The DW megawad Club plays: BF_Thud! (Join us!)

What is the DWmegawad Club?
This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! We schedule our time so that we beat a level per day, and any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

Can I join?
Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

What if I fall behind?
No worries! If you’re behind a bit you can still post about the levels you've played as long as you’re trying to catch up. But try not to fall too far behind… we don’t want posts about map 5 popping up when everyone else is on map 30.

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The megawad we are playing through is BF_THUD!

BF_Thud! is a 29 level megawad put together by Christen David Klie and published to the /idgames database January 30th, 1995. It features puzzling levels infested with zombiemen and imps, along with a plentiful amount of ammo to pump into the rotting armies of hell.

NOTICE: Due to the small size of the maps, we will be playing -TWO- maps a day, up until the 16th. So August 1st is MAP01 & MAP02, the 2nd is MAP03 & MAP04, etc. We should technically finish on the 15th, which leaves one day for anyone else to catch up. Afterwards we’re going to change gears and play through the anticipated Community Chest 4 on the day of its release (August 17th), at a normal pace (a map a day) this time.

>>>DOWNLOAD BF_THUD! HERE<<<

(Also feel free to read through kmxexii’s http://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2011/08/bfthud-chrisk-for-doom-bfthudwad.html]blog entry on BF_THUD![/url] for an additional contemporary reading!)
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OLD THREADS
BF_THUD!
Community Chest 4
Jenesis
MAYhem 2012
Memento Mori
Interception
2002: A Doom Odyssey
Hadephobia
Coffee Break & Fava Beans & Double Impact
HYMN
Stardate 20X6 & Monochrome Mapping Project
Realm of Chaos
Back to Saturn X E1 & Favillesco E1
Kama Sutra
Unholy Realms & Zone 300
Vile Flesh
Ultimate Doom
Whitemare & Sacrament
Scythe
Epic 2
Whitemare 2

never played this mapset before, onto the vague commentary!

map01: 5:30

1995 indeed, not terribly shabby looking though. thought I fucked up getting up the blue key after the floors lowered. also almost got owned by the pretty bullshit redkey. Overall meh.

map02: 13:12,

my cryptic-bullshit senses were tingling from this one. hit switch, search around to figure out what it did, repeat. why was it necessary to hit like 6 of them in a row to get the plasma? -.-. Spent a lot of time wandering around this one like an idiot.


nice pic btw :D

MAP01
That opening room surely does date the wad, doesn't it?
Short, very symmetrical. No sense of being a real place; minimal detail. Classic 94/95 material, in other words.
Reasonably clever crusher trap; nothing else stands out as memorable. Mostly just a case of identifying the right tactic for each section.
Also: Yay for getting owned by a chaingunner I can't even see! :/

MAP02
You know what I like doing in Doom? Running around killing monsters.
You know what I hate doing in Doom? Running around looking for what that switch just opened.
Guess which one this level focuses on?
So yeah, I hated this, because 'find the switch, then find the door it opened' is my absolute least favorite type of play.
Also, it appears to be is possible to get irretrievably stuck inside the room you enter through the red key door. So yay for that.

If maps 3 and 4 are like map 2, I won't be playing this wad much further.

On first impression much prettier than I remember mapsets being at the time, but it's only MAP01 so there's still plenty to come...

MAP01
I agree, meh...
Didn't try to get all the secrets.
The puzzle elements of this annoyed the shit out of me.

MAP02
I can't remember that well, but did we actually like gameplay like this back in 1995?? I'll agree with what was said about the plasma, WHY???
The endless switches, WHY???? No clue as to what is going on, WHY????

Some people may complain about over detailed levels these days, but for the most part there's a clear idea of what's going on.... I'm up to MAP26 in CC4 and I haven't been lost once and enjoyed every minute. Like Capellan says, if 3 & 4 are much like this I think the DW megawad club should go on vacation until August 17th...

Map 01 - 5:29 (no deaths, all secrets found)
Whilst the start room is simple like others had said, the rest of the map looks nice. Short, but plenty of areas to explore. Which is very rewarding, though there are far too many powerups. I didn't get caught by the red key crusher, probably because I'm too used to seeing key traps, usually with monsters but nevermind. It was good fun though.
Map 02 - 6:12 (no deaths, all secrets found)
The path to the end is pretty simple, but mazes and puzzles to get other nice items such as the plasma gun. I have to admit this wad has a quirky style which I like. Too many powerups yet again though. Unlike other people I figured out most things quickly as even though there are switch hunts, the door which opened isn't too far away. The crushers did get me in this map, luckily there is another soulsphere there haha.
In the end these maps are more focused on exploration, and whilst the looks are quite simple, they are tastefully done. I think I will keep going tomorrow on this.

Yeah the powerups are a tad too much.
It's also strange getting keys and weapons and not having a million monsters teleport in!
I'll keep going tomorrow (saw the start of MAP03 and it looks more promising )

Great pic up top there! Makes me feel like I should be in a tux smoking a cigar and sipping Cognac while I'm playing

Oh god, I had no idea this was a Kris Klie project until I read the OP - his maps were the worst of the Master Levels pack in my opinion. I'm hoping that he ups his game in this wad but, well...

Map 01

Kills: 44/46
Secrets: 0/1
Time: About 5 minutes (never remembered it)

To start off with, I hate bad key usage and placement, and the yellow key is as pointless and badly placed as you can get. Another thing that's pointless, though I guess it works, is the small pool of water that is set to damaging as you drop down into the area with the yellow key. It works in the sense that you're forced out from hiding to face a bunch of hitscanners face on, which is exciting but very cheap if the player goes down there with little health. Doesn't really fit in an opening level. At the least, I really liked the one "trap" with the teleporting chaingunner, as it kept me on my toes.

I have no idea how to get that one secret, which I assume involves the soulsphere and megaspheres - I managed to grab the 4 plasma packs around the exit teleporter, which isn't a secret for some reason? That's another complaint, actually - that there's too many power-ups in this map. Two mega armours and two berserks? The earlier-mentioned spheres? Invulnerability? Get out of here, buddy.

Map 02

Kills: 40/40
Secrets: 2/2
Time: 7:31

Man, that's an awful starting room. In fact, the entire map's layout is awful. I at least liked the main underground room in level 1, but this is just poor. Too many twisting 90 degree tunnels with very little in variation throughout. I was pretty pleased with myself to grab the first secret of the map (i missed the map 01 secret don't judge me), but then I turned around and tagged the second secret right next to the first one? Yeah, I'm putting that down to bad sector tagging. The one positive I can point out is putting a revenant in there - it kept me on my toes at least.

And yeah, as other people have mentioned - yadda yadda, dumb switch flipping bullshit, plasma rifle bullshit - I'm finding this map to be much worse than the first, which was mediocre itself. Hopefully it picks up soon.

Map 01 rating: - 4/10
Map 02 rating: - 2/10

Wahey, this is going to be fun. I think. I have a weird idea of fun.

Righty-ho...

MAP01
This is basically a diet version of Doom 2's Underhalls. I didn't come across anything too challenging until the crusher with the red key, which killed me outright. Dick move, I told myself, because I hadn't saved. Ah well. Try again and get the invulnerability sphere beforehand and the level game me no other problems at all. Too many blue armours, perhaps. 8/10 - an auspicious enough first level. Not too bad-looking either, save for the opening area.

MAP02
I'd read this thread first and expected a nightmare switch mindfuck. No, it's not so bad. Genuine 'jump' moment happened in the switch-labyrinth with the revenant, but he was chaingun-fodder. I really didn't like all the confusion as to what was a switch and what wasn't -- some switch textures are used both for decoration AND actual switches, and some switches are regular computer textures. When I'd twigged on that fact, the level was problem-free. I did like the 4-way lift exits though, LITE texture aside. 6/10 - a neat idea or two, but inconsistent switch/texture use and narrow walkways in one section detract.

I am totally stealing that 4-way lift for something I do in the near future. Maybe.

Not a bad starting wad, and one I haven't played before. I'll be back tomorrow. :)

I liked the texturing a lot in both maps. Clean, consistent and good looking. The challenge was almost nonexistent thanks to the power-ups scattered everywhere, but I still managed to die two times (damn slow crushers!). The puzzles, as expected, consisted moslty of pressing on walls that look different somehow, so they don't require real thinking. MAP01 was very symmetrical, which is disappointing. On map02 the amounts of symmetry were tolerable for me.

I probably would enjoy these maps more if they were a little less cramped, but I had fun anyway. Good old-school action. Looking forward to the next day.

map01 FDA
map02 FDA

By the way, when the next day starts? 00:00 UTC?

Some of the latter BF_THUD! levels are Klie's best work. You have some cool stuff in the future.

Just dropping a link to my review here. Spoilers, of course.

MAP01 - 0 deaths, 3:46, K/S: 82/0

Not the first time, I remember having played this map, and only this map, red walls, invuln, being crushed and quitting in rage. So this time, I played cautiously. A very bad start to the WAD, IMO.

MAP02 - 0 deaths, 11:18, K/S: 100/100

I like the design and the oh-so-oldschool feel. Didn't mind so many switches before plasma, but the author obviously doesn't know about the possibility of pressing switches which are not raised. What was wrong here is that I seemed to take always the last possible path to progress. I was running around the completely empty level 80% of the time.

MAP03, MAP04 a bit early, in spoilers

vdgg said:

PS does anyone know what the title BF_THUD! means???

Apparently it's:

Burning Forever: The Hurt Until Death

vdgg said:

PS does anyone know what the title BF_THUD! means???[/b]

Big Fucking Thud?

I'm not a big fan of puzzle maps, nearly gave up on map 1 after that crusher, nearly gave up again on map 2 after falling in an acid pit with no escape.

Seems to be a lot of surplus stuff lying around. That invulnerability on map 1 - was that meant to be any use? I thought maybe you had to use it for going in the crusher but that doesn't work. And as for all the button pressing on map 2, it feels like someone giving me a tiny spoon to make my dinner last longer.

Running back and forth hitting switches in confined spaces, aside from not being my idea of fun, gives me bad motion sickness. I'll give the next 2 maps a go tomorrow but if it continues in this vein I might have to sit this wad out.

edit: I recommend writing your review before reading anyone else's for the added amusement of seeing everyone complaining about the same things

Thanks for all the write ups so far guys, I'm actually surprised at how many of you are loathing this style of play! I find it kinda fun and quirky how there's always a megasphere and invul sphere in like every level, and how Klie always adds in superfluous ammo. I mean, it's not balanced design, but it allows me to take a very easy pace to stroll through the wad with. I never have to worry about restarting a level from scratch.

With that said, I'm going to spoil a bit and warn you guys that the switch hunts only get crazier from here, and I suspect we'll lose a couple stragglers after MAP03. As "unfun" as those are, I think it's still worth it to experience an oldschool megawad where fighting and decoration weren't the focal points of a doom map. Plus it'll be a nice contrast to the terrifying legions of hell surrounding us in our next megawad.

Anyway, MAP01
I'm glad an_mutt noticed the damaging water sector, I thought it was very weird. I don't have too many problems with this level other than I couldn't figure out how to get the red key AFTER the trap started.

MAP02
And the switch hunts begin! A strange little level with tight spaces abound, nothing was too annoying... although I wasn't a fan of dancing of nukage to hit some switches.

Memfis said:

By the way, when the next day starts? 00:00 UTC?

Uhhh I have no idea. I guess so? It's not really like anyone's going to penalize you if you decide to play through the next two later this night. We're just trying to move at the same pace is all.

kmxexii said:

Just dropping a link to my review here.

Already linked in the OP silly ;P

Ribbiks said:

Burning Forever: The Hurt Until Death

I read that as Burning Forever: The Hunt Until Death. Hunt indeed.

dobugabumaru said:
the switch hunts only get crazier from here, and I suspect we'll lose a couple stragglers after MAP03. As "unfun" as those are, I think it's still worth it to experience an oldschool megawad where fighting and decoration weren't the focal points of a doom map.

Well, I'm out. Switch hunts irritate me to no end, and I'd rather do something fun. I was playing Doom 2 as soon as it came out, so it's not like I haven't experienced plenty of old school level design :)

Ribbiks said:

Apparently it's:

Burning Forever: The Hurt Until Death

That's just a stinger; don't take it seriously. The original title of the three WADs Klie sewed together was THUD. I'm guessing Big Fucking Thud along with mouldy.

Also, that link blew past me. Sploops!

Map 01 - I really like this as an opening map. First you've got the blue key room with the sinking floors. Two shoots to grab the key, I got it on the second try. 'Course you later just teleport onto the key, so it's all for not. Still, it establishes that there's going to be more to do then just run around in circles and shoot monsters.

The second thing I like is the platform/steps. It's a neat little trap if that was it's intent, though it's not pulled off with 100% efficiency. It's way too easy to just run over the descending steps. If the steps were a bit steeper to start with it'd be easier to suddenly find yourself caught on them and in the line of fire. It's something I have stored in my memory banks to be ripped off and hopefully improved upon in the future.

Couldn't find any secrets. Too many powerups, even without the secrets. On to map 02.

Another fun one. It looks good. Little touches like a door with bars right behind it are clever to me because your brain thinks a door is going to open up a new area. Architecture is interesting. A little bit of brain work to get to the exit, but not a ton. The DOORSTOP bars near the yellow door/red key make ya think you need to open those bars elsewhere, but it's not the case at all.

So far I'm impressed.

I'll be tackling maps 03 and 04 in the morning (UK time), I've somewhere to be in the afternoon.

I'm not put off by the promise/threat of more switch-hunts. I wanna beat this thing. ;)

dobugabumaru said:
I'm glad an_mutt noticed the damaging water sector, I thought it was very weird.

I posted about that in a negative tone but really, it did work in the sense that it forced me to change up my approach to taking on that area. No cover for you! I'd have taken it better if, for instance, there was nearby slime or a barrel that you could say had leaked harmful liquid into the water? Yeah, I think I'm trying to stretch things here a lot.

ComicMischief said:MAP02
... some switches are regular computer textures.

I didn't mention this in my own review post but yeah, I realised pretty much instantly that computer textures were switches which I guess is great work by Klie to clue me in on that fact. There was definitely something in the design of areas with those consoles that made me think it was usable.

edit: vvv to clarify - I knew the consoles were switches before seeing any key trim. :V

an_mutt said:

I realised pretty much instantly that computer textures were switches which I guess is great work by Klie to clue me in on that fact. There was definitely something in the design of areas with those consoles that made me think it was usable.

He put red key trim on either side of one of them (the one that needs the red key, oddly enough :) ), and since that establishes that at least one console is a switch, it follows that others might be.

That was smart design. Pity about the rest of the level :)

Ok, it's Day 2 here in Australia so onto maps 3 & 4!

Before I start, that picture that's floating around with the Baron of Hell with the monocle looking all regal like totally needs to be the logo for the DW Megawad Club.

MAP03

Very nice self contained map consisting of a building and brown outside area. Liked the lower level monster semi hordes, gave me something to unload on! Problems with this map, way too much health & ammo and endless switches. Finished in 5:35 but the last 2 minutes were spent running around an empty map searching for and pressing switches.

100/100/100 5:35

MAP04

Finally a few tougher enemies to blast! Once again too many powerups. The invulnerability is pretty much useless, unless you somehow use it to rocket jump to the megasphere? I'm assuming the megasphere was the only secret in the map because I didn't manage to get it. A lot of running through nukage here, but plenty of rad suits makes it not dangerous in the slightest. A bug I found was in the room with the invuln & soulsphere: monsters teleport into the middle of the x platform but fall into the floor. A chaingunner did this and was still shooting me, but I managed to kill him somehow. However an imp was stuck in there and I could hear him shooting fireballs but I had no way to kill him so I finished the level with the imp being the only monster I didn't kill. The switch hunt is less intense here and easy to figure out. Not bad, besides the bug.

97/71/0 6:10

Overall these two maps were pretty fun. I hope the switch hunts in the future levels are as sensible as the one in Map04.
One thing I have to mention is that in the maps so far, I have not felt threatened or in the slightest bit of danger at all.
Now, where did I put my cigar....

Okay, so I played the first two. Cool stuff for sure -- I've got a soft spot for simple-ish styling, and found the first map cool for sure in that regard. The second not so much, though admittedly I expected it to be a lot worse given the comments about it in this thread so far. :P

Day 1 Crowning Xasermoment of Awesome*: Managing to find the way around the MAP01 red key trap (unwittingly, at that) the first time through, missing death completely. Which is not much until noticing it seems to have gotten most people. I AM LUCK


(*Hopefully something will happen later that will actually be deserving of this title. D: )

You were not the only one, the time I realised there was a crusher trap there was about a couple of seconds after grabbing the key and was in the process of leaving the area. Just looked around, "shrugs shoulders and says meh"

MAP01 - 3 deaths - 4:20

Pretty good. I was killed by the key crusher because I ran in and out, thus activating the crushers. I died. I died the second time because although I got the invul, I spent all 30 seconds trapped in the sluggish crusher. The third time was me being stupid and going to the washroom when a chaingunner walked infront of me and opened fire.

MAP02 - 0 deaths - Forgot

I didn't like this level design as much as the first one, but was still enjoyable.

Very glad to see this thing (dw-club) organized and kicked off so promptly. What a wad: very creative! It saddens me a bit that the author probably has no idea his level is being played so posthumously and he is probably not easily reached now. :-/ I hope he is now making computer games for a company somewhere.

The first two levels are just very cleverly designed, and are to my taste for close quarters level design. I think the crusher for the red key was a bit goosey in map01. I had gotten the mega armor and soul sphere and did eventually manage to get the red key after being crushed several times (but not killed). After finally getting the red key, I came back out to the main area and picked up the degreelessness sphere. Oh.. so that's what that was there for. But aside from things like this and protracted switch hunt/puzzles it surprises me this wad isn't better known given that the design is head and shoulders above most famous wads. In map02 the halls switch hunt-thing where you get the plasma rifle was really neat--it had some elements that reminded me of some secrets from wolf3d that I really liked where you had to figure out how to get behind the barrel or the pillar.

This wad could really really really use some new music. I don't suppose this could be done for the remainder of this thing? Or maybe someone could suggest a music pack to play with it? I changed the music in map02 to map30 and the map became so much more immersive and compelling with more fitting, weird, moody music. The puzzles in both maps were very creative.

I found all secrets and power ups but I missed the two cell packs at the end of map01. I never died and did the first two levels together as one play through, though did get down to 3 health at the red key crusher.

EDIT: I was carried away by the author's unique and novel levels and was almost done with map03 when I remembered I was supposed to stop playing. But I am going to write my thoughts on map03 while they are fresh in my head now:

I didn't even realise there was a crusher in Map01 before reading all of the comments here! Must of zoomed through it...

Played through the first two maps. Thus far, I have yet to die, though I somehow went directly past the crusher trap on Map01 without getting touched. Odd considering I took the wrong way around. Map design is clean, considering the 1995 stamp. Thus far, it's been a fairly easy, simple excursion with the only real threat coming not from the monsters, but from the space provided to work with.

The soulsphere in Map02 with the acid pit is, even for the time the wad was made, a bit of sleepwalker, TBH. Only slight drawbacks like that have kept me from considering this fanciful little piece of work.

Hellbent said:

Very glad to see this thing (dw-club) organized and kicked off so promptly. What a wad: very creative! It saddens me a bit that the author probably has no idea his level is being played so posthumously and he is probably not easily reached now. :-/ I hope he is now making computer games for a company somewhere.

Klie still looks around from time to time. He left a drive-by comment on my review of this very megaWAD at the beginning of this year. If you really want, you could contact him through Facebook. He has a blog, too, but he hasn't kept up with his 2011 New Year's resolution :B

Map01: Decent start. Those steps up to the blue key that lower were really cool. The texturing was also really good, especially for 1995. The gameplay was pretty forgettable though. Also I didn't like the red key trap. And yeah, there were way too many power-ups.

Rating: 6.5/10

Map02: Don't understand all the hate for this one; actually I liked it more than Map01. I liked the lowering floor at the beginning, and also that sequence of switches that keep rising out of the floor was funny; I really love stuff like that. Actually I think I'll do something similar in my next map. The switch hunting wasn't that bad, if you just retrace you're steps you'll eventually find where you have to go. One thing I didn't like was how orthogonal it was. Also the gameplay was pretty boring and forgettable.

Rating 7/10

Overall it seems like a decent megawad so far.