KevvyLava

I understand what you're getting at, but it's a two-pronged critique. 1, I find the style predictable and uninteresting. 2, there's no payoff. The fights aren't memorable because they are repetitive. Putting in wave after wave of enemies is definitely an established style I've seen on the site. This was clearly the intent of the author, so of course I respect that. I don't want to be too negative because I did play through the map and even though I had to respawn a few times, I do agree with you that the difficulty wasn't crazy (which is appreciated). I felt that if I was going to criticize the author's work, I should at least give him the courtesy of playing through the level.

This is very very good! The only minor complaint I can muster is that levels 5 and 6 are easy to get lost. But I can't say enough about the texture work. You mix together textures that I never would've expected would go together. Very unique style! The changed sound effects aren't over-the-top and really make it feel like a continuation of the original game. I also appreciate that the difficulty is even-handed, and the occasional traps are manageable on a first time play-through. You should be very proud of this, it's excellent. This one will get saved in the special folder of wads I want to play through every now and again.

Just wanted to say that this is suuuuuch a cool idea. The way the first level was designed was perfect. The maps themselves feel like real places in a way. I do think they're a little long, but it's nice having wide-open spaces! Feels like if I'm good enough, I can survive even the tough traps by running away and bouncing around, coming back, etc. The theme and look of these maps is excellent, so well-done!

These were solid maps, I would dig a whole episode of these types. I like that there are good secrets and the maps feel like they have a progression/goal. I'd be interested to see how you might add in bigger open spaces in addition to the tight hallways. Cool stuff.

I really liked the concept behind the Loops level, but I think there was too much space in it. But the idea of the interlocking areas could be refined. Fortress is clearly the most well-designed in my opinion, and I think that it's quite an improvement from start to finish. The hockey rink idea in Civic Center was excellent. My only gripe with that is the areas are waaaaaay too big. Took forever to run around and figure out where I was supposed to go. Descent has some good concepts that could be fleshed out into a more cohesive level. Overall, I think a strength you have as a map builder is your use of 3D floors. You do it tastefully where it still feels like Doom. As a critique, sometimes the textures are unusual choices, but it is a mix between sort of a more cartoony "Duke 3D" style (which I like in some applications) and other times more "Wolf 3D" which I don't love in Doom. But it could ust be that it's new textures that I'm not used to. Monster balance was mostly fair. Overall fun stuff.

Thanks for the comments/recommendations!

Happy Easter

It doesn't matter if you think my criticism was relevant, or that it "didn't achieve my goal." My goal was to complain about the map, which I did. The author can decide if it that matters. My overall point, which I posted plainly, is that it's the same bit over and over. Someone could take the same maps and change the monsters to a different configuration, and it might very well be more interesting to me. I don't have (nobody has) an obligation to give "the long version" right from the get-go. But as you see, I had zero issue articulating my perspective when pressed (and when I felt like elaborating). I'm sure the author is proud of what he created, and that so many people like it. I doubt my opinion is causing any lost sleep. Doom may be one of the greatest games of all time, and this may be the best Doom community out there, and I may be just some guy in Chicago, but let's not make more of an issue about this than it is: a fun retro hobby.

Gave my honest opinion on the wad. Not every comment has to be glowing. My comment offered a compliment and a critique.

Now we're getting to the meat of things! So, to elaborate more, I did comment on another thread where the wads basically offered the same thing. And it was the same as in this wad, where I played the first few levels and the design felt fresh and the textures were cool/interesting. But then I felt that it was just more of the same. There are a LOT of wads I've played over the past few years that do the same thing: grab a key (or good weapon) and you are immediately thrust into a (usually) undersized arena in which you are expected you frantically navigate / dodge the tracers from arch-viles while running in circles dodging revenant rockets. Further, often times you are expected to also identify the locations of chaingunners (often on a pedestal or in the distance) to survive, while randomly grabbing any health you can find. The above description is a VERY hectic experience, and can be very much welcomed in the context of a map. Naturally, as people have improved their Doomin' skills over the decades, tougher challenges are wanted by many. Long gone is the simplicity of MAP11 (Circle of Death / 'O' of Destruction) where the arch-vile appears in the blue key room (weak enemies for him to revive, easy to run away / dodge / avoid). Now we have maps that turn from the classic Doom experience (where a map has a beginning, middle, end) to what almost feels section after section of some sort of "onslaught." Remember MAP16, where the onslaught after you grab the key was one of the most memorable moments in the entire game? All this despite that map looking nothing at all like any "Suburbs" I've ever been to in my life. So sure, as you said, I could turn down the difficulty and have an easier time defeating the demons. But have I actually gotten anything other than what ....kind of feels like I'm "deathmatching against monsters" running around a clean, well-designed map where every texture is perfectly aligned. Sometimes the maps rely on switches to open other doors, only to find another Quake III Arena-style deathmatch level with a key you grab, which releases (you guessed it) 2 arch-viles, 8 revenants, and chaingunners. Throughout my Doomin' Journey over the decades, I've grown to love the challenge of weaving in and out of random pillars dodging arch-vile tracers without getting hit, or running in circles to guide revenant rockets into other monsters / walls / whatever. But if that's all the map is, what's the point? Where's the exploration? I was playing Doom Refired today and there are definitely traps. But there's also a variance in a lot of things, and there are quiet moments, and there is more of an artistic touch to the level design (wandering dark caves lit by candlebras, a mix of texture themes, etc.) Personally I'm better at editing maps than designing them. I offered compliments on the design of these maps, they are very aesthetically pleasing. And not all of them have to be exactly what I want in a map to be a "good map." But I was legitimately disappointed to see a fresh map set that looked great, and ultimately went down the same territory we've seen so many times. I'll leave it at that, because I have already sort of accidentally hijacked the thread, it seems. Everyone else seemed to really enjoy the maps, and the author should be able to enjoy people enjoying his creation rather than it totally switching to what I (the guy with the generic avatar) thinks.

I don't understand what your comment has to do with my comment.

Honestly I'm not super picky. I just like playing regular Doom levels. Or a megawad with a variety of challenges. Just seems like every map these days just involves traps with revenants, arch-viles, and chaingunners. Then you go to another room and it's the same thing.

Spoke too soon on this wad. Great level design the first few levels, but just more of the same "pick up a key/weapon, fight 6 revenants and 2 arch-viles" generic stuff. Am I the only one that is tired of playing maps like this....however well designed they are?

It was a bit jarring in comparison to the rest of the wad, yes. It seems to me like the big thing in mapping these days is you grab an item and a bunch of chaingunners, revenants, and arch-viles appear. You see the revenants and run into the arms of the chaingunners. I had a pretty reasonable time up until that point, didn't bother restarting the map, just resurrected myself and moved on with the map.

I had a good time with this map. Large difficulty spike at the end, though.