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

[riderr3]

MAP18
Not much say about this map except nicely done puzzle behind the yellow door. I looked on automap and realised the way to complete the sequence.
Also, extra ammunition and medikits stored behind optional keyed doors. There are enough armor on this map.

[Deadwing]

Map 18 - This map is quite brutal, probably the hardest one until now. You'll find revenants and arch-villes everywhere, which will make things quite challenging. You have initially 4 routes to go. Two of them leads to the dark room where you'll need to be careful with the monsters hiding in the darkness, but this is where you'll get a plasma gun, and then in the next rooms there's an armor. The midway path leads you straight to the courtyard where the SS is located. The courtyard probably has one of the toughest setpieces until now and it'll be your landmark (which is a quite common element in this wad). The last path leads you to the bfg, which will be quite helpful dealing with the tougher traps.

 

Thematically the level doesn't offer much, but I think it's a more solid level than the previous two, considering all the elements. However, navigation might be more complicated for some, especially because the switch that the door that leads to the YK area is subtly located in a corner of the large courtyard. Also, the lift mechanic is a bit bureaucratic to deal with, where you'll need to press the switch several. Then, the puzzle which look a lot harder for some players than I previously meant. In the last version of this wad, I had to lock the player inside it, because some players would wander all around the level trying to find a way to get throught the puzzle. I agree with @antares031 about having to repeat the whole proccess, it should've a checkpoint  after you reach that second door haha At last, some people struggled to find the plasma gun and the SS, because they mix up too much with the background (I guess?)

 

Anyway, If you don't get to deal with these navigation issues, I think this is a pretty fun and tough level (at least for this wad's stardard). Originally the level was completely diferent haha I think there wasn't one room there that hasn't passed through changes. Because of this, there's isn't much identity to the current version, but I still don't think it should have been replaced, just some issues fixed.
 

 

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP18 Hidden In The Dungeon

 

This is the map I remember the most the last time I played this. The overall setting is made creepy with the music track and it is one of those that feels longer than it really is, but somehow still rather enjoyable. More arch-viles, so there is certainly more room for excitement, and the layout is still wonderful as always. The lava around the caged arch-vile is a pinpoint for the endgame (leading to our very first spider mastermind as well), there's the room with the three lifts, which is weird in that descending any of them lowers them until you hit the switch in the far corner. The only thing I really hate about this one is the computer maze at the south end. Timed switches like these aren't fun to deal with, especially when one switch opens up two different doors. Tricky, not fun. Also I think it's possible to get stuck in one of the rooms if it closes, the one with the revenant and arch-vile. That really should've been fixed, and all that was necessary is simple, keep those doors open.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP18, E4-3: Hidden in the Dungeon

 

That's a curious and playful name right there, popping up unexpectedly and without much fanfare in much the same way as Doom's episode 2 level names go from industrial facilities and military installations to Halls of the Damned without warning.  The music similarly represents a change from the upbeat, rock/synth-dominated sound that has characterised the WAD so far, instead opting to go low, slow, and menacing, calling to mind the likes of Doom's E2M4 and E2M6.

 

Gameplay here focuses on exploration, with a couple of major central areas (courtyard and computer room) forming a hub around which corridors and smaller rooms sprawl.  I feel as though the player is invited to approach things in a somewhat clinical fashion; yes, the combat can get intense at times, but in general most encounters are pretty self-contained, and there's not a whole lot of repopulation of previously cleared areas.  One thing that's interesting is the provision of supplies locked behind red and yellow doors; they're not necessary for progression, they're literally just closets with ammo, medikits, and the occasional monster, but they do invite the player to travel back and forth after each key is collected and that can help to reinforce the player's mental map of the level's spaces.  And if there's something else that stands out, it's the puzzle sequence behind the southern yellow door; there's a token presence of low-tier monsters throughout the area to keep things interesting while the player identifies all the moving parts and figures out a solution, and then just when you think it's solved, wham, revenant and arch-vile right in your face.  It's cheeky and a little cruel and I love it.

[antares031]

MAP19 - Obstructed Zone
ZDoom, UV - PS, KIS(%): 100/100/100

 

What an intimidating start, I must say. After you survived from the intense opening, you have two options; either go explore the green marble base to find the red keycard and proceed, or clean up the techbase to get something really helpful for your journey in this level. The marble base will also give you some conventional weapons for pistol starters, while the other side will only give you a great communicator in the secret area. You may proceed to the red keycard without visiting the techbase, especially if you're looking for a speedrun, but it will only make the fights beyond the locked door even more difficult. What a nice, challenging level from the start to the end.

[DAZZER]

MAP17: Beta Labs Reception

Time: 12:31

 

The Name of this Map allready tells you what your about to witness here. After a kinda hard start I thought this wad will increase in difficulty now. But after that it went back to normal Gameplay against Hitscanners and Imps. You get the BFG pretty early and with it comes a meet & greet with the first Archvile and 2 of his buddys. Sadly i just had Munition for one shot... Shouldn't have used the Plasmarifle that often I guess... But it's so good against Pain Elementals :( The second hard area is one of the Blue Key Areas when there Barons and an Archvile teleported in. Beside that theres not much more to this Map... I think it's kinda unneedable to place 2 Soulspheres without a secret. The Map isn't that hard.

[baja blast rd.]

Map 18: Hidden in the Dungeon
 

It's fun to imagine that during the self-imposed restriction Deadwing was thinking, 'When do I finally get to use archviles?' and now he can't get enough of them. This map is out for Doomguy's blood. Hitscanners, revenants, archviles -- feels quite Plutonia-inspired. The Mastermind is also introduced in a very 'Nicolas Monti' way: have that BFG ready. ;) One aspect of the puzzle that can trip you up is that you might not notice the second door opening and fiddle around with lift timings and such, especially since previous levels have used those. There is a skip in this one too, although survival chances are quite low. I just went for it instead of doing any preparation, and I was pretty shocked that I got it so quickly. The partial invisiblity secret, which is basically the last thing anyone might imagine using in the exit room, comes in handy here. 

 

 

[TheOrganGrinder]

@rdwpa, I'm going to point to that as an example of why the ability to "cheese" the map if one so desires can be awesome.

Edited August 18, 2017 by TheOrganGrinder

[rehelekretep]

lol!

[dobu gabu maru]

MAP32: Ah, I've played this one before! A fun level with a good change of base from all the techbases we've been stuck in; I like some of the time the player spends in the outside area.

 

MAP16: Mmmm there seem to be a few too many chaingunners plonked down at the ends of hallways here for me. Things got much better when I finally found the blue armor, but during my initial foray the map was a bit stuttery gameplay-wise, forcing me to move forward, draw out any side monsters, and then kill them before proceeding down the hall to take out the chaingunner. Health is at an all-time record low here too, pretty much forcing you to restart should a rev rocket find its way into the side of your skull. Don't think I'm going to scale the difficulty down just yet—I like the ammo deprivation here—but hordes of chaingunners and revvies mixed with munitions deprivation is a bitter pill to swallow.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP19, E4-4: Obstructed Zone

 

I felt like this was once again a bit of a mixed bag; the green stone corridors that make up the southern portion of the map put me in mind of the quadrant-dividing 'spine' of Doom's E2M2, and the natural rock of the ourdoor area that wraps around the map provides a change of pace from the man-made (or infernally wrought) environments that have defined this episode so far, but there's a tangle of rooms in between that are rather lacking in character and feel like they're just there to provide the pistol-starting player with a BFG for the later confrontation with the Cyberdemon and otherwise are just there filling out space.  On continuous play, there's an interesting and strong sense of the vertical at work here, with the preceding map's plunge into the depths of the Spider Mastermind's lair followed by elevators both at the end of that map and the start of this one; having braved the deepest reaches of this corrupted installation, you're now clawing your way back toward what passes for sunlight and fresh air.  I think the standout encounter here, for me, wansn't anything particularly challenging but simply the mad crush of imps in the caves immediately prior to the exit; there's something enormously satisfying about squeezing the trigger and watching two barrels spray enough buckshot to mow down the entire'y corridor's breadth of infernal meat.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP16 | E4-1: Beta Labs Reception

99% kills, 0/3 secrets

 

Onwards to episode 4, though actually this one has the weakest theme so far, at least in terms of feeling different - feels like techbases with a few hellish bits (vines, fire) but overall just uglier techbase. I was very happy to get a berserk pack, something that's been lacking so far in this level set. And hey, I even found the SSG early on like I'm supposed to... though partially only because I said to myself "ya know, maybe I should go back and clear out the opening area first..." And yipes, I didn't find any secrets...

 

It's a decent crawl but overall left me a bit underwhelmed. Very flat, and a lot of the fights seem repetitive, always being either rev + baron or rev + PE. Not sure what the point of the area with the invisible walls was (and it didn't seem to work properly since the imp could see me through it) except to waste ammo. I could see the main area being a fun DM level with all the windows and multiple entrances to the blue key room, though.

 

One more thing, the flame textures are always static... gotta remember to use FIRELAVA instead of FIRELAV2 even though the latter shows up first in the editor. Unless you want it static...

 

MAP17 | E4-2: BFG Experiments

100% kills, 3/3 secrets

 

Ah nice, a map where I can't miss the SSG. :) Dobu mentioned chaingunner snipers and eating rev rockets for last map, but this map was the one to do that for me. Lots of deaths early on to getting whittled down by a chaingunner in some corner I didn't see or just barely catching a rev rocket at 75% health and dying. I did like the use of AVs here, and the final fight is definitely dangerous given the close quarters.

 

 

[riderr3]

MAP19
A group of revenants are encountered me after start, plasmagun is so helpful at this moment.
After grabbing computer area map, I suspected a natural rocky canyon outside.
Behind the red door cyberdemon are suddenly appeared. Probably scroller teleported him there? I pushed cyberdemon to lava with BFG.
Near the final cave a horde of imps trying to trow me to lava. And finally fight with revenants and archvile, BFG another time helped me.
This is the short map, less than ten minutes.

Edited August 19, 2017 by riderr3

[Capellan]

MAP12

I definitely get the sense I am not welcome here, with a lot of resistance to my arrival.  Definitely a gear shift in the difficulty stakes and the visuals alike, as we transition to a rock/marble/brick/wood motif ... mostly.  There are a few add annexes or inserts of a more techbase bent.

 

I liked how I saw the blue bars in the starting area, but then ultimately ended up going through a blue door elsewhere and approaching the blue bars from behind - backstabbing a few imps along the way.

 

 

MAP13 

Quite the wild textural mishmash here, including a room of fireblu and cement, and use of brick12, which may be the ugliest brick texture in the game.

 

The cyber fight seemed a bit pointless since you could just toe to toe him with the invuln.  Would have been more fun to have the fight triggered by a different lure, I think.  Could be fun to release him to kill the other monsters for you though, I guess.

 

I entirely ignored the final teleport trap, skipping to the exit while the 'trons and mancubus were still trying to lock on to me.

 

[Magnusblitz]

MAP18 | E4-3: Hidden in the Dungeon

100% kills, 1/3 secrets

 

Definitely my favorite of the 4th episode so far, and I feel like (apart from the beginning and end areas) it has the best texture usage and strongest theme, despite still being a mish-mash of textures. Well, and apart from the computer maze, which doesn't quite feel like it fits (feels more like Episode 1) but that's alright. More good use of Arch-Viles here, and a cheeky surprise spider mastermind. A lot of good combat despite only ever having 3-4 enemies at a time.

[Capellan]

MAP14

Not a big fan of the opening caves section, but it's over quickly and we get into the mostly-marble base which is better.  Interesting choice to have METAL sections too, but the effect is not too jarring during play ... possibly because I had more pressing matters on my mind than the decor!  Several revvie traps here, but also good use of 'trons and mancs.  As I've said before, effective use of the latter two enemy types is much more impressive to me, as they're not anywhere near as flexible as old bony.

 

The map could perhaps have used more attention to lighting.  Most of the North and West is a flat 128 while the SE section is almost all 144.

 

[rehelekretep]

map18 fda

map19 fda

i intensely dislike the start of 19 >.<

i just rewatched 19 and remembered that you can skip the cyber completely if you jump into the lava and go back up the steps, rather than going across the stepping stones. i wonder if you want to fix that @Deadwing ?

Edited August 19, 2017 by rehelekretep

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP19 Obstructed Zone
 

That is one nasty trap at the beginning, would not have expected that. Actually, there are quite a lot of nasty traps in this one too. You think the plasma gun would be enough, and it does its job well, but it's a hard turn to deal with the devious monster placement in this very much warped reality base. Half the time you are looking at marble and organic things, and then there's bits and pieces of techbase to find. The abject nonlinearity adds to the feel of this one. Another monster-filled key trap with the red key, and a rather devious rocket launcher trap. I didn't remember it much, but then again, I avoided damage on my run through this trap, showing how surprisingly well I can play. Going outside also has its moments, dealing with the cave monsters where the blue key is, or the cyberdemon that shows up on the islands before it. Another good level.

[baja blast rd.]

Map 19: Obstructed Zone

 

One of my favorites in the set so far. What really gives this one its luster is that the first fight is essentially optional, thanks to the megasphere. You rush for the BFG straight away and go from there, and the map is quite fun that way. Survival is quite likely, it's only staying near topped-off from the megasphere that is in question. A lot of mappers like to make sure the player 'follows the itinerary' so to speak, but I really like it when the first fight can be skipped in some way, at the expense of being thrown into another fire. Haha literally . . . because archviles. :| So making this fight more or less mandatory by tying escape to a series of switches instead of just one would have weakened the map considerably.

 

You don't get the SSG or RL until later on in this route, and I'm a big fan of the quirkiness of the early weapon distribution: BFG supported by the berserked fist, single shotgun, and chaingun. You don't see that too often. Megasphere starts in maps like this (attrition being more of a danger than any quick knockouts, the first fight and the cyberdemon aside) a rarity too. It works smoothly here because your health will inevitably dwindle down to a hundred  by the last fights and it's not like you can top off again, so the difference is whether your armor is green or blue, nothing that can potentially trivialize the map. The ending is pretty memorable with a cyber fight followed by a reclamation of caves from a crew of loitering imps. The imp spam reads as off model for Moonblood -- but yeah, mowing down fodder can be fun too, not every single monster needs to have a strategic role. Secrets are somewhat useless, as seems to be the norm. 

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2017 by rdwpa

[Deadwing]

1 hour ago, rehelekretep said:

map18 fda

map19 fda

i intensely dislike the start of 19 >.<

i just rewatched 19 and remembered that you can skip the cyber completely if you jump into the lava and go back up the steps, rather than going across the stepping stones. i wonder if you want to fix that @Deadwing ?

 

Since it's too easy, I'll have to fix it =x

There's still a lot of bugs to fix, which I wasn't expecting. I guess I'll do a post-releasing version while keeping the 1.0 in the /idgames. Not sure tbh

[baja blast rd.]

Please don't fix any of the fun skips! :)

[Deadwing]

27 minutes ago, rdwpa said:

Please don't fix any of the fun skips! :)

 

 

I'm definetly not going to change them haha

 

Most of stuff will be focused on bug fixing, very small balance changes or design ones so players doesn't get lost so often when playing for the first time.

[Deadwing]

Map 19 - I guess episode IV gets stronger as you move on. I didn't remember much that level haha but it's quite fun. The starting can be scary, but it was meant to be a somewhat cinematic moment rather than a difficult one. You have plasma and the megasphere and all you have to do is to close your eyes and let the bones and the archville perish (actually the archville first haha). Anyway, from this room you have two paths to go, one will lead to the marble area with more enclosed encounters, while the another will lead to a more difficult setpiece. The first one is definetly easier than the second one, although it rewards you with a BFG.

 

Some people (in the forums, from streams, etc) has said that in some levels it seems there's the right and wrong path, but tbh I don't really see that way. Some paths are definetly easier than anothers, but I'm fine with this, as long as the player doesn't get in a situation of inevitable death. I would call this more like asymmetric non-linearity. Still, sometimes I tried to "communicate" the player to avoid chosing certain paths - at least in that moment -, or, at least, taking responsability for chosing them, which are areas with some clear lockdown: drop-offs, lifts, holes, etc. I'm not sure if it worked, though.

 

Anyway, this is a somewhat linear level, divided in 3 sections: Corrupted techbase, Cyberdemon battle and the cave in the end. The cyberdemon battle isn't much hard, but since I'm not good in doing the two-shots things, it can get tricky sometimes haha The infested Imp caves is something that feels indeed off, like @rdwpa said, but I like it. It's one of the areas that remained the same compared with the original layouts.

 

 

[antares031]

MAP20 - Moonblood Gateway
ZDoom, UV - PS, KIS(%): 100/100/66

 

Here we have several structures on the lake of lava. Keep in mind that even the cooled lava floor will hurt you a little bit, so stay out from the ground as possible. The game starts with two options that you can choose, so you may try out each route first, then pick one that you prefer. It also offers you a rocket launcher and a plasma gun in the beginning, but please be careful out there. The final level of 4th episode doesn't play around at all. The monster count might seem low, but Plutonia is not difficult, just because of slaughtering scenes at all; most of levels in Plutonia only have less than 100 monsters. Out of 72 monsters on UV, excluding lost souls, there are 7 arch-viles in this level. Not to mention that pain elementals and chaingunners will do their best to annoy you. I'm so glad that I found a BFG from the secret level from the beginning. Otherwise, it would be a big problem to deal with those arch-viles, especially near the exit teleporter. A pretty good level to beat as the closer of this episode.

[Capellan]

MAP15

Quite the hairy start.  Once you break out of the opening room things become a bit grindy, though - at least if you don't want to have your health plinked off by distant hitscanners you can't target in return.  That's often a problem in these "complex of buildings" maps.

 

Lighting is disappointing again: 80% of the map is 176, including most of the building interiors.

 

Also a bit disappointing that all the buildings are the same exterior height.  Some use of sky ceiling properties to create some variation would have been nice.

 

Did not find the secret level, but I thought I was on map14 so I didn't really look for it. :)

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP32: Archives: Iron Keep

30:06 | 100% Everything

 

Can't say I enjoyed this one at all. It certainly looked nice, when I could see anything. I did finally break down and bump gamma correction up a couple notches after the blue door. (Really? A blind drop into a near-pitch black room, with chaingunner and revenant snipers that you can only see when they fire at you?) I didn't even notice the cyber(s?) at the yellow key, since, anticipating a trap, I dashed in and out as quickly as possible. Then when I had to fight the two of them at the end I almost despaired. Probably 20 tries later with a bunch of savescumming, I finally beat them and...what now? How do I get out? Tooled around for like 5 minutes before giving up and checking this thread. I had already tried dashing across the lava, but apparently not at the right spot? Sorry, but that was ridiculous. Was kinda hoping for another death exit here since I'm more than ready to dial it back to HMP, but nope...

[Capellan]

MAP16

Back to tech base land here, but it's a vine-strewn, Shores of Hell-ish kind of tech basery.

 

Pretty good romp here, though suddenly getting three backpacks after 15 maps without any may be something of an overkill.  We'll also have to see how the ability to carry over more ammo will impact later levels.

 

Skipped the final room's fight; it's pretty easy to just hit the switch to open the exit door and run away.  Maybe not very heroic, but there didn't seem to be much point expending the ammunition :)

 

[Magnusblitz]

MAP19 | E4-4: Obstructed Zone

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

I had an obstructed zone after eating too much pizza last night ZING

 

Anyways, this is another fun map. Another one with a strong sense of place (another hellified base, opening up into a nice little lava/rock area) and some good fights. Things start off with a bang and go on from there, and the cyber definitely caught me by surprise (many thanks to the marble pillar, MVP of this level). I do feel compelled to say that not every Arch-Vile fight needs revenants alongside it. :P I did also especially like the imp swarm at the end, and then dropping a pair of AVs on it to re-use the corpses. Looks like this is yet another level with an easy speedrun trick, just use the AV at the start to hit you up to the berserk pack and take that teleporter straight to the exit switch.

 

[Capellan]

MAP17

Felt the revenants got a bit over-used in this one.  Would have been nice to see some of the monster-diversity that previous maps have exhibited.  Was also not a fan of the crusher-run.  It's not actually very difficult, but it's also not actually very interesting, at least IMO.

 

 

[Spectre01]

EPISODE 2

MAP07 - "Industrial Zone"

 

I'm still in this and will delete doom2.wad if I don't catch up by the end of the month! After a really nice outdoor opening shot and a new night sky, it's somewhat disappointing how the map is largely an indoor industrial base affair. While not a Dead Simple clone, Mancs and 'Trons do make up a bulk of the modest 61 monster count. Luckily, ammo is very generous compared to the first episode and I was able to spam rockets at all of them bic bois. There was also that teleporter near the yellow key which warped you back to the start of the map. Somewhat inconvenient having to leg all the way back without much of a reward for taking it.

 

MAP08 - "Sewers"

Another sewer-type map, though more resembling something like Underhalls rather than a pain-sector themed nukebase. The interconnected layout was interesting and resource scarcity made a small comeback. The traps are also meaner, although I'm not a huge fan of the "step into teleporter > spawn in the middle of a gangbang" type of deal.

Edited August 20, 2017 by Spectre01