The DWmegawad Club plays: NOVA II

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP12: Hop 2 It

I must be having a senior moment here. Feels like I've taken a sharp left turn into episode 1 of Valiant, with the shaved-corners techbase that piles repeated waves of enemies into the same small pocket of real estate. Did I load the wrong WAD here?

All kidding aside, this is a short, sweet, and enjoyably frantic little romp that lets the player rebuild some of his arsenal after the rude ending to the previous map. The setting is recognisably an industrial/technological space but it really has no pretensions of being anything beyond an venue for pure arcade-style gameplay, with monsters teleporting in or emerging from hiding as demanded to keep the pace of play high. The floor arrows are another arcade-style, gameplay-over-immersion design decision - doesn't bother me since that's entirely the aesthetic the level is going for, if the upbeat, peppy music didn't give it away.

I can't normally stomach this style of gameplay in anything but small doses, especially if the intensity of it is set any higher than this, but as an episode-opening palate cleanser it's just perfect, and I definitely enjoyed myself here.

[scifista42]

MAP11 - "A Plague o' Both Your Shotguns" by Jmickle66666666

Better than MAP10. I like how the atmosphere is underlined by an unusually distinct melodic music, instead of an unusually non-distinct non-melodic music like in maps 08-10. This map was fun to explore, I liked the presence of optional areas. Minimalistic detail and general overscale didn't really harm it. Still, way too many battles were "front side" battles only, therefore camp-able and not particularly exciting. Misaligned textures were relatively frequent, on marble bricks and other. And the ending lacked climax, there was just a random horde spam on plain ground. I've found the map to be nice overall, but not so great in gameplay, although not bad either.

My preference of NOVA 2 maps I've played so far would look like this, from my favorites to least favorites:

MAP01 - MAP08 - MAP02 - MAP05 - MAP06 - MAP09 - MAP07 - MAP11 - (MAP03, MAP04 and MAP10 equally)

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP12 Hop 2 It 3/5

A scrambler-style map that warrants preknowledge if you want to perfectly play it. although short, it was annoying, especially with the switch presses. this map really isn't fun the second time playing it. at least the SSG is in a correct place and not behind a rather-difficult-to-obtain secret. maybe it works for an episode starter, since it's very small, but I've never been a fan of this kind of episode starter, it sort of hints that later levels will be just like this one only harder. maybe that kind of tension is cool for some people, but it pulls my cold iced tea a bit too much for my grasping.

[Veinen]

Demos, maps 10 to 12.

Map10: Canyon Halls by KevinHEZ and Impboy4

I think I enjoyed this more than I should have, judging by others' comments here. I recognize the flaws (super corridorific nature, straightforward combat) but I dunno, it's really quite good looking and gameplay felt fittingly laidback to me. Stylistically the hell section clashes a bit with the traditional tech-base style of the rest of the map and while there are maybe some small hints of this kind of twilight zone between hell and tech-base, the change is still pretty abrupt. Combat is very straightforward as I mentioned and quite easy as well. SSG is given early on and opposition is small fry with a few medium HP monsters sprinkled here and there so the pace can be relatively fast. In theory I like the AV that spawns in the bowels of the base once the BK is picked (or whatever triggers the spawn in that section) but he and the things he resurrects are not very dangerous at all in this environment. Worst case scenario pretty much is that you spend too much ammo taking them out and run out later. A couple more rockets would indeed be good for the doorway fight just to speed it up. The fight is pretty dumb and non-challenging anyway... After the blue door comes the highlight of the map gameplay wise as you can create some chaos by skipping stuff and just letting more shit join the fun before joining yourself. Would be even more fun if the Archie wasn't deaf though so you could lure him into the battle more easily.

Map11: A Plague o' Both Your Shotguns by jmickle66666666

Eeeehhhhh, can't say I'm a fan of this map. Very slow paced gameplay and visually it's pretty raw and amateurish. The silly abstract architecture doesn't really help and neither do the Plutonia textures that I personally don't like that much in general. The little slice of hell is obviously the most memorable part of the map for those who manage to find it; whether it's in a good way or a bad way is debatable. The Revenants in the area can fuck off and need to be taken care of immediately or their homing missiles will be haunting your nightmares forever. Playing aggressive there is risky because of the Cyber and I thought it wasn't worth the trouble. Playing slow, on the other hand, is shit so it's quite the dilemma. A respectable horde teleports into the starting area when you return from your quests but it's a pretty trivial fight if you have acquired the BFG. Even in my FDA I found the BFG secret so I never tried not having it when encountering the big horde. Played the map in cl9 so I could reach the exit but the death exit didn't work so I just died and was left to rot in darkness forever.

Map12: Hop 2 It by Breezeep

Cool map! Really low monster count but it's also super small and compact so gameplay is actually really intense. You can blaze through the map in light speed and release everything out into the open to take full advantage of the infighting opportunities. The only moment where you stay put for a while is the Mega-armor secret where you have to take on the few nobles by yourself, but it's 2 or even 3 against 1 so hardly boring. Visually it's not the most awe-inspiring map in the set but the style is appealing and stylish so there's nothing to complain. Great fun overall and the ever-important replayability for UV-maxes is definitely there. Luck definitely plays a role in getting a good time but for short maps it's acceptable. Already spent a little extra time with this demo, trying (unsuccesfully) to get the time under 1:30. One of the monster closets is broken in D3 in cl2 (fixed by Breezeep already though for later betas) so I had to play with cl9 again.

[scifista42]

MAP12 - "Hop 2 It" by Breezeep

Typical Breezeep-style small layout, well created and polished for a clean appearance and smooth gameplay. Low monster count, but of very varied monster types, which makes a perfect opportunity to instigate infighting. That's an important part of the map's fun, IMO, but it's relatively easily playable even without infighting. I knew that there must be a Berserk somewhere (due to seeing tough monster types in an opener-like map), but I didn't find it until all monsters were dead. All in all, well done little map. I could stand if it was more challenging, but I cannot imagine how to achieve it without increasing monster counts to the point of tediousness or placing them really annoyingly to be challenging - so, I just say that it's good.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP12: Hop 2 It
100% kills, 3/3 secrets

Organ Grinder makes a good point, this definitely feels similar to an E1 Valiant map in many respects, with the angled corners, small tight design, and music track (especially coming after more old-school designed levels). It plays extremely short and sweet, making for a nice breather map.

The main thing about this map is the design of the red key. It was presented much as the blue key was, and so I assumed (wrongly) it was a necessary part of the map rather than a secret. Originally I was going to write about how the progression to grab it was a wee bit obscure, and getting the blue armor at the end of the map was useless for continuous players, but then I realized... the switch in the middle lowers the bars, don't need the red key! Heh. So if I really was trying to find something to change about this map, it might be the design of the exit (making it more clear the red key was "secret" and the exit didn't need it) but that's about it. Oh, and I suppose the "teleport a monster behind the player" got a little repetitive after awhile, but that's a very minor complaint (and it helps liven up the gameplay).

[cannonball]

MAP10 - "Canyon Halls" by Impboy4 & KevinHEZ
A pretty dull corridor crawler for the most part, visuals are fine though there are better ways of achieving the corrupted techbase theme. The trouble is too much of the action is in one direction with a lot of ineffective monster placement. Ammo is balanced but the map needs some serious fleshing out to make it play better in my opinion.
Hopefully I will be able to catch up tomorrow.

[mouldy]

MAP12 - "Hop 2 It" by Breezeep

Cool little episode starter map, glad it got the pistol start. The few tweaks since the last version i played have improved it i think, not that I'm totally aware of what they are, apart from the red key secret which is quite ingenious now. I had fun getting stuff infighting, although the rev refusing to come out of his hut put a stop to that. Good stuff

[gaspe]

MAP13 - Monster Dash

Kills: 100% | Items: 100% | Secrets: 100%

Another map with a Plutonia feel. Layout is simple and it reuses some space. I think that the player should be locked in where it enters the semicircular west section, as escaping outside makes it really easy. The Mastermind fight wasn't good, I must say I wasted the invisibility by picking it up early when I still had to clear the other monsters. But still it isn't very interesting imo. Uninspired secret, maybe put just a simple and hidden alcove with some rockets.

[dobu gabu maru]

Just a heads up that Veinen found out that MAP18 is broken in -cl2 as well.

MAP12: Breezeep’s map is quick, hectic, and hella fun. You get plenty of chances to start some infighting and it has a nice progression to it, being tricky but not too taxing. Not much else to say other than it’s the perfect E2 opener; it gives you a taste of the brutality to come.

[scifista42]

I forgot to mention, MAP11's title on intermission screen was too wide to fit on the (non-wide)screen. There should be a newline inserted in the middle of the text.

[Urthar]

ZDOOM - HMP - Pistol Starts

MAP10 - Canyon Halls

The authors knows how to create a consistent texture scheme and have mastered micro detail, but need to work on the sort of big macro detailing that can give a level some archectural structure, and visual impact.

This level basically felt like a bunch of nicely crafted rooms and areas, rather than a place. It could work as a Hellbase I guess, with the addition of some Hellish elements, given it's slightly disjointed style.

Gameplay was ok. I was frequently provoked into moving onwards in search of resources, though a few of the Hell Knight encouters felt a little flat. Progression wise, I occassionally was at a loss, but never for very long.

And... then I stepped through the fake exit and discovered it was a Hellbase. The disjointed earlier section forshadows the surprise very well. Nicely done.

---

MAP11 - A Plague o' Both Your Shotguns



This is a horrible texture, it looks like a layer cake. Please never use it again.

While aesthically this map is pretty rough, it's layout and gameplay are really rather excellent. Every encounter seemed to have an idea behind it, monsters complemented each other well, there was some nice non linearity. Would happily play again.

---

MAP12 - Hop 2 It

A quick fun map, very much in the popular Scythe/Valiant style. It's a decent enough opener, but doesn't really make much of an impression. When you copy something this closely, you need something a bit extra to stand out.

---

MAP13 - Monster Dash



A great looking map, with some fine structural detailing. While it has the red to offset the brown, it could possibly use an additional tone to create further visual interest.

Gameplay wise, seems to work just fine. Probably my favorite map so far.

[Hells Kitchen]

Map 9 The Husk of What Once Was

By far the biggest map of the wad so far with the highest monster count, but gameplay was probably a less frantic overall than in Map 5. I rocketed the platoon of Zombiemen at the start, delicious gibbage ensued. The starting caverns featured some simple chaingun action before reaching the first outdoor arena. A couple of high-up chaingunners proved annoying trying to snipe them while dodging a flurry of Mancubus fireballs. I decided to run to the second larger arena while the riff raff in the first arena sort themselves out. This area is probably the hardest fight of the wad so far, simply because of the immense barrage of Arachnotron, Mancubus, Imp and Caco projectiles flying everywhere, one moment of complacency and you're gone. Makes for quite a sight! I decided to teleport in the Cyberdemon by getting the plasma gun and get some infighting going while legging it around the arena. Eventually, the Cyber had killed almost everything, after which a quick volley of plasma finished off the Cyber.

I returned to the fist arena and only a couple Mancubi and a Hell Knight were still alive. Back to the main arena I was looking for a way out for a quite a while until I stumbled upon the teleporter. Doh!

Went into the techbase section in quite good shape, about 160% odd health. Took a severe hit in the small room with the 3 Hell Knights and shotgunner, down to 50% in the blink of an eye! Fuck, out with the plasma gun. Lucky escape there. Most of the techbase section was pretty much standard doom gameplay mowing down zombies with the chaingun. The highlight was the Cacodemon room. This very nearly did me in, dodging what seemed like a dozen Cacos with 40% health in a very restricted movement area. Luckily only 4 remained when I ran out of plasma so could just SSG them easily. The next room needed some caution due to my poor shape, distant hitscanners, platoons of imps and Mancubi in the water below which I had to keep one eye on all the time.

The locker room was pretty cool and not something I've seen in Doom before. In the adjacent room with the several benches, one had a candle which I assumed would open a secret somewhere, but nothing seemed to happen. I enjoyed the utility ducts and the views to parts of the base. I did kill the 3 Archviles at the end and glad I did. Was a bit disappointed to find the teleporter take me back to the main arena, too much backtracking to the exit, but I took the opportunity to replenish supplies and came across the secret BFG. Sweet! Pretty good map with some good visuals in the outdoor sections and gameplay which is hectic in the outdoor arenas and leaves an impression of urgency that anything nasty could happen in the subsequent sections (and in two instances, did)! Those flicking walls and textures in the techbase section were annoying, looked like a glitch so could do without those.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP13: Monster Dash

Layout here is a hybrid of arena and classic hubspoke, all dressed out in a blood-drenched commingling of technological and Hellish aesthetics. At most times as the player progresses through the map there are plenty of hitscanners to keep the pressure on and encourage ducking around, darting from cover to cover. At about the halfway point a massive cacodemon swarm is unleashed for the player to deal with, but I found that it wasn't actually that threatening; the map's not really open enough for the cacoswarm to be put to use surrounding the player effectively. Other that, it seems a solid enough map; I'm not really wired for the kind of gameplay experience it's trying to provide so I can't comment more fully on how well it delivers that.

I'm neither here nor there on the question of whether or not the music fits, but if additional passes are being made on this level before the next release candidate, I'd suggest maybe adjusting the track so that it loops cleanly rather than fades and restarts.

[Budoka]

MAP13: Monster Dash by Eradrop

Neato, a first try UV Max. Honestly, as soon as I saw the title and author name, my first thought was "yummy, this map smells of blood!" And I was right, the map showcases a high monster density (very Doom 2), and numerous swarm moments (Cacos, hitscanners...). Actually, although the blur sphere and Archvile fights were good, the best fight by far was the one with the spectres/Mancubi/Revenants down the trench. Specters in general were are used excellently throughout this map. The Spiderdemon fight worked well too, an enemy that remains dangerous even with ample cover. I like the half-fortress half-base look, it reminds me of Capellan's CC4 map.

I have to say, this map may dethrone MAP11 in my heart just for the sheer fun factor, even though it's actually very easy.

[Hells Kitchen]

Damnit, was just playing through Map 10, made good progress and all, only to freaking blow myself up with the rocket launcher at the red key trying to aim at the revenant. Fuck.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP13 Monster Dash 4/5

Says so right on the tin. a monster dash with the proper waves of enemies and the proper stocking of weapons. one of my favorite maps. hardest part for me was the caco/PE combo.

[scifista42]

MAP13 - “Monster Dash” by Eradrop

Good map. It doesn't matter how many monsters there are, or how dense their placement is - they're placed efficiently and fun to fight (although the map wasn't actually so much hard). Visuals were also very nice, with tolerable usage of symmetry. Layout was simple, but served its purpose more than well enough - and its scale was perfect. I've enjoyed playing the map.

[obake]

Hop 2 It by Breezeep
Played on HNTR, HMP, and UV, 100% kills and secrets for each. Average time was 9 minutes, death count was 5.

An easy, fun little map. The reason I died so many times was mainly trying to get the secret associated with the blue key pillar while monsters were still roaming around. Needless to say, I should have gotten rid of them first, to make things easier.

Battles aren't really that tough, but they are varied enough that they work. I like that the map is set up so monsters of all kinds can roam up and down the stairs, including the Mancubuses. Getting the monsters to infight is a lot of fun.

I like the visual clues to the blue key pillar secret. When I finally saw them, it was an "aha!" moment.

Other than that, this map is very simple, short, and straightforward. Nothing necessarily special, though the music and new sky help give it a more energetic atmosphere than the last few maps.

[obake]

Map13 : Monster Dash by Eradrop
Played on HNTR, HMP, and UV, 100% kills and secrets on each, 100% on UV. Average time was around 11 minutes, 0 deaths.

Another short map, and a very good one. I like how the techbase theme is used here; the layout of the map is simple, yet the encounters are well set up, and can be quite troublesome. I barely escaped death before finishing the map on UV. The big encounter with the teleporting Archie at the end really threw me off guard, as I had not only the vile to worry about, but Chaingunners at the side.

I remember Eradrop's map from the 2013 Doomworld Megawad Project, and the detailed elements of his style remain here, except in a smaller dose.

This may be my favorite map thus far in the set.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP13: Monster Dash
100% kills, 1/1 secret

Another short map, but this one is a lot more packed with enemies and tougher. I died a lot at the start, whether it was getting sniped by the chaingunners from afar or surrounded by pinkies or just chipped away by all the enemies... makes the player feel really thankful when he finally comes across that green armor. Fights are well-tuned, there's clearly a lot of thought when it comes to enemy placement (such as teleporting in the Arch-Vile on top of the corpse pile that likely exists right outside the start room, which is the 'safe' spot to run for most of the map). I will say though that I found the final fight to be much weaker than the rest of the map; the Spider Mastermind is basically helpless in its cage and it's far too easy for the player to just pop out, fire an SSG salvo, retreat around the corner, repeat. The chaingunners which teleport in aren't much more threatening either. Felt like a misstep after the rest of the map.

Aesthetically, it's a very classic brown-and-red combo, with some use of marble green to break it up. There are a mix of hellish fortress textures and techbase textures that might appear a bit strange, but for the most part, it works (though I feel the COMPSPAN textures on the inside of the staircase-windows look weird up-close). All in all, very solid and good map, one of the best so far.

[Eradrop]

I found a bug in my map, but it's not significant. I guess no time to fix it ah?
well, never mind, I'm sure 99% of you didn't notice to that. :D

[dobu gabu maru]

Just a heads up that MAP15 and (especially) MAP32 are long maps, so make sure you have some extra time over the next few days.

MAP13: We go from a bloody and chaotic speed map to a bloodier and more chaotic mini-slaughter map. It can be quite a rude awakening if you’re not prepared for this type of gameplay as the traps are quite lethal and the red key battle in particular is ruthless if you’ve used up all the health available (like me—I think there should be a medikit or two in that pinky den with the invisibility). It’s not an especially pretty map but it plays great and has plenty of satisfying combat for how small it is.

[Jaxxoon R]

Hauzzitgoeenbrohsizmejaxxoornerranemgunna play a game behind schedule sorry.

[cannonball]

MAP11 - "A Plague o' Both Your Shotguns" by Jmickle66666666
There is some good stuff in here, the redrock section is pretty decent to play, but this is mixed with a load of rather poor stuff both visually and gameplay wise. It had potential when it was first released but it almost feels like nothing had been done since that release. Some work could be done on this one for sure to make it better.
MAP12 - "Hop 2 It" by Breezeep
Short and sweet map, no complaints from me on this one.

[mouldy]

MAP13 - “Monster Dash” by Eradrop

Interesting looking monster arena kind of a map. Things went fairly simply until the cacos arrived, and I decided to hunt for more rockets to fight them with. Next thing I know I have run away from another trap and have the red key, and now I have cacos and a whole bunch of other stuff running around. I lurked in the starting room funneling them all through the doorway and shredding them with SSG. An archvile arrived when I opened the red key doors, but he made his way down into the pit where he couldn't cause much trouble. Then the final battle, not much danger with a bit of pre-knowledge and a blur sphere. Its a decent enough map, the space and navigation lets you tackle it however you want, which in my case involved a lot of running away and camping. Fun stuff, I can't help thinking of ways to make the player suffer more though, like maybe having 2 archviles. And revenants instead of chaingunners in the final battle might be interesting.. but no its probably fine as it is.

[gaspe]

MAP14 - Purification Plant

Kills: 99% | Items: 96% | Secrets: 100%

This was a really nice one tech-base. Lots of windows or views that create a sense of interconnection between the various areas. Architecture is cool. My only complaint is that the predominance of brown in certain places is too much imo.

[SoundofDoomDoors]

Brief introduction: I've been playing Doom megawads for about a year and a half, but I've always had issues finishing them. Seeing this thread finally made me register here so I could post, and maybe hold myself to finishing more megawads.

MAP01 went by pretty quickly. The revenants helped me out with some infighting at the end. Kills: 100% Secrets: 33%. I wish I'd had the rocket launcher before I finished off all the monsters.

MAP02 gave me a great opportunity to kill half of the enemies at the very start with my chaingun, but I didn't take it. Unlike MAP01, I don't think this map had any stand-out moments. Having my guns may have something to do with it. Kills: 100% Secrets: 50%.


MAP03: Death by archvile. Twice. The author seemed to have a better understanding of player psychology than the last two did. The yellow key room has obvious monster closets, but they don't trigger when you pick the key up, like I expected. They open a few paces early. Also worth mentioning is the exit. It's usually ONE revenant or ONE vile. The author gave me the former, then spawned an extra skeleton behind me for good measure.

EDIT: More.

MAP04 felt empty. Cutting down on the vast open spaces in the outdoor areas would do a lot of good for it.

MAP05: Killed past the red key door and after picking up the yellow key. Favorite map so far, I just ran for it at the end! Good visuals, plays tight compared to the last one.

MAP06: Compact. That's the word. Reminded me of Scythe in terms of its scale.

MAP07: Pretty good, probably my second-favorite so far behind map05. My favorite part was being teleported into the second big area and having to run for my life in there. Also, it's not a dead simple knock-off!

[NuMetalManiak]

dobu gabu maru said:

Just a heads up that MAP15 and (especially) MAP32 are long maps, so make sure you have some extra time over the next few days.

from my last playtesting in the other thread, much of the 3rd episode is also very long, especially your collab map.

MAP14 Purification Plant 4/5

big, but not difficult. overall okay combat. the rocket launcher is great for the bigger enemies here since there's plenty of rockets lying about. cute puzzle for the blue key. that secret near the blue key was so frustrating because Doomguy's physics perform sorcery far more outdriven than anything I had even experienced (not the author's fault). for that matter, the blue key requires a hard sprint to actually get it, but that's easier than the backbreaking secret near it.

oh by the way, in the big area with the exit door, I shot the imp at the upper right cage with the chaingun and he fell forward THROUGH THE CAGE. that linedef should be impassable.

[Jaws In Space]

This was a short & sweet map from Breezeep. A bit tough, but pretty fun overall.

I didn't like this map very much, I don't think that it had a very good map layout. It was pretty much the main arena, with a few hallways surrounding it. The first appearance of the Spider Mastermind is a bit of a let down.

This was a pretty decent map, visuals were great, I really love metal textures. This was definitely the hardest level so far with quite a few tough encounters, the Arch-Viles were particularly devious.