obake

Thanks for playing! About D_RUNNIN, I'll be replacing it for the final release, which should be soon. The map itself won't be changed much, but the music will certainly be different. :)

Thanks so much for playing, Clippy and Aeddes! I'm glad you all enjoyed it

Today's map is a fiery romp through a decrepit wooden base. Monsters are everywhere, even perched on the cliffs above. Beware! I've tested the map in both GZDoom and Chocolate Doom. Besides a few slight slime trails, there should be no major errors. Let me know if any show up, and tell me what ya'll think! vangoat2.zip

I can upload some enemies, certainly.

Standing Stones by @Salmon Completed on UV, 100% kills, 50% secrets Difficulty: 4 Standing Stones uses lots of honeycomb sectors, giving it a distinct feel. I really, really dig the aesthetics, the blend of hellish canyon and techbase being flawless. The gameplay is also good. You start out in an open arena with two Cyber sentries ready to ruin your day if you stand still for too long. Despite their intimidating presence, they are not too bad of an obstacle. It's the other baddies that present a problem, especially the swarms of Revs and Hell Knights. The twisting nature of the architecture, especially near stairs, is perfect for Rev missiles to follow you. The end of the map is also lots of fun. The lowering walls with Knights, Barons, and Pinkies is devious. Perhaps more so than the Archies. Overall, Standing Stones is great.

Might as well tell this story now, as it will be the only time it is relevant. Back in my Skype days, in one of the brony groups I was a part of, I joined a call. The people on it were crying their eyes out. One of their friends, a brony Youtuber, was killed by a drunk driver. A video on his channel explained the situation. That whole morning was filled with people grieving. Once afternoon hit, we found out the story wasn't real. The person was alive and well. The video on their channel was for a school project, one which they posted without giving context. I have other experiences in those groups, but that particular one stands out in my mind.

Path to the Forbidden Temple by @dashlet Completed on UV, 98% kills, 0% secrets Difficulty: 5 (would be a 6 if it was longer) I'm impressed by this project so far, in that there are maps with small monster counts (like this one) that still pack a punch. Path to the Forbidden Temple is daunting, a large landscape overlooking deadly poison. Add to that this is a platforming map. It starts out not too difficult. It is split into different vignettes atop various arenas, each with their own array of baddies. I missed both the SSG and Rocket Launcher the first time, meaning once I got to the small Caco and Rev room, I was unable to get any further. I started over and was able to complete the map. The aforementioned room is the highlight, a gauntlet of Cacos, Revs, a PE and an Archvile. In a cool twist, the Vile is the least of your worries, and easily avoided. The real threat is everything else pouring into the room. Unfortunately, the big set piece battle afterwards is more of a chore than fun. The room with the reappearing Viles, Revs, and Knights on teleport platforms took many, many attempts. That in and of itself is not the problem. The problem is that it is annoying to get through it, especially as the Viles attacks spew you into random directions off the platforms. Otherwise, this is a fine map. The setting is great (again, stock textures used to their fullest potential), and most of the map, save for the final battle, is fun. My only real suggestion is to replace one or two of the Viles at the end with a lesser monster, perhaps more Knights. That way it would still be difficult without being overly frustrating.

Those shots are looking good, DerBlanca! My next map review is: Cliffside Assault by @Yousuf Anik Completed on UV, 100% kills and 75% secrets (missed the Megasphere one) Difficulty: 3 An intense and short romp, for sure! Cliffside Assault reminds me of my submission, only more structured. The combat starts off heated, with Revs behind you and a slew of hitscanners and Mancs in the room ahead. Once I got my footing (and the SSG), it became a matter of clearing out some of the annoying fodder (Revenants on cliffs, roaming Chaingunners.) The use of textures is fantastic. It felt like custom ones were used, but nope; they're all stock. Ammo was tight at the end, especially against the last Cyber. Perhaps adding one or two single shell pickups would help. The Megasphere secret may be a bit too hidden, especially as the switch is in a dark area. I had to look up how to get it in UDB afterwards. Not a big deal, though. Overall, this is a great map.

As with any fanbase, there are both the good and bad. I used to write weekly reviews of new MLP episodes a few years back, and made great friends doing so. That said, there are the horror stories. I can tell you a few of the ones I've witnessed, some funny, others not.

I'm going to playtest at least a few of these, giving my thoughts and a personal difficulty rating out of 6 (like the Ramp series, 1 being easiest), both for fun and to make sure everything runs properly. I was wondering, @Obsidian, if you'll implement difficulty ratings in this project? I feel having ratings in a project like this is a good idea, especially as it helps streamers choose which maps are the best for them. First up: Corruption by Sincity2100 Completed on UV, 100% kills and secrets Difficulty: Barely reaches a 3 This one's great fun. A well-detailed, somber romp through a hellish base filled with blood. Corruption is full of traps, many of which seem nasty. Because of plentiful health and ammo, you have leeway in how you choose to confront them. The one exception is the Spider Mastermind room, where you need to destroy the Spider Momma first if you want to get through unscathed. Sincity2100 uses just the right amount of aesthetics to make the map look great without the detailing getting in the way. A very fun experience.

Can't wait to see what you come up with! Btw, the final version of my map is below (fixed some last minute stuff): Final version

My submission this year, in UDMF format: Loathed Industry I know I often say that my new maps are the most difficult yet, but I honestly believe that this time. With less than 100 monsters, this map packs a punch, even on HNTR. Included are my two types of turret enemies, and the MIDI "Magni-Fi" by Jimmy. Let me know what you all think!

I have a creative project: making our own computer wallpapers, with the restriction that we only use colors from Doom's palette. I have my submission here. Note that I would have made this fancier had my current computer mouse not been so fussy. I want to get the community's creative juices flowing, and see what you all come up with! You can even use Doom's sprites if you wish. Take care, and have fun.

Some more reviews, this time with my personal difficulty ratings: Map 18: Mr N Euclidian’s Mansion by Oddy the Bastard Difficulty: 1 Length: 1 A strange little base with some twisting and turning. Quite fun overall. Map 34: Four Comas by Dawnbreez Difficulty: ? Length: ? This map has awesome elements, but unfortunately I got stuck wondering what to do, and ended up not finishing. Note that the entire automap has been made invisible, which I think is to make it more mysterious, but is more frustrating than anything. Onto the things I like: the map’s sense of humor, and (spoilers!) the new enemy with the sword. That enemy is seriously cool, and looks almost claymation, which you don’t see often in Doom. The aesthetic of the map is also spot-on. What gets me is the progression. I understand it is a puzzle map, and perhaps I need to give it another go. Without an automap, however, it is hard to find footing, if that makes sense. Map 124: Mafia Operation Base by Aggelandro Difficulty: 4 Length: 6 This one has portions that look overwhelming, but there is usually enough health and ammo pickups for each fight. I like the little touches here, such as the bridge that raises over the nukage, and the rooms with various ramps, set up almost like a Tony Hawk game. The map is fun, and the custom bosses aren’t too bad, but can feel a bit cheap.

One thing I forgot to mention about Demon Chainsaw Massacre is that it is possible to softlock at the Arachnotron room if you don't have ammo to kill the enemies at the top. I'd suggest adding a way up both sides, so you can at least punch them.