The DWmegawad Club plays: Doom 2 Reloaded

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP21 Limbo

although MAP08 has my favorite track in the old D2RMUS, this one is a close second. it's such a nice tune. anyways, we have something that will get the linear haters to like this map a bit, as it's a three-key hub style map. and it's our first hell-themed map so already I'm seeing some red bricks. also, marble. kinda odd feeling with the green-red color combo. the blue key grab was interesting, as the slime is damaging and it's one of those "build a bridge" scenarios. I love the spirals in the red key section, but the invulnerability after it is kinda useless aside from rocket-blasting to one secret (and there's no fucking way to SR50 it, yet I try it as an attempted loophole to the secret because I'm a dumbass). yellow key section homages one of E2M2's optional rooms. and then it all winds to the center of the map. overall, it's an average intro to the hell episode.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 21 -- Limbo - 100% Kills / 75% Secrets
This was another map that I found myself having very little recollection of, perhaps unsurprising given that I didn't particularly care for it this time around.

The expected switch over to the infernal tileset here (after its brief preview deep in the guts of map 32) is certainly a nice change of pace, and there's all sorts of scope for the simple/classy Dr. Sleep lighting that Eschdoom favors given the setting, although there is very, very little in the way of interesting or striking scenery since 95% of the level is a tangle of cold stone corridors. Playing devil's advocate a bit, and in response to Magnusblitz's wondering how Eschdoom would handle the hell setting given his preference for pseudorealistic architecture, if you've read ahead in the textfile you know that D2Reload's Hell is imagined in a very 'classical' vein, with nods aplenty to Dante and everything that entails, and so in that sense his choice of many featureless, empty stone corridors filled with the wandering damned to depict a vision of Limbo makes some sort of sense. This is what we'll see several times in this last episode--even though Eschdoom is no longer depicting 'realistic' settings, he will continue to focus on creating representational depictions of infernal places/spaces as described in classical literature. Interesting that, purely in terms of texture scheme, this particular Hell episode also much more closely resembles the gothic/marble/blood/fire look of the original game's hell (with a lot of additional influence from E4, arguably) than the grungy/surreal/dilapidated hell-slum-in-a-giant-earthen-cavern look of Doom II.

Anyway, as I said, I didn't really care for the map much, because, devil's advocacy aside, it's really too much of a straightforward corridor-shooter for its own good given how understated the setting also happens to be, especially considering that this won't be the first time he takes this tack (spoilers, I know). It also features a lot of shooting at enemies in cages or otherwise unable to actually approach you, something I've never been a big fan of as a generality, and it seems like he's temporarily fallen back on a sort of makework oldschool practice of placing monsters based mainly on how much HP they have rather than for the actual attack abilities they possess, meaning many fights lack the individual identity that his normally thoughtful placement tends to betoken (Barons in particular are tossed around a mite too casually). Depending on the route you take and which secrets you find (if any), you can go quite a while without anything bigger than a chaingun, but even in the worst-case scenario this should only slow you down rather than actually halt your progress given the fairly generous ammo/item placement, so the map is balanced in that regard.

Most players will probably notice some of the 'Containment Area' references appearing here and there, but for my part I found the most interesting aspect of the level to be the secrets, which include another rocket-jump and more of those signature D2Reload 'excessive' rewards. I could not for the unlife of me figure out how to get that first SSG which taunts you from between the two blue torches early on, though....I just know it must have something to do with one of the small oven-alcoves with hanging bodies or whatnot found all throughout the initial corridors, but the solution has thus far eluded me. Oh yeah, and who else thought that lionface carving near the blue skull was some kind of secret? It's not, it's nothing in fact, but it sure is a red herring if I've ever seen one.

[Magnusblitz]

Demon of the Well said:

I could not for the unlife of me figure out how to get that first SSG which taunts you from between the two blue torches early on, though....I just know it must have something to do with one of the small oven-alcoves with hanging bodies or whatnot found all throughout the initial corridors, but the solution has thus far eluded me. Oh yeah, and who else thought that lionface carving near the blue skull was some kind of secret? It's not, it's nothing in fact, but it sure is a red herring if I've ever seen one.

Spoiler

There's a shootable switch inside the oven-alcove right next to the doorway to the SSG, but it only opens when you walk over a tripwire further down the hall.

Discovered it completely by happenstance when I was returning and saw it.

I agree with you about the marble lionface carving - was thinking it had to be a secret.

[Havoc Crow]

MAP21: Limbo

Welcome to Hell. Please don't enjoy your stay, that would defeat the entire point.

A mean level, though by no means an unfair one; the only tricky trap is the pair of mancubuses near the blue key, which can very well catch you unawares and kill you in seconds. The overabundance of chaingunners gets a little annoying, and the throne room is populated a little strangely (one monster from every species... this looks like something a beginner mapper with no other ideas would come up with), but other than that the fights are well-designed and fun. The level is nonlinear and open, which makes for interesting gameplay, as you can e.g. awaken monsters in one part and escape to the other, killing the baddies on your way back.

Two areas most memorable visually are the spiral staircase (look especially striking on the automap) and the hole in the wall overlooking the giant lava pit adjacent to the yellow key throne room. The final battle is a bit disappointing, as there's no real threat from the monsters, even the arch-vile at the end is just an afterthought. Still, this was definitely one of the good levels.

[cannonball]

Map20 - “Revelations”
I can appreciate the scale this map holds, though from a gameplay perspective it really doesn't hold up to well. That said like all the maps in this episode, this represents the final step along a journey through the city which to be fair is probably as realistic as you are going to get, whilst the set doesn't have the Sandy sand box maps that Doom 2 contains, there is a better sense of narrative running through the maps (that is before you look through the textfile).
Overall, this map isn't that good to play as the open areas are too easy to simply skip or allow the monsters to do your work for you.

Map21 - “Limbo”
Well it is non-linear which I guess is a plus, this isn't too hard. The visuals are clean and have a good hellish vibe, though in reality this is quite similar in structure to the tech-bases we saw before. I was rather underwhelmed by the final battle though.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP21: Limbo

And so we're in Hell now. Good times!

I can't complain about the atmosphere here, with red stone corridors, twisted cages full of the dead and the damned, and stark lighting contrasts everywhere; I concur with Demon of the Well's assessment of this as a very 'classical' take on Hell as seen in much of E3 and E4, and I look forward to seeing what this WAD can do within that aesthetic.

In terms of gameplay... well, it's on the 'bitty' side, with individual architectural elements and set-piece encounters not necessarily hanging together all that well into a coherent whole. The nods to E2M2 in the northern and southern spokes of the hub are quite apparent. There are a couple of parts of the map that requite a quick glance at the automap to fully appreciate: the geometric precision of the double spiral corridor in the eastern spoke, for example, or the dense knot of corridors in the northern spoke, between the central square and the blue doors, which is done almost entirely with height differentials between adjacent sectors rather than one-sided linedef walls.

[SyntherAugustus]

Catching up! Slowly...

Level 16

I wanted to use the secret ammo for the video, but after the first run I realized the level wasn't very challenging. The only time the secret ammo was usable was during the revenant ambush that I struggled a bit during this video. The Cybie fight was a bit easy. Too bad the BFG could only be picked up afterwards unless the player rushes in the room. Good music choice. I enjoyed the fact that the secrets were not obnoxious.

[dobu gabu maru]

Hey guys, I'm popping in to instate a new club rule—suggestions/voting for next month's megawad will officially take place on the 25th. That way no one has to feel obligated to start the discussion, and people not participating during the current month can know when voting is being held, rather than checking the thread incessantly. You can still vote on stuff after that date, but the 25th is when it starts.

[scifista42]

Make sure to write it into the thread title at least on the day when it happens. :)

[mouldy]

Map21 - “Limbo”

Straight into a hell castle. With this wad I'd have expected more of a setting of the scene, but anyway. Its a very neat and tidy kind of a hell castle, with little in the way of fuss and embellishment, form follows function all the way. I do like the double spiral stairs though. I can't remember much about the gameplay other than spending a great deal of time on really low health for some reason. And then right at the end with everything dead I found the secret room with soulsphere and blue armour. Never mind. Not a bad map, bit plain for our introduction to hell maybe, guess it suits the name of the map.

[Capellan]

map22
Like the last level, this map looks solid, but for my tastes has slightly static, uninspiring gameplay. I think both Hell maps so far have felt a bit too regular and base-like.

On the other hand, I do give this map props for the interweaving of various areas so that you can loop back and forth pretty quickly once you’ve opened everything up. That’s a nice touch that I wish had enjoyed a more prominent role earlier in its progression.

[scifista42]

Map21 - “Limbo”

This map largely relied on the impact of change in theme, as the gameplay was mostly straightforward and/or simplistic and/or symmetrical, layout was also simple and consisted of many uniform corridors. On the other hand, the map was still stylish and impressive looking in its simplicity. Multiple subtle custom textures were introduced here, I bet that many people haven't even noticed them. I've also noticed references to D1 and D2 IWAD maps (MAP09-like lift setup, E2M2-like switch-opened rooms), but actually subtle, not too bad ripoffs - and they were spiced up with all new texturing and aesthetical style, anyway. The map actually reminded me of Doom's E1M6 and E1M7, just with hellish aesthetics and D2 monsters - I've recently had an idea for a Romero-E1-style inspired hellish mapset, and this map more than close enough to that idea to satisfy me. I've played this map from pistol start, but exited with all weapons in my arsenal - anyway, I'm going to finish the megawad playing continuously. I've got 3/4 secrets, I couldn't get to the SSG one behind a lava pit near the start. To sum up, this map could have been better, but I liked it anyway.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP22 River Styx

more names that already have been used in IWADs. for this, the predominant color switches from red to green, although there's still a few red bits. the layout is a bit more nonlinear without the three-key hubness, which makes it more fun IMO.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 22 -- River Styx - 100% Kills / 75% Secrets
Broadly similar to map 21 in terms of architectural style (lots of clean, fine-grain orthogonal sectors in a fairly complex interlock), but I think this one plays better. It's probably partially a function of a more 3D element at work (quite a lot of the level is built like the complex pre-blue skull guardhouse thing in map 21) and also a more pronounced element of visual interconnectivity between areas, which in combination with the fairly modest scale that Eschdoom usually likes to use make for a chaotic area where you are almost always in somebody's gunsights, likely somebody ready to broadside you from a different elevation while you dance with the devil in front of you. In a more abstract sense, that's what really makes the level a lot more fun for me than the previous one was: it's just a lot harder to maintain control of the situation, at least from pistol-start. The initial scramble for arms and ammo can get quite frantic in this one, since the shotgun and handful of shells you're presented with at the outset (complete with nasty hitscan crossfire ambush, incidentally) is simply not enough to allow you to methodically plod your way along until you get to something better, and so at some point you're probably going to have to take a significant risk and plunge into hostile territory to grab munitions from under the enemies' noses, which with this more open and sound-flood-friendly layout can snowball into something rather harrowing rather quickly. The BFG secret was a literal lifesaver for me in this case (more because of the health and staple ammo it contains than the BFG itself, actually), I had nothing but a couple of rockets, a handful of bullets, and something like 15% health when I stumbled into there, with scads of angry hellspawn hot on my tail. Fun!

As aforesaid, in terms of basic construction style this is pretty similar to map 21, although as has been mentioned the predominate material here is green marble (with some wood and metal trim) as opposed to the crimson masonry, but the main thing distinguishing the two in terms of scenery is that much of this one takes place under an open sky. The river itself doesn't feature as prominently as one might think; the risk of plummeting into the stream of brimstone is usually pretty minimal, there is almost never a situation where it's tactically useful to voluntarily take the plunge, and proper platforming stuff is all but nonexistent. To be frank the setting tends to come off more as a crumbling marble bastion in a static fire-lake for how well the 'river' setting is communicated (there is very little in the way of views to areas outside of the actual playspace), and in that sense I'd say that map 21 does a better job of communicating its setting despite being similarly understated aesthetically (plus I prefer its more shadowy aspect to the open-air 'daylight' look here), but for all that I'd still take this map over 21 any day, simply because it's a lot more nuanced and unpredictable from a combat perspective.

[SyntherAugustus]

Level 17

Catching up again!

-It's level 17 and the SSG is still being hidden. At least the player gets to it quickly out in the open near the RL. The problem with this one is that it's the closest not pistol weapon. I tried to get some other gun that wasn't this one at first but it didn't go so well. Big negative for me.
-The RL is easily missable if the player doesn't go northwest before going outside.
-I made a point to hold as much cell ammo as possible, get the green sphere and haul ass to the cybers to kill them. Otherwise the green sphere placement is really odd.
-Music choice didn't quite work here. The Blood music suggests a creepy atmosphere. Here we get a Downtown remake.

I'd like to do two videos tomorrow, but MAP18 is probably going to be tricky based off of the others' descriptions.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP22: River Styx
100% kills, 4/4 secrets

As theme goes, I figured to get... well, an actual river, and while there's hints here and there (especially at the end) that the castle is built on a river of lava, for the most part it's just fighting in the castle interior with a few self-contained lava pools. Boo.

That said, though, I like this layout, nicely interconnected with multiple angles for the enemies to attack. Combined with a pistol start, this creates a very difficult starting situation - lots of hitscanners on ledges and limited ammo prove difficult, especially when that goddamn sergeant in the hallway kept opening the door behind him to let a caco and lost souls join the party, fucking jerk. After the initial foray and finding an SSG, though, it becomes much easier going.

[Havoc Crow]

MAP22: River Styx

Another great, fun map. You're exploring a hellish complex with a lot of hidden passages and interconnections. There are a couple of side areas to visit if you want to claim the more powerful weapons, but they're all guarded. The visuals are simple, but very nice, especially the four-leaf ceiling motif in the rocket launcher room. The opposition seems a bit too thin and too easy to defeat, especially with the generous secrets, but that might be my continuous-play ways speaking.

Still, I was surprised that there was no river motif in the level, despite the name.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP22: River Styx

Classical hell continues with another E3/E4-feeling map that, despite its strong thematic consistency, manages to feel wonderfully chaotic and disorienting with its sharp turns and unpredictable interconnections that let monsters roam (and shoot) freely. Most of the action takes place in pretty close quarters and there are enough hitscanners that your day can quickly be ruined if you fail to spot that chaingunner lurking below you or in a gloomy alcove across the hall. In stark contrast to the single-solution concept levels of MAP09 and MAP18, gameplay here is very free-flowing and organic; most rooms can quite reasonably be approached along two or more different paths, some of which of yield the advantage to the monsters and others of which retain it for the player.

The actualy name/theme of the level isn't apparent until the very end, where a boat waits to bear the player away down a river of lava to the next level. If the level has a weakness in its atmosphere it's that it has a lot of ostensibly outdoor areas that really don't feel that way - instead they come across more as corridors that happen to have sky for a ceiling.

[cannonball]

Map22 - “River Styx”
Layout wise this map is a lot better, plenty to explore with much more interconnectivity compared to the previous map. It was also quite tough to pistol start so I actually ended up with a lot of deaths here.
Overall this was a good map,though one critique will be that again this map doesn't step to far away from the design principles of the earlier tech maps.

[SyntherAugustus]

Level 18

Ok, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

First off, the music. This music is the kind of music that tucks you in at night to help you sleep (the rainfall and beach noises plus the slow acoustic strumming is an indicator!). It would have been far better if that Blood music from the previous map was here instead, as it would have matched the Arch-Vile ambush if you messed up.

It sucks that by design, the fist makes noise when you use it. After about 20 minutes of figuring out the "route", this level turns out to be pretty easy. In as little as 3 minutes, you can aggro half the map towards the blue key and still get away with it (this recording doesn't show that so much, but in the first recording I didn't upload I aggroed a bunch of archviles!). That being said, after the 3 minutes of playing stealth, you can do what you normally do, RIP AND TEAR.

The secrets were easy this time around, and the author was generous to give you a BFG with 600+ cells after figuring out the puzzle. There's a bunch of health everywhere too, so this is probably the most forgiving map I've played so far.

Edit: Oh and if you bring a gore mod to this level (Droplets used here, which is a big lagger on its own), be prepared for a 30 second lag spike when you crush the AVs off screen.

[VGA]

Finished it early, one of the best megawads I've played.

I didn't have the fortitude for map30, if someone posts a successful attempt I'd be greateful, I'd like to lay back on my android tablet and watch it :-D

[Capellan]

map23
Another hell fortress, though a bit more inventive with the locations and architecture this time. I liked the ‘cross’ headstones, though the ‘no thickness’ standard headstones looked pretty bad IMO. Would have been smarter to set them inside alcoves so the player couldn’t see that they were ‘wafer thin’ (as Monty Python might say).

I thought the dark loop with the demons being released after you flicked the switch was a bit humdrum as an encounter, and one or two others were similarly dull (the caged archvile for instance), but other parts were a bit better. The monsters released elsewhere when you released the demons were good for instance, since a few of them became wandering threats, and I liked the cacos in the cemetery (should have been more of them, though).

Overall the level felt a little short to me.

Secrets: didn’t find the cyberdemon one, which doesn’t upset me at all. Have no idea how you’re supposed to get to the one behind the chaingunner alcove near the start.

[SyntherAugustus]

Level 19

-Early SSG secret?...check!
-Secret that you can accidentally remove any chance of getting to without a warning?....check!
-Midi with much doodily doodily doo?...check!

All systems go!

It's a shame that these kinds of secrets are an ongoing trend. At least it was a moderately strong level as a whole despite the tedious shotgunning early in the level hadn't the player known about the SSG secret.

Oh and

http://imgur.com/uNHok6G

Was this supposed to be a museum exhibit? I had a chuckle looking at a terminal encased in holographic glass.

[mouldy]

Map22 - “River Styx”

Another very square hell castle. That pistol start is quite tricky, having to do a lot with very little. The layout is so well connected that you can die as much as you like and always pick a different route, which is nice. Once I got some beefy weapons there wasn't much to stand in my way, and a couple of secrets left me hilariously overpowered as usual. Its a cool map, but feels a bit utilitarian in its sparse detail and square angles. Far too neat and tidy for hell.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP23 Elysian Plains

the surprising lack of enemies make for one hybrid action-adventure-style map. it's not really too difficult, although the caged archie feels like he's in a rough position. very standard stuff. the optional cybie fight looked cool with the barrels, but I don't think they impact the cyber because blast damage usually doesn't apply to him. also, the end bars can be a stumper, as it's not always obvious that you can directly open them.

Capellan, I think that one secret near the start is much like the one from MAP14 where you have to get one of the guys to open the door from the other side, although here it's much less obvious.

[Capellan]

Getsu Fune said:

Capellan, I think that one secret near the start is much like the one from MAP14 where you have to get one of the guys to open the door from the other side, although here it's much less obvious.

There don't appear to be any monsters in there except on UV, and I didn't see any access point openable by a monster that the player could actually reach. But I may have missed something.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP23: Elysian Plains
98% kills, 1/4 secrets

Not a fan of this one. Again, the title doesn't really fit - there's some graves which I suppose is a connection to Elysium as an afterlife, but nothing beyond that - just another castle, this one with a crypt/graveyard. Definitely no plains.

There's another layout that's a bit non-obvious, which is nice, but it's still a lot of small, cramped hallways. Combine that with the lack of weapons/ammo on pistol start and its pretty tough going - I ended up leaving a lot of barons in the dust for most of the map just because I didn't have the ammo to deal with them. The most aggravating one was the small sewer section - the baron by the switch has two barrels behind him, but the baron is placed in front of the barrels in such a way that it's impossible to shoot the barrels because the baron blocks them. And when you return it's a caco, hell knight and baron blocking the top of the stairs with no way out. There's also a few other things like a Pain Elemental which can't fire Lost Souls and the bars at the end which don't seem like they would open.

[yakfak]

that wasn't my experience with Map23, haha... from UV pistol start you have to dash past a lot of enemies to find weapons and armor and they all filter back to you at the most annoying of times!

[Sui Generis]

I have fallen behind once again. I'll try and get caught up this week. Sorry to all for cluttering the thread with delayed comments.

Map17 - “Downtown”
A big map with a tech-ish initial portion (and a less exciting kind of car park) followed by the excellent city area. The latter parts with their big open fights make this map. The two Cybs were a nice surprise and a fun addition to the arena. I'd criticise the progression in that the little barred alley opened by the switch in the holding bay that the two cybs were in and that leads to the yellow switch, is very small and easy to miss. I personally didn't, but I could easily see the effects of that switch throw becoming an unpleasant switch hunt. There are plenty of snipers that tend to discourage too carefree gameplay however. The PEs and Cacos were well-placed and were triggered at a good time, however there could perhaps do with being something in the reception of the research facility to discourage camping there. I found all the secrets here - the light-amp earlier in the map was thoughtful, though it did show up the car park as ugly.

Map18 - “Warehouse Siege”
I really quite liked this concept map. It's unusual for pacifist play to be deliberately worked in to to the design of a level as thoroughly as with this one. I appreciate that it emphasises a different skillset to normal, namely monster dodging/dancing and spatial awareness. I found it potentially quite easy to get caught between monsters in some of the earlier sections, particularly if a wrong turn was taken with a previously alert monster not far on my tail. The difficulty is very much influenced by the monster diversity. Never was I quite so pleased to see a manc, or the two (otherwise pointless) barons atop of the crate. I found myself dancing with the revs until they received hits from baron plasma, solely so as to keep them penned up around the crate. The archie pit worked for me and the demon closet was a very neat idea, although it was a bit tedious having to herd all or most of them in there though. (Kind of ironic to have to do a monster closet in reverse I suppose though).

I think I'd criticise this level for the archie/revvie corridor with raising lowering lifts early on in the map. Without foreknowledge, I think it's natural to wonder or assume there might be something in what turn out to essentially be monster closets, but there isn't and you just have to run past them. If you don't know this and wait just like I did, then you get swamped with archies and revvies that you can't kill (yet) and that you don't really have the space to house back in the earlier portion of the warehouse either. (looking at DotW's comment, I see there is an intended solution, but as others note it can simply be run past as I did. So given how natural it would be for a doomer to do this, I think it's arguably a broken gameplay mechanic here). I found only 75% of the secrets this time (though initially I thought I would find none!) much of it comes from crate climbing. I will single out the soulsphere/megaarmour atop the crate stack in the middle room for praise, as it requires that you crate climb in the opposite direction to the secret. Very well done. Overall I think the concept behind this map was far better executed than map09, and I appreciated it's puzzle-y gameplay. I can definitely respect the sentiment that it would fit better into a wad of pacifist levels or as a secret map, in the same spirit as cyberdreams.

I would finally add in acknowledgement of DotW's comment on the marine corpses marking monsters in the crate room, that after nearly two decades of seeing marine corpses being placed essentially randomly, or occasionally to mark a trap, that it is far from natural in my mind to assume this. Perhaps it could be argued that I ought to have formed conclusions and drawn the dots from the first time I bumped into a monster there, but after so many wads where this doesn't happen my mind is switched off to this possibility and I don't recall it being used prominently in the rest of the megawad either.

Map19 - “Void Complex”
I mostly agree with what Capellan said about this map, although I'm rather less accepting of all the corridors. For me a big part of what makes Doom levels is having a series of complex 3D spaces and the way they affect the gameplay and other parts of the level. Whereas here, other than final exit fight room, quite frankly there aren't any. The corridors are tastefully textured, but they are still corridors and these are architecturally barren. Gameplay is similarly affected with the majority of enemies being in front of you or hidden round corners, though there are several decent traps that deserve attention. The chaingunner teleport in near the blue key is perfectly combined with the baron to make the safe spot uncomfortable. The teleporting archie near the berserk was a good surprise and the way I played had access to a bunch of corpses I just wasted, although if you don't go near the berserk it might never be released. The mastermind in the distance combined with the manc is also pretty well-designed too, with a good combination of harassment and from the baron and cacos and pinning from the manc and mastermind. (It was a pain to kill that mastermind afterwards) I didn't have any problems with shooting down into the exit depression fight, though I agree shooting down with mouselook off as per classic settings is difficult.

Apparently I sealed off the soulsphere secret by pressing a switch I wasn't supposed to press, thus limiting myself to 75%. I cannot see how I'd know which switch to press or that one switch shouldn't be pressed without foreknowledge though. Overall I'm a bit underwhelmed by this map, particularly in the earlier parts, but feel it picks up more later and towards the end.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 23 -- Elysian Plains - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets
This one I remembered better, both for some of its visuals (okay, mainly the dimly backlit outdoor cemetery with odd miniature segment of the Segovian Aqueduct or something in the background) and for its gameplay/supply balance featuring a quite pronounced austerity aspect. Oh yeah, and there's the hidden E3M9 tribute, complete with pyrotechnic intro, as well.

In terms of architecture, layout, and texture selection, this is really quite similar to the previous two maps, with a tightly-knit network of green marble hallways and modestly-sized rooms predominating; the sense of being 'enclosed' is just as pronounced as in those maps (if not moreso, since the style of thing placement here tends to emphasize monsters' functions as obstacles/obstructions in small spaces), with only the hidden arena and a part of the cemetery fielding much running room, and so in that sense the word 'Plains' in the nomenclature isn't very apt. That aside, though, I think this is a pretty good-looking level, albeit in that very understated way that characterizes this mapset. I imagine part of my favorable impression stems from the tomb/sepulchre setting that the deeper reaches of the map establish--coffins in alcoves, an unholy font, cobwebbed peepholes, things like that--as "crypt/necropolis" is a personal favorite setting of mine. That aside, it's the small things, really--the view of the fortress from the previous map in the distance at the start, the first really clear look at the custom sky in the dusky cemetery, the broadstroke directional lighting in the deepest crypts, things like that. The subtle arched midtex also comes into its own here, as it tends to be used in clusters to add accent to particular passages or areas (looks particularly nice in the elevated backdrop to the E3M9 arena), rather than dotted haphazardly around as simple dressing to otherwise unremarkable scenes.

As aforesaid, on UV skill from a pistol-start, the main theme of the gameplay in this level is resource austerity--even getting the obligatory placed shotgun is highly impractical given the big clot of monsters in the way (Eschdoom must've realized this and had a pang of conscience, hence the fifth-wheel shotgun sergeant that most players will probably get it from instead). There is not much nuance in terms of fight setups; placement is very direct and what traps there are are generally pretty obvious, it's more a question of how well you can manage the bestiary in tight spaces without being able to simply blast them away thoughtlessly or easily evade them indefinitely. Since I know this map, it's a bit difficult for me to judge, but I suspect that getting through this map without finding any secrets probably gets to be quite the chore...unlike the somewhat stylistically similar map 08 before it, which placed scads of opposition and little in the way of substantial armament on the main route in order to encourage players to think laterally and stray from the beaten path a bit, this one hides its secrets more conventionally (which, by this mapset's standards, means that some of them are rather tricky), and leaves you to more or less pull something out of your ass if you don't find at least one of them. Incidentally, if there is a way into the very first secret (which contains one of two rocket launchers in the level, the other being very cheekily placed right in front of the exit) other than having a zombie open it from the inside, I don't know what it is.