Back to Saturn X Episode 3 [WIP]: 5 MAP PREVIEW BUILD ON PAGE 11

Hey, episode 2 had a bunch of them — ruin, gothic, copper, slab (mesoamerican), tech, etc.

 

But E3 has a lot more discrete themes in it, for sure.

Slime trail issue spotted on Creep Doctor while playing on Woof, just thought you'd want to know.

YOOO I'm really satisfied with this set of maps really good, hard to pick a favorite.
and the soundtrack was really good too,

I have had a question I wanted to ask
 

are these screenshots for the maps was a screen per map, or there were several screens per one map ?

Edited:Nevermind I knew the answer 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by iDoT

8 hours ago, ukiro said:

challenge accepted :-)

 

Dammit, how did I forget about OTEX? Correction, Back to Saturn TEX has one peer. Just one, though! At least until one of you texturing sorcerers decides it's time to get busy on a third member of the club (which you are absolutely invited to do). :)

7 hours ago, OpenRift said:

Slime trail issue spotted on Creep Doctor while playing on Woof, just thought you'd want to know.

That is because you are playing on software instead of opengl :) nvm :)

Edited August 13, 2023 by natashanightmare

5 minutes ago, natashanightmare said:

That is because you are playing on software instead of opengl :)

Software is the intended experience. This is a bug that will be fixed.

Maxed all 5 maps in this demo. Here's my take:

Maps are great and music is good stuff but man the difficulty spike is there in full force, those 5 maps alone make all of E1 and E2 feel like child's play in terms of difficulty, some of the fights are just so evil. Strong message was sent through these maps and I very much look forward to the rest of the package.

 

Played all 5 maps.

 

Order of preference:

1) Coast to Coast Carpet of Love (the best map I played in last Half a Year! Eviternity and Lost Civilization in a single map!)

2) A Visit to the Creep Doctor (Simple basic premise, but jaw-droppingly creative execution. Also perfect MIDI.)

3) Space City Kicks (The verticality is insane! Cannot believe that it is all Vanilla-compatible.)

4) Far Out Crops (The Woods is an underrated theme for Doom Levels, IMO. Glad to see this shortfall adressed)

5) Gold Star For Robot Boy (An explosive Valiant-Sunlust-Go2it-FireAndIce techbase maelstrom.)

 

TLDR: any of those levels could have been a highlight for a pWAD.

 

If anybody is interested, I can provide more detailed feedback for each map.

Took some time to write something more than a simple HOLY SHIT on Discord, tl;dr if the rest of BTSX E3 is as good as this appetizer it has a good shot at becoming my favourite mapset ever.

 

Strong praise, but it's well deserved. Going through the maps in order of least to most loved, I was not expecting Mechadon to come out with such an in-your-face experience and I admit it took me a few tried to get around how the map worked - might have to drop my final playthrough to HMP if that's how the final chapter's difficulty plays. Skillsaw was excellent as is usual of him, the environments are lovely and I especially loved the fight with all the demons and arachnotrons. Xaser's map... I hope it is not a one-off scenario and we'll see more outliers like this in the final mapset, that was some heavy stuff, not good for the heart, but in a good way.

 

And then there's both of essel's maps. I think it speaks volume that the last three maps were by three heavy hitters bringing their A-game, and yet both of my favourites of the preview were hers.

 

"Space City Kicks" wowed me with its verticality and most of all just how much sector trickery was going on - this one is a bit of a selfish reason to like a map, but I'm a sucker for when entire sectors raises and lowers, when the topography of the map itself changes to reveal new pathways and ambushes; I try to have a lot of these things in my personal maps, and it brought me joy to see essel realise these effects with more refinements than my still newbie ass could. The blue key fight in particular, and everything leading up to it was my favourite part. Similar with "Far Out Crops" Take what I said above, with maybe a bit less sector trickery, and add a story, a world just outside the player's grasp. More than a map with some really good fights, this was a map that mesmerized me, from the poison swamps toxic woods above ground, to the white and blood red hellscapes hidden under the woods. A map I wanted to see more of, and I too hope we'll see more of its wooden archetype.

 

And that's about it. I almost regret playing this preview, but only because I want to see these maps in context.

 

 

While i'm a bit bummed out we're not gonna see all of btsx3 until next year, this was a really incredible preview build.

 

I liked all maps from the preview but the highlights for me were Space City Kicks and Far Out Crops (both esselfortium maps). I just loved the verticality on space city and the exploration on far out crops which reminded me a lot of Speedtraps for the Bee Kingdom (one of my fav maps in btsx2). A huuuge shoutout to the music on both maps i absolutely loved.

 

A Visit to the Creep Doctor was really neat too with a superb atmosphere and a really creepy midi (tho i did got a bit tired of zerking revs and viles towards the end, which really is not my cup of tea) but i can't help but wonder if including it on the preview might be spoiling things a little bit and if it would had been more effective when placed with the rest of the maps. Either way, it's a really effective and memorable map.

 

Also one final shoutout to Gold Star For Robot Boy which reminded me a bit of double impact final map. I really enjoy maps that make effective use of cyberdemons roaming and being a menace like here.

 

Again this was a blast to play, and i can't wait to see the final version. Thank you and the rest of the team for putting this small preview

Preview 2 - WHAT A BANGER. I mean, skillsaw is my dude, but wow. The theming alone and texture work make me proper excited for more of this ilk. Looking forwards to diving into maps 3, 4, and 5. Brilliant stuff, y'all.

 

 

Now I wait for Kiras remastered OST, that shit was fire

The midi was also really good

Preview #3 - this was some really sexy stuff. I love the whole tree vibe with the cute little windows and how it transitions to the other theme later. Very, very cool. Thought I'd have to leave with three kills unaccounted for, but luckily I searched high and low and nabbed 'em.

 

Eduardo, your playthroughs and commentary are always such a treat to watch!

41 minutes ago, esselfortium said:

Eduardo, your playthroughs and commentary are always such a treat to watch!

Oh thanks! Thank you (all) for making such beautiful maps to explore. I feel like a kid in a toy shop, it’s wild. :D 

That was an amazing little preview. 

Xaserhouse is one of the best maps I've ever played.

On 8/10/2023 at 2:00 PM, esselfortium said:

Happy QuakeCon, everyone! Have a 5-map preview build of Back to Saturn X Episode 3, because it's been way too long since the last BTSX episode came out!

 

A UMAPINFO-supporting port is strongly recommended (Eternity devbuilds, DSDA, and GZDoom should all work), for the correct skies and map-picker menu.

 

Downloab: Preview Build 2

Textfile

 

 

(Sidenote: E2 Final is still on its way, but a number of critical bugs were found while doing "final" testing for it, because it is truly the project that never ends.)

can't download it, I'm clicking the link and nothing happens, idk if the problem is on my side or the link's dead

2 minutes ago, Lightningoof said:

can't download it, I'm clicking the link and nothing happens, idk if the problem is on my side or the link's dead

 

Try right-clicking the link, clicking "copy link address", and then pasting it into a new tab.

1 minute ago, Cammy said:

 

Try right-clicking the link, clicking "copy link address", and then pasting it into a new tab.

it worked! thank you very much:)

I’ve just now updated the link in my post so that trick should hopefully no longer be needed to download it.

Hello,

 

I'm playing it on DOSBOX , HNTR because too lazy to die, no max because I don't have access to the stats in-game. :)

 

 

 

My brief thoughts on map 01 :

 

- This map is impressively large and open for the vanilla format. I'm digging the spaciousness of the areas

- the midi is a banger

- I like this mixture of different colors rendered by the cyberpunk theme (one bonus point for the living aquarium and another one for the neon bridges)

- The progression is rather obtuse. The lifts textures weren't very obvious to me.

 

Overall, a nice futuristic map with a great emphasis but on tall architecture, colors and , large sectors with a slightly twisted progression.

 

 

 

 

Map 02 by Skillsaw

 

 

 

One word to qualify this map : flawless. I didn't play all skillsaw maps but it's my favourite from him. The beige texture with the green vegetation look delicious and I'm fond of the mid-tex arches and palm trees. The beach parts are the cherry on the cake. Probably one of the best-looking vanilla maps ever conceived.

 

Bug report : I spotted some homs near the blue key's beach. Look at 13:40 for an example.

Edited August 17, 2023 by Roofi

Finally finished the preview. What a breathtaking quintet of levels! Each one was a unique and thrilling journey that were packed with amazing visuals. The combat was significantly tricky but that's what's I'd hope/except for this episode. Especially Mech's map! (which I'm guessing might be one of the later levels in the final version?). It's nigh on impossible for me to pick a favorite of the bunch. I'm very excited to play the full game next year! 

Goddamn, Xaser! You know how to give a player a good time. :) stunning textures and thrilling encounters ... took me straight to Blood and Realms of the Haunting - VERY high praise in my book. Big thanks to Mancubian Candidate for showing a great way with dealing with the final encounter. Phew! I noticed a few things that may or may not an eyeball:

 

- the furnace fireplace in the kitchen of the 4th house is not blocking and I couldn't find a way out when practicing (not shown in video). Not sure if deliberate! :p

- saw a strange wall transparency in the 4th house bathroom ... at 13:20 in video. Didnt show up in GzDoom though. Might be a DSDA booboo, lol. 

 

Outstanding work, mate! It's insanely entertaining when playing, but when you step back and really consider this map (and the others) you can really appreciate how very different and singular these maps are. Jesus, you guys. This WAD is going to be just about the best thing ever (I reckon). Thanks!

*may or may not need an eyeball, I mean. Hwehwehweh.

And here the videos and my thoughts for the 3 remaining levels. Note : Map 03 wasn't a total discovery because Obs crashed the first time when I discovered it.

 

Map 03 :

 

 

 

An extremly pretty-looking forest-themed level , probably one of the best ever made under the vanilla compatibility in terms of visuals. The omnipresent brown is as addictive as chocolate and I love those mid-tex vines and grass. As a 3D bridge fetichist, I'm in constant demand of rope bridges in Doom now ! I expected the bridge to be made of several sectors to follow its curved shape though. 

 

As I said above, It's a partial discovery but the level remains pretty complex. Nevertheless, it really does give you the feeling of venturing into a deep forest.

 

About the mushroom/hell part near the end of the map, I like the transition between the themes but I've become too much of a fan of the brown/green decor to appreciate it as much as the first part.

 

Another great map which featuring a wide variety of themes.

 

Bug report : There are some stuck enemies at 17:53 of the video.

 

Map 04 : 

 

 

 

Well this is definitely a (frightening) experience the doom community should try at least once. This decaying house is simply disgusting, in the most beautiful way. Honestly, this is the kind of map I can enjoy without monsters, as the textures and music do everything. The theme of this map gives me strong Blood vibes and I love it.

 

And all of this is vanila-compatible. Dayum!

 

About bugs, I witnessed the same visual glitch in the bathroom of the 4th house.

 

Map 05 :

 

 

 

I admit I felt more indifferent toward this map. My opinion is probably heavily influenced by the fact I played on HNTR and not UV because the strong point of this map mostly resides in the combats and not the theme nor exploration.

 

I appreciated the slaughter-oriented combats but I think the HNTR difficulty might contain more monsters to exterminate, as I was loaded as a mule in terms of power-ups and ammunition, eager to create a big carnage with all that gear.

 

This map follows the "Cat and Mouse" concept but I found it more impacting in Doom 64, probably due to the gloomy atmosphere and the surrounding fog.

 

This map seemed banal in HTNR, but I didn't feel like struggling in UV at the same time.

 

 

Wew, last map. This was a rollercoaster ride and no mistake! Now I think about it, it reminds me of a certain Doom64 map where you're being chased by cybers in a maze-like situation with loads of blue-green fog... not sure which map it would be, or if it even exists. Maybe I dreamt it, lol. ANYWAY! I was initially pretty damn bamboozled by the map layout when playing this blind and got more and more steamed up as I ran some practices trying to work out the lay of the land. I found a strat that worked and this is the final product ... definitely the trickiest hurdle to overcome would be the middle section, far moreso than the end. I would personally appreciate telegraphed teleport landings for where the monsters are going to suddenly appear from, but that would likely nerf things a tad too much no doubt. You can commit the location of the tele landings to memory and go from there, but I suppose I'm just a sucker for fully illustrated tele destinations instead of an arbitrary patch of ground. Just my preference! Had a ball - sorry if I got a bit grumpy at one point, I think getting surprised sniped by cybers once too often was starting to take its toll, lol. All up - OUTSTANDING work, y'all! Can't wait to see how this will all shape together in the full WAD build. Thanks so much for the demo! Made my week. :D -Edz xo

 

 

1 hour ago, EduardoAndFriends said:

Now I think about it, it reminds me of a certain Doom64 map where you're being chased by cybers in a maze-like situation with loads of blue-green fog... not sure which map it would be, or if it even exists. Maybe I dreamt it, lol.

 

Cat and Mouse :)

 

An apt comparison. What I played of this map (I entered every map but I've only actually finished 2 of them so far, not sure yet if I'm going to let my curiosity get the best of me) I got verrrrry similar feelings.

Little oversight (probably?) in gold star: 

One of the side of the blue kard pedestal has a donut s1 action on it. Meaning that you can bypass the switch sequence entirely.