The DWmegawad Club plays: Operation: BIOWAR & Equinox

[Roofi]

Map 13 : UAC prison

 

 

Old-school slaughtermaps cooked how I love. Actually, I don't think UAC prison can be defined as a slaughtermap but it's definitely way more surpopulated than what human rights may preconize. UAC prison gives me strong vibes from TNT map 11 and hectic Georges Fiffy's works and that's why it figures as my favourite map in the set. I don't care about the visuals here, killing endless armies of low-tiers enemies with my super shotgun is a reliable source of fun. I love how the central courtyard gets repetitively filled with teleported monsters so you take pleasure to blow them up and the path between the jails at the eastern part of the level prove that you're not a saver. Why releasing the prisoners while I can just shoot them and laughter while commiting sLAUGHTER?

 

Sidenote, the caverns at the western part of the map also gives this map a more TNT allure than usual, probably because the rocks are drawn with simple and random shapes and there's an emphasis put on verticiality at this specific place.

 

Grade : A (17/20)

 

 

 

Edited June 13 by Roofi

[Blast_Brothers]

MAP12: Military Center

The last few maps have felt like prototypes, but this one feels more fleshed out. The central progression gimmick is a little stilted, but it gives the map more of a 'point' than previous ones. Combat feels tighter here too, though only a mite more threatening - I keep getting handed a plasma gun I don't need in this WAD. Hopefully future maps head more in this direction.

 

MAP13: UAC Prison

Let me tell you, when I went down that lift and heard a million things teleport in on the floor above me, I was elated. Somehow, the design strategy of "endless teleport ambushes" and "half the enemies are shotgunners" was extremely effective at creating engaging combat. It feels great to play fights that actually have a chance at killing you. And this map has tidy progression, both the best ominously long lift and extended switch-pressing sequence - and there's been quite a few of both in this set, I'm realizing - and pretty good visuals to tie it all together.

 

Gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the set. Hopefully the fact that a guest mapper made this doesn't mean I have less to look forward to as the WAD nears its end.

[Celestin]

MAP14: Absolution

 

The red sky means in we're in the hell now, specifically the E2 kind where human and infernal come together. There's a couple of cool sight to visit, such as the chapel and a crescent-shaped corridor that reminds me of River Styx. Luckily, Absolution is more generous with ammo than TNT's penultimate map, but still, if you don't know how to find a rocket launcher or a secret SSG (behind an unmarked wall that requires a blue key, nice), get ready to grind down cacodemons and occasional barons with a shotgun. Speaking of barons, in two separate instances they just pop out instantly from the floor, where you have no chance of avoiding them.

 

The progression is similiar to MAP05, meaning there's a lot of going back and forth to get the keys. I wasn't a fan of this approach back then, I'm not still. However, I think the map ends with a bang, a large teleport trap triggered after picking up the red key. If you kill a pair of perched chaingunners ASAP, it should be safe enough to circle the courtyard, making the monsters fight one another and eliminate the stragglers. It's a good ending to an otherwise average map.
 

[Horus]

MAP14 - “Absolution” by Chris Harbin

 

We start in the final part of the techbase, staring at a portal to hell. From then on, Biowar finally makes the switch to hell (wouldn’t surprise me if we see another techbase yet given how this set yo-yos between themes but there you go).

 

The difficulty finally ramps up with it too, and whilst this doesn’t pack as much content as the last map, it retains its bite. Much to my chagrin, I had quite a bit of trouble with the first part of this map, dying a few times, whereas I didn’t recall any such trouble the last time I played it, but that’s probably pistol start vs continuous for you. Most of the struggle comes from a low amount of health, paired with hitscanners and projectile monsters in close quarters where it can be a bit trickier to dodge the projectiles. The combat was a little grindy at first before I found the rocket launcher. Even with the rocket launcher though, sadly I found I didn’t enjoy this map that much until I found my crutch, the SSG. I feel that says more about me than the map xD

 

What I do remember is struggling with the progression last time, and momentarily I struggled yet again. But I wondered why because it seems rather straightforward – I was so caught up catching those secret teleporters that I forgot to take the actual main teleporter at the end that leads to the yellow key.

 

Combat aside, whilst we are clearly in hell, we seem to have yet another map with an identity crisis, happily mixing cavernous areas, marble, wood, vines, bricks, metal, and yes, a scattering of techbase textures too. Visually cohesive this is not.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP13: UAC Prison

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

Still a few maps left but I suspect when all is said and done this will be the one that stands out in my memory. It definitely has that 90's vibe to it, especially the somewhat obtuse switch progression at the start, but I never got lost or confused, just more kept in surprise as to what would happen next. I can also definitely see the TNT comparisons. The map is also notable for being loaded to the gills with monster meat (and probably two-thirds of it is shotgunners). I wouldn't want to play a whole megawad like this, but after the last few relatively empty maps, it's a nice change of pace. Things do threaten to get a little boring in the last run, especially making the way through the prison cell area, but thankfully the abundance of plasma helps the player move through things quickly. What's probably the most aggravating is there's a fair amount of blind ambushes due to the lifts, but there's also a decent amount of armor and invisibility spheres to help mitigate this.

[E.M.]

MAP14: Absolution

DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start

 

This map is like Plutonia, but less fun. The Hell aesthetics are nice and I love the presentation of the starting room, but there's not enough health to mend all the damage you'll take from the many hitscanners. I appreciate how they give you a rocket launcher early on, but I don't like how they buried the only SSG in a secret that's incredibly easy to miss. Things improve somewhat after you're geared up. My favorite part was gunning down demons in a chapel. The part I hated the most was the ridiculously easy softlock. You can get past the yellow door early on, but if you don't go through the blue door and press the switch that lowers the red key pillar beforehand, then you'll be trapped in that arena because the only way to unlock the door that closed behind you is with the red key. I cannot believe that got past playtesting. Also, the big fight in the red key arena is underwhelming. I was able to run around, get them all to infight, and then rocket down the survivors.

[RHhe82]

MAP14: Absolution. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.4. K: 148/148, S: 3/3, I: 34/38. Comp. time 19:21

 

Absolution's a fine map. The enemy numbers are toned down, and it never feels like a chore (except possibly the marble arched hallway with cacodemons patrolling outside - but only if you stop there to take care of them with a shotgun - you'll be better equipped later). But it's also a little bit less exciting. The battle for red key is fun, I even died there once to a face-rocket against teleporting HK.

 

Fine map. These maps are getting longer, no more 2 minute fares...

 

And now that I remembered to think about it: pistol starting hasn't proven a bad choice -- whatever their design philosophy was, almost all the maps have so far given ample ammo to deal with whatever mappers have thrown against the player.

[Devalaous]

Map 14 is moody affair thats nowhere near the chaos of the previous map, but I still enjoyed it. These maps are getting very TNT-like as they go on, could probably retexture a lot of maps with the TNT iwad and have nothing amiss. The chapel got my Fuck-off BFG to cler out the horde...did not expect the baron to ambush me though. Or the second rise from the floor baron later on for that matter. The 6 chaingunner courtyard got me good.

 

7 hours ago, Celestin said:

and a crescent-shaped corridor that reminds me of River Styx.

 

I see I wasnt the only one to think that!

 

I nearly skipped today's map, as Kingdom Hearts came out on Steam today, but once I realised how bad the resolution is on the two movies on the first collection, I set the movie to play in the background for the unlocks, while playing Doom in the other window. Multitasking!

[Lila Feuer]

Operation: BIOWAR
MAP13: UAC Prison (Post Hell in playable form)
Ultra-Violence / Pistol Start / Nugget Doom / Vanilla compatibility
K: 364/364 I: 38/38 S: 2/2 T: 25:20

I'm honestly kinda at a loss for words here, this is simultaneously the "best" and "worst" thing in the WAD so far. A huge spike in monster count and very strong TNT vibes lends to a sort of whiplash compared to everything else up to this point. It's not bad though. The opening area has cool shadow work from the Event Horizon-esque architecture and once again we have HR Giger art for some reason but sure, it's the 90s. I managed to kill 54 enemies in less than five minutes due to repeatedly triggering ambushes. An honestly handy secret can be found near the SSG's resting place that gives you the plasma gun and blue armor which will come in handy for rapidly mowing down the literal mobs that will be dumped on you. Hexen's lava flat is nice in Doom but this was cheaply converted to the Doom palette and thus has some stray yellow pixels that could've been filled in easily enough (Scythe II does this.) Despite the start the level's title means something here eventually with a silly amount of caged monsters, which is certainly my least favorite part as caged monsters feel like a waste of time (and ammo.) That said you won't be hurting for any as there's shells and cells for days, I left with the latter at 146. So yeah, this was quite the detour!

Operation: BIOWAR
MAP14: Absolution (a solution for better abs?)
Ultra-Violence / Pistol Start / Nugget Doom / Vanilla compatibility
K: 147/148 I: 34/38 S: 2/2 T: 18:26

My first death! Thanks to a Baron that springs up out of the floor in front of the blue key as I tried to blindly charge forth only to have my entire groin region torn out. Was actually a rougher first try than I'd anticipated also as I ended up copping too many blows from hitscanners which left me deprived of badly needed health by the time I got to the TNT MAP29 rip-off tribute area at 16 hit points which dwindled down to a measly six. I was somehow able to hold on with no ammo as I got the Imps removed by a lonely Hell Knight before rushing up to grab the rocket launcher to finish him off, even somehow survived against the Pain Elemental too, but not that Baron at 51 health and 16 armor! Cool starting room and outdoor area, honestly some visually striking areas all-around, using the lava flat as a wall behind a grate with the dark silhouettes of Imps was particularly effective. There's a particularly neat part where you get to look through windows out into the red key area, which provides a nice fight. On the bad side of things the SSG is relegated to a secret and it's locked by the blue key and it's hidden in plain sight. Yeesh! Thankfully I had it with me during the red key battle but I spent almost 16 minutes of my playtime without it and; yeah, it kinda sucked, but other than that it was a pretty good level I'd say. Somehow missed a monster and four items but got all the secrets, so no idea what happened there. Be sure to make a donation to the Church of FIREBLU or Caci will fart on you in your sleep.
 

[Pseudonaut]

Map14: Absolution
Speedrunning this seemed like it would be a chore, so I only played it once. The atmospheric midi does a lot to improve the experience. A few moments stood out to me: the pop-up baron in front of the blue key was cheap, but amusing. You also get ambushed by two revenants in an uncomfortably small room after the yellow key, and escaping into the hallway seems effective. Of course, at the end, a couple dozen unlucky demons are thrown at you and your rocket launcher.

 

 

[veevil]

Operation: Biowar
MAP14: Absolution
(UV, pistol start, K: 100% / S: 100%, DSDA-Doom, complevel 2)

 

Absolution is a slightly by-the-numbers map that, regardless, keeps my interest better than many of the preceding Harbin maps due to increases in complexity and combat difficulty. A certain Plutonia-esque vibe around the place, not just because of the color scheme heavy on the reds and browns but also because there sure are a lot of chaingunners (no archies, though). For my taste, the map takes slightly too long to yield the good guns, so you'll again have to contend with a fair number of mid-tiers while leaning on the shotgun and chaingun. At least the larger fights in the final stretch give you a reason to uncork the heavy artillery, so it doesn't feel like you're arming up for nothing. All in all, not bad.

 

An idle thought occurred to me when looking at the satanic chapel near the start of the map. I know I've seen the same trope a dozen times at least, approaching the altar through the main aisle with every pew filled with demons intently listening to the sermon. Where did this start? This must've been one of the earlier examples, but can't have been the first time it showed up in a Doom map. It could be just one of those obvious trains of thought that have occurred independently to many mappers over the years, I guess.

[General Roasterock]

Map 14: Absolution

 

  Every now and again, I love a map that feels evil. The Memento Mori II OST has done a lot of lifting for this set, but Absolution is more than capable of walking side by side with it. The oppressive coverage by the Chaingunners, the scale in the outdoor sections being the most believable thus far, the multitudes of demonic iconography, everything bleeds. Ambushes are actually a surprise here due to the fact that everything else is dripped in so slowly after that first initial rush through foes to the pretty blatant River Styx reference. Man, Habin liked Evilution. A replay definitely improved my experience with it even further, as I was able to choose the correct of the two secret teleporters to get to the Super Shotgun, giving new life to the shells I had collected previously. The second by second is nothing terribly impressive, but the ebb and flow of working your way to a significant fight like the church or the courtyard is about the best in terms of navigation that Biowar has. It’s thrilling enough.

[Zerofuchs]

Map14: Absolution

Rich in gloomy corridors, tight encounters, and with a somber, suspenseful song driving and oppressive atmosphere, Absolution stands out as a tense, hitscan heavy, creepy crawl through a dark cathedral. It's easy to let health get knocked away and it's not overly generous on drops...

 

[Celestin]

MAP15: Heat

 

It's a network of caves filled with lava, so the name checks out. The shorter maps make a return, though I feel like there's a lack of standout moments in Heat. Don't get me wrong, it's a solid level and I like the fiery caverns it takes place in, but there's little to grab me. Go to one place, flick a switch or grab a key, return to open a previously locked door, sometimes take out several monsters that appear, rince and repeat. One thing of note is a pair of archviles, since Biowar has been rather reluctant to use them so far. Neither is particularly threatening, but hey, it's something.

 

I've found the secret exit by accident, pressing on a random wall opened a cubby with a switch, which in turn lifts a bar in the final room. This one is fine, I guess, but I doubt it will stick with me.

 

MAP31: Juggelo Funhouse

 

I don't know about you, but I find the stock MAP31 text screen funny and weirdly fitting. New textures aside (which I won't comment on, since I'm not familiar with Insane Clown Posse), Juggelo Funhouse ditches the dungeon crawl for a series of distinct arenas. After riding down an elevator into a basement, you are greeted by a two strobing rooms of teleporting monsters (though the barons were a drag to kill). The mastermind room gives you a plasma rifle if you flank her and eliminate the archvile guardian and the last fight is a large arena with a cyberdemon. Either kill him outright or avoid his missiles, press series of switches and obtain a BFG. At that point, the map is done.

 

The single-colour visuals of the basement reminds me of Killer Colours (which is funny, as AV wouldn't have been released for 2 years) and the combat style offers something different from Biowar standard, as far as weird, gimmicky secret maps go, it's a solid one.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 14: Absolution

by Chris Harbin

Crispy Doom, UV, pistol-start

 

Let's just get this one out of the way. Perhaps the necessary transition point into hell, Absolution starts promisingly enough with a secret armor closet opened by a console in the first room. And while the overall monster density and composition are nothing too challenging, there does seem to be a certain sense that the end is being approached. The chapel is there, quite darkened and small but nice anyway. There's also a rather nasty and puzzling layout that if the wing that basically terminated in the yellow key's location isn't explored throughly, it can lead to a rather annoying situation of lacking the ability for the red key - which happened to me. The thing is, I also remember something like that too from my first playthrough, checking Doomwiki, and finding the issue. I'm not really in a mood for this pseudo Jens Nielsen stuff but in any case, I thought another bit was raised to shoot at. Too bad, I missed the second climactic encounter. I remember there were chaingunners keeping things from getting too sedate.

 

 

Edited June 14 by LadyMistDragon

[Horus]

MAP15 - “Heat” by Chris Harbin

 

Visually cohesive this is! We are in a hellish cavern filled to the brim with lava. Whilst I wouldn’t call this hard, it still continues the more challenging trend seen since map 13. It’s also unusually scarce with ammo for most of its duration, and I had ration my ammo to avoid falling short. The combat didn’t strike me as anything particularly special, and yet I quite enjoyed this map. Perhaps it was down to actually having to think about my weapon use for once. I also found it quite amusing that you can cheese the red key trap by just staying by the red key as the lost souls can’t hit you. Although I’m not sure why mind you as the lines aren’t marked as monster blocking.

 

I get the feeling that Chris wanted most players to find the secret exit because it wasn’t particularly well hidden :P although in fairness it’s hard to hide too well in a map with as short a scale as this one. Not complaining to be honest as a lot of secret exits in wads (at least in more modern ones) are pretty cryptic, it’s nice to have an easy one for a change.

 

MAP31 - “Juggelo Funhouse” by Chris Harbin

 

An Insane Clown Posse tribute to the tune of a MIDIfied version of Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy, we have another hub + 3 map of sorts, except one you have to do in a specific order.

 

The central hub plus each of its 3 offshoots present a different combat scenario. The central hub is pretty much ‘try to survive the hitscan’, whilst the blue key fight is actually quite a neat fade in-out light battle where you have to try and work out where the monsters are in between the bouts of light.

 

This map will likely be an unpleasant experience for any player insistent on killing what they see as soon as they see it, but when four barons were released with only an SSG, I got the hint and anti-grind mode kicked in. I ended up preserving all of them, plus the spider mastermind and the cyber until the BFG was accessible right at the very end of the map, which made maxing the map a much more fun experience. Ultimately, a very simple map, but one that raised a smile.

[Blast_Brothers]

MAP14: Absolution

 

The MIDI sets the stage perfectly for this dark and atmospheric map. Combat is decent and the architecture feels fresh despite traversing familiar themes. I think this mapset is inspiring me to decorate the sides of my lifts more. Just one question: if you go through the yellow door before lowering the red key, how are you supposed to get out?

 

MAP15: Heat

 

Combat remains weirdly understated (despite a start that leaves you vulnerable), but I'm happy the damaging floor wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. I like the lava theme and the visuals in general, but everything else feels conspicuously undercooked. It's like playing the version of a 4-hour speedmap that exists after 2.5 hours of work.

 

Had to look up how to get to the secret exit and I don't feel guilty. Maybe I'm too green to get what passed for an obvious secret in 1999, but how the hell was I supposed to figure that out?

 

MAP31: Juggalo's Fun House

 

Short, kinda silly, kinda interesting. Is it worth seeking out if you couldn't find the secret exit? Probably not.

[Devalaous]

Map 15 was oddly easy for a map so near the end. It does look nice though. The archvile near the end has a fun little ambush set up, first time players will likely be eaten on both sides by the sneaky demons that are woken up when you inevitably instinctshoot the vile in your face. Secret exit was pretty much totally unmarked wallhump level to access, figured the archvile platform from earlier that needs an AV jump to get onto was the key, seems no?

Map 31 is where I realised I am using an outdated version of my own patch. The current version clears all the intermission text, while the one im using does not, and also 'fixes' the typo of the Secret level name, which I reverted due to the 'typo' being right there in front of you in the level textures. As for the level itself..hooboy, definitely the kind of thing one expects to find in a secret slot. Its pretty much 'look, its my favourite band at the time! *fanboy noises*' in another short hubspoke of challenges. It actually has both boss monsters too. I died to the opening chaingunner trap the first time, which is lessened if you get the secret invisibility. Blue room after it was more lethal than the other two rooms, amusingly enough. Cyb was easily taken down by getting him to attack the revenants, then sliding two BFG balls up his butt.

[E.M.]

MAP15: Heat

DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start

 

This map was a lot more fun than the previous one. The action is thrilling and fast-paced. You can find the SSG pretty early on. Ammo is pretty tight, but you can find a berserk that will alleviate that problem. Unfortunately, this is hampered somewhat by the wad's bad habit of over-complicating things. It expects you to know that you need to jump into lava to hit a switch to open a door. The sole purpose of the yellow key is to open up the bars that hold the red key. Pointless. After you open up the red door, it takes you to a teleporter which then sends you to the top of a rocky column. It then expects you to know that you need to make a running jump to the north to reach a door. I still enjoyed the combat despite the level design faults.

 

MAP31: Juggelo (sic) Funhouse

DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP4AVPuao7Q

 

If you look past the ICP thing, you'll discover that this is the most fun map in the whole wad. It gives you a berserk right from the start, which I like. The teleport ambush in the funhouse's entryway was pretty intense. The blue room looked really cool, but I didn't like SSG-ing that group of Barons. What is this, Hell Revealed? My favorite part was the Cyberdemon arena. I just ran circles around him, pressed all the switches, grabbed the BFG, and went to town. Of all the maps in this wad, this is the one I've replayed the most. It's that enjoyable.

Edited June 14 by E.M.

[DavitW]

MAP13: UAC Prison
Consider this to be an episode finale of sorts. A massive monster count and malicious traps compared to everything else we've seen so far. Enjoyable at times but the flow of the level is all off. An excess of backtracking leads me to believe there wasn't a whole lot of forethought put into the design of this one and all of the elevators make a lot of the gameplay rather clunky. Don't think I'm not going to notice those Darkseed textures, either.

 

MAP14: Absolution
Sounds like somebody got their ominous drums for Christmas. It's a good introduction for what I'm going to cleverly call the Hell portion of this wad. Combat isn't as grandiose as in the last one, but still around just as challenging. Ammo distribution is tight enough you'll have to make most of your shots count while health and armor can be scarce at times. Still has that dreaded problem concerning an excess of backtracking, though. Oh, and what might be one of the easiest softlocks I've ever seen unless I'm just a massive idiot. Don't go through the yellow key door until you've already lowered the red key pillar.

 

MAP15: Heat
I thought it was pretty good, but I don't have a whole lot to say about it. There's lava, weapons laying around, monsters to fight... can't forget about the secret exit either. Pretty well hidden if I say so myself.

 

bio13-15.zip

[Woody101]

I would love to put my Woody's World series (5 Episodes released so far) up for consideration for the club. Just search Woody on DoomWorld for the releases. Maybe don't pick Episode 1 as that was my first 8 levels, so they got better as the Episodes went on... 

[LadyMistDragon]

2 minutes ago, Woody101 said:

I would love to put my Woody's World series (5 Episodes released so far) up for consideration for the club. Just search Woody on DoomWorld for the releases. Maybe don't pick Episode 1 as that was my first 8 levels, so they got better as the Episodes went on... 

Apart from the ethics of nominating your own work, you have to wait until the 25th before mentioning anything. Just an fyi.

[Woody101]

Thank you for clarifying as I was not aware

 

As yes, I am a shameless self promoter - guilty as charged :-)

[RHhe82]

MAP15: Heat. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.4. K: 69/69, S: 2/2, I: 38/38. Comp. time 10:25

 

Yes, we have ventured far from tech bases now, to fiery cavern employing Heretic/Hexen textures. It's a solid map, that I'm finding it hard to write about, it's only real offense is to have highly damaging floor and only one radsuit, whereas low damaging floor without radsuits would have done just as well. (I feel like I'm just trying to find something bad to say; it's lava, I know, and it posed no problem... it was not a major offense). I'm not sure what opened the way to the secret map -- I suppose one of the switches I didn't know what they did, opened the way. Either that, or it was always there like a branching path. Actually, I don't know if there was a way to exit straight to MAP16, I never tried the exit line looking linedef just after the secret exit corridor entrance.

 

*

 

MAP31: Juggelo Funhouse. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.4. K: 52/52, S: 1/1, I: 24/24. Comp. time 7:01

 

I suppose by 1999 standards this must have been a fun romp, but now peek-a-boo shooting a SMM is not my idea of fun (admittedly, though, it could much worse), and the map ends up being a bit dull. Although the teleport ambush at the red key was quite dangerous for what we've been accustomed to this month.

 

For the final showdown with a cybie we are granted BFG and a few surprise revenants. I don't know how this must have felt like in 1999, but nowadays having the cybie-cyb do the infighting and the player consistently two-shotting a cyber makes this encounter not a big deal.

 

I guess the map's okay. The midi is peculiar, the sugarplum fairy midi so sweetly reeks of 90s stock midis you received with your Soundblaster 16 package. (Although this one was a rock rendition of the said piece, right?).

 

(Added upon posting: I've heard of Insane Clown Posse, but I'm not familiar with it and didn't make the connection - so it is possible I'm missing something that would have elevated the experience).

[Horus]

Interesting how we are all wired differently as Doom players, for me seeing the two blue torches either side of the wall like that led me instantly to try it. I did something similar for a secret in one of my own maps once, albeit there I had the extra telegraphing of it leading to an outdoor area you could see from elsewhere in the map.

And @RHhe82 yes if you go straight on it just skips to map 16.

 

Also personally I’m not necessarily against people voting for their own work as long as they follow through and actively contribute to the thread by regularly posting developer’s commentary. That kind of insight doesn’t happen too often in the DWMC, but it’s always a very interesting read (Eviternity 2 being the most recent example).

Edited June 15 by Horus

[Roofi]

Map 14 : Absolution

 

 

I didn't remember that "Absolution" suffer of such ammo drought and damn I always manage to get softlocked in the red key's courtyard ! I'm exagerrating a bit as there's enough to kill everything but you still have to be a bit more strategic how to spend ammo. For instance, in order to reach the rocket launcher, several cacodemons can be left alone so that you can eliminate the Hell Knight and small foes guarding the weapons. Moreover, the non-linearity feels a bit illusional here as not obtaining the most powerful weapons upstream can be a bit disabling.

 

"Absolution" reminds me a little of "House of Pain" from Ultimate Doom even if the progression is a lot different. This map takes place in a forsaken fortress and the soundtrack coming from Memento Mori also succeeds at creating an eerie and somewhat sad atmosphere. It makes me feel something horrible happened here but I have no way of knowing.

 

To be frank if I put the efforts put on the ambiance, I like this map with moderation.

 

Grade : B- (12/20) 

 

 

 

Map 15 : Heat

 

 

 

Biowar can be categorized as a "mini megawad" for me, as it can be completed in 1-2 hours, but the variety of its natural scenery is a selling point. We traversed dense forest , threaded our way through icy crevasses and now we venture into a volcano. What a ride ! And as map 10 or 11, Chris Harbin manages to offer convincing visuals by economizing details.

 

The height variations are pronunced among the outdoors areas and and these high rock walls simply show how tall the volcano is.  Also contrary to most of the maps, "Heat" can be distingued by its consistency. The laval surrounding the rocky paths, the distorted rocky passages and the bosterious midi coming from Memento Mori again, immerse you in this hostile place. Heat definitely figures among the tougher maps of this megawad and I like this map because it provides a particularly energizing sense of urgency, as if the volcano was about to erupt and I had to escape as soon as possible.

 

Heat is one of the highlight maps which shows that Biowar should not be ignored despite its age, in case you're looking for vanilla-compatible adventure wads.

 

Grade : B+ (15/20)

 

 

 

[Pseudonaut]

Map15: Heat
The resource balance is relatively tight here, and I could really feel the lack of health toward the end since I wasn't very careful. It didn't even occur to me that one of the switches I pressed was for the secret exit. 

 

 

Map31: Juggelo Funhouse
A little awkward and unsatisfying for a map with a BFG and hundreds of cells. Those resources are placed at the very end, so this map is practically begging for a "full speed 'til the end, then clean up" max route, but those slow-ass elevators get in the way. Perhaps the best option is to kill everything in the first area right away, only revisiting the barons and Mastermind. There's not much to discuss about the fights themselves, but the cyberdemon at the end is a fun inclusion, and dodging his rockets to press the switches was the best part.
 

 

[Insaneprophet]

Map 14: Absolution

 

I found this to be one of the better maps by this wads main contributor so far. Combat, level design, length, story, it all starts to come together into a whole concept here. Its more than a prototype, its longer than 3 minutes, the baddies dont just line up to take turns dieing to one shotgun blast. Softlocking wasnt a problem for me as it appeared to be fixed in the compendium. Yeah all in all not a bad level. 😀

 

Map 15: Heat

 

I am completely in the "I like this map ALOT" camp. This finally took the abstract, minimalistic texturing with an idealized sense of place and gave it a full story. The visuals feel perfect and the traps and incedental fighting are right where this mapset is most comfortable. There is nothing terribly difficult here but its not entirely a snooze fest either. 😀

 

map 31: Juggello Funhouse

 

I hereby go on record stating that I have kind of actively dis-liked the insane clown posse for nigh on 30+ years. Nothing here changes that in any way, shape or form. The level itself left me feelin pretty much.. meh.  😀

Edited June 15 by Insaneprophet

[veevil]

Operation: Biowar
MAP15: Heat
(UV, pistol start, K: 100% / S: 100%, DSDA-Doom, complevel 2)

 

A compact map set inside a fiery mountain, Heat is both visually cohesive and fun to play. Instead of limiting your weapon options or excess hitscannage, this time the challenge comes from avoiding damage while navigating the lava-filled environment and devious placement of mid-tier foes. The map gets a lot of mileage out of just 69 monsters. The ending room archvile/pikie ambush especially could smoke an unwary player who's already spent their plasma allowance. I did have to go back looking for the switch that opens the secret exit, but it wasn't that difficult to find after I actually started looking.

 

I like this one a lot, actually. It's not crazy difficult or anything, but it's got some attitude, a degree of measured cruelty toward the player that feels good to overcome. Probably my favorite map by Chris Harbin thus far.

MAP31: Juggelo Funhouse
(UV, pistol start, K: 100% / S: 100%, DSDA-Doom, complevel 2)

 

I don't have much to say about the map itself nor the music act that inspired it, beyond the fact that I'm not a fan of clowns. However, this map is something completely different compared to the other maps in the wad, and I like that. If the secret maps don't stand out at all from the others in the set, what's the point?

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 15: Heat

by Chris Harbin

Crispy Doom, UV, pistol start

 

In an effort far more suited to the second episode of Heretic, Chris Harbin takes us into this collection of caverns and outer ledges with a large dose of confusion and not a few nasty traps! Look around for the rad suit to explore the lava safely because it's not sitting out in the open. Best not to waste time though, since we only get the one of UV. Other than that, a whole lot of gunning down enemies in tight spaces. The Lost Souls near the yellow key switch might be some serious trouble without a plasma rifle and we might have to wait to kill the Baron on the large rock formation in the lava until we're right on top of it since he's hard to hit from below. The trouble is, there's not really much room. But from here, it's possible to jump to the nearby door with another room with a pinkie on either side and an Arch-vile. Nice adventurous map. I think the secret exit gets opened by hitting a switch in a hidden closet occupied by a chaingunner but I'm not sure. Also, ammo is very tight here so soon as we could find a hidden berserk pack, we were using it excessively until about 60 percent of the way through.

 

Map 31: Juggalo Funhouse

by Chris Harbin

 

There's something quite funny to me about a map like this being made in relatively early days of ICP's national success. There was one point where being a juggalo was about as bad as being a furry in other times. That said, this doesn't really seem made to poke fun at juggalos and uses that one modified Christmas midi that appeared in H2XMas, giving as a berserk pack at the very beginning and encourage us to bull our way through the enemies contained herein. It's pretty linear and has sparing detail in most rooms, but it has nice flow and a certain sense of fun hard to argue with. Although it seems like the Baron quad may have been asking for continuous play to a degree but it's about as do-able as any other map from pistol start. We do have to shotgun a Mastermind but there are plenty of pillars in her room to hide behind, along with some rather hilarious juggalo posters. End fight pits us against a Cyberdemon with probably too few cells to manage but hit every switch, the central but opens up containing some Revenants and a BFG. A very enjoyable ending