28/01/2010 @07:14:35 ^09:12:59

Claustrophobia 1024 2: The Mystery of Too Many Maps

Another 1024-square megawad. I believe the course of events was that in October 2008 Claustrophobia 1024 had far too many maps. There was also a feeling that many were unplayable. So they took the best ones (in someone's opinion) and released that. Now the people whose maps got cut from 1024clau have put together a sequel 1024cla2, apparently with the blessing of the authors of the first (this is probably how they were allowed to use the same resources - playpal, menu and intermission screen graphics, etc.)

I didn't like this one as much as 1024clau. Mostly I don't care for either, 1024 square maps aren't really my thing.* But I think here we have a lot of maps that are just trying to shove as much into a small space as possible, rather than making clever use of the restricted area. But if you like really cramped maps then go for it, I guess.

* 384, on the other hand, was really fun...

Planet Phobos and Planet Hell

Two good episodes, nicely old school, nicely rough around the edges. Most maps obviously inspired by Doom IWAD maps. Clever layouts as well, glimpses, inaccessible areas that make you feel like you're in a larger structure but you just can't get to all of it. A few bugs, secrets getting wiped, or too thin to walk in, the odd solid hanging body in a tall sector, nothing too major.

But I had this the weird sense of deja vu on the one map where, halfway through, half the base suddenly floods with radioactive slime. I almost didn't realise at all - apart from this one thing, I played through the E1 episode with no memory of it. It turns out these are Phobos Outpost (1) and The Base of Evil (2), reuploaded with their names changed (search and replace applied to text file.) They're otherwise identical. The second episode still has the original name on its credits screen following E2M8. However, each ExM1 has had its nodes rebuilt. Why? To avoid a duplicate file detector seems a likely answer. I can't help but feel someone's being an idiot.

Others

urbnbeta.WAD Someone made their house as Doom E1M1. I actually enjoyed this wad, probably because I managed to beat it first time - including beating a cyberdemon with shotgun and chaingun, and running around with 2% health for the longest time but still surviving. Then I took it apart in a map editor and worked out a strategy. It's one of those kinds of maps, easier if you know how, and you end up playing it a bunch of times trying to optimise it.

TechNoid.WAD Runs on E1M3. A small, quite ugly tech-themed map with plenty to annoy the player (e.g. trying to get into the secret tunnel after the red door that leads to the exit... ugh, you'll almost certainly need a map editor) But, somehow it wasn't quite so terrible that I deleted it instantly... something about the interconnection and how the layout eventually comes back on itself... I don't know.