no hope for life episode 1 - leaver/dictter/townsend

Filename: nhflep1.zip

File size: 744k

Author: A.Leaver/P.Dictter/J.Townsend

Homepage: unknown

Other work: various

The first thing I noticed when I started to play these maps was that
they were both similar to the original Doom and significantly different.
There's a unique mix of styles here; Dictter's maps are the most detailed,
and Leaver's the most varied. The differences in styles are very marked.
Highlights of the set include E1M4, a highly detailed trip through a
chemical-stained place (a linchpin? that's what it's called, don't know
what it means though.) E1M5 has a lot of original ideas (the bottom
picture is from there), and in parts looks like a more modernised version
of those old maps by Holger Nathrath (Serenity, Eternity, Infinity).
"Evil" seems to be a dominant theme in the maps' titles.

The difficulty of play is decently balanced; the learning curve has
a user-friendly gradient. There are liberal amounts of ammo and monsters
to hand; one major difference from the original E1. The maps require you
to keep your eyes open, as the routes required to finish them do need some
intelligence to find (but they're not totally obtuse either.) Finding the
secret exit on E1M3 is quite hard (harder than it was in E1), but that just
adds to the challenge.



No errors.

The aesthetics are very well-worked, and there are a whole host of little
touches which make you feel as if you're really in the maps - things like
well-balanced light-levels and occasional flickering of the lights. The
aesthetics are very varied, much more so than in E1; you go from the bright,
clean opening base (top shot) to dark cramped labyrinthine complexes (E1M3)
to a heavy brown industrial map (E1M7). The hellish theme of E1M8 is
a bit odd and discontinuous with the rest of the episode, but it is
still well done. The high aesthetic standard is maintained throughout
the set, with only the odd dip here and there. Very fine job there.

For an E1 replacement, there are a lot of registered-version textures.

The things are well placed.

verdict