The DWmegawad Club plays: Speed of Doom

[Ribbiks]

 

basically use cl-1 if you want longtics and more-or-less boom behavior. (also save/load behavior while recording is a lot more convenient)

 

 

Edited April 30, 2017 by Ribbiks

[rehelekretep]

how does it differ from cl9?

[galileo31dos01]

MAP33: Time: 25:52

Mostly negative feelings throughout the map, but at the end is like, ok (?)

Things I liked about this map: it's a bonus level, not so big, the first secret, the 2 locked up archies can be crashed, the archies in the YK room, the fights on the lift AFTER the cyberdemon is killed, visually it has nice textures.

Things I didn't like: that without the secret BFG, the lift battle starting with the cyberdemon is almost impossible, and that the BFG is only obtainable via AV-jump, WHY!?!?!... the red key trap, I tried so many times and ways and even with high health/armor I ended up taking extreme damage due to the fucking snipers. Also in the hall to open the first bars, I figured that the least harsh way is to press the switch and immediately get out of the room BUT also shooting to the nearest chaingunner so at least he wouldn't directly shoot at me while the (fucking slow) door was opening. It still took me several tries. Carefully off all the gunners and get back to that confined hall to grab the weapons and finnish the other enemies. 

What else?, oh yeah, the cyberdemon, even with the BFG it was very hard, but still doable. The two alcoves on the sides are also bad placed in my opinion. One is occupied with the enemies that eventually those alcoves become invisible and one has only 1 or 2 seconds to go there. But anyways, I also could never reach the central soulsphere in time with all those imps in the middle, but I can't complain about that, it was still a nice secret that I had to say goodbye (by then).

Ok, found all the secrets, although with the last one I used idclip. The midi is not really the best but it's ok.

I'll give my final review later.

 

[Demtor]

 

MAP30 - “Darkness Without End” by Darkwave0000

gzDoom - UV – pistol start

 

I liked that the last map has a fun jog through a red rock lava valley to get your weapons. It feels like a more creative introduction to the IoS gimmick than most who just lay everything out in front of the player and say, ”There. Have your weapons.”. Speaking of… wow.

 

Whew, what a crazy shit storm. I didn’t know you could have that many skull cubes flying out like that at once. Impressive. Didn’t know what to do at first until I ran out as far as I could and looked back to see the large column slowly lowering done. Ahhh, it’s a survival map.

 

Nailed it. Almost.

 

Cockups. That’s a new one for this yankee. Hah. The real star of Speed of Doom... Ka-Boooom!

 

 

 

Favorite Maps

MAP06 - “Dreamscape”

MAP14 - “Sledge”

MAP31 - “101001010”

MAP16 - “The Core”

MAP18 - “Silent Hour”

MAP24 - “Hell’s Honeycomb”

 

Honorable Mentions

MAP02 - “Mysterious Cove”

MAP08 - “Frenetic”

MAP10 - “Vile Pain”

MAP22 - “Dead Echo”

 

Hated Maps

MAP07 - “Simple Prison-Yard”

MAP13 - “Lucifer’s Tears”

MAP15 - “Descent to Core”

MAP20 - “The Path to Hell”

MAP21 - “Resurrection”

 

Final Thoughts

Well I’m glad I saw this through with saves as @Spectre01 suggested. I couldn’t have done it without ‘em. There are a lot of cool moments, interesting visuals and unique design choices. Even within the worst maps. The insta spawns and pop-ups are infuriating at times but they do provide interesting and new ways to ambush a player in the open you otherwise couldn’t do as well as limiting the aggro range of large groups of enemies before a player crosses a certain point. There are a few too many AV’s perhaps but, eh. That’s debatable.

 

Overall I’d have to say this isn’t my favorite style of Doom maps but it is fairly solid stuff throughout all 32 maps. The level of quality given from just two people is impressive.

 

I really liked about half of the original music tracks. Which is quite a lot! Most of the rest are just kind of there and a small few I actively disliked. In any case, the size of my list of good Doom music tracks to add to my collection grew thanks to this wad.  

[galileo31dos01]

Overall Review

 

My final time was 27:49:09

 

I'm not one of those players who go really deep with their reviews, I'm just going to say that I loved Speed of Doom, and I'm so glad I was able to share my experience through this thread and read others. Most of the maps left me with smiles and laughs, a few with mixed feelings and one or two with a sour taste.

Visually, textures and details were beautiful and awesome.

Musically, entertaining, fitting, if I hear one of its unique tracks (I believe some tracks are originally from this wad) in other wads I would say "oh this is from SoD, great megawad".

Combat, there were some remarkable differences between even and odd maps, most maps by "Josh Sealy" (1, 3, 5, etc) had a hot start forcing one to immediately panic and get a little or a lot damaged, meanwhile "Darkwave0000" (2, 4, 6, you get it) maps had quiet starts with (or without) monsters facing opposite to oneself. Also, even maps had more ambushes and hordes in open areas, giving one the chance to pursue infightings. Odd maps had more close combats and traps in confined rooms. 

Specific monster placement, mostly challenging, but many annoying traps. Thanks to this wad I became really better with fighting archviles. Instapopping is the most used method, not a fan of that but it's ok. Sometimes you face enemies near the exit that are unnecessary and don't contribute something remarkable to the map.

I can't speak for ammo balance since I played continuous, but for health and armor, it's very limited in most maps, making things more challenging. Saving ammo/health/armor is crucial in some maps. 

Secrets: mostly fake walls, hidden switches, misaligned textures, and instantly being teleported to a dark battle arena. Excellent choices in my opinion. There are a few AV-jump secrets which I personally didn't like, but with true rewards. 

I liked the HUD, green is one of my favourite colors. 

 

My favourite maps would be:

 

06 - Dreamscape

10 - Vile Pain

31 - 1010011010

24 - Hell's Honeycomb

28 - Twilight Massacre

 

No hated or completely disliked maps to be honest. But those that really made me anger many times were:

 

07 - Simple Prison-Yard

32 - The Pyramid of Death

33 - Descent to Nowhere

22 - Dead Echo

27 - Hais Temple

 

The non highlighted maps would correspond to a "Fun Enjoyable maps" category. Personally, I still believe that all maps are well done and enjoyable for the most part. 

Well, I think I'm done, this is the 18th megawad successfully completed, yay!  

 

Edited April 30, 2017 by galileo31dos01

[Paul977]

Map 30

 

Set close with a fast slaughter BFG spam fest which has been rather fun to play; I completed the map 3 times, the first one using the silent trick (which make the level more easy -> thanks doomwiki) the other two times in the intended way and has been a little more tricky due to a strong crossifire of cyber's rockets, much more dangerous here then in map 28. 

A simple yet effective final map on both visuals and gameplay, somewhat similar to HR2 map 30 (which is one my favorite IoS map).

Edited April 30, 2017 by Paul977

[gaspe]

MAP33: The music would be nice if it wasn't so loud. It's pretty good for a bonus level although is a bit annoying for the low health and armor you have so it's awkward to fight in those very closed spaces.

 

It was nice to revisit this mapset again, I have very fond memories of it and despite some few very annoying moments I always enjoy it. In my previous replays I changed my thoughts on some stuff but I think that only this time I noticed how much less I liked Joshy's maps compared to the ones by Darkwave0000. The only Joshy maps I enjoyed on their whole are MAP01-03-05-19, while my favourites in the wad are MAP06-18-28-31.

Edited April 30, 2017 by gaspe

[dobu gabu maru]

MAP30: Alright! Now this is a finale! Chaos! Madness! Pandemonium!

 

It always brightens my day to play an IoS map that’s good—Darkwave dispenses with Icon formalities and goes straight for the gut, the monsterless intro quickly giving way to an absolute bloodbath. There’s a great balance of enemies—I like that it starts with demons, changes to mancs, and then closes with a noble battalion—and right when you think you’re reaching your breaking point Master Romero reveals himself. This was so fun that I opted to skip the invul for the entire fight since it felt like it was taking the easy way out, requiring me to ration the megasphere pickups. Not sure why there’s non-BFG ammo on the ground… I suspect it’s all a part of the spectacle. Great map; a superb finish to Speed of Doom!

 

Overall, I’m still of the opinion that the birth of this megawad is a strange thing given that Joshy and Darkwave have dissimilar styles. It works here, I think, because of the alternating maplist, never leaving you with fatigue regarding one author’s mapping style for too long. However these two aren't nearly as tight or cohesive of a duo as Ribbiks/danne or Aro/Corfiatis (from what I can remember—we need to play Whispers of Satan soon!).

 

I appreciate the work and effort Joshy put into his maps, but my favorite of the two is clearly Darkwave. His brooding atmospheric adventures slowly gave way to more clever & gimmicky setpieces, before halfway through he decided “nuts to this” and made grand arenas for the player to run laps in. I also really enjoyed the difficulty of his maps—they’re a tad on the easy side, but it serves to complement Joshy’s sadism. I think had the two met somewhere in the middle on difficulty and the entirety of Joshy’s E1 (barring MAP05) had been scratched, I would have a way more optimistic impression of Speed of Doom. As it currently stands, I liked it, though I won’t be giving it any hearty recommendations.

 

Favorites: MAP10, MAP18, MAP20, MAP30 (and a few other Darkwave maps :P )

 

Least favorites: MAP03, MAP09

[Nine Inch Heels]

Map 29 "Inconvenience of the Kalnik"

 

Let's get this out the way: I was hoping to put a demo together that was somewhat decent, unfortunately after about 4-5 attempts I've come to realize I'm not in the mood to roll the BFG dice on some of the more lethal encounters today, when it comes with things that really annoy me as much as they do at this point in time. Today Doom is not the right game for me as it would appear. Anyways, I'll provide a demo with an annoyance that happened to me twice, which will hopefully clue you in as to why I'm not delivering a full run just now.

 

Anyways, what do I think about this map? I like it, to be honest. It's the kind of difficulty you should be expecting at this point in time, and for the most part it plays pretty well. Trying to do this map somewhat fast is probably not the best of ideas if you simply want to enjoy it, but my problem is that I simply don't enjoy playing slow either, so there's a bit of a conflict there already.

 

On the list of things worth mentioning, I'd put the following things in particular:

-The opening. Yes, I know, most people seem to hate it, but really though, this is a good place to employ some crowd-shaping, and use your head for a change. It's just the kind of stuff I need after the nigh mind numbing experience of "twilight yawn". If you make a dash for the RL instantly (which you will see in the short demo I'll provide), and keep your cool, you can get some pretty good shots in on the viles, killing them pretty much before anything else, really. I like that a lot.

 

What I don't like about the opening is that it is otherwise too inconvenient to be really enjoyable if you repeat it a couple times, just like I did today. So what's the deal about that? Simply put: Joshy doesn't "gud enough rockets"... Out of all the things you pick up early on, you only need the SSG as an emergency/cleanup tool, and the megasphere. The rest? Throw that rubbish away right there, and don't think twice about it. All you should really need is the RL and the megashpere, but since Joshy doesn't "gud enough rockets", you need a backup plan, just in case. If I were to change something about the opening, I'd remove anything that isn't megasphere and SSG(ammo), and expect players to work the RL (with increased ammo, of course). Instead, we get inconvenience: A forced berserk, which makes things look ugly (inconvenience yet again), and not enough rockets to clear the non-threats quicker. And literally the only thing that can get you killed is getting tripped up; health is pretty much a non-issue as long as you're mobile, and don't blow your own head to bits. Well, there also might be the very rare case of getting chain-torched by the viles, but hey. That being said, the pacing could be better in my opinion. More rockets, more stuff with health in exchange for some pinkies, and you have yourself a nice frenetic opener. Sadly, Joshy doesn't convenience. So now that the viles are out the way, you can comfortably go for the cell charge packs, releasing some revenants, which will simply get lost in the large room you can now liberally work with to your heart's content. I usually don't bother killing too many things there, I just want to hit the two switches, get the BFG, and leave the remaining trash to the infighing that is to follow.

 

-After the opening: My method is to pass the "wall of ouch" on the left side, to instantly get into the center ruins, right to the first secret, and then back into the marble building to clear some stuff, and grab as much ammo as I can carry along. Basically this building is your best source for ammo, so getting in there feels like successfully robbing a bank. I like that too. What I don't like is how you actually get inside. If you play that map for the first time, you probably end up clearing the first wave of imps, macubi and cybies, do some exploring before wondering where you need to go, and figuring it out eventually. Why is that? Because Joshy just doesn't convenience at all. Also that secret is totally inconvenient. Sure you get nice health and armour, but not missing the secret requires some tapping on the keyboard, because Joshy doesn't convenience (Let me know when I'm overdong it;-)).

 

-I prefer going for the blue key first, because it's nice and refreshing to just invul-BFG-powertrip the area to take a breather from the previously mentioned inconvenience (Am I stressing it yet?:p). Pick the invul, dash for the end of the building, fry the two viles and everything on your way there, clear the cybies and remaining arachnotrons and then wipe the rest of the flock corridor-shooter style, while hitting the occasional switch. What's not to love?

 

-The other keys though... So what was my problem here, why didn't I deliver a full run? There's some pretty lethal stuff around, especially if you want the yellow key. Two of my attempts ended on my way there, because I was playing to sloppy, and missed an important BFG shot that would have made the difference. The viles there can be lethal real quick when that happens, and most of the time you won't get a chance to remedy your failure, because Joshy also doesn't armour as much here. This is extra annoying if you know this beforehand, and still mess it up, just like I did today. Doesn't exactly lift my spirit, if you so will. So in essence, the yellow key can be a painful endeavour. The red key though, I don't even understad why things there are the way they are, to be honest. Let's start with the obvious inconvenience that is the invul secret. To make it useful, you need to clear ahead, then you need to backtrack to the secret, return to the place where the cybie and the viles pop up, and unleash the flock of revenants to make the most of it. Why do you need to backtrack? I think you can guess where this is going... What's the point though? If you don't know about the cybie and viles beforehand, that invul is kind of like a noobtrap. You pick it up, fry some mancubi and whatnot, and when you actually need it, there's barely any duration left to make good use of it. Why does this have to be like that in the first place? What's the big idea? Anyways, red key is not a concern with ahead of time knowledge. Regardless of the key you were going to pick, either path is blocked by ammo sponges in the form of PEs, BFG those away, be genuinely annoyed at how inefficient they were used, only to realize that Joshy doesn't ammo gud enough along the way to either key. Guess what Joshy doesn't do here? You're god damn right...

 

So here's one of the two attempts that ended somewhat strangely. In this case, it seems the blast from the vile launched me over a tripwire linedef. That is something I can kind of live with. Funnily enough, I also had this happen without any AV-support, which was a clear sign for me that today just isn't the day. This also was the last attempt I did today, and aside of missing the secret, I already was a bit in a IDGAF mood, which really shows when you see me play so poorly.

 

waitwhat.zip

(GLboom+)

[stewboy]

6 hours ago, NuMetalManiak said:

Let me first say this is one of the most annoying music tracks ever. Sorry, stewboy et al., but I HATE the really loud part of it, very grating on my poor ears.

That track was actually written for a different map that didn't end up making it in to the wad, so no hard feelings :)

[NecrumWarrior]

Out of curiosity, what else has Darkwave worked on? I've seen examples of later Joshy work listed but not much in terms of DW. 

[Paul977]

31 minutes ago, NecrumWarrior said:

Out of curiosity, what else has Darkwave worked on? I've seen examples of later Joshy work listed but not much in terms of DW. 

 

Single maps

1 hour ago, Nine Inch Heels said:

Map 29 

 

Gl if you are going to attempt map 33

[NecrumWarrior]

3 minutes ago, Paul977 said:

Single maps

Gee, thanks, that's a real comprehensive list you made there. Can I please get some actual examples instead of a vague word?

[Crusader No Regret]

Wow, it's the end of the month.  Time to squeeze in that last bit of commentary.

 

Map 27: Really liked the music: this was another one I would IDMUS a lot.  Hate those revenants in the wide open central chamber.  Oh since someone asked about the Keen, finding and killing it delivers a pair of cell packs.

 

Map 29: I did try this on pistol start.  Trying to make a stand in the starting chamber didn't work out: got swarmed.  When I tried running out and doing some crowd herding and infights, the lightbulb went off.  Not much else I remember about the map at the moment other than overall challenge.

 

Map 30: Now this was a memorable experience.  Took hundreds of tries before I won, no exaggeration.  I was making things harder on myself by trying to do it nearly entirely pacifist.  No saving midfight either, too easy to get stuck in an inescapable situation.  Eventually, i manage to stay alive long enough to take out the boss brain with 3 BFG shots which are the only shots I fire the entire map.  (would have BFGed any Archviles that I could get a close range shot at but that didn't come to pass on the winning attempt)  What a rush.

 

Only after those hundreds of attempts, I find out about the silent trick.  That sure would have helped out before the ordeal.  Try it for myself and succeed the first time.

[NuMetalManiak]

50 minutes ago, NecrumWarrior said:

Out of curiosity, what else has Darkwave worked on? I've seen examples of later Joshy work listed but not much in terms of DW. 

PRCP MAP11, some 3ha maps, and the map in this video:

 

[WH-Wilou84]

NecrumWarrior, you may also wanna try Darkwave32.wad, one of his best maps :
http://doomedsda.us/wad2036.html

[Paul977]

35 minutes ago, NecrumWarrior said:

Gee, thanks, that's a real comprehensive list you made there. Can I please get some actual examples instead of a vague word?

OK. Those are the maps I'm aware of:

 

Darkwave5.wad (can be found somewhere searching in this forum)

Darkwave24.wad (same as above)

Darkwave32.wad (on DSDA)

Darkwave17.wad (on DSDA)

3hafinal.wad map 29

3ha2.wad map 28

3ha3.wad map 29

Resurgence map 32

PRCP map 11

 

I read there were other maps in a forum that doesn't exist anymore, hf!

 

 

[Spectre01]

7 hours ago, Ribbiks said:

basically use cl-1 if you want longtics and more-or-less boom behavior. (also save/load behavior while recording is a lot more convenient)

Would this make your demo "legit" for UV-Max/DSDA purposes? Not that I plan on breaking any records.

[baja blast rd.]

Any time a map is not recorded on in its intended compatibility level it is seen as 'less legit', but it's not like anyone is going to sue you over it, so if you want to record -cl -1 demos, there is nothing wrong with that. DSDA is just an archive; those demos still get listed. But people might point out when a record isn't recorded with the right settings. Be aware though that behavior changes across comp settings might break maps, like in Sunlust map30's top secret cyberdemon vs. candle showdown, where the telefragging broke on -cl -1. 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2017 by rdwpa

[Demon of the Well]

Dobu I will fisticuffs you in the Doomworld parking lot if I hear one more word besmirching "Sign of Evil!"

 

Map 26 -- Blessed Hellscape - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets

This is a lovely map. Well, except for the actual automap, which looks somewhat....vaguely obscene. Regardless! It has generally been one of the set's most popular levels, and it's not difficult to see why, combining a striking setting with big, flashy, and yet eminently approachable action sequences as it does. Much like map 24 by the same author, progression takes the shape of a 3-key hunt, with each of the three skull keys found in its own distinct little setpiece or challenge area, obtainable in any order. Also returning from map 24, there's a BFG conspicuously perched in the middle of the main field which can be gotten with any of the three keys (though there's a surprise second admission fee to be paid as well), though in actual fact the big gun is not truly essential to clearing the level (once again like m24 in that regard, I suppose). Despite these similarities, though, in effect the two levels are quite different. In contrast to the somewhat more reflective, exploratory pace emphasizing the environment as the main attraction which defined "Hell's Honeycomb", though, "Blessed Hellscape" is much more focused on immediate action, the landscape of fiery crags and wooden crosses perched atop redstone cairns serving as a colorful matte backdrop for the highly malleable combat scenes involving legions of creatures attempting to converge on Doomguy's position as he zips about sowing chaos.

 

Like many of Darkwave's other maps in the set, you can take the level in measured stages if you really put your mind to it, though it plays better and seems to have been purposefully designed for a more active approach, with the assorted small armies of revenants and other creatures which populate and drive gameplay in the open central Hellscape area tied to rather inscrutable popup/walkover triggers which release them at distance, presumably intended to prompt a charging engagement, which in turn triggers additional mobs, which in turn might force an early commitment to one of the key areas, which interact with the main level in different ways and to different degrees (i.e. effective total fluidity for the YK 'pier', visual/projectile connection for the RK pit, and very little functional interaction for the BK keep). Also telling, and as noted by many other players, is that here Darkwave has opted not to position the major weapons close to the player start point or all in one spot, meaning that going about the business of collecting the tools for the job also prompts exploration and fighting on the move.

 

At 820+ monsters on UV this is quite the engagement, though given the vastness of available space characteristic of so many of Darkwave's maps and also the very generous supplies of ammunition and healing items, it is again much more empowering and supportive of a fairly wide range of playstyles and levels of ability than it is oppressive or exacting. From pistol-start, there's a lot of impetus to get the majority of the map stirred up all at once, which is itself of course well outside of the comfort zone of some (though it should rightly be at least somewhat less so by this point, after 25+ previous maps of Speed of Doom!), and some of the key fights can be initially overwhelming or quickly lethal to the indecisive or panic-prone, but all told you are given every opportunity to succeed with far from perfect play here, with item and enemy placement that allows you to soak damage and spam blanketing fire with some measure of success, provided you have the wits and the will to keep moving and keep fighting. Players who chiefly derive pleasure in Doom from legitimately strict/high-stakes balancing requiring more precision and strategy may find it a mite superficial (which is probably true of all of Darkwave's SoD maps to some extent), but I think it functions beautifully as a big flashy action-blockbuster romp, where more experienced players can find enjoyment in orchestrating things to their personal liking, while the less experienced can be treated to plenty of high-octane action that conducts itself nearly as nicely, perhaps surprising themselves with what they can overcome with a little bit of steel. Balancing maps for this kind of malleability is no easy feat, and I think Darkwave did a fine job here. My route this time, incidentally, was to visit the RK pit first: probably the most dangerous pick for the first (pre-BFG) key, but very doable, and with the strategic bonus of allowing you to chokepoint/devastate the pursuing armies from the main field as they group up to spectate. Other routes and other ways of managing the enemies populating the main area all play out in different ways, some flashier than others, but all scenarios I can see are very playable, which is admirable.

 

There are some qualms--I do think the final fight could've easily done with more monster-density purely emphasis, for example, and I'd have liked for the last bunch of arch-viles not to be line-blocked, either--but in many ways I reckon "Blessed Hellscape" is Darkwave's big tour de force in SoD from a design/balance standpoint, though of course the nature of m28 and what it entails makes it perhaps even more of a talking/reference point. The one thing it lacks preventing it from being a total summation of his previous SoD maps is that there is no really notable secret sidequest to be had this time, though even this seems like a studied decision--the mysterious black-tiled pocket-dimension that serves as the trial space for the BFG in this map is of course the same one visited in secret areas in his earlier maps. This is of course an area most players will see (though it is still totally optional, note), but I think it's neat that it's staged to take on some extra meaning or narrative emphasis for those who've been playing the levels to their fullest up to this point.

 

Map 27 -- Hais Temple - 100% Kills / 66% Secrets

Purely in terms of aesthetics and presentation, I reckon this is Joshy's coolest map in the set. While in terms of texture scheme and certain visual ideas (i.e. black-silhouetted crosses on hills) it pretty clearly takes cues from "Afterlife II" from Scythe II, it's also very much its own thing, depicting some kind of alien pagan temple suspended from the underside of what at first appears to be 'just' a large volcanic island floating in the crimson void, though on closer inspection you'll find that the lava is actually flowing upwards and into the island rather than out of it, suggesting that the Hais Temple may somehow be the brimstone's source. While the layout is a somewhat simple spoke-based design that uses a fair amount of symmetry in its central and eastern portions, visually this reads quite naturally, and the whole runtime is full of bold art decisions for the sake of them, from the pervasive heavy shadows blanketing most of the temple (which play off beautifully against the dark stone and the glowing lava and the fireblue pulpits!) to the little hints of diorama-style terrain detailing (which do somewhat violate rules of perspective, come to think of it, though given how weird the setting is we can probably just give this a pass 'because Evil' in this case) and alternately delicate and brutish arches and trim. Quite taken with the skylight over the central pool, as well--it's cut in such a stylized way that if you walk towards it from one of the spokes, it appears something like a glowering red eye opening wider as you approach. Excellent midi track again, as well, dynamically communicating a sort of 'you're reaching the end of the game, keep fighting the good fight' message to prompt you to fling yourself into the fray once again, in stark contrast to the somewhat anonymous and honestly rather forgettable track used in the previous level.

 

Speaking of the fray, well, again Joshy greets the player with a rather inhospitable welcome, this one favoring claustrophobia and the danger of being cornered and smothered, more like the opening fight in "Death's Nocturne" than the level-blanketing area denial of "Poison Ivy II" or others. I would go so far as to say that the pincers ambush in the level's second room is the level's most dangerous fight, though I'm sure there's even more room than usual for contention, there, which may or may not speak well of the rest of the level's content. I would say that this is a level that is meaner and nastier in disposition than it is actually hard to clear, which, it's true, is often a watchword for "not fun to play." The central hub is initially a terribly inhospitable place, sort of a micro-ZoI setup where the whole room is a hostile zone, and every avenue for clearing out the assorted pillboxes and other entrenchments is covered, meat-blocked, or otherwise impractical, and indeed from pistol-start trying to clear it out at first blush is likely an unwise expenditure of time and resources.

 

This is by design, of course--I believe you are intended to hit the hub, and then immediately 'nope' out of it just by dint of what a pain in the ass it seems into one of the side annexes--which one doesn't really matter. Battles in these areas are staged/balanced to be one-off slobberknockers, and by the standards set by some of Joshy's other stuff here are actually fairly tame. I think the eastern annex plays better than the western one (which is basically nothing but a linear blockade of monsters to be worked through), but neither is particularly exceptional, in truth, though the little 'rocket-chicken' idea for twin switchpresses in the eastern area is cute in its way. Coming out of either of these areas you naturally start to gain traction in the hub, though in truth you're still better served in crossing over to do the second annex than beginning to clear the hub, which is best done later with the aid of the V-sphere (which can be reached early by vile-jump or at the proper point by a little bit of parkour off of a barricade which appears early on), once you can combine the various switch sequences into one run, loosing the cyber-trio in the center and ushering in the end of the map.

 

The rub here is that this is the sort of map that's going to be a lot more fun to play once you know its ins and outs than it's ever going to be on a first play, or even if you've played before and simply aren't amenable to the way it half-heartedly tries to direct you around. If you know how things trigger and when to use items and such, it's a fun and surprisingly quick clear, but more conventionally it's one of the slower-paced E3 maps, not slow by dint of an atmospheric bent but rather by requiring the laborious clearing of many powerful monsters from points of limited leverage--the map certainly has seams which are designed to be taken advantage of, but they aren't really intuitive at all, you might say; whether this is by design or indicative of a misjudgement in it is kind of hard to tell in this case. I like this one, personally (which in large part is due to aesthetics, granted), but it's really easy to see why someone else wouldn't.

 

Oh, and I forgot the damned Keen secret, again, Think I've only ever gotten that once, on my very first play of the map, ironically.

[dobu gabu maru]

1 hour ago, Demon of the Well said:

Dobu I will fisticuffs you in the Doomworld parking lot if I hear one more word besmirching "Sign of Evil!"

??? Sign of Evil is a boring midi for boring people. It works for E1M8 but outside of that I'd rather listen to literally any other song, including "Nobody Tole Me About Id" played only with one's farts. I thought you were cool, man!

[Demon of the Well]

Note to self: Do not send Dobu Gabu Maru an X-mas card this year. On Earth Day, send a card with a gift certificate to Golden Corral.

 

Map 28 -- Twilight Massacre - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets

First off: IDMUS 25.

 

This is likely the most renowned map in Speed of Doom, and ironically also perhaps the one about which there is least to be analyzed. Again framed as an open-ended 3-key hunt, the spin here is simply that the only weapon, practically speaking (the rest of the arsenal is available as a token gesture in the one and only secret just off of the opening area), is the BFG 9000, which is used in tandem with the mounds of bulk cells and powerups dotting the dusky, mood-litten hellscape to slaughter the 3,000 or so hellspawn blanketing it in droves. It sounds simple. Hell, it is simple, really, though I think the impression this makes on a given player is going to be founded almost entirely on whether or not s/he has seen something like this before, which in 2017 is probably more likely than it was when SoD first hit the streets, so to speak, though as we've seen in this very thread it's still a strange new world for at least some. In terms of playstyle, it is many ways also the closet of the SoD maps to the mapping style Darkwave would develop later on, though it's much more one-note and outright easier than any of his later works.

 

In the context of the mapset, one can easily view this as pure, over-the-top spectacle, or the last empowering hurrah before Joshy tries to kick your teeth down your throat in map 29, though this is of course largely predicated on being experienced enough to digest "Twilight Massacre" more as recreation than as a herculean Labor. Knowing the fundamentals of crowdshaping, how to time powerup and ammo refills, having some understanding of the weapon mechanics of the BFG, and generally being aware of the sundry other basics of slaughter play should equip you to go on a tear through most of the level, though some of the encampments around the actual keys could still be potential bugbears, as terrain here tends to be more erratic (thus requiring more complicated movement to maintain offensive momentum) than the more or less flat planes/plains comprising most of the playspace. After a little investment to learn the lay of the land (literally), however, "Twilight Massacre" makes for a credible entry-level fullscale slaughtermap, fielding true hordes of creatures likely acting and moving as different fronts, while providing resources and space enough to make the experience quite accessible to newcomers, not just to the map, but to the style itself; a 'gateway drug', if you like that analogy. It's a big brazen playground where most of the sharp edges have been filed off, which for some will of course rob it of any real zest; I myself am not willing to go so far as to refuse to classify it as a real slaughtermap simply because it's neither very difficult nor very cerebral (the genre is full of daft/meatheaded content, after all, and justly proud to be so) for an experienced player, but I must admit I went through a lot of it on autopilot this go-round.

 

Clearing it efficiently still takes quite some skill, mind you, and for the uninitiated there are still many important strategic and technical lessons to be learned. At least somewhat proper BFG usage, for instance, is paramount--there's a few megacraptons of cell ammo on the map, to be sure, but it's spread out enough that ammo availability can still quickly become a serious issue if you're using the weapon like you would a plasma rifle or RL, which of course is far more likely to be true of slaughter newbies. For the more experienced, the map's main offerings are its nonlinearity and openness to different routes, though moment-to-moment battle strategy is largely elementary (or 'nonexistent', to be hyperbolic) if you're well used to this kind of thing.

 

This is far from a personal favorite of mine in SoD, though I do appreciate it for what it is, and it gladdens me to see players newer to these waters enjoy and revel in it, which is precisely its real lasting value, I think. It is perhaps a mite too long to be entirely effective purely as a fireworks show, though I suspect that thinking on what this kind of map is or should be has already changed so much in the relatively short span between 2010 and now that my reading of its intentions may be entirely off the mark to begin with.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Demon of the Well

[Spectre01]

My internet died for a few days so here's the rest of the SoD maps:

 

MAP29 - “The Ruins of Kalnik” by Joshy

One of the hardest maps in the wad stands before the relatively chill finale. The Ruins of Kalnik is an unforgiving affair with plenty of damaging floors for mandatory progression and not enough radsuits, unless you know the layout of the map beforehand. Combine that with little in the way of armour and you end up spending the majority of the second half at 100/0, while fighting groups of Viles and Revenants. It does make for some tense gameplay and I actually managed to get a full clear on my first attempt, after figuring out where the hell I was supposed to go once the main area opens up. Thankfully you're given more than enough cells and a good amount of rockets. My run was around 45 minutes and you bet your ass this post would be significantly more salty if I died towards the end. This is probably the least fun map to no-save, along with Hais Temple.

 

MAP33 - “Descent to Nowhere(?)” by Joshy

A bonus map only reachable by using 'idclev 33' or the like. This was supposedly the original Descent to Core and it certainly has a more engaging descent sequence compared to the usual map15. Of course, the encounter is very much in Hell Revealed map31 worship territory so maybe that's one of the reasons it didn't make the regular slot. That sequence is made quite a bit easier if you manage to AV-jump to the secret BFG near the map's start. It's also do-able with the Plasma Rifle and I remember taking that approach the first time I played this map. There are a few rather mean traps, mostly near the start, such as the HK + Chaingunner trap and the AV rush at the yellow key. It's one of the harder SoD maps, based on my own performance and the pelt counter. Pretty techbase visuals though and I liked that transparent glass covering the tech stuff.

MAP30 - “Darkness Without End” by Darkwave0000

The finale of Speed of Doom is unfortunately a short IoS map where the goal is to spam the BFG for 3 minutes until Romero's head is exposed. There's really not much else to it gameplay-wise. I like the idea - it's definitely a cool concept with endless hordes converging from the darkness - but it ends up slightly lost in translation to actual mapping. Also, I was trying to hunt down all the Cyberdemons and some idiot killed the boss brain for me. I think I got the last one but I'm not sure now. The best part of the ending is the cool custom background during the monster roll-call and hearing stars.midi again.

 

Final Thoughts

Speedo Doom is a pretty good wad. The closest comparison is probably Scythe 2 or the sequel Resurgence, but the delivery there, especially in the final stretch was significantly better. The even slots overall were both more memorable and interesting from a visual and gameplay perspective while the odd ones felt like filler in the overall set. Still, it's impressive how quickly most of the maps were made. I believe I rated the wad 3/5 and this playthrough doesn't change my opinion there. It's mostly good fun, and I enjoyed beating every map saveless for the extra challenge, but not a wad I'd consider legendary. Good thing Joshy made a much stronger showing in Resurgence!

 

Standout maps

Hits: maps 06, 10, 20, 26, 31

Misses: maps 07, 13, 15, 23, 25

Best Joshy map: 32 (I'm serious)

[Cynical]

I'm still surprised to see "Lucifer's Tears" on so many "worst map" lists here.  Best Joshymap in the wad, by far (or at least in the 2/3rds of the wad I've played -- "Path to Hell"'s tedious start was just too soul-crushing for me to continue last time I tried playing the wad, although I did skip ahead and check out 28 and 30, just because of their fame).

Edited May 1, 2017 by Cynical

[dew]

Agreed with Cynical, how often does that happen. map13 is one of the best maps in the set. Very compact, very intense... it builds on the legacy of early av/ksutra/pl2 maps and I'd say it's a perfect model for the sort of gameplay Snakes exhaustively explored in Unholy Realms. Though I'd still put map29 as the best Joshymap; and possibly map27, but I think I dislike the pre-gate intro padding.

 

On the darkwave front, I'm a big fan of map31 and map26, tho map10 and map12 grew on me via repeated playthroughs.

[Cynical]

I'd be interested in knowing what you see in 12.  Is it a speedrunner thing?  Playing it casually, it seemed like a series of encounters that were all softballed a bit too much for their own good.  Cool atmosphere, though.

[dew]

Oh yeah, it's a bunch of rooms, but I dig the progression. You snake your way around the big central cavern, departing and returning to that vista... that could've been a four-way symmetric hubspoke in another man's wad, heh. And then you get to jump down! From battle scenario perspective, only the start room, the grinder foyer and the grinder itself are properly engaging and interesting, but somehow I didn't mind the fluff inbetween. It's a rock-solid cchest-style map.

[rehelekretep]

map27 fda

my considered review of map27 below:

Spoiler

 

to actually add some thoughts:

- the start is tedious to do over and over; the mancubi is slightly too fat and the stairs slightly too narrow. also the berserk pack is in almost as troll-y a position as the megasphere/backpack in m23

- the darkness is a bit too much, at least if youre running software lighting

- the two annexes are fun; although the cybers are a little bit awkward in the RK section, i liked the RK cyber down the steps guarding the switch, although the spectre warps are EVIL. bad Joshy!!

- i actually really liked the Keen secret, although im not sure how you're meant to discover it? maybe a stray rocket while clearing out the spiders?

- the rev snipers + AV snipers caused me most of the grief and i still think its an annoying combo. i actually think cyber snipers would be preferable!

- i really enjoyed the end of the map; once the mastermind was out of the way i had the CG and my fist to sort out the 5 AVs, which led to an extremely tense end. pretty cool!

- the MIDI is a stand out for sure

Edited May 9, 2017 by rehelekretep

[Paul977]

21 minutes ago, rehelekretep said:

map27 fda

my considered review of map27 below:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

lol

 

Map 33 Descent to Nowhere

 

This has been very very hard. This map smashed me so much to the point I was about to not try it anymore. Start with an annoying pistol action then continue into cramped action against hitscanners, hell knights and a baron until you reach the armor, after that there is a mandatory av jump to the secret BFG (there are two arch-vile in the same room, if you kill both = restart) and then the ultra cramped HR 31 style lift where most of my run ended due to lack of cells against the last horde (why you put the cells outside of the lift ?!). In my succesful attempt I miss both the cells cache and the soulsphere, dunno I survived.

This has been the most annoying/difficult map of the set, maybe on par with map 21, sure harder then map 27/29. Probably with more practice in the lift fight I could do better on this level but.. damn man. 

Visually is a good polished grey tech-base with a cave area, but the annoyance of the gameplay but this map at the bottom of the list.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Paul977

[Paul977]

This is, of course, a good megawad (though not in my top 5). My favorite levels remains the early cc2 map 24 inspired stuff by death-destiny Darkwave0000 and my top 5 is:

 

1) map 04 Sedgemire

2) map 02 Mysterious Cove

3) map 24 Hell's Honeycomb

4) map 06 Dreamscape

5) map 18 Silent Hour

 

Honorable mention: map 29 The Ruins of Kalnik