The DWmegawad Club plays: Judgment

56 minutes ago, dobu gabu maru said:

 

Ah okay, in that case we'll keep with club tradition and play MAP33 on the 8th and MAP34 on the 24th.

I might suggest giving the extra day to map 32 by itself, it's a doozy compared to 15 and 31, and having all 3 on one day might be a bit much for some folk.

Map 01: PIT OF FIRE:

Deaths: 1-2

The beginning of the wad. This is great so far. Missed that rocket launcher at the start, so that was painful. The secrets are decently well hidden, with the rocket launcher taking me a bit.

The combat is decent, and makes you feel powerful with just a shotgun! Don't use that rifle by the way. Doesn't do enough damage against the enemies.

The visuals aren't stunning, but they are very much good!

I'll give it a B, with a D for difficulty. (Yeah, I didn't notice this yesterday. Will also do map 02 today lol)

Alright, finally!! Honestly, I had the right spelling to begin with before seeing some other people spell it like 'judgement.' One could even say that my recent computer troubles that are the reason I haven't been around were a..judgement (*ba dum tiss*) for daring to misspell the name. Anyway, let's get going! I'll be playing pistol-start on UV. And I'll also be uploading demos for most of these maps, just because. Recorded on From Doom with  Love (DSDA fork)

Map 01: Pit of Fire

Not sure how I'm going to get through this wad. Every time I'm forced to kill a baby caco, a little part of me dies inside. Even though I know they'll be in greater numbers later, that doesn't make it any easier to hear their cry of pain upon their death. Also, the Imps here have all been colored back and shoot Caco fireballs like the Dark Imps from Realm667. This Imp's difference in health from the vanilla Imp is minimal however.

The replacement of the rifle for the pistol is not visually impressive, it looks silvery but seemingly contains little else. It does succeed in making the opening bit where you're shooting Imps at the beginning less tedious though. You also get a chaingun replacement basically copied from other wads as well.

This map has a good basic design. I also really like the secrets, such as they are. Hell settings with this particular color scheme aren't my preference, yet realizing there was a tunnel behind a blood fall containing some rockets because of a nearby rocky platform was quite satisfying to find. I got 100 percent of 'em as you'll see

Map 02: Blood Mountain

Well, this is a serious step up. A larger portion of outdoor areas and several areas with some seriously grim bloody architecture. From the very beginning, you'll be assaulted by a serious mass of pinkies. You get to kill just enough of them with a chainsaw before you can run up and grab the shotgun. However there's also a small Imp army nearby for which your shotgun simply won't be enough. Run to the other end of this courtyard, killing some flaming wyvern enemies that shoot rockets for some mysterious reason, then grab the chaingun and things will be (somewhat) better. Right after this is a cool multi-layered trap. Pick up a super shotgun, then the room you're darkens and unleashes 1 Arch-vile and then another one once you fell them. At a certain point, the lights will go back on and chaingunners will be revealed in the corners of the room. This sprite has also received a redesign and their MBF21-boosted death animation is just so cool.

From here, you can head either to the left or the right. Either way, you'll find a secret teleporter that'll allow you to pick up the plasma rifle in the central room. Suprisingly foresight. It was a trap behind me in the left path that helped introduce another custom monster: that eyeless Lost Soul variant that also has less health, though the Pain Elementals will also shoot them out at a faster rate. Honestly, you can tell I'm too used to fighting vanilla Lost Souls.

The switch here opens a door to a darkened hallway with a rocket launcher along with several enemies, including a certain green-uniformed enemy you may have seen before, along with a switch which will open up a Supercharge you may have seen outside earlier. At the end of this was a bit with some Mancubi you've got just enough rockets for.

The last room was quite annoying, due to to foes replacing whoever you shot off the platforms to a point. This can be effective sometimes, but in this case, the setup felt fucking stupid. That Realm667 Baron is a fair threat though. I really liked the rest of the map, though you can tell I didn't see it worth the effort to find the third secret.

lmd_judgment_part1.zip

MAP02: Blood Mountain

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 2/3 secrets

This one brings rocky cliff outdoor areas and a bloody wooden fortress. The second map is already a pretty sizable step up in intensity and complexity. For this one you need to get the red and blue keys to reach the exit, which can be obtained in either order. More and more changes from vanilla becoming apparent too, almost too numerous to name and probably a lot more than I notice, but I'll rifle off some notable ones: The zombieman now dons a helmet, fires continuously when he sees you, and I think he has a bit more health too. A brand new monster called the Fallen shows up (I took a very quick peek at this one, trying my best to avoid spoilers), a flaming skeleton that flies and shoots revenant missiles. The baron now has wings, and shoots projectiles in volleys of two. Lost souls have a creepier appearance, and I think they're a bit faster and more aggressive too. The chaingun is souped up with a higher rate of fire. Also a slightly more minor but cool change is that the impaled corpse decorations are now shootable, taking a tiny bit of damage before falling to the ground. Wondering if they'll be used with greater significance later as cover or something.

The intensity is a marked step up from MAP01, although it's still a relatively low threat map. You start off in a blood pit with some pinkies and a caco, armed with a chainsaw, but you can just raise the stairs and run out to the shotgun if you don't want to deal with that noise. The fallen are introduced very shortly in, but their usage is low threat here. They definitely seem like they have the potential to cause problems though. The pitch black archvile encounter with the SSG is a cool one, not too tricky but can definitely catch a blind player off guard. The most threatening part is probably the red key ambush, which sics a bunch of cacos on you along with a pain elemental. With the new lost souls pain elementals have the potential to cause even more chaos than normal.

Solid map overall, the changes seem cool so far and it's a nice gradual difficulty increase.

MAP 02: Blood Mountain

Deaths: 0. (I think).

I think it's a good time to mention I'm playing UV, pistol start with Rewinds. (I'm playing DSDA-Doom 0.24.3)

This map. Is amazing. I thought it wasn't much, but everything just hooks you in. The introduction of another new monster, the two wings you can go to get the keys, all of it. It looks great, it has a well hidden secrets that aren't ridiculously hard to find. It's awesome. I can't really describe too many encounters, however, that SSG encounter with the archviles in the dark is a rush, and the blue key fights are higher octane than the other wing. I spent like, 5 minutes looking for a secret just to find it and get a FUCKING INVISIBILITY. Bullshit. Oh, by the way, I'm maxing every map, so I wouldn't be very salty about it otherwise.

I'll give it grade A, with a difficulty of C

Difficulty Rankings: 02, 01.

Liking rankings: 02, 01.

MAP03: Ritual Grounds. Played on DSDA v0.24.0. PS, UV, 170/170 K, 5/5 S, 35/35 I. Comp. time 16:06

Another great level that I didn't quite single segment; I was already making saves, just in case, and the battle for the blue skull key had me use those saves - such a tight encounter, even if after last month's club experience it should have felt like a nice and friendly warm-up.

That was also the only time I died; However, it was not my first attempt at the map, but (I think) the third. I read from the Judgment release thread that Rayziik (where have I played his/her maps before? Mayan Reynolds? 1K3?) that:

Quote

The gameplay is centered around pushing and pulling you into different situations where you must use your skills to survive. Conversely, the harder you push the harder it will push back, and sometimes knowing when to run is the best choice will mean the difference between dying and getting through.

The start of the map felt such a ammo hog that after a couple of tries I came to the conclusion that you should run at the start to the small guard tower in the outdoor area to get properly armed before taking on the enemies.

Once again the layout and visual were great, and I really appreciate when the mapper puts in on bulky turret enemies, and you can telefrag them instead forcing the player to waste ammo and chip the enemies away.
 

Map 03: Ritual Grounds

  There's one thing that's very apparent from moving through Judgment: these levels are built with speedrunning in mind. I say that seeing that the Blue Skull fight sicks two Barons on me when I only have a shotgun and chaingun, and I watch them effortlessly navigate towards me when I run away from the room. It does make playing these maps quick feel very nice, but my casual playthroughs seem to be taking longer than I expect, also partially due to how hard I'm looking for secrets, because maxers be damned. Several secrets in this map evoked a knee jerk "oh fuck off" when I found out what actually triggered them, quickly reevaluating to "yeah that was pretty good". 

  As for the map itself, the verticality made jumping around the cliffs feel really good. One standout example I know is using the Dark Imp pillar in order to get back to the start from the Yellow Skull fight, clearly another addition in the name of speed. The skull fights are primarily composed of simply laying down a spewing teleporter on either an escape route or the key itself, which is fine, if not how I prefer ambushes to be handled. I'm finding that playing these maps more than once is important to truly figure out how to make use of my ammo, not only due to the secrets making a pretty significant difference in the player's power, but also the fact that there are a LOT of beefy targets that can slurp it up without much effort. I'm also consistently finding that I'm enjoying the maps more the second time around, which is not to say that I didn't like them at first, but I can tell a difference for sure. I still felt the Blue Skull fight was cramped and a tad overwhelming, but still a pretty good map.

Power Rankings:

Rayziik's Circular Column of the Day

let's judge some more! 

MAP 03 - Ritual Grounds :

We are outside some kind of temple, and we are greeted by 4 imps and a HK on the inside. Two doors. I pick left. The blue key is on a pedestal, imps and chaingunners hidden behind some grates, a blue sphere and a switch. It opens up some niches with soldiers and doors : a manc on a side, a spider on the other. I chaingun them to the end of my bullets, switch one, switch two, a baron! imps and shotgunners roaming free and at least one rev behind bars. All dead, blue key, back outside, the other door. A courtyard with a few imps, steps up, a chaingun. The other side has some caves I decide to explore before entering the door. I pass in front of the exit, kill a baron, pass a blue door, kill a manc, kill imps and pinkies and reach a lift. SSG, backpack! Berserk, rockets, bullets. And now... The door. It leads to a circular room with a megasphere on a pillar and.. Nothing else? Ah. Shooting a demon face shows a switch that lowers the megasphere and releases a few imps and pinkies. Grab the sphere and back to the blue door. Caco, two HKs, switch, leaving the megasphere for latter. The switch opens up a passage outside where imps, a spider, a manc and more wait. At the spider den a switch turns the small room into a lift, leading me to the yellow key. Switch, ambush, YSK. Back to the lift, down, and on my way to the megasphere I spotted a secret switch! Kill imps, teleport, grab the baron's soulsphere, back to check the exit door.. An, an HK and two adorable mini-cacos! Now, everyone is dead, time is at 13 minutes and I'm missing 3 secrets. One is the SSG.. Next.. Two backpacks and a plasma! One more. The final one has to be on the first door I explored, I think. Ah! There is one different face. Oh, yey, the map. On the last secret I find. Grab mega sphere and exit!

100% K/I/S, 0 deaths, 19:13

Tomorrow more shall be judged! 

MAP03 - Ritual Grounds:
Not as fond of this one, it's got some good moments - the large cavern with the baron in the centre springs to mind especially and the opening is pretty fun too. I like the aesthetic of the red rock textures being damaging, it looks cool and I like that the same texture is used as a "FALL" texture of sorts to go along with it. The main problem I have with this map is that, from a pistol start at least, this map is just a slog. There are a lot of higher HP monsters here and you get the rocket launcher for the second to last fight, at which point you'll have so much ammo it's completely trivialised any challenge the map could have thrown at you at this point (it is still entertaining to rocket fodder, mind you). For the rest of the map, you're stuck with the SSG against enemies that feel rather slow to take out with just that.

The blue key room is the worst offender for this, with the exception of the chaingunners, there's not much challenge to the encounters and they're pretty boring to grind through with just the SSG. I also think that the secrets in these first three maps have been pretty dull - there's very little so far beyond switches hidden in the wall and while this doesn't take away from the maps, they do seem unusually less polished and thought through than the rest of Judgement so far. The new zombie enemies show up a bit here, but they don't really distinguish themselves yet. It's a fine map, but I had a lot more fun in Map02.

RANKINGS:

Map 03: Ritual Grounds

God, I just love this midi! I remember hearing this in Map 04 of Old Still Life and my god, does it totally create a sort of epic battle feel.

The map itself is both easily the best and something of a step backward. I really like the combination of temple with an outdoor floor containing some oh-so-dramatic dried red lava the colour of blood, not to mention a large cavern with a Baron and Supercharge in the middle on one of Rayzik's characteristic round pillars. I don't think I have to explain the immersive qualities of this

In all honesty, I don't think this was designed perfectly for pistol-start play because of some rather inconvenient enemy agglomerations in the room located just to the left of the starting location. The black Imps appearing in the corners isn't something I've got any problem with. What's more annoying is when large mobs of them start teleporting into the room to the west along with a pair of lion-headed winged barons and several hitscan enemies that you technically get a chaingun for but honestly becomes quite tedious to use after a while. Although I'll say this seemed like a logical room to contain a secret and I was right. I just can't believe I'd forgot my lessons from the last maps and forgot to look for a hidden switch for the secret super shotgun initially, along with the above-mentioned Supercharge (I don't think there was really much excuse for me to not look behind the torch, but to be fair, I never expect secrets to be as easy to located as they are here).

The secret with the plasma rifle is one I don't think I could've located without the computer map, though the Arch-vile teleporting out when you attack them was a sufficiently cool moment. It was a touch embarrassing for me when I dropped into the pit containing health potions where you find a Revenant. That pair of hell knights you encounter in a narrow hallway actually cornered and killed me a couple of times, my only deaths in the map, though I'll say the (blue key?) trap was quite annoying. I just love to cheekiness of the final ambush. No time to cry, only time to die!

I definitely have mixed feelings on this map. A couple of the larger fights definitely feel overly tedious, but then, you can run around quite a few of them, though that doesn't really do much for the chasm that leads to  the yellow key. I guess Rayzik just thought the foes here are scattered enough for it to go over ok, but that doesn't excuse that first huge fight. You can tell how annoyed it made me.

Edit: Just saw that bit about how much of the design was intentional. I feel much better about ranking it higher than 02 now.

lmd_judg3.zip

(Played continuously on UV with DSDA-Doom, saves are allowed)

Map 3: Ritual Grounds

100% kills, 97% items and 100% secrets

Time: 9:26

More Sunset over Babylon is always welcome, especially if it fits very well, and in this case, it fits very well! This map keeps the hellish theme of the previous entries while being more fun than them. It doesn't introduce any new enemy outside of the zombieman, but the encounters are faster paced and contain more enemies. Some of my favorites include the blue key ambush with lots of smaller enemies like imps and zombies and the yellow key trap with lots of hell knights and imps. The map also contains an optional area leading to a blue armor and more secrets than the previous ones, but they are not that hard to find if you keep an eye out for hidden switches. This map is more fun than the previous ones and looks just as good, which makes it my favorite one so far.

Rankings:

MAP03 - “Ritual Grounds”

Rather nochalant feelings about this one if I'm honest.

The blue key room isn't great, honestly for pistol starters your best bet is to leave the area after grabbing the blue key and come back later, except when following the layout you never have to come back to the starting area. A lot of the fights just didn't pop for me really. There was a mancubus in the large cavern area that was stuck for some reason, the yellow key fight was far less threatening than a similar fight in map02 as you only have imps/hell knights etc instead of revenants in the previous map. The baron is a pain for 100% unless you find a specific secret and unless you lean on the berserk you could run out of ammo. 

The map looks nice, probably better dress than the other two, but the gameplay felt a little flat to me. Some areas were really screaming for better monster combinations with the largest playspace only offering rather tepid incidental combat.

Hey everyone, happy to participate in this thread again!  I'm looking to play a few maps at a time so I started with three.  Don't have time to write up thoughts on each map at the moment, might edit this post with more thoughts, but of course I have more than enough thoughts in the video with chapters so you can select the map.  Hope people still enjoy that, even though I know it's nice to read people's write ups.  I wanted to post this while we were still on day 3. :-)  Anyway here it is!

Brief excerpt from vid description:

This first episode starts off with an early death which shows me what might be coming, but I think that was only an early difficulty spike because it was easy to start over. In reality the first 3 maps were not too tough at all, and I have fun figuring out the new enemies and weapons.

MAP03: Ritual Grounds

Deaths: 24 (cumualative)

Oh dear. The start of the map wasn't that bad, had a stuck mancubus, and gave me the ssg. But the blue key room was painful. I'd saved before and I am thankful I did, however, because of where I did save, getting out was not an option. Leading to a lot of deaths, but a little bit later I was out of there. Next up, yellow key. Much less hard because I had a rocket launcher and the hell knights and imps did not. A little backtracking later and exit opened. Oops, actually a baron and a few baby cacos came down, had to kill them THEN exit.

Overall pretty good. (could you tell I rushed this review?)

Ranked:
S: MAP02
A:
B: MAP01, MAP03
C: 
D: 
F:

GZDoom/UV/Blind/Saves

Map 03: Ritual Grounds

100% kills and secrets

Time: 18:19

This map is surprisingly compact. It's not as flashy as the last 2 in terms of combat or visuals, or even in Dehacked elements. There's 1 fallen past the door to the right of the start, some marines, and a few baby cacos at the end, in addition to the changes to the normal monsters. The SSG is in a secret, but it's easy to find if you remember how to find the rocket launcher in map 1. The blue key fight is a toughie, as you get 2 barons and a swarm of other riff raff. Tough for pistol starters, but I have a rocket launcher, so I used a few rockets here with the SSG. The yellow key fight is much easier, as the swarm is much more limited, and you get the RL here. No threat here really. One of the tougher fights was actually the secret mega armor one that sends 2 revs at you, cause you don't really want to fall in the pit with the armor since it's on damaging floor. I found 3 of the secrets pretty easily, with the automap one being kinda annoying to initially find. That helped me get the soul sphere, which had the final 2 dark imps in it. One teleported away to the soul sphere and clawed me a few times when I went after it. The archie and backpack secret I found randomly; idk if there was any clue to it. Pretty fun map, but kind of lacking compared to the last one.

MAP 02 - Blood Mountain

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continuous, blind run w/saves

Blood Mountain did its best to cancel any wrong impressions from the unpretentious first level. The size, the pathing, the monster count, and the custom content on display were ramped up considerably into a more substantial offer, surely exceeding the expectations. There were 146 monsters instead of 36, many of them belonging to high-threat categories: Arch-Viles, Pain Elementals, and Hell Nobles, including the winged Lord of Heresy as a smarter version of the Baron, wearing emerald sunglasses. This fierce opposition was handled without much hassle, thanks to the plentiful ammo and health pickups, that compensated for several mistakes in my blind attempt. There were two Soul Spheres (1 free and 1 in a secret), the chaingun from Doom 3, a rocket launcher and even a secret plasma rifle with no cells, possibly another nod to continuous players. The chainsaw in the starting pit was a good way to show that Pinkies moved and attacked faster than usual.

The large courtyard where Doomguy emerged was the right place to dodge homing rockets, fired by Revenants and by the flying wraiths called Fallen. If I must find a fault in Rayziik’s work, it is the offhand, haphazard way it introduces the new enemies. Most of Judgment was created long before MBF21, therefore it was not designed with the expanded bestiary in mind. The dehacked creatures might be found around a corner, or they were thrown into the action without any ceremonies or preambles; most of the first encounters were messy and did not make sure that the player experienced their behaviour consistently. This will become more evident in the following chapters, but the pair of Fallen in Blood Mountain was very first time I had this feeling, continuing with the Former Marines appearing out of the blue.

The action was engaging, though a bit harsh for a MAP02. The double Arch-Vile teleport with lights going off was a nice scare, along with the two routes leading to the BSK and RSK respectively. They were ridden with closet & teleport traps, all very classic and generally forgiving, as they could be escaped or camped safely most of the time. One of the few situations I found threatening was the purple lights switch with the row of crushers, and Lords of Heresy appearing on the other side together with a Chaingunner. Shooting rockets was tricky with the crushers, and I eventually found myself cornered by the red door.

Judgment contains full support for cooperative and deathmatch play, and some multiplayer-only features can be spotted with keen observation. The L-shaped room with red doors seemed a bit pointless, even though I appreciated the ammo stash inside, but it provided an essential link for the deathmatch arena. I was also baffled by the double teleport pad leading to the same plasma gun, which made sense in the PvP context. The exit room was stuffed with enemies, including unexpected replacements for the killed ones on the pillars, and flipping the switches summoned Revenants outside. This level had too much on its plate, and the amount of information to process might be overwhelming for a blind playthrough. Revisiting it in the future will surely improve the first impression.

MAP 03 – Ritual Grounds

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continuous, blind run w/saves

This could have been a perfect MAP02, possessing a compact layout, a reasonable quota of novelties, and applying less pressure upon the player. Sadly, this could not happen, because Ritual Grounds had that crazy, cross-shaped crypt with the BSK just left from the start, a place soon to be swarmed by a host of assorted enemies that must be slaughtered with basic weapons. This was unexpected, so close to the beginning, and my meagre carryover rockets could not make it any easier. It was a perfect opportunity to unload the chaingun and see how much ammo it ate.

That single area elevated both the threat and the monster count, outclassing Blood Mountain, even though the rest of the level felt more exploratory, with strong emphasis on height differences, multi-level paths, and secret hunting. There were not less than five secrets, two of which I missed: the plasma gun and the Computer Area Map. Apparently, I am not paying attention to the lines between tan blocks. Volcanic caverns alternated with marble shrines and structures in a seamless way, forcing the player to descend to lower levels to find the blue door and open the sealed section, then ride a lift back up to the ledge with the YSK, seen from the start. The dark cavern hosted a teleport ambush with Hell Knights and Imps, but it was not as violent and chaotic as the BSK one, especially considering the availability of the rocket launcher and the numerous resources that might have been collected beforehand.

I liked the visuals more than in the previous levels, because there was more verticality and a better detail, including proper lighting in the frequent change from outdoor to indoor areas, and vice versa. Ritual Grounds also had a quicker pacing, serving its encounters in big portions and resolving them rapidly. Pistol starters should plan a different route and avoid the BSK room for a while, possibly prolonging the duration of their stay. This level had a better organisation and more quality, if compared to its predecessor, and I am looking forward to what comes next.

As per Rayzik's wishes, I'm gonna be altering the playlist once more. That means we're playing:

- MAP08 along with MAP33 on the 8th.

- MAP15 along with MAP31 on the 15th.

- MAP32 on the 16th (which will bump every map afterwards by one day, ie MAP16 played on the 17th)

- MAP24 along with MAP34 on the 25th.

Sorry for all the inconveniences!

Map 03: Ritual Grounds

DSDA-DOOM 0.24.3, UV, Pistol start rewinds.

Man. This map is amazing. It's just hard enough to make you try hard, but not too hard as to make you sweat your ass off.

The fights are getting even more and more crazy. The Blue Key and Yellow Key fights are incredibly overwhelming, making you really focus on shooting those demons. Try your best to find the SSG too, it's hard to beat the map without it. The visuals are even getting better too!

I'll give this an A, and a difficulty of C.

Difficulty Ranking: 03, 02, 01

Grade: 02, 03, 01

MAP03: Ritual Grounds

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 3/5 secrets

More rocky cliff outdoor areas, only this time the main structure is a demonic brown brick fortress. Probably the visual standout up to this point, really dig the red cracks all over the ground. For new stuff, or the opposite rather, our friend the regular zombieman pops in to say hello in this map and ensures us that while the more aggressive helmeted version is an addition, he is not a replacement. The midi for this one is the classic Sunset Over Babylon. Feels like I hear this one in more maps than the original Bobby Prince midis at this point, but you won't find me complaining. It gets attention for a good reason.

This one's not bad, but I did find the gameplay a bit "off". The opening stretch can be a bit offputting from pistol start as if you first choose to go left at the beginning, which would theoretically provide you with the cleanest progression, you'll get blindsided by a pretty busy ambush featuring two barons, three revenants, and a bunch of lower tier baddies with only a shotgun and chaingun to defend yourself. So the best idea is to go the other way first, get the SSG (either by secret or the non-secret), then go back to the other side so you can get the blue key and progress, then go back the other way to play the rest of the map. Probably plays a lot cleaner for continuous players, but from pistol start it feels a bit clunky. Otherwise, there's some decent stuff. It's another small step up in difficulty and the ammo feels quite restraining for much of the level, so you have to be mindful of that.

(Played continuously on UV with DSDA-Doom, saves are allowed)

Map 4: Temple of the Lost

100% kills, 100% items and 75% secrets

Time: 8:51

Starting by surrounding the player with lost souls and then attack them with 3 enemies of a new type may not be the most welcoming thing to do, but that's how this map starts. The new enemy is a new type of zombie, the shock trooper, he shoots plasma at a slow rate and seems to have around the same health as a chaingunner. An other enemy introduced is the azazel, a creature with wings. While he can't fly, he can shoot 2 volleys of 4 mancubus projectiles in a quick succession and seems to have more health than an archie, but less than a baron. Outside of that, this map is less fun and undepopulated compared to the last 2 entries, with the only standout fights being the the sandwich after grabbing the SSG and the part when you take the lift up to the red key and get surprised by revs, chaingunners, shock troopers, pinkies, hell knights, and a pain elemental. The visuals are still great and Jimmy's midi is epic, but the action is just fine.

Rankings:

Hey there! Just a heads-up for you.

I do have plans to play Judgment, on UV-difficulty and with Corruption Cards. But right now I don't like to be restrained or waste too much time, so I'll sit this session out. Just imagine me hitting 5 stars on this and that's that!

MAP 04 – Temple of the Lost

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continuous, blind run w/saves

I always like evil sanctuaries, and this was a pretty one, sticking to the texture scheme of the Step into the Fire episode. The introduction of Shock Troopers, new zombies wielding plasma guns, happened right at the start and they were easily recognised in the following battles. The starting area with the octagonal temple and the same lava crevices seen in MAP03 was quite magnificent for such an early slot. The YSK was on display, and I naturally went in that direction, finding myself in a large cavern with a lava pit, many hitscanners, and a Pain Elemental with retention problems, constantly spewing Forgotten Ones (Lost Souls).

I soon reached that key, fighting a sneaky Arch-Vile and a Lord of Heresy on the way, but I did not know what to do with it. I returned to the crossroad hub room, shared with all the first maps of Judgment, and went eastwards. The lift after the yellow door tossed me in a predicament with monsters of all types appearing from multiple directions. I handled it so bad that I was even killed, so I decided to go south instead. This was a favourable route to find useful weaponry, a couple of secrets, and even the BSK, another key of doubtful purpose. The monster encounters were mostly low-key, with only a few enemies attacking at once.

I returned to the yellow door, and I used the recharged plasma rifle to bring some order into the rabid crowd of hellspawn. I consider the silenced sound a sensible choice, but I am not a fan of replacing the standard projectile with the blue orbs from Heretic; it makes a technological weapon look like a magic staff. Once the room was cleared, I collected the RSK and returned to the red door, opening into a blood-filled hall that looked like the inner sanctum. On the main altar, an Azazel winged demon appeared as the master of ceremonies, but there were so many other monsters to consider that his presentation almost went unnoticed. From here, players with the BSK could head straight for the exit; the others might take a shortcut to its resting place through the yellow door. Temple of the Lost received an interesting layout, allowing for multiple paths and approaches, while keeping the battle frenzy to the lowest grade since MAP01. Maybe a breather was not necessary at this point, though I am always up for a chance to let my guard down during a long megaWAD journey.

MAP 04 - Temple of the Lost :

Ok, let's get lost then. As soon as we start a few skulls show up harassing me, and a single plasma soldier. Kill that, enter the door into a 4 way bridge with pinkies coming from both sides. I pick the side from where a couple more lost souls came, secret switch, invis and a red door. The other side then. Imps, a manc, more lost souls and a yellow door. Straight ahead it is then. Door, manc, lost souls, door, shotgunners, potions, backpack,HK, secret 'serker, oh hidden shoot-switch for secret plasma! And now... Ah! there was a lift back on the first door I had tried. AV, HK, YSK. Now, back to the yellow door, another lift, plasma guys, HKs and chaingunners guarding the switches to open the bars to grab the RSK! NOw, the other yellow door, a baron and then the BSK is guarded by a pair of revs in pillars, and a RL is there in the lower level with a 2 HK trap. No, three-keyed I go to the red door, finding the the previously empty pillars in the central bridge have now been occupied by revs. Nothing a RL can't solve. The red door has a pool.. of blood! Also HKs, imps and a new monster, that I killed too fast to actually see what it does besides firing manc fireballs. Pressing the switch opens the exit and two flying skeletons on fire shooting rev balls show up. Then there's one last baron and that's that. Except I'm missing a secret. Ah, found. A backpack and 2 healthpacks.

And done.

100% K/I/S, 0 deaths, 15:22

Map 04: Temple of the Lost

I keep waiting for the megawad to kick into high gear with all the attention it received upon release. But despite the competent and gorgeous aesthetic, encounters have either been muted or have consisted of amorphous masses. Temple of the Lost does nothing to change that impression, but on the other hand, the awesome Jimmy midis continue and action is still satisfying.

The red cracks that were already evident from the last map return in even greater force at the beginning before giving way to the temple/volcanic cave theme that is otherwise prevalent here. It's also here that you're introduced to this megawad's plasma trooper variant, the "Shock Trooper." They feel like just another enemy. At the same time however, the flying skeletons (aka, "Fallen") are used effectively for the first time of this megawad so far when you enter the first central area. They caused me much less heartache than the Forgotten Ones (Lost Souls) however. Though I didn't die at any point, they menaced me from practically every corner of the map, such as the central chamber with the Blursphere secret where I was also forced to combat a Pain Elemental (and the verticality is quite nice here). Speaking of the blursphere, I had to go around the room a couple of times before finding the hidden switch that lowers it. You have to step on the Blursphere's location too because it's the only pillar lowered that counts as a secret.

And speaking of secrets, I'd just like to take a moment to praise Rayzik for making secrets that firmly stick to modern secret rules and don't go for any overly obtuse solutions, unlike some modern mappers that will remain nameless. (check the candle pair in the narrow hallway near the blue door for a berserk pack The only wad I liked the secrets more was Ozonia. That's all, moving on

As Book Lord notes, there are multiple methods that you can use to tackle your objectives, although that may not seem very obvious to a first-time player. In the chamber mentioned above, there is a lift that you'll take up to acquire the yellow key and fight off the lionhead Baron at the top. But other than maybe finding the yellow key initially, you can go anywhere you like.

The rocket launcher located on a series of round pillars below where you spot it seems initially like quite an intimidating trap, but the two Hell Knights despite being strategically placed, aren't quite the deadly threat you might fear. The rockets leading to them are probably instead intended for the blue key room, a nasty little thing containing chaingunners in some far locations and several other enemies including pinkies, hell knights, dark imps, and a Pain Elemental. If you find the hidden plasma rifle (accessed by shooting a switch from the hallway with the hidden berserk pack) you'll have more strategic options.

This wasn't quite as enjoyable as the last 2 maps, however, the layout has received a nice step up and the visuals are even more on point if that's possible.

lmd_judg04.zip

MAP04 - Temple of the Lost:
This level earns it's name immediately since you start in a small temple surrounded by lost souls. This map feels a bit weird and recycled - like it was an old version of Map03 that was reworked into this. You've got another central hub made up of some walkways with raised pillars with monsters on (though this one's bigger than the one in Map03) and another circular cave area with mostly fodder around (only with a pain elemental rather than a baron), and since the aesthetics look very similar between these two maps, they start to blend together in my mind. I suppose there's something to be said for consistency of design in your episodes, but this maybe goes a bit far.

The lack of any ambush after picking up the blue key was a surprise, being up on the pillars above damaging floor would have made for a decent fight, even if it was just a couple of imps. I do like that the Fallens are beginning to become more common - they're an interesting shake up to the monster roster and I've enjoyed fighting them. We also see another new enemy in the plasma trooper, who acts like a slower firing arachnotron with 70HP. They're alright, but I feel like these might have been more interesting had they fired in bursts (they've not been very common as I've been playing ahead so they could come into their own later). The ending room is probably the best bit, you're in a large hallway with a lot of imps on the sides and the final new monster from Episode 1 - the Azazel which vomits mancubus fireballs like Scythe 2's Afrit, but without the revenant fireballs coming along too. In my experience, he immediately started a fight with the cacodemons and didn't do much else, but from my experience of them in other maps, I like them as an enemy. The map itself feels like filler though, but not quite entertaining enough for me to forgive that.

RANKINGS:

MAP04: Temple of the Lost. Played on DSDA v0.24.0. PS, UV, 98/98 K, 4/4 S, 107/107 I. Comp. time 20:53.

For some reason, I didn't have much fun with this one as the ones that came before. Maybe it had to do with being starving for ammo for most of the map, although a second playthrough might be more enjoyable simply because I'd know of the secrets and a better route. For instance, now I only found the plasma gun when most of the enemies were already dead.

Layout-wise and visually I once again liked the level, but perhaps it had the flair of being more blocky-marble than the ones that came before? Even the pillars were square instead of beautiful round shapes.

And yeah, didn't even attempt to single-segment, it's avoiding midfight saves from now on.
 

MAP04 - “Temple of the Lost”

The combat to me in this one felt a little more engaging. Ironically in comparison to the above post I had no ammo issues whatsoever, unlike the last map. However I must admit that the layout in this one really isn't conductive to an overall fun experience. There is a lot of backtracking across the central crossroads to pick up keys and return to doors requiring them and in the meantime you get nothing knew popping up (With the exception of the revenant turrets that were dispatched with little thought). The red key had an escape route that wasn't immediately obvious that didn't really return you to where you needed to go, the rocket launcher trap is hardly worth calling a trap (2 hell knights???). 

Overall this looks pretty decent, though a couple of areas felt like re-hashes of areas from previous maps (See area with the red key door). The combat was quite fun when you found it. However it is hard to not look at this map as a fairly flawed experience. The heavy use of lost souls was executed reasonably well.

GZDoom/UV/Blind/Saves

Map 04: Temple of the Lost

100% kills and secrets

Time: 15:44

I think this map is a step up from the last one. It's not a very welcoming map since as soon as the map started I heard a forgotten one charging me. There's a few of those in this opening area, along with 3 former shock troopers; tougher zombiemen that continuously fire plasma bolts at you. Heading into the next room, you have a junction that nets you the SSG, and opens 2 doors throwing pinkies, dark imps, and forgotten ones at you. There's a lot of forgotten ones in this map, just hiding below ledges and in pits just out of sight. That fight wasn't bad, but I didn't hear the 2 fallen behind me initially, and I got rocketed hard. Even though the door doesn't open, you can go through the one in front of you too. This is the first map that needs all 3 keys. The red one is first, and getting there has you go into a cavern with a giant crater in it. This feels familiar. There's actually a couple of areas in here that are straight out of the previous maps. Idk if that shows a lack of creativity in the design, or a more cohesive vision for this episode's layouts. The archie on the way to the yellow key has a few pillars to hide behind, but they're on damaging floor, so it's a creative fight here trying to negate as much damage as possible. I just tried to stay on normal ground and get a pillar between us. The red key area sends hell knights, shock troopers, pinkies, and a pain elemental at you, while barred revs and chaingunners snipe you. The hidden plasma rifle is very useful here, especially when the pain elemental gets alerted. PEs are very annoying in this WAD, as it seems like they're more likely to spit forgotten ones at you. Speaking of secrets, I'm liking them so far. Kinda simple to figure out, but fun. I don't remember where I found the blue key. I think it was in the area below the red? Either way, the area behind the red door has dark imps, revs, fallen, and another new enemy: the Azazel. They kinda look like barons, but even more goat-like, and send 2 groups of 4 mancubi fireballs at you. I managed to run behind it while dodging the swarm without even realizing it was a new enemy. It's a good thing it didn't attack me then, cause you don't want to be close to that attack. Hit the blue switch, take out the 3 fallen and the baron behind the blue door, and exit. Pretty fun map. Combat was good and the secrets were fun, but the rehashed areas brought a sense of deja vu. 

MAP03: Ritual Grounds

Kills: 97%

Items: 85%

Secrets: 20%

Time: 9:17

Probably my favourite map so far, I don't think Ritual Grounds differentiates itself a whole lot from MAP02, but it reaches higher highs for me. My favourite fights definitely are the key ones, first the blue key fight, I think there's really neat usage of those new aggressive Barons. A load of fodder of all varieties will teleport at one end of the room, and you've only got an SSG to stop them, not the most original thing ever but it's pretty damn fun. Also the yellow key fight, it's not a huge battle, it is pretty much spamming rockets at a clump of Hell Knights and Dark Imps, but it works as something of a climax to the map, overall Ritual Grounds isn't half bad.

Grade: B+

Difficulty: C-

MAP04: Temple Of The Lost

Kills: 100%

Items: 71%

Secrets: 25%

Time: 9:04

Temple Of The Lost is okay. It's probably the most irrelevant map so far, most of these elements blend together with MAP03 in my mind, but it does introduce two new custom enemies, further boosting Judgment's roster. First the pretty formulaic Plasma Guy, I know Judgment has been in development for 8 years, but the whole plasma marine idea still feels a little dry to me now, it works, just been done before and not terribly unique. I like the second one they introduce though, some kind of mix between a Baron and Imp who shoots a flurry of Mancubus flames. There's only one who isn't very scary here, but I imagine some good scenarios for this guy already. As stated, the map itself just kinda feels like more 03 to me, except with less fights I find interesting. There is the hall fight near the end, which introduces the 2nd custom monster I just talked about, it's pretty neat with all those Dark Imps and Revenants, but even so I like the key fights in 03 more than this. I will admit the layout here is pretty cool, Rayziik masks a simple hub structure well, overall Temple Of The Lost is okay, but could have been more distinctive.

Grade: B

Difficulty: D+