsy lab and the vat of acid that the cacodemons rise from. I didn't even need to rewatch my footage, this whole level sticks out when I think about Biowar. Love it.

 

Tea review:

N/A once again.

 

Map - 5/5: Love the gameplay, love the layout, love the ending.

Tea - 3/5: Please refer to review from MAP02

[RHhe82]

MAP05: Skybase. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.4. K: 128/128, S: 3/3, I: 33/33. Comp. time 13:57

 

A considerably longer map than what's come before -- but alas, for the wrong reasons. Unless I routed badly, this one drags on by having player backtrack back and forth around the map, and along that route is one lift that takes quite some time to reach the destination each time you traverse it.

 

Other than that it would have been a nice map (albeit a bit monotone in places, like the silver metal corridors), where revenants and barons make their first appearance, as does the rocket launcher.

[Plerb]

Biowar MAP05 (UV, continuous, saves):

Despite the amount of backtracking, I never got lost. It's longer than what came before, but not so long that I'll forget where everything is after a while. Having a high-res automap which highlights keydoors also helps, as does the opening of various ambushes which signify that you're on the right track. Overall it's yet another okay map with some minor highlights.