The Apocalypse Part 4

[Wildman]

You can get it from my maps page or CDROM.

Rick

[Guest cocoon]

Rick, is your only goal to achieve the early doom pwad feeling with these?

You are doing real good with that actually and they are kind of giving me the retro-feeling. but do they have to be so room-hallway-room-ish? Try to avoid that in your next realease. And make some fights less cramped. Oh and on UV a few monsters are either stuck in the wall or in each other in the biggest room.. outside I think. The one with all cacos and barons.

And it felt like you paid more attention to ammo/healh in this one. I liked that. But you can still pick away a few ammoboxes ;)

[Wildman]

cocoon said:

Rick, is your only goal to achieve the early doom pwad feeling with these?

Yes, I am trying to get the feel of the the original episode one of Doom. I made this one cramped on purpose; I wanted to give that closed-in feel. I'll spread out the next one. :)

I'll check the large area. I thought I fixed all the monsters, but I guess I missed them. I'll look at it. Thanks for the input.

And you want less ammo? Can you give me an exmaple wad of your ideal placement? Thanks.

[Guest cocoon]

I could try and do that if you want... It might take some time though. In order to achieve the best results you'll have to test, test and test. That is the recipie :)

[Wildman]

I should have been more clear I think. :) I meant what wads have you played that had what you consider good placement. I would be interested in comparing them to my maps.

I do test my maps, quite a bit actually. However, everyone plays differently so its a guess at best. I personally think most new wads are unplayable for the average player, even on the medium skill settings. The point seems to be to cram as many mosnters in as room as you can and call that a good level. One highly acclaimed level had you spawn in a room with several barons and then a Archvile waltzes in. Each to his own I guess.

I have been aiming at making my levels a bit harder than the original id levels, but keep the ratios consistent with the id levels. I am not on (and don't want to be on) the extreme curve that many new wads are at today. I guess that is why I never seem to get any reviews done on my wads, except for Jani. However, the personal feedback I have gotten, both good and bad is much appreciated.

Boy, did I ramble on. :)

[stphrz]

Not enough people are making the kind of wads you are making with the Apocalypse series Rick. I agree with you on the extreme difficulty of the levels released nowadays. They are just too damned hard to be fun. It is far more enjoyable to be spooked or surprised by a group of monsters than it is to be killed by them in a "gotcha" type trap where you have to reload a saved game a dozen times before you finally survive it. Dying all the time sucks. So does running out of ammo and having to fight in almost pitch dark. Your instincts for monster placement and ammo distribution suit me just fine.

[ReX]

I completely agree with you on what a level should do (i.e., spook you and surprise you). Sometimes, however, it is fun to be in a situation where you're low on ammo or health and you have to overcome some obstacles to get some. Imagine being chased by a couple of revenants when all you have is a few bullets in your chaingun, scrambling to make it to safety through the next door before it closes, knowing that you'll have a few precious moments of respite to gather your wits! Classic thrills!

I suppose the key is to always provide the player with a way out, however slim. The better the player, the slimmer should be the way out. I'm still learning the ropes of optimal enemy, ammo, weapons, and powerup placement, and I think I still have plenty to learn. Maps like Apocalypse provide excellent opportunities to learn what works. Keep 'em coming, friends.