Toilet of the Gods [on /idgames]

[Benjogami]

神々のトイレ is a set of 4 hard maps for the Doom2 IWAD and Boom-supporting sourceports. Features include platforming, turquoise, purple, and difficulty. Designed for continuous play.

Link: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/totg

Screenshots:

MAP01:



MAP02:



MAP03:



MAP04:



Update history:

Spoiler

Updates in RC4 (final RC, now on idgames):

- MAP03: Changed some sector heights to match MAP31, to facilitate monster movement
- MAP03 and MAP31: Tried to make some linedef skips harder
- MAP04: Added an extra soulsphere to give some hope for some strats/circumstances


Updates in RC3:

- Lots of MAP31 changes.

Updates in RC2:

- MAP03: Made final fight better. Removed an instrument from the midi that many people found unbearable :D (thx bemused).
- MAP04: Removed secret, removed TP lines, made platforming harder, can't exit if you die, cosmetic fixes
- MAP31: Added a "secret" remix of MAP03 cause I was curious about a few changes that might encourage different routes. Also added more monsters. It's probably harder than MAP03.

Updates in RC1:

- MAP03 and MAP04 added

Global update in version 2i:

- Now using the far superior purple liquids from aa-tex!

MAP02 updates in version 2h:
- Fixed a sector leak
- Added a means to clean up fallen monsters
- A few minor aesthetic tweaks

MAP02 updates in version 2f:
- First switch is now a shoot switch
- Mancubii are less annoying to teleport into
- Removed an extraneous trap and adjusted ammo

MAP01 updates in version 2e:
- New death exit

Credits:

Spoiler

Music:

Title: From Corpse Party, midi by Ximares (CP Sorry We Meet Again)

Intermission: From Corpse Party, midi by Ximares (CP Sad Theme)

MAP01: From Corpse Party, midi by Ximares (CP Ch1 Theme)

MAP02: From Shadowgate (NES), midi remix by John Kuzma (Wraith Arranged), additional changes by me.

MAP03: From Corpse Party, midi found here. Tweaked by bemused.

MAP04: From Dark Souls, midi found here.

MAP31: From Shadowgate (NES), midi remix by John Kuzma (Game Over Arranged), additional changes by me.

Other resources used:

aa-tex for the purple liquids

Special thanks:

- bemused for playtesting
- Everyone else who played and gave feedback!

[baja blast rd.]

Which port was this map tested in? In prBoom+, the platforms in the first area will literally REPEL you if you don't jump at precise angles, which is unspeakably annoying and had me thinking this was a troll map. So I tried it in ZDoom and it's pretty easy there.

[Benjogami]

I tested it in both, and in retrospect I do suppose that zdoom maybe felt more lenient. But it felt close enough that I figured it could just be my own inconsistent play.

[Cacockcansukmycok]

noice Map everything felt so greenish but too much cacos.

[Ribbiks]

this is amazing. absolutely ludicrous difficulty. Final area aside, I'd be more inclined to call this a puzzle map.. hmm.. maybe a "slaughter puzzle" (which is a term I think I remember gggmork using). Loved the maniacal platforming in this, imposing but not impossible. A touch too many cybs in the BSK area maybe, getting infighting there with the cacos was the roughest part of the map for me, but I might not have been using the best strategy.

also, a couple bugs:
- can get stuck behind the switch that lowers the bars to the exit area
- you can skip those bars altogether by jumping along the ledge to the right of the bars

[Benjogami]

Awesome, glad you liked it. I fixed the stuck bug, and I think I fixed the gate skip--it's at least a lot harder now. As long as you can't skip the walk trigger past the gate, I'm pretty happy, since at this point getting that skip without clearing lots of monsters is probably harder than just getting the key.

Also fixed a possible HOM and some other minor texture/vertex fiddling. New link is in OP (totg1g.wad).

[Lila Feuer]

Don't say 'toilet of the gods' so loudly, Maes might come running in here.

[Benjogami]

In celebration of Doom 2016's release (lol), I updated the OP with a new version that now includes MAP2.

[baja blast rd.]

Cool map. Didn't get past the first area (which seems to be most of the map) on UV but I'll try HMP later: it's a good idea to use fake floors/ceilings for the grooves of water in the floor, because as is (in pr+ at least), bumpy floors interfere with movement and add a lot of awkwardness/irritation to dodging. Seems like all of the water is on the same height level so it should be easy to implement.

It's actually like being on a water slide, so maybe that was intentional. Also I need to find where the BFG/megasphere or whatever is. :D

[Ribbiks]

hnnnnnnrg watch me die a million times and then eventually beat it (playing with saves, so don't expect to be impressed or anything :p): https://www.sendspace.com/file/hfhzh4

One of the best maps I've ever played. Loving this stuff. Completely vicious design, unapologetic platforming and puzzle-ish "figure this out in like 5 seconds or get fucked" setups, I absolutely love it. My favorite fight was rushing into the final arena, with just enough time to grab bfg/mega, then dealing with the horde of cacos before rad suits ran out. The sheer number of projectiles to dodge was quite the spectacle, and the number of enemies in each fight felt just about perfect.

Given that I really really liked the map, here are my few grievances:
- The AV/PEs upon exiting the first area felt tacked on. More of an inconvenience than a proper engagement
- The final perched towery things were kinda ehh. taking the rev/AV one first seemed like pretty much certain death if you try to tele back to the manc platform. I ended up rushing my way through it and leaving many of the final mobs alive. I'm sure there's a better strat that makes this area less annoying, but overall it felt kinda blegh compared to how awesome the previous fights were.

btw these midi are fantastic, where are they from?

[Phml]

Loving these maps. It's still possible to skip the exit gate on map01, I did it accidentally on the left side, then replicated it easily - simply pressing forward and strafe right was enough.

[mArt1And00m3r11339]

I will have to try this sometime.

[Fonze]

Nice, I loved the first one; will play this soon.

[Benjogami]

rdwpa said:

Cool map. Didn't get past the first area (which seems to be most of the map) on UV but I'll try HMP later: it's a good idea to use fake floors/ceilings for the grooves of water in the floor, because as is (in pr+ at least), bumpy floors interfere with movement and add a lot of awkwardness/irritation to dodging. Seems like all of the water is on the same height level so it should be easy to implement. [...]

Hmm, yeah. It's not really intended to be waterslidey, but I also don't hate it. I might try it out. The next area is definitely supposed to be waterslidey though. ;)

I feel like the skill levels aren't as well stratified in map2 as in map1, so I look forward to any thoughts about that.

Ribbiks said:

hnnnnnnrg watch me die a million times and then eventually beat it (playing with saves, so don't expect to be impressed or anything :p): https://www.sendspace.com/file/hfhzh4

[...]

Thanks for the demo! I was impressed :D Made it look easier than I was expecting. Your grievances were among my concerns, especially teleporting into the mancubii. Otherwise I really like that fight. It's kind of inelegant, but maybe some block monster lines to keep them from crowding the teleport destination?

Watching you play through the PE/AV fight at the end of the revenants made me like it more though, actually, cause it was a lot different than how I did it. :D

I'll edit the OP with music credits.

Phml said:

Loving these maps. It's still possible to skip the exit gate on map01, I did it accidentally on the left side, then replicated it easily - simply pressing forward and strafe right was enough.

Oh interesting. Are you using GZDoom or ZDoom by chance? Because I wasn't able to in PrBoom+, but was able to in GZDoom after a couple tries.

[Phml]

Woops, yeah, you're right. I was using GZDoom.

[koren]

Benjogami said:

Your grievances were among my concerns, especially teleporting into the mancubii. Otherwise I really like that fight. It's kind of inelegant, but maybe some block monster lines to keep them from crowding the teleport destination?

On the same note: When playing in prboom with cl9, the revenants occasionally managed to get themselves knocked down into the abyss for me. Brought back some bad memories of trying to max sunder map05.

I found the best way to deal with the towers was to start at the mancubus side and spam them with rockets until their spawn had fully exhausted. If you conserve at least 200~ cells to spam at the viles and revs, you're pretty much golden.

Other than that I don't have too much to add, these were a couple of really excellent maps. Loved the dynamic of herding and dodging the projectiles of large scale swarms of monsters in highly constrained spaces. Each encounter felt sufficiently punishing but there were always good strategies for survival.

[Benjogami]

Minor update to tune some stuff:

MAP2 updates in version 2f:
- First switch is now a shoot switch
- Mancubii are less annoying to teleport into
- Removed an extraneous trap and adjusted ammo accordingly

Link is in OP.

[Benjogami]

koren said:

On the same note: When playing in prboom with cl9, the revenants occasionally managed to get themselves knocked down into the abyss for me. Brought back some bad memories of trying to max sunder map05.

Oh yeah, I think in the next update (which will probably be in quite awhile, for MAP3), I'll try to add a recourse for that (like there is in MAP1).

[Benjogami]

Whoops, there was an ugly sector leak, so here's another update before MAP3. New link in OP.

MAP2 updates in version 2h:

- Fixed a sector leak
- Added a means to clean up fallen monsters
- A few minor aesthetic tweaks

[Fonze]

Benjogami said:

... before MAP3. ...

Oh God; help us all.

I forgot to come back to this thread to tell you, the second map was a lot of fun. Shit hit the fan quick after that red key grab and I loved the whole starting encounter. I'm glad the platforming wasn't quite as jarring as the first map's little steps, too.

Can't wait for MAP03.

[Benjogami]

RC1 is now available in the OP! MAP03 and MAP04 added. Once a release candidate has had some eyes on it and seems sound, I'll upload to idgames.

[baja blast rd.]

map03 is great. The design has shades of tourniquet, mouldy, Ribbiks, Insane-Gazebo, and dobu gabu maru.

[snapshot]

Gods use Cool toilets .

[Ribbiks]

yah these are great! seems like the visuals are getting more and more sophisticated with each map, m04 is absolutely striking. m03 is an interesting sandboxy departure from the linear setpiece style of the first 2 maps, I've wandered around it aimlessly for a few fda attempts and still don't have a clear conception of what I need to do. I think I'ma nomo this one first to get a proper lookaround. the new colors and flashy motifs are awesome, btw.

[bemused]

ok seeing as though youve been watching me die to this map all week i'll spare you my demo.. you wont be surprised to hear i died repeatedly on the red key revs, got tilted.. and spent the best part of half an hour reloading and falling off the platforms lol.. il leave it for a more capable player to show how the maps supposed to be done ;)

[Benjogami]

Thanks guys! It is a bit unfortunate that map01 especially looks... unrefined... compared to the later maps, but it's kind of fun to see the progression too.

[Fonze]

I unfortunately haven't gotten the chance to play the third and fourth maps yet, but I thought the first map (second, too) looked pretty damn cool. Kudos on the map set; I look forward to playing the newest additions!

[bemused]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2jfxdo1h5lt0x7x/fukkenFIRST.lmp?dl=0
alright.. got enough luck from RNGesus on the red key to not be *too* embarassed about posting up my savescum-fest. not 100%.... because reasons

[Killer5]

Max'd map 4 in 1:59. There are still some seconds to be gained here for sure, but not sure if benjo is going to make edits to this map.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a1zeatohoac1aad/totgrc1_04.lmp?dl=0

Fun map =). Oh and this was using cl9 with the fps cap on in prboom+ 2.5.1.4

[Nine Inch Heels]

Well, the genre sure is hard, but the setups are actually very nice and fair as far as I am concerned. I've been chewing through m01 through m03 and had a good time with many close calls, and way too many too close calls. ;-)

The visuals are really nice, even m01 has a nice look to it that I can appreciate. And I am looking forward to your next wad for sure.