The DWmegawad Club plays: Echelon & Mutiny

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! 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 levels am I allowed to post about?
We’re going to be playing two maps per day for the first 15 days, then when we start Mutiny it’ll be one map per day.

Do I have to post an entry every day?
Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

When do we vote on the next month’s megawad?
Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example:

+++ Ultimate Doom

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>>>DOWNLOAD ECHELON HERE<<<

>>>DOWNLOAD MUTINY HERE<<<

As our year comes to a close, we have two more rad adventures to embark on! The first is Echelon by Sverre Kvernmo (perhaps you remember him from our Eternal Doom playthrough?), a bite-sized reimagining of Doom 2 with some nifty new monsters to torment you. The second is the collaboration-based Mutiny, led by 40oz and boasting some nifty limit-removing maps with a 90s cyberpunk theme inspired by the oldies. Just because 2016 sucked doesn’t mean Doom wads have to!

Maplist for Echelon:

Quote

MAP01 - “Overslept”
MAP02 - “Richter Scale”
MAP03 - “The Towering Inferno”
MAP04 - “Apparently the Apocalypse”
MAP05 - “They Rise”
MAP06 - “Home”
MAP07 - “Outpost of Hell”
MAP08 - “Starport Departures”
MAP09 - “Lunar Arrivals”
MAP10 - “Exodus”
MAP11 - “Lunar Escape”
MAP12 - “Crash Landing”
MAP13 - “Shortcut”
MAP14 - “The Lodge”
MAP15 - “Factory Floor”

MAP16 - “Haunted Hood”
MAP17 - “Neon”
MAP18 - “Possessed Plaza”
MAP19 - “Heart of Darkness”
MAP20 - “Mammon”
MAP21 - “Center of the Unknown”
MAP22 - “Sinuous”
MAP23 - “The Stone Web”
MAP24 - “Fumes of Alchemy”
MAP25 - “Bastille”
MAP26 - “Inner Palace”
MAP27 - “Fire and Brimstone”
MAP28 - “The High Places of Baal”
MAP29 - “The Elder”
MAP30 - “A Chance in Hell”

Author and maplist for Mutiny:

Quote

MAP01 - “Surface” by Fonze, Jimmy, 40oz
MAP02 - “Shipyard” by Pinchy, Tarnsman
MAP03 - “Crossbug" by MrGlide, Ribbiks
MAP04 - “Warzone” by joe-ilya, AD_79, 40oz
MAP05 - “Downtown” by dt_
MAP06 - “Faceless Corporation” by Angry Saint, Corsair, dt_
MAP07 - “Bunker Base” by 40oz
MAP08 - “Compactor” by Pavera, jmickle66666666
MAP09 - “Construction Site” by Impboy4, Doomkid, dt_
MAP10 - "Generator” by scifista42, Noonellama, dt_
MAP11 - “The Furnaces” by AD_79, 40oz
MAP12 - “Wildcard” by purist, traversd
MAP13 - “Laboratory” by Egregor, 40oz
MAP14 - “The Firewall” by AD_79, Breezeep
MAP15 - “Breaching the Unknown” by KevinHEZ, dt_
MAP31 - “The Brain” by 40oz

BONUS CONTENT
Kmxexii reviews: Echelon | Mutiny
Lingyan203's playthrough: Mutiny
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OLD THREADS
2012

• BF_THUD!
• Community Chest 4
• Jenesis
• MAYhem 2012

2013

• 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

2014

• Whitemare & Sacrament
• Scythe
• Epic 2
• Whitemare 2
• Sunder & Countdown to Extinction
• Doom 2 the Way id Did
• MAYhem2048
• Stomper
• Back to Saturn X E2
• Going Down
• Rylayeh & Crimson Canyon & Azagthoth
• Serenity & Eternity & Infinity

2015

• Resurgence
• Requiem
• ConC.E.R.N.ed & Draft Excluder
• Doom 2 Reloaded
• Valiant
• Scythe 2
• NOVA II
• STRAIN
• Icarus: Alien Vanguard
• Sunlust
• Plutonia 2
• Revolution!

2016

• 50 Shades of Graytall & Erkattäññe
• Hell Revealed
• Vanguard, Hell Ground, Bloody Steel
• Eternal Doom
• Japanese Community Project
• Ancient Aliens
• Bloodstain
• Estranged
• Alien Vendetta
• THT: Threnody & No Rest for the Living
• Hellbound

Cool! A few things concerning the Mutiny maplist:

-MAP02 is by Pinchy and Tarnsman
-MAP03 is Crossbug by MrGlide and Ribbiks
-The last map is MAP31: The Brain by 40oz

Mutiny review

Seems like Echelon is zdoom only, so I'll take a pass, but I hope to join for Mutiny.

Coolio. I just played through Echelon; maps 23 and 29 are easy favorites. I'll probably skip commenting expect for a small handful of maps.

But Mutiny is on my to-play list, so I'll defo start tackling that and jot down some notes for later in the month...

AD_79 said:

Cool! A few things concerning the Mutiny maplist

Thanks! I just looked at the OP of Mutiny on the first page and was a little confused—couldn't even find an /idgames link! Thankfully kmxexii's page pointed me in the right direction.

Thanks for the votes everyone :)

I'm excited to hear your guys reviews, but I'm a little scared too because I know you guys are tough :P

Fun fact, I contacted SoundBlock while making the patches for Mutiny asking for his help to make textures for Mutiny. He gave me a look at his Echelon resource pack to pick out some stuff I like looong before Echelon was released. As cool as the stuff was, I politely declined only because I was worried that Mutiny's maps might compromise Echelon's style if they were used in a community project first. But if I hadn't id imagine Echelon would just look like a better version of Mutiny :P

Also if you're playing on a zdoom-based port you might miss out on the cool DEMO1 credits reel.

For some reason Echelon crashes in GZ/QZDoom builds after the 2.2 stable release. Maybe it's just me, but throwing it out there for anyone running a newer/test version. Edit: Also, jumping and crouching is fine according to the text file so have at it.

Here we go. GZDoom 2.2, the usual list of visual and sound mods, mouse look etc. UV-Continuous because Pistol Starting this wad felt weird for the 8 or so maps I played before.

Maps 01 and 02

Single room affairs that take seconds to beat with no gameplay. Grab the Blue Armour and Rocket Launcher secrets if playing continuous, otherwise I guess they're there for shits and giggles?

Yeah I get this error in Zdoom:

Script error, "echelon.wad:DECORATE" line 259:
"USEBOUNCESTATE" is an unknown flag

I really enjoy Mutiny, challenging but what really makes me found of this wad was the marvellous chemistry between the midi and the level.

Nice map set this month! Sverre and 40Oz+Co did excellent jobs on both of these megawads; I had a ton of fun playing through both! Looking forward to some good reads.

UV continuous, GZDoom, etc.

"Overslept" (1) and "Richter Scale" (2)

Hey guys I told you this would be tiny. My in-game time added up to 0:42 at the end of this session, and that was with the secrets. These are hardly even maps so probably should not be judged as such. I got a chuckle out of the cinematic sequence at the beginning of map02. As the club's resident sector detail aficionado, I feel compelled to point out that the pillows in map01 are way too tiny. I did like the props though. A floppy disk, lol! I'm noticing that the maps have mostly been self-contained, with none of what Demon of the Well calls "diorama detail", which is stuff outside the playable area that contributes to a sense of place and is nice to look at. One of the luxuries of tiny levels is that you can dedicate more of your time, proportionately, to designing that.

Capellan said:

Seems like Echelon is zdoom only, so I'll take a pass, but I hope to join for Mutiny.

Ah, that's too bad. Echelon, in spirit and execution, reminds me of nothing so much as a more modern Demonfear, so it would've been interesting to see what you'd make of it. Nevertheless, good to see you around again.

Same for the rest of y'all, of course. ;) Echelon is a really really easy one to finish, so it's a good opportunity for those without much playing/commenting time to notch one.

Awright, let's give this a shot.

MAP01: Overslept and MAP02: Richter Scale

Not much to talk about here since there really isn't anything in the way of gameplay here; a couple of secrets to be found, but mostly these maps just serve to build the first chapters of the game's narrative. You've overslept, you get to work, there's gunfire and alarms and everything's on fire. Intermission text between every level - is this going to be a thing? But if it's an experiment, it's an interesting one, focusing more heavily on narrative in a game that has traditionally not focused on storytelling and information-delivery tools.

Demon of the Well said:

good to see you around again.

I've been checking the forum several times a week, I just haven't had a reason to post :)

Love the color and font. A simple, calm but foreboding title screen.


MAP01 - “Overslept”
gzDoom - UV – Continuous

Lovely little room with a kick ass music track. Sit still for a bit and give it a listen! The secret blue armor was kind of weird. Right away I'm struck with a realism bent but then I just open up a piped section of the wall like I would open a closet drawer... O_o We're in for something a little different, I think. The computer area map hidden with it is a real head scratcher as well. What's the point? All it reveals is the hallway behind the locked door which, oddly enough, needs a blue computer floppy disk to open. But you never really get to go down that hall. Red pixels are the end to the map and tell the player there is no turning back from this point, which is nice I guess instead of just running blindly through a door to have the map abruptly end.


MAP02 - “Richter Scale”
gzDoom - UV – Continuous

The story starts here. It seems every level we will get a narrative introduction which helps set the stage. That's a nice way to do it, instead of expecting the player to go find the .txt file every map.

Another neat little room with an unfinished game of cards. I liked the off screen set up explosion and death yell to kick off the feeling of something going wrong. Only problem is if you rush forward right away you'll pick up damage from the barrels exploding that are use to make the sound. Kind of breaks the immersion a bit there but it works well enough I suppose.

Again a computer map is given here and I don't know why as nothing is revealed at all this time. What gives? Couple of dead bodies and a hallway on fire... something is definitely wrong. Better grab the standard issue rocket launcher and check it out!

Echelon Echelon Echelon!!! :D Whooo! ...something I still have to go back to and finish :P

yeah, i went there :p

rehelekretep said:

yeah, i went there :p

Just a speed? Give me a max and then I'll be impressed! ;)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgS1ZoidySwNkUYjKcwRpuUG-us8rVEO2

Mutiny playthrough!

MAP03: The Towering Inferno

Interesting bit of stairwell architecture here as the WAD moves beyond single rooms. Still not a lot in the way of actual gameplay, though the new monster, some kind of ophidian flamethrower soldier, is a tad disconcerting - hisses like a cacodemon when it sees you, snorts like an imp as it patrols, screams like a revenant when it dies.

MAP04: Apparently the Apocalypse

PUPPY!

More lost souls and flamethrower demons at work here, and the texture choices do a fantastic job of communicating a really weird environment, eyeball-searingly lurid in its crimson intensity and full of crackled surfaces and liquid fire.

you asked for it rileymartin! :p

Playing zdoom, UV, continuous. This is my second playthrough. I'm hoping to unravel why the first was so distinctive and fun.

MAP01: Overslept and MAP02: Richter Scale

Life at the "UAC Starport Base" seems pretty drab. Tiny little beds, and I suppose the matching computer stations are your only source of entertainment. There are ... a few custom textures? This opening really doesn't work on any level, with hobbled attempts at environmental storytelling interrupted by hobbled attempts at narrative storytelling. But somehow it doesn't matter. Why doesn't it matter.

"The Towering Inferno" (3)

Design continues to be simplistic, predominantly a self-contained series of squares. Unlike the first two vignettes, however, this one is substantial enough to outweigh the intermission text. The first custom monster is apparently a flamethrower-wielding reptile that explodes upon death with the revenant's alert sound (lolwut?), dealing out a bit of blast damage. Tactically it might be interesting in larger numbers, as the irregular spread of its slow-moving attack forces you to pay more attention than to, say, imps and hell knights. The secret was simple but nice; I got some plasma and a rocket!

"Apparently the Apocalypse" (4)

The light amplification visor is a puppy? Okay, sweet. A quirky little micro-vignette here, and the first taste of the outdoors. It seems like the fire lizards have quite a bit more HP than an imp, as they can survive a rocket, but not as much as a revenant. I do want to fight them in more interesting settings; hopefully the beefy monster count of the next map (22 monsters OMG!) might provide just that opportunity.

Maps 03 and 04

Whoops! Gotta turn off Smooth Doom since I had to rescue some nightvision goggles instead of a dog from the burning building!

Nice midi in map03 and the descent sequence was a step above hitting switches in single rooms! The pyrosnake also makes his debut, along with 2 Lost Souls that are apparently responsible for setting the building ablaze. Hilariously useless computer map since the secret area isn't even shown on the map!

Got some more Souls to shoot/punch in map04 as well as two more snakes. Another strangely place computer map too. The outdoor view is quite nice though, where I end up hitting the switch and sprinting through the burning hallway with my Light Amplification Visor.

rileymartin said:

along with 2 Lost Souls that are apparently responsible for setting the building ablaze.

This is a hilarious image.

MAP03: The Towering Inferno

The first map where something interesting is happening. One almost does get the feeling of roaming through a smoldering building because there are no other goals presented, very few enemies and only the most minor powerups to collect. The central fire-hallway goes up really high, the start of what I think is a pattern for this wad of neatly tucking in striking vistas into what at first looks like a pretty un-striking and potentially misguided layout. I can't really find the words, but Echelon is having fun with space and the conventions of levels (obviously more later) in a way that's infectious.

MAP04: Apparently the Apocalypse

This level makes me say, what? You're supposed to have gone outside and turned right back around, and the level is the process of turning around and going back through the entrance, which is pretty unconventional. It initially took me a couple more maps before I was completely sold on this wad. But loved the dog immediately, which is a seeing eye dog, I guess.

MAP03 - “The Towering Inferno”
gzDoom - UV – Continuous

I love the double pedal bass on this music track. Adds a harder edge to everything. Quick trip down to the main floor provides a trippy experience if think too hard about it. Did this red fiery chasm open up from the explosion? If so, where did the elevator come from? Why is there yet another useless computer pick up. Snake people maaaaan! Just burning down everything. Give that wicked fire starter some much needed lead!

MAP04 - “Apparently the Apocalypse”
gzDoom - UV – Continuous

This acid trip, just won't quit. Outside is uncertainty. Inside, it's all puppy dogs and med kits. The only secret, is another computer map that reveals... no secrets. On the left side, you can discover a hidden eye that transports you to the right where you can flip the switches and drop crushers down upon the unseen lost souls, but you don't have to. Just grab love and life and go back inside.

I feel like there is a metaphor for life in this map somewhere but I can't get past the fact that there is a puppy dog... in a Doom 2 map. My head hurts.

"They Rise" (5)

I guess this one would have left more of an impression if I weren't already familiar with the idea of archviles resurrecting preplaced corpses. The viper's random spread fire makes it a decently engaging adversary in hallways. The outdoor area, with its juxtaposition of stock textures and that red and purple train, looks awful, although maybe that is the point. I greatly approve of Soundblock's gender neutrality in the intertext -- "safety of your spouse".

"Home" (6)

This is exactly like a fragment of a traditional opener map, with the exception of maybe one or two of the arachnotrons. Add another tier of buildings at a 128-high drop or rise, a few more interior spaces, and a view outside of the premises, and a very map01-ish base will emerge. The issues I've been complaining about haven't really subsided -- the map is maybe 33-50% too small, and too self-contained, with little in the way of external scenery. It's not quite fair to compare these to even small maps, sure, but the relative sparsity of diorama detail prevents these vignettes from convincingly depicting a single universe. The train was a step in the right direction, however, as garish as it is.

The interiors of Echeloncouple's house are cute, and the music is cool, very redolent of Ribbiks's style. At least rehelekretep has something a tiny bit more substantial to max now.

MAP05: They Rise

The bite-size nature of the maps here, along with the stop-start way I'm playing them, gives the whole WAD a very jarring feeling, a sense that there's something I could get my teeth into it only it weren't so slippery and elusive. Anyway, arch-viles busy themselves raising the dead only to be squished to paste offscreen, and no sooner has the player heroically plunged into the burning building than they decide "nope, gettin' out of here," via a zombie-infested hallway and a train.

MAP06: Home

Pretty swanky pad Doomguy's got there, though the home security system employed by one of his neighbours seems a little excessive. The surreal, larger-than-life tone of the whole project continues here.