Large Cat

I've finally made it through the entire can. The beans themselves have pretty strong flavors, so, as I've said previously, not everyone will like them, but those (like me) who enjoy spicier or tangier tastes will gobble it up. I especially appreciated the visuals of the final episode, as I'm a sucker for both space and circles. Difficulty-wise, maps were mostly on par with the rest of the set, and UV remained thoroughly manageable, though I might recommend use of saves on blind play given the nature of some traps (particularly map29). Map scale was bigger and grander than earlier maps, hitting me regularly with hundreds of monsters at a time and blessing me with broad voids and vistas, to my delight. I'll spoiler map-by-map thoughts, in case I give away any key moments. Overall, great idea showcase with good execution to make the ideas convincing. Anyone who likes "punchy" or "bite-size" offerings will be getting exactly what they want with this.

I wasn't pinged, but I am still in progress. Real life things are only continuing to rev up over the next month and a half, so I am having trouble making any promises before then. If you decide you want to get the wad out sooner rather than later, I'll do what I can to make this top priority.

I support your decision to keep MAP31 as-is. I know not everyone will like that, but I can say for certain my overall map experience would have been worse if you made alterations. I'm even looking at stealing this concept for my own wad. The culprit seems to be linedefs 113 and 125, which reveal the full arena. I think in my playthrough, I activated one of them, and then later once the ceiling had risen, I walked over the other, causing a portion of the ceiling (it looks like sector 6) to raise a second time and reveal in inner edge of sector 12.

I've played about half of this so far, up through map 17 (including the secret maps). The gimmickry here isn't for everyone, but there are some fun ideas on display. Difficulty-wise, the maps have all been quite manageable even without saves on UV, and I can certainly see the reduced supplies coming into effect in some places. Despite that, I think UV is a great pick for anyone who can run with modern wads. Many of these maps put their most hectic foot forward, giving way in their later stages with consistent pressure. I got SPECHITS overflows on several maps, but I'll assume you aren't too worried about demos in Crispy, which should be the only thing affected. Some additional map-by-map notes (for reference, I played in DSDA Doom on -complevel 2): Excited to see what awaits in the second half!

Here are my demo playthroughs for the rest of the wad, maps 21-30 (still on UV in DSDA Doom). They're still recorded on the original version of the wad, of course. mv-e3-largecat.zip The last episode actually introduces some interesting new elements, not really seen in the earlier maps! I'm interested to see where your continued mapping journey takes you! I'm especially interested if you delve more into high-monster-count slaughter combat.

Just got through the first 20 maps (and the secret maps) on UV in a single sitting (so kudos for making something that I can play for that long!). I'll get back to the last ten later. I recorded a demo of each map, so you can see some more gameplay to get an idea of how your maps come off to a player. The demos were recorded in DSDA Doom, but all except map32 should play back properly in Crispy Doom, so you can view them there if that's your vanilla-faithful port of choice. I've also included a simple dehacked file that you can pop right into your wad to display the correct automap names, if you like. You can copy that format for any non-vanilla format. mv-largecat.zip Before I jump into any criticism, just know there's a lot here you're doing well and plenty to be proud of, beyond the inherent merit of completing a megawad solo. You've taken into account a lot of things early mappers tend to overlook, such as not making traps or progression trigger properly when players don't play "as intended," and you have a lot of nice courtesy gestures, like teleports for backtracking after making a long trek. Also, you know how throw in some good soft lighting. Further caveat: with this megawad, you have created more maps than I have, so don't take my word as gospel. Hopefully I can at least make some insightful suggestions for you to try, though. I won't do a blow-by-blow for each map, rather focusing on broad strokes across the wad. One reason for this: I am not intending any of this feedback as changes you should make to this wad; rather, I think it's more productive to take feedback and start on new maps instead. I don't say this because these maps are somehow "beyond saving." Rather, given that you were just starting out when you created this work, you've evolved creatively over the course of its creation, and it's best not to shackle your current ambitions to the vision of someone who had not made any Doom maps yet. If touching up this project excites you, then go for it! Just consider the option of starting on something new instead, carrying all of this learned experience with you. While there is a lot of interest going on, in my experience, there were some consistent points of friction or other "pathological" tendencies the wad exhibited to my senses. I'll spoiler this both due to length and some references to specific events in maps that others may want to leave a surprise. Some additional comments on a few specific moments (including some bugs) Hopefully there's something useful amid my page of drivel. Once again, congrats on completing a solo megawad, and I'm excited to see what's in store for me in the final episode!

Sad to see how far your mapping has regressed over the years. Your promise peaked with The Colosseum, and then you just devolved into Plutonia clone drivel riddled with softlocks. Shameful. (For legal reasons, this is me being silly. Thank you for sharing your mapping journey with us. It seems you already found the issues with Trial and Tribulation, so I won't pile on.)

Had a great time with this one! Played on DSDA and everything worked more or less like a charm. Combat was indeed no problem, but served as a nice diversion. I was scratching my head a little bit on the MAP04 setpiece, but having completed the puzzles now, I can confidently say I know how to solve these in general, which is about the most satisfaction anyone can ask for in a puzzle. The extra business in MAP05 felt trivial after solving MAP04, but sometimes it's okay just to get a walk in the park after a big accomplishment. There was a little weirdness if I spam-pressed any of the switches, where not all of the fields properly flipped, though this worked itself out automatically by pressing the button a few more times. I'm not sure if this could even be fixed in a reasonable way, so I don't think it's a big deal.

Gotta give another mention to Headless Chicken by @Chookum. There are a lot of tropes in the wad that I'm not normally fond of (e.g. the type of humor, easy slaughter, hyperactive colorful visuals), but they're so well executed here that I couldn't help but keep playing. I also have to throw in Terror Signal by @SeaTree. The maps are well-designed with constant spring-loaded action, but the MBF21 dehacked is what takes center stage. It's a natural evolution of Doom combat without pushing Doom purists beyond what they can recognize as distinctly Doom gameplay. Also, the secret game is on point throughout.

Just finished the wad (I never got the updated version, so it's possible my experience doesn't fully reflect the state of the art). I love the turn the wad takes around map07, where I feel the set is properly doing its own thing and giving us something new. The first half is no slouch still, but the second half is the main feature for me. I don't want to spoil too much, so I'll try to stay vague here. For reference, I played the wad in DSDA on UV, pistol-starting each map (whether that's intended or not). Earlier I made a comment about the combat being archvile-centric, which seems true in the first stretch of maps. The second half helps broaden the combat portfolio, though I still believe the gameplay is centered on the "renewable threats" this wad presents, ensuring that pressure is everlasting (and the way the new zombies function was communicated clearly, which I adored). Difficulty-wise, even on UV this wad was totally manageable by the modern standard. It typically killed me at least once in a given map, but foreknowledge made everything surmountable, and I could easily imagine playing through these levels without use of saves. Secrets were abundant and satisfying across all maps. Entering the second secret level was strange, but I have at least managed to do it with help from the editor. I am a fan of the explosive plasma rounds, especially when fighting cyberdemons. The heat-up mechanic gives me some reason to play more aggressively, as well as helping the plasma gun over the BFG in the cell ammo economy. The pistol's superior per-shot damage made it almost totally replace the chaingun for me, since I only use bullets in tame clean-up scenarios, so damage output over time is less of a factor than ammo efficiency. The reload feature still annoys me endlessly without actually changing how I play, but it's minor thing overall. The chainsaw upgrade was fully welcome, helping the chainsaw properly fill its stunlock role, particularly against revs and cacos. I did notice what seemed to be some use of voodoo dolls to align flats. This method is troublesome in DSDA because rewinding or loading a save will undo the alignment, though I don't know whether that's worth trying to work around. Excellent work on this one! Your use of MBF21 was reserved but decisive, and your map design complimented your vision nicely. I hope others can take some inspiration from what you've done (as long as the mechanic you've introduced doesn't get overused).

I have a soft spot for MBF21 solo projects, so I had to try this out. I'm pleased with what I've seen so far, three maps in! I'll hold final judgements until I'm further in, but right now the combat does seem to rely heavily on archviles, as fights without them keel over immediately without trouble. That said, the surprisingly interconnected layout of the arenas is serving the combatants excellently, so we'll see if you can keep it fresh for another 13 maps. The pistol reloading mechanic is neat, though I find it to be a nuisance after the novelty quickly wears off. Since I mostly use the pistol for low-pressure cleanup, the occasional reload just throws off my rhythm and prolongs the easy part of finishing off stragglers. I'm interested to see how the plasma heating plays in. One oddity I noticed in the menu on DSDA. It looks like some of the menu background is misaligned, being shifted slightly up. It didn't look intentional, given how it bleeds into the title text above.

@Moustachio Thanks for the ping. Worry not, MAP30 will be coming along shortly. Some features are taking more work to implement than I anticipated.

I just finished MAP30 of this a couple days ago. I've come away with a bewildering opinion of Headless Chicken: while I've concluded that it's categorically not my bag, I enjoyed it greatly nonetheless. Those two facts together point to how well-constructed this wad is, pulling me in despite not being the sort of gameplay that I typically prefer. I think this wad speaks to a type of player out there whose outlets are limited: players who enjoy the trappings associated with modern/2010's slaughter wads except for the difficulty. There must be players out there interested in mowing down hordes of demons within a lovingly crafted macroscopic landscape, yet find the long line of Sunder descendants uninviting in their difficulty. Headless Chicken feels as though it speaks exactly to these people, removing the exacting requirements that come with slaughter maps. Let's talk about gameplay, which is the primary turn-off for me but will many players' jam, I suspect. I'm a masochist and enjoy having my ass handed to me several times on my path to victory. I know Chookum is thoroughly not that; Chookum is fundamentally nice and wants the player to feel powerful, never constricted or choked. Movement space and ammo provisions are beyond plentiful, and lock-ins are all but non-existent. The only real hint of potential cruelty comes in my favorite map, 4-6, where the player isn't simply given freedom to roam the whole map when a new fight pops up. Even at the map's peak difficulty in episode 5, Chookum is still thoroughly lenient, with each map providing several extra soulspheres, megaarmors, and megaspheres over their runtime. Any time a fight appears that you might see in a challenge wad, you can bet an invulnerability is lurking to hold your hand through the worst of it. Oddly enough, these invuln fights feel the most "tuned" and are enjoyable to tackle without any powerups; typically, fights are not so fine-tuned, which I believe to be intentional, allowing the player plenty of room for mistakes or "incorrect" strategy. Visually, the maps are all evocative with their bright colors and active geometry. Generally, the atmospheres are pleasant, inviting, memorable, and often cheeky, with plenty of doomcute or installations that bring to mind realistic settings and objects. To my taste, scenery is rather on the blocky side, with hyperactive coloring, and if you care deeply about features like thorough use of transition textures, many areas will rub you the wrong way visually. If you're more concerned about the general feel of the areas, though, you'll be thoroughly entranced by what you see, with great shifting rainbows of terrain and broad vistas to savor. No matter what, I recommend playing with OpenGL rendering, which seems to have been targetted primarily over software. There is plenty to be talked about through this wad, but the main takeaway is this: this wad is modern slaughter for players who don't want their butts kicked. If you see another challenge release here, you may be disappointed by how quickly fights buckle and how overprepared you are. But if you like what you see in slaughter but always feel like such wads are trying to push you away or antagonize you needlessly, Headless Chicken will be the wad you've been searching for.

Thank you for including some tomatoes with my chips. It really rounds out the experience. Unfortunately, dreams do not currently come true on DSDA Doom, due to pnames and texture1 lumps not containing the og doom resources. So if you're choking on a chip, rewind will not be there to save you. EDIT: DSDA works now. Best customer service I have received from a tortilla chip manufacturer.

I've been sitting on a plan for quite some time, yet to put it in the editor. I think the map will come together swiftly once I start mapping proper; I've simply been focusing on other, more pressing things in the meantime.