Surreily

I'm back after forgetting to post the map on Friday - sorry about that. Anyways, here's the promised map: surreily-30sectors.zip Map Title: Strange Structures and Dangerous Demons Map Slot: MAP15 MIDI used: Ultimate Doom MIDI Pack - "Halls of Wandering Spirits" by Myrgharok Map Creator: Ultimate Doom Builder Favorite Screenshot: I'm not 100% happy with how it feels to play - I've tweaked it a bit after several playthroughs, but I'm not really sure how to improve the big open area given that it's basicaully just a bunch of monsters with no real focus. I think the side areas are stronger in this regard as I have more control over player movement and can set up some decent encounters. Also, the name kinda sucks but I have no idea what else to call this thing :P Suggestions for improvements are welcome!

Hi, very sorry to not post anything for the last ~2 months, but real life happened. I'll get my map posted tonight.

Hi, can I be signed up please if it's not too late?

Hi, just checking in with my current progress since I've not posted anything in ages. My map's layout is pretty much 100% done, I'm currently in the "refining the gameplay" phase. This is going to take a bit of time as it's been a very long time since I've made something that's not a speedmap! Working within 30 sectors has been an interesting experience. I had to reserve some of my sectors for the secret exit sequence, leaving me with about 25 sectors for the actual map. I found myself using mid textures and decoration things a lot more than I usually do - this helps greatly with providing additional detail without eating at my sector allowance. I've not got a name for the map yet, but I do have some screenshots:

I gave this one a play. It's very tight ammo-wise as @Tangra pointed out and I also agree that it might be a bit too much challenge for MAP09. The texture choices reminded me of The Spirit World from Doom II (but with crates). The map starts out frantic and never gives up until the very end with arch-viles popping up to keep pressure on the player while hitscanners hide around every corner outside to force the player into cover. I didn't have any major problems getting the green armor near the start, but I did have some major health problems as the map went on. I had to save scum my way through this one a bit more than I'd like to admit. I wasn't able to find any of the secrets on my playthrough until after I had finished off all the monsters. I found the hidden berserk (that would've been useful earlier!) and, unfortunately, a couple of softlocks. Both of these are caused by linedefs flipped the wrong way. I've pointed them out in this screenshot below (spoilered as it shows the map in the editor): I enjoyed the map. It could use a bit of polish around some of the rougher edges, especially the difficulty given its map slot, but it was fun to play.

I'm working under the assumption we're allowed to use Boom features. It's in the thread title and, as @Raith138 said, "It is boom for a reason".

Can I grab MAP15 please? I'd like to do a secret exit. :-)

I've just found the BFG. I've sent the video and a detailed description to @Fernito and just wanted to announce it here in case anyone else was still looking. I really enjoyed the first map and will definitely be continuing my playthrough (BFG in hand) through the rest of the WAD!

I just gave this a go on UV (using GZDoom) and really enjoyed it. The combat encounters were well done, ammo felt very well balanced (I thought I was going to run out a few times but there was always something around the next corner), and I appreciate the emphasis on the rocket launcher and plasma rifle instead of relying on the SSG as the "go to" weapon. I think the overall difficulty is pretty much bang on. Also, great MIDI choice! One thing I wanted to point out: the nukage floor damage values are not consistent across the map - some rooms are more painful than others. Not sure if this is intentional, but just pointing it out in case it isn't. Keep up the good work!

Map name: Into the Spectral Citadel Music: D_RUNNIN (I will change this, it's way too late o'clock in the UK and I need to get up for work soon). Build time: Frantically over the last seven days of May. Tested: It works in Zdoom, will test in Boom ASAP! So this is a puzzle map. I've also managed to squeeze in a few secrets (though I am not sure what I can reward the player with as there is no combat, so I just stuck in some random stuff). I might add some combat at the end to make it worthwhile. Please let me know if you find any weird stuff - there might be some oddities as I was experimenting with some things. Yes, I know that the player can't go under the 'solid' platforms, sorry about that, I should be able to do something about that over the next couple weeks. Thanks! :-) MayhemX_Surreily.zip

Just throwing my opinion in here having played the entire thing without looking at any comments in this thread beforehand. The first half of the map was really good. Weapons are introduced at appropriate times and I wasn't flooded with ammo - this meant I had to carefully select my weapons for each encounter, sometimes opting for a melee approach (thanks to the early berserk powerup). Due to the non-linear nature of the map, I was also able to save resources for later use, a good example of this being one of the invulnerability spheres which I used to kill two cyberdemons at point-blank range with the BFG without risking death. I love the intricate layout and interconnectedness of everything. I think that the map does lose momentum after the bridge though: I'm suddenly travelling through halls with very little opposition and the architecture is far simpler than the first half. Sometimes my only threat is a single cacodemon or baron of hell. Some rooms just feel like giant arenas with randomly placed monsters. It almost feels like I've stepped through a portal into a completely different map. Things do improve near the end again when I am suddenly lowered into a pit of lava and have to fight my way out, then deal with 2 cyberdemons - this is the highlight of the second half and provides a fun and frantic finish to the map. Bonus points for including a teleport from the end back to the start for completionists. :-)