The DWmegawad Club plays: Slaughter Until Death & The Evil Unleashed & Obituary

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP06 Reactor

 

I prefer the reactor level in STRAIN myself. This has a shitty starting room with the rising blocks and all that. The rest is mostly claustrophobic action that sort of ruins itself with lots of doors. One interesting crusher area to the southeast of the map, but it's not really that important. Cramming all three keys into such a small map such as this sort of pisses me off considering this map's progression makes it way longer than it is. Many hitscanners around as usual, it can be deceptive if you don't take out the usually token rocket zombie in the group quickly before he shoots.

 

MAP07 Slaughter Till Death

 

Another short cramped affair, this one arena-styled in some way with switches opening up new areas filled with zombies and demons. Notably in this map, we have the semi-invisible soldier, the nastiest hitscanner enemy seen, and he's a tough cookie. That along with the mess of demons that pour out after figuring out how to open up the center and...that's it? That's the exit?

 

Okay, for this level titled after SUDTIC, it seems there are four identical sections, two having secrets in them, and they all basically play out the same. Thankfully it's optimized so single players can have fun here too. But yeesh, this is certainly something for coop instead of single player.

[gaspe]

MAP07: On the whole is more aimed to coop play, with four identical sections and thankfully you need only to clear your area to exit the map. It does what "Dead Simple" did, it introduces a new enemy: an "invisible" tech soldier. The idea isn't really bad, the cramped space works fairly well to make the new monster threatening but this bare and repetitive map is something you'll forget quickly.

[Demtor]

MAP07 - “Slaughter Until Death” by Denis Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/saves

 

Ahh! What the…? Ouch. Did not expect more new enemies. Stealthy fast moving ninja robots with akimbo pistols. Interesting… we’ll see how well they are used later on. Here they just sit in each nook waiting to get shotgunned in the face. Oh well.

 

Small map. Very obviously designed for 4players. Opening up the starting area section by section with multiple switches until you revealed the circle of torches and another horde of pinkies with rocket soldiers was kind of fun. I suppose each player races to the exit? Neat idea. Kind of pointless for solo however. Hints of what we’d see to come from TiC?

 

Edited July 26, 2017 by Demtor

[Magnusblitz]

MAP06: Reactor

90% kills, 2/5 secrets

 

As mentioned, the opening room here sucks - the downtime when getting stuck in a hole and being pelted from hitscanners you can't easily see isn't fun, but thankfully, it's one room. After that it's a pretty linear assault through a techbase, though the map does a good job of re-using areas and connecting things so it feels less linear than it actually is. Lots of doors and small areas, but there's a lot of little cool ideas or moving bits that keep things interesting, like the three-way hallway (that opens/shuts depending on how you enter), or the UAC door and it's little windows. And I continue to really like how the rocket zombies are used; here we see them mixed in with the normal pistol zombies as camo.
 

MAP07: Slaughter Until Death

26% kills, 0/2 secrets

 

I agree with everyone else here so far that while I'm glad it's not a Dead Simple clone, I still think having an obvious co-op map with 4 separate identical sections is a bit of bad form. At least you only need to clear out one and then can move on.

[Capellan]

OBTIC MAP08

This is more like it: a solidly crafted tech base.  Well, sort of: it felt like a tech base to me as I played it, anyway, even though when I look at it in DB2 it actually has quite a lot of other texture types, such as brick and bstone.

 

The map also shows quite a bit more teeth than most of the previous levels.  Chaingunners are pretty plentiful on the map, most notable at the yellow key trap.  Which, despite being blatantly obvious, is still pretty likely to chew some health off you given the monster combination employed.  We’re also faced with our first AV of the wad (at least on HMP), though he’s a bit too geographically confined to be a real threat.

 

Good layout, solid texturing, some nice lighting.  It’s a fine looking map: you can definitely see why Obituary got noticed at the time of release, when it includes stuff like this.

[gaspe]

MAP08: I must say that I was rather impressed with this level, it felt like I was playing another wad. The pistol start in particular is hard, you have to fight to gain the first weapons and there are many nasty chaingunners in the first areas, combined with other monsters as well. The combats were good on the whole but the best part was the little puzzle at the yellow key.

[Demtor]

MAP08 - “Observation Station” by Denis Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/saves

 

Grr, this map tried it’s damnedest to be dirty with it’s traps and limited ammo but I beat this bastard one cheesed covered corner kick at a time.

 

Fun map with some nice looking stuff. Not too bad really once you managed to stash enough shells to stay afloat. The light switch was really well done and was a nice bit of unexpected detailing.

 

I really liked the new door graphic on the YK door. Speaking of YK, that was a nicely done reveal and take away sequence with a good trap.

 

I was REALLY digging the flamethrower this map. Just wish it didn’t look as cartoony as it does. I think it would have been better to show less of it. Like the PG. Just the tip baby. It was very useful at the end. Especially against the AV and his pack of dogs. That was a great way to introduce him in this wad. Loved it. 

 

Edited July 26, 2017 by Demtor

[Capellan]

OBTIC MAP09

I approve of the generous slathering of barrels all over this level.  I’m less impressed with most everything else.

 

Actually, that’s not fair.  I have to admit that the level looks fine.  A bit square, and way too many small and poky areas, but the texturing is sound and there are a variety of light levels in use.

 

The gameplay is pretty meh, though.  Part of it is the constricted areas, which encourage a lot of slow movement and blasting stuff around corners.  A bigger part is the frustrating use of height, with several occasions where you come under attack from monsters it is almost impossible to see.

 

And then there are the parts that are just plain baffling, like the two switches that don’t seem to do anything at all except release monsters, or the completely toothless red key trap.  I was left scratching my head by both these choices.

[ForgottenWarrior]

Decided to join in with this and see what happens.

 

Anyway, I'm up to Map04 of Slaughter until death kind of practicing and learning each level as I go and recording attempts. Hoping to get through it gradually.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP08 Observation Station

 

So from what I observe, this here is yet another map that is pretty standard. I got some IWAD vibes from it actually. Not much to it, combat is pretty decent throughout, mostly the small ones with the occasional mid-tier. A few traps can be sprung, but the quick players should take not and put priority on those nasty rocket zombies and such. The crate/barrel room stands out, might as well blow up those things so they don't get forgotten later on. The yellow key trickery was also fun.

 

MAP09 Nuclear Research Base

 

Yeah yeah more of the same. Not really a standout map, a typical base with lots of hitscanners and general claustrophobia. Even the eight secrets weren't really that troublesome to figure out. The choice of path at the start was a bit interesting, but the rest of the level isn't so much. The bridge between two nukage pools was a rough area due to who I should concentrate fire on most. I got some Hell Revealed MAP05 vibes from the rest of the map, although there certainly were a lot of barrels in contrast.

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP05: The Hidden Below

25:32 | 100% Everything

 

Ah, nice! I remember this map. The sunken yellow key cavern is a pretty memorable set piece. Too bad the only action you see is on the raised walkway up above. While this one sticks in memory quite a bit, it's pretty blah on the whole. Combat is either intense or almost nonexistent (see the aforementioned yellow key arena.) Progression was obtuse, with many areas dead-ending to no result, while mandatory progress points like the disguised-as-a-light-bar-in-an-otherwise-pointless-little-room-why-would-I-ever-look-there-again-if-not-for-the-automap entrance to the red key area are, well, pretty darn hidden. And speaking of the red key area, the wooden building housing the berserk is busted in GZDoom: you grab the zerk, the walls lower in ambush, but when you move again, the walls instapop back up, trapping you in. Blegh. And that early door maze? No thanks. A couple of bits here and there get the imagination flowing, but on the whole this isn't a great one.

 

MAP06: Reactor

20:48 | 100% Everything

 

Holy cow, yes, that opening lift(s) room is just. the. worst. Otherwise this isn't a terrible map. Pretty cramped, but the combat's decent. I got another bug where after raising the early bridge across the nuke pit, I straferan across one of the pits, only to watch the entire pit raise up into the ceiling. Uh. Wut. The section with the 3 paths that crisscross was pretty clever, but it would have sold it so much more if they'd have known how to do insta-raise/lower doors.

 

MAP07: Slaughter Until Death

15:34 | 100% Everything

 

And this one is just a chore. I get that it's optimized for multiplayer or whatever, but geez louise. Shoutout to my first time getting nailed by a rocket trooper. And those cloaked troopers (which I know as the aliens from Epic 2) are fun in their own way. But one time through is enough. Four times? Next, please.

 

MAP08: Observation Station

23:33 | 100% Kills | 100% Items | 66% Secrets

 

Now this one is a fun romp. As soon as I stepped outside I was like, This map? This map! Lots of sneaky traps, but I managed to survive them all. My one complaint would be all those repeatable switches of one-time use. (A general Doom mapping pet peeve, that.) Did I already hit this switch? I guess so. What did it do? No idea! Couldn't manage to get to the green armor in the crate room, which I assume was my last secret. I did manage to get myself stuck between crates by running off the blue door lift to see if I could platform over to it. No dice. Not sure if this was the first archie in the WAD (surely not?) but he sure made me panic when he appeared. Gave my first chance to effectively use my flamethrower, though. (Nice!) Speaking of modded weapons, the double-fire SFX on the chaingun are real distracting. I finish firing and one more shot sounds, and I'm always sure someone's shooting at me...

[gaspe]

MAP09: The look is pretty solid but the map with all its cramped spaces doesn't offer a gameplay that grabs your attention. At least the presence of the barrels was a nice addition. It's a fine level overall, no real bad stuff but nothing that makes it shine.

[T-Rex]

Alright, time to play more OBTIC. Taking on a couple more maps.

 

Map07: Slaughter Until Death (Denis Moeller)

100% kills, 0% items, 100% secrets

Time: 08:49

 

Given how the map layout is entirely symmetrical (except for northeast and southwest quadrants having one secret respectively), it seems this map was made for both Co-Op and Deathmatch. Objective here is to hit the switches while killing all the enemies that appear from the opened walls. Rinse and repeat for each quadrant to get 100% of everything. Doesn't bother me all too much, though the process can be a bit of a chore, and you have to carry at least some rockets to take out some of the demons from the other quadrants as, due to their placement, they tend to jam the walls that lower, making the map unbeatable if you don't kill them early on. I had to replay this map a few times so that I can get it beat with 100% kills and secrets. Gotta love how this map is the same name as TiC's first Doom episode.

 

Map08: Observation Station (Denis Moeller)

100% kills, 100% items, 100% secrets

Time: 09:53

 

A pretty fun techbase map that is also mixed with other themes to give it an industrial look. One thing you have to be careful, though is that there's a lot of traps which involves enemy ambushes, and foreknowledge on which weapon to use is imperative in order to survive the traps. Because the ambushes uses an assortment of enemies, including bazooka men, prioritising them is required. In the crate room with the barrels, you'll have to take caution and set off the barrels at a safe distance since they can get in the way while you're killing the enemies inside. The flamethrower weapon really comes in handy for those ambush traps. I like how the map teases you with the two yellow keys, believe you can only get either one, when really you can only get the one you see firsthand, and you can only do so by solving the switch puzzle. Level progression has you looping around the facility, and be sure to save the soul sphere for the ending, which culminates with a fight against some mancubi, revenants, zombies, and finally demons and an arch-vile. Awesome map.

 

Map09: Nuclear Research Base (Thomas Moeller)

100% kills, 100% items, 100% secrets

Time: 13:46

 

This map is boxy and it mostly consists of cramped areas. Just your typical techbase map full of slime pits and exploding barrels. My strategy is to kill any bazooka men first as soon as you see them, and also take the central lift first so that the arch-vile won't pose a threat. Both the left and right lifts will take you to the same path as they meet together before the bridge. Keep your eyes peeled for hitscanners that can snipe at you in the area and mind that cacodemon from the right side. Use the radiation suits only when you're about to wade on the slime pits below. When you get the yellow key, turn around quickly and have the flamethrower ready as a group of revenants will be revealed from behind. After you get the red key, the chaingun is the best weapon to use to shoot down any hitscanners that will fire from the high platform which you can reach via lift, and watch out for more chaingunners once you hit the switch that opens the doors. Setting off the barrels behind the doors leading to a slime tunnel where you can find a megasphere will clear off the zombies inside, and once you enter the room the chaingunners emerged from, watch out for that bazooka man perched on the crate stack. Everything else falls into place. All in all, it's not a terrible map, but there aren't that much memorable bits, it's just a fairly average map.

 

More than halfway done with OBTIC, so see you guys next time in the next couple of maps!

[Capellan]

OBTIC MAP10

“I bet that was a Denis level.” I said as I exited Doom, and sure enough it is.  It’s not that Denis only ever does maps in one style, it’s just that if you’ve got an Inmost Dens-y dish with a garnish of demons, it’s a safe bet that Thomas wasn’t the chef.

 

I liked this map.  It has some issues, but it’s got a lot of positives too.  It’s the second strong level from Denis in a row, in fact.

 

One of the weaknesses is that it’s very clearly a linear level, with each of the three main sections of the map opening up in succession, and the exit becoming available after that.  And the first two sections also have only one way forward at any one time (the last is a bit more freeform).

 

There are also a couple of places where you’re just basically chopping down monsters that can’t fight back.  The beasties that get released into the yellow key arena are the most obvious candidates for this, though in a double irony it seems that these only get released if you flick a switch that does literally nothing other than let them out.  TiC were a bit avant garde with their switches sometimes.

 

But like I said, the map has plenty of good moments.  The action is generally fun, albeit with a heavy emphasis on chaingun snipers at times.  The cyber set-piece is an amusing bit of nonsense.  There are also some fun traversal sections where you get to scamper around areas from various different vantage points and on different levels.  It’s quite neat.  Plus I think on the whole it saves the best for last with the blue door wing, which is a bit more open and dynamic than much of the earlier going.

 

The two cacos in the exit are a might pointless, though.  Poor neglected tomato monsters.

 

[rehelekretep]

ob05 fda

inventive/interesting map. the pot-shots from the balconies got a little tiresome but this was a fun little diversion from the small corridors and flat brown scenarios so far.

 

ob06 fda

speaking of small brown corridors...

jesus christ that start isnt very promising. i was only able to see the guys on the pedestals via advanced hud so god knows what old Doomers back in the day thought of being sniped by invisible shitheads.

the map does pick up after the BK door, with some slightly more spiky encounters to enjoy. doesnt help that it has the dullest doom2 track in the game.

[rehelekretep]

ob07 fda

i loaded this up fully expecting some godawful dead simple clone, so i was pleasantly surprised to find a new enemy. the symmetrical 4 wing concept outstays its welcome however, and when i opened the switch and saw the multiple rooms filled with agitated demons interspersed with suicidal rocketmen i noped out to the exit.

[Grain of Salt]

+++ Eternal Slumber Party

[rehelekretep]

( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°)

hey guys i think we should play ESP.wad this month

good idea bud

+++ Eternal Slumber Party

Edited July 25, 2017 by rehelekretep

[dobu gabu maru]

^ Hey, no. None of that. Serious votes only.

 

+++ Hell Revealed 2

 

:)

[rehelekretep]

my vote is entirely serious; tod is a mapper i find really interesting

[Pirx]

E3M5 - “Infernal Vortex” by Thomas Möller

 

so this is a hub map, with a few powerups right at the start in said hub, but in strong acid pools for some strange reason (20 hp damage iirc). this is something we see less today. likewise the plasma gun in the room with damaging blood, like a punishment for picking up the gun. i went humping the walls because i didn't quite believe the möllers wouldn't hide a radsuit nearby, but there was no suit indeed. the marble wall labyrinth was the map's weakest point, imo. same for the strange imp shooting range. the flesh cavern and the sudden hellish teleport area were a lot more memorable. crumbling stairs lead down to the exit.

 

E3M6 - “Dark Altar” by Thomas Möller

 

pretty aggressive start with all those shotgunners around the entrance, with demons to eat up additional ammo and block the way. some of the möller's platforming games again (which i'm not a fan of), this time with blocks over lava. at least there's a hidden radsuit available. decent map, just a bit too corridor-heavy for my taste. the larger outdoor area with the imps can be seen from the gallery around that starting room. it's where the player can shoot the switch that raises the bridge to the secret exit.

 

 

E3M9 - “Savage Area” by Thomas Möller

 

said secret map. it has a little bit more heavier beasts (barons and cacos) than the maps before, but tic's love for sudden encounters with mobs of cannon fodder zombies remains. the shotgunner alcoves in the slime tunnel can be lowered, but reveal (mostly) nothing. i got the impression that the mapper kept adding stuff here, which of course is not helped by the fact that the yellow door to the exit does not require the key. actually i ran straight into it, thinking that it's a fake exit that will teleport me - surprise! - to the cyber showdown other had talked about, only to admire the intermission screen. fine. go back, shoot the pests behind the blue door (that is mostly stay in one place, pulling the trigger), get the yellow key, and, um, return to the door that didn't require it. i preferred to exit at this point, rather than wasting more time with shooting a cow that couldn't get me any key, anyway.

 

 

E3M7 - “Infested Ruins” by Thomas Möller

 

another map that is thematicallz all over the place, it has some techbase, some fire & brimstone, and more e2-style crates and vines. much shotgun work against demons - ssg, i miss you. mean sergeants behind corners, some are released in the crate room after you just cleaned it. i liked the blue key placement in the bloody hole, and the exit that almost eluded me, as it's in a pit i thought first to be inescapable (those tic guys do this thing, there's one right after the yellow key... one of the things that seem to have mostly fallen out of favor, fortunately)

 

E3M8 - “Raze” by Thomas Möller

 

a flat arena. i did that one pacifist. the cyb killed the spider, end of story.

second try: the cyb got killed, the barons finished off the spider. end of story.

 

overall visible improvements over sudtic, however, the weaker parts are more prominent here, perhaps because  of this improvement.

 

ok, i should finish obituary this month.

 

Edited July 25, 2017 by Pirx

[Capellan]

As I promised last month:

 

+++ Moonblood 

[Jaws In Space]

+++ Hell Revealed 2

[bioshockfan90]

+++moonblood

[Spectre01]

+++ Moonblood

[baja blast rd.]

+++ Moonblood

+++ Hell Revealed 2

 

Edited July 25, 2017 by rdwpa

[loveless]

+++ESP.wad  

  

Just because something is hard doesn't mean the person voting for it isn't serious.

[dobu gabu maru]

1 hour ago, loveless said:

Just because something is hard doesn't mean the person voting for it isn't serious.

Just FYI to you & @rehelekretep that my comment was meant tongue-in-cheek, as I immediately proceeded to vote for Hell Revealed 2 thereafter.

[loveless]

6 minutes ago, dobu gabu maru said:

Just FYI to you & @rehelekretep that my comment was meant tongue-in-cheek, as I immediately proceeded to vote for Hell Revealed 2 thereafter.

I'm not a fan of HR/HR2 but hell yeah.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP08: Observation Station

100% kills, 2/3 secrets

 

Fun level! A tough pistol start, as bullets are in short supply and the berserk isn't very easy to use in the setups you'll come across. Once you get a shotgun off a sergeant at the red key, it's smooth sailing, but I definitely gave up a few pelts here after having barely died (at all?) so far in this WAD. It's easy to take those imps for granted, but those green fireballs hurt - two imps killed a revenant for me no problem.

 

We're all used to levelsets copying MAP07 ad naseum, which this one avoids, but I'd say it does do a good job of echoing the 'Tricks and Traps' slot. No hub here, but there are a far amount of good monster closet traps and some tricky bits (like that yellow key, heh). Even the false exit worked on me, as I assumed I had just missed monsters in a secret.

 

MAP09: Nuclear Research Base

97% kills, 3/7 secrets

 

This one is... meh. It's another tight-layout techbase with lots of space doors, shotguns, zombies, and way too many pinkie demons. I feel like so far these guys have actually been pretty good about using demons in interesting ways, but here they're definitely just filler. Unlike Thomas' other maps, this one just doesn't have any real 'oh that's cool' bits to help carry it.

Edited July 25, 2017 by Magnusblitz