The DWmegawad Club plays: Moonblood (it's our 5 year anniversary, golly!)

dobu gabu maru · July 31, 2017

What is the DWmegawad Club?
This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

Can I join?
Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

What levels am I allowed to post about?
Whatever day of the month it is, is the upper limit for the map you can post on. So if it’s the 6th, you may discuss up to MAP06.

Do I have to post an entry every day?
Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

When do we vote on the next month’s megawad?
Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example:

+++ Ultimate Doom

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>>>DOWNLOAD MOONBLOOD HERE<<<

Had enough of long, sprawling maps this year? Deadwing's Moonblood has you covered! These short and punchy maps emphasize clean visuals and low monster count, meaning you can even get your Doom on during your lunch break! Plus the soundtrack is entirely new too!

Maplist:

EPISODE 1

MAP01 - "UAC Starport"

MAP02 - "Alpha Labs Waste Central"

MAP03 - "Underground Facility"

MAP04 - "The Courtyard"

MAP05 - "Infrastructure Sector"

MAP06 - "Central Command"

EPISODE 2

MAP07 - "Industrial Zone"

MAP08 - "Sewers"

MAP09 - "Delta Labs Industrial Research"

MAP10 - "Toxic Treatment"

MAP11 - "Logistics"

EPISODE 3

MAP12 - "Mining Site"

MAP13 - "The Village"

MAP14 - "Hellish Shrine"

MAP15 - "Decaying Industries"

MAP31 - "Archives: Dobu Gabu's Exam"

MAP32 - "Archives: Iron Keep"

EPISODE 4

MAP16 - "Beta Labs Reception"

MAP17 - "BFG Experiments"

MAP18 - "Hidden in the Dungeon"

MAP19 - "Obstructed Zone"

MAP20 - "Moonblood Gateway"

EPISODE 5

MAP21 - "The Abyss"

MAP22 - "Skeleton's Gardens"

MAP23 - "The Archipelago"

MAP24 - "Hanging Fortress"

MAP25 - "Helltown"

MAP26 - "Coliseum"

EPISODE 6

MAP27 - "Magma Refinery"

MAP28 - "Remnants of Zeta Labs"

MAP29 - "Moonblood Ritual Site"

MAP30 - "The Repentant Sinner"

BONUS CONTENT
an_mutt's playthrough: 1
----------
OLD THREADS
2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Edited May 9, 2023 by dobu gabu maru

Snikle · July 31, 2017

I'm in. Just downloaded Moonblood.

bioshockfan90 · July 31, 2017

Hey, it's the 1st in AUS, good enough for me!

I've played the first 2 maps or so on this WAD to scope it out when it first released, and it gave me a pretty cool Scythe vibe of smaller, simpler levels. Something you don't see a lot of these days. Also the "old-skool" lighting or whatever you call it is pretty fantastic as well. Without further ado, let's crack open the bottle of champagne and start playing this! Playing on UV until I have to dial things back, GZdoom, mouselook and the works.

MAP01: UAC Starport|100% kills|4:07|

And here's your standard MAP01 techbase opener with hints of UltDoom episode 1. Focuses on pistol gameplay, but doesn't become too overbearing and the map is short enough to where there's no fault in making a MAP01 this short and sweet. To reiterate, it's not that often these days you see that. The map itself is good-looking, good layout (I liked the outdoor section with the crates) and the traps are pretty well designed in that they're almost like "training traps" by revealing themselves slightly early with a few obvious surprises here and there, and you're almost never gonna fall into a dangerous spot with them. What else can I say? Short writeup for a short map.

Happy 5 years of DWMC! :D

Deadwing · July 31, 2017

Congratz for the 5 years of DWMC! Especially for Dobu gabu maru which has been managing this since the beginning! :D

About the wad, I hope you guys enjoy it even if is more simple and compact than the usual stuff that gets played here :)

From the feedback I've already gathered until now, here are some info which might be useful:

-> I recommend playing this on UV+Pistolstart, at least for the first half. The wad is also balanced for continuous too, although pistol start may give some extra challenge with the non-linear nature of the levels. About level 16 (episode 4), the difficult rises up quite a bit, so I'd recommend go HMP if you don't feel like going for it (also do this if you don't like Archvilles and Revenants, because they will be quite proeminent on the second-half :x)

-> There's lots of hitscans scattered around, although I saw some playthroughts where the player was able to run-and-gun fine. Still, they might be annoying to deal with.

-> The levels are small, but non-linear, so I found some people getting easily lost. Using the automap would help in these situations.

Well, hope you guys have fun! D:

dobu gabu maru · July 31, 2017

Diving back in this month, since Moonblood seems right up my alley. Gonna do UV & pistol starts since I want Deadwing to mercilessly rob me of ammunition.

MAP01: A mostly unambitious megawad opener here. Pistol potshots is the name of the game, and you're only going to get the shotgun if you go secret hunting. I haven't played a lot of his stuff, but Deadwing has really excellent "room sense": there's a good variety of height, lighting, & textures to his architecture, and there's enough angles to make the map not feel boxy, but snug and compact instead. The design of his maps are, in a single word, "pleasing".

Edited July 31, 2017 by dobu gabu maru

baja blast rd. · July 31, 2017

01: UAC Starport

Unless you do some snooping around, this is going to be a peashooter affair, as better weapons are in secrets. Amusingly, the hardest secret to notice -- the secondary lift -- has the most paltry goods by far. This one has all the typical 'breezy opener map' trappings, except a surprising absence of freely handed out health, coupled with no green armor. If you get there low on health, the trigger-happy troopers at the blue key could actually claim a pelt! One of the secrets provides a berserk pack, which coupled with the barrels and troopers lets you have some fun. The desaturated palette is not to my preferences, so I'm playing with the graciously provided no-filter.wad, but any videos will be with the intended palette.

Nine Inch Heels · July 31, 2017

Capellan · July 31, 2017

PrBoom+. HMP. Continuous. No music. Frequent saves.

MAP01

A solid opening level, though perhaps a bit pistol-whip heavy if you don’t want to engage with berserker shenanigans (which I never really do). Some nice use of lightning contrasts. I also appreciated the emphasis on windows between areas, creating a sense of menace even when the actual monster count was very light.

Pirx · July 31, 2017

first of all, congratulations for keeping the dwmc going for 5 years already! it has been a valuable resource on mapping and gameplay to me, a collection of theories on how a map should work, and simply an entertaining exchange of views. even funnier how i kept reading this for more than 2 years without posting. and with all the maps coming out i don't see the club running out of material soon.

playing in gzdoom with smooth doom, hd sound and palplus, i just like the colder palette, uv and pistol starts. seems about iwad difficulty so far.

MAP01 - "UAC Starport"

now to moonblood, i missed its release thread and was now impressed. it has a cohesive look, with the sense of space dobu mentioned. it's a typical introductory map with a few imps and zombies, but the construction and lighting feels "realistic" as far as doom maps can be called that. attention to detail in making the lift player-operated, always with a button nearby, you don't press on the lift itself. romero's rules are followed, as i see: you can see outside, so you can also get there. the berserk pack makes this map a lot more fun, as you can punch the barrels into the faces of the former base personnel. music is laid back, fitting the way how the map invites you to explore it (and quickly smack anyone who dares to disturb)

Snikle · July 31, 2017

Not August yet here in the good 'ol USA yet, but oh well.

MAP01: UAC starport

I'll get it out now: I usually don't like the first map of any megawad. They are usually short and easy, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but they also tend to all look similar, like they always try to be the best mix of Hangar and Entryway. Now, this level was like that, but it was harder than some MAP01s. I enjoyed it more than I would've expected. Found three of the four secrets. (Two shotguns and a berserk pack, all of which really helped me since I had killed all the monsters by the time I got them.) Pretty standard level, but I'll see where the WAD takes me.

leodoom85 · July 31, 2017

Fortunately I played this megawad when it came out and Deadwing knows it :P

an_mutt · August 1, 2017

Oh hey, cool! I streamed the first 15 maps of Moonblood a few months back - I'll probably get around to streaming the rest of set now that it's this month's Megawad Club choice.

paymentplan · August 1, 2017

Well, I voted for this one. I only played a few maps of this set back when it was released, but I liked what I saw. So let's get through this thing!

This is gonna be more touristy than purist style. I'll be playing on GZDoom, UV, pistol starts, no saves, and with Smooth Doom cause it's pretty.

MAP01 - UAC Starport

Kills: 100% Secrets: 100%

I played this map in an early release candidate without reading Deadwing's mission statement that the maps would be non-linear and found it kind of frustrating and weird. What are these extraneous sections? They don't have any ammo or secrets? What gives? Recently I went back and read that and it was a huge paradigm shift for me. The extraneous sections are a purposeful style choice by Deadwing, hearkening back to the more abstract design of the IWADs without descending into realistic over-detailing. It was a nice corner to turn. It allowed me to appreciate the little touches of detail Deadwing adds.

Without any secrets, this is a purely pistol only map. Tastefully done, too, I think. The first secret containing the shotgun is pretty easy to find and changes the gameplay a bit. On UV there is only one medikit outside of the exit room, so it's not impossible to get plinked to death by the imps and former humans. There's not really enough shotgun shells to really rely on the weapon without fully exploring all of the secrets. But the best secret of all is the Berserk pack! Pretty fun to punch everything to death.

The trap in the exit room off to the right being visible from the first secret is a neat little bit of design. Deadwing really establishes the extent of the non-linearity this WAD will have in the first map. Despite its compactness, there are lots of ways to navigate this thing.

riderr3 · August 1, 2017

Not a fan of custom palettes but I get used to it anyway.
I'm playing all pwads on HMP (somebody will say I will miss many stuff, but I don't care). Also continous play.

MAP01
A typical tech-base with E1 sky, simple and understandable design reminds me something between Doom 1 and Doom 2 first levels.
Found secrets with shotgun and berserk. But not found any armor except armor bonus, anyway this map is easy and you probably don't need this. Only imps and zombiemen are your enemies.

Edited August 1, 2017 by riderr3

Magnusblitz · August 1, 2017

ZDoom, UV, pistol starts, frequent save/reloading.

E1-1: UAC Starport

100% kills, 3/4 secrets

Right off, the filter seems a bit pointless to me, all it does is make things looked a bit washed out. Will probably stop playing without it.

Solid little techbase, lots of pistol zombies and imps and that's it. Unfortunately didn't find the berserk until after everything was dead, but even without it, it's very easy going. I agree with dobu that there's good "room sense" in that the rooms are designed in a way that's pleasing to look at. Good use of lighting and texturing here, despite being very standard in theme.

Weird little bit: the first switch (that opens up the door that leads to the berserk) is flagged impassible... I guess to round out corners? None of the other switches are like that, though.

rehelekretep · August 1, 2017

well i really like the palette change actually!

uv/pistol starts/no saves (not a promise, more in hope :p )

map01 fda

pretty standard m01 fare here, nothing too exciting. the 4th secret (the one teased at with a little glimpse around the tech walls bit) eluded me.

i appreciated the slightly maze like layout, although i hope it doesnt just get annoying later on in the wad!

i think the combat would really benefit from some more bite, the trooper/imp combo got old fast and by the end i was hoping for a demon or shotgunner (or even a cheeky AV or something just to break things up).

Deadwing · August 1, 2017

BTW, that Bloodborne reference on the pic was awesome, Dobu Gabu :D The storyline of moonblood is like a poor's man plagiarism of Bloodborne lol (awesome game btw)

Map 01 - That was actually the first level I've made for Doom, but after like 20 iterations haha I still like it and find it cute even today, although it probably feels dated for today standards. The current version has an outdoor branch and two early secrets which can provide some good amount of routes, even when the map is quite small. Depending on playstyle the playthrough differs a lot too, which is (imo) one of the advantage of non-linear maps. The original map (from eclipse, although it's not the first iteration) is much more simplier and basic haha

2 hours ago, Magnusblitz said:

Weird little bit: the first switch (that opens up the door that leads to the berserk) is flagged impassible... I guess to round out corners? None of the other switches are like that, though.

It's because that switch was a computer texture before, and I forgot to remove the impassable flag :x

Edited August 1, 2017 by Deadwing

Salt-Man Z · August 1, 2017

So I've downloaded this one a number of times. I've still got Eclipse and Revclipse, and had Reclipse before replacing it with the current iteration. I've played none of them, of course, though I always mean to play everything I download. And since it sounds like these maps are on the lighter side, I figure I'll give 'em a go. (I should really stop constantly starting new WADs. Maybe? Nah.)

GZDoom/continuous/saves/keyboard-only as usual, and I'll give UV a whirl.

MAP01: UAC Starport

13:47 | 100% Everything

Right off the bat I'm enjoying the subdued palette swap. And the soundtrack is great; I love playing DOOM to slightly-offbeat music like this. The level itself is fine, surprisingly-intricate, but quite straightforward nevertheless. Mostly I just wandered around until I found a switch, hit it, and repeat. I was relieved to finally get a shotgun, and then bummed when I used all my shells up that quickly. Found a bunch of secret shells at the end, though, so I'm good for next level. I think half of my playtime was post-clear trying to find the 3 secrets I missed. The sneaky lift secret eluded me the longest, but it felt good to figure it out.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Salt-Man Z

antares031 · August 1, 2017

First of all, Congratulations on achieving 5 years anniversary of DWMC! From my expericence, Deadwing made some enjoyable, interesting levels with non-linear layout for several wads, like Nevasca. And since I'm a big fan of non-linear levels, I've decided to participate the DWMC of this month. Every level will be played with ZDoom with Boom (strict) compatibility, and UV-Pistol Start.

MAP01 - UAC Starport
ZDoom, UV - PS, KIS(%): 100/100/100

A simple and mild opener for a full-scale megawad. Action is comprised of small fights against zombiemen and imps, and your goal is defeating them with your humble pistol. If you want more firepower, try to look for secret areas to get more useful arsenals. Monster placements are pretty simple, but not sloppy at all. Make sure to hit the targets efficiently since your ammo supply heavily relies on the dropped clips of zombiemen, unless you find the secret areas. Atmosphere feels like a combination of E1M1 and MAP01, a techbase with brown-ish textures and dark lightings, a building that decorated with BROWNGRN texture with the skybox of phobos. In overall, it's a nice start for a megawad.

TheOrganGrinder · August 1, 2017

This looks like just my kind of thing. ZDoom, Hurt Me Plenty, continuous play, and I'm going to be using the desaturated palette filter unless or until I start to find it detracts from my enjoyment of this tasty offering.

MAP01, E1:1: UAC Starport

The WAD opens with a pleasant little E1-themed techbase that's compact in its layout, maybe a little claustrophobic if this indicates the shape of things to come but not an issue at all if things will begin to open up a bit more in subsequent maps. I like the custom music here that's toward the playful end of the Doom spectrum, an upbeat soft-rock sound that's telling the player "yeah, go for it!" The nested secrets right at the start were a pleasant little surprise, and like @Salt-Man Z I think most of my playtime came from wandering back and forth to try and track down the last elusive secret, that "sneaky lift" he refers to - for me, figuring it its trigger was absolutely a "duh!" moment.

Pirx · August 1, 2017

BTW what does this custom palette change? I'm not at home so I can't check it out right now, but I loaded it yesterday quickly with sigvatr 's palplus and then without, and the colors looked pretty similar to me.

I like a colder palette and I use palplus since its release with anything I play (if it doesn't have its own like Ancient Aliens), to the point that doom looks weirdly yellowish to me if I load it "as it is".

Pirx · August 1, 2017

As for the sneaky lift, it's easy to assume that it's activated by the other lift switch in the room to the right. I tried this and was at a loss until I figured there is another switch. playing with headphones certainly helps. There isn't much loot for the effort, but on the other hand it isn't neded either.

NuMetalManiak · August 1, 2017

played this the first time on ITYTD, moving up the ladder to HMP. Let's go and spark it.

MAP01 UAC Starport

See, even though the enemies here are the traditional Entryway food, it's still quite tasty in how the level is layed out. The layout is the kind of thing to see in these maps, they are all quite interesting even if the gameplay can be considered samey after awhile. Not counting this map of course, since its an opening map. But still, a good mapset can be defined by its opening map. It's best NOT to put in hordes of enemies in your megawad opener, and a map like this proves it. The encounters are easy, but they are made to be. And the secrets aren't too bad either, managing to find all of them without external help. Traditional Entryway style level, though it lacks a rocket launcher secret, it doesn't need one.

Care to admit the names of these tracks by any chance? This sure is a new soundtrack.

TootsyBowl · August 1, 2017

YAAAAY MY FIRST DWMC WHEEEE

...

Where's the cake?

All jokes aside, playing this in GzDoom, HMP, continuous, frequent saving, mouselook, no infinitely tall actors, yada yada. Using SmoothDoom as well, with the zombieman rifle. Also using a standalone version of the Brutal Doom kick and a flashlight.

Map 01: UAC Starport

Kills: 100%

Items: 100%

Secrets: 100%

A pretty fun opening map. It feels more like a fun little shooting gallery, with the upbeat, almost cutesy music and easy, scattered monsters. Played through the maps twice, once as a simple run-through, and again to find 2 secrets that I missed. The first shotgun secret and the berserk secret were pretty easy to find, and gave some opportunities for a little bit of punchy-punchy. The second shotgun was found on my second run, with the sneaky lift secret following shortly after. I'm kind of disappointed that the sneaky lift secret was just a few bonuses and 8 shells, though. The zombieman rifle may have made it a little too easy, and I was never short of ammunition.

The gloomy color palette felt a little odd at first, but I got used to it after a moment. The map overall feels like a slightly gloomier E1 map, with the small outdoor area giving me a particularly strong E1 vibe.

Edit: for the date, how does it work? Do we just work off our own time zones?

Edited August 1, 2017 by TootsyBowl

rehelekretep · August 1, 2017

2 hours ago, Pirx said:

BTW what does this custom palette change? I'm not at home so I can't check it out right now, but I loaded it yesterday quickly with sigvatr 's palplus and then without, and the colors looked pretty similar to me.

I like a colder palette and I use palplus since its release with anything I play (if it doesn't have its own like Ancient Aliens), to the point that doom looks weirdly yellowish to me if I load it "as it is".

could you link this Palpus wad?

Deadwing · August 1, 2017

2 hours ago, NuMetalManiak said:

played this the first time on ITYTD, moving up the ladder to HMP. Let's go and spark it.

MAP01 UAC Starport

See, even though the enemies here are the traditional Entryway food, it's still quite tasty in how the level is layed out. The layout is the kind of thing to see in these maps, they are all quite interesting even if the gameplay can be considered samey after awhile. Not counting this map of course, since its an opening map. But still, a good mapset can be defined by its opening map. It's best NOT to put in hordes of enemies in your megawad opener, and a map like this proves it. The encounters are easy, but they are made to be. And the secrets aren't too bad either, managing to find all of them without external help. Traditional Entryway style level, though it lacks a rocket launcher secret, it doesn't need one.

Care to admit the names of these tracks by any chance? This sure is a new soundtrack.

You can listen and/or download the soundtrack here:

Here's the tracklist:

1 - Moonblood Starport (1, 31)
2 - Hardware and Waste (5, 11)
3 - Alpha Labs (2, 15)
4 - The Courtyard (4, 12, 24)
5 - Central Command (6, 20)
6 - Industrial Zone (7, 13, 25)
7 - Hell Presence (18, 26)
8 - Outside Gardens (22, 27)
9 - Sewers (8, 17)
10 - Working Floors (9)
11 - Spooky Shrine (14, 21)
12 - Nukage (10, 19, 28)
13 - Underground Experiments (3, 16, 23)
14 - Change of Settings (end level)
15 - Worried (intermission texts)
16 - Moonblood Ritual Site (29)
17 - The Sinner (title screen, 30)

Pirx · August 1, 2017

2 hours ago, rehelekretep said:

could you link this Palpus wad?

gaspe · August 1, 2017

Heh, I remember playing this when it was still Reclipse, with a different soundtrack and no color-filter. I missed the last episode, so I'll probably join for it and maybe some other few maps.

rehelekretep · August 1, 2017

thanks Pirx

Pirx · August 1, 2017

10 minutes ago, rehelekretep said:

thanks Pirx

See the comments - results may vary depending on your port, monitor and other settings. I use gzdoom normally at standard brightness and contrast and I have an IPS monitor (acer xb270hu). I prefer the more oppressive tone of palplus, the standard palette looks more cartoony. But that's just me.

Now to moonblood, its palette makes it look similar.

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The DWmegawad Club plays: Moonblood (it's our 5 year anniversary, golly!)

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