The DWmegawad Club plays: Plutonia Revisited Community Project

[Magnusblitz]

MAP30: In the Eye of the Beholder

 

Usual "IoS is lame" complaints here. I somehow ended up moving off the caco ambush platform without triggering the lift, so after killing all the cacos I got to sit there and wait for quite awhile before entering the clusterfuck Icon fight. I admittedly also IDDQD'd my way to victory here, I didn't have the patience to take out the two cyber snipers at the top along with all the other crap.

[Forli]

MAP25 - Wicked Garden

 

Visually this is very similar to map 15 and I actually think it looks even better.

I don't like the gameplay very much, it mostly consists on having some really weak weapons for what you need to fight. At the start there's nothing to fight the monsters except for a chainsaw you need to look for, I don't know what I would have done if I didn't find the secret berserk and shotgun. After that there was a lot of killing high hp enemies with a single shotgun.

Near the end there's a cool moment where you come back to an earlier area only now it's covered in vines. The archviles didn't work well for me, I stayed close to the wall and they only attempted to set me on fire once before the exit opened because the never stopped teleporting, in the end I just left leaving them there.

 

MAP26 - Poison Ivy III

 

This map is really hard, the start is bad for playing blind which I dislike but it is still enjoyable, after that the level becomes easier and more fun to play while still being quite challenging.

My favourite part was the reference to map 28(?) of plutonia, it was quite silly to see all those monsters murder each other from the other side of the tunnel. The only part I disliked was fighting a large number specters on the dark where you get the red key (I think).

 

MAP27 - Planned Overload

 

Can you get that bfg secret on zdoom? I don't know if wall running works in zdoom, which is bad because that bfg would have helped.

This level mostly consisted on trap after trap which are all designed to kill, but actually the only part that gave me any real trouble was the start, after that I had the resources to deal with everything else.

[Paul977]

strongly behind

 

Map 26, Poison Ivy III

 

A more manageble start compared to SoD map 23, still rather tough. I liked this map included the tribute encounter to plutonia 28, where is fun to stay in the arena and unleash the cyber against the horde. The reference to Impossible Mission is also another good encounter of this map. Visually the green moss/texture and the wood and blue floor are a rather good combo in my opinion

[Pirx]

On 10/27/2017 at 4:32 AM, Spectre01 said:

What happened to the MM2 crew from last month? PRCP barely won that and now nobody is voting for it.

 

 

yeah i wonder too. i've noticed it repeatedly, too, that the previous month's runner-up often gets ignored the following month.

 

now, i have to apologize for being so silent this month again. i'v been on vacation after being drowned in real-life stuff, and then immediately busy again after coming back, so i rarely feel like playing when i get home late and tired (and even less like writing), so it often happens that i only click on the notifications while already in bed, like a bunch of posts, and fall asleep, and do not even dream of impse of whatever.

 

playing one map per day seems trivially easy, but when you're behind, it can suddenly become an obstacle, and tbh, when the others are already at map20, one can spare them the talk about map05 and wait for the next month as well. even more when the pick of the month has lengthy & difficult maps, which are much harder to catch up with.

 

that's in no way criticizing the club, just as a note that in the future i'll pick individual maps and comment on them rather than trying to catch up at all cost, which has repeatedly got me nowhere. there were good times when i had much more leisure for shooting at pixels  ;)

 

as for us being just a few dudes left this month, i noticed this too, especially that some remarkable posters like dotw and demtor are absent.  everything i've played so far of prcp left a really solid impression, that's my opinion in a nutshell.

 

now if you allow me to vote for next month, although i've only commented on a few maps in detail, and have been content with liking this and that post, i'll vote for 

 

+++ the darkening 1+2

 

(+ kuchitsu or ttp, whatever)

 

 

Edited October 30, 2017 by Pirx

[galileo31dos01]

I'm so stubborn that I decided to try that map one last time, I finally did it! Yay! Worst experience in Doom ever! I have more negative things to add to the map but I'll pass this time.

 

Anyway, final comments (for the reviews section):

 

This is a great community mapset. Many original ideas and also a lot of homages. The visuals are pure Plutonia, textures and detailing are on the iwad side, for example, lots of wooden pillars and walls in square shape, invisible bridges, vines, skull non-switches, and more. I like that many maps have unreachable spaces just for scenery. Midis are really good, particularly the ones from Xaser's maps (15 and 25), and map 11 sticks in my mind too. 

 

Gameplay is fun in the majority. Some maps are pure tribute of the iwad, including combat. There's a good variety of themes, sometimes triple key hunt, other times is straightforward linear, and other times non-linear exploratory. Progression is hardly ever obscure, aside from a few maps, you are usually exempted of backtracking, which is great. Most maps can be short, but a few are particularly really really long, map 15 is the best example. It's still a good map though, depends on your tastes. Combat is heavy, but in most cases you are able to elude big fight scenarios. Plutonia has never been about constantly closing you in traps with timers. It does have a lot of incidental challenging encounters. This doesn't mean it's always going to be fun, for example, chaingunners are abundant, and sometimes an obnoxious presence. Tributes of battles are present: there's a standout map dedicated to archviles, in the style of Hunted, including many other enemies; another one almost exactly like The Twilight, that is a new arena revealed and god mode chaingunners for sure; and the obvious secret maps alike Cyberden and Go 2 It, the last one goes crazy with infighting and I love that. Plus many more memorable parts, like a hitscan hell trap reminiscent to Ghost Town, or a ring of enemies similar to The Sewers, or an invisible bridge surrounded by snipers a la Aztec. 

 

Secrets are not always easy to find, I like the use of hidden switches which encourage good observation. They are mostly powerful and needed to make the gameplay smoother.

 

Favourite maps are 06, 10, 16, 23, 27, and 28. Least favourite maps are 18, 20, 21 and a "honorable" mention to map 30 for being a real nightmare to play. The rest of the maps are good, map 29 is mostly memorable for it's exploratory ambient, for example.

 

Overall, the mapset is fun, it's all Plutonia in the best way. So if you're a fan of the iwad's harshest quirks, I recommend it. My rate is 8/10.   

[Spie812]

map30

At the time this sentence is being written, I haven't played the level yet. However, according to other comments I'm in for a bad time.

I'm going to give myself 10 attempts.
1: I walked off the ledge at the beginning lol
2: Stepped through the teleporter and got cyberdemon'd
3-7: cyberdemon'd
8: arch vile'd
9-10: cyberdemon'd

...yeah.
 

[Spectre01]

Hopefully I can wrap this up soon. Not looking forward to trying a no-save of map30 though, as I remember it being a pain in the rectum.

MAP28 - “Dance with the Devil” by Matt Tropiano

The 3rd(?) and final entry by Mr. Tropicano is themed around turret Cybers guarding keys in various arenas. In these kind of maps with a central hub, it's frequently a good idea to experience a bit of each section before committing to one fully. This pays off here as the middle door has a free early BFG lying around. The monster count is on the high end of PRCP, but there really aren't any large-scale setpiece encounters here. Lots of incidental combat against hitscanners, rewarding some good 'ol Chaingun sniping, and mild traps in places you'd mostly expect. Not particularly difficult, although the mass Chaingun teleport at the start got me once. Pretty good, although again rather heavy on the grey/brown texture use.

[Spectre01]

MAP29 - “Atlatl” by Mechadon

Ok, why the hell is the SSG (and Plasma) so deep into the map when you've got mid-tiers thrown at you right away? On my first attempt, I was 30-something minutes into the map Shotgunning and Chaingunning Mancs and Barons. Holding back the SSG and Plasma does this map no favours and only pads the length of what is already a large map. And it's not like the combat is super exciting here aside from these two setpiece fights. The last fight could've really benefited from a lock-in, since it's so easy to retreat up the blood stairs and pump rockets at anything deciding to come up. Otherwise it's largely shooting dudes as you move forward, the speed and enjoyment of which depends on your rocket count and how fast you rushed the SSG at the start. Visuals are quite nice, but lacking the "wow factor" of Odyssey of Noises or PL2's map29.

[gaspe]

MAP30: It wasn't bad, nice spooky intro that's usual in the IoS maps and actually the part I disliked the most is the fight with the cacodemons. The finale is rather evil with cyberdemons guarding the switches and a timed lift guarded by a spiderdemon. On pistol strart your resources are quite tight but I liked it as the map encourages to get a faster approach, it's better to ignore the cyberdemons and the only thing that it's really needed is to kill the spiderdemon and clear the lift, if you manage to reach the top you're done.

[Forli]

MAP28 - Dance with the Devil

 

I really liked this one, it was fun to think of the best way to deal with each area and I felt encouraged to play aggresively which is always nice, I didn't find the bfg until near the end so that didn't help me.

The layout was nice and the challenge was constant and engaging, I think this is one of the best maps in the set.

 

MAP29 - Atlatl

 

A large, complex and nonlinear map is nice to have as map 29, but the actual encounters really didn't fit this slot. Not only are they not really difficult but there is a lack of really large encounters, the only troublesome part is the third wave on the yellow key which feels more cheap than challenging, specially compared with the rest of the map.

The visuals are nice but I was expecting something more "grand" at this point. The map is good but I think I would have liked it better if it was not 29.

 

MAP30 - In the Eye of the Beholder

 

Well it's an icon of sin so nobody should expect it to be fun, at least the boss looks nice and there's no need to time the shoots on a lift.

Since the map is short I kept trying until I did it saveless, but I probably shouldn't have bothered.

 

 

 

Overall this wad didn't feel as memorable as plutonia 2, but I liked that it was closer to the original plutonia, even if it copied a bit too much from it at times.

For me, the best maps were 10, 15, 23 and 28. The worst were 15, 19, 21 and 30.

 

I don't know when I'll post about a wad here again, it was interesting to have to think more than usual about each map, but having to write about them actually took a lot longer than just playing (and I also seem to be really bad at it), I guess maybe I'll come back when I'm not expecting to be busy during a month.

Edited October 31, 2017 by Forli

[Xaser]

31 minutes ago, Forli said:

For me, the best maps were... 15... The worst were 15...

I am proud to be a key contributor to this paradox. :P

[Megalyth]

10 minutes ago, Xaser said:

I am proud to be a key contributor to this paradox. :P

Not everyone can be a great mapper and a crappy mapper simultaneously. Congratulations!

[Spectre01]

MAP30 - “In the Eye of the Beholder” by Thomas van der Velden

Yeah... this is an IoS map and not the best of its kind. At least the custom boss looks pretty cool, though I still prefer the design of the PL2 one. The map is not actually too difficult, assuming you don't try to go for a legit max. You can see how annoying the execution of that would be in j4rio's max. You only have 600 cells to work with, and that includes killing 2 Cybers, which are non-trivial to 2-shot, as well as the annoying Mastermind that rides up the damn lift as soon as you try and shoot a BFG at it. What I did was BFG spam the two Cybers down, kill the Vile, and ride the lift up to pump some rockets. At least the map is short despite the grind with the circle of Cacos. Not a huge fan of that fight, as it's a minute long SSG circlestrafe after pumping some rockets at the group. Didn't really like this map overall, and the visible Romero heads beyond the fence just look silly. Cool ending pic though!

 

Final Thoughts

I'm not the biggest fan of PRCP, as it often feels too close to the original in a DTWID way instead of a modern sequel like PL2 was. The maps breaking the mould end up being the most interesting. Since it is a community megawad, there's the usual great maps, stinkers, and a bunch of ok levels that don't leave much of a lasting impression. And that's how I generally feel about PRCP: largely unambitious and lacking in memorable qualities. My original review of 2/5 is a bit harsh, but a consequence of playing this wad right after PL2. Then again, I like to use the full 5-star scale rather than rating things 5 or 0. So a 2 doesn't mean something is bad for me.

 

Overall score: 2.5/5

 

Top 5 maps: 11, 15, 17, 19, 27

No bueno: 03, 09, 21, 30, 31

 

Longest map to finish without saves: map32

Largest number of no-save attempts (hardest map): map19

Edited November 1, 2017 by Spectre01

[gaspe]

So overall I think it's an average wad and I have quite some mixed feelings. I think it shined more when it did its own things, my favourites maps are 15, 19, 25 and 31. But at the same time many of the original stuff (maps 05, 06, 14, 16 and 28) was very bland. The execution of the homages is as inconsistent, ranging from maps that did this well (maps 09, 15, 17, 31) to what are the lowest points of the wad (maps 03, 21). Compared to the original Plutonia it feels like a pale imitation, almost a caricature. PRCP imitates the style rather well at times, there also lots of modern stuff, but it stops there and doesn't go further while the strong presence of rip-off is also limiting. And that's where PL2 succeeded, it retains the original style and themes of Plutonia but at the same time it (re)does them and develops them in its own ways. Further comparisons with PL2 arean't really fair though, its complex and impressive levels sweep away most the maps in this wad but it's understandable since PRCP it was an accessible community project made in few months.

 

tl;dr mish mash of Plutonia homages and original stuff that doesn't fully succeed in neither of both.