I'm Also Looking to Play and Record Your Maps

[HAK3180]

@xdarkmasterx

 

Doomworld download page

 

I did not like being able to walk right up to a couple shootable switches. I did not like how some of the areas were extremely bare. I thought it was odd to give the BFG after all the fights of significance had already taken place. Other than that, this is a nice map. I actually enjoyed the weapon variety, forcing me to use rockets and plasma toward the middle, even on weaker monsters. There was probably too much plasma, but I did play on easy. I also appreciated the flow of the map all the way through, especially the interconnections toward the end. Combat was pretty fun – not as much designed around specific encounters in this one but still challenging and well thought. I’m sure there’s much more brutality on hard.

 

Bottom line: Probably my favorite map of xdarkmasterx’s that I’ve played

[xdarkmasterx]

 

23 minutes ago, HAK3180 said:

@xdarkmasterx

 

huh, i wonder what hapPened with the custom textures? the floor and celing is suposed to have a custom flat, idk where came this red lights XD

 

also in the platform room

 

sorry for any trouble this caused :(

Edited July 4, 2018 by xdarkmasterx

[Rook]

Hi @HAK3180 - if you get the time and if it appeals, it'd be interesting to see you play my PWAD Sucker Punch. It's nine maps for Doom II, but each one is small and should only take 2-3 minutes to complete (notwithstanding any deaths!). I'm trying to resolve an issue with the skies in GZDoom right now, but it's just fine in PrBoom+ and Retro.

[HAK3180]

@Angry Saint

@Doomkid

 

Doomworld forum topic

 

This is a nicely detailed and open-ended map. I liked how there were distinct areas, visually and conceptually, that you could explore in any order. Layout and beauty wise, I think it’s in the top three of Doomed in Space. Combat was a little challenging for me in a way that I don’t like. I thought there were too many distant hitscanners for the amount of health given and the weaponry available. Still, overall, I was pretty pleased with the gameplay. Doomed in Space, although a futuristic setting, often reminds me of Doom 1 with so many human enemies, many of whom have low health. There also seems to be an emphasis on incidental combat, so you don’t really see a lot of traps, and when they’re there, they’re not exactly Plutonia style double-commando-behind-you traps.

 

Bottom line: I really like the look and layout; I found the combat a touch annoying.

[HAK3180]

@Glaice

I died without a recent save at one point and then I get really stupidly lost, so you may want to skip from 17:15 to about 20:15.

 

idgames download page

 

This map continues the trend of Inferno being the best episode. Visually, it stood out a little bit, and the gameplay was actually a bit of a challenge. I fear the ammo may not be sufficient without finding secrets, and the usual backtracking presents itself again, in one case so severely that I look around aimlessly for quite a while, even though what I was looking for had been a big deal way earlier in the map.

 

Bottom line: A little bit of a challenge and a decent map design with a lot of nice little things.

[HAK3180]

@Rook

0:00 Map 01 "Maintenance Run"
7:21 Map 02 "Attrition"
12:45 Map 03 "Those Who Wait" (I don't really get started until 14:05)

 

Doomworld forum topic

 

Straightforward little maps. 1 and 2 are just linear progressions, dependent on switches to reveal new areas or allow access to them. The maps look good and somewhat fresh with the CC4 textures. Combat is tense enough with some potentially sticky arch-vile and revenant traps. Map 3 is all about combat, and it’s a nice gimmick where you have to work quickly, lest the monsters gang up on you and you have no chance. It could have been a little bit more difficult, but I liked how each wave made me think about which weapon was best.

 

Bottom line: Wee little maps are often easy openers; these provide a decent challenge without using a lot of space or encouraging exploration.

[Rook]

Thanks for playing, @HAK3180! Your video helped me notice a couple of outstanding issues which I will resolve for a new version which I'll make available in my thread. It's always a thrill to see others play my maps - each map came close to killing you which was a good sign! There's a rocket launcher secret in MAP01 which would have made the ending much more manageable, but you handled a bad situation well!

 

I look forward to seeing you play the remaining (and much newer) maps and hope you enjoy those too.

[Reisal]

That was a thing with my early maps was remote doors and switches usually far apart from each other. E3M3 isn't as splendid as the other two, however.

Edited July 5, 2018 by Glaice

[Gaia74]

fuck i dont make maps ...........

 

but i can try your maps :P

[HAK3180]

17 minutes ago, Gaia74 said:

fuck i dont make maps ...........

 

but i can try your maps :P

You talking to me? If so, I've got a big update coming hopefully in the next couple months: significant changes to almost every released map plus two brand new ones. Doing these videos has made me a better and a slower mapper.

[Gaia74]

Just now, HAK3180 said:

You talking to me? If so, I've got a big update coming hopefully in the next couple months: significant changes to almost every released map plus two brand new ones. Doing these videos has made me a better and a slower mapper.

that sound interesting

[HAK3180]

@sincity2100

 

Doomworld download page

 

Very fun progression with lots of paths that all eventually connect to where you need to be heading. This map is nice looking and has plenty of good combat with clever placements, traps, and just old-fashioned abundance of hitscanners. I have two bones to pick with this map. The first is the arch-vile fight. Without prior knowledge, it would be almost impossible to get out of that situation. Invulnerabilities are tough because fights shouldn’t be possible only if you grab a secret invulnerability, but they also shouldn’t be extremely easy if you do grab the invulnerability. The second issue, yet again, is ammo. I may be wrong, but once again the only plasma gun was in a secret. I happened to find it, so I didn’t have any problems, but if I had not found it, I would have certainly been screwed. That was also the secret with the berserk, so I would have ended up regular-punching a lot of monsters. I went through well over 400 cells. You just can’t have that many cells in a map and only have one plasma gun that’s a secret. The map is either going to be too hard if you don’t find the secret or way too easy if you do.

 

Bottom line: It’s too dependent on secrets, but this map is great fun: excellent layout and fast pace throughout

[HAK3180]

@Skunkbear

 

Doomworld forum topic

 

I like the concept here: Skunkbear often does hub designs. This one was a two-key hub. Both areas were good ideas with decent gameplay and some well placed monsters. The valley had projectiles from many directions and heights. The cave was dark and very windy, so you always had to watch out. I’m not sure how I feel about essentially two back-to-back boss fights, although they were both pretty decent. Ammo was just a little tight this time, but I got 0% secrets. Still, I think more ammo is necessary if there are going to be situations where monsters have to die in order to progress. The main negative at this point is the visuals. Design and layout are good. But still too much of the same texture. I think just sprinkling in one more texture in the canyon to complement the rock and one more texture to complement the cave would make a big difference.

 

Bottom line: Solid map that just needs a wee bit more ammo and a simple visual tuneup

[Zemini]

I am pretty close to releasing the next version of my mega wad so I am posting here to bookmark myself.  Vertigo has played through most of them and I taken several of his suggestions.  Right now there are 18 maps broken up into three 6 level episodes.  Eventually all 6 level episodes (36 maps) will be linked through a Quake 1 style hub with a final boss level.  This Wad does include custom weapons/monsters and does not play well with mods such as BD and custom huds (since you can't see the keys) and requires GZDoom in order to operate. 

 

Episodes 4,5,6 and still being built and won't be released for testing until 2019.  

Edited July 7, 2018 by Zemini

[HAK3180]

@Zemini, I checked out the pertinent thread and it looks interesting. I'll be happy at least to start it out and see where it goes. Probably good timing too, as I'm really close to finishing three longer projects.

[HAK3180]

@Crunchynut44

@Doomkid

 

Doomworld forum topic

 

A fun, intricate progression that can be just a little bit confusing. It’s very nice looking with great details throughout. If I had to pick a bone with this map, I’d say the arch-vile fight was a bit underwhelming and that the map seemed to miss the futuristic memo a little bit. To be sure, it looks great, but if we’re splitting hairs, it seems a little more “just tech base” than “futuristic tech base.”

 

Bottom line: This map is not superb at anything, but it’s great at everything, and that’s no small feat.

[Zemini]

Does Drop Box work?  

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ex9xn7a6zdf9wd/beta123.v.000.7z?dl=0

 

Some details:

 

Requires GZDoom and Doom2.wad.  The maps are balanced to where jumping isn't required.  If you find a spot you shouldn't be able to jump to let me know.  But I rarely use the jump key and haven't found many things that break the map.

 

Don't use custom mods like Brutal Doom since it will break weapons and enemies.

 

Each Episode is 6 levels.  5 Tech levels followed by a final Hell level.  I would say each episode takes about 40-100 minutes each depending on how good you are.

 

This wad only includes the first three Episodes - The Moon, Phobos and Deimos.  

 

Easy = Between Hey Not Too Rough and HMP

Medium = About UV for the most part.  Some parts are harder, esp the hell levels.

Hard = Harder than UV, some Slaughter-lite mixed in.  Vertigo seems to still think it was pretty easy, but as the map maker even I find it pretty hard ... and once again the Hell levels are a bitch.

 

Health Orbs:  Each give you 10 to maximum health.  Find them!  They will be very important for survival.  I also placed them as the only secrets for right now.  So your secret counter should be dependent on how many you find ... unless I bugged a thing or sector.

 

Armor:  All armor gives 50% reduction.  Feel free to pick up every piece you see like armor shards.

 

Weapons:  You start with 3 guns and a worthless knife.  

MP5:  Automatic machine gun good for zombies and weaker imp variants.

M16:  Semi Auto burst rifle, best for lost souls and sniping things form a large distance.  It is 100% accurate.

Shotgun, DBL Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Rifle:  Vanilla, unchanged.

Heavy Machine Gun:  Replaces the chaingun; very hard hitting and best used against larger monsters.

BFG:  Uses its own separate ammo, but otherwise vanilla.

 

One final thing:  Hell portals (big red stars) cause damage when used.  I nerfed it to about 5-10 per trip but they can suck and some people who played my maps hate them, but some others love them.  WIP obviously.

 

EDIT:  Fixed a bug, updated link.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2018 by Zemini

[HAK3180]

@Glaice

 

idgames download page

 

Very simple and short. It creates a nice atmosphere toward the beginning with emptiness and several doors and switches before you encounter any monsters. Unfortunately the combat is a breeze, so it doesn’t really deliver. Visually, it’s rather bland, but at least there are no big backtracks.

 

Bottom line: Nothing to write home about here. This is more of an episode opener, and even then it would be a bit simplistic.

[Reisal]

If you've noticed, I was running out of steam as I was designing this map but I'm still amused that the false exit still got you. Gotta love the trick of using voodoo doll to do that so it kills the player if they try teleporting. Maybe I should have put a blood stain on the teleporter as an indicator..

[HAK3180]

@Glaice

 

idgames download page

 

Better than M3, this one has a linear progression that I somewhat enjoyed. There are again a few nice details mixed in with the general somewhat basic aesthetic. Combat was a little easy, but a few encounters provided some challenge.

 

Bottom line: This is like the first song of a rock show. Not the best song, but in the top tier and showcases the tropes and tendencies of the rest

 

And that's Doom Revisited. I think you'll enjoy it if you appreciate simplicity and if something other than nostalgia has you still playing the original game.

[Reisal]

If I had more steam, I would have finished E3.

[HAK3180]

@Rook

0:00 Map 04 "Assault and Battery Acid"

5:32 Map 05 "House Full of Bullets"

13:00 Map 06 "Rev-olution" (many unsuccessful runs)

 

Doomworld forum topic

 

So it turns out these are definitely combat-oriented gimmick maps. I did not much care for 4 as I found it rather repetitive and a little boring. Cool concept but I’d like to see some different scenery maybe with one or two more suits. I enjoyed Map 05 with the incessant sound of bullets. I like how you have everything you need but you have to go get it. You really do need armor and blur artifact. And even after getting those, you can’t stay in one spot or you’ll run out of ammo. Map 06 was pretty hard but pretty enjoyable. This one seemed the most strategic to me. You benefited mightily from knowing how the map played but it still wasn’t extremely obvious how to make it the most survivable. I found the end of Map 06 odd, bringing in many monsters behind you when you’re right in front of the exit.

 

Bottom line: Gimmick maps that are rather different from each other. 04 is not my thing; I liked 05 and 06

Edited July 10, 2018 by HAK3180
Forgot the link!

[Rook]

Thanks for playing! I haven't been able to listen to the sound on the video yet, but it looks like there's a significant bug on MAP06 - the door behind the teleporter in the main area is meant to be require the blue key. Not sure how that slipped through, but I'll fix it and revise the download link in my thread.

 

I'm glad you liked MAP05; it was drafted in 2016 and very heavily revised this year. There's a post-mortem on the WAD on my site now, for a little more detail on how the maps were made.

 

You will find that MAP07 and MAP08 are more free-flowing, before a final arena fight on MAP09.

[HAK3180]

@sincity2100

 

Doomworld download page

 

Another strong showing: excellent layout and flow (except the very end was a short backtrack with nothing to kill) and solid combat with some smart enemy placement and choices, e.g. hitscanners complementing projectilers. Visually, these maps are always at least pretty good. This was no exception. I just thought the cave area was a little bland. Another thing to point out is I really like the difficulty and how it climbs in this wad so far. This is map 12 and even on Ultra-Violence, it’s not that bad. If we can see a nice, slow incline toward harder, as we have been, that would be great.

 

Bottom line: Nice to look at and fun to play, this is another strike for GMP.

[HAK3180]

@Zemini

Doomworld forum topic

working download link

 

A lot of custom weapons and monsters is not my favorite thing, but we shall see. I liked the map. It’s a nice little lunar base, and that’s a cool aesthetic. The layout had a bit of exploring to do, which was fun as I got used to the new arsenal a bit. There are some interesting things going on with this wad, such as all secrets giving you a 10% health orb. The catch is it increases your maximum by 10%. I don’t know if I’ll find that a bit boring as the wad goes on, always knowing what to expect when I find a secret. We shall see.

 

Bottom line: It’s a nice opener. It’s got my attention. This seems like it will be a well done megawad.

[HAK3180]

@Skunkbear

 

Doomworld forum topic

 

The ender is fairly long and epic. Two of the ubiquitous problems have still not quit: ammo and visuals. Ammo is not nearly as bad as some maps, but you really do have to pick up just about everything. And even if you do, expect to skip some monsters and not have rockets and cells when you really want them. It’s especially problematic because progress depends on killing monsters in a few places. The layout in this map was pretty good. It’s basically another hub but it’s a little confusing because all three keys will let you go other places too that don’t contribute to overall progress. Also, there are a few switches that are nowhere near what they do and if you haven’t seen the bridge yet, you might never know what they do. The visuals don’t help the confusion. I think if the areas were more distinct instead of being predominantly one texture, I would have used the map a lot less. The combat, despite the ammo situation, was pretty good. Skunkbear does encounters well where monsters are surrounding you and at different heights, making it hard to dodge everything. You have to move quickly and prioritize the enemies.

 

Bottom line: A relatively good ending map, but the maps seem to be continually improving in areas that were already decent and not making such big strides in areas that need more help.

 

Demonic Citadel is Skunkbear’s second attempt at a mapset. I’d say there’s definite potential, not only to make an awesome wad someday, but even to turn these nine maps into a great wad. You can see how close it is in many ways; I don’t think it would take a massive overhaul to increase the quality greatly.

[HAK3180]

@Pinchy

@Doomkid

 

Doomworld forum topic

 

Very fun ending map. It’s a chaotic sandbox in which you have to survive long enough to build up your arsenal and collect the keys. The monsters pretty much just keep on coming, so you’re rarely ever safe. Visually, it’s terrific. The geometry is great and the detailing is spot on. It really feels like being on a futuristic base. I was mildly annoyed by the frequency of monsters teleporting behind you, but it served its purpose, and there was always enough health to make a recovery.

 

Bottom line: a fun quest to culminate Doomed in Space, capturing well the essence of the wad in a fast-paced exploratory map.

 

Note: I played all these by idcleving and then quitting after the intermission screen, so I never noticed that there’s an intermission text after every map. They’re nice and fun, keeping the story as a significant part of the experience.

 

At the end of the day this was a fun project. I think it has plenty of OG Doom charm for sticklers like me and also plenty of fresh features. Honestly, I probably would have liked this better with original monsters and weapons, but it’s a fun wad that I’d recommend to just about anyone.

[HAK3180]

@Rook

 

Doomworld forum topic

 

These are great. Map 7 is pretty “normal,” just a short map without anything fancy, but it’s got a nice little progression, some good traps, and a nice look. Map 8 is my favorite of the wad with an awesome interconnected layout and really fun combat with mostly the rocket launcher. I’m just not sure 200 extra cells in a secret when there are fewer than 45 enemies is a great idea, but then again, the secrets were pretty easy. Map 9 is pretty cool, making you manage your BFG ammo because that’s all you get. It wasn’t too punishing, but you had to strategize some and be careful with your shots/ammo.

 

Bottom line: Again, different approaches to different maps, but these three are probably my #2, #1, and #3 favorites.

 

Sucker Punch has plenty of variety for nine short maps, and it’s all done well. Load it up and give it a shot. Everyone will like something, and some will like everything.

 

My final ranking from most to least favorite:

Map 08 “Nothing Dead Will Go”

Map 07 “Compression”

Map 09 “Hardpoint”

Map 03 “Those Who Wait”

Map 05 “House Full of Bullets”

Map 06 “Rev-olution”

Map 01 “Maintenance Run”

Map 02 “Attrition”

Map 04 “Assault and Battery Acid”

[Darox]

Could I ask you to grace drx-Sacrilegev2.zip with a video?

[HAK3180]

1 hour ago, Darox said:

Could I ask you to grace drx-Sacrilegev2.zip with a video?

Yeah, sure. I actually intend to do the whole megawad in this thread once released, so that's why I haven't been jumping at playtesting opportunities, but I don't never have to have seen anything before.