tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27814903332125667922024-03-17T22:03:13.105-05:00ONEMANDOOM: WAD ReviewsSince id Software released Doom in 1993, thousands of user-made WADS and maps have been and continue to be created for the Doom community's entertainment.<br><br>These are their stories.KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.comBlogger963125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-83607686736905452752022-05-05T09:30:00.001-05:002022-05-05T09:30:51.356-05:00Short 'n Quick 2 (SNQ2.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SHORT 'N QUICK 2</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Varun Abhiram Krishna</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lpy7u3rj07ju097/snq201a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lpy7u3rj07ju097/snq201a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Varun only released two levels sporting the <b>SNQ</b> monicker. The original <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/04/short-n-quick-snqwad.html">Short 'n Quick</a></b>, released in 2002, was a relatively straightforward <b>Doom II</b> starbase level with a few encounter setups that pushed the player into slightly uncomfortable places. As something that appeared to be patterned after Pablo Dictter's work, it looked nice and managed to squeeze in some worldbuilding. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/snq2">Short 'n Quick 2</a></b>, a <b>Doom II</b> MAP01 replacement published in 2003, is a vastly different experience. It is still a small level, relatively speaking, but features a difficult series of encounter setups that has more in common with the sort of challenging fare seen in <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/04/congestion-1024-1024wad.html">Congestion 1024</a></b>.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/60vm6vblwmf0vcz/snq201b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/60vm6vblwmf0vcz/snq201b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>SNQ2</b> apparently followed in the tradition of the then- and still-unreleased <b>The Anomaly: Part III</b>, the look of which was itself partly inspired by Chris Hansen's <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2018/07/flay-obscene-third-flayobs3wad.html">Flay the Obscene: The Third</a></b>. Not consciously, mind you; it's more that CH's level was one of Varun's favorites. Where <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-anomaly-part-ii-anomaly2wad.html">ANOMALY2</a></b> was a thematic hybrid that best related to OG <b>Doom</b>'s E3M3 ("Pandemonium"), <b>FLAYOBS</b> levels feature grimey, green grass; rocky wildlands; and gothic, brick and metal structures. Blood was an important component of <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2016/08/flay-obscene-part-two-flayobs2wad.html">FLAYOBS2</a></b> but <b>The Third</b> uses blue, ostensibly clean water. The lack of sanguine fluid ought not to disavow you of the notion that you are fighting to survive in a hostile Hellworld.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pvjtamlkjffl7ri/snq201c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pvjtamlkjffl7ri/snq201c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Short 'n Quick 2</b> embodies most of the aesthetic traits of <b>FLAYOBS3</b>. Blood runs through the whole of it, though, a constant reminder that you're not in some terrestrial ruin. It also inverts the spatial focus. Hansen's level is primarily composed of north and south dungeon / fortress sections that are joined together by an outdoor area whose two landscapes are split by a prominent walkway. The exterior segment is a great bit of worldbuilding that serves to anchor the Gothic ruins. In <b>SNQ2</b>, the outdoor area comprises the vast majority of the playable space. The few interior locations that you visit are both peripheral and cramped. They're aesthetically pleasing and feature some painstaking sector lighting that's juxtaposed with monster closets of dark oblivion, but all of the shine is on the great outdoors. Which is fitting, really, because that's where almost all of the challenging combat takes place. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/91bbvi15fkcu7cu/snq201d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/91bbvi15fkcu7cu/snq201d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The action opens with a great, panic-inducing reveal. You're at one end of a causeway with a lone shotgun guy, a super shotgun, and a pile of shells at the other end. Stepping forward causes the walls on both sides to lower and expose you to monsters that you probably woke up with a few premature pistol shots. It's out of the frying pan and into the fire, though, because the elevator at the end of the newly-formed bridge leads to a yard that is positively swarming with monsters. It may not feel like it at first but you have your choice of the three outdoor areas to start out in. As the author notes, some directions may be more difficult than others.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1v273oiwlwdu7bw/snq201e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1v273oiwlwdu7bw/snq201e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The yard with the yellow key card bunker is by far the nastiest. The position is heavily fortified with a bunch of monsters on the cramped floor including demons and goat men, revenants on the high ground in three different perches, and a handful of cacodemons. Speed runners may have their own strategies but I feel that fully clearing this area is best skipped for later. All three directions have some extra shell ammo to help you out so you're not missing out on anything critical. One of them even has a rocket launcher (and a secret plasma gun that I didn't take the time to figure out). Your ultimate reward for storming the yellow key bunker consists of four more monsters, two of which you might want those explosives for.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p88f5upxup2ytvn/snq201f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p88f5upxup2ytvn/snq201f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had the most fun with the southeastern area. It's a bloody cistern cut across by an earth bridge with a far eastern ledge staffed by mancubi. The encounter setup brings to my mind the cargo bay area from <b>Short 'n Quick</b> as you need to deftly maneuver your way in between fireballs as you SSG the fatsos to death. The Hell knights sitting on the lower rocket launcher ledge sort of preclude a daring daylight dash so the placement fosters more of a tactical approach to combat. Flipping the required switch ushers in a minor mob of revenants but, supposing that you snagged the rocket launcher before chancing a trap trigger, you ought to be okay. I generally enjoy blasting skeletons at door frames. Your mileage may vary.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/y0m2h0m88x8m5on/snq201g.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/y0m2h0m88x8m5on/snq201g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The indoor sections feature simpler combat, like zombies, and are far less dangerous to handle when compared to the madness of the yellow key bunker. Underscoring the importance of the non-linear layout, the exit chamber features a monster closet that unleashes an arch-vile who otherwise oversees the rocket launcher yard. It's not particularly difficult to deal with as a token end-of-level ambush but, as the level is initially laid out, it could be a confounding factor. The fact that you can explore the southwest dungeon and release it before heading east is a really cool gameplay decision. I typically see the ability to defang pitfalls as a reward for finding secret areas. Dovetailing it in with what might be a final poke at the player feels like clever economy of design.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/je0kxxok9mkx6iv/snq201h.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/je0kxxok9mkx6iv/snq201h.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Short 'n Quick 2</b> looks great and packs a lot of punch into its compact layout. If you were wanting something with less cramped, 1024-ish super shotgun dancing then you can dial the difficulty down in order to explore this corner of Hell with a little less intensity. It's interesting to see how quickly Varun's taste for challenging combat accelerated; I have no idea what to expect from <b>Reanimated</b>, his joint venture with his brother, Karthik. Will the two levels cook quite this hard? There's only one way to find out.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/snq2"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SNQRONICITY II</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-63136717046813691482022-05-01T10:29:00.000-05:002022-05-01T10:29:11.270-05:00Deep Core 1 (DEEPCORE.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">DEEP CORE 1</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Mike Alfredson aka "Use3D"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ccdzurubqh5lqda/deepcore02a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ccdzurubqh5lqda/deepcore02a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have long-assumed that <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/12/nilla-doom-nillawad.html">Nilla Doom</a></b> was Mike's in-progress megaWAD and that most of his solo-outtakes are rejects from the running order as development progressed. I was incorrect, to say the least. <b>Beyond Doom</b> was - and remains - Use3D's rainy-day megaWAD. It initially began life as a more difficult replacement for <b>Doom II</b>'s Hell episode (MAP21-MAP30) before Mike rebooted the whole thing. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/d-f/deepcore">Deep Core 1</a></b> is the original iteration of this level as it appeared in what I assume the first reboot of <b>Beyond Doom</b>; Use3D subsequently remade the level in 2005, hence the numeric designator on this release. <b>DEEPCORE</b> was originally crafted in 1997 and is a MAP02 replacement for <b>Doom II</b> in keeping with its original slot in the <b>Beyond Doom</b> project.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c7e20wht4sl032s/deepcore02b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c7e20wht4sl032s/deepcore02b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the time that this level was replaced, <b>Beyond Doom</b> was supposed to be loosely inspired by the plot of the licensed <i>Doom II: Hell On Earth</i> novel. In the same way that the novel adhered to the action of the game, I'm sure. I haven't read any of the series myself and almost certainly never will. From a cursory glance provided by the good folks at DoomWiki, it would have involved fighting in Disney Land, which would have made for a wicked cool third episode. Looking at Alfredson's 2008 running order it doesn't look like the maps had anything in the way of important plot beats related to the novel. It would probably be more accurate to say that <b>Beyond Doom</b> would be a retelling of <b>Doom II</b> in Use3D's particular style with some consideration of what <b>Hell on Earth</b> would actually entail.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/uqu6mjgfuwmulm1/deepcore02c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/uqu6mjgfuwmulm1/deepcore02c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, this is a large, techbase-style level with Knee Deep in the Dead overtones. Architecturally, I sense this mostly from the areas that are located near the starting room. There's a massive, outdoor area with some stacked crates that's visible from two viewing areas with recessed, blue carpet flooring. The octagonal columns in the western segment especially peg the KDitD feel. The exterior portion is accessible via a secret and it's a deep, level-spanning one, suggestive of the yellow door in OG <b>Doom</b>'s E1M3 ("Toxin Refinery"). There's also a nondescript, boxy tech guts room further west with a large monster closet ambush that sort of evokes one of the big brawl chambers in <b>Doom</b>'s E1M6 ("Central Processing").</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/detiso7dq7fhz74/deepcore02d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/detiso7dq7fhz74/deepcore02d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Deep Core 1</b> is has nearly 200 monsters. Surprisingly, the bestiary is composed almost entirely of the shareware episode's trash monsters (zombies, shotgun guys, imps, and demons) with the chaingunner appearing as the lone <b>Doom II</b> representative. This and the weapon kit - shotgun and chaingun with a (perhaps) secret rocket launcher - help to solidify the Knee Deep in the Dead feel. Just, you know, with a bit more teeth considering the prevalence of the commandos. The combat is generally WYSIWYG with a couple of memorable ambushes. Much of the threat comes from the sheer number of creatures that are spread out in each chamber. One of the progression points conjures forth a small army of beefy monsters to defend it, appearing out of a clean, blue-tech teleporter. It's vaguely reminiscent of the pentagram key situation in <b>Doom</b>'s E1M9 ("Military Base"). I also like the storage locker room before the exit. Are the alcoves stasis chambers? Specimen containers? Whatever the case, the contents are hostile and make for a good swipe at the player.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/epewy6jh8c54h0e/deepcore02e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/epewy6jh8c54h0e/deepcore02e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Use3D offers some fairly direct choices for the player to make in exploring the map. You are free to pick between western and eastern elevators and the level is handily divided between the two, notwithstanding one window that connects the two portions in the southeastern corner. Two pairs of elevators - the other being located immediately south of the starting area - are the only means by which players may jump between sides. As with <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/03/hell-pit-hellpitwad.html">Hell Pit</a></b> (and, to a lesser extent, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/02/soulcage-soulcagewad.html">Soulcage</a></b>), there is a sense that one must be willing to descend into inhospitable depths in order to confront adversity. This is consistent with the nukage room / elevator combo behind the red key doors. The implication is that the end-of-level exit is an elevator that leads down, deeper into the infested installation and that you are merely at the front door of <b>Deep Core 1</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/frn2v4inb4kjx5o/deepcore02f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/frn2v4inb4kjx5o/deepcore02f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is a healthy mix of key-locked doors, key-activated switches that open color-coded doors, switch-opened doors, and blockade barriers. Alfredson has even stuck some beasties behind a few of the barricades. It may not mean anything mechanically for the auto-aim assisted player but it's a neat touch that makes monsters look slightly less like the dumb bits of code that they are. There's a bit of back and forth that may challenge the player when combined with the elevator loop-seals that divide the two halves of the map. The blue key switch is located on the opposite side of the level, putting it a fair ways away from its ultimate effect, but Use3D sensibly demonstrates the key switch / door relationship early on with the red. The yellow (secret) key door arguably muddies up the situation but the difference when set against the other two might clue the player in to it being special.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1r1o9hxtl9koth4/deepcore02g.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1r1o9hxtl9koth4/deepcore02g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alfredson's levels are always visually interesting. The core of this level follows the OG <b>Doom</b> rule of a small area of symmetry to evoke pleasing, real-world shapes before spiraling into the wildly abstract with some areas following their own bisymmetric designs. The recessed, blue carpet near the center of the level gives it something of a unified character. I love the eastern branch off the starting link with the adjoining curved staircase and freestanding console panels. The ribbed spoke / chainsaw shrine off its southern bend is a cool, little embellishment and the positioning / presentation of the inset nukage chamber gives me the impression of a profane vault.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0u9oulisik67wtv/deepcore02h.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0u9oulisik67wtv/deepcore02h.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Deep Core 1</b> may not appeal to players who are looking for the bleeding edge of adrenaline-inducing combat but it will sit well with those who desire a more relaxed combat experience. It's something as befits the opening overtures of a megaWAD, just without arbitrary size constraints that might demand that the playing area be small so as not to overexpose the limited bestiary. If the idea of shotgunning your way through a bunch of OG Doom monsters plus chaingunners appeals to you then give this a try! It'd be a shoe-in for a classically-themed megaWAD along the lines of <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/04/mmwad-memento-mori.html">Memento Mori</a></b> or <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/05/memento-mori-ii-mm2wad.html">MM2</a></b>.</div><div><br /></div>
<a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/d-f/deepcore"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a>
<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">CORE COMPETENCY</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-89624810334933669022022-04-25T06:40:00.001-05:002022-04-25T06:40:19.481-05:00Entryway (KARMEA.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">ENTRYWAY</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Esa Repo aka "Espi"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/j6xdyn0jd29bpzo/karmea01a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/j6xdyn0jd29bpzo/karmea01a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Espi solidified his status in the <b>Doom</b> community with the superb environmental design of his <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/04/suspended-in-dusk-sidwad.html">Suspended in Dusk</a></b>. The four-map PWAD had been in development since at least 2001 going by the name One Hell of a Day, as evidenced by his early release of its first level. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/j-l/karmea">Entryway</a></b> (<b>KARMEA</b>.WAD - Google translates to "lurid", "spooky", "infernal") is a MAP01 replacement for <b>Doom II</b> and it's fascinating to have it available as one can juxtapose it with the "final" product seen in <b>SID</b>'s MAP01 slot. The author had a clear architectural style as seen in here as well as his <b>E2M1ER</b> and <b>LAITOS</b> as the latter originally appeared in the <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/07/doomcenter-e1-mapping-contest.html">DoomCenter E1 Mapping Contest</a></b>. It's his subsequent development as an environmental artist through to 2005 that differentiates <b>KARMEA</b> from its latter incarnation.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wrw1hlj6byw2ca3/karmea01b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wrw1hlj6byw2ca3/karmea01b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Suspended in Dusk</b> never had an official, provided story but what you gather through the action is the tale of a space marine making their way through rocky wildlands to a derelict, overrun UAC base. It metamorphed from One Hell of a Day so it's reasonable to assume that <b>KARMEA</b>'s overall implied narrative would be similar if not exactly the same. The title, though, makes it seem like the player character showed up to work one day and found it eerily deserted. I suppose that it's possible that the PC is a delivery person or inspector or some other type of UAC employee who cold pulls up with no inkling that anything is amiss. Up until the monsters start to pop out from around the corners, anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zpxcwv7urq4x6q5/karmea01c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zpxcwv7urq4x6q5/karmea01c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The resemblance to <b>SID</b>'s MAP01 is understandably uncanny and, as mentioned, the skeleton of this level is pretty much the same. This is a concrete starbase map with a ton of staircases that connect myriad elevations. It also has a dingy lower level / basement that comprises the map's southern portion. The theme of the player encountering dirty, unkempt recesses of the base would go on to be developed in <b>Suspended in Dusk</b> with extensive dark metal sections and cavernous recesses. The ribbed stone walls found in <b>KARMEA</b> serve as an appropriately grimy stand-in but Espi would go on to cultivate the disused look of the base over the next four or so years.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9py2wz07hnavzr4/karmea01d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9py2wz07hnavzr4/karmea01d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The author's careful work with upper / lower texture cheats and midtexture walls have been essential aspects of how he detailed his previously released works and <b>Entryway</b> is no different. At this phase of his career, Espi clearly tended more toward using textures to augment the appearance of his geometry as opposed to complicating the playing area with sector detailing. <b>Entryway</b> hints at the future and adds something new to the mix with a custom "flat" (floor graphic) created for incidental detailing, a cracked concrete segment. It caught me by surprise when I noticed it in the basement section, I guess mostly because of how monotextured the floor had been up to that point. It's cool to see it pop up here, knowing the depths of environmental design that were to come.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bi32phnh4p0gz5q/karmea01e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bi32phnh4p0gz5q/karmea01e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In terms of action, this is basically an OG <b>Doom</b> level. The only sequel monster to appear is the Hell knight with the majority of the beasties consisting of zombies, shotgun guys, imps, and demons. Your weapons are limited to the shotgun and chaingun, early on, with the rocket launcher appearing much later. Espi would go on to take a much harder line with <b>Suspended in Dusk</b>. The zombie shootout at the gatehouse leaves you unprepared for the mini-cacodemon swarm that sends you packing deeper into the base. It's pretty easy to establish yourself in <b>KARMEA</b> and, while the pickup placement points the way toward Esa's thoughtful storytelling, the biggest danger comes from overconfidence leading to sloppy play. The interconnections offer some vantage points for monsters to sucker punch you while you're unawares but the simple projectile-tossing beasties dulled my reflexes due to a perceived lack of threat.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/t9eog8dlvqkslf1/karmea01f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/t9eog8dlvqkslf1/karmea01f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are some interesting architectural setpieces secreted about the hallway- and staircase-laden layout. The texture scheme leaves things looking a little plain but the copious height variations and interconnections shine through. The opening hallway and its huge, upper windows makes for a great, scene-setting vista and survived, with some world-building additions, in the final product. The stepped pit area behind the yellow key door is pretty much intact, though the connective tissue that adjoins it to the main area underwent one of the more significant renovations. I really like the outdoor area to the north with its control tower. It looks more geometrically dynamic - I guess more like a virtual playground and less like an installation - in this original incarnation due to the size and prevalence of the staircases. The server stack area to the south maintains the general shape of the curved, western window but had probably the most severe alterations of the larger rooms. It's still a neat segment to run through but the final version helps to better drive home the idea that so much of the base is suspended above a dark, cavernous unknown.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zlb8rei093j7o8b/karmea01g.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zlb8rei093j7o8b/karmea01g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Entryway</b> is cool to have as a snapshot of his creative process, much in the same sense as Tolkien's drafts found in <i>History of the Lord of the Rings</i>. The community generally goes nuts for this sort of in utero material when it comes to id's iterations on OG <b>Doom</b> and <b>Doom II</b>. I can only imagine the sheer shock of what would happen should the original draft of something like <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2012/10/tnt-evilution-tntwad.html">TNT: Evilution</a></b> be made public. If you are a fan of unassuming and relaxed <b>Doom II</b> levels, especially if you like the more laid-back gameplay driven by the original bestiary, then you would do well to give this one a try, curio or not.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/j-l/karmea"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">KARMA KARMA KARMA KARMEAMECHANIC</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">WITH OVERALL CHARM</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-75382181710530492652022-04-20T06:20:00.002-05:002022-04-20T09:00:40.746-05:00Secret Lab (#SLAB.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SECRET LAB</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by "Sphagne"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gl4bgu78l3su3ah/%23slab01a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gl4bgu78l3su3ah/%23slab01a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Community Chest</b> contributor Sphagne uploaded the majority of his works to /idgames in mid-2002 but the levels themselves were purportedly crafted from 1995-1999. There are quite a few holes in the collection. For instance, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/03/simphony-of-death-symphodwad.html">Simphony of Death</a></b> is the first of his creations that is available and he notes that it is actually his second. This one, <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/0-9/0slab">Secret Lab</a></b>, is the second upload from the collection but it's his fourth creation. Like the rest of his works, it is a <b>Doom II</b> MAP01 replacement. Given when it was created and his admission that he was unaware of online communities, it would appear that <b>#SLAB</b> ought to be vanilla-compatible. It appears, however, to have been tested in Boom and ZDoom prior to upload.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9f4ttusve6pqftj/%23slab01c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9f4ttusve6pqftj/%23slab01c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sphagne's levels have no overarching plot unless you are willing to grant that its protagonist leads one of the most charmed lives in history... After-life, too. On this particular occasion, you are an agent who has been tasked to infiltrate and destroy an enemy base. Rumor has it that this facility also hides a secret lab where no doubt unholy experiments are being performed. There's no guarantee that you'll be able to find it, but if you do then purging the laboratory will be much-appreciated. The location of the <b>Secret Lab</b> is not woven into the normal level progression; it is an optional area that houses something like a third of the monsters. As Sphagne mentions in the .TXT, it is a level unto itself much like the secret annex of <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2014/11/number-one-kill-next-generation.html">Number One Kill: The Next Generation</a></b>'s MAP01 ("Entryway") or Bob Evans's <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2014/06/odessa-11-sojourn-odessa11wad.html">Odessa 11</a></b> ("Sojourn").</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/y7ypz8fuc4970bu/%23slab01d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/y7ypz8fuc4970bu/%23slab01d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having played a single level from an author isn't enough to get a sense of their personal "style" but one can identify some commonalities from two. Sphagne's level design is largely dungeon crawler <b>Doom</b> with a lot of classic sector machinery that either feeds complex secret sequences or the required map progression. Consider an early secret hinted at in the .TXT, a game-changing SSG that is important enough that TimeofDeath specifically mentioned it in his /idgames comment. The button that opens the door out of the SSG annex also momentarily opens a chamber opposite to the secret that you just came from. The way the player threads through the level is generally linear, but as you progress you will find key doors that grant access back to previously-explored portions. The author also appears to be a fan of sprawling, end-of-level ambushes, but the natures of the "get the fuck out" invasion of <b>Simphony</b> and the climax of the technically optional <b>Secret Lab</b> are fairly dissimilar.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/164m919ym0et6sl/%23slab01e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/164m919ym0et6sl/%23slab01e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aesthetically, I would place this in the genre of <b>Doom II</b> starbase levels, though some features like the outer yard and the computer tunnels speak more to Knee Deep in the Dead. The level is not without its dark secrets. Coding some of the deeper secret areas as Hellish annexes creates a conceptual motif as the player turns over the base in search of the level's <b>Secret Lab</b>. Both <b>#SLAB</b> and <b>Simphony of Death</b> feature a large number of secret areas. Here, teasing a large portion of the map as a substantial secret to be hunted for encourages players to engage with an aspect of <b>Doom</b>'s gameplay that appears to be dear to Sphagne's heart. And, well, it's also likely that he wanted to be sure that people didn't miss a significant portion of something that he was sharing to them.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/3np8ux8v0h54cu4/%23slab01b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/3np8ux8v0h54cu4/%23slab01b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>#SLAB</b> feels a bit closer to a regular <b>Doom II</b> level than <b>Simphony</b>'s stop-start pacing. I think that it has a greater miles-per-switch ratio, if you will, than <b>#SYMPHOD</b>'s first act, though it's still kind of busy with the computer console that opens the cage and the pedestal elevator switch. Once you get past the opening wing it settles into a more or less normal corridor shooter as you advance through the eastern, peripheral hallways. You don't really get back to Sphagne's finicky / claustrophobic feel until exiting the massive, outdoor yard to the west. This is true for all three possible paths of egress, with an honorable mention for the tower that you just came through due to the blue armor bit / closet.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hgiysqvwuoq1rfn/%23slab01f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hgiysqvwuoq1rfn/%23slab01f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To draw another comparison, I would not be surprised to find that Sphagne has at least one large, carefully-arranged setpiece fight in each of his releases. <b>Simphony of Death</b> had the Cyberdemon-led orchestra arena. Here, the player is deposited in the center of a platform ringed by a group of Barons who are facing outward with a Cyberdemon on the outside. Make a noise and, well, here comes the pain! The setup is a spin on the original <b>Doom II</b>'s "Tricks and Traps" scenario and has the same general feel of the spectacle of <b>#SYMPHOD</b>'s instruments of destruction. While the initial action has a more intimate feel due to the scale and immediacy of the threat, it gives way to a more spacious outdoor brawl with its own lurking dangers. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oz2tr95l5l1jdy6/%23slab01k.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oz2tr95l5l1jdy6/%23slab01k.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Otherwise, the room-and-door encounter design is generally straightforward what you see is what you get gunplay. The eastern area has interconnections between both side-cages as well as the marsh-like exit cistern and makes for the most complex incidental combat. The platform with the exit elevator has both a Baron and a mancubus on the high ground so they're from a relatively sneaky position to launch projectile attacks given that the window and height kind of limit your field of view. The <b>Secret Lab</b> itself has a handful of weirdly-planned encounters, no doubt meant to reflect the nature of the experiments being performed. One of these is a standard monster teleporter juke where the creatures are difficult to hit when they're not attacking. The other has a cacodemon terrarium which is backed by a long, thin imp cage which is itself bordered on its outer edge by an arch-vile compartment, no doubt meant to grant imps limited immortality.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wf22wm2ig49a4km/%23slab01j.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wf22wm2ig49a4km/%23slab01j.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As for the entrance to the <b>Secret Lab</b>, well, I found it before I got to the exit but I had no idea what I was looking at when I first saw it. It's accessed going south from the multi-tier teleporter that unites the map's southeastern and southwestern areas. I think that the room is sealed at first but if you manage to get inside and see the letters L-A-B then all you need to do is make a running leap over the little blocking wall. There's another DoomCute bit that I am unsure of - the word STOP appearing in part of the hallway leading to the elevator. It's probably significant to the lab but I cannot be bothered to crack open the map in an editor to figure out just what purpose it would serve, if any.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vtzajmtsw4glzan/%23slab01i.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vtzajmtsw4glzan/%23slab01i.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Secret Lab</b> is a classically-styled mid-'90s <b>Doom II</b> level. As with <b>Simphony of Death</b>, it would probably be better-loved by players who delight in puzzle-box style layouts marked with sector machinery that unfolds as you poke around and explore. It's interesting to see the <b>Community Chest</b> era function as a sort of call to arms for folks who had stowed away relatively older material, whether Sphagne here or Gene Bird's <a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/search/label/Blind%20Alley%20series"><b>Blind Alley</b> series</a>, not to forget Mike Alfredson's 2004 archival publications. Whatever comes next I can assure myself that it will come as another intriguing time capsule.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/0-9/0slab"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SO COME UP TO THE LAB</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SEE WHAT'S ON #SLAB</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-49340488905104150962022-04-15T07:26:00.001-05:002022-04-15T07:26:34.092-05:00Shadowcaster (SHADOW.WAD)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pn2wgegqq0cu6ce/shadowt.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pn2wgegqq0cu6ce/shadowt.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From 2000 to 2002, Stephen Clark (aka The Ultimate DooMer) had created an episode for the original <b>Doom</b> and then converted it to <b>Doom II</b> (<b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/03/operation-lightning-op-lite2wad.html">Operation: Lightning</a></b>) and crafted his epic, 21st-century <b>Doom II</b> megaWAD (<b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/02/fragport-fragportwad.html">Fragport</a></b>). His next target for his own brand of experimentation and modernization was everyone's favorite <b>Doom</b> clone, <b>Heretic</b>. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/heretic/s-u/shadow">Shadowcaster</a></b> is an episode 5 replacement for <b>Shadows of the Serpent Riders</b>, released in September of 2002. I'm not up on my Raven Software lore but I don't think that there were any major engine changes between the original release and the free expansion that would have necessitated using the E5 slot. Presumably, this was more of an aesthetic decision where the author could avoid having to contend with a clashing intermission screen.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c23cqfsz3uuq1j3/shadow501b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c23cqfsz3uuq1j3/shadow501b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Shadowcaster</b> is a fantasy pastiche but has some interesting phrasing, declaring that the player character is part of "a <i>sentient</i> race of heretical elves", emphasis mine. Like the badass secret agent of <b>Fragport</b>, you are well-known for your heroism and thus constantly called up to perform feats of valor. The King of the realm calls you to court and tells you that a mage on the distant and unfortunately named island of Fagranc is summoning monsters from another dimension with the intent to conquer the kingdom. The quest will involve traveling to the island under the cover of magic and then laying waste to the dark mage's forces, the final goal being to both slay him and seal the portal.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4ax3m3k5k6yyk8u/shadow502b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4ax3m3k5k6yyk8u/shadow502b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In some ways, Clark's episode is a welcome break from the paramilitary <b>Doom II</b> trappings that dominated his previous two releases. The author's high fantasy takes you through several villages, caverns filled with both acid and lava, and even an elemental temple of water. The later levels take you through a massive castle, halls deeper in the dungeon, and eventually to a tower whose climax appears to invoke Stephen King's own epic fantasy <i>The Dark Tower</i> series. The Clark-Stephen has no fear of some of his favorite elements looking ridiculous when juxtaposed against the dark fantasy setting, however. Don't be surprised if, when wandering through the mines, you run across clearly-labeled "Rest Rooms" including a "Bog". He is glad to announce some of the more artificial elements like the "Gas Pod Gauntlet". I am only just now thinking about how weird it is for "Shadow Castle" to have every single one of its rooms clearly labeled over its door.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9u4vvthoi4qt5dt/shadow503d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9u4vvthoi4qt5dt/shadow503d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like the rest of The Ultimate DooMer's previously-released material, <b>Shadowcaster</b> purports to be a "21st century" episode. Stephen's intent here was to approximate some aspects of more recent first-person shooters while folding in his own gameplay predilections. The results sometimes pushed against the boundaries of what constitutes good taste for level designers, especially nowadays, but it's clear that Clark was generally attempting to elevate the gameplay of <b>Doom II</b>. <b>SHADOW</b> is no different in its execution but there is an added wrinkle in having Raven's expanded toolkit. My admittedly limited experience with <b>Heretic</b> user levels suggests that their authors generally stick to the guidelines established by Raven's own game design. Stephen pushes these mechanics into new and sometimes uncomfortable directions.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bt7bkkl7jh8zbyc/shadow504e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bt7bkkl7jh8zbyc/shadow504e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The single most revolutionary thing that I saw in <b>Shadowcaster</b> was TUD's use of the exploding pods. "Watery Paradise" (E5M5) repurposes them as movable platforms, allowing the author to recreate crate puzzles in <b>Heretic</b>. These range from filling in pits to pushing together pod bridges, exploding pod trains that you hitch a ride on, and even propping open doors to keep them from closing. While clever, the mechanic fumbles in "The Great Hall" (E5M7) where you must consecutively push / escort three pods through an ophidian / undead warrior shooting gallery. The player feels especially vulnerable, there, and the dearth of health - and ammo - compounds the frustration of the experience. In general, though, I was blown away by Clark's exploitation of pod mechanics.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oekujp9sumyw38r/shadow505e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oekujp9sumyw38r/shadow505e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stephen is relatively upfront about <b>Shadowcaster</b>'s other gameplay element, though its full implication isn't immediately obvious. The .TXT talks about "manikins", what the community colloquially refers to as voodoo dolls. That's how they're initially used, standing blankly as hazards that cause you to question exactly how you're dodging projectiles or launching your own attacks. The manikins are ubiquitous, but in E5M7 you are forced to confront the totality of their secret purpose and realize just why the author has been leaving so many Morph Ova spread around the levels. Why, yes, you COULD make it under that gap if you were a chicken. Or, using the slower fall rate, coast across a considerable distance. One particular segment in "The Dark Tower" (E5M8) sends you on a clucking race past monsters, including a maulotaur, and through a miniature maze. I'd like to think that this particular mechanic was inspired by <b>Duke3D</b>'s shrink ray puzzles. There is a third aspect to the manikins that comes up rarely but will require you to push them around with your staff. I don't know what if anything was standing in the way of Stephen doing voodoo doll scripting in the episode; it certainly seems like something his particular genius would have implemented.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/14c1xfwn0i6irjn/shadow506c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/14c1xfwn0i6irjn/shadow506c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I talked about the Morph Ova but there are multiple instances where acquired items have a specific purpose in another portion of the level. In one case, you need to use a torch to illuminate an otherwise pitch-black room so that you can perform some "Chasm"-style catwalking... hopefully making it back in time. In another, you must use a ring of invulnerability so that you can push a voodoo doll through Yet Another Catwalk where it will be safe from a more or less universal crusher. The closest that I've seen to something like that is one of the trials in Stormwalker's <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2012/02/dark-deitys-bastion-bastionwad.html">Heretic: Dark Deity's Bastion</a></b>, minus the whole voodoo doll thing. The Wings of Wrath figure into several secret hunts - especially the road to the hidden "Steel Works" (E5M9) - and are required to complete the elemental challenge of "Crosswinds Village" (E5M4).</div><div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/87yuqfmbwrp0cev/shadow508d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/87yuqfmbwrp0cev/shadow508d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Four of the levels (E5M2-E5M5) feature this elemental trial motif. You must brave challenges associated with the classic earth / fire / air / water to lower four sequential barriers to a critical progression point. This consists of stuff like crusher gauntlets, lava damage floors, or using the Wings to find switches at varying heights in a blustery chasm. The execution is reminiscent of the structure of his "Crystal Maze" in <b>Fragport</b>'s MAP32 except it's spread out across four maps. His puzzle play is not limited to these elemental trials, either. You'll find puzzle scenarios endemic to the fabric of <b>Shadowcaster</b> just as it is to all of Clark's works and the multi-stage switch mechanisms persist in the later portions of the episode.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/aezh3wb8lteat8m/shadow509b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/aezh3wb8lteat8m/shadow509b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As far as mazes go, well, they don't exist in this offering. At least, not in the sort of guileless form seen most often in <b>Operation: Lightning</b> or even <b>Fragport</b>. I would argue that the trident bridge of shadows seen in "Steel Works" (E5M9) is similar in spirit, as is the slow, convoluted water slide of "Watery Paradise" (E5M5). There are a few minor mazes, to be sure, but they have a timed sense of urgency and are too short to be truly confusing. Unlike, say, the three-floor linked-by-teleporter fortress in "Shadow Castle" (E5M6). I don't know whether having the separate tiers physically linked via something like portals would help the player's mental mapping anymore considering that you so rarely have to move between the floors. If anything, the monster placement is more of a hindrance to being able to explore and process each level.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2lx1eeoaeunifwy/shadow507a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2lx1eeoaeunifwy/shadow507a.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Clark’s encounter design has always worked to provide an additional, “organic” aspect to the overall challenge of any given map. <b>Shadowcaster</b> feels even more aggressively weighted toward his <i>Mission: Impossible</i> level starts, from the very beginning of E5M1 (“Village of Light”) and its mummy melee with fire gargoyles at the player’s back. Weapon pickups are generally buried deep in each level with the player having to wade through considerable opposition. As I play through Stephen’s catalog, I have had a feeling that the UV-equivalent thing placement is meant to be a challenge for players who are already familiar with the level. The structure of E5M1, where the player cannot possibly have any carryovers, appears to confirm my suspicion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/abtw57gs2v6famb/shadow508c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/abtw57gs2v6famb/shadow508c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you want to experience some of the crazier puzzle mechanics without wading through the first half of the set then I strongly suggest that you ENGAGE on a lower difficulty setting. In fact, I would go so far as to caution any players from using <b>Shadowcaster</b>’s UV-equivalent, let alone Black Plague. <b>Heretic</b> is generally regarded as having unsatisfying combat due to the weapon feedback and more importantly the relative HP of its monsters. This is a major reason behind Not Jabba's tinkering with game mechanics in <b>The Wayfarer</b> episode. Clark’s combat does little to brook this stereotype, not that it wasn't a difficult task to begin with. <b>Heretic</b> just inherited more dungeon crawler DNA than <b>Doom</b> (and consequently <b>Doom II</b>) did, I guess.</div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/l3pu5xqk2zalr0n/shadow508f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/l3pu5xqk2zalr0n/shadow508f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Shadowcaster</b> does suggest a solution to one particular mystery - that is, why all the green keys in Clark's work? Well, <b>Heretic</b>'s default colors are red, blue, and green. I assume that Stephen fancied this scheme and thus carried the aesthetic forward into his <b>007: License to Spell Doom</b>, thereafter backporting it via re-releases to <b>Fragport</b> and <b>Operation: Lightning</b>. It's just one more detail that makes his level design principles appear to be relatively immutable over his substantial first three releases. I was almost convinced, more than ever, that the song would remain the same for <b>007LTSD</b> while playing <b>Shadowcaster</b>. Clark's potentially revolutionary exploitation of <b>Heretic</b> gameplay mechanics has suggested otherwise, however, so I'm stoked to see what he is capable of when he gets out of the vanilla <b>Doom</b> paradigm.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/heretic/s-u/shadow"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SHADOWCASTER</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Stephen Clark aka "The Ultimate DooMer"</b></div><br />
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<tr><th>E5M1</th><th>Village of Light</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1fjf67hncrlez3n/shadow501a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1fjf67hncrlez3n/shadow501a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>I was wondering what Clark's take on <b>Heretic</b> would look like. From what I can see here, it turns out that it's pretty much the exact same thing as <b>Fragport</b>, just with a much slower pace. This level has two parts. The first is a very small village with a watchtower-like structure. The pressure is on from the first shot as you're stuck with the wand vs. a whole horde of golems and mixed undead warriors. The various tiny buildings are also staffed with skeletons so that you are subject to erratic ethereal axes. Making any sort of headway involves a significant time investment, though you can use some of the spread-out time bombs to quickly thin out the mummies. As long as you don't get mobbed, that is.<br /><br />The second half of the level is a very long canyon crawl down one side and back the other. The player has to contend with golem and gargoyle obstacles on the initial approach, the wind trying to push you into the gorge, and entrenched undead lobbing axes opposite whichever side you're on. Thankfully, you finally get an ethereal crossbow in one of the caves running off the ravine. Stephen's dickish tendency for traps appears here, echoing <b>Operation: Lightning</b>'s MAP04 ("Disaster Area") and its numerous collapsing walkways. You get a mulligan, though, in the form of a Wings of Wrath item that you can use to skip the whole ordeal.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Thiolite Mines</th><th>E5M2</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>A grueling gauntlet. There are a whole host of elements that make this level particularly obnoxious. The ethereal crossbow is secret, for one. While it isn't exactly far from the start, you will likely need to abuse the similarly secret gauntlets to grind through the multiple undead warriors. The dragon claw is also accessed nearby, but difficult to get for similar reasons. If you explore in any of the non-crossbow directions then you're going to be in for deep hurting, eleven wand style. Obviously, carrying over the crossbow from E5M1 will make a huge difference in how you start this outing.<br /><br />Clark adds a major wrinkle to navigating the level by linking several of the upper-tier areas via one-time bridges. They can all be revisited via the ground floor, but it sucks getting trapped in enemy territory without a decent weapon to your name. There's generally nothing special about the combat, which is mostly incidental, apart from a preponderance of iron liches. I have no idea if it's just how Stephen laid his levels out but I found them to be supremely annoying, here.<br /><br />The big hook is detailed in the early secret room with the gauntlet. Clark gives you four trials of Earth a la <b>Fragport</b>'s MAP32 ("The Crystal Maze") to overcome. There's bamboo pole platforming; a collapsing, winding catwalk; a crusher tunnel with a vanishing margin for error; and a platform / crusher tour de force. Personally, the two groups of three iron liches that guard the two trial wings were way more frustrating to deal with.</td><td><a href="https:/dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rc3woz5tl1pn5iq/shadow502e.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rc3woz5tl1pn5iq/shadow502e.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>E5M3</th><th>The Volcano</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/qm9zhtn487hy1ig/shadow503b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/qm9zhtn487hy1ig/shadow503b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Clark deigns to give you the ethereal crossbow upfront in this level. The dragon's claw isn't particularly far away, either. Was that so hard? I had a bit more fun with this level than "Thiolite Mines" but it is not without its own trials of patience. Most of the earthen corridors consist of narrow catwalks between lava damage floors. You can step off and into the lava and back to dodge the reams of weredragon and undead warrior projectiles, but - in some situations - the pitfalls are inescapable. To add to the frying pan, the lava ball geysers are placed sporadically along the walkways, ensuring some level of constant danger in otherwise safe areas.<br /><br />"Volcano" feels more like a battle of attrition, but it's at least one that I felt like I could muscle through without too much sweat. There's one super-annoying iron lich outside a brick annex that leads to a Hellstaff (!) but the rest of the combat is corridor shooter stuff. With, uh, you dodging, fleet of foot, onto the lava. The elemental trial of fire is way less demanding than the earth equivalent in E5M2 and mostly boils down to how quickly you move across molten rock.<br /><br />I think that this is because Clark saved the true challenge for the secret exit. You need to find nine mostly-hidden switches, spread across the level, to fully open the way. I say mostly because a few of them are in plain sight. At least four of them require the wings of wrath to access otherwise inaccessible locations. One of these probably threw you for a loop when you saw it in the exit area of E5M2 but there's another that is the most dickishly clever of all. The switch that requires you to use a particular teleport face, well, bleh to that.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Steel Works</th><th>E5M9</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>Umm. This is a dark metal crypt, I guess, with a very simple layout. Players are subject to several monotypical monster packs that will leave them feeling perpetually outgunned. The hordes of sabreclaws early on really pour on the pressure, though I suppose that you could save on ammo by repurposing the ethereal crossbow crusher trap. In fact, I suspect that this was partly Stephen's intent. The Firemace appears here and is the level's main focus but, as usual, it feels more like a weapon that you're being forced to use. The most Clark thing here is a maze that uses catwalks in shadow that you can't see with the points of tridents directing you to the next bend. And then, uh, you have to make your way back while weredragons and undead warriors fire at you from the opposite side.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/cxvnv3stftwlyzk/shadow509e.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/cxvnv3stftwlyzk/shadow509e.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>E5M4</th><th>Crosswinds Village</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wwum4hf8g8ua0uu/shadow504a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wwum4hf8g8ua0uu/shadow504a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Ostensibly a level in <b>Heretic</b>'s city theme. If you hadn't guessed from the title, then know that the element of the day is air. You didn't really get browbeaten by the theming in "earth" and "fire" was pretty predictable. I mean, the firing of the geysers and their spread was random, but it was all clearly visible. This fuckin' wind, though. Your movement outdoors is hampered by a series of crosswinds. From the moment you leave the safety of the opening ravine you are buffeted toward the east or west gorges on each side of the village. The lamp posts signify where the force swaps from one direction to the other. Take note that the force gets significantly stronger when you're near the edge. You know, like where all of the outdoor health items are located.<br /><br />The kinetic floor is an obnoxious but manageable confounding factor when you are flush with ammo and kitted out with weapons. Most of the monsters that you face on the outside are either golems or sabreclaws since enemy projectiles are generally worthless outside. It feels as though the wand start is heavily reliant on using the gauntlets, however, and Shadowcaster does not do battles of attrition very well. Particularly when your movement is erratic due to the acceleration of the wind. Most of the building interiors are painful to break into due to the sheer monster density inside and trying to duck in and out is rough when the wind keeps blowing you around. Pile this on top of the doofy voodoo doll gimmick and, well, it's a memorably painful experience.<br /><br />The trials are much simpler in comparison. The toughest aspect is obtaining the two Wings of Wrath. You have to walk a narrow catwalk while the winds blow you east, and the walk has several ninety-degree turns, at one point doubling back. When you have the power then you just have to flip four switches in alcoves at various heights. This opens the way to the pod race, an even simpler challenge where you rush against an explosive timer. The last 10% of this map is so much more fun than the rest of it.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Watery Paradise</th><th>E5M5</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>When Clark promised a 21st-century <b>Heretic</b> PWAD with innovative gameplay elements, well, he might have had this level in mind. This hydromancy is worth a look all on its own. The sanctuary is a mix of flowing water, low-friction ice, and explosive pods. The ice is a hindrance to combat but generally easy to compensate for as long as you keep your distance from monsters and dodge early. Two of the trials are built around slick surfaces. One of them is Clark's typical "Chasm"-thin tightrope walk. The other is a multi-stage timed switch sector machinery challenge with a voodoo doll in the center of the room as a confounding factor.<br /><br />Flowing water is a similarly obnoxious element. A late-level trap requires the player to make a strafe-sprinting leap to cross a large gap, but the other side's floor flows quick and straight into an inescapable death pit. You need to skirt the edge of the cistern right after you make it through. Even afterward you must fight the lethal currents of the rest of the chamber drain as you deal with a squad of ophidians. On the more benign side of things is an amusement-park style "water slide" (more of a lazy river) that takes you slowly down a torturous path with pitch-black walls. It's the kind of thing that's difficult to rush through as there are a ton of hard ninety-degree turns and the walls remove much of your spatial context. My advice: sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Until it reaches the couple of monster stations, anyway. When you finally get to the Iron Lich kiosk the flowing water will be suitably annoying again.<br /><br />What makes this level wonderful is its use of exploding pods. The fact that you can push them when coupled with <b>Heretic</b>'s deeper z-collision gave Clark the brilliant idea to use them for what are effectively crate puzzles. It's a true "Holy shit!" moment that Stephen attempts to teach you for the red key puzzle. The setup may be a bit inscrutable, however, as it requires you to push voodoo dolls out of the way without killing yourself. At Clark's most inspired, you must ride one of a carousel of pods as they float around a whirling pool. Twice you must push them to form a bridge to walk across.<br /><br />This isn't all that bad of a level to fight through in terms of combat. There's one relatively close-quarters maulotaur fight and three others in more spacious surroundings. Thankfully, the author declines to pit you against the dark servants on frozen fields. I think that the wand start trap is to waste your time on the first secret or the ophidians in the opening dragon claw room. If you want to, then come back with a later-acquired chaos device. The big settling pond chamber in the center of the map has a nice look and also serves as a decent arena for magical firefights. Least favorite fight, uh, the outdoor canyon area with the two voodoo dolls and the disciples that get blown clear across the level.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/93hqcozud2vxosx/shadow505b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/93hqcozud2vxosx/shadow505b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>E5M6</th><th>Shadow Castle</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bl7g67b7mkmk4mo/shadow506a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bl7g67b7mkmk4mo/shadow506a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>This is a huge fortress with a ground level, second floor, and basement. The challenge is immediately ramped up in the opening. One room inside the castle has all of the regular weapons. You need to somehow make it past the rampart's undead warrior guards to raise the drawbridge and then fight through the fortress to the armaments. It helps to know just exactly what room the weapons are in, of course. The only tools available to you are the gauntlets and a tome of power. This ought to be more than enough firepower... provided that you know where you're going.<br /><br />The castle hallways are pretty wide-open so that Clark can throw packs of monsters, Iron Liches, and the occasional maulotaur at the player. The bull on the second floor feels like a more desperate encounter since you probably aren't expecting to cold run into a dark servant in the corridors. While the dungeon is more cramped for its minotaur encounter, there is at least one wide-open room with braziers to block its charge attack. I had more trouble with the sewer segment that closes out the level. There, both health and ammo are at a considerable premium, and you are subjected to both mandatory damage floors as well as two squads of four Iron Liches.<br /><br />Progression in this level is challenging as the player must make repeat visits to all three floors (linked by teleporter stairs). The first goal appears to be to enter the locked room in the library, after which the dungeon should become available. Eventually, once you've exhausted all avenues of exploration, you should be able to return to the second floor and grab the green key. The Clark-style puzzles are mostly found in the dungeon and are fairly benign. One requires you to use a torch to illuminate a room with a "Chasm"-style catwalk, so don't blow it when you get it! Another uses the push-crate aspect of the exploding pods differently than E3M5.<br /><br />I had fun with the adventure game stylings; shoutout to the secret Wings of Wrath and its double-secret purpose. The combat at the beginning and end was frustrating when coming in from a wand start, a common motif in Stephen's style. I've suspected since <b>Fragport</b> that Clark made these McGuyver-style hot starts as a challenge mode for players who already knew the level. They're still viable without foreknowledge as long as you're comfortable with a trial and error strategy.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>The Great Hall</th><th>E5M7</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>This one ranges from dank catacombs to a huge network of hallways and staircases that reminds me vaguely of <b>Heretic</b>'s E5M6 ("Colonnade"). Combat is quite difficult in spots as ammo is spread out and hidden everywhere. Also unsurprising for Clark, critical weapons are hidden deep in the level. Carryover players will have a much easier time with several gameplay elements including an especially tiresome execution of the pod puzzles debuted in E3M5.<br /><br />The early level segment includes a large, "C"-shaped room and, later on, an upside-down "T" chamber, both of which are lined with monster cages. It's not all that difficult to avoid the ophidian projectiles or undead warrior axes... provided that you're not trying to push a pod from one end of this circuit to the other. This is a feat that you must accomplish three times, taking care not to let the monsters strike you or the explosive. With enough ammo (and backtracking to a later-revealed secret elevator) you can disarm the cage traps. This is difficult if not impossible to accomplish for challenge-mode wand start players, however, so be warned.<br /><br />Monsters are numerous and fierce. Turret-style enemy placement abounds and it's obnoxious when they're ghosties and thus sacrosanct from Phoenix Rod projectiles. There are something like four maulotaurs stomping around the hallway / staircase network, too, which adds to the ammo / gun-hunt panic. Judicious use of tomes and invul rings will help but this requires you to sniff out some of Clark's secrets. The biggest help by far is the acquisition of the aforementioned Rod, whose platform is only accessible via distant timed trigger mechanics.<br /><br />For all my bitching, however, "The Great Hall" is devilishly clever in its voodoo doll usage. I'd been looking at these things across the episode for so long that I took for granted that they were just there to annoy me. I'd also seen low ceiling areas that looked like they were meant to be accessed via the chicken form. I had no idea, though, how on Earth I could do something like bounce Morph Ovum projectiles back at myself like <b>Duke 3D</b>'s shrink ray. Well, gentle reader, you can't progress in this level unless you figure out how to Chicken yourself. You'll need to do so on at least three occasions, too, so beware if you thought of using the eggs to augment your combat abilities. I was especially surprised at using the Chicken mode to cross long distances.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/90n9fyvr5o97bzi/shadow507c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/90n9fyvr5o97bzi/shadow507c.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>E5M8</th><th>The Dark Tower</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/3xyai0j80yqtk17/shadow508a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/3xyai0j80yqtk17/shadow508a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Opening with an enormous, spiral staircase. Rooms spur off on the eastern side and present you with a series of Clark-ish challenges that you must conquer. The first is a fairly humdrum vine and block maze. The second uses floors of ice to complicate the congested, semi-slaughter combat. The third is a boisterous outdoor total slaughter where you must acquire all three keys. Accessing each pillar - and the ring of invulnerability - spills even more hordes of monsters into the playing field for maximum chaos.<br /><br />The fourth and fifth challenges have Stephen at his most inspired. One of these intends for you to use your ring of invulnerability so that you can push a voodoo doll across a "Chasm"-style network of thin walkways. The other uses the Morph Ovum trick to rush you through a maze of death where you must avoid several monsters and almost certainly peck a gargoyle to pieces. I wasn't big on the level up until the huge brawl on the tower's exterior but between it and the subsequent puzzles I was having a ball.<br /><br />The final battle is at the top of "The Dark Tower" and is initially a straightforward fight vs. the Serpent Rider. Well, apart from the voodoo doll in the center of the chamber. Clever Clark uses the boss's scripted teleporting to have it escape, after which you must discover the purpose of the keys acquired in the third challenge. The final battlefield appears to occur among the pillars of reality in deference to the Stephen King book series from which this level gets its name. Observe, for instance, the beams running along the cardinal and intercardinal directions.<br /><br />The action itself is obnoxious as the air dance is attended to by hordes of maulotaurs and iron liches. Amongst all this chaos, you have to repeatedly seek out the Shadowcaster to do what damage you can. I'm not thrilled by the battle but it's less frustrating than many of the wand starts that I took upon myself. It makes for an epic conclusion and psychedelic visual, at least.</td></tr>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>SHADOWS OF SHADOWS CASTING</b></span></div></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-88101135992948625772022-04-10T08:08:00.001-05:002022-04-10T08:08:28.277-05:00Mega Tear (MEGATEAR.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">MEGA TEAR</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by "Memfis"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mqf9v1eqapedtl3/megatear01a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mqf9v1eqapedtl3/megatear01a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This <b>Doom II</b> MAP01 replacement was initially published on the Doomworld forums in July of 2013 and was only uploaded to /idgames in June of 2014, nearly a year later. It's theoretically Boom-compatible but, in order to listen to the provided music track, the engine must be capable of playing mod tracker files. Memfis didn't have any contextual information to offer that would help clarify the choice of title, <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/m-o/megatear">Mega Tear</a></b>, and a cursory search doesn't reveal anything obvious like a manga. In the community, "mega" is more often than not associated with megaWADs, something that the author often started but never found the wherewithal to complete. One could argue, then, that it's named in deference to Memfis's practice of publishing megaWAD fragments. Would a reject removed from such a project be a "mega tear"? Or is it more of a reference to the author's regret in having so many "incomplete" productions, each one eliciting a salty "mega tear"?</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/q3otg3x3csuwfl5/megatear01g.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/q3otg3x3csuwfl5/megatear01g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What we do know is that a significant portion of this level's development was highly experimental, at least in terms of how we assume maps are made with the then-available DoomBuilder 2 and now its derivatives. Specifically, Memfis declined to use the editor's 3D mode until the thing was almost complete. This was a psychologically rewarding process for him as he was not so overwhelmingly familiar with the look of his architecture when he finally got around to playtesting. I assume that this experience partially bridges the gap between the experiences of the author and player, with the caveat that the former would still know the general location of any traps. Of course, such information might be temporarily forgotten while you're immersed in seeing your level geometry in the flesh for the first time.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lwdog6drepnc4sj/megatear01b.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lwdog6drepnc4sj/megatear01b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Mega Tear</b> is basically a techbase level with a familiar base infrastructure theme. The majority of the geometry is dominated by a deep sluice that runs from the northeast portion of the level down to a large, outdoor cistern to the southwest. There are a handful of small, offshoot segments like the starting alcove but most of the traditional playing area consists of the track-like walkway that loops around the sluice and exterior pool. I'm vaguely reminded of the first two levels of his <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2021/12/download-downloadwad.html">Download</a></b> minisode with their peripheral walkways but neither of those maps featured a complete circuit. The fully-connected route, mancubus roadblock excluded, allows the player to go on a real mega tear.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/o12omxdhfcrfs3s/megatear01d.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/o12omxdhfcrfs3s/megatear01d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tropes are emblematic of Memfis's encounter design. The main playing area has a race track route but the author has at least one major obstacle in the mancubus roadblock in order to keep the player from steamrolling through. Combat is limited to "small arms", by which I am referring to the regular shotgun and chaingun, and the player must venture into hostile territory in order to secure either. It will otherwise be difficult or at least ponderous to remove ol' fatso . The majority of the monsters consist of <b>Doom II</b> trash like zombies and imps with a couple of Hell knights thrown in. The majority of my difficulty with the set came from the chaingunners but the mancubus and cacodemon make for an interesting opening scenario. There is a Berserk pack available in one of the optional side areas and I suppose that you could use it to mega rip and mega tear. It's more helpful I think for its HP reset property. I was more interested in how Memfis arranged the room as it's a one-way drop into the unknown.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1ceju37ti0vu3px/megatear01f.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1ceju37ti0vu3px/megatear01f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, I liked this simple layout. The side areas - some of which are optional - make for welcome additions to the world-building factor. The fact that you start in one and must exit by another (which you can check out first) makes them feel like natural extensions of the main playing area. The cistern comes with a prominent platforming setpiece and it didn't even occur to me that it has a giant, floating column of water that tries to crush you. It's such a wonderfully weird detail, though I suppose no stranger than the hydro-elevator that takes you to the sluice level with a teleporter, since they're cheaper for the UAC than a staircase or ladder. I also enjoyed the look of the southern annex with its broad, steep stairs descending toward an alcove. For some reason it makes me think of Tony Sideris but I can't back up my intuition with a specific example. It's definitely evoking some cool '94-'96 style feels. Contrast this against the more detailed and relatively realistic tech room found north of the Berserk room.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jhi439o6991jod1/megatear01e.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jhi439o6991jod1/megatear01e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Mega Tear</b> is a short and fun blastathon that would have been a fun-sized delight in a larger mapset. Enjoy it, here, as another demon-slaying vignette that gently challenges player movement with a dash of resource austerity.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/m-o/megatear"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">ME, GATOR</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-73123747834783314262022-04-05T06:52:00.000-05:002022-04-05T06:52:03.046-05:00Short 'n Quick (SNQ.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SHORT 'N QUICK</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Varun Abhiram Krishna</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h9fv2t1ufnwx3cv/snqt.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h9fv2t1ufnwx3cv/snqt.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Varun had a Doom career that ran roughly concurrent with his brother, Karthik, and each brother was ultimately enshrined in the annals of <b>Doom</b> history. Varun wasn't quite as prolific an author as his brother, starting out in 2001 with <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-anomaly-part-ii-anomaly2wad.html">The Anomaly: Part II</a></b>. Part of this appears to have been his participation in the ill-fated The Ninth Gate project from which his Cacoward-winning <b>The Outer Darkness</b> originates. His follow-up to <b>ANOMALY2</b> came roughly a year later in April of 2002, the aptly-titled <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/snq">Short 'n Quick</a></b> (not to be confused with Malcolm Sailor's similarly-named <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2018/06/quick-is-good-quikisgdwad.html">Quick is Good</a></b>). This MAP01 replacement appears to have been intended as part of a series if the TITLEPIC is any indication. I suppose that UAC: Missions is as good a name for a no-nonsense series of levels as any.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ogx1gcgfca8ee5t/snq01a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ogx1gcgfca8ee5t/snq01a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This mission doesn't have an included plot but it takes place in an infested - but not corrupted - techbase a la <b>Doom II</b>'s first episode. It belongs to the same genre of many of Pablo Dictter's levels in that it is both short and includes a preponderance of crates. Varun's architecture looks more varied as the map does not appear to be composed almost entirely of hallways. The two larger chambers, however, are arguably corridors in and of themselves, albeit cleverly disguised ones. There is a basic interconnection where the player must access a balcony seen very early on and which is opposite another ledge. The teleporter jump to the level's coda also feels like a classic Pablo move. I wouldn't be surprised to know that he was an influence on Varun given that they worked together in the same online social circle.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/expw4utyt0r4hy6/snq01b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/expw4utyt0r4hy6/snq01b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>SNQ</b> is a tough nut to crack. Tuning difficulty is one of the trickiest parts of <b>Doom</b> level design and has only gotten harder as the depth of player skill has increased. I think that there's more forgiveness, though, when there are only something like 52 monsters to wade through. It's not like you can accidentally spend a ton of time playing without saving only to get mown down in a trap that you couldn't quickly cope with. It also helps when a lot of the difficulty is frontloaded. The antechamber to the guard rail room sets the tone with the chaingunners tucked into corners and Varun doubles down with the cramped combat shotgun waltz with the revenants just inside the main room.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6totlgrqsau1xh2/snq01c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6totlgrqsau1xh2/snq01c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dual doors are an interesting architectural decision. They give the skeletons two avenues of access to the safe room but also make it much easier to joust with the two Hell knights at the back of the rail room. These two elements combine to create a whiplash opening fight with congested, newschool-type player pressure followed by a more deliberate, tactical flavoring. Varun's other two memorable encounters are also highly dependent on the shape of the room. The cargo bay is awkward for positioning an arachnotron on the other side of a long, "C"-shaped railing with a mancubus - among other things - running interference on the straight. A tactical approach is viable with using the regular shotgun and chaingun at the door... but so is running up to the mancubus and using its body for cover!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8shcwbniad9yihg/snq01d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8shcwbniad9yihg/snq01d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last of the fights is probably the biggest gut-punch as long as you are intent on killing all of the monsters before you exit. The room - arguably a foyer - quickly fans out to the north and south with the sloping stairs. The gently curved shape of the eastern walls basically precludes using them for cover against the arch-vile miniboss so you're going to have to rely on the eagerness with which it resurrects monsters. And, uh, it wouldn't hurt to have a lot of luck. There are purportedly two secrets in the level but I didn't find either before exiting so I have no idea if there's something like an invul or at least a megasphere right before the final brawl.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8aqtij761tw9m4d/snq01e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8aqtij761tw9m4d/snq01e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Short 'n Quick</b> is exactly what it purports to be. It's interesting seeing Varun tackle a more highly-detailed environment and, while it lacks the interesting sector machinery found in <b>The Anomaly: Part II</b>, some players may appreciate the lack of dungeon crawler-style death traps and the like. If you want a fast and punchy <b>Doom II</b> experience that also rewards tactical play then give <b>SNQ</b> a shot.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/snq"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SNQ OR SWIM</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-23553928625360689762022-03-31T06:49:00.001-05:002022-03-31T06:49:08.504-05:00Hell Pit (HELL_PIT.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">HELL PIT</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Mike Alfredson aka "Use3D"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/5tzeyy4f6cty564/hell_pit26a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/5tzeyy4f6cty564/hell_pit26a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mike's most recent release was as part of <b>Ultimate Doom the Way id Did</b> but he's been a low key contributor to big names like the <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/search/label/Community%20Chest%20series">Community Chest</a></b> series and <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/search/label/Back%20to%20Saturn%20X%20series">Back to Saturn X</a></b>. Not to forget the original <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2012/04/doom-way-id-did-dtwidwad.html">DtWiD</a></b>, of course. All of his solo single-level publications are effectively archival releases and generally old ones at that, either from the category of "<b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/12/nilla-doom-nillawad.html">Nilla Doom</a></b> reject" or "old level that predates <b>Nilla Doom</b>". I assume, anyway, as the former levels go out of their way to say that they were made for and then cut from the running order of his in-development megaWAD. Like <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/02/soulcage-soulcagewad.html">Soulcage</a></b>, <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/g-i/hell_pit">Hell Pit</a></b> is a map from the latter category, a <b>Doom II</b> MAP26 replacement that was handcrafted back in 1996 only to be uploaded much later in early 2004.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/kq6k8dgad8lnbpv/hell_pit26b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/kq6k8dgad8lnbpv/hell_pit26b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This early level does not come with a story but it makes a point of using the same slot as "The Abandoned Mines". I'm sure that this is mostly due to the sky (Hell Pit, of course) and the track that Alfredson preferred for the level, in this case "Message For the Archvile". The exit portal matches up with the aesthetic seen in <b>Doom II</b>'s Hell episode so it's pretty clear that it takes place in, well, Hell. The presence of UAC crates seems to suggest that the location is a UAC base, perhaps one subsumed into the inferno. It's also possible that the base was foolishly established as a foothold for further research.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/85pmdt346n2erk0/hell_pit26c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/85pmdt346n2erk0/hell_pit26c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Soulcage</b> had a motif, stretched though it may seem at first glance, of restricting monster movement as well as - occasionally - yours. <b>Hell Pit</b> has a similar gameplay theme in that the player must descend time and time again in order to achieve any real progression. The opening wood and metal Hell chamber has dual staircases that descend into giant pits. Going down and west, you must further ride an elevator into poisonous muck in order to get the red key. Down and to the east, you are forced to descend and then trudge through a toxin-swamped marble ruin / ancient sewer in a quest for the yellow key. The nexus of the level and its id-like symmetric core occurs on the same general plane, with the damage floor now being a lethal hazard, but there are dual descending staircases that lead to an outdoor UAC warehouse.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/npypou9282vx1o4/hell_pit26d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/npypou9282vx1o4/hell_pit26d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I started looking at this level for the post-playthrough review I began to feel something of an echo of <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-ultimate-doom-doomwad.html">Thy Flesh Consumed</a></b>, chiefly Tim Willits's "Fear" (E4M9). It may not be mere coincidence that Use3D's <b>UDtWiD</b> contribution is a similarly-themed level in the same slot ("Terror", E4M9). The strongest similarity I think is found in the northern, walled crateyard area with the opposed, overlooking balconies. The overall combat is quite different, of course, given that there is a great big fuckoff Cyberdemon stomping around the platform. Between this and the multiple mirrored staircases, however, I believe that there's good reason to suspect that Alfredson was inspired by Willits's design.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1f4ft0o0cktu08y/hell_pit26e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1f4ft0o0cktu08y/hell_pit26e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cultured bane of any level that makes heavy use of symmetry in its architectural design is how closely said symmetry is adhered to. This avenue of critique feels founded upon authorship principles that attempt to maintain users' interest through visual and encounter variety. Up until now I had never really considered whether players might felt relieved when they could correctly anticipate encounters and traps through predictive symmetry. There is too much of the funhouse adventurer in me to not be, at times, slightly bemused when knowing removes most of if not the entirety of the challenge. To make an extremely hypothetical case that demonstrates the critic's point, I would not be particularly enthused to play a level that consisted entirely of a hub and four identical, copy-and-pasted wings.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/90a9ypj0x04x457/hell_pit26g.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/90a9ypj0x04x457/hell_pit26g.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Much of the fun of playing PWADs comes from having a nearly limitless supply of user content to play through. A lot of this is in the form of brand new geometric creations but there are plenty of levels that succeed by overtly leveraging older ideas, similar to how music tracks are remixed or remade. In the latter case, a key attraction is in having something identifiably familiar and seeing what similarities or differences exist. This is a selling point of the <b>Switcheroom</b> series, with the originals being recontextualized in the themes of different episodes. On the smaller scale, authors tend to break symmetry by using detailing or monster placement. In some cases they take advantage of past experience - dictated by the authors themselves - in order to lull players into a false sense of security. There may be a trap where on the other side there had been none, or the contents of the monster closet are markedly more severe.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zvpo5b1d75r77jz/hell_pit26h.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zvpo5b1d75r77jz/hell_pit26h.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Hell Pit</b> is pretty straightforward in how Alfredson decides to deal with the symmetry of the level's main body. The thing placement in the connective tissue has a lot of overlap but there are plenty enough deviations to subvert player expectations. Say, having a commando in one of the starting pits and a small flock of lost souls in the other. The contents of the monster cages on either side of the blue skull door are somewhat varied, with imps on one side and shotgun guys on the other. The dual platform rooms to the south-west and -east of crate yard have some minor detailing and initial monster kit differences. More importantly, one of them is hooked up via teleporter pad to admit creatures from the western balcony. As a fun bit of design, the character of this particular trap points the way for the player.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/32zefckgrcl98nn/hell_pit26i.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/32zefckgrcl98nn/hell_pit26i.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a monster-heavy level but Use3D is up-front about giving you both the super shotgun and plasma gun very early on. Confidentially, there's even a hidden BFG right at the start (!). Mike is also keen on providing you a ton of ammo, most of it laying around in plain sight. Some of the combat has a sort of hornet's nest vibe to it, particularly the storage yard and the surrounding balconies / rooms. There are hitscanners everywhere, not to mention the Cyberdemon. These together with the other entrenched beasties strongly suggest a tactical approach. There's one big pitched teleporter ambush about halfway through the level, inside the catwalk criss-crossed lava room. The terrain makes things a little tricky when attempting to outmaneuver your foes but it's a single-destination assault, greatly simplifying matters.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gj9rg61cejcim8r/hell_pit26j.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gj9rg61cejcim8r/hell_pit26j.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Hell Pit</b> has a bit less of the dungeon crawler feel that <b>Soulcage</b> more or less exemplified. A lot of this comes from to the open-air / bunker shootout of the final area. I think that it's still pretty strong in the first half, though Use3D has injected more of a sense of urgency to the first two wings by putting enviro suit timers on your exploration and combat times. There's one weird bit that Alfredson mentions specifically in his .TXT; he obviously took the time to replay his then eight-or-so-year-old creation and then promptly disgusted himself. The coda of the level takes place once you press the blue key switch and is classic case of cryptic progression. It doesn't open up the blue skull door but rather a nondescript teleporter that returns you to a previously inaccessible portion of the map. From here you get a three-way save or die trap with gore objects serving as an obtuse clue as to the correct way forward.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vcb3so26cnc8hqp/hell_pit26k.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vcb3so26cnc8hqp/hell_pit26k.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Use3D delivers yet again with another wicked cool classically-styled PWAD that both looks good and plays pretty well. I'm stoked to see what his <b>Nilla Doom</b> rejects look like, given that these older maps have been rock solid blastathons. If you enjoy the '95-'96 era of the <b>Doom</b> community then you absolutely need to give <b>Hell Pit</b> a try.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/g-i/hell_pit"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">I CAN'T HELL PIT</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-77240730158350937322022-03-26T06:56:00.001-05:002022-03-26T06:56:35.835-05:00Simphony of Death (#SYMPHOD.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SIMPHONY OF DEATH</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by "Sphagne"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0nukarqwhv1tvax/%23symphod01a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0nukarqwhv1tvax/%23symphod01a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some corrections are in order. A handful of authors for the original <b>Community Chest</b> submitted previously published works: Daniel Trim (<b>Redux</b>), Gene Bird (<b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/search/label/Blind%20Alley%20series">Blind Alley</a></b>), and Sphagne. Back when I started really digging into the <b>CCHEST</b> contributors I was pretty sure that Sphagne's offerings were part of a broader, unfinished series, much like <b>Blind Alley</b> or Alex Parsons's <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/search/label/World%27s%20End%20series">World's End</a></b>. As I read through these .TXTs, however, I realized that the sequence numbers given to the maps are only presented to establish the order in which they were created in 1995-1999. Presumably a significant portion of these levels remain unreleased. <b>Mothership</b> was the author's 19th chronological creation and with fourteen available on the archives (one of which is Deathmatch only) that leaves five unaccounted for. This review is for the first of Sphagne's published levels but the second overall: <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/0-9/0symphod">Simphony of Death</a></b>. Created at an undisclosed time in the mid-to-late '90s (presumably 1995), it was uploaded to /idgames alongside the rest of his levels in August of 2002 and is a MAP01 replacement for <b>Doom II</b>.</div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/odba45die6tfdks/%23symphod01b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/odba45die6tfdks/%23symphod01b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I assumed that Sphagne's levels were part of a broad cycle because he intimated the order of their creation. In retrospect, his plots are either a collection of unassociated vignettes or the central character is the most interesting person in the universe, with a lineage that can be traced to the Greek goddess, Artemis. An apocryphal child of Orion, perhaps? <b>Simphony of Death</b> has virtually no framing narrative, more of a teaser of the most iconic structure / encounter of the level. The author establishes that the level possesses an enormous theater where a Cyberdemon is conducting an organic orchestra. The .TXT hints that you must get the monsters to perform for you before playing your solo.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mrtmfx2qs75alnb/%23symphod01d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mrtmfx2qs75alnb/%23symphod01d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't know where the following twelve levels are going to go but I really enjoyed Sphagne's style as it appears here. <b>#SYMPHOD</b> is a sprawling map whose opening segments consist of a network of tunnels and caverns with all sorts of complex, timed-lift and door sector machinery. The cramped spaces do little to prepare you for the scale of the monolithic theatre that sits in the level's center... but you are offered a few good glances via windows. The same logic also applies to many of the map's secrets, some of which grant passage to considerable side areas. At least one appears to rely on using the vertical deviation from your more unfocused hitscan attacks to trigger switches.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ixfq65ndt8nbtsu/%23symphod01g.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ixfq65ndt8nbtsu/%23symphod01g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The author also did a lot of work to make the orchestral platforms difficult to navigate. The central arrangement of the chamber is like a concert hall with bleacher seating fit for giants. The height rises upward and away from your initial entrance point. Which is, uh, right behind the conductor's platform. I will admit that the setup does a good job of fostering infighting between the Cyberdemon and its orchestra. There is still some trial and error involved in figuring out how you are to explore the level from here, however, and the fact that ol' mobile rocket launcher can turn on you at any moment is unsettling. This is also why the "curtain raising" effect that kicks things off is easy to miss.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6myklpmr73u7zlk/%23symphod01h.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6myklpmr73u7zlk/%23symphod01h.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From here the player can either try to explore the Cyberdemon's ledge or just jump down into the orchestra pit. Both routes eventually take you to the same destinations but the latter is just as dangerous as the only way out of the cesspool consists of opposed teleporters that take you to the not-quite-top of the tiered platforms. From here you will have to cascade down through the instruments of destruction. Toward the bottom of these musical stairs you will find the blue key as well as opposed elevators. The lifts access alcoves that sport blue key doors as well as teleporters. The portals take you to a pair of rooms that are... accessed via the Cyberdemon ledge that you started out on.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/b70dndad2p4xltn/%23symphod01i.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/b70dndad2p4xltn/%23symphod01i.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Routing through the central area - and how it all connects to the level's periphery - constitutes its biggest navigational challenge. Once that's sorted out, the areas beyond the blue - and yellow - key doors are much simpler to figure out. The outer region circumscribes the symphony from the northwest corner to its mid-south. There is a sawtooth map flow design that is similar to the auditorium in that the eastern path is only accessible from the south and is also the only way to get to the red key that is prominently displayed in the north. It's interesting to see one-way routes used so prominently in a level; I wonder whether they will figure into Sphagne's future works.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1b35bngz0m30boy/%23symphod01c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1b35bngz0m30boy/%23symphod01c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Playing <b>Doom</b> is more than traversing tricky layouts, though. While you are attempting to master the pneumatic and gated progression you will be subject to constant surprise attacks by monsters as well as several massive, pitched battles. The title tussle sticks out not only due to its scope and size of the playing field but also due to its unusual setup. The character of combat of the western area features tricky, small-scale fights with most of the beasties with lower space profiles. Hopefully you are adept at handling revenants in tighter confines. Most of the fighting in the outdoor segment is concentrated in the northern section. It's a sprawling if not necessarily wide-open battleground. More importantly, it's subject to a multi-prong teleporter ambush that restocks monsters in defensible positions. This is in addition to its initial, hornet's nest-style placement. I ought to note, however, that only completionists are obligated to deal with the final wave.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jlkv0c4t6dgbvzn/%23symphod01j.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jlkv0c4t6dgbvzn/%23symphod01j.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>#SYMPHOD</b> is a pretty good-looking level for something that was designed in 1995. I suppose that the overall theme is more representative of the wild-ass era of individually cohesive rooms as opposed to a texture scheme that's consistent across the entire level. Given the mix of marble and metal and UAC computer screen stuff it feels more like a kitchen-sink map representative of a blending of realities between Hell and Earth. I dunno what if any touching-up Sphagne did for release but the orchestra room is a wicked cool piece of early macrotecture and some of the minor set-pieces, like the bloodfall area, make for neat little vignettes. In spite of the sort of disorganized funhouse opening, the auditorium and outdoor area do a good job of grounding the level as you play on. Looking back, the overall story of the map is more like an operative who has infiltrated an infested UAC base in order to investigate an amassing demon army, afterward escaping out the front door.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/we3kojxirurjh65/%23symphod01f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/we3kojxirurjh65/%23symphod01f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really enjoyed <b>Simphony of Death</b> but I imagine that it appeals to a more niche audience than your average <b>Doom II</b> level. Progression of the level demands more from the player's intuition and is on the whole a more cerebral exercise. This goes especially for its opening bit-by-bit dungeon exploration, feeling more like a smaller-scale execution of the principles that guided Kevin Reay's level design in <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/12/industrial-industrlwad.html">Industrial</a></b>. <b>#SYMPHOD</b>'s big centerpiece encounter serves as a confounding factor as the moving parts serve as a potent distraction while the player tries to mentally map everything together. Furthermore, the author depends on the player's temperament to not become immediately frustrated upon entering the northern section and finding the red key inaccessible. Provided, of course, that one doesn't simply "cheat" in a modern source port and jump up on the platform.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c30d8086o2zyzef/%23symphod01k.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c30d8086o2zyzef/%23symphod01k.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have no idea what to expect from the original <b>Community Chest</b> but I can tell from my perusal of so many of its authors' collected works that it will be my kind of megaWAD. As I continue to play through his catalogue, I'm interested in seeing whether Sphagne deviates from the style that he has executed in <b>Simphony of Death</b>. If you're into the complex layouts of mid-to-late '90s maps, or just want to see a Cyberdemon conduct a techno-organic orchestra, then you should give this one a look.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/0-9/0symphod"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">OSTINATO 3:16 SAYS</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">I JUST WHOOPED YOUR ASS</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-82906771788977159302022-03-21T07:52:00.001-05:002022-03-21T07:52:26.846-05:00The Abandoned Mines II (AMINESII.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">THE ABANDONED MINES II</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Kim Bach aka "Torn"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4unz6w02w0sg0ve/aminesii26a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4unz6w02w0sg0ve/aminesii26a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kim Bach is another one of those ancillary <b>Doom</b> community figures who made a lot of contributions to group projects without ever really enjoying a substantial single release. His submissions include multiple iterations of the <b>32in24</b> series as well as <b>1 Monster</b> and <b>Mock 2</b>. Torn's most high-profile contributions are probably <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2015/03/scythe-scythewad.html">Scythe</a></b>'s MAP31 ("I Dunno Torn") and, most recently, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2013/01/back-to-saturn-x-e1-get-out-of-my.html">Back to Saturn X Episode One</a></b>'s MAP02 ("Postal Blowfish", alongside Sarah Mancuso / Esselfortium). His passion project appeared to be the prospective <b>Flashback</b> megaWAD, which had him rubbing elbows with Erik Alm, Esa Repo, and - again - Esselfortium. His 2002 /idgames debut, however, is <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/a-c/aminesii">The Abandoned Mines II</a></b>, a MAP26 replacement for <b>Doom II</b> that was a submission to the then burgeoning <b>Freedoom</b> project. This level was still present all the way up until <b>Freedoom</b>'s v0.12.0 release in 2019 (!!!).</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sq7487ln704v5db/aminesii26b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sq7487ln704v5db/aminesii26b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>AMINESII</b> doesn't have any sort of a framing narrative but you wouldn't expect one given that it was a submission to a project that basically aimed to serve as an alternative to requiring <b>Doom II</b>. There was no way of knowing what levels would come before or after. If they were to be cut from the same pattern as Bach's submission then they would have all been remixes of the IWAD, meaning that it would more or less tell the same general story. Of course, such a production would have probably been stepping a bit too much on id's toes, which would be one reason why this admittedly excellent extract was officially replaced in 2019. If you want something then, uh, just pretend that this is a SCENE MISSING from the original campaign, maybe right after "The Abandoned Mines".</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jrsw51gktdy4jfk/aminesii26c.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jrsw51gktdy4jfk/aminesii26c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While <b>AMINESII</b> borrows quite a bit of its aesthetic from its numeric predecessor, it would be more accurate to think of it as part of a genre of levels that is informed by <b>Doom II</b>'s MAP26. With a few recognizable thematic echoes, of course. The core of the level - a nexus of passages that is adjacent to damage floor pools - can be popularly glimpsed in <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-plutonia-experiment-plutoniawad.html">Plutonia</a></b>'s MAP04 ("Caged") as well as its MAP15 ("The Twilight") but each work spins off a different experience from the central motif. <b>The Abandoned Mines II</b> declines to drop the intersection at the center of the layout; it is perched at the east edge of the level so that there are only two hazardous pools to contend with. Each passage also offers considerably less player exposure as the barred windows are smaller, offering only glimpses into said pools. Whether this is more or less beneficial to players is a matter of the individuals' psychology and if they can be lulled into a false sense of security. The cacodemons in the larger cavern are both numerous and belligerent and cluster around each window like the Three Stooges in an attempt to get a ball lightning in.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wuebcxy2n9xt0wb/aminesii26d.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wuebcxy2n9xt0wb/aminesii26d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The stories of the two levels - by which I mean what players experience over their courses - are quite different as well. Romero's map uses the intersecting caged walkways to link up isolated cavern-like scenes that the player visits, triggering surprises like a funhouse. For instance, the immediately accessible eastern door accesses a winding walkway that leads across a deep, vast pit. Bach in contrast is committed to giving the level more of a sense of it being a "mine". You arrive from a scene-setting tunnel and catch a glimpse of a rocky outdoor area from the raised bridge that you use to access the underground portion. From this area you can access long, wide tunnel passages that link back to the exterior section glimpsed from the opening. This is of course a Romero-like trait in how the player is shown tantalizing glimpses of areas before they are visited and very much in keeping with the spirit of "The Abandoned Mines".</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/brevyijsjxw09l2/aminesii26e.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/brevyijsjxw09l2/aminesii26e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On its face, <b>AMINESII</b> feels like it's more interconnected with itself because it generally lacks annexes that are connected to the main playing area in the same fashion as Romero's east, west, and (secret) south wings. When you take Kim's mine tunnels back to the west you can see the walkway you entered through and link it together in your mental map. What John's MAP26 does have is a dazzling array of sector machinery and teleporters that lead you on a puzzle-box like romp through the level's inner workings in search of not-quite-secrets. Bach's <b>Mines</b> pay slight homage to this element with a UAC logo wall that can be opened to access the cacodemon cavity but the journey of discovery goes no further than a tucked-away teleporter.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/93a888x3qc7kg8w/aminesii26f.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/93a888x3qc7kg8w/aminesii26f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As far as combat goes, Bach is a much kinder author, in spite of using some 80 more monsters on Ultra-Violence. The worst this level gets is the long staircase that runs from the mid-east to northeast edge of the map, mostly because the revenants that you fight on it are super awkward. They juke back and forth at each elevation as if they can't decide whether or not they want to fight and then seem to explode forward when you least expect it. Otherwise, the vast majority of the level consists of feel-good super shotgun blasting through hordes of <b>Doom II</b> trash monsters. The hordes lurking behind each door make for shell fodder while still requiring you to think and dodge the survivors. The northern tunnel in particular has a huge mess of imps, demons, and spectres. The cacodemons are obnoxious but they don't find their way into the main playing area in the same way that they do in "The Abandoned Mines". As far as my standout encounter goes, there is a lot of chaos when you first ride the southern elevator up to the cargo platform, which I appreciate.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/cnd74rbtl3s5ume/aminesii26g.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/cnd74rbtl3s5ume/aminesii26g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I took the liberty of Romero's MAP26 to compare the combat stylings and found them to be very different. "The Abandoned Mines" feels like a proper hornets' nest style level where you regret poking your head in any given direction. The caged walkways leave you feeling exposed and the side-areas aren't any safer as they leverage damage floors and flying monsters to leave the player at a distinct disadvantage. It's generally argued that the player character's biggest advantage in <b>Doom</b> is speed and, well, it's difficult to properly utilize it given your limited, safe movement space. <b>AMINESII</b> is accommodating in comparison and lacks any damage floors that you are truly forced to contend with. One you pretty much skip across and the other is both secret and has an obvious enviro suit to utilize.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xpv879g4qm1b9m2/aminesii26h.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xpv879g4qm1b9m2/aminesii26h.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only place where I see Bach offering more challenge to the player is in that its ammo is kind of tight, so you can't afford to waste too many shots. It feels like a more modern take on classic gameplay a la Memfis where, during the early game, it pays to know roughly how many shotgun or SSG blasts it should have taken to kill a monster. That would naturally be your prompt to whip out the chaingun and chip it the rest of the way dead. Given the cramped confines of the map, it's kind of dangerous to try to provoke monsters into infighting. When it happens, though, it definitely helps. Health on the other hand feels plentiful, and while also I saw a lot of it during my playthrough of Romero's MAP26 I found myself wanting it and for it much quicker and more often.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mvoqhiv9g6qt5y2/aminesii26i.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mvoqhiv9g6qt5y2/aminesii26i.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The Abandoned Mines II</b> is a pretty cool <b>Doom II</b>-style level that borrows from Romero to create its own sort of thing. If you're into kickass id-styled works then you'd do well to give this one a try. I would have loved to see Bach follow up on this with more maps that tried to better resemble their slot names while still looking and feeling recognizably descended from <b>Doom II</b>. I shouldn't be but was surprised to see the depth at hand in the original MAP26. I hope that this does not come across as belittling Kim's work through direct comparison; I feel as though it has more than justified its own existence in difference to "The Abandoned Mines".</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/a-c/aminesii"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">NOTHING'S RIGHT, I'M TORN</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-34215018916376401592022-03-16T08:21:00.001-05:002022-03-16T08:21:53.181-05:00Operation: Lightning (OP-LITE2.WAD)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p1c72evg1zg07y0/op-lite2t.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p1c72evg1zg07y0/op-lite2t.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stephen Clark, aka The Ultimate Doomer, made his debut splash in 2001 with his solo megaWAD, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/02/fragport-fragportwad.html">Fragport</a></b>, but he had previously made an eight-map <b>Doom</b> episode called <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/m-o/op-lite2">Operation: Lightning</a></b>. Somewhere down the line he converted it to <b>Doom II</b> and added three more levels. While it was finished mid-2000, Clark didn't publish it until early 2002, once he saw some positive feedback for <b>Fragport</b>. <b>OP-LITE2</b> replaces MAP01-MAP12 with the final map merely being an episode bumper to keep you from coasting into the regular <b>Doom II</b> campaign. It is as far as I know vanilla-compatible and should function correctly in the source port of your choice.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/myk8gawaxtfp5rm/op-lite201a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/myk8gawaxtfp5rm/op-lite201a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You are Jody Russell, Codename: KILLCRAZY, the ultimate space marine. In the year 2099 a planetary base - I have no idea which planet, but I doubt it's supposed to be Earth - has gone radio silent concurrent with an unusual increase in aberrant weather phenomenon. Namely, electrical storms are ravaging the planet's surface. You are part of a swift strike team sent in via discreet marine pods (a la <b>Quake II</b>) when the lightning starts to take out your fellow soldiers, one by one. A damaged transport clips yours and sends you spinning out of control. While you were knocked out, your erratic descent probably saved your life. It's only after you land that you realize what has claimed control of the base - the aliens from hell!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h9x6vlcsmvuq2m1/op-lite202f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h9x6vlcsmvuq2m1/op-lite202f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Operation: Lightning</b> is in many ways more of the same sort of level design that Clark brought to the table for <b>Fragport</b>. The author aimed to tell a single, contiguous narrative and did so by ending each level with the beginning of the next. Your whirlwind tour will take you through a sprawling military base in search of the dreaded "lightning generator" weapon before taking the fight to space and the ship that the monsters arrived on. It's also pockmarked with bits of realism in <b>Doom</b> like an abundance of switch-activated doors, sector toilets, and computer kiosks. "The Great Outdoors" (MAP06) is an entire military base complete with dormitories, a mess hall, and even a recreational football field. "Habitation Decks" (MAP10) is half of the starship and has both crew and officer quarters as well as a bar, lounge, and bridge.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/28388j5mb9vqena/op-lite203c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/28388j5mb9vqena/op-lite203c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my review of <b>Fragport</b> I wrote about how some authors during the source port boom borrowed elements from subsequent first-person shooters in an attempt to elevate or otherwise renew <b>Doom</b>. Clark's megaWAD had some crazy stuff but <b>OP-LITE2</b> is more apparent in what it is trying to borrow from. The story isn't just shades of <b>Quake II</b>; the SMC Drop Pod devices figure in at the start of the set and then appear sporadically through the episode's first half. The attempt to physically link everything together is about as close as you can get to a vanillafied hub system without going the route that TUD did for his "Arena" levels. It's also clear that Clark was chuffed with his "Alphabet Texture", which allowed him to easily add words to structures with a direct comparison to <b>Duke Nukem 3D</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2zjfrkseflemo6d/op-lite204b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2zjfrkseflemo6d/op-lite204b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The more mundane locales are representative of the sort of environments seen in <b>Duke3D</b> as well as <b>Half-Life</b>, the latter of which is specifically mentioned as a favorite by Stephen. I think that Freemen's adventures also influence <b>Operation: Lightning</b> in those places where the player must take an alternative route to a blocked path, like "Blackout!" (MAP07). There are a fair number of interactive bits beyond door buttons. In "Fear Factory" (MAP03), you methodically shut down an industrial poison production facility, including draining its storage vats. Later on, "Control Center" (MAP08) ends with you shutting down the station's data servers. During your adventures you are going to have to blow up two separate reactors which includes, among other things, opening up their protective shielding.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vb6eajg0650z4k1/op-lite206d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vb6eajg0650z4k1/op-lite206d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fragport</b> also had a crazy MAP32 called "The Crystal Maze" that crammed in something like twelve challenges that had to be solved under a time limit. Sometimes this was as mundane as a switch hunt under duress from monsters. At others you had to navigate mazes or obstacle courses requiring precise movement. These sorts of things were all evidenced in the main body of the megaWAD but in toned-down forms, giving <b>Fragport</b> a generally grounded execution of its gameplay. <b>Operation: Lightning</b> has them all mixed in with their full glory, however. At its absolute nadir this dovetails with another one of Clark's level design quirks, the switch scavenger hunt.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xdlbckkzldlnjf3/op-lite205a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xdlbckkzldlnjf3/op-lite205a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Progression in many of these levels is stymied by a single path with as many as eleven effective barriers across it. Each blockade is removed by a button that has been placed - though not necessarily buried - somewhere in the level. In the case of "Blackout!", you will likely encounter them while navigating the darkened layout, only to return after you've restored power to both the lights and them. Which, I guess, isn't that far removed from Sverre Kvernmo's "Darkdome" from <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/11/eternal-doom-eternalwad.html">Eternal Doom</a></b> (MAP12). "Blue In the Maze" (MAP05) is a special level of Hell, however, as each button located in the maze grants access to one of a row of switches in the labyrinth's center. These in turn remove their color-coded barriers, allowing you to scour the maze anew in search of the next switch.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/r1263gybrosqgyp/op-lite207d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/r1263gybrosqgyp/op-lite207d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of these levels - "Control Centre" - isn't that far removed from "Crystal Maze" insofar as it is mostly a hodgepodge of obstacle courses. Except, uh, the pattern-dependent labyrinth in <b>Fragport</b>'s MAP32 didn't kill you if you messed up. "Disaster Area" (MAP04) features a similar level segment as an intermission; the immersion-breaking light bridge theme sort of clues you in to the fact that something weird is up. It's far less severe in comparison, however, in spite of featuring death-dealing illusio-pits. The invisible maze is fairly simple to grope your way through and the red key room is a classic case of adventure game principles applied to <b>Doom</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/18dpuo3503yovyo/op-lite208f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/18dpuo3503yovyo/op-lite208f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am more annoyed by MAP04's multiple save-or-die scenarios. The previously-mentioned pits are a part of it. The savvy marine can spot them on the automap but won't have any idea what they are unless stumbled into. The tunnel segments that collapse into lava are more obnoxious given how Clark's level design drives you to play more cautiously. I was also perturbed by the fact that the floor of the six-way intersection actually consists of razor-thin walkways, the nature of which - like the pits - isn't obvious from the automap. "Disaster Area" additionally features an escape sequence that carries a far more immediate threat than anything in <b>Fragport</b> as the entire ceiling of the current level segment caves in slow-crusher-style.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/fzzou7uxnxv2klk/op-lite209c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/fzzou7uxnxv2klk/op-lite209c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's a neat narrative moment, though, and one that is similarly executed in "Lightning Reactor" (MAP09). <b>Fragport</b>'s sole "evacuate" moment was reserved for its finale, "Escape!" (MAP30), and it did not have anything near as showy a murder mechanism as a torrent of crushing ceilings. As you play through <b>Operation: Lightning</b>'s MAP11 you will see another storytelling bit that also appeared in <b>Fragport</b>. Here, the element occurs on a much smaller scale as one of the spaceship's water storage tanks springs a leak, slowly flooding the room as you explore until you can access the exit. In <b>Fragport</b>'s MAP03 ("Durncrag Mines") Clark uses it to fill an entire cavern and tunnel system making for a memorable vanilla experience.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/erwjmo53trrh35y/op-lite210d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/erwjmo53trrh35y/op-lite210d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>OP-LITE2</b> gives users three visible difficulty settings. Continuous players will have a ball but pistol starters will want to steer clear of "Suicidal Tendencies" unless you are looking for a survivalist challenge. Much like <b>Fragport</b>, you may have to do some scrapping for guns and ammo and conserve the latter through judicious chainsaw / Berserk usage. I don't think that there is anything quite so obnoxious as the arch-vile backed ambush in the megaWAD's MAP24 ("Balanced Chaos"). It is of great benefit to know where critical supplies both secret and not are and the sometimes open-ended layouts - like "Habitation Decks" (MAP10) - have little interest in guiding you to them.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/yc0peqi85qix1i6/op-lite211c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/yc0peqi85qix1i6/op-lite211c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The styles of encounters are similar to a lot of <b>Fragport</b>'s incidental fighting but the megaWAD had a distinct flavor from the way in which its city encounters were paced. <b>Operation: Lightning</b> only has one really big outside level, "The Great Outdoors", and Clark doesn't bother to meter out hordes of monsters as you make progress. It all comes at the end in a massive, invasive assault with plenty of enemy variation such that it's nearly impossible to be sure of whether a chaingunner is about to round a corner while you aren't looking. <b>OP-LITE2</b> does go big with a revenant horde on at least one occasion but if this set is weighted toward any one particular encounter style then it's running into single monsters in cramped mazes. MAP01, MAP02, MAP05, MAP09, and MAP11 are dominated by this but MAP07 gets an honorable mention for not being able to see more than a foot away for most of the action.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jtg6i8iju6lbmdj/op-lite208d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jtg6i8iju6lbmdj/op-lite208d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Between <b>Fragport</b> and <b>Operation: Lightning</b>, the former is much easier to recommend to the casual player. While visually plain, the greatest excesses of Clark's idiosyncrasies are reigned in or otherwise exiled to "Crystal Maze". If you're more interested in bearing witness to unrestrained author impulse, however, then <b>OP-LITE2</b> is a great case study. Amongst all the mazes and military mundanities you will find some cool tricks that are nonetheless impractical or unwieldy for regular use. On two occasions that I know of, Stephen uses a barrel that is propelled by another exploding barrel to trigger a walkover linedef. He also uses little ladder / staircase features in MAP02 to simulate some kind of crate-hopping mantle action. The main premise of "Blackout!" sucks to fight through but I'm amazed at how TUD carefully sets things up so that the entire complex is lit back up - with switches enabled - upon exiting the power room. It's impressive when Clark's imagination overlaps seamlessly with the boundaries of the vanilla executable.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8ca5ds432kudxys/op-lite202a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8ca5ds432kudxys/op-lite202a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, well, <b>Operation: Lightning</b> is clearly Stephen's brainchild. Whatever influences and homages that may exist are less apparent to me than in <b>Fragport</b>, the overall character of which clearly drew from <b>Doom II</b>'s MAP13 ("Downtown"). The most obvious thing here would be Leo Martin Lim's <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/06/uacdeadwad-doomsday-of-uac.html">UAC_DEAD</a></b> since Clark cites the end-of-level shuttle as something he cribbed, both here in MAP10 and MAP11 as well as <b>Fragport</b>'s MAP22 and MAP30. I feel that you can also read the cargo container exterior area of Lim's work in a similar location explored at the start of MAP02. I dunno whether a similar encounter setup in the Nathrath / Hermans <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/05/eternitywad-eternity.html">Eternity</a></b> episode is intentional but it would be appropriate since they're from the same general era. Rounding out things is an obvious supercharged take on "Tower of Babel" at the end of what would have presumably been E2M8 in the original lineup.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ial0byesz6na77x/op-lite201f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ial0byesz6na77x/op-lite201f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you are up for mazes and monsters with the occasional deathtrap or two then you'll find all this and more in <b>Operation: Lightning</b>. I'd also recommend it if you loved <b>Fragport</b> and want more of the same. Given how hard Stephen tried to extend vanilla <b>Doom</b>'s scripting capabilities, I'm interested to see where he takes ZDoom with <b>007: License to Spell Doom</b>.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/m-o/op-lite2"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">OPERATION: LIGHTNING</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Stephen Clark aka "The Ultimate Doomer"</b></div><br />
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<tr><th>Chainstorm</th><th>MAP01</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>Umm. This is a Berserk fist level. It starts out with a scene-setting pod crashed into a building and then sinks into the morass of a switch hunt in an enormous sewer network. For some reason, the naturalistic slope at the beginning and the massive tunnel system brings <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2012/10/tnt-evilution-tntwad.html">TNT Evilution</a></b>'s MAP22 ("Habitat") to my mind. I kind of like the way that the cacodemons are used as miniboss switch guardians. The labyrinth is deadly dull, though. Breaking through rewards you with a quick key sequence where an outer rim of imps rains fireballs from afar. One of the key wings leads to yet another maze, except it's extremely cramped. On the other side, you are given the opportunity to use a chaingun to take out the Baron boss. I like the look of the ravine area on the north end of the level and how you're routed around it.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/w6ai9m1nz0ouzzu/op-lite201d.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/w6ai9m1nz0ouzzu/op-lite201d.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP02</th><th>Heat Storage</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/uozmzgncx8w6jh1/op-lite202c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/uozmzgncx8w6jh1/op-lite202c.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>A switch / key hunt that takes place inside an enormous warehouse. The opening has strong <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/06/uacdeadwad-doomsday-of-uac.html">UAC_DEAD</a></b> vibes what with the wrecked semi-trailers. Pistol start players will be subjected to a hearty ambush that flushes them out into an outdoor yard that's full of beasties. There's plenty of room to let infighting do most of your work, however, giving you the ammo to make a confident foray into the storage facility. The warehouse is expansive and has multiple tiers for the player to run across so while it may take a good bit to fully explore it's generally engaging.<br /><br />The three keys open up annexes for the player to pick through, one of which - the red key jaunt - is barely a thought. The worst injustice is having to use the regular shotgun and / or chaingun in order to kill two arch-viles, the second of which is kind of tricky. It uses a similar gimmick to something Clark would do in <b>Fragport</b>'s MAP14 ("Urban Wasteland"), however. Those monster closets aren't just there for hiding the imps! I really enjoy the novelty of the hanging stair / ladder constructions that you have to leap to, feeling a bit parkourish.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Fear Factory</th><th>MAP03</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>An appreciably large complex, the most important detail perhaps being the appearance of the combat shotgun. This naturally signals a shift from the OG <b>Doom</b> combat that this set was built for, at least in terms of how the player's weapons pace encounters. Clark is in a more interactive mood, here, as your progression involves material objectives like shutting down the poison factory bit by bit. The most innovative thing I see done here is using the trajectory of barrels that are propelled by other exploding barrels to trigger a walkover line. There are a lot of monsters to take out with the chaingun and shotgun and includes more than a few arch-viles. The chainsaw and Berserk are available toward the beginning, however, and I'd make use of them when possible. The monster health / ammo ratio is actually rather tight, especially if you can't figure out / get locked out of the two machine room shell packs.<br /><br />Of all the fights here, the most satisfying to me was the eastern mancubus encounter. It will probably be deadly dull to many players as it's a horde to be killed with the regular shotty. The erratic firing patterns of the group when combined make for an engaging dodging exercise, however. The coolest battle - and I imagine more compelling for thrill-seekers - is the big reveal in the octagon chamber. I like how Clark more or less forces you to rush in for cover. The arch-vile guard booths were built here first, I suppose, but are almost identical to the ones seen in <b>Fragport</b>'s MAP12 ("Pipe Factory").</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s6cxg6xxpb51a4u/op-lite203a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s6cxg6xxpb51a4u/op-lite203a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP04</th><th>Disaster Area</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/773x5p5s3fj1o3b/op-lite204e.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/773x5p5s3fj1o3b/op-lite204e.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Deathtraps abound in this grueling gauntlet. The opening battle feels just like any other TUD open-air firefight, but then you snag the rocket launcher and see a hole form about you. This level is falling apart, some bits more violently - and unexpectedly - than others. The entire ceiling of one hub becomes a morass of slow crushers, sure to kill first-time players. There are a few tunnels that collapse into certain death pits which will probably kill you as the only way to escape them is to rush forward. Less lethal obstructions include the sort of falling ceiling door actions that Clark used so prominently in <b>Fragport</b>'s MAP30 ("Escape!").<br /><br />There's a totally different side to the sort of pitfalls that you encounter here, however. The six-way nexus of corridors that follows the crusher hub is navigated by a very narrow catwalk, which you can't see at first because the lights are turned down low. It links together four different rooms, all of which involve the kind of problem-solving exemplified in "Crystal Maze" from <b>Fragport</b> (MAP32). There's an invisible maze as well as a sort of trial-and-error mire of illusio-pits, the latter handily navigated via the marine's automap.<br /><br />When it isn't trying to trick-fuck you then the combat is decent. There are some potentially nasty fights, though, particularly the lock-in catwalk battle that seems to be descended from <b>Eternity</b>'s E1M2 ("The Fat Imp Sings Your Blues". The sheer number of monsters on both sides spells <b>Doom</b> for a player with little health. There's also an arch-vile lurking in an underground command center who is just plain awkward to fight given the low cubicle walls and his zombie underlings. The rocket launcher can ease the pain of both these fights... supposing that you didn't squander your ordnance.<br /><br />Most of the architecture consists of big, rectilinear humdrum realistic base stuff but the underground nexus has a neat VR look to it. I also like the big eastern cavern that sports the <b>Operation: Lightning</b> logo. The huge, bleacher-like staircase that kicks off the final sequence makes for a neat visual.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Blue In the Maze</th><th>MAP05</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>The ultimate contest of wills. The entirety of this level consists of a blue techmaze rendered in glorious strobe-o-vision. The only monsters found within the maze are specters, to be safely dispatched with the offered chainsaw. The center of the maze contains a chamber with six color-coordinated pillars and switch alcoves. Each is linked to a network of blocking poles that restricts your movement through the maze. You must scour the labyrinth for a switch which then opens up one of the alcoves in the central hub. Using the now accessible secondary switch raises all of the corresponding poles in the maze.<br /><br />This is about as exciting as it sounds. The maze is so large and there are so many poles that you're just fumbling around for the first few steps. The hub has a couple of Barons prowling around but they're not too hard to run past and ignore until you unlock the big guns with the final button. One of the more baffling segments has a large room with a damage floor maze that's staffed with a ton of specters. I don't know of a more exciting (and not frustrating) solution than to park yourself at the door and turn yourself into a buzzsaw. If ever there was a map to skip in <b>Operation: Lightning</b>, then it's this one.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gb5cer5h593uy21/op-lite205c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gb5cer5h593uy21/op-lite205c.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP06</th><th>The Great Outdoors</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/v9ud4at74po5iev/op-lite206a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/v9ud4at74po5iev/op-lite206a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>A sprawling level with a vast, plain, outdoor area that has a handful of moderately-sized buildings to explore. It's supposed to be some kind of military base and has facilities like a store, a data hub, and a bar. There are a few recreational areas as well, namely a football field and tennis court. There's a lot of ground to cover and a lot of distance for hitscanners to snipe you over. Weapons will be an additional point of confusion; while logically positioned, they're difficult to spot.<br /><br />The first part of the map is a big ol' Clark switch hunt that lowers the systematic barriers to the northwest tower. You'll have to visit all of the initially accessible buildings before moving between the locked ones. None of the incidental combat stands out but your exploratory forays will carry a slight air of panic due to the spread-out monsters. The most memorable "encounter" is highly telegraphed a la <b>Fragport</b>'s MAP28 ("Sub-Level 05") where you can literally read the writing on the wall. It's a huge teleporter invasion and the mix of monsters does a great job of distracting you with panic-inducing pain elementals. The design of the central, hexagonal courtyard ensures that there is a sizable contingent lying in wait after you've fended off the first wave.<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><th>Blackout!</th><th>MAP07</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>Here, you navigate your way through a vast techbase with the lights turned off. Some areas are slightly less difficult to navigate in the pitch black darkness but it's still an eyestrain-inducing exercise. This is the ultimate environment for specters, who are effectively invisible. Clark uses the majority of the bestiary, however, so be prepared to get sucker punched by everything not under the sun.<br /><br />The entire level is building up to the moment where you turn the power back on, of course. The arch-vile showdown is simple enough when you finally make it there. The fact that this has far-reaching mechanical implications is a feat of vanilla engineering. The lights really do come back on everywhere and all of the previously inert switches are energized. You know what that means - scavenger hunt! There are something like eleven numbered buttons littered throughout the map and each one raises a segment of the bridge to the exit. This is yet another one of Clark's feats of agility. The tightrope has a back-and-forth construction that is meant to enable you to dodge rockets from the Cyberdemon sitting across the other side.<br /></td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jgunog4c17p86uj/op-lite207a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jgunog4c17p86uj/op-lite207a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP08</th><th>Control Centre</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/cyu4lg0d4wikp63/op-lite208a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/cyu4lg0d4wikp63/op-lite208a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>This has far more of an aura of "Tricks and Traps" and explores a lot of the same ground that Clark would go on to hone in <b>Fragport</b>'s "Crystal Maze". It's mostly abstract and while you get glimpses of the "Control Centre" the level has more the air about it of some sadistic experiment. Twice you'll have to dodge Cyberdemon rockets using regularly-spaced alcoves. There is a color-coded telefrag maze with a relatively intuitive solution. At least, it's the first one that I thought of in the absence of any obvious clues. There's also a super-painful 20% damage floor maze, something we already saw in MAP05, just without as much backtracking through it.<br /><br />The combat is overtuned for chainsaw / Berserk fisting. If you aren't careful with your ammo then it's going to get you somewhere down the line during a full clear. Like, say, the pain elemental / cacodemon fountain room. There are a lot of great places for surgical BFG strikes, that being one of them. The pace is very slow and while the pushing mazes are a part of it, the overabundance of lost soul cavalcade ambushes is just as much to blame.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Lightning Reactor</th><th>MAP09</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>The majority of this level is a relatively straightforward maze of flashing lights that's sort of like part of the <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i> light show. The key is that it's all 20% damage floor and is divided into color-coded areas. Moving onto the next shade is how you progress but each segment has its own rad suit. If you want to survive, then don't move on until you grab the current area's enviro powerup. The finale inside the reactor core itself is super straightforward with the BFG but has a bit of Clark's vanilla-scripting that can easily soft-lock you. Blasting the reactor uses the barrel-line trick from MAP03 to open up the viewing gallery window for your escape. It's a cycling lift action, however, and if you let the moment pass then you will be stuck as there's no way to activate it again. The finale is another collapsing building gimmick a la MAP04 that flushes you into a heavily-armed four-Cyberdemon "Tower of Babel" on steroids arrangement.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ok9iep23lrdal1j/op-lite209b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ok9iep23lrdal1j/op-lite209b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP10</th><th>Habitation Decks</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xchazivavci07xf/op-lite210c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xchazivavci07xf/op-lite210c.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>This is a spaceship level and roughly analogous to Clark's "Monad" from <b>Fragport</b> (MAP23). You have an expanse of wide hallways that are populated by bruiser monsters connecting some spread out starship facilities. Your end goal is the bridge but you have both the green key and a switch scavenger hunt in the way. You can't possibly know this from the start but it will be worth your while to make a beeline for the officer quarters. The ammo, cell weapons, and automap will help you pick your way through the rest of the damage sponges. There's nothing much new in the realistic accoutrements; I've seen Stephen do most of this stuff before, just in more cramped arrangements. The big exception is the observation deck which is, admittedly, cool. Also, if I never see another strobe maze again for the rest of my life, it'll be too soon.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Engineering Decks</th><th>MAP11</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>A dingy, overstuffed network of cramped passageways that occasionally skirts a cavernous cavity within the ship. The opening is a messy, hornet's nest type start. You'll be sadly disappointed when you see the WEAPONS room and make a beeline only to discover that it's where they keep the ship's missiles. There's another nearby bait and switch, too, where the REST ROOM has all of the off-duty zombies packed inside.<br /><br />The combat is a methodical grind. The lack of maneuvering space - and ammo - prompts the player to move tactically, drawing out monsters one by one. This is particularly evident in three similarly-arranged rooms, one with water vats, the next bearing what I can only describe as fuel intake chutes, and the last a massive piston chamber. The vats at least has a gimmick that Clark would use more impressively in <b>Fragport</b>'s MAP03 ("Durncrag Mines") where it gradually floods. The ponderous pacing also extends to the final maze of the set, the yellow-and-black CONDUIT, and its morass of imps, revenants, chaingunners, and specters. Hopefully you didn't blow all of your ammo on the control room full of pain elementals; the secret BFG and double packs of shells is a godsend.<br /><br />Somehow in all this Clark managed to squeeze in a boss shooter. We've seen most of the disparate gimmicks employed before, but this time they're stitched together in an impressive obstacle course. TUD has prepared you for pretty much every bit of these pitfalls, with the Cyberdemon zigzag tightrope walk appearing at the end of MAP07. Most of these perils are obvious, but I have to laugh at the subtlety of the Baron at the end of the crusher concourse.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/nxxv33yasl8j42m/op-lite211a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/nxxv33yasl8j42m/op-lite211a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP12</th><th>Quit the Game!</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9a0wh1r8qbnzfnm/op-lite212.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9a0wh1r8qbnzfnm/op-lite212.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Just a friendly reminder that <b>Operation: Lightning</b> is officially over.</td></tr>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">HIGHWAY TO THE</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">"O" ZONE</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-73914360415638464822022-03-11T08:14:00.001-06:002022-03-11T08:14:27.764-06:00Gredna (GREDNA.WAD)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c86ejulaihu3z6n/grednat.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c86ejulaihu3z6n/grednat.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Doomworld Forum superstar Memfis has made a bunch of small, individual releases. They span a variety of genres from relatively easy opening-map-to-megaWAD works to difficult, challenge-oriented levels. He covers a variety of themes but his favorite consists of tributes to community classic works like the <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/04/mmwad-memento-mori.html">Memento Mori</a></b> series and <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2018/08/2002-doom-odyssey-2002ad10wad.html">2002: A Doom Odyssey</a></b>. There's some overlap between these and the MAP01 constructions because, well, many of these WADs exist because Memfis sat down to build a '96-'97 inspired megaWAD and then lost focus early on. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/g-i/gredna">Gredna</a></b>, originally published on the Doomworld forums on July of 2013, is one such aborted project. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that this is the work that the previously-released <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/silent-halls-silhallswad.html">Silent Halls</a></b> was cut from. <b>Gredna</b> replaces MAP01 and MAP02 and should be good for play in any limit-removing source port.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1yoi2e9vmnpvkyq/gredna01b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1yoi2e9vmnpvkyq/gredna01b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The author did not include a plot but it appears that the player character has arrived at some variety of Hell-corrupted base, perhaps an inviting target due to some sort of large-scale teleport technology. There's no telling how the whole thing would have played out; maybe Memfis would have used the larger, walk-through portals in order to facilitate episodic / texture-scheme changes. As far as the title goes, <b>Gredna</b> is Memfis at his most inscrutable. He is more than welcome to chime in but I doubt whether it is an anagram for an English word like "danger" or "ranged". The release thread - which is difficult to find because the title does not appear on its own in any of the posts - makes a reference to a magical girl with a drill on her head. If this is a reference to a particular manga then, well, it's more esoteric than my admittedly myopic (and classically-oriented) ouevre.</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/daverl7cd1fmgtb/gredna02a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/daverl7cd1fmgtb/gredna02a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Memfis has ideas about how he wants to accomplish difficulty in the opening of mapsets vs. something like <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2018/11/sticky-blood-stckblodwad.html">Sticky Blood</a></b> or <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2021/02/love-you-with-poison-luwpwad.html">Love You With Poison</a></b> that just goes right for the throat. This MAP01-oriented difficulty limits its monsters to <b>Doom</b> trash enemies - zombies, shotgun guys, imps, and demons - and implements resource scarcity to drive the player to make every shot count. There's an element of difficulty resulting from the player's metagame, here, as you will open yourself up to more RNG pops from hitscanners if you measure out their existence with the pistol vs. the shotgun. Health is just as precious a resource in this style, so the effect of conserving one capacity results in the other's dwindling.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gy3r6t8sa4tn2tq/gredna02c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gy3r6t8sa4tn2tq/gredna02c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These are slightly more than a couple of short, pretty maps, if only by so much. "Intrusion" (MAP01) has a couple of significant teleporter ambushes to weather, the first being the most dangerous. It's also party to a neat interactive bit where you turn on a larger vertical gateway to move on to the next location. I really like MAP02. The opening sequence with the imp at your back spurring you forward to a shotgun that leaps out of reach a la Tantalus is great. I also enjoy the ordered collapsing of walls toward the beginning and end of the map, creating a tunnel to the next area as well as making for a cool visual. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gty0oq7srbl3aay/gredna02d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gty0oq7srbl3aay/gredna02d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It would have been great to see <b>Gredna</b> build to the sort of epics that occupied the mid-to-late portions of <b>Memento Mori</b>, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/05/memento-mori-ii-mm2wad.html">MM2</a></b>, and <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/11/requiem-requiemwad.html">Requiem</a></b>, but such was not its fate. We still get a couple of fun dalliances, though, so if you're up for a little light cleaning then you ought to give them a play.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/g-i/gredna"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">GREDNA</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by "Memfis"</b></div><br />
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<tr><th>Intrusion</th><th>MAP01</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>A wicked cool MAP01 for a megaWAD with a classic mid-'90s feel, I guess because stepping through the gate feels like the start of a massive campaign. The setting is a corrupted techbase whose walls are predominantly green, whether it's tech plating, giant bricks, or dingy tiles. Combat is limited to <b>Doom</b> trash monsters and most of the difficulty is through a relatively restricted health supply. Memfis does have a few surprise ambushes that are sure to land a shotgun guy sucker punch or two. The big brawl with the teleporter booth is probably about as frantic as the combat feels as the warping monsters misdirect you from their origin. The outdoor gate and transition to Gothic brick Hell zone makes for a nice coda.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/f8ro0o8dc675phn/gredna01c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/f8ro0o8dc675phn/gredna01c.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP02</th><th>Underhalls</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s34o9pqcy37ceta/gredna02b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s34o9pqcy37ceta/gredna02b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>A brick dungeon that intersects some natural caverns and kicks off with a handful of classically dickish design decisions. The player starts with an imp at his or her back - which you won't know until it tears your ass up - and there's a shotgun dead ahead. Run toward the shotgun and it shoots up into the air on a pedestal. While it doesn't continually yank the player around a la <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/11/strainwad.html">S.T.R.A.I.N.</a></b>'s MAP10 ("Entryway") it does have a cool payoff. Lowering the pedestal also causes a tunnel to form, leading the way to the rest of the level proper. Combat is again mostly influenced by authorial austerity. Memfis generally sticks to <b>Doom</b> trash enemies but you may have to swat a cacodemon or two over the course of the level. There's a little bit of Darkwave0000-style scene setting glimpsed through a window in the northwestern area, always appreciated.</td></tr>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">CODE GREDNA</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-23848847416939428902022-03-05T21:33:00.003-06:002022-11-05T06:26:35.687-05:00One Humanity (ONE-HUMANITY.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">ONE HUMANITY</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by John Romero</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zu5jhb6skbs43qz/one-humanity01a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zu5jhb6skbs43qz/one-humanity01a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. John Romero had been working on the beginnings of his <b>Doom II</b> follow-up to <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/06/sigil-sigilwad.html">Sigil</a></b>. After the start of the invasion, he elected to release a teaser as a purchasable download on his website, <a href="https://romero.com/">Romero.com</a>, with all proceeds supporting humanitarian aid in Ukraine through the Red Cross and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund. If you wish to help in this particular fashion then you can download <b><a href="https://romero.com/shop/p/onehumanity">One Humanity</a></b> for five euros. Like <b>Sigil</b>, this MAP01 replacement is meant to be played in any limit-removing port. The key differences are that it's for <b>Doom II</b> and - as a demo, more or less - it has no wicked cool soundtrack, Buckethead or otherwise. After such a wicked cool 2019 episode, well, D_RUNNIN just doesn't cut the mustard.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/a5sqs3p5ztdhpa4/one-humanity01b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/a5sqs3p5ztdhpa4/one-humanity01b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you were hoping to be eased into <b>Doom II</b> then, well, think again! If the .TXT file is anything to go by then this is possibly the prospective MAP05 of the full project (S2MAP05). As far as action goes, <b>One Humanity</b> kicks off at or above the same average level of difficulty seen in <b>Sigil</b>. The style is essentially Romero - what a surprise! - with a sort of "Circle of Death" / "The Living End" design, the theme also running throughout <b>Sigil</b> to some extent. You start out roughly in the center of the level in an exposed position with ledges of imps and chaingunners serving both as foils as well as future destinations. Oh, and the miserable platform that you open on has two imps and a Hell knight to hold you up. John's peripheral enemy placement excels at leaving the player feeling exposed.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bfgg2qk8j0idsao/one-humanity01c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bfgg2qk8j0idsao/one-humanity01c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a challenging <b>Doom II</b> level, fraught with hitscanners. Attrition is a constant concern all the way up until the final area and its prominently-displayed invul sphere. There's an early bottleneck at the very first walkway toward the red key door and the following warehouse has another morass of inhumanity to wade through. These hold points come with avenues of attack from the same areas as the opening platform, just through narrower channels so as to leave the player with a false sense of security. This is in addition to more immediate stressors, like a caged commando. A later edge-skirting ledge leaves your ankles exposed to a zombie pillbox, forcing you to rush on ahead into entrenched opposition. All of these snipers are likely to be the death of you.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gc50g9egoxwlw3v/one-humanity01d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gc50g9egoxwlw3v/one-humanity01d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Romero's big power move involves dumping two Cyberdemons in the now bifurcated floor pool. These water hazards don't need to be directly engaged in order to complete the level but they do restrict how you move around the already constrained ledges and walkways. If you aren't hugging the outer walls then you run the risk of eating some level of splash damage. I found this most likely to occur on the central starting platform, for whatever reason. The Cyberdemons also make the previously accommodating lower tier magnitudes more dangerous to hang out in, effectively removing it as a bailout / escape path if things get too hairy.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h5euotvmbouw0mb/one-humanity01e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h5euotvmbouw0mb/one-humanity01e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The warehouse is one of two wicked cool destinations you visit over the level's action. Romero has a devious trap of perceived necessity that leads to a crazy, corpse-walled cavity and its arch-vile architect. It will likely seem like a horrifyingly random death on a clean slate playthrough but, gentle reader, there is a nearby secret BFG that will all but assure your victory. This has the added benefit of you not getting hammered by the hitscanners from the other side .of the cage wall while you freak out with the SSG. This is where John starts to tickle the player's secret senses as well as subverting expectations. One discolored wall leads to a substantial hidden area with the aforementioned BFG where the next, "obvious" pathway leaves you utterly exposed to a crowd of shotgun guys.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s1i7gjzf6tan7t0/one-humanity01f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s1i7gjzf6tan7t0/one-humanity01f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I actually missed the author quietly revealing a switch behind me at first, I guess because I rushed to open the not-secret-wall. The button opens up the primary route to the flooded basement, making combat much more manageable. I wonder if this is going to become an element of <b>Sigil 2</b> - seeking out safer, alternative routes, that is. I imagine that the high road is still relevant for speed runners and the like. Between that and the substantial secret area, I'm pretty stoked to see how Romero develops the element of exploration. The eye-switches felt like a fairly sanitized or streamlined way to get the player to look off the beaten path.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mq2dnl4p8hb2lfv/one-humanity01g.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mq2dnl4p8hb2lfv/one-humanity01g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of which, the shootable eye switches appear and are the primary progression mechanism, echoing their prominence in "Baphomet's Demesne" (E5M1). This also suggests some continuity between this and <b>Sigil</b>'s story of a postponed reckoning. They must be triggered in order to raise walkways connecting the current area to the next or open critical doors. In the later portions of E5, familiarity with the design language assured easy access to some of its secrets. I hope that <b>Sigil 2</b> is no different. I have no idea whether Romero will design the <b>Doom II</b> set to break in new players as forcefully as he did with E5M1. I imagine that returners who have experienced <b>Sigil</b> vastly outnumber folks who are newly drawn in by <b>One Humanity</b>, thus requiring less a training course and more a refresher.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oe16wifnxncw0aq/one-humanity01h.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oe16wifnxncw0aq/one-humanity01h.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other familiar trapping consists of the fragmenting reality style that started with <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2016/04/tech-gone-bad-e1m8bwad.html">Tech Gone Bad</a></b>'s cherry-red cracks and proliferated throughout <b>Sigil</b>. The circumscribed pentagrams that debuted in E5M1 and figured into "Halls of Perdition" (E5M8) appear in the final area. The star has been tweaked, however, to better represent the traditional shape of Baphomet's head as seen on <b>Sigil</b>'s TITLEPIC. I'm intrigued by the presentation. Pentagrams are ancient symbols of protection and have become associated with Satanic iconography as a necessary means of containing demonic entities while consorting with them. Here, an invul sphere is found in the center of the pentagram and retrieving it both opens up the exit and summons a Baron protectorate at the star's points. It seems as though Doomguy is drawing power from the seal. Time will tell if this the implementation of another design feature.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s6nsgw2vvux00u8/one-humanity01i.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s6nsgw2vvux00u8/one-humanity01i.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Sigil</b> occured in some sort of a crumbling pocket universe and had more of a gothic, E4 look outside of dalliances like the substation-like structure in E5M9 ("Realm of Iblis"). <b>One Humanity</b> more resembles a confluence of our reality and nightmarish intrusions from Hell. The arch-vile murder pit and burned-out pentagram room are major examples of this phenomenon but there are a number of smaller details that show two worlds connecting at the seams. The warped door right behind the starting platform is one, as is an Icon marble pad that protrudes out from under the northwestern wall. The real-world spaces - the warehouse and the computer station to the northwest - ground the setting as some kind of ruined starbase. I also see it as a bit of a cityscape, too, mostly because the elevated playing area has sort of a tall building / skyscraper feel to me. The abstract metal structures that the opening catwalk winds through don't really resemble anything in particular but could easily be representative of any dingy futuristic infrastructure, industrial or otherwise.</div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9ztjkavbtlv7ylr/one-humanity01j.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9ztjkavbtlv7ylr/one-humanity01j.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had no idea what <b>Sigil 2</b> was going to look like but this teaser has got me excited, to say the least. There are so many more game-changing monsters for Romero to play with and the design directions point toward some interesting departures from his celebrated <b>Sigil</b> episode. There's a lot to speculate about based on this limited selection but for now I'll have to be content to wait for John to continue his craft. If you've enjoyed Romero's work at all then you won't be disappointed with <b>One Humanity</b>.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://romero.com/shop/p/onehumanity"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sm1ninoize6rowh/pending.gif" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://doomwiki.org/wiki/One_Humanity"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wtjtbffr6r8szg5/doomwiki.png" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>MIDNIGHT</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>IT'S ALL NIGHT</b></span></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-74684074515918031592022-02-27T07:12:00.002-06:002022-04-20T15:11:06.571-05:00Fragport (FRAGPORT.WAD)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/w1ga3fl30yzlbhr/fragportt.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/w1ga3fl30yzlbhr/fragportt.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stephen Clark. Newstuff reviewer, ZDoom guru, The Ultimate Doomer. All of Clark's critical successes - <b>007: License to Spell Doom</b>, <b>Super Sonic Doom</b>, and <b>Serpent: Resurrection</b> - were ZDoom releases. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/fragport">Fragport</a></b>, his debut, is a little different. Conceived for vanilla <b>Doom II</b>, Stephen tried to leverage as many tricks as he could think of in order to show just how hard the original executable could cook. Sure, some suspension of disbelief is required, but that is generally the nature of the beast when it comes to doing anything complex in DOOM2.EXE. <b>Fragport</b> was originally released in 2001 and it is a full game replacement. I've seen it passed around the internet as BOOMSKY, much to my confusion. In the absence of any clarifying information I would stick to the official version found on /idgames.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2mb4xn8qjdw2h2p/fragport01a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2mb4xn8qjdw2h2p/fragport01a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fragport</b> has a plot that is framed in the .TXT, elaborated on in the text screens, and told throughout as an implied narrative in the action of each level. You are space marine Jody Russell, codename "Kill Crazy" (no relation to <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2018/06/codename-hyena-killer-machine-hyenawad.html">Killer Machine</a></b>, I'm sure). Somewhere on Earth is a remote city named Fragport - there's the megaWAD title - and it has recently lost all contact with civilization. More worrisome is the fact that the last transmission bore "hellish screams". You fly toward the city in order to do some recon but are shot down and summarily captured by the unusually organized Satanic majesties. From the chatter from your captors you realize that reinforcements are on the way, with Earth's military none the wiser. You call a guard over, swiftly and silently kill him, and then embark upon a daring one-man counteroffensive that spans earth, sea, and space.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rx6sq84nujpwr8h/fragport08a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rx6sq84nujpwr8h/fragport08a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Clark is one of those authors who, during the source port boom, tried to reflect realistic locales in their works and manipulate engine features in order to elevate the typical <b>Doom</b> experience. It sometimes feels like this was an attempt to bridge the gap between <b>Quake</b> and <b>Half-Life</b> in order to maintain <b>Doom</b>'s relevancy. Participants in this phenomenon accomplished it via different, sometimes understated means. In <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2018/04/revolution-tvrwad.html">Revolution!</a></b>, Thomas van der Velden included features like mining "lasers" that could be activated by the push of a button as well as realistic locales like resorts and city streets. Chris Lutz, meanwhile, had a series of linedef triggers in <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2018/09/inferno-inf-lutzwad.html">Inferno</a></b> that simulated the physical destruction of a reactor, debris falling to the ground, and the resultant explosion. Early ZDoom adopters would go whole hog with this idea, cribbing elements from even <b>Quake II</b> once hubs were available. The Ultimate Doomer specifically cites <b>Q2</b> and <b>Half-Life</b> as favorites in his author info while also talking about <b>Duke Nukem 3D</b> when mentioning his "Alphabet" texture. The last bit - or, more likely, this being made in 2001 - is presumably why the author felt compelled to use said texture to make a crass joke involving the PWAD's name.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zd4w322cwds271t/fragport11c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zd4w322cwds271t/fragport11c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Between <b>Quake II</b> and <b>Half-Life</b>, Stephen falls more on the side of the latter and its realistic level geometry. At its most mundane, this involves stepping into five identical hotel rooms, each more identical than the last. When he's having fun, though, you get to blast your way through novel locations like a laser tag building. Your journey will send you through mines, a dilapidated boom town, a small seafront village, and a gunship, only to wash up on a tourist island. When you leave to make landfall again you'll scale a cliff face, cross a volcanic caldera, and battle through a base and its emergency bunker (complete with a realistic diorama for a training facility). From there it's into the sewers and up into a pipe factory, at which point you are inside the city proper. The war wages across condemned buildings, a freight depot, a mall, the aforementioned Laser Quest, and the city docks prior to reaching the spaceport. Then it's bang, zoom, straight to the moon. You have to fight your way through and off the shuttle, of course, before getting a good view of the futuristic community of tomorrow and its massive residential building.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pmfxaqsgvlznpn8/fragport22b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pmfxaqsgvlznpn8/fragport22b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">TUD does have some interactive gimmicks but most of it is not vanilla-scripted like Lutz's works or as button-action oriented as Velden. I mean, sure, you have the torture chamber with crushers that seemed to crop up in some of its contemporary PWADs (<b>TVR</b>, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2017/04/trust-tqtrustwad.html">Trust</a></b>, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2017/04/doom-resurrection-episode-one-doomreswad.html">DooM Resurrection</a></b>, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/05/quake2doom-q2doomwad.html">Quake2Doom</a></b>, etc.) found in "Desert Prison" (MAP01). A lot of the realism mostly boils down to using repeatable buttons to open doors where it makes sense, like at industrial facilities. The most visually stunning example of TUD pushing beyond <b>Doom</b>'s boundaries that I can think of is found in "Durncrag Mines" (MAP03). At a certain point you open up a dam that holds back an underground river, resulting in the cavity that you're in slowly flooding. It isn't set up on a timer or some kind of voodoo script. Instead, as the player crosses the next in a chain of linedefs, the water table rises. It's a fantastic effect, interesting when you first see it and then impressive to see the depth of change as you return from various side passages. Toward the end, I was nervous in spite of myself being 99% sure that I was in no actual danger from the level geometry.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/kp7f0n7asu0izxr/fragport25b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/kp7f0n7asu0izxr/fragport25b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What binds <b>Fragport</b> together as a set (apart from replacing the yellow keycard with a green one) is its commitment to linking the end of every map to the start of the next. This is generally accomplished by pasting the former's geometry into the latter. You won't be able to backtrack very far if at all due to player-blocking lines and doing so will not reveal any hidden elements like Easter eggs or secrets apart from some goodies in "Arena: 16" (MAP26). Sometimes, as with "Military Bunker" (MAP11), you can see critical locations like the red key room in "City Sewers" (MAP12). "Northgate" (MAP18) offers a glimpse of a rail platform that you see from the other side in "Dockside" (MAP19). The entire stretch of MAP25-MAP27 is built as a hub with you tackling "Arena: 11", "Arena: 16", and "Arena: 18" from the same stretch of corridor.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/uypnzk8wg7du80k/fragport24c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/uypnzk8wg7du80k/fragport24c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sequence from "Monad" (MAP23) to "Balanced Chaos" (MAP24) is pretty cool. You are caught by a trap to finish out the former and, after fighting your way through the sole instance of Hellish fortress in the entire set, emerge on the other side of the trap to close the latter. The way the last three levels are linked together is also pretty neat. You step out of the circular hallway of "Sub-Level 05" (MAP28) and climb through a bunch of air ducts at the beginning of "Reactor Core" (MAP29). In "Escape!" (MAP30), you start out having to rush back through the ventilation, returning to the sub-level floor, and then begin a frenzied climb back through previously unseen elevations. You ultimately pop out on the other side of the barrier seen just south of the Monad building in "Tech City" (MAP22).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ve5wmgch3xt7gix/fragport29a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ve5wmgch3xt7gix/fragport29a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are still some cute interactive bits like forklifts that you use as platform lifts or a dry dock that you fill up in order to access the main deck of a ship. "Labour Mines" (MAP02) uses a deep water bit to simulate the player crawling through a very low tunnel. In "Volcano Valley" (MAP09), Stephen portrays the unstable, volcanic terrain by using platforms that pop out of the lava as well as rectangular prism platforms that can be "used" to collapse into the earth. In an earlier segment, TUD guides you through the magazine of a gunship only to turn around at the end and fire rockets into it from the outside, causing its destruction. The biggest showcase of Clark's pseudo-scripting wizardry can be found in "Crystal Maze" (MAP32). The level operates based on rules that roughly approximate a British game show of the same name, just translated to <b>Doom</b>. It doesn't have to be "found" as such; it's presented as an alternative alongside the regular exit. It also comes with a huge disclaimer that prompts you to read an included .TXT to explain how the map is played.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gu0yg8kq6lvh3oq/fragport31d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gu0yg8kq6lvh3oq/fragport31d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I describe it as a puzzle map but it is only nominally so, at least considering the grand tradition of <a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/search/label/Jim%20Flynn">Jim Flynn</a> and <a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/search/label/Bob%20Evans">Bob Evans</a>. MAP32 presents you with twelve different, time-constraint scenarios that involve precision and platforming; weaving hurriedly through monsters; and mental mapping mazes. It may come as a shock seeing all of these highly-focused elements put together in one place, but it is thematically consistent with the mechanics that Clark employs over the course of <b>Fragport</b>. The big difference is that you aren't under some kind of a hard time limit... excepting the finale, "Escape!" (MAP30), where you have ten minutes to exit the level before you die. From pistol start, at least, some of the combat scenarios have the same feeling as trying to operate while under duress as you're outgunned for one particular ambush or another.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/uxk4wcwwvst0nyx/fragport05b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/uxk4wcwwvst0nyx/fragport05b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fragport</b> has a general combat style and it's more or less consistent over the entirety of the megaWAD. At key progression points Clark will dump a crowd (or a couple of crowds) of monsters into the playing area. It feels more formulaic in the city levels - beginning with "Durncrag Town" (MAP05) - because he uses the same style of closets set in the peripheral buildings (plus the obligatory arachnotron in every alleyway). When monster closets won't work, however, he's just as happy doing a teleporter-fed assault. For whatever reason the teleporter stuff deploys more mixed monster crowds whereas the large closets are staffed by single monster types. The most novel execution of the closet-type encounter occurs in "Northgate" (MAP18) where one of the nondescript buildings opens up to usher in a wave of cacodemons. The little bit of variation, though it may stand as an echo of <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-plutonia-experiment-plutoniawad.html">The Plutonia Experiment</a></b>'s MAP29 ("Odyssey of Noise"), is appreciated.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6req4jewdclpcfb/fragport02b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6req4jewdclpcfb/fragport02b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of <b>PLUTONIA</b>, <b>Fragport</b> appears to crib ever so slightly from some classics. <b>Doom II</b>'s MAP13 ("Downtown") is the most obvious as it informs, in some way, the execution of nearly every single city level. I was surprised, however, to recognize the finish of <b>TPE</b>'s MAP02 ("Well of Souls") at the end of "Labour Mines" (also MAP02). There's also what appears to be an echo of its MAP28 ("The Sewers") in <b>Fragport</b>'s "City Sewers". For something even older, the general architecture of "Military Base" (MAP10) appears to be derived from Knee Deep in the Dead, specifically its E1M2 ("Nuclear Plant") and its eastern wing.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8t591xq8e7w5vbv/fragport12a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8t591xq8e7w5vbv/fragport12a.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">There are some thematic similarities between this and the <a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/04/the-wraith-corp-megawads-perditions.html">Wraith Corporation megaWADs</a> (<b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/04/perdgatewad-perditions-gate.html">Perdition's Gate</a></b> and <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/04/hell2paywad.html">Hell to Pay</a></b>). The arena arrangement is similar to the series of challenges seen starting with <b>HELL2PAY</b>'s MAP22 ("Vile Temple) and both it and <b>PERDGATE</b> featured self destruct sequences. Heck; the latter's MAP30 ("The Escape") starts with the final area from the previous MAP29 ("The Bomb Facility"). <b>H2P</b> also begins with you busting out of a prison, moving shortly after to some mines with a similar forced labor connotation, and eventually involves hitching a ride on an starship. While eerily similar, I doubt whether Clark had played either given some of his early Doomworld posts. If you are a fan of the presentation of the Wraith Corp TCs - particularly <b>Hell to Pay</b> - then you may find quite a bit of common ground here.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/biesdu8q910ktjy/fragport21c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/biesdu8q910ktjy/fragport21c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As far as <b>Fragport</b>'s difficulty goes, well, there are some pitfalls to learning these levels from pistol start. Their somewhat open nature may lead you to pursue a significant portion of the map before trying a different direction and finding a bread-and-butter weapon like the combat shotgun. You are generally given the resources required to slay every monster without delving into secrets but there are exceptions that may come as unwelcome surprises. The idea of taking the time to exterminate every monster runs contrary to the urgency of the player character's mission, however, if not his call sign. In at least one case you not only need a hidden rocket launcher but must also somehow skirt an entire superlethal teleporter ambush (MAP24). Continuous players will be denied the delight of scouring the Darth Mall in a shopping spree for weapons and ammunition while monsters pour in from seemingly everywhere ("City Centre", MAP16).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/n7hg9d5mho3qoxx/fragport16b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/n7hg9d5mho3qoxx/fragport16b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Such challenges ought to be expected territory for pistol start players, however. Clark is otherwise somewhat weighted toward the source port boom trend of crowds of monsters. It isn't quite as dense as, say, Virgil the DOOM Poet's slaughter style as glimpsed in <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2018/01/afterdoom-2-deep-space-pirsuit-adspwad.html">AfterDoom 2</a></b>, as the playing areas offer plenty of breathing room. If you get crowded out then it's usually because you allowed yourself to get outmaneuvered by the monsters. This happens more easily in situations where TUD releases monsters on both sides of the map, e.g. MAP05. The author is quite fond of using both revenants and arch-viles in monster closets and the latter in mixed teleport ambushes so if you have any problems with either then proceed with caution. Pain elementals are used sparingly and either feel as though they are entirely ineffectual (MAP18) or a shocking component of an aerial ensemble ("Pipe Factory", MAP13).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/3qzu4tf3wjtp7z7/fragport09c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/3qzu4tf3wjtp7z7/fragport09c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The flier packs actually make up most of my favorite ambushes. Cacodemons can go virtually anywhere, are space and ammo hogs, and can attack from afar. Clark takes advantage of their flexibility and features them in many of <b>Fragport</b>'s levels. A veritable army attacks "Remote Island" (MAP07) at the level's climax, just as they appeared to guard the prow of the "Ironclad" in MAP06 or the shuttle cargo entrance in "Spaceport" (MAP20). They are a large part of why MAP25's action feels so frantic and a cloud of them sets the tone for the opening of MAP16. Overall, I found their usage to be far more threatening than TUD's accommodating Cyberdemon / Spiderdemon placement.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9vtqymjzwhma3yt/fragport06b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9vtqymjzwhma3yt/fragport06b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fragport</b> was not released with a soundtrack and has yet to be graced by an original score. Perhaps the Doom Musician's Guild will deign to write one in the distant future. The author's official recommendation was to use your stereo and listen to "fast-paced dance" (which would explain the clubs and strobe floors, I suppose) and metal. In attempting to follow Clark's advice, Doomworld Forum superstar P41R47 collected a bunch of classic rock, metal, and pop songs together for the <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/125116-fragport-midi-pack/">Fragport MIDI Pack</a></b>. Looking at the eclectic track list, it appears as though P41R47 tried to employ some sort of logic in fitting songs to specific levels. Your mileage may vary.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mxphciegmuduefa/fragport11b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mxphciegmuduefa/fragport11b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As with many older releases, <b>Fragport</b> will not compare favorably to the current, "modern" style of the community. For all of its mechanical artifice, The Ultimate Doomer did not try to push the original renderer to its vanilla limits a la <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/search/label/Back%20to%20Saturn%20X%20series">Back to Saturn X</a></b>. It will thus be naturally overshadowed by limit-removing and Boom-compatible PWADs that can pull off vistas of the same size with more detailing. More pointedly, <b>Fragport</b> is pretty plain even for a vanilla PWAD. Clark was more intent on bringing realistic environments with plenty of DoomCute sector furniture / building layouts and less the sort of abstract battleground seen in his "Laser Quest" (MAP17). You see enough flashes of the latter throughout the megaWAD to know that it's clearly within Clark's capability to make them. Even so, it's neat to see a wide variety of urban locales explored, regardless of the building faces themselves tending to be flat and featureless.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/5kddpgqrisykttb/fragport17a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/5kddpgqrisykttb/fragport17a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stephen's combat stylings could not borrow from and do not predict the arena-style fights descended from Erik Alm and his <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2015/03/scythe-scythewad.html">Scythe</a></b> series. Well, with the exception of MAP25 as it is composed almost entirely of a single, setpiece-styled encounter. TUD's firefights are tactically-minded and slower-paced apart from the occasional, monstrous ambush. Exceptions exist in the form of occasional hot starts, most memorably seen in MAP16 but also MAP09, MAP12, and MAP18, with a shoutout to the rude opening of MAP28. "Desert Prison" (MAP01) sort of falls into this trope as well, given what you encounter once you leave the building.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7vlw70c32xcsqqp/fragport28b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7vlw70c32xcsqqp/fragport28b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The prevalence of mazes is also sure to gall some players as they are considered to be relics of a less-enlightened era of level design, descended from the dungeon crawler portion of <b>Doom</b>'s DNA. It won't help that a few of the labyrinths are combat-free and appear to have no stakes attached to them. If you don't fully explore the initial bunker tunnel in MAP11, however, then you'll miss out on critical supplies, and the air ducts in MAP29 are provided to you ahead of time in order for the player to formulate an escape route. The idea of having to navigate a maze under duress may be unpalatable to some but it was very much a favorite of Clark's as it also figures heavily into the challenges of MAP32. That's not to forget the two-tone track and elevation labyrinth in "The Void" (MAP31), even if both it and its lost soul denizens are functionally toothless.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/iqyb92zpnypsfx6/fragport31a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/iqyb92zpnypsfx6/fragport31a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you are remotely oriented toward classically-styled level sets, however, then you should absolutely give <b>Fragport</b> a play. While not as easily-digestible as <b>Revolution!</b> or <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2013/05/demonfear-dmonfearwad.html">Demonfear</a></b> it provides a consistent, story-driven campaign that is chock full o' demons to slay. With Clark's ingenuity I am curious as to see what happens once he leaves vanilla and embraces ZDoom, knowing of course that his next release - <b>Operation: Lightning</b> - was mostly built prior to <b>Fragport</b>.</div><div><br /></div>
<a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/fragport"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Fragport"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wtjtbffr6r8szg5/doomwiki.png" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">FRAGPORT</span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Stephen Clark</b></div>
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<tr><th>Desert Prison</th><th>MAP01</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>Clark wastes no time in establishing the level of action. The opening string of jail cells is a boring sequence but the revenant in the final chamber - plus the commando guards - solidifies the higher stakes. It's nice of the author to deposit the troublesome hitscanner / homing snipers on the one prison wall near the start so that you aren't unawares. The best fight comes from the beefy monster horde that teleports into the main yard as it's a nice mix of revenants, Hell knights, and mancubi. Most DoomCute bit: stimpacks in the toilets to simulate drinking toilet water for health.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6j6w75v43c7z74v/fragport01b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6j6w75v43c7z74v/fragport01b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP02</th><th>Labour Mines</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1h8ab270siwdvh5/fragport02c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1h8ab270siwdvh5/fragport02c.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>A credible labyrinth of mine shafts and roughly-dug but still straight-angle tunnels. The big branching point involves four-way elevators on both the north and south sides. There are a bunch of goodies but if you play sloppily - as the Hell knight trap encourages you to - then you're likely to be overwhelmed. Through the most advanced vanilla magic available, Clark has a few cool bits where you "crawl" through shallow water and low ceilings. The first time this comes up may psychologically lock the player as you need to do the bit when grabbing the red key. The level's finale is an upscaled homage to <b>Plutonia</b>'s "Well of Souls" (MAP02) except it's a rail-thin zig-zag bridge. The penultimate fight has pretty much the same monster complement as the big ambush in "Desert Prison", the exception being that you're encircled.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Durncrag Mines</th><th>MAP03</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>This level does not have an auspicious beginning. You bust out onto some rail tracks and proceed to do some humdrum super shotgun slinging in some long-ass tunnels. The big, central chamber livens things up a bit with a mancubus-heavy brawl before it's back to running the tunnels. Where this level explodes is when you raise the level of the underground river. Clark has a dedicated series of walkover triggers that causes the mine to slowly flood. While I was pretty sure that it was never going to result in my death there was just enough doubt that I actually started to get anxious toward the end. You can't afford to panic, either, or you'll get caught flat-footed by some dickish arch-vile placement and a cavalcade of revenants. All in all, wicked cool vanilla stuff.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s6e4chqbso2ac63/fragport03b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s6e4chqbso2ac63/fragport03b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP04</th><th>Mining Colony</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8xjwsuzcgg0mf8p/fragport04a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8xjwsuzcgg0mf8p/fragport04a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>The surface consists of a handful of half-built buildings that are occupied with monsters. The Spiderdemon makes itself known at the level's onset but it should really be the least of your concerns. As you make progress through the derelict colony, monotypical mobs of monsters will burst out of the canyon walls. They're fairly easy to deal with and the space lets you get real nasty with infight-baiting. The huge, flat canyon that leads to the Spider Mastermind showdown and Durncrag gate feels pretty bland to look at and move through.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Durncrag Town</th><th>MAP05</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>This is way more of a town level and it has a unique character due to all the buildings with oblique sides off the road running northeast. You can explore most of the buildings at your leisure but all of your basic weapons and the rocket launcher can be located outside. That said, it pays to find the super shotgun early. There are a few nasty surprises but the best panic fight comes from picking up the green key. As you focus on the Hell knights in front of you you're liable to be swamped by a horde of demons from behind. The sector trees are quite cute.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/fzaaznwxs08hkn1/fragport05a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/fzaaznwxs08hkn1/fragport05a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP06</th><th>Ironclad</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s6dllm0uvih1evr/fragport06a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s6dllm0uvih1evr/fragport06a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Another quasi-realistic level, this time on some kind of a warship. Clark's floating fortress has an upper deck and a lower, the bottom significantly and understandably more claustrophobic with its narrow passageways. The map is a tricky pistol start and some trial and error will be involved in establishing a foothold due to weapon and ammo locations. Most of the fights don't stand out but some moments, like opening up the Mess Hall and finding it full of all three zombie types, get your attention. The reactor room is probably my favorite for how you have to handle the revenant / imp mix. The overhead slows you down as you bump into it in an attempt to coast down the staircase but it's bemusing as an imagined safety-conscious agent. Honorable mention, well, it's hard to go wrong with a sizable two-sided cacodemon assault.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Remote Island</th><th>MAP07</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>A tiny recreational island with a charming bed and breakfast for those who value their privacy. The naturalistic scenery is chunky but DoomCute to the core. The center of the island houses an overgrown underground maze that's kind of foreboding but most of its denizens are imps. This of course only serves to throw you off for the big ambushes when they happen. Be wary of anything that happens behind a door! Once you've bested the gnarly key ambushes you are treated to a fun cacodemon shootout on the way through the escape path. It's not all that dangerous unless you allow yourself to be surprised by whatever cacos happened to worm their way into the storefronts. Fun stuff!</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8rjz6ua16x4dh8j/fragport07a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8rjz6ua16x4dh8j/fragport07a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP08</th><th>Barren Shores</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2zkllg6hwtc2vwk/fragport08c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2zkllg6hwtc2vwk/fragport08c.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>This opens with a visual of an indeed very barren shoreline backed by an imposing cliff face. The opposition is scattered starting out but once you climb up you will have to deal with more significant resistance in the gulleys atop the wall. "Shores" is big on meaty ambushes. Your ability to handle them will depend on the order in which you pursue the branching ravines. I headed east first and ended up fairly tight on ammo. It's a quick play even if it feels a bit slow if you get stuck with the regular shotgun and chaingun. If anything wears on it's the key switch / arch-vile sequence at the finale.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Volcano Valley</th><th>MAP09</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>Leaving the exotic, wind-swept cliffs for pools of molten rock. This is a fun level with a vaguely classic id vibe due to all of the catwalks that wind across the main body of the level. I had a few big misunderstandings at the start of the level. First, the square platforms with ammo on top of them don't need to be run across. They will actually descend to the floor upon a "use" action. Second, the switches spread out across the level that don't appear to do anything are actually required to unveil first the red and then later green keys. Third, you actually do have to drop into the horrible, 20% lava in order to bridge that first big gap you come across. I assume that the first and third elements are supposed to help drive home the environment's volcanic volatility. It is otherwise a fun, secret-rich level with mostly imps sniping from afar with occasional hardbodies in advantaged positions. Some of the terrain, like the cascading lava falls, is quite scenic. I enjoyed the final battle as the hard angles and breaks in the dividing wall make merely circle-strafing the Cyberdemon a little less straightforward.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6m3da60ca6edo0m/fragport09b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6m3da60ca6edo0m/fragport09b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP10</th><th>Military Base</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mapifmb0uqmwdcx/fragport10b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mapifmb0uqmwdcx/fragport10b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Nominally a Phobos-themed level with deference to "Nuclear Plant" and its eastern stairbound tower It's a tough level from pistol start and if you fumble up with the rad suits and the sewage section then you may have sabotaged yourself. The progression is kind of convoluted as you have to make two separate nukage dives to grab first the red and later the blue keys. The latter unleashes a sizable contingent of monsters between you and the exit that will greedily soak up what remaining ammo you have. I didn't think that I was at all wasteful and barely got by, and that's with having found the secret plasma gun alcove. It's a tricky nut to crack. I really enjoyed the green key sequence with the arch-vile trio and erupting maze.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Military Bunker</th><th>MAP11</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>Another installation but this one has no vestiges of KDitD. The layout is fun with a series of chambers connected at oblique angles and a clearly-marked switch hunt. There's a less obvious scavenger sequence later on and I'm assuming that - given a similar occurrence in "Volcano Valley" - this is going to become a <b>Fragport</b> motif. The opening grid 64 tunnel system does not make for an auspicious opening but gathering all of the supplies therein is critical to your later success. There are a bunch of DoomCute elements, the best of which is probably the training area defensible mockup found in the middle-eastern portion. It comes with a teleport ambush that's more awkward than anything given how cramped conditions are. The second half of the map involves a lot of scrounging around in the "abandoned tunnels". This isn't nearly as maze-like as the level's opening but it isn't particularly interesting, either, apart from snagging the plasma gun. I'm more partial to the amphitheater ambush and desperate, strobe-laden arch-vile finale.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mxphciegmuduefa/fragport11b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mxphciegmuduefa/fragport11b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP12</th><th>City Sewers</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ce36s0tgr6he5ph/fragport12c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ce36s0tgr6he5ph/fragport12c.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>The title may fill the player with dread and, to a point, it would be fully justified. Most of the floor of this level is brown doodoo, perfect for Bobby Prince's sludgy "In the Dark". It's all damage floor, too, but Clark has provided a plethora of enviro suits to soften the blow. They're more plentiful in the beginning, though, so you may find yourself retreating to the opening tunnels to zip back up. At least, until you locate the cache in the second half. There's a cistern with a teleporter ambush that has shades of <b>The Plutonia Experiment</b>'s MAP28 ("The Sewers"). For whatever reason, the southeastern bit with the long series of settling pools reminds me of it as well. Stephen is at his most awkward with the cacodemon vat room and all of its deep (if safe) trenches to fall into. The combat is very punchy and finally gives you enough room to cut loose with the rocket launcher and plasma gun. The multiple mancubus reveals are practically begging for it. Sewer bias aside, I had some good fun.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Pipe Factory</th><th>MAP13</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>Big monsters, big prizes! For the most part, Clark ditches the cramped combat that has dominated so many of the past levels. While the factory floor is open, however, pistol start players are liable to be overwhelmed by a tidal mancubus wave if they stand their ground. Thankfully, the "Raw Materials" chambers house most of the major arms and plenty of ammo for you to get work done. If you don't try to maneuver the uglies into a little mancubus / arachnotron infighting, that is. The outdoor area that surrounds the factory is wide open with a couple of isolated, auxiliary buildings, a bit too big for a lone Spiderdemon. When the other shoe finally drops it hits hard with a horde of aerial foes inside the factory and a bunch of nasties outside, including two arch-viles. Fast and fun; the pipe warehouse is appropriately DoomCute and provides the only significant, slower-paced combat.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/flzxsstuu6x35n0/fragport13a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/flzxsstuu6x35n0/fragport13a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP14</th><th>Urban Wasteland</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4rq89cconkkbv68/fragport14a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4rq89cconkkbv68/fragport14a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>This one clearly borrows from <b>Doom II</b>'s MAP13 ("Downtown") but keeps the building grid to the east and west peripheries. It's a bit more cluttered, which gives the arachnotrons poised in the alleyways a better chance of pinning you down. Clark has also stuffed a few more things than imps in those cage windows. None of the building interiors are much to explore. The meat of the map involves snagging a key and then dealing with whatever Stephen has newly unleashed into the playing area. The last two assaults make for some decent surprises. The centerpiece of the level is an oddly-shaped building with an <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/10/express-elevator-to-hell-teethwad.html">Express Elevator to Hell</a></b> setup that slows the action to a crawl. My favorite bit: there's an early arch-vile ambush in a tunnel where Clark opens up a little alcove for you to dodge into. If you stand there in shock, though, he's gonna getcha.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Freight Depot</th><th>MAP15</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>One part crate warehouse and one part enormous, expansive outdoor shipping yard. The indoor area starts out requiring some thoughtful, tactical maneuvering and then sucker punches you with a four arch-vile ambush (!!!!). It's dense with secrets, though, a few of which will set you up for success with swiftly defeating the Satanic sorcerers. I love the forklift platforms - a very fun detail. The exterior section is kind of awkward to fight through as the mancubi are fairly spaced out and you can only move on the piers and cart beds. It's otherwise pretty simple, the zombies in the northwest portion disarmingly so. The Cyberdemon climax felt kind of ineffectual but I suppose that the big metal crates make it a little difficult to just idly circle-strafe him. The aforementioned secrets are also a multi-step process to opening up the obvious if inscrutable alternate exit to the secret level. Just stepping in the light pillar rooms is enough but if you want some extra feedback then using them will extinguish them.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rwlku0nxmxp3k74/fragport15b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rwlku0nxmxp3k74/fragport15b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP31</th><th>The Void</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/14n0pag8vd3m08w/fragport31b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/14n0pag8vd3m08w/fragport31b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>This is a gimmick level that leverages the contrast of color on pure black. Some bits, like the lost soul maze, look much scarier than they are at first glance. The spiral staircase room has nothing to it but I love the visual of how the next stair appears to materialize in front of you as you climb. The "danger zone" tries to flag areas where you're vulnerable to enemy attack vs. void-bound safe houses. It doesn't exactly work out this way in practice but you don't have to kill too many revenants for it to work. The strobe-lit dance floor supply rooms are amusing. I appreciate that Clark tries to ward casual players away from the super-secret level. By reputation I know that it has little to do with slaughter.</td></tr></tbody></table></center>
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<tr><th>Crystal Maze</th><th>MAP32</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>A puzzle map based on a British game show and quite confusing at first glance without having read the provided CRMAZE.TXT. Generically, however, there are four zones, each with three challenges. Clark has divided them into "physical", "mental", and "skill" games. One of these involves flipping a series of switches while under duress from myriad monsters. Another requires you to quickly navigate some variety of maze. The crate one is relatively straightforward while another one is keyed into a particular color pattern that is hinted at in the entrance. The most inscrutable one involves opening up a bunch of bars in a grid arrangement. Between some of the poles not moving and you recognizing where you have / haven't been, however, it isn't hard to build a mental map. I got it on my second try. The third involves feats of precise movement. These range from "The Chasm"-style platforming to having to shoot a bunch of switches on slow lifts to a torturous crusher corridor.<br /><br />Each of the feats has a time limit, beyond which a block descends to lock the puzzle. If you're inside, well, then you're stuck and can't finish the map. Clark has reset buttons available outside the levels if you realize that you're outmatched and leave in order to take another shot. It's much simpler for you to just save and then reload before each attempt, however. Of all the trials, the one to seriously crush my ass is the skill trial in the Aztec zone. There are two points where you have to step down a series of zig-zag razor-thin trails and, without mouselook, it's nearly impossible to see where you're going... If you have the status bar enabled, that is. My advice to you is to use the alternate HUD for this particular situation. Otherwise, well, I had a blast.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hjkoftupo50t6ph/fragport32b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hjkoftupo50t6ph/fragport32b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP16</th><th>City Centre</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ge1c73g121a3xjs/fragport16a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ge1c73g121a3xjs/fragport16a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>This one is a real blood tornado. All of the weapons are inside the "Darth Mall" in the various departments. You won't have much time to appreciate DoomCute touches like the gardening section, though, because this is a crazy hornet's nest. Not only is the shopping center itself infested but, as you progress, Clark opens up holding pens of beefy monsters on the level's periphery. The result is that you are constantly under assault from - typically - two different monster varieties. Like, cacodemons and demons, revenants and Hell knights, or pain elementals and demons. Just about every time I thought things had finally settled down something else was actually creeping up on me. It's a tough level, then, with a super-hot start and constant action throughout. When you finally deal with the copy-and-pasted row of five hotel rooms with popup revenant guests it will be far more relieving than bemusing.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Laser Quest</th><th>MAP17</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>A location-based level that's chock full o' DoomCute. The building exterior and surrounding block is garishly bereft of adornment but inside is a laser tag wonderland. Laser Quest is specifically a British franchise; I can only assume that some if not all of the interior is based on one that Clark frequented himself. The lobby has what are presumably arcade machines as well as something that looks like a ping pong or perhaps air hockey table. Once you move past that it's a series of rooms with abstract obstacles like random barriers. You will have to search them all out for the three keys in order to exit the map. The key guardians are arch-viles; keep this in mind as I imagine that some players may easily move past the red key. The maze battleground is probably more fun to play laser tag in than pick your way through slaying demons.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jugblkpnyk8tli1/fragport17c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jugblkpnyk8tli1/fragport17c.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP18</th><th>Northgate</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oil92e0ntkavnod/fragport18a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oil92e0ntkavnod/fragport18a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Another city level in a similar template to "Urban Wasteland". The good guns come less readily, though, and the snipers in the buildings feel more dangerous. I think that having an interior corner full of chaingunners has something to do with this. A few of the buildings are fun to explore this time around, even if they amount to a warehouse with some huge-ass crates and a lovingly-furnished library / study hall sort of thing. While the player is often at a disadvantage, the pain elementals behind the stairwells in the northwestern building are utterly lost. Perfectly passable city slaughter.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Dockside</th><th>MAP19</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>And now for something slightly different. "Dockside" is exactly what it aims to be, though it has a few buildings that you have to weave between before reaching the titular region. There are a few pillbox-type snipers to be wary of but nothing as ubiquitous as "Northgate". Stephen has constructed a couple of boats for you to explore and, unsurprisingly, bad times will be had shortly after setting off obvious triggers. Actually, the key in the bowels of the exterior boat isn't so bad as the monster packs area easy to handle and you can set up a "Gotcha!" scenario. I find it interesting that Clark throws out details like the baffles in the northeast building. They pose no imminent threat as obstacles until you realize that they're meant to make it more difficult to reach a nearby timed switch.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/84hosq0f3hjb4yd/fragport19a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/84hosq0f3hjb4yd/fragport19a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP20</th><th>Spaceport</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/t65zyp73b16hgcv/fragport20a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/t65zyp73b16hgcv/fragport20a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>This is a tough spaceport level with three passenger gates, two cargo conveyors, and a control tower. The start is more weighted toward survival horror as the ammo and guns initially provided feel ill-equipped to take on all of the monsters. It's a sort of order of operations thing as the admin offices and bathrooms initially only serve to hoover up your ammo. You are much better served by heading to the unlocked cargo chamber as you'll pick up more rockets and the combat shotgun. Things don't really turn around until you snag the red key and even that triggers an ambush that you have to fight through. When you get access to the armories that it locks, however, the combat becomes significantly less stressful. I'm not exactly wowed by the copy-and-pasted passenger gates and their identical zombie layouts.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></center>
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<tr><th>Spaceborne</th><th>MAP21</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>A fight up through the cargo hold of a space ship to the crew deck and finally passenger level. It's a very slow pistol start as you will be trying to make the most of your chainsaw and scant few shotgun shells. Up until you pick your way through to the north end of the hold, anyway. At that point you ought to have the combat shotgun clinched, plus the not-so-secret cell weapons. Your ammo balance is gonna be off until you reach the luggage carousel. I got pretty used to the unassuming bathrooms so Clark finally surprised me with one that has three arch-viles right inside. I mean, it's still a bathroom so it didn't kill me, but it's the thought that counts. The space granted on a shuttle to a snack bar is amusing; must be a luxury flight!</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hah8wyz7yoer2j0/fragport21b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hah8wyz7yoer2j0/fragport21b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP22</th><th>Tech City</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/cvnnwf4g8ajycwv/fragport22a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/cvnnwf4g8ajycwv/fragport22a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>This level is massive enough that it almost feels like a sandbox world. It's mostly empty, though, and dominated by the palatial façade to the east. The spartan ammo balance lets up a bit so you can focus a little more on blasting apart arachnotrons a la "Downtown" and less where your next rocket is. It'll help, though, if you can find the combat shotgun ASAP. Some of the more cute details of "Tech City" include a bar with strobe dance floor, "The Hexagon", and apartments of THE FUTURE! This level also has a Spiderdemon / Cyberdemon, but they appear too far apart to goad them into any serious infighting. I appreciate the cacodemon ambushes, particularly the one outside the apartments.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Monad</th><th>MAP23</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>It has the scale of an enormous military complex but is actually an oversized apartment building, maybe like one of those arcologies from <b>SimCity 2000</b>. A gated community, I guess? It has a virtual garden, a bar, a general store, and a go-kart track. And, uh, what appears to be the second appearance of a laser tag-type establishment, or maybe someplace for moon-people to shoot their guns. The opening staircase / flat arrangement is pretty boring; all of the apartments of the future are furnished in the exact same fashion. Most of the tricky combat seems to take place around the garden area since the overgrown windows obscure your vision. The race track is cute, though, and has a kart racer arrangement of monsters.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/23caybqkzj1n8jn/fragport23a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/23caybqkzj1n8jn/fragport23a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP24</th><th>Balanced Chaos</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/k1ho43ekdn9bcke/fragport24b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/k1ho43ekdn9bcke/fragport24b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>It was a trap! You end up in the marble dungeon that Hell has built deep beneath the moon. I like the from-scratch opening as the Berserk pack and wide hallways give you plenty of room for punch-out with imps and demons. You won't find the rocket launcher until you enter the northwest wing, though, and this feels like a huge oversight given the blue key ambush. It seems as though the only way to survive the multi-monster assault and its two arch-viles is to try to run through with a prayer to the RNG gods. If you survive then you can come back with some explosive ordinance - and the BFG - to teach the beasties a lesson. The architecture is huge but plain, primarily due to the stepped corridor arrangement that serves as the atrium. I like the look of the red brick hallway and enjoyed the firewall surprise. The green marble sconce corridors have a similar but more traditional present lying in wait. The coda takes you out of the basement and back to the blocky world of "Monad" and its sort of slaughter-lite encounters. I liked the change of scenery but the rocket launcher placement sort of took me out of things.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Arena: 11</th><th>MAP25</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>A pretty cool setup for what is going to be some sort of challenge gauntlet. The lead-in allows you your pick of weapon between the SSG, chaingun, and rocket launcher as well as a starting point. This one has a symmetric, baffled setup in an "Underhalls" texture scheme and sets you up against an initially overwhelming wave of Hell knights and cacodemons. There are arachnotrons, too, but they are more or less stuck in their key positions. The magic that Clark used to ensure that you have extra ammo for your weapon of choice limits it to one location. As a result, you will probably be tight on munitions before you find it. Regardless, you need to find all three keys and flip all of the switches to leave. Fast and frantic.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/stj0owy2be1txq6/fragport25c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/stj0owy2be1txq6/fragport25c.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP26</th><th>Arena: 16</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/r1dxpmro6ey9myc/fragport26b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/r1dxpmro6ey9myc/fragport26b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Second verse. This time, the cramped STARTAN tunnels you'll be navigating prompts Clark to offer you the plasma gun instead of the rocket launcher. Much appreciated! This one is over quick though there is a bit of overlapping path trickery required to navigate the corridors. The solo revenants, Barons, and mancubi make for easy prey, however, and the spare cells can be found near the #1 start. A fun, fast play.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Arena: 18</th><th>MAP27</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>This dirty, concrete arena is titled "The Labyrinth" and offers, among other things, the BFG. At a scant, ten monsters, your opposition consists of eight arch-viles (who are present in pairs, more or less), a Spiderdemon, and a Cyberdemon. There's really no reason for you to eat a death with the weapons provided unless you just get sloppy while juking fire blasts. If an angle of approach looks disadvantageous to you, then look for another! I think that locating the keys and switches is more challenging due to Stephen's usage of three-dimensional space. None of the buttons are truly hidden but a few are tucked away such that they're easy to walk past.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/x3wa18duu7j20lo/fragport27a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/x3wa18duu7j20lo/fragport27a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP28</th><th>Sub-Level 05</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4appzyb0an30czg/fragport28a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4appzyb0an30czg/fragport28a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>As you will quickly discover, the opening area has a lethal teleporter ambush waiting for the first gunshot. When combined with the ring hallway and nexus, well, you have your work cut out for you. Things are much simpler if you sneak through the sole unlocked door, which leads to a piping penetration room whose action is far more sedate. This is a minor hub to the "Sub-Level"'s major, with four offshoot courses. Three of them must be visited in order to acquire the red key. The blue tech maze is the most obnoxious with its strobe and specters. The spoke behind the red key door is fine enough, housing a trap that's so obvious that Clark himself has placed a "HMM..." prompt at the trigger. The server farm and warehouse are fairly sedate in their combat. The reactor control room is highly awkward due to the revenants up top. I had my best attempts rushing both ends with the plasma gun, taking advantage of the ladder-cases. Woe betide the player who blows too many cells before entering the southern service duct; the return trip from the blue key is lousy with arch-viles. The nearby secret supply room is essential.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Reactor Core</th><th>MAP29</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td>This level opens up with a mile-long trek through air ducts, at the end of which is a note that informs you that you will have ten minutes to escape after starting MAP30. I assume that, with the automap, this is an opportunity for the player to plan their route. The actual boss battle is yet another switch hunt with the reactor façade serving as a decent slab of macrotecture. You have to remove a hefty series of barriers before you can flip the shutdown switch. The only serious installed monsters are arch-viles. Between the megaspheres and the BFG you shouldn't have much trouble as long as you find all the buttons quickly. Good luck! You may need it.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ewbluw9kk54vp9e/fragport29b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ewbluw9kk54vp9e/fragport29b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>MAP30</th><th>Escape!</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h4a5iqikx1ga5ns/fragport30b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h4a5iqikx1ga5ns/fragport30b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>The air duct escape isn't bad, actually, as long as you remember to move in a consistent direction. Your egress is hampered by tons o' beasties and the occasional key door. The cards are found in side rooms that are pretty easy to blaze past but you'll be doubling back to check them just as easily. Not all of them house required items, mind you, but none of the surprises are too unpleasant. There are two unwelcome issues, however. The first is the cavalcade of arch-viles and revenants guarding the final room. I've said this a few times, but woe betide the player who unnecessarily blows too many cells. Besides, you should mostly be blasting with the rocket launcher and cleaning up if necessary with the combat shotgun. The other poke at the player consists of a barred exitway. I took it for granted that there had to be a nearby switch I missed. This is one lock, however, that you are capable of brute forcing.</td></tr></tbody></table></center>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MARE INGENII</span></b></div></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-83217126997923315862022-02-22T06:30:00.003-06:002022-03-05T16:22:44.048-06:00Soulcage (SOULCAGE.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SOULCAGE</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Mike Alfredson aka "Use3D"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sxzs1843x1s7d6b/soulcage13a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sxzs1843x1s7d6b/soulcage13a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Use3D has been a supporting player in the <b>Doom</b> community for ages. He is recognizable in the honor rolls for the first three levels of the <b>Community Chest</b> series, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2012/04/doom-way-id-did-dtwidwad.html">Doom the Way id Did</a></b> and its <b>Ultimate</b> expansion, and even <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2014/09/back-to-saturn-x-e2-tower-in-fountain.html">Back to Saturn X's Episode 2</a></b>. The first episode release of his <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/12/nilla-doom-nillawad.html">Nilla Doom</a></b> is a perennial contender for underrated WAD lists. He started building his solo megaWAD as early as 1997 and has released various rejects from the whole, most recently a spate in 2019. I don't think that <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/s-u/soulcage">Soulcage</a></b> is one of these, though. As Mike's very first level, this MAP13 replacement was crafted in 1995. It looks as though Alfredson had independently released it, perhaps on a personal website, around the same time as his <b>Hell Pit</b> and <b>Deep Core 1</b> back in 2004. It finally made its way to /idgames about fifteen years later.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xacy16v0pn48qi2/soulcage13b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xacy16v0pn48qi2/soulcage13b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mike has very little contextual information to offer about <b>Soulcage</b> apart from disparaging it for being, in his eyes at least, "ugly". Alfredson is ostensibly his own worst critic, perhaps part of the reason why the full version of <b>Nilla Doom</b> has yet to materialize. By my own reckoning I have merely dabbled in the '95 era of PWADcraft but feel comfortable in saying that this cooks pretty hard. The one glaring fault is an untextured wall found in an early Hell knight alcove. Aesthetically the level has no unified style, instead functioning as one of those hodgepodge maps with individually distinct areas as you move from section to section. Some of the monster sconces and things have an air of the surreal with scrolling wall textures that suggest the bending of reality.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/o5s668te5rowler/soulcage13c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/o5s668te5rowler/soulcage13c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Soulcage</b> may lack a unified aesthetic but it is thematically sound. Virtually every section features monsters that are separated from the player by some kind of barrier that they are nonetheless capable of attacking through. This could be something as simple as the fairly mundane imp cages glimpsed in the starting area but also includes another early room where a half-height wall splits you off from a mob of zombies. The player enjoys softer but similarly restrictive hazards as Alfredson has splashed severe, 20% damage floors throughout the map. Granted, there’s a rad suit or two to make use of as well as a few invul spheres that go hand in hand with Cyberdemon encounters.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xy1kx6jpuhfbtyt/soulcage13d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xy1kx6jpuhfbtyt/soulcage13d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The restriction doesn't just apply to toxic terrain. The inauspicious opening starts the player out in a closet, presaging the constriction and cramped playing spaces that you must maneuver through, even as early as the sewer that immediately follows. Modern design philosophy is more weighted toward keeping the player from getting hung up on level geometry in order to facilitate smoother player movement and making the monsters the primary obstacles. I find it to be perfectly fair here, though, and in other slower-paced PWADs that echo<b> Doom</b>'s dungeon crawler roots. Your mileage may vary if you drop down into the southwestern portion and eat a surprise Cyberdemon rocket before you can secure the invul sphere.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/80evyccr3zx5uxf/soulcage13e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/80evyccr3zx5uxf/soulcage13e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's one of the accessibility issues with this classically-styled gameplay, I suppose. Occasionally you're thrust into a save-or-die situation and must react to the best of your abilities. And then, err, reload as the case may be. Some of the discussion around difficulty centers around whether or not encounters or situations are "fair", the extent of which will obviously depend on the experience and skill of the players involved. In this sense, an encounter that is unfair has nothing to do with whether players can eventually triumph. The concern is whether they feel as though they had a chance without any prior knowledge. It's a very real concern when considering your target audience as an author.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/iliu4ie18oxbyzv/soulcage13f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/iliu4ie18oxbyzv/soulcage13f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Soulcage</b> doesn't have a lot of these types of situations (not that your average dungeon crawler map made extensive use of them). The zombie pen battle feels like it's set up to push you into an alcove filled with beefy monsters in order to find cover. The room was so dark, though, that I had no idea that the side-chamber was there until after I'd dealt with the former humans. The outdoor yard to the northwest has a decidedly modern feel to its star encounter as a platform-bound Cyberdemon provides suppression fire during a hefty teleporter invasion. What got me here was a teleporter that leaves you worshipping at an arachnotron-guarded altar and shotgun guys in boiling blood at your sides.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/aaylri9bd4auggx/soulcage13g.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/aaylri9bd4auggx/soulcage13g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was not a required jaunt, but teleporters figure fairly heavily into the level's progression. The layout is actually broken into three isolated areas that are only linked together via telepads. The arrangement may leave the player doubly confused as you can find the blue and yellow keys before ever seeing their associated doors, which are found at the other end of teleporters. The optional transporters fulfill functions like taking you to a secret area or returning you from the sawtooth drop into the southwestern cistern. The previously-mentioned warp to the arachnotron isn't necessarily a trap as it allows you turn the passage over the nearby damage floor into a one-way trip. That isn't quite how it worked out for me, however.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/dh1ihf01x4b2e4m/soulcage13h.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/dh1ihf01x4b2e4m/soulcage13h.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you've been keeping tally then you may have figured out that there are no less than two Cyberdemons in this level. Alfredson is a very generous dungeon master, however, and supplies abound. There are several invul spheres as well as BFGs to be found as well as megaspheres and even a rad suit. You don't even need to blow ammo on the second Cybie as a teleporter in that leg of the map exists mainly as a means to telefrag it. Players can afford to be a little reckless and all the super-thin wall arrangements and cages make it just as hard for the monsters to chase them. Anyone who fears <b>Doom II</b>'s stranger creatures has little to fear here. The sole appearing arch-vile is a sitting duck in its <b>Soulcage</b> enclosure.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c8lcljclosawyha/soulcage13i.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c8lcljclosawyha/soulcage13i.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a pretty good 1995 map in the slower-paced style. I had a lot of fun poking around and unravelling the layout and its surprise encounters. If you are at all enamored of the ponderous but punchy pacing found early in the community's history then you absolutely ought to give <b>Soulcage</b> a shot.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/s-u/soulcage"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">FREE TO FLUTTER</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">IN MEMORIES OF THEIR WASTED WINGS</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-85013754287995237932022-02-17T01:35:00.003-06:002022-04-25T06:58:26.235-05:00E2M1ER (E2M1ER.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">E2M1ER</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Esa Repo aka "Espi"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/csuxu7m1v8hn1ti/e2m1er201b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/csuxu7m1v8hn1ti/e2m1er201b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Espi kicked off his career with the experimental <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/02/barons-o-fun-brnsofunwad.html">Barons o' Fun</a></b>, a level where the object was to goad goat men into tearing each other apart over barrel splash damage. Esa wouldn't upload another single player level to /idgames until nearly a year later in mid-2001, where he dusted off "an old PWAD" for release alongside an updated-but-previously-released-elsewhere <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/04/entryway-karmeawad.html">KARMEA</a></b>. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/d-f/e2m1er">E2M1ER</a></b> is an E2M1 replacement, natch, and a full-fledged level as compared to <b>BRNSOFUN</b>'s arcade-style execution. Between this level and his <b>Laitos</b>, which originally appeared in the <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/07/doomcenter-e1-mapping-contest.html">DoomCenter E1 Mapping Contest</a></b>, it's clear that Espi liked making OG <b>Doom</b> levels in his idiosyncratic style. I wonder how they compare to his entries in the piecemealed <b>Flashback</b> project.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p33k512n8f6kkz9/e2m1er201c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p33k512n8f6kkz9/e2m1er201c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>E2M1ER</b> does not have a given plot but it has Espi's penchant for storytelling through thing placement. You're in an overrun UAC facility complete with occasional security checkpoints. These figure into the level's DoomCute factor with individual, adjacent buttons that open and then close nearby doors. There are occasional instances where you locate lone holdout marines that experienced a grisly last stand. One lower chamber is the location of a brutal slaughter / torture room. Given where zombie troopers come from, it's clear that the station underwent an infernal invasion resulting in the corruption or execution of all site personnel.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0wjebfvqx359wff/e2m1er201d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0wjebfvqx359wff/e2m1er201d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The depth of detailing that Espi would come to be known for isn't necessarily apparent but the level's layout is an absolute treat to explore. It's highly interconnected through windows and multiple key doors link sections in order to facilitate backtracking, should that be your desire. You are generally capable of visiting any area you can see, demonstrated early on through the imp-infested outdoor ledge glimpsed from the starting area. The one major exception is a world-building outdoor area seen toward the end of the level. To ease the burden of mental mapping, the level is divided pretty cleanly into southern and northern complexes, the split accomplished by a large, outdoor yard. It's one of the level's most expansive moments as you can see straight across into the northern building at one points, stirring up the monsters therein.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ptwdphets3wfsf9/e2m1er201g.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ptwdphets3wfsf9/e2m1er201g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I noted with his <b>LAITOS</b> as it originally featured in <b>DoomCenter's E1 Mapping Contest</b>, the bulk of Repo's window-dressing consists of judicious and understated texture usage. While there are a handful of recessed panels, none of them are the sort of floor-to-ceiling light sconces made popular by John Anderson. Espi is also pretty big here on using upper / lower wall texture cheats, something that confused the Hell out of me when I first started playing <b>Doom</b> user maps. For the uninitiated, this involves embedding a sector in a wall and smooshing the floor and ceiling together so that you can split the wall into upper and lower segments for additional detailing.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/k6g1hodz1rj5kh3/e2m1er201j.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/k6g1hodz1rj5kh3/e2m1er201j.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are a few DoomCute specifics in the level's sector detailing that make for some neat novelties. I already mentioned the two-button security doors but Repo has a few realistically-designed industrial stairwells as well as some computer stations. The early descent into a techguts passageway connecting to the southeastern multimedia room made the beginning of the map feel cool and unusual merely through repurposed resources. The cramped corridors mean that the architecture doesn't often get a chance to shine but I really liked the circular foyer that adjoins the southern complex to the central yard. The size of the northwestern room and its symmetric grand staircases convey its importance as a location as befits the finale.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lpr3b266vaziswf/e2m1er201h.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lpr3b266vaziswf/e2m1er201h.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All of the interconnections that make <b>E2M1ER</b> so visually interesting are also a major source of its moderately-challenging difficulty. Each window is a vector for shotgun guy blasts or imp / cacodemon projectiles and if you aren't vigilant then you're probably going to catch a sucker punch or three. Esa isn't big on staged fights, here, but there is a mid-level teleport ambush and re-seed to catch the player off-guard. The biggest fight involves two silos full of cacodemons and makes for a pretty meaty grind, regardless of how readily the plasma gun and rocket launcher were entrusted to the player. Once you blow your cells and explosives it's down to a long, drawn-out shotgun shootout.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8fnwss3bd9yibx8/e2m1er201k.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8fnwss3bd9yibx8/e2m1er201k.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had no idea where Esa was going to go after <b>Barons o' Fun</b> but I could have known that between his EPISMAP from <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/12/10-sectors-part-2-10secto2wad.html">10 Sectors Part 2</a></b> and <b>LAITOS</b> that he was going to come out swinging. So much of the skeleton of <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/04/suspended-in-dusk-sidwad.html">Suspended In Dusk</a></b> is already apparent in these layouts, too. I really liked <b>E2M1ER</b> and there's a good chance that you will, too, if you're down with picking your way through infested UAC outposts. Go ahead and give it a shot!</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/d-f/e2m1er"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">THE PREM18ER</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-3463248384422507032022-02-12T07:13:00.002-06:002022-03-05T16:26:46.798-06:00Duse Ex Machina (DXEM.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">DUSE EX MACHINA</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Andy Leaver</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mv483ob5oyvio7h/dxem307a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mv483ob5oyvio7h/dxem307a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As it turns out, Andy can do levels for the original <b>Doom</b> beyond Knee Deep in the Dead. If you'd played most of his previous maps - <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/bitebwad-bitebwadwad.html">bitebwad</a></b>, his levels in <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/no-hope-for-life-episode-1-back-to.html">NHFL</a></b>, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/indifference-indifferencewad.html">Indifference</a></b>, and <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/timelessness-tribute-to-fear-factory.html">Timelessness</a></b> - it wouldn't be a stretch for you to believe otherwise. Every one of them was Phobos to the core with a shareware-exclusive bestiary. Here, then, is <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/d-f/dxem">Duse Ex Machina</a></b> [sic], an E3M7 replacement released in mid-to-late 2003. It also proved to be a swan song of sorts. Published shortly after the first <b>Community Chest</b>, it's also the last map that Leaver would make for <b>Doom</b>, original or <b>Ultimate</b>. Everything from here on out would be <b>Doom II</b>, whether for the <b>CCHEST</b> series or his aborted <b>No Hope For Life Episode II</b>.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/uisy18gtaxbmi6h/dxem307b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/uisy18gtaxbmi6h/dxem307b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>DXEM</b> has no supplied story but it involves teleporters and one of those weird floor / sky gates so it appears to be something along the lines of Doomguy's continuing adventures in Hell. Well, it might not necessarily be the last marine, but no one is more qualified to eke out their existence in an eternal struggle over the mercurial topography of the Inferno. I don't mind; there's an infinitude of <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/11/hellscape-dhs-lutzwad.html">Hellscape</a></b> to traverse and I love seeing what nightmares authors dream up. This particular pitstop consists of two distinct areas that are linked by teleporters. One is an outdoor, granite badland with some ruined marble structures. The other is a green marble fortress / dungeon type thing.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/eg4cn82j3qi2bit/dxem307c.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/eg4cn82j3qi2bit/dxem307c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The general flow of the level progresses from the eastern side of the outdoor area and into the teleporter-bound dungeon. You eventually appear on the ledge that divides the east side of the badland from the west. From here you jump down to find a teleporter that takes you to a previously inaccessible (but visible) portion of the fortress. Using warps to enter previously-glimpsed areas is a great <b>Doom</b> motif and partially descended from the map slot that this level occupies, Tom Hall's and Sandy Petersen's "Limbo". It can be a little disorienting, though. I got turned around in my head while I was on top of the dividing ledge and thought - for whatever reason - that a couple of new caves had opened up on the ground level. That was not the case.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mxov57ojrhugysi/dxem307d.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mxov57ojrhugysi/dxem307d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's a fair amount of contrast between the interior and exterior areas, amping up what would already be a natural disparity. The outdoor spaces are fairly broad and, while there are some damage floors, they're pretty easy to maneuver through. The big exception is the narrow tunnel that links the east and west portions, emphasizing the inherent claustrophobia of subterranean action complete with moving panels that sneakily release lost souls. The heart of the green marble fortress has low ceilings and close quarters only to give way to larger, more distinctive chambers once you pass through the connective tissue. I am vaguely reminded of the general architecture and busy texturing style that Karthik Abhiram Krishna employed beginning with <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/08/congestion-control-cctwad.html">Congestion Control</a></b>, I think because of the ubiquitous grey metal struts.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0lcy3un9713j2w4/dxem307e.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0lcy3un9713j2w4/dxem307e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Andy's take on combat re: E3 is more reserved than his massive E1 bodycounts. He uses lost souls in the common tricksy fashion, putting them in places where they can sneak up on the player due to the lack of a wakeup noise. Cacodemons appear sparingly but feature in two of the more memorable encounters. Five or so of them back an ominous thicket that borders the cave where you can find the rocket launcher. Another squad supports the level's sole Baron of Hell, but that battle sets you up with the plasma gun and a ton of ammo. The shotgun guys and imps do a decent enough job of chipping away at your health and harrying you, whether from a ledge or in the cramped fortress halls. Demons, on the other hand, felt hamstrung by being stuck ineffectually in certain locations.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/qzu6ta3os9lck8e/dxem307f.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/qzu6ta3os9lck8e/dxem307f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In that respect, <b>Duse Ex Machina</b> is remarkable as a Hell-themed level that doesn't try to break the back of the player like the original Inferno, let alone <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-ultimate-doom-doomwad.html">Thy Flesh Consumed</a></b>. This may be a turn-off for OG <b>Doom</b> players who expect a little more teeth to their battles but it makes for a fun little errantry. If you love wandering through infernal landscapes then you should give <b>DXEM</b> a play.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/d-f/dxem"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">DOG BY MACHINE</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-66929442997437223972022-02-07T05:19:00.002-06:002022-03-05T16:27:24.378-06:00Barons o' Fun (BRNSOFUN.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">BARONS O' FUN</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Esa Repo aka "Espi"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/r6nqyglyu9yxj5e/brnsofun108a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/r6nqyglyu9yxj5e/brnsofun108a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Espi is one of the most celebrated authors of the <b>Doom</b> community. I've only touched on his <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/04/suspended-in-dusk-sidwad.html">Suspended in Dusk</a></b>, but his <b>Back to Basics</b> and level in <b>Eternal Doom IV</b>, "The Shrine" (MAP27), are similarly lauded. When we instituted a lifetime achievement award for the Cacowards, it was named in his honor. And it all began with this. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/a-c/brnsofun">Barons o' Fun</a></b> is an E1M8 replacement for the original <b>Doom</b>. Released in 2000, the name clearly refers to Barons of Hell while also implying the presence of explosive barrels due to it being a take on <b>Doom II</b>'s "Barrels o' Fun" (MAP23). You will have both, but the execution may be simpler than you were expecting.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rft4239miec36nj/brnsofun108b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rft4239miec36nj/brnsofun108b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>BRNSOFUN</b> is effectively a gimmick map, more akin to those early concept maps where people demonstrated the game's notably weird behavior when it was still wild and exciting. What Esa wanted to show you is that monsters that destroy a barrel and in doing so, harm another monster of the same species, end up provoking infighting to be executed via tooth and claw. In this it is similar to Paul Corfiatis's <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2018/08/mad-stuff-for-doom-2-madwad.html">MAD STUFF FOR DOOM II</a></b>. At least, mechanically speaking. Espi's work here is however much cleaner and gives the final product a more arcade-like feeling, as though I could have sat through a whole megaWAD of variations on this premise.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ubc3p6lbdzjyv5h/brnsofun108c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ubc3p6lbdzjyv5h/brnsofun108c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It had to be E1M8 for several reasons, of course. "Phobos Anomaly" is an official level where the behavior was likely to be discovered given that two Barons are present in the same location with a number of close-by barrels. More importantly, it's also the only level in the original <b>Doom</b> where slaying all of the Barons will cause a specific action. In a level like this, the primary challenge is in effecting the death of the goat men and doing so involves the player being able to lead them about. Thus, they can't guard anything like a key or an exit. By leveraging special sector tag 666, the author has created a situation where you must accomplish the destruction of all four Barons in order to win.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xcr7q6ezje3fg96/brnsofun108d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xcr7q6ezje3fg96/brnsofun108d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's challenging, of course. The playing field does not allow for infinite barrels so you have a finite number of opportunities to provoke sudden death duels between the goat men. Some of the explosives will no doubt blow apart as collateral damage. The drums toward the edge of the map are less desirable as a means for mischief since you have to be relatively close to them in order to herd a Baron anywhere nearby. By the time you are using one of them, though, you will hopefully have manipulated the monsters into significantly reducing their numbers. At which point, uh, just pop those barrels with your pistol unless you're trying to do a Pacifist run.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7pttd8mixx4hjuq/brnsofun108e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7pttd8mixx4hjuq/brnsofun108e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also know that there are some oddities regarding how barrels actually trigger monster infighting. In the original .EXE, a barrel that is destroyed in one hit dies before it has any memory of what hit it and thus does not propagate its impotent, barrel hatred among afflicted bystanders. You would need to get a Baron to hit a drum, have it not explode, and then have the goat man finish the job in order for the barrel to properly trigger infighting. I am glazing over some technicalities that you can read up on in the <a href="https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Barrel">DoomWiki article for Barrel</a>. I am fairly sure, however, that ZDoom altered this behavior to more intuitive behavior, e.g. whatever destroys the drum gets the hate. As to whether it was altered back when Espi tested this in ZDoom back in 2000, well, I leave that to people who love pouring over source code.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0g5xkwcngrf24iz/brnsofun108f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0g5xkwcngrf24iz/brnsofun108f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Barons o' Fun</b> may not appear to be an auspicious beginning for Espi's career but it reveals how mechanically imaginative he was as an author. I love seeing people play around on the fringes of <b>Doom</b>'s typical gameplay and hope to see more such experiments from Esa over his subsequent works.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/eafindit"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SOCKA BARON BLOW THEN</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-49642702207942222792022-02-02T08:09:00.003-06:002022-03-05T16:28:08.046-06:00Find It (EAFINDIT.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">FIND IT</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Erik Alm</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/a9a39baxgesg2h1/eafindit01d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/a9a39baxgesg2h1/eafindit01d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Released after <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2021/04/europa-3-dark-side-of-vrack-eaeuro03wad.html">Europa 3: The Dark Side of Vrack</a></b>, this is an EA level that you won't find much discussion of. Comments on /idgames are mixed, the highest-rating given by someone who assumed that this is merely a troll level with the author maliciously using Alm's name. The two 0-star comments consist of a simple "barf" and someone appalled at the idea that Erik could even conceive of making a jokewad. I wonder whether it even received any attention prior to the author establishing his reputation through <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2015/03/scythe-scythewad.html">Scythe</a></b> and, later, <b>Scythe II</b>. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/eafindit">Find It</a></b> is a MAP01 replacement for <b>Doom II</b>, published in April of 2002. It requires a source port that supports Fragglescript, originally crafted for Simon Howard's SMMU. For a long time this basically meant that it could only be played back in (G)ZDoom and Legacy but it seems like more folks are doing retro-revival ports for modern architectures.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mhngq1ukgqnz9id/eafindit01a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mhngq1ukgqnz9id/eafindit01a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The concept of the map is simple. The arena is a big, box warehouse with a healthy smattering of crates. There are a bunch of lethal monsters thumping about including three arch-viles and two pain elementals. As you start trying to get your bearings, you hear a voice - presumably Alm's - declaring whether you are getting "warmer" or "colder" while telling you "hot" when you are close. He also says something that I couldn't quite distinguish when you are very far away ("You must be freezing your ass off"). Yes; it's "hot or cold" while a small army of demons tries to slaughter you. The audio is attempting to guide you to the blue skull key which, when obtained, ends the level in victory for you.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/5bkazc6r52rois4/eafindit01b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/5bkazc6r52rois4/eafindit01b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The object would be easy to find were it not for the varied horde of monsters, of course. Knowing where it is, you still have to deal with a veritable blockade of beasties. Some demon slayers may not be satisfied until all of the Hellspawn are destroyed. To this end, Alm has supplied a plasma gun and tons of cell ammo. There isn't much margin for error since the author has neglected to provide any health or armor pickups. This gives the action a decidedly arcade-like feel. Your mileage may vary as you desperately dodge arch-vile flames while trying not to get body-blocked by revenants or arachnotrons and avoiding chaingunner cover fire. If this seems like a bit much, well, the only thing to be gleaned from lesser difficulties is the 50% enemy damage nerf.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/l0uleztgcqr7o16/eafindit01c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/l0uleztgcqr7o16/eafindit01c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As far as proof-of-concept goes, this "jokewad" is a wicked cool idea and the script looks like it's super easy to extrapolate to other PWADs. Provided that their target ports can use Fragglescript, of course. It looks like you could even do something other than audio clips. Not to harsh on the DoomCute vibe of the voice prompt, but as charmed as I am by this sole instance I imagine that it would quickly wear thin if repeated over a longer set. Granted, it doesn't actually sound if the player stops moving for a few seconds, not that you would know here when you have to be constantly on the move.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p1wjd0h69h2tvc1/eafindit01e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p1wjd0h69h2tvc1/eafindit01e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Find It</b>'s target audience appears to be the intersection of folks who aren't too serious to enjoy "quirky" levels and those who are capable of enduring chaotic, high skill-ceiling combat. Somewhere in all this is probably the germination of the notion that Erik Alm is secretly Ruba. If you are at all interested in hearing Alm out here then grant him the chance to give you a smile.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/eafindit"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">THE FOUNDLING</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-46084125516704728202022-01-28T07:53:00.001-06:002022-03-05T16:28:49.190-06:00R.A.V.E. (RAVE.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">R.A.V.E.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Andy Leaver</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/meb614coxg7ogk6/ravet.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/meb614coxg7ogk6/ravet.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In spite of using another <b>Rise of the Triad</b> track (Lee Jackson's "Chant"), <a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/p-r/rave" style="font-weight: bold;">R.A.V.E.</a> shows a break in Andy's modus operandi. Up until this point he had exclusively published single-player levels for the original <b>Doom</b>. Specifically, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/bitebwad-bitebwadwad.html">bitebwad</a></b>, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/no-hope-for-life-episode-1-back-to.html">NHFL</a></b>, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/indifference-indifferencewad.html">Indifference</a></b>, and <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/timelessness-tribute-to-fear-factory.html">Timelessness</a></b> were all shareware episode excursions. This and the two-map demo for <b>No Hope For Life Episode II</b> constitute the entirety of his non-multiplayer solo <b>Doom II</b> releases with the rest of them appearing in the <b>Community Chest</b> series. <b>RAVE</b> is a MAP01 replacement, originally made available in 2003. It was originally intended to be the demo for <b>NHFL</b>'s E2 but Leaver apparently changed his mind somewhere between now and 2005, I assume because he wanted to take the set in a different direction.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wt7y3qhkinqhbeu/rave01a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wt7y3qhkinqhbeu/rave01a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Andy's style up to this point used the shareware bestiary exclusively and even stayed away from using the Baron. This level isn't much different in spirit as it shuns all of the <b>Doom II</b> monsters with complex attack patterns. Only the chaingun and Hell knight appear here. The one new toy that Leaver pulls out of the original kit is the cacodemon. Both goatmen and big-mouth floaty thingies appear in large numbers, however, making for a very HP-dense level in spite of its small monster count. These 54 beasties are crammed into something like a small green-plated warehouse, which may be part of the reason why the author gave it the name <b>R.A.V.E.</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/g8xdqijpzxptyde/rave01c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/g8xdqijpzxptyde/rave01c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The start involves a dance of sorts as you fight a combination of demons and cacos in the main storage area. The provided combat shotgun only feels somewhat adequate given how awkward it is to move in the playing area, occupied both by crates and space-hogging monsters. Part of this appears to be to drive you deeper into the level in order to find some more firepower. In this case, your faith rewards you with a small trail of shells leading to a regular shotgun as well as a chaingun in the hands of a commando. Andy also mentions two secrets in the .TXT to look out for that will considerably increase your margin for victory. It's definitely doable without the soul sphere but if you skip the backpack / ammo cache then you may have to be a little more resourceful and a lot more accurate.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ccspkpr9k1t4a2s/rave01d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ccspkpr9k1t4a2s/rave01d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once you have the SSG and have cleared out the starting area you have two major segments left. The west wing is awkward to clear due to the monster placement and its prevalence of Hell knights. Monster blocking lines ensure that the player must take an approach that is both tactical and adventurous. The eastern leg is just a monster-dense combat shotgun slog that should be engaging enough to draw you through to the exit. It's not the finale that one might be expecting after the hot start and tricky blue key room but it completes a sort of trifecta of encounter styles. It feels vaguely familiar to the beefy base brawls that make up so much of the first episode of <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2015/06/hell-revealed-ii-hr2finalwad.html">Hell Revealed II</a></b>, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2013/04/alien-vendetta-avwad.html">Alien Vendetta</a></b>, or <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/01/kama-sutra-ksutrawad.html">Kama Sutra</a></b>.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sicifhtbh0ybufm/rave01e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sicifhtbh0ybufm/rave01e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>R.A.V.E.</b> is not the prettiest PWAD that Andy has released but it takes combat to more hard-hitting depths than any of his shareware-oriented material. It will be interesting to see what exactly changed between here and his <b>FATEDEMO</b> or if this dense, punchy style carries over to his contemporary <b>CCHEST</b> levels. If all you're looking for is a short, tight, and action-packed blitz, then you could do a lot worse than this.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/p-r/rave"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">PEACE</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">LOVE</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">UNITY</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">R.A.V.E.</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-38870623105390183432022-01-23T21:33:00.005-06:002022-03-05T16:29:48.212-06:00Timelessness (Tribute to Fear Factory) (TIMELESS.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">TIMELESSNESS</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">TRIBUTE TO FEAR FACTORY</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Andy Leaver</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/nurvijquua9flmt/timelesst.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/nurvijquua9flmt/timelesst.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Andy Leaver is the only Doomworld member to have contributed to all four iterations of the <b>Community Chest</b> series. When he wasn't making <b>Doom II</b> levels, though, he was carrying a huge torch for original <b>Doom</b> maps. <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/bitebwad-bitebwadwad.html">bitebwad</a></b>, his debut, featured low-key E1 action in straightforward, abstract layouts. His levels in 2001's <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/no-hope-for-life-episode-1-back-to.html">No Hope For Life Episode 1</a></b> consisted of novel constructions with the Phobos texture scheme and 2002's <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/indifference-indifferencewad.html">Indifference</a></b> continued in more or less the same vein. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/s-u/timeless">Timelessness</a></b>, an E1M3 replacement for the original <b>Doom</b> released in 2003, is an overt homage to John Romero's "Computer Station" (E1M7).</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h8y6twr7996cllr/timeless103a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/h8y6twr7996cllr/timeless103a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>TIMELESS</b> does not have a given story - Andy was never much on providing one - but it does have a subtitle. The whole digimort conundrum between <b>bitebwad</b> and <b>NHFL</b> was solved here by some cursory googling. Fear Factory is an industrial metal band, I assume one of Leaver's most favorite given that he declared this map a tribute to them. The title of this level as well as four of <b>No Hope For Life</b>'s map names come from songs on Fear Factory's 1998 and 2001 releases. I suppose that it may have made more sense to declare this a tribute to "Computer Station", but Andy picked an appropriate title given the perennial adulation given toward Knee Deep in the Dead.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/41rl8ib303lm3so/timeless103b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/41rl8ib303lm3so/timeless103b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a fairly large base level, much like E1M7. Andy, though, has stocked up the opposition with something like half again as many monsters as Romero's map. It's all shareware, as was the case with <b>Indifference</b>, and nary a Baron to be found. <b>Timelessness</b> feels visually interconnected with all of the nukage-facing windows but there is less overall threat through player-neglected viewports. The major exception is a winding gauntlet through imp- and zombie-infested lands that brings the element of a penultimate climax through shades of "The Living End". It's easy to feel overwhelmed at first since the opposition is so numerous and you are free to pursue something like five different directions with beasties gumming up each one.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/weaw24le864uuqy/timeless103c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/weaw24le864uuqy/timeless103c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Plus, Leaver has a handful of high-density monster closets for you to tangle with, usually associated with major progression points. This is a calling card of Andy's mostly in how rarely little, "surprise" closets are used, coupled with the sheer bulk lurking in these spaces. Hellspawn are more poised to mob you as a horde, which is better in-keeping with the original <b>Doom</b>'s "last marine" combat aesthetic. There is one super DoomCute thing going on right off the entrance. Leaver has two opposed zombie cavities blocked by three-piece piston-shutters. The hazard is irregular to deal with, dangerous to focus on during the opening shootout, and perilous to ignore.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c7aryb1ha0gqeho/timeless103d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c7aryb1ha0gqeho/timeless103d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Timelessness</b> is a good-looking level. It feels like a slightly more detailed take on Knee Deep in the Dead with a lot of irregular hallway angles and room shapes as well as Leaver's simple but effective ambient lighting. As I look at this I also realize that, like Romero, Andy has tended to start his maps off with a strong symmetric core and - like "Computer Station" - they spin out from there into something more "organic". The general presentation of the map makes it recognizable as an E1M7 homage as lots of corridor-bound windows look out into an indoor nukage system. The flavor of the architectural embellishments is also there, including a consistent theme of bridges connecting the main western area to eastern annexes (flipped from the E1M7 arrangement).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4va6ds12c1v1hmj/timeless103e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4va6ds12c1v1hmj/timeless103e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Among the more overt homages include the circular elevator platform used to access secrets on either side of the bridge and the computer room with accessible upper area that houses a rocket launcher. Andy has also stuffed in the secret soul sphere but, in an interesting turn of events, it requires the blue key to fully traverse as its route cuts across and over the final leg of the map. The finale, with its aforementioned gauntlet, constitutes the greatest deviation from Romero's plan. I enjoyed its extended shooting gallery assault, though, and the Sandy Petersen-esque access tunnel trifecta that follows gives you your closing shot of DoomCute.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/el28z9ewy1tqjee/timeless103f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/el28z9ewy1tqjee/timeless103f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The idea of it being a tribute to an industrial metal band is sort of undercut by using <b>Rise of the Triad</b>'s "I Choose the Stairs" for its backing track. As a player, however, it signals to me that the action is going to be relatively light-hearted. And it is! If you're looking for some original <b>Doom</b> action and don't mind seeing strong echoes of "Computer Station" then you should give <b>Timelessness</b> a play.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/s-u/timeless"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>I'VE FELT DARKNESS CLOSING IN ON ME</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>CHILLING SHADOWS SURROUNDING ME</b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-78922126846587140742022-01-19T21:50:00.002-06:002022-03-05T16:30:34.233-06:00Silent Halls (SILHALLS.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SILENT HALLS</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by "Memfis"</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/40u76klx2hpm7gd/silhalls01a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/40u76klx2hpm7gd/silhalls01a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Memfis made a ton of levels from 2011-2014 and more than half of these were built during 2013-2014. A lot of his works were soft-released on the Doomworld forums and then uploaded in bulk in mid-2014. This was for a variety of reasons, I'm sure. As an author, he has a ton of facets and is perfectly willing to explore grueling challenge-style levels - like <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2021/12/download-downloadwad.html">Download</a></b> - just as readily as he pays tribute to community classics like <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/07/icarus-alien-vanguard-icaruswad.html">Icarus: Alien Vanguard</a></b> with <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/09/icarumem-icarumemwad.html">ICARUMEM</a></b>. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/silhalls">Silent Halls</a></b> feels like it leans more toward the latter category, which only figures as it is a reject from a megaWAD that he was developing that was heavily inspired by <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/11/requiem-requiemwad.html">Requiem</a></b>, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/04/mmwad-memento-mori.html">Memento Mori</a></b>, and <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/05/memento-mori-ii-mm2wad.html">MM2</a></b>. Originally occupying the MAP02 slot, it is presented here as a MAP01 replacement that ought to work in limit-removing sourceports.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/yzxn1vm4q0p0uqo/silhalls01b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/yzxn1vm4q0p0uqo/silhalls01b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The author cut this from his in utero project because it felt "directionless" - "just connectivity for the sake of connectivity". The idea is that it was an early-megaWAD map but classic PWAD layouts tend toward something more linear in execution. I agree in principle. This does not make <b>Silent Halls</b> a bad map, but it certainly does not embody the facets of the Moeller megaWADs as he perceived them. Thankfully this means that he published it individually rather than letting it languish in obscurity as part of an unfinished work! The final product is a well-interconnected level with optional areas that are tucked away, some of which are secret. I hit upon a few of these during my playthrough but still had to do an end-of-level roundup to completely clear the map.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/titroy3nqqh87jh/silhalls01f.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/titroy3nqqh87jh/silhalls01f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And I enjoy that. Somewhere at the core of <b>Doom</b> lies the <b>Dungeons and Dragons</b> sessions that inspired the thrust of the game and it is generally a treat for me to explore these digital environments, every nook and cranny. It pays to discover these side areas earlier, of course. You might end up with an early chaingun pickup or a green armor. I especially like that the two secrets are the only means of examining areas that are otherwise solely glimpsed at in the level's periphery. It's similar to the way in which world-building is accomplished through idtech1 level design except enterprising players can find the VIP entrance to some exclusive haunts.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gilxr6zey84wxe9/silhalls01d.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gilxr6zey84wxe9/silhalls01d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Silent Halls</b> is a handsome beige brick castle / dungeon / thing with a few outdoor yards and outer towers / strongholds. It's an engaging virtual environment for explorers due to the aspects of its level design that Memfis was dissatisfied with. Some of the details, like the gated back alley on the west side, also evoke - for me - shades of <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/11/eternal-doom-eternalwad.html">Eternal Doom</a></b>. There is nothing of its geometry-bound cryptography, however, outside of the aforementioned secrets. I'm a sucker for all of the <b>Memento Mori</b> et al Gothic metal and stuff and <b>SILHALLS</b> delivers with a healthy mix of both stock and custom textures. It all fits together for a feel that's both classic and fresh. There's one wicked cool bit with popup / popdown staircases that reminds me of <b>MM2</b>'s "The Nephilim" (MAP16).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/06norlso58o75e2/silhalls01e.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/06norlso58o75e2/silhalls01e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As far as combat is concerned, the main danger in this map comes from player exposure due to its highly interconnected nature. Monsters are hiding out on balconies or capable of shooting through windows to chip away at your health. As a microcosm, the style is evidenced in the blue key fight. It's obvious that the key is trapped but the resulting encounter is a two-pronged battle. A peanut gallery of hitscanners opens up behind your position while a cacodemon and couple of other uglies pop out from a monster closet. If you try to deal with either front then you're exposed to the opposite. There is a third option, of course, provided that you don't fall into the inescapable damage pit as you leg it out of there.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/u6n4kkozhv23q8o/silhalls01g.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/u6n4kkozhv23q8o/silhalls01g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You are capable of playing safely and, well, slowly, or you can rush in and react accordingly. Ammo is less of a concern than in some of the author's past works as is in keeping with the more bountiful golden age of demonslaying. It's less resource-intensive overall, with some curious characteristics that are no doubt due to its proposed early slot in a '96-'97 influenced PWAD. The combat leans away from the punchy <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-plutonia-experiment-plutoniawad.html">Plutonia</a></b> style due to your weapons being limited to the regular shotgun and chaingun. The commando is the only confounding critter from <b>Doom II</b> to show its ugly face and appears sparingly. If you find the skill-intensive gameplay of "newschool" level design to be inimical to your enjoyment, especially as it exploits the expanded bestiary, then have I got a level for you.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/n9h9h7ztq9zterk/silhalls01h.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/n9h9h7ztq9zterk/silhalls01h.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Silent Halls</b> is a modest little microcosm that comes as a treat when, over time, community level design has trended toward more tightly-balanced and demanding combat. I'm sure that I wouldn't be the only one to enjoy a complete Memfis megaWAD treatment of maps of this caliber. For now, however, we must make do with such gems as they are dutifully metered out.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/silhalls"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>QUIET WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD</b></span></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-48469197901284535272022-01-15T08:38:00.003-06:002022-03-05T16:31:32.949-06:00OTTAWAU.WAD ver 0.9 (OTTAWA09.WAD)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2e96np4kdjgyg9w/ottawa09t.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2e96np4kdjgyg9w/ottawa09t.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jean-Serge Gagnon released and updated his <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2017/09/forest-valley-forestwad.html">Forest Valley</a></b> PWAD through 1994-1995. The final publication included a teaser for his next subject - the Ottawa University that must have been near and dear to his heart. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/m-o/ottawa09">OTTAWAU</a></b> was never properly finished. Gagnon had planned out level names for the entire episode but in spite of the "ver 0.9" descriptor, the set only spans E1M1-E1M5 and E1M9. E1M5 only has the starting area built and it's apparent after perusing README.1ST that Gagnon and his team were not even finished with the maps that are included in <b>OTTAWAU</b>. This more or less final version was published in March of '95, a few days after the last version of <b>FOREST</b>.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ktoduvm7xm6og02/ottawa09101c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ktoduvm7xm6og02/ottawa09101c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>OTTAWA09</b> doesn't have a story but there is something implied in the thing placement, that being a demonic invasion of the Ottawa University campus! Some soldiers either attempted to fend off the assault or were part of a broader campaign to clear out the buildings but were overwhelmed by the hordes of zombified students and Hellspawn. You're made of sterner stuff, though, and set out to purge the university of demonic taint. Some of the details imply that the monsters are inflicting some occult trappings to the fabric of reality. You know, stuff like nightmare rooms and floating candles. Nothing too Satanic.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/fo69895ije7ja3v/ottawa09101d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/fo69895ije7ja3v/ottawa09101d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gagnon's package is not ready for use in modern source ports or, really, even the original <b>Doom</b>. It's one of those things that had its own install process for graphics that are stored in a format specifically for the installation and, err, modification of the .EXE in the same way that DeHackEd does. Thankfully, one of the patron saints of oldstuff - Never_Again - <a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/combos/ou-fix">created a "fix" that breaks these things out</a> so that we can enjoy the PWAD more or less the way it was made to look in 1995. The biggest exception are transparent, glass windows that will not render correctly outside of DOS / Chocolate Doom / etc. due to the vagaries of their construction. These only appear in E1M1, though this does mar what is architecturally the most interesting level in the whole set.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vrkzshrlal0u4di/ottawa09102d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vrkzshrlal0u4di/ottawa09102d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, Jean-Serge had a level design team composed of himself, Peter Naus (of <b>Halls of Hex</b> fame), and Daniel J. Deighan. From what I can tell, the work flow was something like this: Gagnon made the layouts of each included building, after which Naus did additional detail work with particular attention to lighting. Dan's contributions appeared to be thing placement and texture alignment. It looks like the authors passed the PWAD back and forth as they iterated. If you are curious as to how closely the levels resemble their real-world counterparts, then you can do a cursory comparison between the automap and some of the floor plans that are available on the Ottawa University web site.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xxz1hqxufst5kb7/ottawa09101b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xxz1hqxufst5kb7/ottawa09101b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Montpetit Hall" (E1M1) feels like the most "finished" of the entire set, and it hasn't changed much if at all from its appearance as <b>Forest Valley</b>'s E2M9. The best trick of the whole thing is the impenetrable glass window look. The combat is definitely the most balanced with the thing placement in subsequent levels having more of a survival horror / challenge mode feel. "Vanier Hall" (E1M2), in contrast, has few if any of the architectural flourishes that stand out in E1M1. Only the realistic stairwells look at home. It is large, deadly, and dull, such that the few bits of decorations amid the numerous rooms stand out like sore thumbs.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rx25ky1u8r53rth/ottawa09102c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rx25ky1u8r53rth/ottawa09102c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Floor plans for the "Child Study Center" (E1M3) are unavailable and the building itself was destroyed some time after Gagnon (here I presume) attended. News articles say that it was shut down in the late '80s but this may have only been the closure of one of its functions; Ottawa U's page suggests that it was closed down three months after <b>OTTAWA09</b>'s release. In performing research for this review I read <a href="https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/the-journey-back-to-where-i-began-finding-myself-at-the-child-study-centre">an account from an Indigenous Canadian person</a> who looked back at his time at the Child Study Centre as a transitionary period. He had been adopted after the state essentially stole him away from his grandmother and bounced him between a melange of care houses. When the trauma of his displacement began to manifest itself in his adopted family, he began to visit and eventually stay at the Centre, which was partly intended to offer "psychological assistance or intervention".</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vl9h6ronoja2h6w/ottawa09103b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vl9h6ronoja2h6w/ottawa09103b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The man eventually became a ward of the state and since came to terms with the trauma that his adopted family could not soothe and the Child Study Centre was ill-conditioned to help him process. He acknowledges that the staff members who worked with him were ultimately well-intentioned. Comments from readers who had also spent time as children at the Centre point the way toward a darker history of abuse and exploitation, <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/sex-charge-laid-over-1980s-incident">perpetrated by some of the researchers</a>. These particular historical details in retrospect give E1M3 an uncomfortable edge that you could almost feel with the overgrown back yard, broken windows, and its lurking monsters. Given the atmosphere, I imagine that the building was derelict during the time that Gagnon attended.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2cx9qukfist24l8/ottawa09103f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2cx9qukfist24l8/ottawa09103f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The level itself is difficult to clear from pistol start as it has a wide ammo disparity, putting the player at a disadvantage that they cannot hope to immediately intuit. It also has one of the more engaging layouts and even goes so far as to fake room-over-room by using vanilla silent teleports, i.e. blanking out the teleporter fog and audio. There is an unsettling aspect of glimpsing hidden things out of the corners of your eyes as the authors elected to use the dead-end leftovers of the teleporter tricks to hide player powerups. This feature is incidentally the means by which you access the secret level, either unconsciously or deliberately evoking whatever mystique must have surrounded the Centre.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hgwtt2kyy111b49/ottawa09109c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hgwtt2kyy111b49/ottawa09109c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Underground Tunnels" (E1M9) is sprawling but simple and avoids the major sin that pervades the rest of the set by not cramming it full of aesthetically identical and boring rooms. It's a fun level and conjures up some of the action-horror seen in movies like <i>Aliens</i>, which itself informed the development of <b>Doom</b>. "Thompson Residence" (E1M4) by contrast is merely a more intimate retelling of the room-by-room combat seen over E1M1 and E1M2. It does, however, have a sizable outdoor annex resembling a park that you can visit and which is essential to being able to clear the level. "Perez Music Hall" (E1M5) is unfinished but looks as though it would not be deviating from the rote room-clearing run ragged in previous outings.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1eg9mlylq586pfi/ottawa09104f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1eg9mlylq586pfi/ottawa09104f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The overall thrust of the combat consists of moving through hallways and opening up individual rooms, door by door, and finding a trash monster or two. There are some exceptions, primarily in much larger rooms and the outdoor areas. "Vanier Hall" has one chamber that feels like it's jam-packed with zombies and is likely to be the first place where you locate a shotgun within the level. E1M9 has no rooms, really, so the banality comes from how far you have to walk down the corridors... especially after you've dealt with all of the beasties and are trying to handle the key situation. It's generally an unrewarding experience as most of the rooms are completely unfurnished and only have one or two monsters set out with straightforward placement. You'll be lucky to find any ammo inside, let alone whatever key is required to progress.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4xuxlevvpvx2pyk/ottawa09imp.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4xuxlevvpvx2pyk/ottawa09imp.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think that a lot of the criticisms that I have with <b>OTTAWAU</b> are probably endemic to MYSCHOOL WADs. I would like to think, though, that the kids kitting out theirs had a little more imagination if only because of the amount of time that they had invested in their single building vs. myriad colleges. Gagnon's work feels more like a dedicated recreation that could have been done with the floor plans in hand and feel far less lived-in, lacking DoomCute detailing like couches, desks, beds, etc.. As a result, most of the PWAD's charm is lost after E1M1 and its cheeky authorial plug for <b>Forest Valley</b> (a very roundabout way of telling the player to check outside for the door that you just opened).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/d1rtpn06s6csr4r/ottawa09105a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/d1rtpn06s6csr4r/ottawa09105a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I would find it hard to recommend <b>OTTAWAU</b> to anyone who finds exploring realistic layouts deadly dull, especially since the authors neglected to throw in anything that might liven up the exploration. E1M1 is classic early '90s, though, complete with some more interesting aspects of realistic architecture. E1M9 leans a bit more toward a regularly-paced level and E1M3 is remarkable engineering-wise for its fake room-over-room trick with the vanilla "silent" teleporters. If any of this intrigues you, then you might attempt this virtual tour of Ottawa University.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/m-o/ottawa09"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>DOWNLOAD OU-FIX <a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/combos/ou-fix">HERE</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">OTTAWAU.WAD</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">ver 0.9</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Jean-Serge Gagnon, Peter Naus,</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>and Daniel J. Deighan</b></div><br />
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<tr><th>Montpetit Hall</th><th>E1M1</th> </tr>
<tr class="info"><td>This originally debuted as a "bonus" level in Gagnon's <b>Forest Valley</b>. If I recall correctly it plays pretty much the same, but the custom resources make for a somewhat different experience. This is a realistically laid-out building with tons of small rooms. The interior area is loaded with zombies, both regular and shotgun-style. Outside, things are a bit more tricky, mostly due to the prevalence of lost souls and a few balconies where imps can rain fireballs from afar. The most interesting interior features include a pool, a cafeteria, and some strange half-pipe sculpture.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sp1uvkvmkmn919p/ottawa09101a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sp1uvkvmkmn919p/ottawa09101a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>E1M2</th><th>Vanier Hall</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pfdozvosrki5yz4/ottawa09102a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pfdozvosrki5yz4/ottawa09102a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Some of the dullest, unrewarding room clearing that I've done in a while. It may just be that Montpetit Hall was a more interesting structure to render and explore. "Vanier Hall" is more or less an "L"-shaped building with an annex jutting off west of the top of the "L". A hallway runs through the center like a major artery, which any activated beasties might stumble into if you decided to explore the periphery of the building first. There's a bit of a survival horror angle from pistol start as the shotgun and chaingun are located a long distance from the start. The chainsaw will help with the occasional demons... if you find it. There's very little DoomCute here beyond the handful of desktop computers. I do like the Hellish room, though, and the mindfuck of the false wall over the exit door to leave you in a panic.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Child Study Center</th><th>E1M3</th> </tr>
<tr class="info"><td>This building is way more interesting than E1M2 but the ammo balance is heavily against you. There are a ton of imps and demons prowling around to sponge up what little scratch you have. Any infighting you can swing or well-timed barrel shots will help out immensely. The best bit here is the simulated room-over-room so that you can explore the lower floor. The team makes silent teleporters by... removing the sound and fog! I just barely grasped what I had seen the first time I went downstairs. The author breaks the fourth wall in a fashion by using these transitions to hide a sizable number of powerful secrets. I like the unfinished basement look of the lower floor but it isn't really used for any interesting combat. Uh, not that it would have panned out with the lack of ammo.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/yrf7khbiuag7trz/ottawa09103c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/yrf7khbiuag7trz/ottawa09103c.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<table border="1"><tbody>
<tr><th>E1M9</th><th>Underground Tunnels</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1e5fi9ducjd7r5j/ottawa09109a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1e5fi9ducjd7r5j/ottawa09109a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Well, I can't fault your supplies for this one. "Tunnels" consists of a network of very long underground access tunnels, some of which run at oblique angles. Monsters are few and far between but when they do appear they tend toward groups. The half-shaded corridors are highly atmospheric; if you don't see a demon initially then it seems to just pop right out of the shadows. There's a sewage pit with a crystal sector candle bridge and a demon / chainsaw encounter up one of the access hatches. It's worth finding one of the keys since it grants you a rocket launcher with which to pound the final two guardians into oblivion. The switch that opens the door to the yellow key is pretty easy to miss in the darkness. It's actually kind of fun but the ambient soundtrack grates like nothing else.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Thompson Residence</th><th>E1M4</th> </tr>
<tr class="info"><td>Basically the same idea as "Vanier Hall" but there are more irregular room shapes to make things mildly interesting and virtually no windows or other interconnections. There's one DoomCute desktop computer that takes up nearly the entirety of a small room. The other oddity is a transparent barrier topped by candles. The blue key is not actually inside the building itself and has a '94-style interesting outdoor structure that's detached from the main playing area.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1e5fi9ducjd7r5j/ottawa09109a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ppkjbdyzg03c86j/ottawa09104a.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>E1M5</th><th>Perez Music Hall</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ri8quz1x4tuqlzb/ottawa09105b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ri8quz1x4tuqlzb/ottawa09105b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>The unfinished base of a level, consisting of a stage for performances and the hallway that circumscribes it. Apart from the central room, which the authors hadn't done anything significant with (like, put some monsters up on stage), it looks as though it would turn out like "Thompson" or "Vanier".</td></tr>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">OUGHTTA WATTA YOU</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-76791459202081158862022-01-12T04:50:00.002-06:002022-03-05T16:32:07.248-06:00Indifference (INDIFFERENCE.WAD)<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">INDIFFERENCE</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Andy Leaver</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/854uf3zijvy8iu4/indifference102a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/854uf3zijvy8iu4/indifference102a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If Andy has a major claim to fame in the community then it's his consistent participation in the <b>CCHEST</b> series. Those being for <b>Doom II</b>, it's interesting to see that the vast majority of his other output occurred from 2000-2003 and consists of levels created for the original <b>Doom</b>. <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/bitebwad-bitebwadwad.html">bitebwad</a></b> was a three-map minisode and he led the <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/no-hope-for-life-episode-1-back-to.html">No Hope For Life</a></b> team, crafting an entire E1 replacement between himself, Pablo Dictter, and Jay Trent. <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/g-i/indifference">Indifference</a></b> was uploaded to /idgames in 2003 but the timestamp appears to indicate - along with the glut of May uploads - that it was published elsewhere, perhaps as early as 2002. It is an E1M2 replacement and appears to be vanilla-viable.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/v55d3b87i1adl5u/indifference102b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/v55d3b87i1adl5u/indifference102b.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a twist that garners a complete lack of surprise from me, <b>Indifference</b> - like the rest of Andy's works - has no framing narrative. It is a Phobos-themed level, however, and I was surprised by the time that I finished to realize that it is completely shareware. In fact, it doesn't even use Barons of Hell. To draw parallels between this and the original <b>Doom</b>, this might take place during the original invasion. You begin outside of the installation so the player appears to have been roughing it through the rugged wilderness at some point. Whether you were knocking around unawares while your buddies were massacred or happened upon the bunker in the middle of your bid for survival, well, it's all head canon anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7rtysygos3z5i92/indifference102c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7rtysygos3z5i92/indifference102c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Indifference</b> would have been a great level for <b>No Hope For Life</b>. It is still a fantastic standalone map, even more so for continuing to be engaging over the course of its 270 monsters with nary a registered Hellspawn - or goat man - in sight. A lot of this is due to a highly interconnected layout that uses a plethora of windows and cage bars to leave the player exposed to avenues of attack at all times. The primary section of the level consists of a slightly elevated floor that runs the length of a flooded canal, across which the majority of the larger chambers lie. Most of the early aggravation comes from clearing out these two segments while the freely-moving monsters are free to wander into line of sight at you and take a potshot through the numerous openings.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/z0w9sfu1kwscpio/indifference102f.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/z0w9sfu1kwscpio/indifference102f.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's an intense, hornet's nest-type opener. It doesn't exactly let up after snagging the blue key, either. The larger rooms on the north and eastern edges are just as flush with monsters; they're just hiding in every nook and cranny in order to inflict attrition whenever your guard slips up. Because of its encounter stylings there isn't really anything like a standout fight or ambush. There are a few lengthy monster closets, the kind that he used in <b>No Hope For Life</b>, but these are not the source of an organic ambush a la Romero's Knee Deep in the Dead. They're easy to see on the map - particularly if your thorough scouring of the level reveals the computer area map - so the scope of their surprise is hamstrung as the beasties wait patiently for the player.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vx778j3bhxftad4/indifference102d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vx778j3bhxftad4/indifference102d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The level is slightly challenging to explore as the automap is not a reliable indicator of how you can move through the map given all the cage walls and windows. It isn't too difficult to get a grasp on, however. My biggest obstacle to progression may have been obtaining the red key. It is clearly visible off the causeway when you begin the level but by the time you lower the dividing wall that it sits on you may have forgotten that it was ever there. I don't know if I ever actually noticed where it was during my initial playthrough, an unusual oversight on my part. I blame the constant distraction of combat.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sgygu12k7glu10y/indifference102e.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sgygu12k7glu10y/indifference102e.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Indifference</b>'s architecture is highly orthogonal with a few choice deviations and the opening area has a very heavy dungeon crawler <b>Doom</b> vibe as the height is both low and uniform. It's nice that the canal ceiling is so much higher, same with the string of larger rooms that arc along the map's northern to southeastern edges. Andy leaves you some interesting hideaways to discover and his sector lighting is, as usual, classically excellent. Some of Leaver's <b>NHFL</b> levels had a very strong symmetric component. The starting area of <b>Indifference</b> is built around this but the rest of the map branches off organically like an overgrown potted plant.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lb97l8q8e0j7kcc/indifference102g.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lb97l8q8e0j7kcc/indifference102g.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really enjoyed this level and am looking forward to playing the rest of Andy's output. I feel like making a map with this limited bestiary and keeping the action engaging is commendable in and of itself. The complex layout and side areas to explore knocks it up another notch. If you're a fan of OG <b>Doom</b> combat and like the frantic fury of the last marine on the verge of being overwhelmed then you really ought to give <b>Indifference</b> a try.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/g-i/indifference"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">...WHATEVER</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2781490333212566792.post-26864647480938030542022-01-09T09:51:00.003-06:002022-03-05T16:33:05.013-06:00No Hope For Life Episode 1: Back to the Fight (NHFL.WAD)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ccntao3tlsjlc29/nhflt.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ccntao3tlsjlc29/nhflt.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The road to Hell is paved with E1 replacements. <b>No Hope For Life</b> is a joint venture by three fixtures of <b>Doom</b>'s source port boom: Andy Leaver, Jay Trent, and Pablo Dictter. Andy had already done a small set of E1 levels, <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2022/01/bitebwad-bitebwadwad.html">bitebwad</a></b>, in 2000. Jay participated in the 2001 <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2019/07/doomcenter-e1-mapping-contest.html">Doom Center E1 Mapping Contest</a></b> (judged by the man himself, John Romero), clinching 2nd place out of fifteen entries. Pablo had published a ton of levels by this point, many of which are no longer publicly available, and was working on an E4 replacement with Karthik Abhiram, Tobias Munch, Damian Lee, and Joel Murdoch - The Ninth Gate. tNG never fully panned out, though, whereas we have 2001's <b><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/m-o/nhfl">No Hope For Life Episode 1: Back to the Fight</a></b> available to download on /idgames... admittedly some two years after its initial, official release. The authors suggest ZDoom but it should work in any limit-removing port, the primary concern being the dreaded visplane overlord.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1g0uaogo3ardrjq/nhfl101a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1g0uaogo3ardrjq/nhfl101a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>No Hope For Life</b> does not have a story, which is amusing to me since Pablo got Murdoch of <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2018/12/caverns-of-darkness-codwad.html">Caverns of Darkness</a></b> fame to author one for his <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2021/12/subversion-sub-epwad.html">Subversion</a></b> episode. As I peek ahead it does not look as though Andy was much for story blurbs in his releases. Judging by the subtitle, the player character is presumably Doomguy, since there aren't any other well-known space marine survivors of demon encounters. The location is a UAC outpost that either experimented with teleporters or discovered some ancient, demonic ruins. Either way, the monsters now run the site and you have taken it upon yourself to clean it up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">EDIT 01/20/22: "Digi Mortal" and some of the other level titles come from what must have been one of Leaver's favorite bands, Fear Factory, and their 1998 / 2001 releases.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/abndz765fhyui6m/nhfl102a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/abndz765fhyui6m/nhfl102a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The final product is a styles clash. Pablo Dictter supplied four levels. Historically speaking, PD made three more maps for <b>NHFL</b> that were cut for the final running, after which he rolled them up with three freshly-crafted levels for his <b>Subversion</b> episode. Andy Leaver, the project organizer, crafted four levels of his own. I find it suspect, however, that the .ZIP and .TXT title for his <b>bitebwad</b> was DIGIMORT with his E1M1 of this set bearing the appellation "Digi Mortal". Jay Trent supplied a single level which then goes in his own, third direction. It is perhaps both the most and also least traditional map of the entire set.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c0zn5ltkz2z5ym5/nhfl103a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c0zn5ltkz2z5ym5/nhfl103a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pablo's level are E1M4, E1M7, E1M8, and E1M9. He has a distinct style that consists of short, linear levels that are composed of hallways and rooms that are only slightly larger than the adjoining corridors. Aesthetically, he's an environmental detailer who greebles every inch of each surface. His usage of crates as sector detailing borders on the fetishistic. Combat is not particularly challenging apart from the claustrophobia and congestion that comes from having a small playing area to fight in and piles of shit to get hung up on while you're trying to dodge. If Dictter is going to lock you in with any sort of monster then it's going to be something like a Baron, but you ought to be adequately prepared resource-wise.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/t6c0k1s9wml8kr2/nhfl104c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/t6c0k1s9wml8kr2/nhfl104c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Edgecrusher" (E1M7) is my favorite of Pablo's levels from the set. I wonder how much of this is due to him having an outdoor starting area with an interesting, scene-setting design. His "Linchpin" (E1M4) has a nukage-oriented gimmick where you can duck into drainage tunnels for powerful items at the cost of health. The secret level, "Seeds of Evil" (E1M9), has a sequence that appears to be designed to soft-lock the player if you walk past a switch. "Gate to Hell", alternatively titled "Death Comes Ripping" (E1M8), is the shortest of Dictter's levels here but tells a logical environmental story with an armor-plated observation booth that faces the teleporter corridor.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/a20t2mbjz7r0mhe/nhfl105d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/a20t2mbjz7r0mhe/nhfl105d.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leaver didn't have much of a body of work up to this point. His <b>bitebwad</b> levels were small and generally linear but showed a desire to work with larger room spaces and interesting structures. The combat was pretty punchy, with some big shootouts and surprising ambushes. "Digi Mortal" (E1M1) feels like it's cut from the same cloth as it's relatively short if architecturally interesting and has a few beefy demon ambushes. "Hi-Tech Hate" (E1M2) practically EXPLODES, though, with wide-open areas and tons o' monsters for multiple avenues of player exposure. "Waste Area" (E1M5) consists of a labyrinthine arrangement of large corridors connecting a few big rooms, which - along with tons of ambushes - makes for a kickass monster slaughter. "Vile Evil" (E1M6) starts out sedate enough but becomes a hornet's nest level where you can run anywhere but nowhere is safe to start, feeling very modern in its encounter design.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/v4x437lu8b07efn/nhfl106c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/v4x437lu8b07efn/nhfl106c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jay's sole offering is "Phases of Evil" (E1M3). It's immediately obvious as a remake of "Toxin Refinery" albeit more cramped and with some clunky design decisions like lift pillars in nukage that you have to jump down to to use. It's also pretty tight with health, making for what I feel is a bigger if not necessarily fair challenge than Romero's. Some of these details reflect similar choices made for his JXT-E1M1.WAD from the <b>Doom Center E1 Mapping Contest</b> (E2M6). Trent also shows some ingenuity with the door interlock arrangement in the western annex, adding a strong mechanical component to his level design.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gw58mq33q75c07m/nhfl107b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gw58mq33q75c07m/nhfl107b.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm not high on Dictter's total contributions here but I'm glad to see something like "Edgecrusher" come out after playing his most recent work. It always feels like he's on the edge of creating some excellent visual spaces and I feel as though he really delivers here. Andy's craft has developed by leaps and bounds. There's a strong symmetric component in "Hi-Tech Hate" and "Vile Evil", but Leaver is good about switching things up a bit to leave surprises unique to each side. I like Jay's "Phases of Evil" and would have gladly played an E1 retooling in his style. He would go on to create an E1 replacement - <b><a href="https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2014/01/900-deep-in-dead-900deepwad.html">900 Deep In the Dead</a></b> - but it isn't quite the same thing.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9i6yvanzn5m68q6/nhfl108a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9i6yvanzn5m68q6/nhfl108a.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The set is kind of lopsided due to the relative map size and encounter design. However, picking through PD's short pairings works to give you a breather after the larger, more complex levels. Leaver's frantic combat and ballsy ambushes might hit a little too hard if you're more into the measured pace of the dungeon crawler-style that Dictter espouses. Trent's E1M3 tribute is somewhere in between as the smaller scale of its fights work together with the claustrophobic confines to twist the player into uncomfortable positions. Difficulty will adjust the monster count for Andy's and Trent's maps but Pablo's smaller complements appear to be untouched. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0aill8lo27m442s/nhfl109c.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0aill8lo27m442s/nhfl109c.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>No Hope for Life Episode 1</b> is a solid E1 replacement for anyone craving more OG <b>Doom</b> action. It won't compare for authenticity but it's at least free from pesky Cyberdemons and Spider Masterminds. If you haven't tried it yet then you might as well give it a go, especially if you like slaying monsters on moons.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/m-o/nhfl"><img class="button" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6ehf3u70gjicojv/idgames.gif" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">NO HOPE FOR LIFE</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">EPISODE 1</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">BACK TO THE FIGHT</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>by Andy Leaver, Jay Trent, and Pablo Dictter</b></div><br />
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<table border="1"><tbody>
<tr><th>Digi Mortal</th><th>E1M1</th></tr>
<tr><th colspan="2">by Andy Leaver</th> </tr>
<tr class="info"><td>Kicking things off with a highly congested crate warehouse with a relatively linear pathway. Andy gives you plenty of ammo and health to weather the lurking nasties. This includes two very large hordes of demons, both of which do a good job of exerting pressure on the player. Backpedaling is a tricky proposition when you're liable to have a crate or metal strut at your back. The second pinkie ambush is part of a one-two punch, provided that you notice and blaze toward the chaingun. The bonus items set up on shelves to be out of reach of children are logically ridiculous. They do, however, give the warehouse a unique character.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0ltpjge701fvubi/nhfl101c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0ltpjge701fvubi/nhfl101c.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>E1M2</th><th>Hi-Tech Hate</th></tr>
<tr><th colspan="2">by Andy Leaver</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jqmsaitpnyw9cvz/nhfl102b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jqmsaitpnyw9cvz/nhfl102b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>Completely different from E1M1. The author ditches claustrophobia for wide-open spaces and hordes of caged monsters in order to leave the player feeling utterly exposed. The main concourse is staffed by a mix of shotgun guys and demons, giving you both immediate threats as well as space-hogs that you can't leave alone. The dead spaces have turret-like crosses populated by imps with caged zombies in the far back. Andy has two big ambushes prepped for you, the second of which got a big start from me due to the immediacy of the teleport assault. Cool stuff; I really appreciate the outdoor scene glimpsed from the eastern wing.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Phases of Evil</th><th>E1M3</th></tr>
<tr><th colspan="2">by Jay Trent</th> </tr>
<tr class="info"><td>This is a remake of "Toxin Refinery" as evidenced by its opening scene. Many of the exact details have changed, however, and the combat feels more difficult if only due to what feels like meager amounts of health. This makes some design decisions, like the nukage vats and lifts used to cross the north-central portion of the level, feel dickish. It also forces you to respect the handful of judiciously-placed spectres. I like the way the return ambush in the dark plays out, however. There's some cool sector machinery going on in the shadowy computer annex, originally the locus of so many E1M3 secrets.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wn6ickpezg30o2o/nhfl103b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wn6ickpezg30o2o/nhfl103b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><th>E1M9</th><th>Seeds of Evil</th></tr>
<tr><th colspan="2">by Pablo Dictter</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/y7zzjs5f1t6psdc/nhfl109b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/y7zzjs5f1t6psdc/nhfl109b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>This includes one of the most baffling design decisions that I have seen in a long time. In the red skull key basement is a gargoyle switch. When you run into the basin where the red skull key pillar is located, then the floor in front of the switch rises, sealing it off forever. If you should do this before activating the gargoyle, which lowers the pillar, then you will be stuck. Otherwise, this is a pleasant corrupted techbase mashup a la Dictter. Health feels really tight early on; you'll probably attrition out if you rush in blindly. Some of the segments break a little bit from PD's stringy "world of corridors" approach. I like the way the red key room is built with its little basement and crimson brick sidetube. I also enjoy the large, marble chamber where you snag the plasma gun. There's a fun bit where you have to take a sort of alternative path to grab the blue key, a different take on the optional chaingun from <b>Subversion</b>'s E3M6.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Linchpin</th><th>E1M4</th></tr>
<tr><th colspan="2">by Pablo Dictter</th> </tr>
<tr class="info"><td>More of a return to form. This is a network of corridors, most of which are on the same plane, with a few OSHA-non-compliant nukage pools to dabble in. The toxins figure into a few secrets but they're very costly as the poison is 20% damage and there are no rad suits. Between this and a relative lack of health (Berserk pack and secret soul sphere notwithstanding), well, you might have a rough time. Ammo is also less than plentiful; Berserk punching demons is highly recommended. While it is a relatively benign corridor crawler, I did get one great moment where you can step on a crate only to have it sink into the nukage. It's, like, environmental-detail important; the only reason you'd ever tread on it is pure impulse. Very cute.<br /></td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ggoiyvf6n3l9212/nhfl104b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ggoiyvf6n3l9212/nhfl104b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<table border="1"><tbody>
<tr><th>E1M5</th><th>Waste Area</th></tr>
<tr><th colspan="2">by Andy Leaver</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/esx8y26kh0yxmp6/nhfl105b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/esx8y26kh0yxmp6/nhfl105b.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>I will grant that, if you oversimplify stuff, this level could be described as a "network of corridors". Leaver's haunting halls link up a handful of larger areas, however, and have the unnerving look of a vast, subterranean installation. You actually get a chance to pick a direction and wander for a time before potentially reaching a progression gate. Some corridors, like the deep blue spectre zone, don't make any earthly sense but make for a great visual. The larger spaces are pretty cool. The junction prior to the blue key door has what looks like caged examination tables and a bunch of waiting benches. Given the medikits, could it be a medical facility? As ridiculous as the ubiquitous couches are - one long hallway ends with a loveseat - the mood lighting does wonders for the atmosphere. Combat is pretty OG <b>Doom</b>-ish, even the enormous monster closets, one of which floods your living space with demons. </td></tr>
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<tr><th>Vile Evil</th><th>E1M6</th></tr>
<tr><th colspan="2">by Andy Leaver</th> </tr>
<tr class="info"><td>This one's a real blood tornado. The teleporter sendoff is vaguely "Phobos Anomaly"-ish as you mow your way through zombies and imps to a teleporter. The destination has a wide-open layout with hallways and areas to explore, except there are tons of monsters every which way. The hornets' nest is full of demons, imps, and shotgun guys, and the outdoor area is no safe haven with its limited maneuverability and staff of imps. The best you can do is pick a direction and carve out some semblance of a safe space, after which you can start clearing in earnest. Excellent action with a healthy dose of desperation and panic as befits the last marine.</td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/swd82h5to7nhtyc/nhfl106b.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/swd82h5to7nhtyc/nhfl106b.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<table border="1"><tbody>
<tr><th>E1M7</th><th>Edgecrusher</th></tr>
<tr><th colspan="2">by Pablo Dictter</th></tr>
<tr class="info"><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bvcvalaoymy99mg/nhfl107a.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bvcvalaoymy99mg/nhfl107a.png" width="160" /></a></td><td>An excellent PD level. The opening outdoor yard with the little, extraneous sewage annex already had me hooked. The author continued to deliver fun rooms to explore, like the catwalk area leading to the blue key station. There's still a bunch of crate porn, especially the letter H warehouse, but Pablo sneakily uses them throughout to deploy lost souls. That's a hook that I can get into! The author throws one Baron at you but you have plenty of ammo to take it down - including some just in time rockets. Combat is unremarkable if a little meaty with the cacodemon ambushes.</td></tr>
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<table border="1"><tbody>
<tr><th>Gate to Hell / Death Comes Ripping</th><th>E1M8</th></tr>
<tr><th colspan="2">by Pablo Dictter</th> </tr>
<tr class="info"><td>Uh, this is a straightforward gauntlet of monsters. PD's big payoff here is finding your way into that circular structure seen at the map's beginning, which is something like a blast shield / observation booth. Most of the beasties aren't threatening but it's more dangerous when you step beyond the seal toward the teleporter chambers. The locked-in encounter setup will probably catch you off-guard and cause you to trigger the second Baron while you're dancing about. </td><td><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6uujvrou6k790ln/nhfl108c.png"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/6uujvrou6k790ln/nhfl108c.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">YOU'RE FROM TWO</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">DIFFERENT WORLDS!</span></b></div>KMX E XIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745439363707845462noreply@blogger.com0