The DWmegawad Club plays: Crumpets & Stardate 20X7 & Rush

[galileo31dos01]

3 hours ago, rehelekretep said:

unless he's accidentally got speed set to 150, he's just that damn fast (▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿)

Apart from being fast like a boss, the turns are quicker, or at least it looks like that. Just curious about it.

[Nine Inch Heels]

15 minutes ago, galileo31dos01 said:

Apart from being fast like a boss, the turns are quicker, or at least it looks like that. Just curious about it.

That's the benefit of using a mouse. You can turn very smooth, or really fast, hence the general opinion that playing with a mouse is superior to playing keyboard only. That's not to say keyboarders can't be fast and whatnot, but a mouse always has some advantages going for it, especially when it comes to being a bit more accurate, or doing quick turns.

[Spectre01]

3 hours ago, Spie812 said:

map03

It took me way too long to figure out that I had raised a step into the rocket launcher pool and I feel stupid.

Welcome to the club!

 

MAP03 - “Tiramisu”

Took me 15 minutes to finish because I spent ages looking for what the progression even was. Ammo is very tight here and I've hit 0 on several occasions. Maximizing HK + Rev infighting is recommended unless you feel like punching them down.

[NuMetalManiak]

I am starting to wonder if @rdwpa is trying to outmatch @dew with those skills

 

 

MAP03 Tiramisu
 

Nice, quick short. Has a few nasty ambush moments where monsters are put into turreted positions, the ever-present arachnotron is only the icing. I got extremely lucky with those chaingunners not firing immediately after they teleport, which I notice is something a lot of monsters that teleport do, instantly fire at the Doomguy upon materialization. There must be some kind of Doom code that makes them do that. Other than that, hit the hitscans and the turreted enemies mostly, because the ground enemies are actually not too concerning. The secret can actually be quite a stumper, but the rewards are of the telefragging kind, getting rid of hell knights and the arachnotron helps. There were probably harder enemies here on higher settings though. Jumping to the exit was a bit unique as well.
 

Pistol start: I was faster here due to figuring out the route, but the ammo was something to watch. Nothing else.

[Killer5]

Map04:

I really enjoyed the setting of this map. And the fact that there is a bfg that you can see right out of the initial room makes secret finding a priority which is one of my favorite things.

 

The first fight is interesting. There are insignificant monsters blocking the way out. So if you hit the switch and position yourself effectively the lost souls are pretty much always out of your way after the first few seconds. The rest of the map feels very incidental combat to me which makes playing reality stressful because sometimes wandering monsters become an issue.

 

The only low bit to this map for me is that the vile bit inside of the castle thing is easily cheesed with a rocket from where the manc/cells/green armor is.

 

Whatev reality demo:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rydf6xnnvayagny/crumpets_04_cl9.lmp?dl=0

[baja blast rd.]

@galileo31dos01, I use glBoom+ (the gl version of prBoom+). 

 

Map 04: Bocuma

 

The most interesting fight is at the beginning, and a few approaches will work. One is leaving as soon as possible, which is safely doable when you figure out which gaps will open up after fire your first shot. Another is 'infight trolling': when Ribbiks places back-facing monsters, you often should poke a monster in its hiney and position yourself so that it hits another monster. Pit the survivor of that duel against another monster and so on, until you have cleared out a number of the threats, all while keeping silent.

 

The conventional approach is more instructive, however. We can consider the species involved: revenants, mancs, barons, pinkies, and lost souls. Traditionally the revenants and mancs would be the most dangerous, and thus priority threats, right? Nope. The key point is that you don't have much space, and low-tiers, which eat much of it up, go down in one SSG shot apiece. So pinkies and lost souls should go first. As you get rid of those, the mid-tiers will gleefully infight.  

 

The rest of the map becomes simple with the BFG secret (the 'hidden steps in the rocks' method reminds me of Stardate 20x6) and the bulk cell, which could be considered an unmarked secret. For the viles, it helps to kill one and at least weaken another with a single BFG shot, so I wait for the one on the ground to attack if possible, making it easier to align the shot.

 

I wasn't planning on trying a reality attempt but I avoided damage at the start of this particular playthrough so I decided to roll with it. By the end, I took damage once unfortunately. Guess which species of monster was the spoiler.

 

 

Edited September 2, 2017 by rdwpa

[Capellan]

MAP04

Again, continuous play did a lot to de-fang this map.  I was able to bull through the opening encounter and get into the larger part of the level, from which point I mostly had the initiative.  I messed up the revvie encounter on the supercharger a couple of times, which I think is an entirely optional fight in any respect.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP04 Bocuma

 

This one opens up with a cramped area where you have to get around these somewhat big monsters. Or just fight if you want. The rest of this level is filled with cheap tricks, the monster shows up and immediately teleports variety. This isn't fun after the first time. I found a nice corner in the red key building to hug while keeping the arch-vile and snipers at bay. Though it took a lot longer than I expected since I was itching for secrets. I remember both quite well, one requiring the red key in a position that can often be forgotten (because the closest thing that needs the red key is the exit). The other one is the juicy BFG secret.

 

Pistol Start: Harder and it makes you hate using the SSG at the start. Going is easier if you head for the exit first to get a chaingun, or the other chaingun, although you have to hit-and-run with the SSG. Getting the rocket launcher of course involved vigilance, and I went for the BFG9000 secret early this time. I did finally figure out what that one brown switch was for, the megaarmor and the energy cell pack, which I didn't figure out the first time and spent way too long on what it did. Otherwise apart from the beginning, nothing different.

[Demtor]

 

MAP04 - “Bocuma”
gzDoom - HMP – pistol start/saves

 

This is more like it. After the initial SSG training session there’s a little bit more room to move around in. All of the rocky walls and steps look superb. Just spectacular stuff. Open spaces are sprinkled with smaller encounters alongside a few restocking points with teleporting enemies and a couple of interesting perches and ledges for snipers while running from surprise revs (the best kind!) and such. The AV/rev in the locked in area before the RK was intense. 

 

Wow, deep cut with the FFT character creation track. Fits well. Squaresoft b-sides that work with doom maps. Who would’ve thought?   

The description from the Crumpets.txt: “First level I made for the set. I originally was just scribbling around trying to hash out texture themes that would eventually become Sunlust map14, but I decided it would be fun to sharpen the old speedmapping claws. Thus "Crumpets" was born, a way for me to entertain myself with some relaxing mapping in between the development of maps for other projects.”

 

It all makes sense now. This wad is a series of Ribbiks speedmapping his way through boredom. This one only took 3 and a half hours total? I’m not a mapper, but that seems nuts to me. I don’t know how you guys work the magic you do.

 

 

MAP05 - “Mint Chocolate”
gzDoom - HMP – pistol start/saves

 

My favorite flavor! Never thought of the particular color scheme as such but hey, it actually works when you think about it.

 

I like that the green toxic water, isn’t damaging. It’s just a good looking design choice.

 

The deepest, darkest part of the map was awesome looking. As is much of the map and it’s outer detailing and sniper perches behind the triple rev ambush. Just a lot of great looking environments that were a joy to fight your way through.

 

The squeeze past the wall of revenants and arch-vile behind them to get to the BFG was really cool and if you’re really good you could possibly save enough plasma for a shot at the end. I unfortunately, was not able to do that. That was crazy.
 

[Scotty]

Crumpets has been on my to do list for some time, and there's no time like the present i guess. Casual UV playthrough trying to max each map, GLBoom+.

 

Earl Grey
Not much to say really, although the lighting detail from the bookcases is nice.

 

Flutter
Very forgiving in terms of ammo and health, i was actually surprised at how easy it is compared to what i expected. The YK area is tight and frantic, saving the berserk until the health benefit is absolutely necessary is a good tactic and a good lesson in pickup management when it comes to later tougher maps.

 

Tiramisu
As in map02, putting the Arachnotron to work and causing distraction was again useful at the beginning. Having some tyson play ability proved to be useful as i missed the secret and killed those 3 revs manually. This style of layout is my favourite - basically one large segmented arena that opens up as you progress. The midi is fantastically atmospheric too.

 

Bocuma
Here the difficulty ramps up by a clear notch and is more in line with what i expected, with strategy becoming more necessary in defeating some encounters. I initially thought the first fight was one of those stealth infighting deals but after a few tries found it was possible just to straight up gun them all down without too much issue. The vile area was tricky although dealing with them one at a time (as much as i could anyway) did the job. The PE's that spawn after grabbing the red key were annoying (ie effective) given that there were only 3 of them. The BFG secret was a subtle one indeed, didn't find that until the very end, that sure would have helped! I really liked the layout of this map.

 

Mint Chocolate
What a beautiful building with all the swooping curvature. This map felt more difficult again, i died a fair few times. The Pain Elemental in this one is a total asshole. My eventual tactic was to immediately go for the SSG (fun trap) then use it to clear out the central area. The cyber is exceptionally awkward especially when trying to get good BFG shots in - moreso because i felt i had to save a shot for the final fight to get a foothold there.

 

Again i enjoyed the structure of the map very much. I find myself pondering how Ribbiks constructs his maps and what his thought processes and overall approach is whenever i play them. I was incredibly taken aback when i saw the map build times in the text file!

 

I enjoy challenging maps but equally dislike grinding away having to figure out how to beat larger difficult maps effectively, so i entered this hopeful that this compact set would be a nice balance for me. So far so good, i am really having loads of fun with this.

[Killer5]

Map05:

My favorite map so far without a doubt. Has the best midi, atmosphere, and the gameplay I expect from Ribbiks.

 

The start is easily handled by just chilling in the area where the chaingunner is guarding the drop off into the cyb/vile area. Simple to avoid damage this way.

 

The cyb/vile bit is a test of patience on occasion when playing reality (sometimes things just don't go your way). But that area is a lot of fun finding angles where you can avoid cyb rockets without taking splash damage.

 

The fight with the mancs/barons/revs was pretty self explanatory with the positioning of the mancs. Just get one manc to infight and clean up.

 

The upper area feels like filler a bit in comparison to the rest of the map. Just a couple chaingunners and a few revs.. and one arachnotron for infighting purposes I guess?

 

The finale is a simple bfg the PEs and run around in circles till you win kinda fight. It is cramped enough to keep things interesting though.

 

Whatev reality demo:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7s778sjagk397p3/crumpets_05_cl9.lmp?dl=0

[baja blast rd.]

Map 05: Mint Chocolate

 

This is probably my favorite Crumpets map. Stunning visuals, cool fights, awesome midi too. Ribbiks made the midi himself, and it's definitely in my top 10 of Doom midis.

 

At the beginning, grab the single shotgun, ignoring the shells, and scurry for the opening on the left down to the crescent-shaped area with a chaingunner. From here you can stock up on chaingun ammo and take out the pain elemental. From this point onward, you'll want to save 20-30 bullets for the penultimate encounter, so use the single shotgun for cleanup and sniping duties if needed.

The next area is the most dangerous. It's a pretty cool minimalist battle with an archvile and cyberdemon, where the cyb needs to be weaponized against the vile. What's worth knowing is that the wood pillars with torches are high enough to block cyber rockets, so squeezing past the cyb isn't quite as treacherous as it looks. It's safest to rush past the cyber either when you have a clear opening or when it's firing -- when it's firing it's immobile and you'll get past it as long as you time the rockets well. You'll want to save at least one BFG shot for the ending, so that means either two-shotting the cyber or getting the SSG first before coming down here. (This is a good spot to practice two-shots that aren't in open space, if you are familiar with the mechanics but want more practical experience.) 

 

After dealing with that area, you can teleport back up and take care of everything in the starting area but the hell knight (plinking away at it is boring and you'll get the SSG later anyway). It's really a good idea to pick off the imps hanging around up top. If you don't, you'll see why. 

 

In the SSG caves, hide in the corner and wait for one mancubus to waddle over. When it starts attacking, you want to quickly spring out and direct its shots (the third volley is safest) into the revenants and barons. Even if this doesn't work -- meaning it would rather come up for a hug than fire -- you'll have a lot more space when you rush over to the manc cubby, where you can watch the inevitable infighting. So this is not really a gambit. 

 

After that, you'll end up warping to the top level, and now it's clear why those imps should be dealt with from below. Having some bullets allows you to take care of the chaingunners cleanly, which is why we saved some earlier.

 

In the final area, use your BFG shot on the pain elementals. In my video I try BFGing just some of the nobles for Science™ (aka was being stupid on whim) but it quickly became a mess, so the theory we've proven is 'don't do that'. (The second best option in a survival context is dispersing the BFG shot evenly through all monsters.) 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2017 by rdwpa

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP03: Tiramisu

 

Even coming into this one with a reasonable pile of supplies from the preceding level, ammunition's rather on the tight side; not really being much of a one for fisticuffs, I know I'd have struggled with this on Hurt Me Plenty and/or pistol starting.  Another tight little temple structure to enjoy, though progression's a little on the annoying side; I spent quite a bit of time wandering back and forth before realising that a step into the rocket pool had been raised.  And wouldn't you know, I'd poured fire into the arachnotron sniper and the hell knight trio before discovering the secret that providing a neat means to otherwise resolve them.  Ah well.

 

MAP04: Bocuma

 

I do like the contrast that's building over these maps between relatively light, somewhat fantasy-themed music and some of the most in-your-face and frantic of combat, and I'm coming to Ribbiks' mapping corpus in an order that leaves me thinking of Crumpets as Sunlust, bite-size edition.  This one's a map of peaks and troughs of intensity, with the opening back-to-back armies, the dive into the courtyard, and the optional revenant orgy when the player goes to collect the secret soul sphere representing the peaks of my experience.

Edited September 3, 2017 by TheOrganGrinder

[Spie812]

Gzdoom - UV Continuous

 

map04:

 

After getting swarmed a couple of times in the opening fight, the rest of the level was pretty easy. The fight with the two arch-viles was the only other noteworthy fight. However, you can drop into that arch-vile pit while only alerting one of them. The BFG secret was pretty clever and provided a useful tool for getting rid of some of the more irritating enemies.

 

map05:

 

First off, this level looks super cool. I like the curved architecture and the lighting contrast. Continuous play definitely made the opening fight less irritating. The lower area with the revenant/mancubus mob was pretty fun, but the fight in the upper area was a little boring. I ended up using a save before the cyberdemon pit (which I had, after several fails there, decided to save until last.) The final fight was just a matter of BFG blasting the weaker enemies and then dodging around the tankier ones into the exit.

[Capellan]

MAP05

Sometimes I think Ribbiks goes a little overboard with the circles, and this map is a case in point.  Found this one fairly easy on the whole.  Very manageable on continuous.  Is launching oneself off the torch plinths the intended way to get the red key, or did I miss something somewhere?  The sector design makes it look like maybe stairs are supposed to rise to it, but I can't see a line action so I guess parkour was the intended approach?

 

Pretty much ignored the final fight.  Slipped around the HKs and Cacos and into the exit.

[rehelekretep]

map03 fda

cool map. very small and compact. i found this a little bit 'fiddly' for want of a better word. lots of situations (particularly finding myself stuck between 2 AVs with limited ammo and some respawning chaingunners) where i had to be very mindful of sight lines and this slowed the pace down a bit. im sure you can play it differently and not get stuck like i did but it was a shame as the map was pretty cool.

Edited September 3, 2017 by rehelekretep

[rehelekretep]

map04 fda

a lot more enjoyable. love the midi and the setting (the previous map felt contrived in a way that this one doesnt). couldnt for the life of me work out how to get the bfg, despite being able to see the steps on the demo playback about 5 times >.< the AVs are a bit cheeky on a first play, and the first fight in the RK room shows how much better i need to get at working at priority targets in these kind of telegraphed scenarios :(

Edited September 3, 2017 by rehelekretep

[Spectre01]

MAP04 - “Bocuma”

Well, those were some well-hidden secrets since I didn't find either of them. The opening encounter looks the most intimidating, and it still probably is as far as the map goes. I couldn't bump the Manc in GLBoom+ so instead ended up baiting the Baron to infight with him and cause some chaos. The rest of the map is quite mild, assuming you don't blindly rush into some hitscanners and mind the teleport traps. Two Viles inside that small castle can also be alerted from the wall, before jumping down, and taken out from a safe spot. Also a rather unusual choice to have the grass and rock textures right next to each other on those cliffs.

 

MAP05 - “Mint Chocolate”

Alright, this map gets a lot more serious than the three before rather quickly. Foreknowledge and some trial and error was definitely needed here, especially for the Cyber/Vile and SSG encounters. I can't claim to be the biggest fan of this type of setup.

Edited September 4, 2017 by Spectre01

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP05 Mint Chocolate

 

Fitting, all that brown goes well with the green in this somewhat easy level. Didn't have any trouble on continuous, except at the exit, where I think it's really bad to lock me in after using the red switch (because I missed the ENTIRE SSG area and I couldn't go back). A little less on the traps though. Mostly shotgun action with all the shells and the music is quite freaky.

 

Pistol Start: Took a punch from a revenant trying to take it down with the single shotgun before luckily prying the chaingun away from the chaingunner at the start. I again miss the SSG area but remember to get it this time, the combat there is a little easier than MAP04's beginning.

[Pirx]

20 hours ago, rdwpa said:

Snip

 

 

 

Just saying thanks for your detailed guides. I'm not particularly savvy at maps where i have to play by the rules imposed on me by the mapper. Ribbiks does this in most scenarios, especially those where he locks you in and you need a plan, or you'll crash hard.

Edited September 4, 2017 by Pirx

[baja blast rd.]

Map 06: Masquerade

 

Probably my least favorite Crumpets map. It's not just the awkwardly scaled areas; it's that progression consistently comes to a halt, with lots of lifts and awkward jumps, even a crusher to wait for. It has some cool fights -- wouldn't expect anything less from Ribbiks -- but it doesn't flow well. Incidentally, I can see parallels to Sunder map06 -- the janky terrain, crass music, and occasionally comical monster placement, particularly the groups of hell nobles milling around.

 

First we're headed for the vile sardine box. This isn't a nuanced fight -- spam plasma, prioritizing whatever is in front of your plasma gun. Going for the vile aggressively should pay off. After this, a caco might drift over and threaten to join you. If you see it, wait for it and snipe with the shotgun, because it'll interfere with the next step. After hitting the small switch, two closets are opened, one containing a rev and the other a vile. Viles are one of two monsters not to have either a conventional or a melee attack (three if you include the formidable commander keen). This opens up the amusing tactical device of using your body to block them in cubbies and narrow openings. Usually you'd do that while facing it and fighting it, but here we're actually going to use our butt (!) and hose down the revenant while trapping the vile.

Next is some janitorial work, during which you'll want to save a handful of rockets. Ignore the trios of mancs and revs for now; we'll deal with them later. Take out the lone revenant on the other side, since the lift leads right up to it. The herd of hellbeef can be taken out harmlessly with this route, which is pretty amusing. Back up top, use your rocket launcher to kill the duo of distant revs without alerting the vile nearby. This time we'll fight this vile using more conventional 'block-in' tactics. The rest of the map is very tame along this route, with a lot of health to forgive mistakes. When you get back to the start, kill the lower turret manc, because one of the cybs will warp up to its platform where it'll be safely quarantined. When you free the cybs, wait for the mobile cyb to slip between the columns, and you're basically home free at this point. You have easily enough ammo to kill the cybs without two-shotting them and also finish off the mancs and revs we left behind. 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2017 by rdwpa

[Pirx]

1 hour ago, rdwpa said:

Map 06: Masquerade

 

Viles are one of two monsters not to have either a conventional or a melee attack (three if you include the formidable commander keen). This opens up the amusing tactical device of using your body to block them in cubbies and narrow openings. Usually you'd do that while facing it and fighting it, but here we're actually going to use our butt (!) and hose down the revenant while trapping the vile.

 

 

 

 

I'm  sitting in a restaurant right now. Chill music, people talking softly. And I laughed loud.

[rehelekretep]

map05 fda

goddamn this really gave me a lot of trouble - specifically the Rev/Baron/Mancubus fight and that damn AV/Cyber crevice! still enjoyed it though, very nice midi and good use of a really small footprint of a map.

[Killer5]

Map06:

An interesting map. It is very front loaded. If you get the rl on the right side (in relation to your facing position at the start) you can mitigate pretty much all the threat on the other side of the map. The only problem area for reality is the plasma fight with the imps/hks/vile. After that it is pretty much smooth sailing.

 

I thought the bit with the manc/vile/imps was going to be kinda a pain but turns out you can los both viles when jumping out of the window and hide in a corner. This allowed for simple rocket spam to victory.

 

Two shotting both cybs is good fun though.

 

Whatev reality demo:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lhmd2uu3c1srwzd/crumpets_06_cl9.lmp?dl=0

 

And this ends the reality stuff since I don't want to spend effort making these whatev demos (map07 is insanely annoying.. which I will write about tomorrow).

[Spie812]

map06

 

Now this is fun. Being surrounded by various mid-tier enemies made the starting battle pretty exciting. The ambush before the red key gives you a nice little hiding place behind the teleporter to take cover from the arch-viles in. The demon/hell knight platform and the barons provide a place to use some of the rather plentiful rocket launcher ammo. There's also a decent supply of plasma cells which helped with the numerous arch-viles.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Spie812

[Capellan]

MAP06

The HMP cyber appears to be completely superfluous here as it's very easy to slip past without ever engaging, and there's frankly absolutely no percentage in fighting it (other than monster % I guess, but that matters not a jot to me).

 

In fact, on continuous the map's full of fights that look more intimidating than they are: the initial meat is quite manageable; the horde of HKs defending the southern RL are trivial to sweep from their perch before approaching the weapon.  On continuous I suspect you'd have to plan your route a bit more carefully, but there is still a lot of meat you can ignore.  The pillared snipers in the west, the revs guarding the yellow key, most of the closeted monsters in the nukage.  All of them can be mostly ignored, and certainly don't need to be killed.

 

Still a nice-looking map though, and I had quite good fun running around in it.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP06 Masquerade

 

BFG and SSG at start means this map is being generous? Not with the doors with health at the start and the even more annoying mancubi snipers though. I play a Pacman game with the barons while listening for the mancubus cues of attack, which limit my movement by quite a bit. But I get all the dots in this game and move on to the next round, which isn't Pacman.

 

Well the rest is standard Ribbiks close encounters fair, with at least one zealously guarded rocket launcher and a few okay key fights. At the red key, I had to kill the mancubus first, because he's more annoying than the arch-vile. The cyberdemon/baron duo is another close quarters mashup, nasty enough since I focus on baron first and then the cyberdemon rudely intrudes on the fun. But this gives me an advantegeous position to BFG him effectively. The speed trap at the end is mostly worthless since by then I would've killed the cyber. Try a different kind of speed trap next time.

 

Pistol Start: Honestly the same as before, though I went for the red key first instead of the yellow key. Apparently both the rocket launcher and plasma gun are on both paths, it's just that choosing one path locks you in until you get the key, which I didn't like all that much. I wanted to get the RL from the red key path and go to the yellow key path right away, but that of course did not happen. The backpack secret really helps though. Also I just found out I can telefrag the archie.

[Demtor]

 

MAP06 - “Masquerade”

gzDoom - HMP – pistol start/saves

 

Holy hell! I had to double check the difficulty settings before starting this. Quite a scare with 4 barons and a manc staring down at you when starting out on HMP. Crazy start for a crazy little map.

 

Lots of spacial challenges and tricky positioning in tight confined spaces. The sandstone brick with hues of brown looks really good with the spots of red. Good stuff.

 

Getting the BFG at the start is always interesting because you wonder when to use it. Tempting to fire that baby right at the barons right away, but I chose to run around them and save it for the cyberdemon I found later. I appreciated the extra ammo by the exit doorway behind him. Sigh of relief here.

[rehelekretep]

map06 fda

ill echo what @rdwpa said and agree that this is definitely one of my less favourite in the set - its striking while replaying the demo how much waiting around you have to do for lifts and crushers, plus if the mancubus decides to not bother shooting at the start, and (if you're a bit slow) trying to remember exactly how to get to each area on the map if you fall down somewhere.

still, as its a Ribbiks map, its still 99% better than most maps, so i really liked the midi and the 2nd cyber at the end was a real butt-clencher.

[rehelekretep]

20 hours ago, Killer5 said:

And this ends the reality stuff since I don't want to spend effort making these whatev demos (map07 is insanely annoying.. which I will write about tomorrow).

hah! the thought of even trying to reality 07 is making me cry a bit inside