The DWmegawad Club plays: Urania

[Deadwing]

MAP22: This level has a similar style of MAP05. It's a hellish sandbox level (this time open sky) with lots of building where chaingunners are ready to melt the player over and over haha It's not as long (and, IMO, I liked more the earlier one). You need to find all three keys to reach the exit. Blue Key is the hardest to find, since it's located into a uninteresting 64-grid maze and you need to press a switch located in a different section of the map to get.

 

About monsters, expect lots of chaingunners sniping you and LOTS of archvilles, more than the usual. The main hub will get repopulated over and over, which is the main differential here.

 

7,75/10

[Spectre01]

MAP22 - “Sicknology”

 

Very cool hellish city map with plenty of buildings to explore in a non-linear fashion as well as large open areas to move around in. There's a secret BFG that makes taking out Viles a lot easier, since they're frequently used alongside groups of enemies. I found it as the very last secret and had to make due with rockets and plasma. Fun stuff though, definitely makes the encounters more challenging and forces you to maneuver strategically. This room looks really cool with hexagonal platforms and rusted metal texturing. Can't say I'm a big fan of the large 64-unit wide hallway maze which can be a pain to navigate through once, and then again once you grab the blue key and release some Viles which revive what you've killed. Ammo/health/armour is very generous here by Urania standards, making it a lot more forgiving when making bad plays. Cool stuff.

[Spectre01]

MAP23 - “Grossfalls”

 

Excellent map inspired by Plutonia's map12, Speed, with plenty of pain sectors and precise navigation over various bridges and platforms. This just might be my favourite level up to this point. UV-Pistol Start difficulty is one of the hardest, with even the start being a complete ball-buster as you find yourself in the middle of a platform surrounded by Chaingunners and explosive barrels while various demons hurl projectiles from every angle. It's very much in the style of having to push through the level with very few "safe-spaces" along the way. The layout is extremely clever in the way everything connects with plenty of lifts and raising/lowering floors creating a dynamic 3D environment. It's also huge and non-linear, but that goes without saying at this point. The traps don't mess around either and include plenty of Viles and Revenants spawning-in from multiple directions in an attempt to corner you or force you to plunge into the damaging slime. Some pretty cool visuals on display here too, such as this view (awesome background) from one of the lifts and the blue key.

 

[Demtor]

 

MAP17 - “Damned Parlours”

gzDoom/BDoom - UV – continuous/saves

 

This should be named, Damned Pillars, as there seems to always be something in the way. Lots of tight quarters bumbling around with lots of enemies and numerous AV’s coming back again and again to recreate battles in areas you’ve already stumbled your way through. LOTS of health, armor and ammo though so it’s hard to complain too much about this map difficulty wise. It isn’t much fun though. I already killed you guys! We just did this!!

 

One (of many) of the complaints I have with the design quirks in Urania is the placement of enemies outside of windows or holes that snipe at you. Or sometimes on ledges you cannot get to where they have this long hallway out of view where they can just kind of wonder down for a long time before coming back to take a crack at you.

 

This whole map is surrounded by wondering enemies who do that. If you get impatient and skip waiting to eliminate the potential threats, you’ll most likely end up paying for it later. They pass by every once in a while to take a pot shot at you while you’re busy fighting something else and it’s super annoying. Some instances in other maps, you could wind up just sitting and waiting for them to walk by again just so you can kill them and be done with it. That’s a terrible design and simply a waste of my time.

 

That whole design tends to slow down an already grindy feeling wad on some of the maps and this one might be the worst in that regard. It seems that each of the four sections have their own blocked off outer area of outside floaters and walkers to pester you time and time again.

 

Also, every window is filled with hitscanners. Every single one. Ugh. Give it a rest sometimes, jesus.

 

Playing these maps are a real pain. I can’t remember not enjoying a wad more. I’ve enjoyed a few, liked a handful but the vast majority don’t feel good at all. This also had maybe one of the worst music tracks I can remember.

[Demtor]

 

MAP18 - “BBQ HQ”

gzDoom/BDoom - UV – continuous/saves

 

Interesting hot box map that was short and kind of crazy. The idea of having enemies on ledges constantly training their fire on you as you try to puzzle out the inside of this lone fort is kind of a cool concept. I liked the use of a cyberdemon as well. It adds an increased level of danger when hanging out in the open. Appreciated a short map for a change.

 

[Demtor]

15 hours ago, Deadwing said:

MAP22: ... expect lots of chaingunners sniping you and LOTS of archvilles, more than the usual. The main hub will get repopulated over and over, which is the main differential here.

 

That... sounds horrendous. I'm just now coming to terms with map 21 and I may have to start skipping some of this crap. It's just awful. 

[Demtor]

 

MAP19 - “Seedling Consortium”

gzDoom/BDoom - UV – continuous/saves

 

I did not expect to see another TNT:Evilution reimaging/ripoff. Again, not half bad at all. Lots of doors and optional paths. Very large compared to the original Dead Zone and it works to it’s own advantages I suppose. Plenty of key hunting and switch flipping that didn’t offend too much in the way of Urania’s “wut now?” style.

 

I could’ve done without all of the revs and HK’s on the outer wall with no backdrop for my missiles to hit. Booooo/hiss! It was a real time consuming pain in the ass to kill them. Something this wad apparently revels in.

 

Some of the ambushes were fun though and I’m not sure how but I spawned a SMM outside very early on. Having to deal with a SMM almost from the start is a welcome challenge considering there is so much room to explore interesting areas inside while you figure out how to deal with it later.

 

The final fight to reach the exit with the AV’s and everyone teleporting in was kind of fun. It can quickly get out of control if you don’t hustle up and get after it right away.

[riderr3]

At the first page I already suggested to choose lower skill level, but people don't listening. Many are picking UV and stopped after a few maps.

[Demtor]

 

MAP20 - “Lost Pendulum”

gzDoom/BDoom - UV – continuous/saves

 

Another hub styled key/switch hunt. Every area has it’s own style of tricks/traps, giving each of the different wings their own interesting look and feel.

 

The maze surrounded by enemies was annoying to clear but an interesting idea. Too bad the maze itself wasn’t really well executed IMO. At least the CG use was limited there to make it almost doable if you didn’t want to kill things in advance.

 

The red area was really a stand out winner. Tough start with a falling floor into a trapped in encounter with lots of crossfire from above and below. Cool looking red caves and a tunnel leading to blood and fire.The use of flesh and brain textures with skull lifts to make up a weird moving cave subsections was great.

 

The big highlight however was the blue area which led to tall tunnels filled with enemies that later opened to reveal a big battle with a cybie and his friends. Awesome. Nice work. Finally an equally enjoyable and challenging map.

[Demtor]

 

MAP21 - “Plutosaurus”

gzDoom/BDoom - UV – continuous/saves

 

Do I? I dunno dude. I’m fading fast and this map almost broke me. This shit is just not any fun. At all. It’s not even difficult in a challenging way that makes you feel good for getting through it. It’s just an annoying save scum slog that disrespects a player attempt at progressing with abuse of AV’s.

 

Say there player, looks like you managed to clear out all of those revs, HK’s, mancs and the mixed smattering of hitscanners everywhere in the main area with the two pyramids. Well, good for you. Guess what? Later you get to come back and find a handful of AV’s running around who have just rezzed everything again. Only this time you have zero ammo to deal with it. Have fun! Fuuuuuuuck you. All of that time and work, for nothing. *SMH*

 

To try and be fair, as @riderr3 has stated, I am playing on UV when maybe I shouldn’t...

 

 

7 hours ago, riderr3 said:

At the first page I already suggested to choose lower skill level, but people don't listening. Many are picking UV and stopped after a few maps.

 

*Looks back at page 1* ...Oh ya.

 

Quote

There is fine difficulty control so I recommend HMP/continuous play for those who playing first time. Or even HNTR if you feels there are lack of ammo.

 

So I pistol started this over again with HMP and found that the AV’s at the pyramids… are still there. Maybe not on the outer ledges but just about everything else was still the same so it wasn’t any less difficult, it was just less of “hey this is UV, have some more AV’s to shit all over you.”

 

Thanks to having played it before and knowing what I know now, I made the correct move in ignoring the pyramids until after the AV’s came out to play. Things were doable.

 

Tons of hitscanners in the little brown town still. Lots of enemies to fill up the back area with the zerk pack as well. Plenty of balls to the wall action to be had and there seemed to be no pulled punches in comparison to UV that I could tell. I saw maybe one or two less CG’ers in each CG placement spot and that seemed to be about it. So, I’m all for that I guess. *shrug*

 

In any case, if this is what HMP looks like, well then I’m turning this sucker down. UV hurts like most wads don’t and if I want to finish this without losing my damned mind… it’s just gonna have to be done. Usually Nightmare is the unplayable difficulty. Not here. The point should have been taken, day 1.

 

The struggle continues anew.

Edited May 24, 2017 by Demtor

[CapnClever]

^{Chocolate Doom / HNTR|HMP|UV / Pistol Start / Saves}

MAP20: Lost Pendulum strikes an unusual chord in the typical rhythm of the mapset, in this case for the better. While giving the appearance of a more conventional hubmap, the first room leads into the other three simultaneously, with directions that all will be required to backtrack to the exit. Although starting a little slow, the level quickly picks up in pace as each keyed area has its own unique challenge to overcome: the yellow section in particular uses mazes and turrets in a novel and amusing fashion. There's enough space to work with most of the fights here without getting caught up in caution, and progression comes naturally. It's a well-rounded (and surprisingly easy) map that finishes off the second block.

 

Had a good time with this map. I suppose I was expecting the blue section's finale to be a bit more, but it's at least a new encounter type in the mapset.

 

^{Chocolate Doom / HNTR|HMP|UV / Pistol Start / Saves}

MAP21: Plutosaurus launches the player back into what Urania knows best: solid and brutal oppression. The start in particular is an incredibly difficult affair with the weapons available, and the pressure stays on throughout the level. Progression is best handled clockwise at first, then with some minor backtrack to finish out. Most of the set pieces have their own twist to them and are interesting to get knotted into, although others require a more methodical approach: as a rule of thumb, keeping things alive works out for the better when it's possible before moving in for the kill. There are a few trip-ups in knowing where to go at the end (key-switch-door strikes again) but not too obscure.

 

HNTR's really nice to you with an earlier SSG than normal, and even on UV I think I counted three rocket launchers. Really tough map both to get started and keep going on, though, and it's reaaaally long (with all the resets anyway). I'm just hoping E3 as a whole doesn't quite keep this pace.

Edited May 24, 2017 by CapnClever
whoops typo'd MAP21

[dobu gabu maru]

Hope you guys are staying strong and persevering. Since next month is busy for me, I'm gonna be a buzzkill and vote for:

 

+++ Doom 2

[AD_79]

+++ The Plutonia Experiment

[baja blast rd.]

+++ New Gothic Movement 2 and Deus Vult 2

 

Like we were planning last month before a surge of Urania votes. :)

 

Edited May 24, 2017 by rdwpa

[Nine Inch Heels]

+++ New Gothic Movement 2 and Deus Vult 2

[NuMetalManiak]

+++ 2048 Unleashed, like I said before.

[riderr3]

+++ New Gothic Movement 2 and Deus Vult 2

[Deadwing]

6 hours ago, Demtor said:

That... sounds horrendous. I'm just now coming to terms with map 21 and I may have to start skipping some of this crap. It's just awful. 

 

I don't know how things are on UV, but on third episode the difficult raised up quite a lot on HMP. I just finished map 24 and it was, holy shit. I think I'll go HNTR on the last levels.

 

[Deadwing]

I'm travelling next month, so I want to see some +++Plutonia reviews :P

 

---------------------------------------------

 

MAP23 - “Grossfalls” - A very oppressive from get go. Run, run, run, let the monsters infight, die, repeat, falldown in the toxic slime and hope there's a radiosuit close. Even if this was brutally hard, I had fun. There's a lot of ammo and health (soulspheres and megasphere's everywhere). Progression is not as obtuse (thankfully :P). Also get a key and prepare to hordes of revenants spiced with one or two arch-villes to deal with.

 

7,5/10

 

 

MAP24 - “Epileptica” - So far my least favorite level. The playstyle is similar to Grossfalls (run-and-gun), but this is one is even more intense. Disappointingly, your momentum is easily ruined by these moving up-down lifts and pits which are everywhere  and they are so slow. Prepare to kill hellknights, freely roaming revenants, Chaingunners hidden somewhere while you will probably get trapped in one of these pits which you will only be able to get up after killing a good portion of these folks. Even after killing everyone, I used idclip several times because it was way too boring to wait for the lift. There was one moment that I actually thought if I was playing on HMP, because holy shit, I got like 4 Pain Elements, 2 Archvilles and several others monsters after me while I was trapped in a pit without many options. (the one where there's a rocket launcher close) On the good side, it's the least obtuse level of Urania. (tbh honest, this is a element I've liked as long it's not too much)

 

4/10

 

From now on I won't do pistol start anymore :P

Edited May 24, 2017 by Deadwing

[galileo31dos01]

Oh boy, I remember map 24 being tremendously unforgiving, but the concept was interesting. Good news for IoS haters is that in this wad the last map is actually quite fun and totally doable.

 

The other day I tried pistol starting map 18 on UV, just for fun, and I did it! YAY! after 2 deaths of course...

 

I'm voting for what the majority wants +++ New Gothic Movement 2 and Deus Vult 2 and I have no idea what these guys are.

[Scotty]

On 16/05/2017 at 11:52 PM, Scotty said:

Early suggestion for a 'variety pack' next month:

 

+++ No Sleep for the Dead, UAC Ultra, Scythe X

Didn't realise the 25th was the first chance for votes so reiterating this now.

 

+++ No Sleep for the Dead, UAC Ultra, Scythe X

Edited May 25, 2017 by Scotty

[Capellan]

+++ OBTIC SUDTIC TEUTIC

 

 

[Spectre01]

+++ A.L.T. because I'm a hipster.

[NuclearPotato]

3 hours ago, Scotty said:

Didn't realise the 25th was the first chance for votes so reiterating this now.

 

+++ No Sleep for the Dead, UAC Ultra, Scythe X

I'm seconding this, because regardless of the quality of the other two wads, I was always going to put a vote in for UAC Ultra, no matter what.

[Grain of Salt]

+++ New Gothic Movement 2 and Deus Vult 2

[Killer5]

+++ New Gothic Movement 2 and Deus Vult 2

[Nine Inch Heels]

7 hours ago, galileo31dos01 said:

I'm voting for what the majority wants and I have no idea what these guys are.

Think of them as SOD 28, but challenging ;-)

[Rathori]

I'm too busy with university stuff to finish the WAD in time, what usually happens when the month ends? Is it OK to post some reviews late? 'Cause I'd really like to finish this but I don't have that much time and, anyway, rushing through the maps to catch up with the calendar decreases review quality tremendously for me.

[Nine Inch Heels]

2 minutes ago, Rathori said:

Is it OK to post some reviews late?

yup

[Ancalagon]

+++ Hello I am here just to vote for ng2 and dv2

I hope the people who voted for this torture of a wad to skip the month got enough rest.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Ancalagon