The DWmegawad Club plays: Eternal Doom

[Cacowad]

map 31, aka chasm of the needless switches: honestly, i need to replay this one, as i tryed to play it when i was really tired and just went in god mode after my third death. The caco trial was cool, i appreciate this kind of challenge from time to time. Also the sheer number of imps present in the first populated area is somewhat impressive since it did not felt slugghish for some reason. After all, as someone else said, it feel like a celebratory lap after the previous map.

map 16: nice looking map, especially on the end side. Not excedingly difficult nor long, but health was super tight, as i entered with 34% and exited with 33% and a remnat of a blue armor. I would love to say this was a bit low on puzzles, but after map31 i think a lot of maps would seems that way.

map17: The opening remember me of another map somehow, but i can't remember now. This is chaingunner city, wich is actually a nice change of pace, and had a couple of close calls due to that. Over all this is a nice linear map both aestetically and gameplay-wise. The megasphere secret will haunt me for a while, i love that kind of secrets.

And welp, i accidentally skipped the last cyberdemon while trying to bfg him to death, and bfged the barons instead, all those cells wasted.

map18: Since i was late enough, may as well post this one too. The opening triks you into thinking you are in a pit, just to reveal you are playing barrel'o'fun! not really, since there are no barrels here to have fun with.
For real, now apparently we are in another timegate techbase (as shown by the reused textures from map05). Most of the map is really cramped with little colums bording all the corridors that have no real purpose, if you exclude the bumpiness factor.
The map likes to teleport you around, like a lot, for no apparent reason, and trow at you tons of monster closets; to a point you really expect it after the third time in the same corridor, in every corridor. After pressing some switches and running around trying to return a couple of times in the blue door area, i apparently unlocked the exit.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP12: Darkdome

Having fallen behind in this month's WAD, there's not a lot of need for me to belabour the descriptions of structure and progression that others have already more than adeptly covered, so I'll just re-iterate that this is an absolute masterpiece of puzzle-based level design. It's devious, it's atmospheric, it's epic in scope, and the central puzzle of yellow switches does a wonderful job of setting out its component parts to pique the player's curiosity before raising the curtain on what's really going on and sending our hapless time-travelling marine to revisit the nooks and crannies of this gloomy baroque cathedral, all the while assailed by fresh waves of Hell-spawned monstrosities and shambling undead meat. It's the best kind of puzzle, one that makes you feel clever when you solve it rather than stupid when you don't or can't. Combat is more intense, and supplies more limited, than in most maps so far, though the concluding battle before the time portal feels like a disappointing gimmick that doesn't mesh well with the conventional but proficient helpings of bloodshed prior to that point. But overall I absolutely loved this one.

MAP13: Drop 'Em!

This intermission gleefully breaks the fourth wall after the thickly-layered atmosphere of the WAD to date. I followed the Burning Feet route. Not sure there's really a lot to be said about this otherwise.

MAP14: Pistol Only

Abstract, and taxing in a different way than what's come before; capriciously deprived of their accumulated resources, the player is thrust into a veritable Takeshi's Castle of disarticulated challenges. In some ways it's quite a breather after the lengthy, atmospheric intensity of MAP11 and MAP12. The map title taunts the player with the nature of their predicament, which makes it all the more satisfying when alternative weapons can be acquired.

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP32: Halls of Disarray
22:06 | 100% everything

Hunh. Didn't even remember this one, going in. Once I got into, though, it felt familiar. I don't really get the hate here. Yeah, it's not too exciting, but I kinda like it. That entire first stretch before the initial imp swarm is pretty ridiculous, sure, but otherwise things aren't too bad. Outside that first encounter, combat's never particularly interesting, and it's fairly linear, but still...I like it.


MAP16: Guardstation
24:33 | 100% everything

Odd name. Starts in a little chapel that opens up into, well, I guess there's a barracks there? Weird. Anyway, I didn't remember this map at all until the final aqueduct-y area. (Though the dual staircase with the revvies atop niggled at my memory.) I recall getting totally lost in that final section, but all it has is a relatively out-of-the-way switch. A fun filler map overall.

[antares031]

MAP18 - Stands
ZDoom, UV - Pistol Start, KIS(%): 100/100/100

This level has the opposite environment(A tech base), but shares the similar gameplay with the previous level. Once again, there are not much monsters to fight, and the progression is simple compare to the other complex levels. And I bet that by the time you hit this level, you're now adapted to the Eternal Doom's ambiguous texture placements. With less than a hundred monsters on UV, the way to balance the difficulty is abusing monster closets. Room by room, you'll be encountered by monster closets with shotgun guys, revenants, and other mid-high tier monsters including an arch-vile.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 17 -- The Crypt - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets
I reckon this is actually my favorite map by Westerteicher in the set, perhaps telling that it's not quite as abjectly gimmick-focused as many of his other maps. Instead, here we see more of a focus on setting and location (and this is also his most visually effective map in the set, to whit), and the gameplay, while definitely themed, is laid out more along traditional Doom lines, that being that the place is basically a house of traps.

Very short by Eternal Doom standards, the map fields only 88 monsters on UV (give or take a resurrection or two), but there is a very pronounced slant towards more advanced monsters, and Dia entertains himself by finding sundry ways to have them manage to pop up right next to you as often as possible. It's the sort of pacing that makes you sit up in your seat and pay attention, certainly, but when all's said and done the playing field is pretty even considering the ready availability of quality military ordinance, especially rockets, which seem to be the author's special favorite. Of the traps, the one I like most is the bucking teleport snare which sits in front of the combat armor vest, which ironically is probably more dangerous to an ever-rushing modern player than an old-fashioned slowballer, who will likely have cleared out many of the occupants of the walkway and the far side of chamber via safe sniping early on. Most other traps are pretty easy to see coming, but fortunately still manage to quicken the pace simply by virtue of tossing heavy hitters into some rather small combat spaces. I also liked the somewhat extensive megasphere secret, though as with many ED maps the relative commonality of powerups does make the reward seem a bit less tasty than it otherwise might. I did not care as much for the final cyberdemon fight, unfortunately; I don't at all mind the quaintly 90s notion that cyberdemons are best fought with a rocket launcher, nor does the patent uselessness of that blursphere down there bother me much (hard to tell if it being useless is precisely the point, or another quaint 90s-ism), but I must admit I'm disappointed the cyberdemon is stuck in the middle of the room, silly V-sphere sequence that this setup drives or no.

Aesthetically quite acceptable, and it almost seems to have been made by a different author in comparison to what Dia has shown us prior to this point, simply because the texturing here actually makes sense--it's like he finally designed a map from the ground up with the Eternal Doom resource pack in mind, which does the presentation a world of good. The representational approach to aesthetic here stands in stark contrast to the utilitarian abstractness of his other levels, and especially in comparison to something like maps 13 and 14, which seem to have been thrown together in great haste, making the level a bit of an oddball in that sense, as well.

Oh, and while it's undoubtedly kitschy as all hell, I do, in fact, like the music here, too.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP18 Stands

Rounding out the trifecta of short maps back-to-back is this sort of base ordeal. Very weirdly design, plus the first secret already nets me an invulnerability after I just creamed the end of the previous map. The hallways are oddly shaped, and are a minor hassle. There are a few computer terminal pressing bits too. Combat is pretty light.

[T-Rex]

Hey, what's up, people? Looks like, we've gone past the halfway point of Eternal Doom already. Now for the next few maps

Map16: Guardstation (Adam Landefeld)
100% kills, 100% items, 100% secrets
Time: 07:49

Well, this is a surprise. An Eternal map that is significantly shorter than even the earliest maps in the set. Of course, Pistol Only was also short, but to be fair, you had nothing but your pistol and fisticuffs. Anyway, this is your typical castle map. Has a pretty neat trick where just as you enter the hallway of what looks like a shrine, it opens up revealing the rest of the interior. The map is mostly straightforward, though you still have to search for visual clues in order to progress, like looking for a crack in a wall of one of the dungeon cells to find a switch that will open the fences in the north tunnel to the east of the map, and then finding a differently coloured stonewall in the north courtyard to find a teleporter which will lead to the blue key. Since I'm a Nintendo fan, I couldn't help but notice when using the automap the Triforce symbol in the area where you find the hidden teleporter. We must be in Hyrule! Joking aside, the effect of going down the spiral staircase beyond the blue door was delivered rather primitively. Before you can leave the map, you'll have to tackle one last area, a nicely done aqueduct where you'll have to do some switch hunting. Action is not too difficult, mostly lower-tier enemies with some mid-tier ones. Short, simple (for most part), and fun. On to the next map.

Map17: The Crypt (Dia Westerteicher)
100% kills, 100% items, 100% secrets
Time: 06:28

What is going on here? This is yet another short map, but it's even smaller in scale compared to the previous map and has a low monster count. Not to mention that it's much more straightforward too. But enough griping, it's a nicely done medieval themed map that takes place in well, a graveyard, hence the name, complete with a chapel and a cremation chamber. Unlike the rest of Dia's work, this is his only map where he doesn't use gimmicks at all. It's just straight out action and barely any puzzles to solve. It is visually nice, I like how there's diversity with the tombstones, the cremation chamber evokes such a dark atmosphere, and the chapel looks realistic. Once you grab the red key behind the altar, you can shoot the middle glass window to the east as it's not only a shortcut to the exit, but also a secret where you'll get the megasphere. The ending is a fight with a cyberdemon that you can easily dispose of, especially when you get the invulnerability, then a pain elemental, and then you have to blast your way through a bunch of barons. Not a bad level, but it's so short, especially for a mid-late Eternal map. Funny how there's two maps in the set that share the same name as Plutonia's Genesis and The Crypt. I don't mind the music here, much as it may be out of place.

Map18: Stands (Dave Brachman)
100% kills, 96% items, 100% secrets
Time: 07:23

Again another short map, but this time, just like with Monster Mansion, we're in a somewhat modern techbase setting, using some of the same computer panels that we've seen in Time Gate, even though they serve no real purpose there other than to make the map look high-tech. The layout of the map is tightly compact, similar to Tom Hall's maps, and it is mostly boxy, thought not to the same extent as Halls of Disarray. I find this map to be rather psychedelic considering the fact how there's a mixture of medieval and futuristic textures, not to mention that you are teleported around the map with no rhyme or reason. However, you'll have to watch out for the monster ambushes as this map has a good chunk of them hidden behind closets. Some get teleported to random locations in the map. Be especially careful when climbing up the spiral staircase as you have a chaingunner and some imps above firing at you. There's a bit of backtracking involved, but you barely notice it since it's not that painful or tedious, thanks to the architecture and the colourful texture selection. No cryptic puzzles as well, so that's something to be thankful for. The exit isn't hard to find either. So that's Stands. Like the previous two maps, it is short and sweet, a nice respite from those huge puzzlers.

Guess I'll leave it there for now. I already know what to expect from a Couleur map, so until tomorrow, take care and have fun.

[gaspe]

MAP18 - Stands

A cool short map, and it's really compact too if look at the automap. Personally I like the mixture of tech and medieval stuff, like the different ages start to fuse together.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP15: Celebration of Evil

The music and atmosphere in this map isn't precisely celebratory, instead piling on the gloom and menace in the best of Doom's traditions. Hazard-striped railings, cascading torrents of water, and elevated walkways that span its central chamber suggest an archaic factory setting of some kind, maybe a pre-Victorian pumping station? Initially the player, still vulnerable and hurting from the capriciousness of the preceding levels, is faced with the task of navigating the building's labyrinthine innards; later, the progression gives way to a succession of arenas. After the relative abstraction of MAP13 and MAP14 this is a return to thematic consistency for the WAD, though it doesn't flow as well nor display quite the level of ambition of some of the earlier maps.

MAP31: Monster Mansion

The size and intricacy of this map would border on annoying if not for the way that additional connections and shortcuts open up as you explore it; even so, there were a few parts of it that left me stumped for a while. As levels go, this one is quite liberal about showing you where you need to go (or where you will, eventually, somehow, be able to go), emphasising instead the question of how you get to the next area, the next objective. I think to some extent the map suffers for its disjointed use of real-world detail (the fortified security room, the TV which can be activated to show the path to a hidden switch) juxtaposed with mechanics that work only on a game-engine level in Doom (teleporters, walls that look solid but don't block movement); it tries to walk too narrow a line between "real place" and "game level," and ends up putting its foot in one and then the other which detracts from the overall feel. It seems like the sort of map that's as challenging to put together as it is to beat, so credit where credit's due, this is a nice piece of work indeed.

[dobu gabu maru]

MAP17: Hmmmm not a lot to say here either—it’s similar to the last map in that it has a defined theme going for it, but it’s not all that impressive or interesting to play. Adding the blur sphere to the cyber fight was a real nasty move but I don’t think authors really knew better back then.

I really think to accentuate these maps better, they should’ve been sandwiched between the longer journeys (MAP11/MAP12) to provide little breaks. I know different episodes of Eternal Doom were made at different times, but it still feels like long maps were placed a bit too close together in this set.

MAP18: This one had some nasty little traps in it! We return to the stone and techbase mashup, but it’s leagues more elegant than MAP02’s attempt, weaving nicely between the two when needed. The level also has some pretty good flow to it, funneling you from cramped room to cramped-er room until you grab the blue key and head back to the start. It’s not shy about being rude (where was all the health for the first half?!) but I think it's ultimately more memorable than the last two maps.

[punnyone]

Time for a bit of catching up -

Map 32 - Halls Of Disarray - 100% Kills/Secrets

I've always wondered in the past why this map was shuffled around to a different slot. The less-obvious reason is that otherwise, Eternal Doom 2 doesn't have any of its trademark large-scale maps until map 19, and adding the new maps 15 and 31 helped to eliminate this sluggish progression. The more obvious reason is that Halls Of Disarray is quite simply, the weakest non-gimick map in the set.

Now oddly enough, I've never really "Hated" this map, so to say. It's almost a bit relaxing, especially after the mind drain that map 31 can be. And just like the equally subpar map 14, the really cool music makes up for the visuals. However, the rest of the design is mostly corridor crawling, mono-textured rooms, and a progression so linear, it makes the shareware doom maps feel like Silures by comparison.

The monster battles are also quite trivial. The first many rooms of the level are totally free of monsters, giving the level an incomplete feel. Even the first battle against a frenzy of imps felt like a piece of cake.

Overall - An undeniably sub-par level in what is otherwise a pretty solid set. Either way, it's not totally unbearable and does have some minor charm to it.


Map 16 - Guardstation - 100% Kills/Secrets.

We are finally back to truly medieval-looking outposts with this rather short and setpiece-heavy map. The guardstation itself consists of several cool rooms such as a mini-chapel, a neat outdoor yard to the east, and an underground tomb complete with a spiral staircase. I also love how we gradually open up the areas to the west, which lead directly to the next level.

However, I always found that the separate aqueduct/storage area feels rather tacked on. The aqueduct section in particular can be frustrating to navigate due to all the pillars and barricades in the way.

There aren't too many complicated fights in this level, although there are many moments where walls will suddenly lower, potentially leaving the player little room to find cover.

Overall, an uncharacteristically short, easy, and relatively puzzle-free level that acts as a breather for things to come.


Map 17 - The Crypt - 98% Kills, 100% Secrets.

Guardstation part 2: Or at least that's what I'd consider it to be. The Crypt is even smaller than the previous level, to the point that it almost feels like an Icarus map. Another mostly realistic level, that absolutely matches its title. The best area is by far the cool looking chapel to the west. The secret passage behind the stained glass still looks impressive to this day. The crematorium where we get the blue key is also a standout encounter. Watching the enemies rise out of the coffins as you get the key has always stood out to me.

The combat is tougher than the last map, in particular some of the chaingunner-populated corridors. The final fight is not too challenging due to the two invulnerability spheres, but when one of them runs out, it becomes a hectic scramble to avoid the cyberdemon.

Overall, I actually like this level a bit more than Guardstation, it feels a bit more fun and there is more of a challenge to be had. I love the pun-titled music track too.

[antares031]

MAP19 - Warheros
ZDoom, UV - Pistol Start, KIS(%): 99/100/100

You know that I was really disappointed with MAP11, right? It was like a sweet chocolate cake with a rotten cockroach inside; beautiful overall level design with atrocious pathfinding thanks to the unacceptable cryptic key location. And thank god, the baker figured out how not to put a waste in his cake. This level is large and highly explorable with decent architectural detail for a vanilla doom. The layout is basically symmetrical, but some parts of level are different to the opposite side, giving some varieties to the map. So you'll have a slightly different experience, depending on the route you chose from the beginning; left or right. Monster placements are okay, and the author put some effort to design the monster teleportations and closets to repopulate the visited area. But the most important part of this level is that this level has an acceptable progression compare to the MAP11. Although this level is huge, I rarely got lost during the gameplay. And even if got lost, I found the way that I should go really soon. And yes, it still has cracked walls to shoot in order to beat the level. But maybe I was lucky, but I managed to find it while I was spamming bullets to the monsters. In conclusion, I'm so glad that I finally found a good chocolate cake from this baker.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP32: Halls of Disarray

After the diversion of Monster Mansion we're back into the familiar ochre and metal textures of Eternal Doom. This is a level that emphasises the local vertical; many of its rooms are (or at least feel) taller than they are wide, and are navigated by catwalks that hang close to the ceiling over precipitous drops into water, slime, or worse. Outside of a handful of ambushes the monster population is mostly sausage filler, thick gluts of imps choking the level's many narrow passages that connect one cavern to the next. Of note is the eerie, atmospheric start; you're quite a ways into the level before you meet your first monster, with a growing sense that one pistol shot is all it'll take to rouse Hell's attention and unleash its ire (this is in fact the case).

MAP16: Guardstation

The medieval theme continues here in this tight and intricate knot of hallways and torture chambers. The use of teleporters makes it all feel a bit disconnected, but the goal at least is clear right from the start: a heavy door bars your way, and to pass, you have to fight your way through this castle-like security checkpoint to unlock it. There are some delightfully anachronistic nodules of technology embedded in the baroque grandeur of the map's deepest reaches; they create a sense of subversion, of corruption, rather than seeming wholly out of place. It doesn't have quite as strong a flow as some of the other maps in the set, though; cause is often removed from effect in a way that would be irritating were the map any larger. As it is, its relatively compact size and ease of navigation means that you won't be roaming for long to figure out just what that switch did.

[Pirx]

i needed a new router, and didn't feel like bothering posting with the phone. at least one can play doom offline, unlike that steam nonsense.


MAP15 - “Celebration of Evil” by Adam Landefeld

large castle in the sky, with a wrong sense of scale, as it seems made for people the size of cybers, at least. mostly that big brown brick, with strain-like yellow/black rails for jarring contrast. plenty of shells, however, i didn't find a backpack, so i had to pick up some shell boxes for just of few shells missing. yeah that archvile setup was possibly the model for the one in sunlust, although much less evil. overall pretty simple fights. 2 cybs in the end, but in a huge room, so i just left them alone.


MAP31 - “Monster Mansion” by Jim Flynn

a surprisingly detailed "my house" type map, however this modern day mansion fits in eternal doom's story. ok it's indeed rewarding if you find its secrets, and there's many of them... but i hated its obtuse progression, and the music didn't help either. the glass windows are completely random. i ran around with only a shotgun, having not seen the ssg on the table, sniping mid / heavy monsters, until i stumbled upon the rocket launcher. so much the fights were ok, mostly a steady row of monsters placed in your way, but i don't know how many times i wondered where the hell i am and where i am going.


MAP32 - “Halls of Disarray” by Matt Bollier

consists mostly of long corridors with little details connecting large halls. and there's an imp ambush. plain, brown and wooden, without anything remarkable.


MAP16 - “Guardstation” by Adam Landefeld

resembles more a chapel to me, with a deep cellar and an inner courtyard with some wooden structures. mostly light enemies and the occasional baron, nice there's a berserk pack. in the end there's a modern elevator leading to a room of metal crates.

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP17: The Crypt
17:30 | 100% everything

Ah, I had mistakenly thought this was part of NDCP. I guess not! Not a bad little map. Funny how, after killing the cyber and seeing the invul, I was like, "Aw man, if I had only known!" and then of course the wall of nobles comes charging in. :D


MAP18: Stands
20:33 | 100% everything

Another short(ish) and sweet level. Probably the last of those, if I recall. This one's a little puzzle-y and a little trap-y (like the previous map.) Enjoyable all-around. The time portal destination map texture makes its reappearance (?) here—at least, I assume it showed up during Time Gate, but I must have missed it, or at least not paid proper attention to it. It would have been useful there, I suppose. Not sure what its purpose would be here, though.

[Crusader No Regret]

Map 31: The resource distribution is rather oppressive at first with limited access to health especially. Then the control room becomes available and resources are abundant. Things are still tricky when archviles warp into inconvenient spots. Progression can be maddeningly obtuse but feels rewarding to solve. Lots of interesting ideas on display here such as leaping from the diving board to access a key. Despite having maxed this before, got stuck on this replay because I forgot about a switch on the cliffs. The secret cellar is a bit aggravating due to height differences making it difficult to target monsters there.

Given that the mapset was made nearly 20 years ago, it dates itself given how TVs in some first world regions don't have control panels on the TV itself. Until reading this topic, I never realized the first TV was a teleport. It is for the better to not use it on UV since it dropped me right into the sights of an archvile.

[Ribbiks]

18: fda. Cute map. I died a couple times to stupid stuff because I'm secretly bad at this game. This "space-filling" style of mapping feels the most quintescentially 90s to me: Start with a rectangular boundary --> flood-fill the entire area of said rectangle with narrow corridors and various rooms.

A few neat bits in this map, I like how the BK access is conveyed. I also dig the debatably narrative-implying textures from map05 showing up again. The music was cool too.


19: fda. Didn't mind this one. Very spacious, waaay more than enough health and ammo to get by. Puzzles were minimal. Overall a very easy-going map. One of the problems with maps this size is that by the time I finish it and get around to writing these little snippets I forget the smaller bits and pieces of thoughts I had while playing. I wonder how dotw writes such detailed summaries, take notes while playing? Anyhow, random bits and pieces that I remember:
- the motif of passwalls for hiding monsters is interesting and rather oldschool, might use these a bit more.
- not sure what was going on with the cacos/PE in the exit room, I'm guessing they're on an invisible tall sector to make it look like they're coming from the sky? Cute, but kind of annoying when you factor in infinity tall and it's not quite clear where you're getting attacked from.
- I wonder if you can get stuck in those lift pits before you raise them?

First Bob Evans map coming up, I'll be setting aside a big chunk of time for that one..

[plums]

Haven't felt much like writing about ED but I really liked map 19, inescapable pits aside. 18 was OK, didn't like the way all those specialized Time Gate console textures just get used as decoration though.

Ribbiks said:

- I wonder if you can get stuck in those lift pits before you raise them?

You definitely can, as I unhappily discovered when I was playing, as well as some other places, such as in some slime pits if you jump a railing, at least you die there though :/

[Magnusblitz]

MAP18: Stands
100% kills, 2/2 secrets

Very old-school map, both in the texture usage (haphazardly changing from room to room) and as Ribbiks says, the layout, which very happily adheres to the Tom Hall style of "fill in a box with as much little tiny corridors and rooms as possible." The author does a decent job with gameplay though as most of the ambushes are set up in such a way to keep the player on his toes. Lots more use of the present-day UAC textures here, though like plums I didn't really like the use of the 'story' textures (the time portal description, the red lock, the 5 minute drain secret, etc) since they had meaning in MAP05 but here they're just used as window dressing.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP17: The Crypt

Relatively short, and about as direct as this WAD seems to get, this level consists of a small complex of tombs, chapels, graveyards, and the attendant facilities; the crematorium is a familiar setting, but it's nicely done, and the shambling corpses that rise from their coffins are a fun addition to the atmosphere there even if that particular trap will catch no-one by surprise. I think this map is at its best when it's building and exploiting its creepy atmosphere; when it breaks out the heavy combat, for example with the cyberdemon right at the end, it doesn't feel like it's playing to its established strengths.

MAP18: Stands

The compact nature of this map is especially apparent in its twisting corridors, full of structural braces, switch-operated doors, and hidden nooks and closest from which an ambush can spill at a moment's notice. The 'Stands' of the title form the level's start and its hub, bisected by a trickle of glowing green sludge, though relatively little action takes place here. We're dipping back into a technological environment of time travel experiments here, though the way screens and controls are strewn around in certain parts of the map suggets physical distortion, as though the machine has turned on itself, is devouring and regurgitating its component parts.

[T-Rex]

Okay, guys, now for me to pick up where I left off with Eternal Doom.

Map19: Warheros (Chris Couleur)
101% kills, 100% items, 100% secrets
Time: 24:43

Holy cow! This is an enormous castle map, and it's really breathtaking and fun as well. Much like Dawn of the Dead, it has a nonlinear layout, but you have to hunt down switches in order to be able to access the other sections of the map. Thankfully, there aren't any cryptic puzzles to solve, but you have to keep a sharp eye for any new areas that have opened up. You'll be doing a lot of running around and going up and down the castle as you progress, and monsters continuously spawn at various locations to keep the level interesting, which is already more than enough as the map is has a lot of grand architecture and incredible visuals that makes it hard for anyone to believe that this is possible to make for vanilla Doom. You have lots of ammo and health, so the map is not that difficult, unless you make a lot of mistakes, of course. Monster density is pretty reasonable as there's a lot of enemies, but the map is big enough and they're scattered everywhere that it doesn't feel so slaughterish. Cacodemons come in swarms, so be on your guard as they can fly pretty much anywhere and can sneak up on you as a result. The blue and red doors up the waterfall are next to each other, so you'll hardly find yourself trying to find them if you remember where they are. In fact a wall concealing the red door lowers once you hit the switch that lowers the red key and then the skull switch right next to it. You can then access the southwest area which has a cyberdemon patrolling the ramparts, and then teleporting tower to tower to obtain the yellow key. The final area has you searching a switch that is in one of the pillars, then blasting away the cracked walls to uncover switches that will reveal the exit, including a showdown with some imps, cacodemons, pain elementals, barons, and an arachnotron. I remember finding this map tiresome when I first played it, but now I really had a fun time with it. It's a really well-made medieval themed map and has all the typical characteristics of Chris Couleur. Absolutely brilliant, and I guess the last few short maps were made to give players a false sense of security that the later maps are going to be a lot shorter, and then Couleur comes in to make us think again and remind us that there will be more mammoth-sized maps coming, so I congratulate him for that.

So next up will be Map20, and it looks like we're gonna be tackling a map by Bob Evans. Better save and take a break now, cause this will definitely be a real doozy. So until then, see you guys later.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP19 Warheros

Ranks up there with the most confusing Couleur outings, and breaks the chain on the short maps we've had for the last four maps so far. It's likely that the player will kill a lot of enemies before figuring out where to go, plus the switches have no hints on what they did. Also, it's possible to strafejump onto two higher platforms, and possibly get stuck in holes that haven't raised yet. I ended up getting the blue key first, after raising the steps to the next few areas northward. There's two ways to get it, one is what I usually do and jump from the other raised platform, then there's one wall that can be lowered around the little terrace, I only found that one today. The yellow key section is certainly a highlight, due to how much I had to do to get the key. But other than that this level is actually quite a bore. The imps in the exit room do not operate right.

[punnyone]

Map 18 - Stands - 100% Kills and Secrets.

Quite possibly the shortest map yet, I managed to solve it in less than 15 minutes including dying/writing down level notes.

Stands is very stylish, combining medieval and tech textures in an almost seamless fashion. The texture placement leans more on the blending textures based on color scheme than using textures to make a realistic looking environment. There are quite a few cool looking areas such as the namesake stands, in which a portion lowers in true secret passage style to reveal the rest of the map. The blue key area and the rooms beyond are also memorable. The very sci-fi looking area after the blue key door looks really neat as well. I will say though that I've always found the re-use of Time Gate computer textures here to be rather tacky.

Most of the level feels like a basement crawl, and this includes fighting enemies in tight dark halls. Even after playing this wad over and over again through the years, there are still monster ambushes that took me by surprise here. By contrast, the area with the tight spiraling stairs featured some of the more open combat in the level.

Overall, a rather unique map that acts as yet another breather before we once again encounter huge maps.

[gaspe]

MAP19 - Warheros

Pretty much from now the short maps are gone. This is a huge brick castle-like complex. Combats are quite light overall but the map gets costantly repopulated and it's a nice thing as there will be some backtracking to do here. All the places are really cool. The map revolves around the starting area which serves also as hub, with some courtyards at north. The sequence of the yellow key with the fights on those high towers is the best part of the map imo. In the last area many of the imps didn't teleport though, and like others already said it's possible to get stuck in the pits of the elevators.
For those who will play MAP20 for the first time, good luck :^)

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP19: Warheros

After a handful of relatively straightforward offerings, we're back to what this WAD does best: epic, exploration-focused maps with puzzle elements. There's nothing particularly obtuse about this one; its very open, multi-level central area means that, despite the many vertical columns to block line of sight, it's easy enough to figure out when things have changed and where you're supposed to go next. The map doesn't lead you by the hand, though, and there are definitely a few points where it pays to stop, take stock of your surroundings, and think back over where you've been and what you've done, rather than charging always ahead and trusting to the map's author to lead you where you need to go.

In terms of difficulty, the south-west wing of the map housing the yellow key is probably the toughest part, savagely curtailing the player's mobility while elevated platforms repopulate with tough monsters and the spaces between columns fill with swooping cacodemons. It's a wake-up call in a map that, up to that point, has generally been comfortable yielding the initiative to the player; all of a sudden, you find yourself the prey rather than the hunter.

[antares031]

MAP20 - Siluers
ZDoom, UV - Pistol Start, KIS(%): 88/78/90

Well, where do I begin with this level... You know that I was really disappointed with MAP11, just like I said yesterday, right? While the one baker knew how to correct his mistake and made the better new one, the other person knew how to make it even worse and worse(I can't even imagine that what could be worse than a cockroach inside the cake, though). To be fair, the architectural design of this map is quite nice for vanilla doom standard. And I can see that the author put an effort to create this map, especially for the various ways to beat this level I checked out after I beat the level. But unfortunately, the result is really frustrating and tedious to finish. If you're going to play this level on pistol start without any foreknowledge, please do yourself a favor, grab the nearest walkthrough of this level. Seriously, even finding a rocket launcher and super shotgun for pistol starter is damn cryptic and annoying. And what the fuck is with the line 2781? I was stuck in the sunken pit after I killed monsters with chainsaw and berserk. And after around 5 minutes, I realized that I need to shoot the blank wall, with no clue or texture difference whatsoever, in order to proceed the level. There are other many things I want to tell, such as dead tree switch, tedious switch puzzles, chaingunner ambush from above, ridiculous pathfinding, etc. But I believe that you'll understand what I'm saying if you've played this map before. I'm sorry that if my words are too offensive for this level, but this shows my frustration about this one, and I must say this is the good example of how NOT to design a fun and enjoyable level. It was rather painful than fun to play this level, to be honest.

[dobu gabu maru]

MAP19: An absolutely brilliant map. It’s large, nonlinear, imposing, not convoluted, and constantly warps in enemies to keep you on your toes. There’s a tremendous amount of verticality and inter-connected walkways, and on top of that the gameplay remains interesting from start to finish—standout moments for me were the RK AV fight and dueling the cyberdemon on the bridge (you can fight him from afar, but it’s more fun to try and see how long you can survive on the bridge with him). The texture work is among the best thus far too! Couler has crafted such a marvelous gem here that it practically breathes life into the set… it’s crazy to think how he also made the drudgery that was MAP11. Positively phenomenal; THIS is how you make a long map.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 18 -- Stands - 103% Kills / 100% Secrets
Continuing the mid-WAD chain of shorter levels, David Brachman clocks in with "Stands", a workmanlike little number that at once looks rather plain in construction and a mite screwy in theme, and fields some interesting ideas beneath the surface. This is the last of these smaller maps for a while to come (and IIRC, there's really only one shorty left in the rotation after this), so if you're an adherent to the doctrine that shorter is generally better, enjoy it while it lasts. Or doesn't last, whatever.

The opening area, for which the level is presumably named (looks like a set of opposing bleachers bafflingly overlooking a sump sluice), is quite memorable in aspect, but I found I had retained almost no memory of what the rest of the level is like. My impression this time was that the theme was rather, shall we say.....'freeform', almost cavalierly so, depicting something like a top-secret techbase concealed inside of a medieval sewer or dungeon. Whereas a lot of Westerteicher's maps have made rather haphazard use of the texture assets, simply looking as though they were converted from another resource or the like, here one gets the impression that the thematic chaos is more deliberate in nature, a sort of stylistic analog to the Shores of Hell aesthetic where the medieval stuff is substituted for the infernal/flesh assets. So, polished corporate-lobby flooring abuts against ancient granite walls lined with deathshead insignia, musty old suits of armor line doglegging corridors of industrial composite, glowing computer screens and other high-tech doodads are found imbedded directly into bedrock, and a futuristic containment case sits matter-of-factly in an anonymous cobbled cave, watched by frescoes bearing dark visages. It has character for sure, though it's certainly not the most winsome thing in the world, featuring a lot of drab grey tunnels (and a very drab color scheme in general) and mostly squat, blocky, somehow squashed-looking architecture, laid out as others have noted like a jumble of jigsaw pieces intended to fill an allotted mapspace. Progression's fairly straightforward (provided you're not such a babe in arms with PWADs that you've not yet learned to always try to interact with freestanding computer consoles, anyway) but also a bit disjointed and sort of bodged together in places in terms of the actual path, also underlining the floodfill approach to layout design.

While rather modest in presentation, though, you can't always judge a book by its cover, and there's some playfully clever stuff here to be found. One little thing that really stuck in my mind for some reason is the tacky-ass looking fake 'skybox' effect through the windows in the northwestern room with the three doors: I've fought through more than enough PWADs to have seen this amateurish visual contrivance played totally straight before, and so rolled my eyes at it before promptly putting it out of mind, only to end up under fire from chaingunners moments later when the sky-painted shutters flew open to reveal them in their pillbox just beyond. "You know what they say about assumption", indeed! The quirky 'security systems' protecting the blue keycard are also amusing, first using another blind bucking teleporter line at an unexpected location to suddenly drop you into a sticky situation, and then concluding with an oafish but rather hefty security detail that can be devastated with hilarious efficicency before it really gets off the ground if (and only if) you're foxy enough to intuit what's going on. Come to think of it, a similar opportunity to blunt a lateblooming ambush via a V-sphere fueled spree of ripping and tearing exists very early on in a secret, as well. Also of note from pistol-start is the very early placement of a rocket launcher amidst the eponymous Stands; the careful drip-feed of ammo for it from the outset potentially lends the gunplay an unusual risk/reward flavor (and of course greatly empowers foreknowledge, though this is hardly necessary to win comfortably) given the juxtaposition of clots of fodder enemies with beefier foes in the context of the generally space-limited play area.

Interesting little map, bit of a B-side treat.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP19: Warheros
98% kills, 4/6 secrets

Kid gloves are back off, no more shorty maps here... this one actually feels like a much more modern level, with a big looping interconnected layout and lots of use of vertical movement. Kinda reminds me a bit of something like Valiant's "The Netweaver" with the heavy use of staircases and such. It looks pretty nice too, smartly using a dimmer lighting setting and a good mix of the textures... understated but not bland.

Nothing too obtuse though, though there's certainly a fair amount of "what the hell did that switch do?" given the size of the level. But just running around it will usually show which new area has opened. Combat hits a good pace, with a an increasing difficulty (mostly imps and shotgunners early, then more fireball enemies like cacos and barons, then later on revenants, AVs, and a cyberdemon). Now and then it'll throw a bunch of teleporting enemies at the player, which were a bit hit-or-miss since sometimes they delayed a bit too much. The ending is a good example of this, everything behind the yellow key is a bit of an anti-climax... the Pain Elemental floated up into the extra-high sky above the center table where I couldn't hit it, and I had to slowly wait for the imps to trickle in. Very strong map though, funny to think this was released simultaneously with stuff like MAP14.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 19 -- Warheros - 100% Kills / 83% Secrets
Really cool map here, I recall this one made quite an impact on me when I first saw it all those years ago, and I wouldn't be surprised to discover that it (and a couple of Chris's other maps here) played a significant role in the formation of my taste in map style moving forward. Recognizable as a Couleur map from first sight, this is another spacious dark fantasy playground on a grand scale, with even more of a Z-axis element to its design and layout than what was seen in the more elaborate segments of his previous map, "Dawn of the Dead." As was the case with that map, the nature of the setting is very much in the author's established monolithic medieval oeuvre, with all of the usual trappings (tasteful if necessarily broadstroke texturing, practical/simple mood lighting, previews into later areas, etc.) yet dwarfing and whimsical to the point where it's difficult to simply point to it and say "it's a castle" or "it's a fortress" or "it's a cathedral" or whatnot. Nevertheless, I feel that the sense of place here is quite strong; the great flaming, corpse-bedecked beacon-towers are a singular and striking thematic motif, situated in the context of what appears to be part of a colossal elevated aqueduct system which has become a nest of hellspawn, and a shrine to torture. The titular 'warheros' are presumably the burned and mutilated corpses of UAC soldiers and fallen knights alike, whose ruined remains adorn various parts of the architecture like trophies, a gruesome reminder of and testament to the frailty of man's reign in the face of darker powers from beyond.

The play is more similar to "Forlorn Fortress" than to "Dawn of the Dead" (which is for the better, IMO), presenting the player a big, spacious, elaborate playground liberally stocked with ammo and supplies, to be used in the conquest of the sizable demonic regiment of ~280 bodies or so garrisoning at the place. Given the amount of space and unrestricted movement the player usually enjoys, once again this numerically hefty monstercount can end up feeling rather modest in context, although the richness (esp. vertically) of much of the play area subsidizes a very loose, freeform style of play that can compensate nicely for the relative lack of threat if an enterprising Rambo-style player wishes it, while also working well as a more paced, leisurely affair for those who don't crave the constant adrenaline rush--whether you enjoy sniping or prefer to get up close and personal, there's a lot to feast on here. I reckon that no two games on this map are liable to be quite the same; the author has again employed quite the welter of distant monster-closets and other restaffing measures (with a noticeable slant towards cacodemons) to keep the action simmering along nicely throughout the lengthy progression, and given the complexities of vantage and route and height differentials in concert with the very generous ammo balance there's a lot of scope for 'emergent' variety in combat engagements. As a very nice topper, Couleur's characteristically incidental approach to combat is here also complemented by a handful of more staged encounters, including the arch-vile ambushes near the red skeleton key and of course the map's signature beacon-hopping sequence for the yellow key, which represents what is probably the single greatest concentration of enemy firepower brought to bear against the player at one place/time thus far in the mapset. Unfortunately, the final setpiece in the fountain-shrine falls flat for largely mechanical reasons as others have mentioned, but on the whole the greater variety of encounter designs at play here is a most welcome addition to a map of this size/length.

The nature of progression is semi-nonlinear in that while the areas open up in a rigid sequence, each is large/featured enough that there's a fair bit of exploration to do within each segment of the map; puzzle-allergic players shouldn't have much trouble here (though again, the navigationally-challenged may have things a bit rougher), provided they recall a couple of design choices Chris used in his earlier maps. A caveat: once again, a number of sequence-breaks are possible here via straferuns and the like, and while some of these are ultimately harmless (e.g. strafejumping early to the stone landings that you are supposed to leap to from within the aqueduct spillways after getting the blue key), there are also a couple of potential gamebreakers, ala falling into the pits on said landings if you're there REALLY early, or strafing into the imp pits concealed inside the stone sheaths of the two huge columns before they've raised.

Regardless, a thoroughly enjoyable romp, and easily the highlight of ED's second serial iteration.