The /newstuff Chronicles #532

• Shadowmaker - Nicholas "Tiger" Gautier
  Doom 2 - Invasion - Zandronum - 15.5 MB -
  Reviewed by: Decay
  Tiger is known for making maps that push the limits of computers.
  
  Shadowmaker is an invasion map for Zandronum. It requires Skulltag_content for some weaponry.
  
  It apparently REQUIRES the use of OpenGL. I'm not convinced of that, but since there is glaring text telling me otherwise, OGL I go. I shouldn't have to screw around with my lighting/brightness settings to play a map. The outside is pitch black, how in the world are you supposed to see your enemies?
  
  Gameplay wise, it's a fairly typical invasion map. New areas open up after waves, and Tiger implemented a music changer after certain waves. The game play is not bad at all, in invasion principle. The waves get progressively harder, culminating in a "boss" fight at the end. It seemed fairly balanced to me, as someone who is not a PvE player, so maybe some others would find it a little easy. The tower at the top of the hill and using other corners to your advantage make the map not too difficult. Good spread out of weapons too, and use of Skulltag items.
  
  The map's obvious strong point is its looks. It is a beautiful map, if a little busy, but does well in creating an atmosphere outside and appropriate structuring on the inside of the castle, though it seems attention to lighting went a little by the wayside inside.
  
  The single-most, biggest problem with this map is that it requires, absolutely requires, a strong PC to run smoothly. The map looks really well-crafted, very pretty and I can tell a lot of effort was put in, but it is hard to appreciate the map you're playing when you are moving around at under 10 FPS trying to kill enemies and trying not to die yourself. Other problems include cliffs you can jump up and suddenly die in water, teleports that lead you to instant death pits (why in the world would you do that), and perhaps a little bit of over detail inside the main building lead to catch-ons and double-looks to make sure you got everything.
  
  Overall, if you have a strong PC, I recommend giving the map a play. If not, pass for now, otherwise you'll find yourself struggling to play.
  
  
• Mindphuq - HdRambo, Eko, Vegence
  Doom 2 - Deathmatch - GZDoom - 215.53 KB -
  Reviewed by: Decay
  "This wad is utter garbage."
  
  That's all that is really worth saying about this wad, but I need to expand on this for reasons of reviewer integrity.
  
  Mindphuq.wad is a Boom format...DM wad... for all the Boom DM players... right. It was made by HDrambo, someone literally straight from the fabled Dwango series, who coincidentally hosts a Dwango5 server to boot.
  
  Anyway, in the pictures for the wad you'll see some of the things I'm describing. A "simplistic" battle arena that also supports SP and Coop play, this wad is straight out of 1994 in terms of being unconventional, but also in terms of being straight up ugly to look at. Featured in this wonderful "DM" wad is a spawn in an inescapable cage full of megaspheres and a damaging floor, many death pits, items strewn everywhere, similar to the dragon balls spreading out after use, dark cave mazes filled with hanging corpses (lit up for your benefit in the pic), a pitch black room full of crushers, a dark damaging liquid area full of inescapable pits and exploding barrels, and a... boxing ring... way the heck off to the side far from EVERYTHING. Given it's evidently a meme wad, there is no point in discussing item placement/technicalities of the map.
  
  I have no idea how anybody is supposed to have any sort of DM in this map. Or any semblance of fun at all. Maybe a few laughs at the author's expense but that's about it. Mindphuq isn't really a mind fuck, it's just a stupid and terrible wad that should've been left behind in 1994. It isn't funny, it isn't trippy, and it isn't good.
  
  
• DMMPST: DooM MaP StaTistics - Frans P. de Vries
  N/A - N/A - N/A - 183.11 KB
  Reviewed by: Walter confetti
  This is a little Java program created by Frans P. de Vries for Unix / Windows machines that finds all the type of things in a map; let's say this is a modern version of WadSpy.
  
  A really cool little program, pretty useful too! Download it and take a chance!
  
  
• Twilight of the Gods - Ed C.
  Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 459.7 KB -
  Reviewed by: Csonicgo
  This map, "Twilight of the Gods", was to be included in Doomworld Mega Project 2013, but an older version made it into the map pack instead. This is the "newer" edition of the map. And while this map is quite large in scale, it's also large in boring.
  
  I'm not trying to be a bitch here, I'm saying that this map is everything I cannot stand about a ZDoom map. The whole thing is made of slopes. ZDoom slope physics are from another planet, so it's not only a pain to get around, the slopes also trap monsters in the floor. That doesn't look good; why do people keep doing this? Why?
  
  I assume the goal of this map was to hit certain switches certain ways, but since there was nothing happening when I tried just that, multiple times, I conclude that the map is broken. It doesn't help that I can hit those same said switches multiple times in a row, screwing up the scripting so badly that ZDoom plummets to single-digit frame rates. I couldn't see past my nose in the darkness in GZDoom, and the HUD messages that appeared when I flipped switches sounded like the mapper was trying so hard to be edgy. If the mapper happens to read this, please do not make a slope-heavy map again. In software mode, it just makes your map even worse!
  
  The main attractions in this map were the grey revenant giants, which kill you instantly if one of their fireballs makes contact. Slap them with the BFG and move on. There were around 10-15 cyberdemons running around when I decided to give up on the map, because I was going in circles at that point, and the Mock 2 levels of demon projectiles were slowing the game down to an unplayable mess. I'm sure if I had a stronger computer, I could be arsed to continue, but there is zero fun here in the first place. it's just running around effortlessly flipping switches.
  
  If I wanted that, I could play Eternal Doom.
  
  A strong Pass on this one. I know the mapper can do much better than this.
  
  
• CCCP 20 - m0wgli
  Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 9.59 MB -
  Reviewed by: JudgeDeadd
  According to the text file, this map pits you against hordes of "homo sovieticus" created by the far-future Soviet Union. The Soviet theme is mostly evident in one or two pieces of monumental architecture, as well as run-down buildings, perhaps meant to evoke the squalid living conditions in USSR.
  
  Unfortunately some parts of the level don't play very well due to misguided attempts at realism. It may be cute to design a kitchen and a communal bedroom in Doom, but gameplay-wise there's not much fun about running from one flat tiny room to another, killing dinky hitscanners one by one.
  
  The difficulty curve isn't the best. Initially your biggest problem will be surviving the copious amounts of distant hitscanners with very little health to be found. This does add some genuine challenge. Once you clear out the initial areas, however, the level is more or less a breeze, with traps that have no teeth, cramped corridors where you're never exposed, and enough ammo to never worry about the next fight. The only more demanding battle is the final crossfire, but there's nothing stopping you from cheesing it by simply retreating into the building behind you.
  
  Worth mentioning is that the author insists on having damaging sectors surrounding several of the light sources, which I found both annoying and stupid (is the Doomguy really so clumsy that he can't stand next to a candle or lamp without burning himself?).
  
  If there's anything that the level has going for it, it's that the music is fairly addictive, and the visual design is interesting; among the more memorable bits (captured in my screenies) is the lighted stairwell near the blue key door, as well as a cozy-looking office near the end. Though it might have been better if the author had built up on the story hinted in the text file, and emphasized the Soviet theme with some more recognizably Communist architecture, propaganda posters, etc.
  
  The map uses ZDoom features, though the author didn't specify port compatibility in the text file; regular ZDoom 2.8.1 seems to work okay (although there are ugly HOMs in one place, so maybe it'd work better in GZDoom).
  
  
• Castle Argh! - El Tupi
  Doom 2 - Deathmatch - GZDoom - 91.86 KB -
  Reviewed by: Decay
  The First of El Tupi's DM maps.
  
  I went backwards, starting with his most recent, and they definitely got progressively better because Castle Argh is one of the absolute biggest travesties of a DM map I've ever seen. There really isn't much worth saying here, the screenshot speaks for itself. It's a lame maze (terrible for DM), with items strewn everywhere for absolutely no reason, and very little actual feasibility in DM game play. It is visually ugly to behold, and I can only say "thank God the author improved." This is an example of a "myfirstDMlevel" wad at its finest.
  
  
• Precious Snowflake - El Tupi
  Doom 2 - Deathmatch - GZDoom - 53.64 KB -
  Reviewed by: Decay
  El Tupi's 2nd DM map.
  
  Featuring more 3D floors and double-decker style play, this map is a little more progressive but not as good as map 3, for reasons of a boring symmetrical layout and the worst spawn gimmick I've seen in a while. Players spawn in a small alcove hallway, get a weapon, green armour, and ammo, and then fall down a small tube into the main arena. Kinda sucks if you die and don't get the extra goodies, and falling in a small tube away from the central megasphere really puts you at a huge disadvantage against a powered up player with a rocket launcher, SSG, and 200/200. Also, if played in LMS, a player can easily just stay in the spawntube to win. Alternatively, get a few frags up, respawn in the tube, and just wait the rest of the match out. There are also medikits strewn EVERYWHERE, way too much health, we are playing DEATHmatch, not LIFEmatch. The visage is plain and boring, not much to be said in the looks department. Not really worth a play once, but it's nice to see someone trying progressive layouts.
  
  
• No One Lives Forever! - El Tupi
  Doom 2 - Deathmatch - GZDoom - 39.68 KB -
  Reviewed by: Decay
  OK so El Tupi made a series of DM wads. In each one, what we have here is a break from conventional flat DM maps and an attempt at something different, focusing on verticality (freelook highly recommended/required), looks like item control with a central soulsphere, and jumping. GZDoom (or OpenGL in Zandronum) features include dynamic lights, and there are some 3d floors.
  
  3rd Map, "No one lives forever"
  
  A DM map for... GZDoom DM... right. Well, it works fine in Zandronum, where players actually are and DM might actually happen.
  
  In any DM map these days, it's bad practice to have spawns with no weapons immediately on them. Dominating pistol spawns is easy, and I think people may have too many flashbacks of thrashings on Dwango5 map07 or being spawn-fragged to oblivion in Toxic Refineries in various CTF compilations. If you only play this map with the intended 2-4 players it might actually be okay. The single SSG is placed in a central location.
  
  The major flaws in this map come from the item/thing placement though. There are way too many armours for example, and if you don't have a SSG and are trying to pick away at someone with a CG or SG only and they have a SSG + soulsphere + GA, you aren't going to have a good time.
  
  Visually, it's very plain and boring, which isn't great if you're unfamiliar with the map because you won't know exactly where you're going for a while. No landmarks really stick out, but then again the center area is a big ole open pit so finding opponents shouldn't be tough.
  
  Overall I feel like this a map that has potential to be a decent romp in one of Doomkid's various 1990s wads compilations. Cleaning up and changing some item placement (more rocket play for example, and more SSG game play) would probably help out quite a bit.
  
  
• Area 02 Temple Study & Excavations V0.8 - Boss Claw
  Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 255.93 KB -
  Reviewed by: Csonicgo
  Area 02 is a very simple map. It looks "okay", even though lighting is rather bland, textures aren't aligned properly, and there isn't much texture variety. It's supposed to be played with Brutal Doom, but since I'm not playing that, I played it with Lithium instead. I think that's fair!
  
  Although the ammo is rather tight, there's not much to write home about here. There was supposedly a cacodemon theme, but I found the mancubus encounters to be more exciting.
  
  The map ends very abruptly, too. I hit a switch thinking it would lower something and only found it to be the exit. There was so much of the map that wasn't accessible - for some reason? I can't figure out why. Perhaps the mapper just gave up on that area and left it in. I don't know.
  
  If you have a few minutes, check it out. Don't expect much challenge, though.
  
  
• Controlled System - Memfis
  Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 67.93 KB -
  Reviewed by: Csonicgo
  Memfis comes through with a small but fun E1-style map, with lots of nukage and not much difficulty. That's not a bad thing - it's rather fun to turn the brain off and just shoot the brains out of some demons.
  
  My only complaints here are the use of cacodemons. There's a hidden one somewhere that will bother you if you're after 100% kills. My next playthrough uncovered his cowardly tomato self, and his hiding place looks like a secret area, but it's just a trap.
  
  There is also a chainsaw that I never thought to use, which would probably have helped in the ammo department - ammo is very tight in this map! Just don't miss too many times.
  
  Also, you can skip a major fight by straferunning to a small ledge from the last key platform, which I don't think I was supposed to be able to do. So naturally, I took that route. Sorry!
  
  If you have played Doom all your life this won't be much of a challenge for you, but it's a fun few minutes.
  
  
• Kentucky Fried Wad - Memfis
  Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 54.35 KB -
  Reviewed by: joepallai
  This was my first time playing a map by Memphis, so I wasn't sure what to expect going into this. What I found was a well-made and clever map with expertly staged combat and a near ruthless parceling of health on Hurt Me Plenty. Ammo balance is tight initially but becomes plentiful by the second half of the level. The music selected is fun and works quite well (even after dying as many times as I did, it still worked). Atmosphere is excellent and the map has that 90's Doom feeling to it, especially with the new textures. The only serious gripe I have is the lift controls in the SE section of the map aren't particularly obvious, especially for the lift leading to the red door section; eventually I figured it out, but it seems odd to not have a separate switch nearby to allow entry into that area.
  
  So is it fun? Yeah it is. It's a map that has that in-your-face simplicity that mocks you with each failure, driving you on until you beat it. There's a lot that can be learned from this map, especially monster staging; and I'm now interested in what else Memphis has made. Highly recommended if you want a challenging vanilla map.
  
  
• DOOM CHRISTMAS - For Doom II & Final Doom - Various (see credits)
  Doom 2 - N/A - Vanilla - 3.55 MB -
  Reviewed by: Csonicgo
  It's the middle of May, and I'm back from my slumber (if you could call it that), so why not something to fool me into thinking the heat I feel is only because it's cold outside?
  
  This must be how Australia feels every Christmas.
  
  Anyway, this is a compilation of all the Christmas Doom PWADs that have existed since we were able to throw our own/someone else's assets in Doom, because nothing says Christmas like... wh... what is this?
  
  There are 32 Christmas midis, various sounds from Christmas TV specials, and sprites like a Cacodemon Christmas bauble, demons with Santa hats, imps with Santa hats, Santa himself (?!) and... Keen, who has been replaced by a Doomguy wearing boxer shorts. Weird.
  
  Textures have been modified to be more wintry or "Christmassy" whenever possible, although this is inconsistent in terms of color sometimes. Most Wolfen-bricks are decorated, but the swastika textures aren't, presumably because there is so much Fascism radiating from the Nazi Party symbol that the snow just melts right off.
  
  The Novelty wears thin really quickly, and it's good for a laugh or two in a Deathmatch I suppose, but it only works on "Offical" IWADs the best, so don't expect Christmas Brutal Doom or Santas vs Zombies. Besides, hearing "GO FUCK YOURSELF" while carols are playing probably gets you on Santa's naughty list.
  
  Also, go check out the WolfSS replacement. I dare you.
  
  

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