What are you playing now?

[Catpho]

On 11/30/2022 at 1:27 AM, ZeroTheEro said:

on a side note: anyone knows the MIDI used in this DNF essay video at around 13:55? It's at the top of my head but I forgot which WAD it came from.

It's the track "Plasma" from Duke3D. It's used in AV map10.

[ZeroTheEro]

2 minutes ago, Catpho said:

It's the track "Plasma" from Duke3D. It's used in AV map10.

1 hour ago, Kyka said:

 

I know that MIDI appears in Alien Vendetta, can't recall where off the top of my head. 

much obliged.

Edited December 1, 2022 by ZeroTheEro

[Somniac]

Finished replaying Suspended in Dusk last night, a classic WAD that I hadn't visited in so long that I can't remember when I last played it.

 

While it does sprawl a little bit in places (mainly MAP03), that only serves to accentuate the fantastic environmental atmosphere, with highly immersive architecture, evocative texturing and tense combat. The vanilla tricks are the cherry on top of an impressive cake, taking the atmosphere to the next level. The pacing is superb, never getting OTT but always keeping you on your toes just enough that you don't get too cocky.

 

As a younger player, I seem to recall finding this set a bit too dense and intimidating, and I dont think I finished it. With the benefit of maturity and an understanding of what goes into making a map, I find SID to be a towering achievement. It's still intimidating, but its inspiring. It pulls you in, and even though its 4 maps are far from lightweight, it felt over a bit too soon.

 

If this set was released today, I'm certain it would be just as highly regarded. It was a pleasure to rediscover this gem. 

[Garlichead]

Halfway through Realm of Chaos. Quite an underrated megawad. It not as polished as some other offerings, but it is quite fun for its time and personally like it better than something such as the first Memento Mori. While the maps may be simplistic, they flow very well and have an amateurish charm to it.

 

Additionally, have been playing through The Classic Episode by The Darkening Guys. The Darkening is one of my favorite wads, and i was completely unaware the team had worked on some Doom 1 episodes between both issues of their most famous wad until i started gathering a list of UD wads and episodes. I have been playing through this one on DOSBOX and like it very much, the levels are short and action packed. 

 

I will probably play some of Jan Van der Veken solo projects next once i am done with the Classic Episode. 

[Daytime Waitress]

Completed @RonnieJamesDiner's Nensha on HMP earlier in the day and felt compelled to fire it up again in UV later in the arvo. I rarely do that with maps of any size, so I'd say that he definitely nailed his goal regarding approachability - an absolute blast.
 

 

[Garlichead]

Finished The Classic Episode, and started playing through Dawn of the Dead by Jan Van der Veken. I just beat the secret map, which was hard on a TFC kind of way. Very good episode replacement for DOOM 1, the maps are nastier than on the Classic Episode mainly due to the abundance of hit scanners. Really enjoying Veken maps right now.

[Pezl]

Im playing some maps I found here on doomworld but currently playing Final Doom (tnt on uv and then will play plutonia on uv)

Edited December 5, 2022 by Pezl

[TheSlipgateStudios]

Now playing 2002 A Doom Odyssey and Shrine 2 from Steam.

[HeatedChocolate]

Finally booted my laziness and got my grubby mitts on source ports that aren't GZDoom, of course I had to start Heartland!

[Garlichead]

Started this one yesterday

 

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/130689-stickney-installation-a-36-level-ultimate-doom-megawad-vanilla-now-on-idgames/

[Yousuf Anik]

No Rest For The Living with Brutal Doom Platinum. It's kinda fun playing these maps in Realism mode.

[Daytime Waitress]

16 hours ago, Garlichead said:

Started this one yesterday

 

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/130689-stickney-installation-a-36-level-ultimate-doom-megawad-vanilla-now-on-idgames/

 

Nice timing! I just started and completed the first ep today.

 

I slept on Stickney when it was released because I'd played a fair bit of Doom 1 stuff at the time, but it really lived up to the praise. Simple but not simplistic detailing. Straightforward and clean architecture and progression. Innumerable nods to the original levels that made me pause and smile. And constant action, even on HMP. Not just huge numbers or overstuffed closets, but completely, totally uninterrupted pressure on the player. Usually I enjoy Doom best in the interstices - when the parts where you're not shooting are as important as the parts where you're on the shotgun trigger. They compliment and accentuate each others' best aspects. But sometimes it's just nice to be absolutely harried. Thanks, @Snaxalotl.

[Garlichead]

5 hours ago, Daytime Waitress said:

 

Nice timing! I just started and completed the first ep today.

 

I slept on Stickney when it was released because I'd played a fair bit of Doom 1 stuff at the time, but it really lived up to the praise. Simple but not simplistic detailing. Straightforward and clean architecture and progression. Innumerable nods to the original levels that made me pause and smile. And constant action, even on HMP. Not just huge numbers or overstuffed closets, but completely, totally uninterrupted pressure on the player. Usually I enjoy Doom best in the interstices - when the parts where you're not shooting are as important as the parts where you're on the shotgun trigger. They compliment and accentuate each others' best aspects. But sometimes it's just nice to be absolutely harried. Thanks, @Snaxalotl.

How far are you into it @Daytime Waitress?

 

I finished the first episode yesterday. Really traditional E1 feel for most of it. I like how even if the levels are very small there is some fun exploration going on when huntin the secrets down. The last level was a little unexpected.

[Daytime Waitress]

20 minutes ago, Garlichead said:

How far are you into it @Daytime Waitress?

 

I finished the first episode yesterday. Really traditional E1 feel for most of it. I like how even if the levels are very small there is some fun exploration going on when huntin the secrets down. The last level was a little unexpected.

As I said, only one ep down. I might continue on with it over the week, I might let it percolate - I often do when it comes to larger mapsets. I've found the secret hunting a little tougher in this one, although I do tend to give up easily unless the level is beating me over the head with clues (for reference, 2022ADO was the last wad that I really felt compelled to track down secrets in).

And yeah, the last level of Stickney E1 veered pretty heavily into its gimmick - which in hindsight is very on-brand for a WAD that doesn't really paint-by-numbers.

[Garlichead]

1 minute ago, Daytime Waitress said:

As I said, only one ep down. I might continue on with it over the week, I might let it percolate - I often do when it comes to larger mapsets. I've found the secret hunting a little tougher in this one, although I do tend to give up easily unless the level is beating me over the head with clues (for reference, 2022ADO was the last wad that I really felt compelled to track down secrets in).

And yeah, the last level of Stickney E1 veered pretty heavily into its gimmick - which in hindsight is very on-brand for a WAD that doesn't really paint-by-numbers.

Sorry, overlooked the mention of the first episode on the original post.

 

I normally dont go for 100% secrets, but on this wad i found it cool that it follows a pattern of sorts. I found many secrets behind small red switches on walls. I am playing through it on DOSBOX and episode has a very dark palette which looks gorgeous on it.

 

I do the same with UD wads, I play different episodes of different wads simultaneously. Playing through a large map set on a single run feels a little heavy.  

[DrRock]

Donuts

 

The difficulty is about perfect for my likings and the visuals are pleasing as well. Great stuff.

[blackthorn]

I just recently finished up AUGER;ZENITH and Anomaly Report, and am now half-way through my first (and long overdue) playthrough of Eviternity. In the closing stages of MAP32 currently, which has been quite the ordeal (great map though)!

[Agent Slacker]

I probably shouldn't be juggling 2-3 different WADs, but here I am. I'm wrapping up Back to Saturn X EP 1 and DOOM 64 for DOOM 2, and I'm debating on staring DOOM Zero again, but this time in 3D. I love this stupid gimmick so much and I like the idea of playing an entire WAD like this.

[Wyrmwood]

Mayan Reynolds, bit disappointed there's no digitized Ryan Reynolds in an Indy hat for the HUD but other than that an bloody excellent map set. Really starting to love team squonkers WADs, difficulties always perfectly pitched for me playing HMP/Pistol starts.

[Foxstiel]

I am trying to conplete 2002AD, i finished 2 episodes and have nearly completed the third one, on HMP currently, maybe ill do a UV replay later on

[SilverHurling]

Just started "Gorehounds.wad", this is going to be a long night

[Crusader No Regret]

Barely played any Doom mapsets other than Ironman and IronEagle selections in 2022.  But the Guns Bonsai mod added enough to rekindle my interest in Doom maps, especially continuous campaigns and I've completed Infested and 3 is a Crowd with it.  Lock-in arena brawls aren't my favorite style of gameplay but Infested provides a logical narrative reason for them; of course Gore Nests will try to trap their prey. (plus the lock-ins are only on the higher difficulties which is a definite point in its favor)  Some of the new monsters are especially suitable toward baiting infights, which I took advantage of as much as I could get away with.

 

  Due to the narrative of 3 is a Crowd, I reset my upgrades each episode since they are different protagonists.  Dicked around with individual maps on skill 2 before but never did a full campaign until now.  Which I bumped it up to HMP for.  Given how slowly I usually get through megawads, blew threw this one faster than I expected to.  Gun Bonsai upgrades helped out; taking less damage from damage sectors made a big difference in getting through "Sheer Poison."  Some moments:

 

Map 2: Took some experimenting and some sanity saves but I found a way to reach the exit alive and healthy without using a single bullet.  Or even attacking anything since non-berserk punching anything is slow.  Activating crushers to kill some enemies prevents it from being a true Pacifist completion though.

Map 9: Thanks to BFG with guaranteed stun, I was able to stay on the stairway that leads to the firing point for the icon.  For science, fired a bunch of rockets into the opening but after 15, just gave up and exited the level the intended way.  (guaranteed stun is so game-breaking and the latest Gun Bonsai release changes stun into 50% slow instead)

Map 15: At one point, looked somewhere and question "I don't remember a switch being there before."  Curiosity led me to activate it and it led me down the path that eventually ended in the secret exit.  Yay for finding it legit.

Map 32: In most instances, I'll IDCLEV to the secret levels in a MegaWAD to scope them out before reaching them in a continuous playthrough.  In the case of 3 is a crowd, I would not have the context to appreciate the map's setup.  So it was a truly new experience once I had reached this after having gone through the previous maps.

Map 24: I tried all sorts of crazy sequences trying to get that BFG in the window even though I suspected (and the map author confirmed in a MegaWAD club post) that it was unreachable.

Map 29: The dreaded constant pain map; I was mentally prepared for something nightmarish.  Made it quite far on the first attempt, getting both keys before being squished by crusher.  Getting out of the first area was not obvious and I found the BFG secret first before the way out.  Next attempt: found the radsuit cache/trap  Trolled and died in those caverns.  Third attempt: Fall off a cliff which sets me back to much due to the constant pain.  Reset.  Fourth attempt: reach the spawner and stumped on how to progress.  I cave and look up the solution at this point.  Knowing what's what with the map, next attempt is successful.  (as mentioned already, reduced damage is a huge help though now I believe I could record a completion in dsda-doom)

 

Now on a search for the next multi-map set, preferably one with an internal narrative to connect the maps, to journey through.  I'm interested to seeing just how many upgrades I pile up in one continuous journey. (whether 32 maps or not)

[TheSlipgateStudios]

Right now going through Fava Beans! Finished 2 levels and I liked it so far. Gonna play more some other times.

[Azafran]

Right now i'm in the middle of Doom 64 (first playthrough) and Pirate Doom. I'm very pleased with 64, looks really cool and weapons feel right. Pirate Doom is excellent, as a Monkey Island fan it's fun as hell.

[WSADKO]

doing rush.wad and oh boi it escalates quickly

good start for anyone who is not very friendly with slaughtermaps

[RHhe82]

Went back to Sunlust. I've completed MAPS01-05 on UV earlier, and now MAPS06-10 on HMP. I'm loving it. After playing some more contemporary "hard wads" on various difficulties, like Fractured Worlds on HMP (Maps 01-04) and HNTR (the rest), early Sunlust really is quite bearable. Not easy, but sometimes amidst all the hype you may start to think of it some sort of crucible for the crazy people, but it's not. What's more, I get a feeling I can trust Ribbiks and Dannebubinga to not make dickish design choices. Hopefully I'm not proven wrong, but I get a sense of safety when playing.

 

(Probably stating the obvious and old news to anyone who has played anything beyond IWADs).

[Blackmore1014]

Playing The Ultimate Doom with Maps of Chaos. Beautiful Doom mod - love it. Really looks so nice and save classic gameplay. But of course added some new visual and sound improvements.

 

 

 

 

[Crusader No Regret]

Blasted through Intergalactic Xenology 2 and finishing up Bloodstain.  Intergalactic Xenology 2 I had some trepidation about considering I felt let down after trying the first one.  Calling the gameplay rote modern Doom doesn't really do the maps justice. (and if modern Doom gameplay is your thing, you're likely to have a blast with these maps)  Even if that was my kneejerk impression.  If anything, it's less heavy-handed about the staged setpieces than the first.  Though they are still present; map 3 has some particularly mean setups.  Some of the staged stuff does get predictable.  When I'm locked into an area and a bunch of Cacodemons spawn in, I guessed there's got to be another wave coming and tended to be correct.

  Do feel this one is better than the first about becoming it's own thing rather than being only an Ancient Aliens expansion pack.  The settings and environmental storytelling are more compelling, with map 4 being a standout highlight.  And the final "cutscene" (done entirely with Boom actions) got a laugh from me.

 

Bloodstain seems to have a reputation for being full of meat walls restricted by monster block lines.  So I felt the Gun Bonsai mod would be a good fit to counter that.  The amount of HP in the meat walls may increase but my weapons are also growing more powerful to remove them faster so most pace slowing is purely voluntary.  As the maps are designed with vanilla Doom weapon balance in mind, powered up guns do tend to be overkill.  The finale of map 25 was one of the most extreme displays of balance breaking in my playthrough.  It's intended to be a frantic BFG spam against a massive horde with one invulnerability to try and gain enough of a foothold to not get overrun.  What happened for me was one shot of a buffed BFG setting off a massive chain reaction of destruction that wiped out the entire horde except for the late arrivals at the end.  Still enjoyable but far from the intention of the setpiece.

   But I can always toggle off upgrades if I feel too overpowered so no complaints from me about making things too easy.  Map 27 has some sticky setups where getting through in a vanilla context would have been far more taxing and frustrating, (such as cybers that spawn uncomfortably close) and all those upgrades help in getting through in a more timely manner with fewer retries.  And one evil area in map 28 I might have thrown up my hands and admitted defeat without the mod's buffs aiding me. (damnable respawning chaingunners and I had squandered the invisibility)  Actually, I was feeling some degree of megawad fatigue earlier on, somewhere in the stretch between 16-20, and it was seeing my arsenal grow stronger and crazier that kept me going.

[Lucius Wooding]

Finally beat Sunlust map 16 single segment UV max. Took me forever, and I was sweating over having only 200 cells going into the ending but I'm proud of this one. It was one of the more interesting maps with solid music that looked doable, but it completely bitchslapped me until I revisited it recently. The cells ended up being very tight since I wasted about 80 on an accidental pickup but there was only 1 archie left when I ran out. I had good safe strats for every fight except the last 2 which caused me no end of grief. Even though I was seeming to copy others who had no trouble, I always managed to do things subtly wrong I guess. In the end I got amazing infighting from the first cyber and spiderdemon and they both died instantly, as well as being so healthy I saved 2 berserks, a soulsphere and 2 green armors.

 

I am happy I was able to 100% consistently cheese the revenant wave at the RL so that probably made the first half of the map a ton more reasonable than it did at first. I was also dying or losing tons of health too much at the yellow key fight to the archviles, but luring them farther and crucially turning my translucency way down to see through their flames did help a ton. 

 

It doesn't help that the beginning is very annoying and I needed to take it fairly slow. Usually I'd either die at the start due to the spectres, or make it all the way to the final red key fight and then die except once or twice I got to the very end. Part of my frustration was my fault since I'd generally play the map on low health for the first 2/3rds and rely on a lot of infighting hoping for the best outcome for the last 2 fights, especially saving that secret megasphere for the very end. The length of the map is much more of an issue than any of the fights though since I'm not a terribly consistent player and the late fights can completely refuse to cooperate sometimes. With saves it's obviously a piece of cake by comparison. I'd say map 18 is a bit easier due to a few strategies I found that really take the edge off, and subjectively 16 is the toughest one I've beaten so far. Now I've got to go back and beat maps 9, 11, and 15 or else get grinded to paste by map 20. All the actual hard maps are still too tough for me to bother with at this point but I have some hope for map 20; however it's such a long and tough map and I haven't even practiced most of the fights.

[Andromeda]

14 hours ago, Lucius Wooding said:

Now I've got to go back and beat maps 9, 11, and 15 or else get grinded to paste by map 20. All the actual hard maps are still too tough for me to bother with at this point but I have some hope for map 20; however it's such a long and tough map and I haven't even practiced most of the fights.

Good luck, for me MAP20 was the hardest level in Sunlust and it's not even close!