Resurgence (RESURGE.WAD)

Joshy released Surge in early 2012. It was an unfinished collection of speedmaps built upon the idea of forcing the player to "surge" forward through the level's action in order to clear a spot that was safe enough to stand in. After a hiatus from mapping, Joshy picked it up again and finished the set for release in 2014, re-branding it as Resurgence. Like its progenitor and Speed of Doom, this is a megaWAD for Boom-compatible ports that emphasizes gut-busting action and intelligent, fast-on-your-feet decision making. Unlike Surge, there's actually something of a story, with you waking up from the oblivion of death and having to fight your way out of Hell and back to the realm of the living on Titan before you can put a stop to Hell's invasion. Something goes wrong on the way, of course, and you're launched into the future where Hell is completely entrenched, but it wouldn't be a Joshy map if you weren't facing overwhelming odds.

One third of these maps have their origins in the original Surge, whether they're featured alone or in a sewn-together mashup. The early ones have had their gameplay overhauled to provide a more challenging experience while the latter selections have had some of their visuals updated. They still play like Surge, but are much better at keeping the action going through the whole level through features like subsequent teleport ambushes. "Underground Barrage" is the last of the holdovers, though it wasn't finished back in 2012. I do like what Joshy's done with it, though, as well as the rest of the original lineup.

The other twenty maps are brand spankin' new additions and work to switch up gameplay quite a bit. After having played Speed of Doom and other works, I would have pigeon-holed Joshy as someone who makes short, super-hard maps with ultra-exacting monster placement. In this, though, it's almost as though he's venturing far outside of his comfort zone in order to make up for his missing partner in crime, Darkwave0000, who brought much of SOD's sense of place and adventure. It's clear that Sealy has learned a thing or two in the interim, whether it's by borrowing from similar authors like Skillsaw or the inimitable Xaser, and Resurgence shines for his experience.

Joshy makes two major additions to the bestiary that don't appear until MAP21, both of which I gather are edits from Scythe 2 beasts. The afrit is a flying red baron that attacks in waves of mancubus fireballs and revenant rockets. It's not that tough HP wise but it will fuck you up if you aren't careful. It's also really strong in infighting due to its damage output and its floaty nature makes it a natural Cyberdemon killer. The plasma zombies are red space marines, super annoying due to their fast rate of fire and quick reaction time, no doubt inherited from the infamous Mr. X. I died to them way more than the afrit, of course, but they will dominate in infighting, not that you get a whole lot of opportunities to involve them.

Resurgence is really cool, and the latter levels are really hard, well in keeping with the madcap standards established in Speed of Doom. I like that Joshy has erred on the side of giving the player more room to move around in as opposed to the congested murderfests that I've come to associate as his particular style. They're very playable, even if some of them involve blitzing through monsters like a madman until you grab some real weaponry. MAP30 is the nastiest of a bad lot; every single fight in there has been fine-tuned to require a lot of thought and action on your part, lest you falter, your broken body collapsing to the ground with your face frozen in a rictus of impotent pain.

Joshy is a cool dude who has shown a lot of capability for multifaceted mapping. I'm glad he dusted off Surge and went about finishing it, cause we got a bunch of really cool levels to play around with, plus there's still the 2012 copy for some more straightforward speed maps. May his authorial career be long and full of really crazy ideas.

RESURGENCE
by Josh "Joshy" Sealy

Awakening

MAP01

Joshy wipes Surge's MAP01 off the table with this semi-atmospheric beast. You get to play with the berserk, shotgun, and rocket launcher in this little Hellish canyon of running blood, which is staffed mostly by imps but which gets an influx of revenants toward the end. The only thing worse than your own carelessness is getting overrun by a pack of spectres in the darkness, which managed to haunt me through the latter portion of the map. It's also as gorgeous as all get out; the silhouettes cast by the vegetation look sweet against that sky.

MAP02

Hell's Lamentation

Same general layout as Surge's MAP02, a semi-open cavern in red rock, but it looks much nicer and fields a nastier monster composition, with a Hell knight and cacodemon gumming up the works, not to mention numerous revenant ambushes. You're limited to the shotgun (and chaingun if you can figure it out) but the berserk at the beginning should give you plenty of Tyson fuel. I was actually expecting a nastier surprise from the lava walls to the southeast, but I guess it's still early for this megaWAD. The gothic addon to the north is a nice addition that breaks up the level's visuals and gives you a decent lock-in fight.

Cave of the Lost Souls

MAP03

Same layout as Surge's MAP03. It's more Hell and lava, but there's a gorgeous cavern with pillars you have to dance across while under fire from several squads of mancubi which will put your dancing skills to the test as you blast them with your rocket launcher. The red key is the most important key for speedrunning reasons, plus it also triggers the repopulation of the way to the exit, which comes with a friendly arch-vile who will sneak behind one of the critical hold points. Actually starting the map will be the second hardest point, though gutsy players can just jump in the fire for all the goodies they'll need. Watch out for those spectres.

MAP04

A Fistful of Imps

Another mess of red rock, using the combined layouts of Surge's MAP04 and MAP05. It's got the typical opening where you have to combat a ton of monsters on the ground at first, but the more connected design and subsequent teleport ambushes means that you're never hurting for an encounter, even after many of the monsters are dead. I started to feel the lack of the SSG here, not that there aren't a ton of rockets and shells to deal with threats like the arch-vile that spawns in after grabbing the red key. The red key teleport wave is probably the most lethal encounter, next to getting sloppy in the western ruins, which has a couple of spectres running interference.

Sinister

MAP05

Aka MAP09 of Surge. Joshy turns away from the red rock theme that teased the earlier levels for some dark gray and brownish brick and mortar whose inner structure gives off a slight "Inmost Dens" vibe. It's not particularly hard with a dearth of opponents once you clear the main area out, though guys like the mancubi do a good job at dragging the combat out. The biggest surprise is a Cyberdemon that comes after a blind drop; you'll need to dance to grab the plasma rifle to put him down. A couple of bonus arch-viles maintain the tension until about the end.

MAP06

Fortress

Keeping on with the dark citadel theme, this is a reworking of Surge's MAP06. It's a pretty cool level with an initial fortress assault best handled with that secret rocket launcher. A steady trickle of hitscanners out of the front door makes things less than straightforward, but once you get inside, you're pretty much done. The blue key fight at least attempts to block you with a couple arachnotrons. The real fight, though, is the finale, pitting you against two different arch-viles and a horde of imps in a slightly tricky situation.

Gauntlet

MAP07

A brand new map, which varies a bit from the "Dead Simple" variety. It's bi-symmetric, with a keep staffed by mancubi in the center and two peanut galleries to the east and west composed of imps and revenants, plus a couple of cacodemon clouds that start to invade when the action starts. Slaying all the fatsos opens up the southern half of the map, which has a bunch of demons and what will probably be a pretty unmemorable Spiderdemon fight, supposing you don't play recklessly. The end of level arch-vile feels like a satisfactory if not compelling shakeup compared to the hectic opening.

MAP08

Obsidian Hotbed

Ahahaha, MAP10 of Surge. The inside is a dark brick underground built around some lava tunnels while the outdoors are moody and shadowed. There are a bunch of hardbodies clogging up the lower halls so the big weapons aka rocket launcher and plasma rifle are choice grabs and among the first things you should seek out. There are traps a plenty, throwing bunches of monsters at you in an already awkward layout, though if you move fast you can usually isolate stuff to a decent chokepoint. After dealing with the arch-vile / revenant heavy ambushes (and the big one with the pain elementals), the Cyberdemon guarding the exit seems like old hat. Still, very violent and very fun.

Scorching Savanna

MAP09

This level has its origins as a rejected BTSXE2 submission. It's a cool, gorgeous mountain stronghold from Hell that's inundated with blood. There is a Spiderdemon locking down all the windows from the beginning and a ton of monsters just dying to meet you. Cacodemons are pretty good at squeezing into that tunnel to ruin your day. Grabbing the red key unlocks some of the nastier fights, like the mancubus foursome where you need to stunlock your own cover, and a whole mess of monsters to the south, which has my favorite fights. There's also an awkward Cyberdemon setup to the west. If you want it done quick, you'll have to abandon the low ground. Pumping rockets into an immense column of Hell knights and barons while ducking their plasma is a nice finish.

MAP10

The Courtyard

We're still in Hell, but Joshy has deferred to a more traditional color scheme with vast portions of the architecture rendered in green marble. It's huge, and it has a big fuckoff courtyard whose space is cracked, revealing the lava beneath, though it won't hurt you. First, though, you've got to clear out the eastern building, a trap-laden structure with a blood trench you'll have to fight to and through. The lion's share of the action is in the courtyard itself, which involves the slaughter of lots of low-tier enemies, imps in particular with the occasional spectre snuck in to fuck with your rocket play. It's frantic and fun but the teleport ambush at the southwest sluice overstays its welcome. Fighting off both the cacos and the never-ending stream of revenants, imps, spectres, demons, and zombies only works because you are switching rocket fire between the airborne enemies and the stuff coming out of the tunnel. Still a cool level.

Twi-Lite Massacre

MAP11

A take-off on Speed of Doom's "Twilight Massacre", emphasis on "Lite". Joshy may run you through a bunch of weapons but once you grab the BFG, that's really all you need, considering that there is more cell ammo than you could realistically want. Well, the rocket launcher might be good for sniping some of the more annoyingly entrenched monsters. Joshy's Hellscape is gorgeous and fields more than 1700 monsters to start with, though there aren't any real chances for things to get wildly out of hand. It's almost entirely about crowd control and BFG spam, with you getting more room to play around in as you wipe out the enemy hordes. The cacodemon swarm drags a little bit since the fatsos take their sweet time grouping up. The three-tier cage fight to the north is a great example of a situation where you have to make your own room in order to survive. A fun slaughter.

MAP12

Homecoming

A fusion of Surge's MAP11 and MAP12 with some brand spankin' new areas to serve as flawless connective tissue. Since we are back in the normal world we have a medium-size techbase map to start, which is cool. It starts out with that ring of monsters feel but pretty soon you move on past the warmup to the meat of the level with some crazy ambushes, like the commandos plus revenants in the darkened sewer or the pockets of enemies that are revealed when you activate the northwest tower. The Cyberdemon works out as an effective foe since your available space has a few obstacles to get hung up on and you're pretty much limited to the combat shotgun.

Assault

MAP13

Also MAP13 of Surge. Keeping in line with the tech theme, it's a small but open-air underground bunker whose construction was never finished. The opening shootout is absolute chaos with the enemies on the ground floor augmented by cacos encroaching through the windows. After sorting everything out you make a brief run through some lovely naturalistic scenery before having to take on a big line of mancubi, probably with the rocket launcher for sheer speed. And, just like that, it's over.

MAP14

Hyper-Spelunking

Surge MAP14 revisited. It's a dark, underground cavern that's initially loaded with monsters, from cacos to hitscanners to surprise revenants, with a Cyberdemon standing on the central platformer locking down your movement. The initial fight is probably the toughest action you'll have since the Cyberdemon is a powerful confounding factor, though some players might have difficulty with the skeletal skirmishes, the one in the northern room in particular. Once they're all done, though, you can handle Old Scratch in relative peace.

Nukage Bay

MAP15

In case you forgot, this is Surge's MAP15. It's an open-air crossfire / slugfest centered around a lake of poison that is ringed with sniper-worthy opponents. You can always jump into the poison if you feel overwhelmed, but you'd be better served by clearing out all the monsters you can before poking around since progression is usually rewarded with an influx of enemies, and the last thing you want to worry about is three arch-viles at once. The mancubus staircase looks pretty daunting when you start out but a bit of deft maneuvering can take out almost all of the sting.

MAP31

Festering Wicked Helix Sectors

This is actually one of the lost Secret Santa entries, target: Xaser. Joshy himself notes that the map borrows a lot from "Enigma Helix" and "Wicked Garden" from PRCP, to astonishing effect. The end result is an interesting if not exactly dense adventure map where in order to gain exit to the distant tower you'll have to drain all of the blood pools dry, which results in an interesting alteration via some visual cheats. Action is slow at first with the reliance on the regular shotgun; after awhile, you're practically dying for the SSG so that you can really cut loose. There's a lot of height-based platforming required to get around in the early game and a lot of arch-vile-based ambushes, especially in the second half, which involves a breathtaking transformation where an enormous helix of stairs arises from the ground and starts filling up with monsters. You have to fight your way down to the bottom before the exit is prepped. Afterward, you get to run back through pairs of arch-viles that are diligently undoing all your hard work. Very cool.

Poison Oak	MAP32
by "Darkwave0000"
This not-so-secret Santa level has Darkwave imitating Joshy. It's apparently a take on the "Poison Ivy" series, but the scale is way larger and more open than the murderfests it draws inspiration from. It's still got some aspects, though, in that you're not sure where to go when you start out blind, mainly because your starting tools are so inadequate. The good news is, monsters are so thick and powerful that you can just kind of run around for awhile dodging shit and infighting will clear out a lot of the troublesome nasties so that you can snag that rocket launcher / plasma gun combo near the starting area. Once you get into the locked-in areas things get worse, with success requiring some expert crowd control and dodging tactics like in the yellow key wing's initial fight and the awkward staircase plus cacodemons fight that leads right up to the level's end. For once, the finale is the single hardest encounter in the whole damn thing, putting you between two thick walls of flesh with three Cyberdemons in stuck in the middle with you. It is the perfect kind of fight to illustrate that BFG zerging is not always easy or straightforward, especially with that peanut gallery of arch-viles and Hell knights on one side. A fun warm-up to an exhausting, exhilarating experience.

MAP16

Close Quarters

MAP16 and 17 of Surge, joined at their exit and entrance, respectively. Each section has a wildly different premise, with the first half dominated by claustrophobic combat in some dank, dark sewers. The latter is kind of a racetrack where you run from a Cyberdemon and then have to deal with a bunch of free-roaming speedbumps on the south end. The trickiest fight of the whole thing is probably the arch-vile in the sewers. He's guarding a rocket launcher that you'll definitely want to put him down, but if he ends up in there with you, well, good luck. The Cybertrack has some pretty cool fights, mostly weighted to sorting the clusterfuck you bolt into after sprinting away from ol' metalhoof.

Underground Barrage

MAP17

This was Surge's MAP18, but Joshy had neither the layout complete nor it staffed with monsters. It's got the dark, congested stylings of the first half of the previous level, but the execution is very different with an emphasis on navigating tiers of play through straferun platforming, plus the fact that nearly all of the monsters are placed on the board via teleport traps when you hit key progression points. There's more than enough ammo to cut through the masses, but you can also get a lot of the hardest work done through your friendly neighborhood Cyberdemons, who are a great hand at knocking out that baron wave. The one with the skeletons is a bit harder to use, mostly because of the difficulty of finding the right vantage point. Fun and frantic.

MAP18

Excavation Project

Joshy takes things in a bit of a different direction with this very cool underground cavern / base level. There is a lot of ground to cover and lots of distinct places to explore, once you catch your breath. Seeking out the SSG / rocket launcher / plasma rifle are your first musts and it won't hurt to pick up the BFG when it becomes available, which is actually pretty early on. Joshy stuffs a lot of set piece encounters in here which isn't much of a surprise given the size of the area. There are some incidental monsters and snipers in the mix as well but you get fun stuff like the Spiderdemon / caco roundabout and the running of the spectres / Cyberdemon. The wide, open spaces let the gorgeous architecture flourish and at times, the map feels a bit empty. I was expecting some kind of grand showdown in the nukage viaduct given the sheer scale but it looks like Joshy's letting it sit firmly on the side of exploration and adventure, which is fine by me.

Quadrilateral Rampage

MAP19

A little bit of that "Downtown" action in this open-air shootout. The layout is pretty simple but the action is anything but as monsters are stationed every which way to keep you from establishing an initial zone of safety. You'll have to get to work and track down some stronger weapons to keep from forever plinking away. They're not that closely guarded, though. The biggest threat you face is slacking in your situational awareness, where any number of enemy projectiles will slap you upside the head as a reminder, from fireballs to Cyb rockets and all things between. The teleport waves are potentially nasty with the mix of monsters, including revenants, cacodemons, pain elementals, and packs of commandos at the opposite end. About the nastiest bit of claustrophobic fighting I did was working my way down the southwest tower, which requires some quick clearing followed by more tactical movement if you want to make it to the jump. Fun stuff.

MAP20

Waves of Darkness

Another gorgeous goo base, though there's more caverns than concrete in this outing. "Waves" is a hornets' nest style level where danger lies in every direction and clearing shit out is the first order of the day so that you can figure out where Joshy wants you to go and why. The southwestern area is pretty nasty with its commando and revenant snipers plus the pockets of mancubi. The most striking area is the northern half, though, which requires you chew through two pairs of Cyberdemons in pretty constricted spaces, one of which is a waist-high maze which... I actually liked as a gameplay changeup. The pair on the bridge, though, whooped my ass until I used some cowardly camping techniques because I couldn't be bothered to fight toe-to-toe. Watch out for errant fireballs!

Ravages of Time

MAP21

If you were expecting SOD's "Resurrection", well, this is a kinder, gentler Tyson level. No, seriously. It's an atmospheric look at the portions of "Waves" that were sealed off and are now overgrown. Most of the enemies are scattered imps, zombies, and demons, but there are a couple of nasty fights to look out for. The plasma troopers are pretty dangerous but as long as you're constantly moving you shouldn't have to worry about them. The other big battle is a flood of imps and demons into a narrow corridor. If you blaze your way through with a lot of bullets you can just take your sweet time clearing out the guys you skipped. The afrit looks scary but a barely exploratory secret will let you telefrag him with ease. Pretty cool as an adventure map that breaks in the final ep.

MAP22

Mt. Katoomba

Part of the joy of this level is in the topographic scenery, not that you'd know from the claustrophobic start in the southern keep, where you'll get all of your major weapons. The new enemies crop up in a big way here, with afrits figuring into both the blue and yellow key fights alongside a storm of other undesirables. The mountain trek has its own dangers thanks to a trio of spider snipers but there's a simple solution to the issue. There are a lot of great architecture set pieces for the major battles and while the southern fort may look a little plain from across the lake of fire as it tends to blend in with the surrounding mountains, it still looks Hell of sweet, especially when you're standing on top of it. Dig all those massive staircases.

Claret Tides

MAP23

The Alien Vendetta influence is strong with this one. "Tides" is a beige brick fortress floating alone in a sea of poisonous blood, but unlike Johnson's "Crimson", this one's all clover, by which I mean there's a lot of ground to play on. All of the bars and openings leave plenty of avenues of attack, but you're not as exposed as you might think. All of the really hard moments are left for choice ambushes. The outdoor blood brawl is probably the nastiest with your rad suit time limit (which is right in front of an enemy pack that is going to walk over it if you try to grab all the ammo first). I also got tripped up by the three-way ambush when you grab the blue key, though that's mostly due to my own clumsiness. Lowering the blood level and then running through the lowest points is an nice way to finish out the map.

MAP24

Nuclear Winter

This time, Joshy collects his first three Speed of Doom levels and unites them under a common theme. This frozen paradise turns the battles of SOD's early game on its head with a death-defying opening where, you battle mancubi and an afrit under the threat of revenant rocket hail, moving into the chasm where you must deftly move around the Spiderdemon who is now on the other side. I eventually got it to infight with the level's other afrit, which felt like a little victory after all of the frantic close-quarters plasma gun action. The run through "Constrained" isn't particularly memorable except for the great imp assault, which packs a lot of power into a very small area. Don't be ashamed if you hide outside. A nice trip down memory lane.

Technoprison II

MAP25

The original Technoprison was a claustrophobic nightmare. This is a much more spacious slaughtermap where you get a good look at all the hordes you're going to release when the time comes, emphasis on hordes. The initial run isn't any easier with the "Dead Simple" crossfire in the opening and all those nasties waiting outside to light you up from above. The real fun begins when you release the prisoners, though. You can't just circle-strafe everything into oblivion with that enormous revenant pack but you can keep the worst of the crowd contained in the upper platform where your friendly Cyberdemons will cull the herd. The most harrowing surprise is the return trip across the battlements. That's a lot of plasma troopers...

MAP26

The Library

This is a huge, spacious library whose encounter layout is as oppressive as they come. The stacks have a nasty peanut gallery that punishes you for standing out in the open, a problem compounded by all of the lurking arch-viles, which you'll wake up as you try to hunt for cover. Areas like the graveyard full of revenants seem designed to pressure you into running somewhere you'll regret, waking up more monsters that lead to even more mistakes. Clearing the main floor is tough and getting to the upper area where you're opposed by plasma troopers isn't any easier. On the plus side, the finale has a neat sequence where the library floods with lava and you get to fend off a horde of arch-viles with your handy BFG.

Where the Poison Ivies Grow Wild

MAP27

Honestly, this viny winterland is much easier to plow through than "Poison Ivy II". The opening looks daunting but if you punch through one commando you can let infighting occupy a lot of your targets while you take out the more pressing monsters, like the plucky pair of arch-viles facing the southeast. Joshy has left you with plenty of room to maneuver in, so enjoy it while you can. Memorable moments include the huge column of revenants in the lava tunnel, the revenant / Cyberdemon fight immediately followed by a horde of afrits, and the two enormous cloud of cacos. The nastiest fights for me involved hordes of mixed monsters with some seeded arch-viles, just for the sheer complexity in approaching them, though you can rarely go wrong with BFG zerging. A super-fun slaughter.

MAP28

Breaking Point

Here it is, probably the hardest level Joshy has to offer. It's got shades of "Poison Ivy" in just how intractable your opponents are and the compromising encounter layout that had me juking through several lines of foes so that I could eventually grab the rocket launcher and run the gauntlet again just so I could start clearing a little safe space of my own. "Breaking Point" is loaded with hard fights that emphasize precariously moving through infighting crowds in tight spaces, like that Cyberdemon / baron battle in the level's basement. Others just emphasize awkward battles, like the ice tunnels. Once you make it through the nastiest horde fights it's arch-viles all the way down with a repeat horror show in the aforementioned basement and it only lets up at the end, finishing with an insane clusterfuck battle with three Cyberdemons and barely enough room to run, barely alleviated by the starting and finishing megaspheres. Diabolical.

The Quiet Before the Storm

MAP29

Time for something a little more sedate, cutting a line between the unrepentant madness of the past few levels and the original Plutonia. "Quiet" is still about exacting monster placement, with snipers jammed in virtually every corner and ledge, but the monster density is way down. That doesn't make it exceptionally easy, especially when you're getting flushed out by arch-viles and fending off afrits, but Joshy is pretty forgiving. About the worst trick I can think of is the group of six arch-viles you can fight at the end of the cool grid dungeon to the northwest. I also really like the imp panic to the southwest, in another grid-based dungeon but with high stakes as your position is literally flooded with angry brown teeth and claws. Very nice.

MAP30

Eternal Redemption

Okay, I was wrong about "Breaking Point". This is it, the big enchilada. Joshy starts things off with a bit of "Misri Halek" with a claustrophobic series of nasty fights indoors that will test your ability to think on your feet. When you emerge from the pyramid, all Hell breaks loose, and it only gets worse. Peak madness occurs around the point of using the yellow key, with a nasty (if simple on second try) death trap followed by an enormous influx of arch-viles and revenants from the newly-opened foothills. I gave up at this point and holed up in the pyramid until I had slayed most of the bullshit, a move that seems anticipated given the ammo cache inside. Once you're through with that, combat seems simple enough. The southern dais's packs of arachnotrons are kind of hard to work around but if you round them up you should have enough room to work and the afrits that follow up should take care of the Cyberdemons without any problems. The north room has an ambush with a mixture of revenants and arch-viles that took awhile for me to figure out, but leading off with rockets from a long ways away followed up by some sneaky BFG action seemed to work well for me. Coolest moment - using the plasma troopers to kill the Spiderdemon at the east end. All in all, one incredible and exhausting map.

This post is part of a series on
Doomworld's 2014 Cacowards

The Top Ten	Best Multiplayer	Runners Up
Going Down	32in24-13	Bauhaus
The Adventures of Square	Push	Bloody Steel
Back to Saturn X: Episode 2	Rage CTF	Mayhem 2048
Plasmaplant	Best Gameplay Mod	Whitemare 2
Shadows of Chronos	DemonSteele	You Dig
Monster Hunter Ltd. 1/2	Mordeth Award	The Wailing Horde
Resurgence	Doom 2 in Name Only	Reconstruction/
Mayan Mishap	Mockaward	Decomposition
Urban Brawl: Dead of Winter	Brutalist Doom
Thy Flesh Turned Into a Draft Excluder	Mapper of the Year
	Joshy