/newstuff post for 30 Apr 2007
I went to /newstuff and downloaded some wads.
Generator of Evil A rather badly packaged wad - the zip file contents is unconventionally named, with filenames that contain spaces and subdirectories. The map itself is two enormous dark chambers absolutely stuffed with monsters. It's clearly inspired by Hell Revealed map24, Kama Sutra map28 and the like. Points of note in the first chamber include giant towers with lights flowing up the sides; a cyberdemon maze, probably inspired by Hell Revealed map27; and a really creepy demon face on a wall that opens its eyes when you walk up to it.
The second chamber is more symmetrical and centres on a monster spawner, which fortunately doesn't wake up until you get really near to it. There is an horde of cacodemons in this area, along with some cyberdemons on pillars. The huge scale of the thing is impressive, with entire carpets of cacodemons floating around at incredible heights. Hard to shoot at those ranges though.
Like all maps of this nature, starting off surrounded by a thousand monsters it can be frustrating if you don't know exactly what to do first. However the wad comes with a maxdemo (49:34) - watching the first couple of minutes will prove useful. At over 2000 monsters this is a very hard map, but somehow doesn't feel quite as insane as, say, ksutra 28, probably because it's so much larger and thus the monster density is lower. I have yet to attempt it without using super weapons, however...
Xenus 1.5 demo Two maps that replace E1M1 and E1M2. I don't understand the huge amount of hate they're getting in the comments at /idgames because they're perfectly decent techbase maps, if lacking a little in compactness and interconnection. My only complaint is that they're full of zdoomisms, mostly a few lifts that aren't tagged properly, and one lights-on special in front of the red door. There is also a certain amount of what I shall call doombuilderisms - not bugs, but overzealous detailing, use of borders on sectors, panels on walls etc. All the stuff Doombuilder makes it easy to do but doesn't really add much to the map overall.
Revenge of the Kunun If you've never killed a cyberdemon with a rocket launcher, here's your chance!
12 sergeants with one rocket!
That has to be some kind of a record. I suspect however it was as much to do with the author's placement of the monsters than my own ability; I just anticipated the trap and shot at the "sweet spot" before the monsters could move out of position. (The map was Alien Vendetta map10)
Eaeuro03
Finally got round to this now I have a computer that can run it without losing framerate. It's okay, nothing special. There's obviously masses of detail, but it doesn't seem to add much - many of the rooms are still, well, just rooms. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that there isn't a great deal of interconnection. The number of gargoyle faces was a bit too much as well, especially since they all look like switches!
It's aimed at a higher-skilled player so I dropped down a skill level or two. The secrets are a bit annoying because if you leave the start area and following corridor by picking up the SSG, you will miss two of them, and you can't get back up there. There is also a monster that doesn't come out of its teleport holding area.
Still, it's a good map, you can do far worse; but of the three Eaeuro maps I think I prefer Eaeuro02. Furthermore Erik's later work (Scythe, etc.) is so much better.
Link: Eaeuro03
Meek
Another map by Chris Hansen, author of CH_Retro, High/Low etc. It's episode 1 style and quite small but really rather good. One thing I noticed was many of the walls are not parallel to the axes. This is quite hard to do without it looking bad. It is also extremely well balanced. There's just enough health/ammo for all the monsters on UV, you finish with basically nothing left over. However it manages to do this without forcing you to play stingily. It's very replayable.
If this map has one gameplay fault, it's that two of the three secrets require inordinate amounts of backtracking to get. Highly recommended nonetheless.
Links: Author's website, WADs in progress (It's not in /idgames right now)
Hell Revealed map09
Some time ago I wrote
I've done 1-8, 10, and 12, on a proper skill level. Of the others I think 9 might be possible if I got really good with the berserk box, and 21 might be possible because the entire level's weapons and ammunition supply is at the start.
I guess I have improved with the berserk box, because I did map09 yesterday. The last time I managed to add to the list (Hell Revealed map on UV, 100% kills, from pistol start) was I think sometime in 2001*. So yes, pretty happy about that.
* some hours of searching my diary later, it turned out to be 20th September
The Lost Episodes of Doom
Three episodes of old school Doom maps. Mostly in a tech/space theme, even the ones that are supposed to be in Hell. Many of the hallmarks of ancient wad design including flashing lights, crushing ceilings and those annoying grids of perpetual platforms (cf. Doom E2M3) Most of the levels were kind of pointless, but there were a few pretty good ones in episode 3. Doom E2M2 tributes, larger maps with more than 100 monsters. This wad could do with having its population boosted a bit, it's very easy.
Apparently this thing has some kind of a story behind it. Technically it's a commercial release; to get the maps you had to buy a book. More about this at the Page of Doom.
You may recognise a handful of the maps from bf_thud! (review) which is by one of the authors of the Lost Episodes (and is itself a Doom2 conversion of a Doom1 levelset, ChrisK)
Garrulo revisited
On a coincidental but unrelated note, I was reminded of CHRIS.WAD (e1m1cnc.zip) some weeks ago, and thus its remix in that old Spanish megawad, Garrulismo. This time I tried to do the maps from pistol starts. Also tried to get Google to translate the storyline but it didn't do a good job. Something about aliens landing in Madrid but also Osama Bin Laden suddenly turning up and walking around like nothing happened, I don't know.
Anyway I did all of them except 25, 28, 30, 31 and 32. 25 and 28 are just too annoying, the former having too top-heavy a start and the latter being composed of nothing but lost souls and revenants. 30 has a spawner on it so no 100% kills there. 31 is impossible to get 100% kills due to its design; there are two exits obviously but if you choose one it locks you out of getting to the other. I could cheat but it's an annoying, low-ammo map set in some cramped, dark caves, and I have better maps to play. 32 is just boringly repetitive, I think I did it from a pistol start years ago but couldn't be bothered repeating the feat.
The fact that many of the maps have very top-heavy starts, but "follow on" from the previous map (you know, you have a copy of one map's exit at the start of the next, it's an old trick that goes back at least as far as Cleimos 2) suggests the author really intends you to play the whole thing as a mission run, but you get overloaded with ammo and it's too easy that way.
