Crusader No Regret

More Biowar mini-blurbs map 15 Other than carryover gear (which neuters the start by removing any need to scavenge for ammo), this level doesn't play very differently from conventional play when going for an ironman survival. My route ends up killing everything anyways either because they're right in the way or to prevent things from sneaking up from behind later on. map 31 Gratifying with carryover. BFG lets me delete the spiderdemon in 5-10 seconds instead of an extended cat and mouse scenario. I still skip the 4 barons in the blue key section. And hahaha, no way I'm fighting the cyberdemon. I just want the megashpere and ammo in the area it patrols. So I evade it while hitting the switches to open up the exit. map 16 Don't really recall much about this map since I use the speedrunner shortcut to skip almost the entire map. From scratch, anything over a minute would be considered slow. On a continuous recording, I suppose it's fair a bit more generous about what is considered a good clear time in an ironman survival context: somewhere abouts 1:15-1:30 or better is probably good enough.

Something that hasn't been present in the later maps of Biowar are the atmospheric sounds (from crushing enemies in remote sectors). I think the last time they're heard is all the way back in map 6. With this feature absent, I feel it does contribute to the later maps feeling generic as this was something that helped make Biowar memorable even over 20 years later. Hell, replacing a Keen death sound with something creepy, then crushing it offscreen and having its death trigger opening a nearby door is a missed opportunity for creating atmosphere and unsettling an unsuspecting player. Back to individual map commentary map 12 Really don't have much to say about this one in the context of a survival run. Blast through and save the megaarmor secret and all the health bonuses to go into 13 as healthy as possible. map 14 This map has a showstopping bug that will end a recording because outside playtesting was still a luxury in 1998. It's vital to lower the red key before crossing past the yellow door. More interesting than 12 in an ironman context. My planned route skips the rocket launcher and all the monsters milling around it as well as most of the barons. No cell ammo other than the 3 backpacks but nothing here is intense enough that I feel called to pull out the plasma weapons. Not even the red key brawl which is fairly simple to skip fighting.

Biowar map 13 This is the map I consider the climax of the set's difficulty and the one I consider the biggest obstacle to an ironman survival. While it's not totally toothless later on, those who are/were hoping for something more intense down the road are liable to come out disappointed. What about map 12? Eh, maybe I'll come back to it later. Right now, this is the one I'm inclined to gab about. Shotgunners, shotgunners, everywhere. It feels like half the opposition is shotgunners and glancing at the thing count in the DoomWiki, turns out to be close to the truth. Gonna be taking incidental damage all over the place due to their placement, which includes numerous teleport ambushes. There is a decent supply of health around but it's going to be a grinder. Things can get even nastier depending on pathing (taking the downwards lift from the start without the red key is likely to get one overrun, especially on pistol start) but even with advance knowledge of the safest route, it's still a gauntlet to survive to the end. Even on a "safe" path, sometimes the shotgunners are faster on the trigger in spite of my efforts and foreknowledge. My goal is to minimize the hits from other sources in order to remain healthy enough to go the distance. Ammo is not going to be a problem with all those shotgun drops. I do pull out the BFG for a few congested spots but it's not ideal for preventing incidental hitscan damage so attrition remains a factor. The prison segment is the big endurance test. Sealed off from the rest of the map until obtaining the key, lots of hitscanners, and limited health supplies. It is not very forgiving of mistakes. A stray revenant missile or two and/or getting unlucky with a chaingunner and it becomes more likely one will be ground down. Preserving a megaarmor to be able to come in at or near 200 armor and half damage gives a bit more leeway but it's still easy to lose by attrition. Now I do have a successful survival recorded, which I'll post after I've typed up a textfile with some added creator commentary. So this hurdle has been cleared. But for the moment, the text wall here is coming from the perspective of my failed IronEagle attempt.

Biowar map 10 I never did find the SSG when doing practice runs for IronEagle. Then again, I'm coming in at 200/200 and full bullets and shells so on continuous, there's less incentive to search for it. Very tempting to rush past everything. And it does work out for the initial stretch. However, there is some parts which call for backtracking and rushing heedlessly also exposes one to a greater amount of stray hitscan damage and other stray shots. So a measured pace serves one better for survival and preserving health. The arachnotrons are very prone to bottlenecing the path after using the switch behind the blue key door, pushing me into dealing with all those monsters I tried to skip. No cell or rocket ammo but nothing is dangerous enough to warrant that degree of firepower so I hold off on those weapons for this map. map 11 That damned lift. Need to take it up at least twice (plus another if going after the 2nd secret) and there will likely be monsters milling about at the top. When 11 maps into a recording, taking an infinite height imp scratch while trying to board the lift is insulting. Being able to thwart the timed door is useful for reaching the exit quicker; appreciate the reminder. I save a few rockets for the descending lift at the end to splatter some imps with infinite height splash before even starting. It's nowhere near the intensity of Hell Revealed's infamous descending elevator; aggressively taking out the remaining monsters with SSG and chaingun is a cinch by comparison. I also skip the 2nd secret in a survival attempt; nothing in there is important enough to bother with a baron and waiting for that loooong lift another time.

Biowar map 7 A practice attempt sees me going from 140% health to 8 from the opening hitscan army Very easy to get flanked by a chaingunner and torn up in seconds. Thankfully, there is a decent supply of heath around to patch up, for once. The pain elemental army is a sticky situation to deal with in an ironman attempt. There is a safe method of cheesing them at very little risk but it's also agonizingly slow so it will really test one's patience if pushed into resorting to that for survival purposes. I want to save the megaarmor for going into the next map with 200 which is a risky gambit and it can go wrong if reckless. map 8 Not very notable in an ironman attempt, I've found. There's only one green armor and scattered armor bonuses about with health being a little more common but coming in with all weapons, if not full ammo, and 200 armor tends to make that a non-issue. There's no cell ammo other than right at the start but shells and bullets are plentiful enough to not really need to worry about ammo otherwise. map 9 I regard this as a restock map in the ironman campaign. Coming in with carryover weapons takes the sting out of those surprise revenants, just have plasma out in advance. The red key pair might be easier to skip entirely, especially from pistol start. There's plentiful health but not very much armor so one can't afford to be too careless, even if there's more room for error. The central junction is prime for some door camping to bait infights. Sucks if a pain elemental behind the red key door gets aggroed and loose though; the ensuing cloud of skulls really drags out the runtime. I prefer to skip the rocket launcher area though the secret there does have some bulk cells and rocket boxes to reward a detour. The secret invulnerability is a welcome find in a multi-level recording attempt. Grab it, then the last key, and bolt for the exit. (topping off prior to this)

Biowar map 5 Any blue armor is likely to be whittled away over the course of the map. With so much back and forth and visiting areas multiple times, there isn't very much in the way of lucrative opportunities to skip enemies either. I was fortunate to never trigger the permastuck but that would be a frustrating way to lose a recording. Rocket launcher gets added to the arsenal here but there's barely any ammo for it so far so it's not yet very impactful. It's worth a bit of extra time to try to have good health and armor levels going into the next map. map 6 Tight passages, low health, hitscanners and various ambushes everywhere: this map is very effective at chipping away at health and armor. Even with foreknowledge, one is likely to sustain many hits over the course of the map. If I somehow still have blue armor and its 50% damage reduction, it will be gone before exiting the map. I skip the big secret area to (hopefully) save some runtime. Plasma gun is worth picking up. Not sure I was aware of the soulsphere secret in my IronEagle submission but it will be useful for entering the next map in a healthy state.

(downloads file) While doing an unrecorded practice attempt, I died on the first map. Wasn't kidding about it being scary and dangerous. Biowar map 3 Another quick one to run through. Chaingun obtained here and there's a secret megaarmor. Still got to be wary if entering at low health as the health is still limited and there are well placed hitscanners to whittle away your limited durability. The last room can be a bit dicey with chaingunners (or was it just chaingunner singular) and pretty much nil for cover. Small bit of good news, ending the map at low health isn't a big deal as the next one starts on top of a berserk. I save the megaarmor secret until the end to go into the next one with 200 armor. map 4 A bit of a breather in ironman context with starting on top of a berserk and a secret SSG to snag. I still try to be cautious and avoid damage to keep the blue armor intact longer. Really isn't any reason to stick around to fight cacodemons in the reactor chamber. Hitting switches there while they're still in the ground can save a few seconds.

I've played both these before. While Equinox ended up in my "once is enough" pile, maybe I'll put out an ironman run for Biowar as my attempt in IronEagle came to a lead-filled end in map 13. Though I do have a few thoughts to put out now. Which will be specifically in the context of recording a movie as there are plenty of standard level reviews already. Biowar map 1 In the context of a "one recording attempt" movie, this is actually a somewhat scary map. Not much health or armor, numerous hitscanners, and spending a long time with the pistol before obtaining a weapon upgrade. Get unlucky with hitscan RNG, and the run can come to an early end either here or in the next map. map 2 A very standard map of clearing small side areas with the shotgun, grabbing the keys, and bringing them to the exit. Maybe not very noteworthy standalone but it's scarier when recording an ironman because health is still limited and likely coming in beat up from the previous map. I was holding my breath in the exit chamber hoping to not take too many hits in the cramped confines.

Blind attempt on HMP. DNF on map 3. Case of starting an attempt very late in the day so mentally wore out faster and felt dozy after finishing two maps. eagle_kmega_cnr.zip

Made a prepared attempt. Made it to map 12 in about 17 minutes and bit it there because I got impatient. Not that I would have lasted long entering map 13 at single digit health but I did make it there on an unrecorded practice attempt. Too bad. dv2prep_cnr.zip

Not sure which category my attempt falls into. I haven't touched this mapset since those massive writeups I posted in the Megawad Club. And while I am somewhat familiar with the layouts, got vaporized on the first map and it happens to be the map I remember the least. So what foreknowledge I have feels mostly irrelevant to the attempt. Kills: didn't check exactly, probably less than half. At least my death here felt like a spectacle rather than dying in the first minute. (which did come close to happening, dropping to single digit health) Pfft. dsda-doom -cl9 dwiron_dv2_cnr.zip

Greenian At fist, I didn't know if I was going to write up an entry on this. There is a rather extensive writeup in the 2021 Cacowards about this set, which is how I learned about it to begin with. But I guess I do have a unique viewpoint to offer, namely that I haven't played Herian 2. So I experienced the maps not knowing where the border between Herian 2 reimagining and totally original Greenian lies. A succinct way of summarizing the Greenian experience is that it feels like something more than the sum of its parts but I struggle to find words to communicate how. It's got plenty of majestic views which had me stopping to stare but if it was just pretty imagery one is after, Doom mods wouldn't be the first place to look. There's a small bit of gameplay changes, revenant homing missiles being considerably slower and fall damage being enforced, but gameplay is generally conventional Doom with graphic replacements. The soundtrack feeds a melancholy and lonely atmosphere but I found it unmemorable, either completely ignoring the music or forgetting about it completely soon after a map's completion. There's also a selection of ambient sounds depending on one's current location in the maps. As for maps themselves, they eschew modern design conventions to boldly form their own identity when it suits them. (which I do appreciate) Switches and walkover triggers can sometimes have effects far from their point of origin. Sometimes, required progression is hiding behind puzzles. Between this, the visuals, and generally accessible combat these maps come off as places to be explored rather than a combat focused experience. I started to get more immersed in the maps from about map 4 onwards. The start of the map is on the other side of where map 2 takes place, helping link things together. Then map 5 crosses over some territory that's also part of map 1 and it drew me in more. Being able to explore beyond those locked doors from before gave the set a sense of larger narrative. While not every map is going to feel connected to the previous one, when it does occur it feeds into a sense of immersion. While I say combat is accessible, I don't mean it's going to be a pushover. Trickier setups are sprinkled across the set to catch dozing wanderers. Some are cramped encounters; some have inconveniently placed hitscanners to peck away while you're trying to progress. Sometimes one does need to quickly react to a close ambush, sometimes it's getting a handle on tight ammo. I played on continuous the first time so I didn't particularly notice but when I revisited a handful of maps from scratch, ammo really felt tight. Rockets on a cyberdemon are less than ideal but when I was pretty much dry on everything else, what can I do? So mind that trigger finger; luring cacos into infights may be key to having enough ammo for later. Combat may be not be a primary focus but it doesn't feel like an after thought. Fall damage: My thoughts on the fall damage went all over the spectrum while going through the mapset. Sometimes there was quiet acknowledgement, sometimes there was annoyance, sometimes I forgot it was there, sometimes it served as a reminder not to take a long drop and find an alternate path down. There are times I suspected the Herian 2 layouts were not updated to account for this change, such as when the only way out of a room is to hit a remote switch and rush to a descending lift, taking fall damage on landing. But in most cases, fall damage was either a background factor or a non-factor with only map 28 standing out as a location where it was a major consideration in the map layout. (still have more to say; this is gonna take a while)

Some random selections: Tourism mode is how I chose to wander through the National Videogame Museum map. It's modeled after a real location created by a tour guide who works there, with the map made at the behest of the owners. Might take some effort to find an even more fitting candidate for that playstyle. Large city maps in general I'm likely to tourist mode them before trying to beat them for real. It's how I was able to devise an approach to overcome the wall that is the start of Dawn of Reality. Comatose is another map where I toured it without monsters to check out the sights before playing it for real (which I found stressful with all the partially invisible and silent monsters). Greenian also has some majestic views and I've already played through it so revisiting in a tourist context is how I'm liable to check them out again when the mood strikes.

Long ago, I did care about getting that triple 100%. Haven't cared about 100% items in over 10 years as it feels like wasting resources. Still try for 100% kills and secrets. Recently, I've loosened the strings even more; if I'm playing through a multi map set for the first time, I'm more willing to leave for the next map with less than max secrets. And will even leave without max kills if some are being particularly elusive. Save the thorough maxing for a revisit, if I do so.

Type 1 blind. DNF Made it to map 7 in around 2 hours then decided my body wanted sleep more and bailed. Perhaps I would have gone the distance by going faster. On the other hand, had a 1% health scare in map 3 so could have ended up with an early death. So it goes. dwiron_25years_cnr.zip