ArchCrusader

Hey there! If you'd like, here's a couple .WADs of mine: Sanity's Eclipse requires ZDoom or derivatives due to custom enemies but it mostly play like vanilla DOOM (freelook can be safely avoided). Maps tend to last quite a bit but I wouldn't be opposed to levels getting reviewed/recorded one by one (in that case they wouldn't have to be played one after the other, do as you wish). 2560 is more of an experimental .WAD I've done some time ago, it's probably not super balanced and has a lot of gimmicks but I've never got any actual feedback for it. It should, however, work with most ports since it doesn't make use of anything fancy (it was tested with ZDoom default compatibility). It's 7 maps but they go very quickly, if you don't restart too many times it can take as much as 1h for the entire thing.

Thanks again for the playthrough! Just wanted to say, those monster closets in map05 do work, they just open when you pick up the soulsphere (basically picking up either the soulsphere or blue armour opens up the monster closets on either's OPPOSITE side). Sorry for the invisible barriers! They're fixed now.

Thanks a lot! I'd like to point out that I cut down the difficulty/size of early encounters in map04 so that the pace doesn't slow down as much and picks up a little faster. I'll see what to do about the SSG in map05 once I get more feedback. Thanks for playing! Nice to see some sub-UV playthroughs. If you don't mind me addressing a couple of things... I have to say, and this is just something I found funny, you seem to have an uncanny ability to stop searching for secrets right when they're next to you and/or elegantly move around a secret switch or door, scanning 90% of the room EXCEPT that bit (it was especially funny in the rocket launcher room in MAP01, I think you literally danced around a switch without it ever entering your visual). :D The new enemy in map02, the rocket launcher/machinegun Terminator, is immune to splash damage - just so you don't use too many rockets against them (I'd like to know of a way to teach that to the player, but nothing comes to mind, the bestiary I added to the thread should suffice for now). So, uhm, at 21:25, the SSG is right there on the left, I think you skirted right next to it, literally a few pixels away... :D I may be mistaken, but I think the mod you're using has a slightly smaller sprite for the pickup and (as I noticed at the start of the map) it tends to move them a bit, so it may have been closer to the wall than originally intended. As for map03, just wanted to point out that Many thanks again, I'll be waiting for the rest of the levels! :) (oh and, by the way, in case you're using version 2.0, map05 has barriers that don't render in hardware mode, it's fixed in 2.1, which also has a bit of an easier start for map04)

UPDATE Uploaded version 2.1, which mostly fixes a few issues with translucent textures not rendering on hardware mode and improves the flow of map 4, especially in the beginning. All changes are listed in the changelog in the main post. Additionally, I added a bestiary section to the main post. It goes without saying but if you want to learn about them ingame you should avoid opening the spoiler. Thanks!

Played through the whole Master Level on UV in about 1.5h, pretty damn awesome arenas. The double archvile room was the point where I lost all of my spare extra lives, got it on the second try but damn! In general though, pretty much all of the arenas were just at the right intensity, at least to me it felt like a sweet spot between masochistic challenge and exilarating fun. Can't wait to play it on nightmare and restart each fight 20 times. I don't think you should take Master Levels as a reference for future Id projects: they have stated several times that MLs are specifically designed for the "black belts of the DOOM dance", as Hugo would put it. We shouldn't expect the same deviousness in the base game.

Hey, thanks for playing and the feedback! The first 2 maps (mostly the second) do go pretty hard on hitscanners, theory is that there is enough cover and resources around to counterbalance it. However, in case you haven't tried them, the other maps (especially the 3rd) should have a much more balanced monster composition.

Greetings! Recently released 5 levels here, I'd love if you could give them a spin. The thread itself should have all the required info, do let me know if there's any issue. Thanks!

VERSION 2.1 UPLOADED - CHANGELOG BELOW ADDED A BESTIARY SECTION Greetings everyone! About a year ago I published my first demo for my Sanity's Eclipse project (here, for those who are curious), consisting of levels 1, 2 and 7 out of 11 planned. This time around I'm publishing levels 1 to 5 (no level 7, it'll be for next time when I properly rework it), along with a few improvements to the first 2. Supposedly pretty challenging on UV - bear in mind I tune the challenge based on my own skill, since my standard is completing a level with 100% kills and secrets on UV pistol start. VERSION 2.1 Sanity's Eclipse DEMO 2.1 by ArchCrusader.rar Alternate link - DROPBOX VERSION 2.0 Sanity's Eclipse DEMO 2 by ArchCrusader.rar Alternate link - DROPBOX Requires the DOOM II IWAD; since it makes use of MAPINFO and DECORATE it should require ZDoom or any derivative (and, therefore, that's what I used for testing). I don't have much of a recommendation for compatibility, I just use ZDoom's default. Aside from custom monsters, the WAD plays like vanilla DOOM, so most configurations should work - I would however suggest disabling infinitely tall monsters. Use freelook at your own discretion, everything should work fine regardless of that; crouching and jumping are disabled by default via MAPINFO. Uses the Community Chest 4 texture pack (included), a few monsters (downloaded from Realm667) and custom music (credits are found in the readme). Runtime: early levels shouldn't take more than 20/30 minutes or so - expect the later levels to take much longer, though, especially the 5th (I assume UV on first play would take at least 1 hour for that one). I've kept an eye for continuous play, however maps usually get tested with pistol start, so if you want the most balanced (although harder, obviously) experience that's what you should go for. KNOWN ISSUES: I've noticed that the first door in MAP04 becomes impossible to open with certain compatibility options (I accidentally found out trying the "DOOM (strict)" settings in ZDoom, I don't know which specific option is causing it though). (FIXED IN 2.1) It also seems that the barriers and glasses in MAP05 don't show up when using hardware render. Using software render seems to fix the issue for me (I'll eventually upload the fixed version). Obvious spoilers for maps and enemy mechanics/behaviour A bit of history: About the new monsters: Comments about each map, as well as changelog (read if you intend to go for a thorough review) Quick rundown on how I approached making these levels: - Vanilla DOOM gameplay - Levels must be doable (and tested) with pistol start - As a matter of fact, I don't consider a level finished until I UV-MAX it with pistol start - Map structure resembles what I call "pseudo-realistic arenas": expect areas to mirror "realistic" enviroments, with continuity from one part to another, but I don't add stuff like furniture or excessive clutter that would be detrimental to gameplay. - I try to make the maps as "backtrack-able" as possible - Coop is contemplated, but not balanced. There are player starts but no additional monsters. Not only that, several arenas lock doors behind players. Triggers tend to be somewhat generous (aside from a couple of instances, doors don't just shut behind players) and the way eventually reopens, but some areas may softlock progress if you die and respawn at the start. If you play with others, make sure to stick together when interacting with switches. - Different difficulties are implemented but I need feedback for anything lower than UV. With the way I balance the maps, I am bound to find anything less than UV just "easier" and "much easier", so I can't exactly gauge how well they play for others. And with that I'm done - I'm sure I've forgotten something somewhere, but hey. Good luck and have fun!

As someone who's been guilty (and still is, sometimes) of the "this hard thing is not that hard" mental process, I feel like it usually translates to "if I'm at the top of my game I can beat this np" - which, in turn, often translates to "if I'm not at the top of my game I die in half a second". That's typically a good sign that the thing is, in fact, hard. Then again, Demon of the Well said it best:

One has to wonder, what does actually make a microtransaction... well, one? What makes "here's some additional content you can pay for" go from DLC to MTX or vice versa? We could argue that MTXs don't really "add", just "unlock", but in this day and age all sorts of games (especially MP ones) always include the downloadable content anyways even if you don't own it (as an example, Total War Warhammer updates the game whenever a new race gets added, even though you can't play it directly without the required DLC). Let's get this out of the way: if DOOM Eternal ended up with a storefront, a bunch of advertisements in the main menu for new MTX or, in the worst case, add some sort of ingame currency, I'd hate that. I'd probably ignore them and enjoy the game, but they'd surely leave a bad taste and I'd vouch against their inclusion. Also, let's be honest: 5€ for a skin and related goodies is a bit much. But with that said I'm still very confused as to what people mean with "Microtransactions" in this context. Personally, I don't see it. There's no storefront, no "limited time only purchase" FOMO bullshit, it's literally just "did you miss these? You can get them now". If anything, the whole Twitch Prime exclusivity / Timewall could be criticized (up to a point - and it has been criticized anyways), at most I could see the addition of a purchase option as "unfair" for those that "earned them" but come on, I feel petty just writing that.

These aren't even "microtransactions" anyways, there is no ingame economy to speak of, this is more closely resembling a mini-dlc unlock for additional content. Paid additional content does NOT automatically mean microtransactions. Other than that... I couldn't really care less, I ignored the skin when it was free, I'm ignoring it now. He's obviously set on slowly brainwashing the masses with community streams and Q&As. Wake up sheeple! He's trying to erase classic DOOM from history! /s

I don't mind TAG2 being a bit easier in general, but I definitely felt some "emptiness" playing certain encounters, like I was expecting more stuff to come up - it didn't help that when the DLC dropped I played it on UV, right after I had just finished TAG1 on nightmare. I think at the bare minimum the DLC should be a little more... "daring" - like a couple more super heavies, one more wave of enemies, etc - so many times I'd clear a room that had a couple of fodder demons and a heavy and I just thought "that's it? Huh ok", something that was ESPECIALLY apparent in Immora, the "hell techbase" part before the final arena(s) had these really wide catwalks with huge open spaces and barely anything going through them. I think the escalation encounters were pretty nice though - maybe another tier could have been nice but getting pinned in the same arena for too long could be detrimental, I don't know. Besides, I'm sure the upcoming master levels will be good enough when it comes down to crazy encounters. The armoured baron, one of the better addition, was slightly underused, there is no situation where you fight more than one and any given fight will never have more than that in its entirety. Riot Soldiers were a bit of a disappointment... I mean, they work "fine" but at the end of the day they're just a mix of zombie soldiers and shotgunners with less ways to deal with them. It would have been nice if they had some of the old chaingunner's flavour, the sort of "leave me alive at your own risk" kind of vibe... Maybe a continuous suppressive fire (perhaps with a faster projectile and a slight delay before starting to shoot) that could make dodging incoming damage more of a challenge, something that makes me think "I really need to address that problem". Cursed Prowlers, on the other hand, need something to make them somewhat more variable than "dies as soon as it spawns" or "I got hit once and now I'm dead". I think they take away too much to be properly balanced as they are. Maybe only reduce dashes to 1 (jump as well?), maybe allow them to be hooked, idk. As for the hammer, it's a REALLY fun weapon... but also extremely good, too much in fact. I've heard Hugo mentioning in a video that they did experiment with a higher requirement for a charge, but it ended up slowing down the game because people would wait to engage in a fight before getting it charged up. If anything, I think the hammer does a bit too much of everything. It should really focus on one of it s aspects, maybe not necessarily ONLY one, but the myriad of effects it has and the low charge requirements just add up to ludicrous levels. Maybe make it a dedicated stagger weapon, or a dedicated "amplify this effect" tool, I don't know - but whatever the result, I think its inclusion should make all arenas much, much bolder. It's understandable that the designers don't want to clog up the area of movement with too many enemies, but the hammer actually gives a reason to do that. Also, more grapple hook segments... and the big tentacles really should appear later in a fight, as it stands you can just make them pop up, back off and blast them from afar. As for the Dark Lord, other than a complete redesign, which is not very likely, there are mods that already make him more aggressive/engaging, which is something that should do wonders for the flow of it, so that alone would be alright.

I may have made it sound like they are detrimental to my enjoyment of the game and, in a way, it's true... when I get hit. Notice that the game has next to no hitscan enemies (shield zombies, marauders and tyrants technically have hitscan attacks but at very limited range for the former two and with a delay/dodgeable lock for the latter) and any seeker missile can be disjointed with double jump or dash, so it's not like the game is necessarily being unfair. I wouldn't call that "designed themselves into a corner" or "make too many sacrifices", the game just is what it is: you keep moving, trying not to get hit while at the same time hitting them. It's really just the classic fundamentals of FPSs (footwork and aim) taken to the extreme, which usually yields higher highs but also lower lows (so to speak).

I don't know... in a game where the player is this fast and has so many resources, there has to be something that requires some sort of challenge that forces you to either slow down and/or split your attention. It's partly why we have stuff like the bullshit instant area of effect attacks many enemies like the Mancubus or (especially) the Blood Maykr have. Not to mention the feeling when, in the middle of the chaos, you quickswitch to heavy rifle and blow the head off a Blood Maykr while keeping tabs on everything else moving. Few games can give such a rush, and it feels great when you reach that level. Marauders are a mixed bag for me. I initially didn't think much of them, then I started loathing them... then they grew on me, but I internally groan when I see them. I can reliably take one down in 2-3 cycles, but the only reason that keeps you from blasting them (other than with niche methods) is that they have a random "lol 0 damage" shield they pull up in a nanosecond, something which irks me to no end. It's basically a game of "Mr. Marauder, can I please hit you? Thanks", which is both amusing and annoying.

As Rytrik wrote, it's Precision Bolt. As far as I'm aware, Hugo confirmed that the longer falter on the Marauder is (most likely) a bug and is being looked into. Also, trust me, I still miss weakpoints plenty of times, I did that before, I do that now, the only difference is that the game is just slightly more lenient when I do. I'm not saying it wouldn't work. I'm saying it wouldn't be consistent with the way difficulty is handled in DOOM... which is not a deal breaker, mind you, but it could get to the point I was talking about, where someone plays through the main campaign and DLCs on a lower difficulty, then ups it and plays through the main campaign having the same monsters and then suddenly more stuff in the DLC. Again, not a big issue, but potentially jarring. As long as the higher monster count is kept on UV as well, it's the difficulty I like to play on when I want to take it a bit easier (then again this begs the question: won't the jump from one difficulty to another be too much for others? Eh, whatever works really). Still, I hardly believe some nerfed monsters will make any part of the campaign (or whatever else) "shit" - the whole issue is grossly overblown in my opinion.