The DWmegawad Club plays: Sunlust

dobu gabu maru said:

Yeah Steve is the only player I know that mocks the authors for making HNTR too easy

Only in special cases like this. The last time, prior to Sunlust, that I played a Ribbiks map on HNTR was Map02 of SWTW, and I died 28 times and never quite finished it, so there were more deaths ahead of me. Therefore, given that Ribbiks and Danne have known reps for raw brutality, I expect HNTR in Sunlust to equal or surpass UV in most people's maps.

And Map09 was by Danne. Tomorrow's a busy day but it's at least conceivable that I'll replay the map on HMP. That's bound to result in multiple deaths. :)

Cynical said:

...Map 09 doesn't have the Cyberdemon at the start on HNTR? How on earth does that work?!?!

There's a Manc instead, quickly dispatched with SSG. The Cyb will take a lot more killing.

SteveD said:

And Map09 was by Danne. Tomorrow's a busy day but it's at least conceivable that I'll replay the map on HMP. That's bound to result in multiple deaths. :)

If you're looking for one to try on a higher difficulty, Map 09 isn't a bad choice. On UV, it's by far the easiest of the stretch from 5-10 IMO.

MAP08 - "Oneira" by Ribbiks

Kind of a combat puzzle map, where each fight seems deliberately set up to require a certain technique to survive. I'm not entirely sure I chose the correct methods for all of them. For the blue key chamber I woke the cyber by bumping into his back and then coaxed him into firing rockets at the hellknights. Similar deal with the other cyber encounters, it feels a bit gimmicky when the encounters are orchestrated to this degree. I can appreciate the skill of overcoming these kind of maps, but I don't find them so joyful these days. There isn't that sense of exploration that you get with more traditional maps, and when you are rationed your zones of combat in small parcels you lose that sense of progression you get from gradually clearing a map, because each room exists separately and what happens in one has little bearing on another. Anyway, I'm not great at dealing with cybers, so I left the last 2 alive and legged it to the exit. Tough stuff, glad I didn't try this from pistol start!

MAP08 is the reason I chose to play Sunlust on HMP. I played it on UV in a zandronum survival session two months ago and the whole server died trying to get the blue key, myself included. Fortunately, things went much better today. I just BFG'd the cybie and mopped up the rest with a few rockets. Less Hell Knights made it easier, but I'd expect that would work for the battle on UV too, at least if you're playing continuous. Pistol starters may not have enough ammo.

Other standout encounters for me are the start and the end. I'm just going to call these take-your-time starts. In this case, you can even leave the area and get the SSG if you like. The Chaingunner infighting there is something else. I eventually got bored and rocketed them, but at least it helps pistol starters. Nothing will wake up because there's a noise-blocking linedef when you go indoors. About the end, I wanted infighting with goatface, but he kept missing the guys directly below him while going after me. I ended up killing almost all of them myself. It was the start where I got some help from eager skeletons going after the mancubi.

99% Kills
50% Secrets
0 Deaths on HMP (wad total: 16)

Overall, I like the difficulty on HMP. At this pace, the last third of the wad will approach my skill ceiling, but right now, I'm having a good time. To give a little context, the hardest map I've really beaten is Scythe's MAP26. I used an exploit with some yellow bars to get out of playing 2/3rds of 30, so I don't count that one. I also died a lot there, even doing it the "easy" way.

Map08 – Oneira by Ribbiks - Kills – 100, Items – 100, Secret – 100. End Health – 200, Armor 118. Death Count – 1

Okay, so now I play the right map and . . . it's almost as easy as the wrong one. Okay, I did savescum out of 2 potential deaths. It's always a race against time in these kind of maps! :D

I agree with mouldy insofar as the action seemed overly choreographed, even contrived given all the invisible barriers. And once again, while the map looks good, there isn't much sense of place.

The opening battles were all a doddle except when Revvies were unleashed, though I got some grief from Mancs as well, plus a little ventilation of my spine by Chaingunners. Shit got real at the blue key battle. I had to fight that one without the BFG, just the sweet little Plasma Gun. I died on my first try even though I got the Cyb to anger about 4 or 5 HKs. I ducked into the HK closet to the right of the entrance, figuring that all the angry nobles would block any rockets, but 2 of them got through while I was SSGing the HK stuck inside, whose job I guess was to provide harassing fire at the player's back if he got comfortable playing Dances With Cyberdemons. I'm not good at that game, but I had enough health to withstand trivial hits from Imps and nobles while I spat plasma over goatface.

I had earlier tried to get at the BFG from outside when I saw the blocked path after teleporting onto the central pillar. That was a nice, cruel tease. When I finally pressed that blue key switch I got a nice jump-scare with the AV and friends guarding the BFG. That proved to be an easy fight on HNTR, but it sure made me run fast!

The final battle with nobles and a Manc in place of the Cyb was easy as well, after an initial stumble on my part. Once I got a little distance it was a trivial BFG session.

So it seems like some of the earlier maps are more difficult than 08 and 09, at least on HNTR. Well, that happens sometimes. ;)

09: Saquasohuh
Danne's contribution to SWTW-like theme. Looks the part actually, except for "natural" parts that aren't curved enough, heh.
What amuses me the most about this map is that its difficulty is somewhat inverse. It's notably harder to establish the initial foothold with all the shit hitting the fan on the onset, but once you do - it becomes easier to conquer Saquasohuh, bit by bit. Some of the setpieces may seem frightening on the blind playthrough, but in fact this map's bark is worse than its bite, there's nothing that'd skin the player alive unless he panicks and/or starts doing nonsense, which is obviously not something to be blamed on map's author.
Gameplay is, again, a series of congested challenges involving small groups that can use the advantage of cramped environments if you let them to, with a cyber turret in the central area being quite a nuisance for a considerable amount of time. Some setpieces can be cracked easier with the strength of foreknowledge of course, though I'd say none require it explicitly. The only semblance of beloved slaughter is the final onslaught, that one is a perfect proof of this map's "inverse difficulty" paradigm, it's an easy, even relaxed fight where the player has plenty of space, slow-moving cluster of nobles that can hardly match his mobility, and only a bunch of pain elementals serving as a distraction/flank attackers, they fall quickly, nevertheless, so it's not that they pose any real threat. Not a bad thing in itself perhaps, though those who care about traditional climactic conclusions too much might be disappointed. I kinda complained about that during the closed betatesting phase, but not that it really bugged me.
Cool map, not a long time ago I would've called it my favorite map of this blue minisode, though it seems that tomorrow's little beastie has overtook that role as of recently. Nice one, anyway.

MAP09: Saquasohuh

Interesting level name; Google tells me it's the name of a destructive portent from Hopi mythology. Who says this game isn't educational?

Anyway, the castle theme and blue contrast colour continue into this map, though more of the traditional grungy technology textures find their way into the palette as you make your way deeper into Saquasohuh's various nooks and crannies. Overall the flow is less 'guided' and the fights less strictly choreographed than in most of the WAD's levels so far, though not to quite the free-flowing, exploratory degree of MAP07. The high-ish monster count for the playable area is somewhat deceptive; at least on HNTR, a fairly significant chunk of the population takes the form of teleporting zombie swarms, which aren't particularly threatening but do leave a delicious aftertaste of "Imagine what these might have been on a higher difficulty setting!" in the player's mouth. If there's one thing this level does really well, it's making secret-hunting feel rewarding; you can see all of the various secret areas (none of which are simple weapons lockers), the trick is figuring out how to access them.

Demonologist said:

cyber turret

Oh, the things I miss playing on HNTR. :D

Interesting that this particular turret is a problem that "takes care of itself" at a certain point of progression through the map, too.

? I remember playing Map09 on HMP and at the end I had to camp that cyber rather tediously with CG\SG (getting close with BFG seemed too risky for FDA). Did something change since the beta?

Assuming I'm reading the tags and following the sequence right, there are switches you can press while retreiving the red and yellow keys that activate a crusher above the cyberdemon (mancubus on HNTR) - I know the crusher was active for me when I got around to pressing the red and yellow switches there, though I'd gunned the mancubus down earlier.

MAP09 Saquasohuh

a map centralized on a turreted enemy, which burdens me cause I deal with one who ends up attacking me more times than necessary. the nonlinearity helps out here, at least for evasion purposes. the key grabs are actually easy enough, although the one area with rising platforms was a standout, if only for that stupid secret. the BFG part is interesting too, if not for an invisibilty those hitscanners are more trouble than they're worth. Ending assault was good. Mixed feelings about this level overall.

MAP09 - Saquasohuh [https://youtu.be/ihqGcgMrxro]

Kills: 82% | Items: 100% | Secrets: 66% | Time: 10:28 | Attempts: 14

It seemed really overwhelming the first few times because I always thought it was too dangerous to stay in one area, so I kept moving on and triggering all the enemies in the map and bringing myself into hopeless situations. It was kind of like a puzzle, where I had to figure out where the trigger points were and how to get out with as few monsters chasing me down at any given time. My final strategy was to get the yellow key early and rush to the BFG and Megasphere, then just leave the bastards alive. After that, the rest of the map became surprisingly easy. In the final area I ran around the Hell Knights because I really just wanted to get to the exit, and what a dick move that was right there. I thought I had it, but nope! I had run out of cells and had to get through a bunch of Pain Elementals to exit! My heart was racing at that moment, but it ended up working out anyway. There were some issues, like getting stuck on walls and eating a rev missile, which was annoying. I don't really get the Cyber turret. He doesn't really pose that much of a threat, and he ends up just getting crushed anyway. Overall, neat map, though foreknowledge really does help a ton in this one.

Map09 – Saquasohuh by Danne – Kills – 97, Items – 83, Secret – 33. End Health – 200, Armor 200. Death Count – Zero

I'm almost disappointed that I didn't die in this map. I'm the kind of player who likes it when a mapper beats me up and steals my lunch money. My masochism has limits, but surviving a Danne map as easily as I survived this one feels wrong somehow. The action was all straightforward with few opportunities to get flanked, so basically, all I needed was enough good weapons and ammo – not to mention Soulspheres and a Megasphere – and it was smooth sailing.

Are there any Cybs on HNTR? I left the map with 2 secrets and 3 monsters remaining. Didn't feel like searching out the often obtuse secrets to see if a Cyb was hiding in one of them. I expected a Cyb at the exit fight given the size of the descending wall, and was bummed when none appeared. The ensuing 2 battles were so easy I didn't even take a hit. That's right, SteveD the Keyboarder Stumblebum can say, “You didn't lay a glove on me!” :D

Well, I'm sure that won't last much longer, but I figured I'd get my smartass remarks in while I still have a chance. ;)

So, in effect, this is a breather map for HNTR players.

What the map lacked in deadly action it made up for in beauty and atmosphere. I loved the blue theme, the pulsing lighting, and the beautiful gradient effects. The moving Imp columns were cool, too. But overall, I think HNTR needed a bit more bite, even as a breather map.

Edit:Okay, since accidentally playing this out of sequence and posting the review yesterday, I've learned that there is a Cyb turret right at the start where HNTR has only a Manc. Totally different play mechanics, since the Manc is easily dispatched with the SSG you get handed immediately. In fairness to the map, I'll have to give it a play on HMP soon, since that's the lowest difficulty which retains this important game mechanic. Also, kudos to TheOrganGrinder for researching the name, and to Danne for digging up this bit of Hopi mythology. To go a little further, Saquasohuh signals a coming apocalypse. Here's a quote from the first source on the list;

"It will come when the Saquasohuh (Blue Star) Kachina dances in the plaza and removes his mask. He represents a blue star, far off and yet invisible, which will make its appearance soon. The time is foretold by a song sung during the Wuwuchim ceremony. It was sung in 1914 just before World War I, and again in 1940 before World War II, describing the disunity, corruption, and hatred contaminating Hopi rituals, which were followed by the same evils spreading over the world."

So there you have it!

SteveD said:

What the map lacked in deadly action it made up for in beauty and atmosphere. I loved the blue theme, the pulsing lighting, and the beautiful gradient effects. The moving Imp columns were cool, too.

Imp columns?!?!?!

Wooooow, this was softballed on HNTR (they're Revs on UV).

Cynical said:

Imp columns?!?!?!

Wooooow, this was softballed on HNTR (they're Revs on UV).

Yep, it's a whole different experience. My approach is to cut down the monster count, so HNTR would have a third as many Revvies as UV, meaning there'd be empty columns, which might look goofy. Then again, maybe use Imps in those?

MAP08: Oneira
100% kills, 2/2 secrets

At first blush I worried this map would be the jumping-up point in difficulty, but then realized that it was a very setpiece-heavy map and that running through to wake all the monsters up is probably a bad idea. The fights are well-designed for the most part, though I agree with others that they seem a bit over-designed in some respects, especially with the invisible barriers (which take me out a bit of the gameplay since it's not clear when they should be working) and the invisible block monster lines. These kinda turn the map into a trial-and-error exercise since the "rules" of each encounter need to be learned first. Also found the first two cyberdemon battles to be a bit of a grind at the end since they just turned into abusing corners to whittle them down with the SSG. At least the last one has a built-in mechanism for killing him quick.

Cynical said:

Wooooow, this was softballed on HNTR (they're Revs on UV).

I feel like D&R are kinda "damned if you do, damned if you don't" with HNTR, since they have to be accommodating to the squeamish but at the same time provide at least some challenge. I personally prefer them going softer on players for those skill levels, just because the maps are so wonderfully designed that it'd be a shame to gate them by difficulty even on the lowest setting.

MAP09: This is the third extremely distinctive map in a row, one that I recalled every battle of as I was fighting through it. The start is probably the most hectic part, as you have to figure out where to go and fast, forced to steal your weapons from the claws of monsters you’re woefully unarmed to fight. It’s a great map about rising to power (whereas Oneira was more about just getting your ass kicked every room); you have the capability to walk away from the finale potentially unharmed if you manage to grab all the secrets. I always find the YK route the easiest to tackle first since mowing down PEs next to a pillar is substantially easier than the revenant dance-of-death the red key route demands… though the battle for the key itself is my favorite part of the map. Definitely one of the gems of the set!

(Also after playing this, you can see why I associate Danne with PEs :P)

MAP09 - "Saquasohuh" by Danne

Another one I'm glad I didn't pistol start, allowing me to gun down the cyber turret with SSG in relative safety. Its nice to have that option, cowardly and laborious though it may be, I'll still take that over getting one shot killed by a stray rocket. I still had an interesting time though, thanks to running from the last map with 45% health. Luckily there is enough cover and escape to cope with some of the devious scenarios here, and in the end I made it my mission to kill everything in the map. There were a few deaths along the way, the cyber guarding the bfg had me stumped until i realised i could just blast my way straight out of there. Not so for the final fight, I got caught by the exit trap, very funny.

06

A lot of switches in this map but it's not a switch hunt. The target sector to each trigger is always in the vicinity so the purpose is not to search but to serve as a string of self contained fights, similar I suppose to the helmet triggered skirmishes in the previous map except less freeform in the most part since the fights usually provided less space to escape. Instead of allowing room for tactical improvisation bigger guns are provided to help subdue.

I found this level easier than MAP07. This time ammo does not become an issue from very early on in the map and only small amount of monsters, usually including a mixture of lower tier monsters are all that comprise most fights making them quite straight forward to handle. The fight that had the most potential was the double vile fight after the yellow gate with the shield of imps but by then I was sufficiently armed to hammer them before they could get to far into the main area.

This is another island sort of base, this time floating above nukage rather than lava. It has a grungy grimy look with some really sweet mid-texture work and more transparent floor trickery. The level leaves it's best trick for last though with an awesome light show in both the long lift ride and then a neon visual treat in the exit room. A beautiful finish to a pretty decent level.

MAP09: Saquasohuh
98% kills, 1/3 secrets

Interesting to see everyone's comments on the cyberdemon turret, I found him pretty easy to avoid (I thought he'd be a pain at the start, but he had trouble firing into the start room) and therefore ignored him for the rest of the map until the nice crusher took him out for me. Interesting on how each wing can be approached by two directions - I ended up going in from the outdoors room for the red key wing and from the start area for the yellow key wing. Still a lot of setpieces but this one felt much more free-flowing than the last map. I cheesed the BFG by just running out of there past the revenants (who do a shitty job of blocking the stairs, thankfully) and then abusing the staircase corner. Liked the last room ambush, though, especially the last little part at the end for those who try to rush past.

07

I liked the cheeky SSG tease at the start. It felt early on that I was going to be constantly kept on my toes with surprise monster closets opening up or monsters warping into seemingly safe areas but before long there was enough safe opened up that there was often safe space to catch a breath and plan the next attack in. I used a lot of rockets but they were well enough balanced that I had to pick my moments.

For Sunlust's high visual standards this one is not particularly special with the nicest views being the glimpses outside. Or maybe I've just become spoilt by some spectacular sights in some of the recent previous maps. I think this level might be the first sight of the barrel because I noticed the new sprites for the first time.

I hope I'm just getting better as I play as this was another map that was not too hard after what felt (initially at least) like a difficulty jump in MAP05. I'll be eating my words soon I'm sure. Not sure how or even if the sector tags were used but there were both mancs and arachnatrons around so maybe the opened a secret or just a subtle way of progression. Although, I'm as tired of the Dead Simple remakes as the next Doomer but I was hoping in what seems to be a very creative megawad that a there would be some bold use of the tags. Maybe there is some use that I didn't notice but for me this is too much of a normal map for the slot it's in. Small complaint though, it's still a pretty nice level overall.


08

I really like the setting in this one. The stone and water predominant colour theme is nice enough but getting to a slightly elevated positions shows the area you are fighting in is actually sunk below sea level, which was a simple but nice touch I thought. Outside of this it's pretty much Sunlust standard-fare gorgeousness without any particular highlight or spectacular landmark.

Where this was excelled was the gameplay, which I found more hectic and just the right level of challenge for me. I encounter my first here, which I still struggle with in PWADs to this day. It took me a little while to work out the first one is best used as an infighting device as the area seemed too small for the amount of monsters in there initially - beating that fight was probably the most satisfying part of Sunlust for me so far, but the AV in the blue switch area and the final fight were also highlights, the latter being an obvious in-fight exploit even to me. Pain Elementals were the real hazard here and I enjoyed picking my run when the space opened up to hit the switch and then wait out the lowering bar to the exit.

I suppose this map could be described as another sequence of set pieces, like most of the other Sunlust maps and, this many in, I thought I'd want some gameplay style variation now but either the fights have been good enough to sustain it or the way they are strung together in this map feels more natural, I don't know. Looking forward to the next map though and enjoyed Sunlust more than I thought I would.

Map 8: 106% kills, 2/2 secrets, 19 deaths

Jumping around the posting order a bit since I had this silly mental image of this map. From the scouting run which accounted for the first 6 deaths, I have this impression of one of Bowser's fortresses, if said fortress had a Lunatic mode level of resistance. This is one heavily guarded outpost. Never made it very far without saves; died in SSG fight every time. The imp gallery wasn't nice either though I somehow slipped past the hellknights into a stickier situation. Got lucky to survive that mess on a blind run.

Sitting down with saves to finish this, I felt like this was more a puzzle map. By tackling each setpiece a certain way, danger is minimal. Didn't feel there was a great deal of freedom for freestyling without heavy damage or death. All but 2-3 of the deathcount are from the SSG room. I found a safe solution for nearly every setpiece. Except for the BFG guardians; that I was lucky and had favorable RNG with the archvile. Blue key fight in particular looks intimidating though can be tackled with minimal risk. Solution: Wake up a hellknight and have it anger the cyber. Stay out of the way until and let the monsters swing at each other. Guide the cyber's rockets into any remaining hellknights. Pick off the imps next and keep moving. Unsupported, the cyberdemon is a much easier kill. Could have skipped the whole BFG fight but it was worth doing for the final guardians. Some hellknights and cyber #2 had it out for each other but weren't doing a whole lot due to the height difference. So I wasted the other monsters while the cyber was distracted. Got all 3 pain elementals in a single BFG shot, so satisfying.

10: Maru
Second Sunlust map I saw in the beginning of 2014 after another playesting request (I believe it was called "Sapphire" back then?..), some mysterious megawad had already been a thing I was aware of back then. Sadly I had enough of Doom back in the day, so after a quick glance I had to decline, only to return to it later after taking a break for several months.
Anyway, Maru is something that kept growing on me gradually over time. This map is as close as it gets to SWTW, it actually feels like a chunk torn out of that mapset. Same frantic start, chaotic nature with constant ambushes as a response to player's every step, even a cyber sniper immediately evokes memories of SWTW map03. Though in here, running around in chaos is actually a viable option, as long as you know where to go and where the goodies are, as otherwise there's a high probablility of running into some tricky setpiece without stronger weaponry and thus making your life considerably harder. And most likely shorter.
Overall, this map's challenges really feel like watered down SWTW. Archviles among columns, some hordes quickly taking vital space, frenetic cyber scenarios, dangerous close quarter brawls, lethal crossfires - but still more approachable to general public. And yes, some barrels are thrown into the mix waiting to be used for maximum kill ratio, one of the secrets even reminded me of map12 of Icarus. Eh... thankfully, in here it's not anything random, so this reminiscence is evanescent. All for good.
The standout encounter is no doubt the final one, Ribbiks can confirm that in my FDA I turned it into an unwatchable boredom fest. Nowadays though, I can surely handle it quickly enough, heh. Very nice slaughter puzzle fight with a dreadful cyber trinity towering over the battlefield and hordes of ground troops pouring out of shadows, truly intimidating and takes courage to actually commence.
This map also feels bigger than it really is, which is a nice effect achieved through a plenty of various scenarios implemented. I think it's even smaller than the previous one, though I suppose you wouldn't think so after beating it, it really feels more saturated with carnage to compensate for its compact nature.
So, a strong map to conclude the first episode and this blue thematic minisode, moderately difficult to keep the blood pumping and entertainingly chaotic to keep the fun factor intact. I owe Ribbiks many apologies for occasionally acting like twat in the past, so let the appreciation of this map be one of them, heh.

MAP10 - Maru [https://youtu.be/5IH-xP7h620]

Kills: 100% | Items: 91% | Secrets: 66% | Time: 11:41 | Attempts: 10

My favourite map in Sunlust so far, and also the conclusion to the first episode. Again, I really love the blue everywhere. It's quite a hectic start, with several areas to go, but your main concern will probably be to get some armor. It sounds easier than it actually is, as you have to navigate the multi-tiered environment with Arch-Viles and a Cyberdemon. From the main area you can either get the red key or the blue key first. I went with the red key, since it grants you access to the Rocket Launcher and also allows you to telefrag the Cyber. The final area is a very deadly slaughter with three Cybers guarding the exit. Now one Cyber, I'm cool with, but three?! At least the can help in dealing with the Imps/HKs. I played it very safe after clearing out the small fries, because I really didn't wanna die at that point, but hey. I'm eager to see what awaits me in episode 2.

Map 08: Oneira (UV)

"Oneira" is a crumpetbase -- a compact structure built of stiched-together lock-in arenas and their connective tissue set in the middle of some kind of liquid abyss; they are multi-tiered constructs of depressed areas and elevated structures of various types. This is a reliable layout type, one that lends itself naturally to claustrophobic combat and clever progression, and I've been experimenting with it for my own stuff. The excellent BGM is crumpety, too, with tinkles and bells and stuff, but a lot darker and gloomier than most of Crumpets's stuff, mirroring the relevant fusion of aesthetics in "Oneira".

Anyway, most of the encounters fall into two triplets: a) stationary cybers supported predominantly by weaponized doors/meatshields; b) vile(s) with assorted backup, often the ever synergistic (!) revs. They were really fun. None of them were too difficult, except -- for me, at least -- the last, wherein my slow reflexes got me gibbed while doing the infight dance (being sleepy doesn't help). Anyway, it seems like an effective, albeit slow, strategy is to thin the field by getting the cyber to fire a clean rocket into a cluster of HKs, at which point the HKs will retaliate and approach the cyber turret. As in, shimmy up so close they can't actually hit the cyber. Geniuses. It's pretty clear that a good amount of strategic thought went into choosing the turret height*, because the cyber is then limited to making his crotch explode, and it takes a while for the infinitely tall damage to kill the HKs. More YOLO strategies certainly exist but I'm a nit.

These map names are cool. I was thinking about making a map named "Poochitsu", so I clearly need to attend map-naming school or something.


*Okay, perhaps just greater than zero thought -- it's not

(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐□-□
(⌐□_□)

rocket science.

MAP10 Maru

I knew it! I knew you had a part in this dobu!

Anyways, this map, like so many other maps and their mothers, has to have an annoying projectile assault beginning. other than that, a lot of memorable key moments, some interesting secrets. that last battle I think requires luck on UV. not gonna try that now.

question: does the slanted teleporter linedef make the death exit un-exploitable?

MAP10 - "Maru" by Ribbiks

Really like this map, the whole starting area is such a playground. My main source of death here was being trapped in a small room with shit suddenly flying at me. First it was the wall of chaingunners that I wasn't immediately ready to throw rockets at, then it was a diddy arena surrounded by rev and mancubus turrets (constant running in a cirlce seemed to be the best option), and finally the finale with the 3 cybers and friends. That last fight took some figuring out, in the end it seemed best to let the cybers help me thin out the encroaching crowds before mopping up with bfg. There isn't much room to improvise in those contained fights, so it was nice to have the outdoor zone to run around in. I'm assuming the death exit marks the end of the first episode, its been fun. I feel like the wad has been toying with me so far and is yet to show its real claws.

ok, that's sunlust, a marked change from last month's difficulty and pace, or lack thereof in places ;)

gzdoom with smooth and ketchup, hi-res texture pack. for the time being i'm sticking with pistol start and uv, but we'll see about not saving at all, or how long i have the patience for it. the first 5 maps or so i guess.



MAP01 - “Chasing Suns" by Danne & Ribbiks

nice starter! relatively easy, but gives one occasions to die quickly already, like the yellow door trap when a berserk pack was combined with chaingunners, just in case you think of rushing the demons with the fist - chaingunners inside and outside! the vile with its caco meat shields at the exit can be shot safely from above, but gives you a taste of things to come. i love the theme with orange lights in the walls.



MAP02 - "Down Through" by Danne

speaking of the theme with orange lights, the glowing door frames in the beginning look great. is that some joke with giving the player 1 health and 1 armor in places? the viles in cages that teleport away are no joke, but they come one at a time. anyway with cacos and revs as helpers to chase the player out of his cover. vines behind grates, and columns of muddy water, a kind of sewer map, without the corridor disease usually associated with the theme.



MAP03 - "Forgotten Shrine" by Ribbiks

the most beautiful map within the first 6 or so, mesoamerican themed ruins with a superbly fitting music. i really enjoyed this map. it mixes exploration with set-piece fights that have one easy solution, but can end badly in no time if you're not careful. for example, the blue key trap took me a few bullets for the chaingunner and the switch behind him, and one ssg blast for the knight after all infighting. then there's the seemingly extra- dimensional dark room with the orange "flower" floor, where the pack of knights is your ally. the most impressive part is probably the half-circle imp ambush with the PE behind.



MAP04 - "Sol" by Danne & Ribbiks

what playful music, while things get harder here. there's this start where space managing skills count so you don't get cornered. then the main part of the map is a kind of hub where every switch releases a horde of revenants, while lava restricts your movement. fortunately there's plenty of shells, and the rocket launcher on the pedestal. moving around makes the revs congregate in the center, where they infight with the mancs or can be mass murdered with rockets. the final room with the revs on pedestals require careful movement and use of pedestals as cover.



MAP05 - "Gear Up" by Danne

a kind of demon temple in space. again, props for the music. i'm currently working on getting through this one in one piece, as shit hit the fan for me here. my problem with it is that i rely much on movement, but here, every step triggers more enemies. like those 20 or so chaingunners on the walls. and you have to keep moving or you'll run out of ammo. once you carve out your free zone it gets better, but the beginning is just running from evil.

MAP10: Maru

Music from the 'proper' finally boss battle of Xenogears (not technically the final final boss battle, but the longest and toughest of the sequence) versus a map name that I primarily associate with a chubby Japanese cat... certainly an odd combination of tones. In visual and aesthetic terms this map continues the trends set by the prior two, though organic curves, natural rock, and brief jaunts into surreal and abstract spaces begin to play a larger role. Gameplay consists of a relatively familiar progression through outdoor and castle areas with fights that are choreographed to varying degrees, rounded out with a subterranean boss battle against cyberdemons (two on HNTR) and a veritable legion of imps.

The most interesting design choices that I picked up on involve red key, which is theoretically optional for map completion but (especially, I would imagine, playing from a pistol start on a higher difficulty) provides access to weapons and supplies essential to the player's victory. Again on HNTR a mancubus fills in for a cyberdemon in the role of turret, and again there are options for dealing with it beyond simply pumping plasma or shotgun shells into it 'til it keels over. The map closes with a death exit to reboot the player's equipment and status for the next episode, to which I am very much looking forward.