The DWmegawad Club plays: Claustrophobia 1024

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Blind/Saves (if needed)

Map 20:  Refinery - Dutch-Devil 

100% kills and secrets

Time: 10:57

 

This is a really good one! Dutch-Devil made the most out of the map restrictions, providing areas that interconnect and have height changes. There's a lot of area outside the play space as well, making the map feel much bigger than it actually is. I really like this aspect of the map, since the inaccessible halls and towers (complete with switches that I would assume open doors or lower lifts) really make this map feel like a bite-size chunk of a much bigger map. Very cool. As for the gameplay, this is a fodder-fest, though a handful of hell knights and one manc pop up as well. There's a surprising lack of health in the map, though a berserk is provided about halfway through to offset this. I spent about 2 minutes at the end looking for the one secret I missed, which was the SSG one. Overall, this is one of my favs in the WAD so far! 

map20 fda

after reading everyone elses comments, i agree - excellent use of the limited space to make you feel you are not playing a 'small' map - which i guess is a positive, unless you are actively embracing that feel.

one complaint is the little boxes/crates encourage you to climb them, but then there is a little box in front of a corridor the player (i am guessing) cannot reach. this, along with a possible jump over some larger crates, is arbitrary blocking-off that i wish was avoided; it definitely reminds you that the space you are playing in was created by a mapper. slightly jarring, but a nitpick.

MAP21 - “Padma” by KingKill33, @Dreadopp

QuestZDoom, UV, blind, pistol start, saves

 

Hey, it's yet another vile trapped in the exit room! At least this time I know it's coming and so I can prepare. Just kidding, I messed up real bad and completely screwed myself. But that comes later. The combat starts decently challenging, not over the top and the map is gorgeous. When I reached the teleporter, I was steeling myself for what could be on the other side, I was not expecting a pleasant meadow. OK, there's also a hitscan ambush, but nothing too bad. That comes few rooms later - pushing a button summons EVERYTHING in a small room right next to you. It seems to be pretty RNG dependent? First time I died despite my best efforts. Second time went pretty ok, since imps happened to block the reventants and the arachnotron was very late to the party.

 

I'm pretty liberal with saves, though I try not to save when I'm too low on health, like after fighting yet more revs here. 11 hp. But after a moment of consideration I did hit the save when I picked up a medikit and saw what I was sure to be a "release the archie" button marking the end of the map. Turns out my main mistake was not checking ammo beforehand. I was sloppy killing the hell knights and the fight against the archie has proven to be a nightmare. It took me several minutes before I managed to use my last few shells to take down the ressurected shotgunners, run past, don't get eaten by imps, don't have the door close right in my face and reach the exit switch. I probably should have just restarted.

 

So yeah, good map, my own bad decisions soured it for me a little bit at the end.

 

 

MAP19: Nova Scotia Robots
A map that I somehow remembered after 14 or so years. No idea what about this level made it stand out above the others so far, but the fact that it did counts for something. Definitely the easiest map we've seen in a while, the only real threat here is the dual Mancubi and Revenant trap. There's also 2 Archviles right at the very end. The first one makes sense, I suppose. As he's right in front of the exit. The second one appearing earlier in the map, suspended in a cage high above any enemies to possibly resurrect was an oddity, though.

 

MAP20: Refinery
There's a lot of set dressing outside of the playable area in this one. Honestly, maybe the map author should have just made a regular map without the 1024 restriction. There's a lot of cool looking stuff out there and it was a bit disappointing when I reached the end and felt like I haven't even explored half of it. The first minute or so may take a few tries, but once you know what's coming it's not too bad.

 

MAP21: Padma
Intelligent players with a degree of foresight may take care not to kill any enemies in front of where the Archvile will obviously be released later on, making the final encounter a great deal more manageable. I was not one of those players. At least not first time through. Doing so certainly made the second time a lot easier, though he was still in a real bitch of a spot. I must have killed another dozen shotgunners by the time he was dead. Other than that, honestly, just doesn't do anything for me. It looks nice, but the gameplay is real forgettable in the end.

 

1024CLAU19.zip

1024CLAU20.zip

1024CLAU21.zip

GZDooM 4.10, PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), continuous play, no saves.

 

MAP13 - “Assault” by Joshy

 

MAP14 - “Deception” by Dreadopp

 

MAP15 - “The Inmost Con’dens’ed” by Jimmy, Mechadon

Looks like that I've forgotten to take a screenshot of the end level screen but for sure I've made it through it. No exit to the secret levels found if anybody wants to know.

 

MAP21 - “Padma” by KingKill33, Dreadopp

 

This is another map that sort of just exists without providing much else. You only have the shotgun/chaingun to hand for the entire level and again this is another one that is rather cramped, so you will either have to slowly plink mid-tiers to death or infighting will just happen with little assistance by yourself. The irony here is that the most spacious section of the map contains only a few rising hitscanners and nothing else. The hardest fight comes right after this and how it goes really depends on how quickly it takes for the spider to teleport in because this monster will have to fire though all the revenants/imps because getting a shot on you (Which makes the fight significantly easier).

In the end this left very little impression with the exception of the visuals that are very nice.

MAP21: Padma by KingKill33 and Dreadopp

 

Don't underestimate this one. The monster count might be small, but it's a tight map with heavier demons placed in narrow corridors, not much health to rely on and only 10 armour points. I hope you are confident with your dodging skills.

 

The hardest part is a teleport trap, where imps, two revenants and an arachnotron ambush you in a tiny room. Even if you try escaping to a nearby courtyard, taking damage is inevitable. The rest of the map is a relative breeze and an exit-blocking archvile is more tedious that threatening, as you have to take him down with basic weapons.

 

Padma is a solid combat challenge and run-down visuals adds to my enjoyment.

MAP21: Padma. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 44/44 K, 1/1 S, 21/21 I. Comp. time 6:48

 

Only 44 monsters? Should be a doddle.

 

Wrong. I feel Padma hates my guts; for some reason I had a lot of trouble with it, even if most of the individual fights, such as the two revenants and the useless caco should be easy, and yet I'd fail at them. With that revenant fight I'd just bump into walls when trying to dodge the missiles.

 

At the end I felt like we should have been given SSG; single-shotting several hell knights only to unleash the archvile who also resurrects bunch of enemies was a chore to do with a single-barrel. I almost ran out of ammo (and health) against the archvile*.

 

Great map that's brought down a notch by being unnecessary cruel. Love the visuals, again. And music.

 

* After reading other peoples' commentary, the ending being miserable is indeed partly my own fault. Shouldn't have left corpses for Mr. Archie Wiley. D'oh.

MAP19 - Nova Scotia Robots

 

Pretty quick and simple map - there's not much I have to say about it, other than that I found the Arachnotron that suddenly appears behind your back pretty interesting for some reason. Oh, and that door that splits into two and opens in both directions was pretty neat too, I've actually never seen something like that done in a DOOM map before!

 

MAP20 - Refinery

 

It was certainly surprising to suddenly hear vanilla DOOM music, so far into a megawad like this! And it's not just the music - as the map relies exclusively on vanilla textures as well, with an aesthetic somewhat reminiscent of E4M9 from DOOM 1, albeit much more refined and detailed. As already mentioned by fellow club members, the map's out of bounds areas are incredibly intricate - to the point where it's sometimes honestly difficult to tell where the map ends and the background begins! The fights were all pretty basic stuff but still fun, with lots of low-tiers and the occasional Hell Knight (I didn't find the SSG or Plasma until the end, but I still had a great time). What really won me over in the end though, was the layout - super fun to navigate, with lots of little nooks and crannies (plus some really interesting secrets to discover). Great map, one of my favorites so far!

 

MAP21 - Padma

 

This might be the most detailed map so far - I'm personally not a huge fan of the gritty aesthetic, but I can certainly appreciate the amount of skill put into it! Unfortunately, the map's combat fell completely flat for me - the only interesting fight was imo the first Hell Knight encounter, but afterwards it was just mostly grindy, starting with shotgunning a Fatso blocking the entrance to a room, and ending with shotgunning three HKs blocking the entrance to a room. The Archvile at the end is pretty cool, but it seems like kind of a roll of the dice whether you'll have enough ammo for it - I didn't, so I just ran to the exit switch as soon as I could! As much as I didn't enjoy the combat, I didn't exactly dislike the map either - as its runtime is pretty short and there's little reuse of space, so you keep on traveling to new areas and admiring the fresh new detail work within!

 

Anyway, I think a list of just top 5 favorites is a bit restrictive, so going forward I'll just list my overall favorite maps, regardless of the number.

 

Favorite maps, updated: MAP09, MAP20, MAP03, MAP07, MAP31, MAP13, MAP17

Edited August 21, 2023 by sq. Tiramisu

MAP21: Padma

 

100K | 71I | 0S

 

As we enter the final third of the WAD, I expect a jump up in difficulty and some banger maps to boot, and so far we’re looking good. Padma nearly got me. It does this great job of building up dread with the archvile peeking at you from beyond a translucent window, and once it finally shows up, you kinda have a 50/50 shot at getting zapped from him, depending on how you corral him (which I did not do a good job of, despite killing him). It’s a short map, but it makes up for it in beautiful texturing and detailing along with some memorable moments and progression. Really surprised these past few maps have been able to keep up the momentum. Just below map05 for me, 4.4 out of 5.

MAPRANKS:

 

MAP21 - “Padma” by KingKill33, Dreadopp

 

Sometimes, I wonder if my change in playing style a few years back from continuous to pistol start has meant I’ve had more or less fun. I think there are maps where a pistol-start has improved the gameplay as it has preserved the intended challenge and avoided the ‘super-doomguy’ effect. There are others where the intended challenge is just not that fun and you ended up wishing you had better weaponry and/or more ammo. It’s hard to know where the balance between the two really lies, because you can only play a map blind once after all. But maps like this tilt towards the continuous = more fun side.

 

At the very least, the map looks stunning, probably the most impressive map so far in that respect. The choice to revert back to custom textures really helps, as does the use of a few highly complementary textures and skybox (without going overboard), and just general attention to detail throughout the map.

 

My praise ends there though, because the midi is extremely repetitive and droning, and the combat is so grindy. So much single shotgunning mid-tiers. The map would be ten times more fun with a super shotgun and/or plasma gun.

level 32 : oil rig by mik57, i suppose there is not much going on in this map, it's really simple and probably too repetitive but i thought the factory at night mood was really strong! it used height a lot and the surroundings felt very big and impressive, tall and dark industrial towers and cold lighting (i died against the cyber demon T_T)

 

level 16 : nocturnal abyss by brinks, very mysterious lost station in unknown space, good atmosphere and if you look through a certain window you can see several pairs of red eyes that are staring at you through the dark

i died in the trap in front of the yellow door, i had to look up a guide to find the secret because i play in low resolution haha, and sending the cacodemons fly away by shooting at them in the air is always so fun (ammo stash hidden behind a single tiny little bit of grass in the middle of all this metallic installation is adorable)

 

level 17 : transfer base by solarn, kyka and jodwin, wow this is the scariest level, walking through long, clinical and Very Noisy corridors with flashing lights and getting mysteriously teleported back and forth into a sinister and rusty area, then proceeding to explore the dirty ventilation shafts made of complex cables installations that run behind those walls, it's like a whole little adventure, and i felt quite disoriented (not in a bad way)

one of the secrets is very random haha, also i love the only outdoor area because it looks like a cute demonic garden with a little bench

 

level 18 : weather station by insanitybringer and kyka, welcome to THE GREEN LEVEL!!! i pressed a hundred switches not knowing what they did but knowing very well that they did something, such is the human condition (they actually revealed the armor at the end, thank you doomwiki)

while inside the station you can see various pictures of weather reports that depict alien green skies and scary sand storms, and then at the end you get to peek outside the station and find a peaceful starry night sky, the level is simple but this is a really nice touch

 

level 19 : nova scotia robots by esselfortium, at one point a chaingunner teleported right in front of me after i made a jump this was funny and mean haha, i'm sorry i don't have much to say about this level it's very simple and i think it felt a little bit empty to me but it was fun to fight the monsters and i like the sky because it looks scary

 

level 20 : refinery by dutch-devil, i thought this level was really fun, lots of lifts and little corridors and going everywhere back and forth, i like that there are fences everywhere, it felt big and well put together to me, had a good time there!!

 

level 21 : padma by kingkill33 and dreadopp, welcome to THE BLUE LEVEL!!! (actually it's maybe the second one because bitter sanctuary was already kind of a blue level, but i understand that people like blue because it is such a deep and beautiful color) very short and simple, i did not find this very memorable but i liked seeing the arch-vile in the end room running back and forth like he was doing exercise that was funny, and i also like that this alien space station has a little garden, very poetic

MAP21 - Padma - KingKill33 & Dreadopp (100%K/I/S):

Really cool looking map, it follows a similar, heavy detail philosophy just like most of the Claustrophobia maps, specially some of the early ones, but it really tries to squeeze every sector to pull up a really nice decoration. Gameplay-wise, it is a bit annoying, as you will be single-shotgunning every enemy here, with the casual use of a chaingun to mow down heavy enemies, I do think, though, that the pace was well written, as the level has the correct amount of resources to deal with all the pests of this map. Again, the boomstick against heavy enemies is often really annoying, specially against that last arch-vile. Solid entry, but maybe it shines more because of its looks. Interestingly enough, KingKill only produced maps for Claustrophobia 2 after this level, mostly with help of others, and it is a bit sad, as this author had some potential. We may be talking about a mapper whose name right now is different though, so we are not sure.

(UV - Playthrough/PRBoom+)

Order of Preference:
 

 

MAP16: Nocturnal Abyss
by Brinks

 

Interesting map that seemed a bit more difficult than I expected. But first, players who want full 100% everything, make sure to grab the health bonuses in the starting room, even if you have 200% health! For some reason, the door cannot be opened from the outside. Not sure why but this seems a bit weird that there's a few points of no return in this map. The last part of the level does this as well. We will get there shortly.

 

The Blue Key trap is tricky. Of course I'm spoiled by reading a comment earlier and playing continuously, so I just prepared my Plasma Gun to make short work of the teleporting monsters. The Knight's fireballs in this map had the habit to roll high damage, interestingly. Though the other monsters didn't cause me much trouble, such as the Revenants or a few surprise ambushes at some point.

 

The other difficult part was the Yellow key trap with another knight and two chaingunners. I killed one of them but focused my attention on the Knight that managed to get a lucky shot as soon as I turned around. At least the second chaingunner didn't fire at me. Though after taking them out, it didn't occur to me that there was a hidden Arachnotron behind a vent that I only found much later in the map.

 

At the end, you take the lift and then wait for a Baron to show up before reaching the exit. The problem is that this fight is cramped and there is no way back at this point. So I hope you got everything in advance if you want 100% everything.

 

After realizing that, I loaded an earlier save and just explored, for the rest secrets and stuff. Had a nasty shock when I revisited an earlier room and suddenly got attacked by an Arachnotron from behind and only then I was aware of its existence. I took a couple shots and was left with around 70-80 hp/armor. Then after taking him out, I loaded my save to try again because I am not going to throw away my blue armor like this, especially after the earlier incident with MAP14. I will keep my 135% armor, thank you very much.

 

Loaded save and tried again, this time without any loss. Then grab the goodies, such as the SoulSphere secret. Then used the BFG for the Baron at end because I was kinda sick of this map at this point.

 

Overall, the map was nice, despite some annoying parts.

 

MAP17: Transfer Base
by Solarn and Kyka and Jodwin

 

Well, this level was unexpected. It is very claustrophobic (see what I did there?) and has some really annoying and cramped ambushes, some of which involve ArchViles, though not all the ambushes are bad but some will surely give you a hard time, even with decent health and armor.

 

Although the Doomwiki mentions it, it must be repeated: there is a non-secret BLUE ARMOR right at beginning by just pressing a switch, then the Blue Armor will appear and will serve you well throughout the map. There is also an early Soulsphere secret but the continuous players will want to save the Soulsphere and Blue Armor for the end. Hopefully you will have enough health and armor to make to the end, as you will be taking plenty of damage at times. Which is why the extra health and armor from the previous level will be much needed for a tough map.

 

There are many times you will teleport, often surrounded by monsters (like that previously mentioned ambush with the caco and imps, good thing I had Plasma in advance) but despite the initial impression with all the teleporting, the map is possible to explore in its entirely without being locked out of backtrackng. A place that you visit now will be revisited later on...

 

The soulsphere secret in that courtyard was so much needed, especially combined with the 60% armor I had left. Because as soon as I teleported, I was surrounded by plenty of monsters (including an Archie) and lost a shit-ton of health and ended up with 80% or less, then desperately try to get rid of them with Plasma/BFG. Without the Soulsphere, I wouldn't have made it alive. Then I had to clear all this mess and be careful to not die with the monsters around the corner. My armor was also gone entirely at that time and I was desperately looking for a Green Armor and then had to read up the secret guide on DoomWiki a few times to understand where is that Green Armor secret and how to get it.

 

Then I understood the secret is available after pressing the switch that unlocks the exit. Kill a few Mancubi, get the armor secret and now SAVE! Because well, I died once afterwards. 

 

What happened is I teleported between chaingunners and a revenant, I died almost instantly from 100 health and armor to 0. That was kinda bullshit to be honest, although not that bad for being the map's only death.

 

On the second attempt, I teleported but forgot to activate the switch, so I loaded save again and after pressing the switch and teleporting, I managed to telefrag the revenant and take out the chaingunners quickly with the Plasma. Then take out the last couple of monsters that were near the exit. I had to be careful once more because it was quite tense but even with some damage taken, I succeeded in the end and got the two much needed medkits, before backtracking to grab everything left in the map.

 

My guess why sometimes you get bad luck in this map with monsters surrounding you is waiting too much before you teleport and the monsters spread around the teleporter destination, so if you aren't quick in solving this level, you may end up with a nasty surprise, like it happened to me twice and the second time wasn't forgiving like the first time. DoomGuy cannot sustain all that damage forever...

 

Although I'm playing continuously, I never had problems with the ammo (though I ended up with less than 100 shells at the end of the level) and considering that pistol starters even get the backpack immediately, my only advice is to NOT pick up all the ammo that you see at the time. Since this map allows backtracking, I would suggest to save some of the ammo pickups for later when you actually need them, so for example, you don't end up picking up shells at 99 and bullets at 399.

 

Same goes to the health/armor pickups, they should be picked up with care. Though I admit it's kinda hard to avoid picking up stuff in a cramped map like this but if you have reached the exit, then feel free to grab everything you left behind.

 

Overall, this map was interesting but I don't think it was very fun to play, to be honest. It was acceptable on a continuous run but I would have hated it on a pistol start, especially due to the lack of rocket launcher, despite the rockets being present.

 

 

MAP18: Weather Station
by InsanityBringer and Kyka

 

After the previous map, I expected a breather level. For the most part, it seemed like one, except for some absolutely dickish traps involving nobles in very cramped spaces or maybe I just had bad luck from how much damn damage I took in this map. At the beginning, it wasn't too bad (though the start can give problems to a pistol starter) and I was enjoying the map while I maintained my health and armor very well, other than the fact some zombies were getting lucky with their shots.

 

And the ambush in the acid room wasn't too bad because I just retreated to the previous room and took care of the teleporting monsters and those imps in the acid.

 

But then in the Red Key room, the unexpected happens. Tried to escape when the knights appeared but I ended up with a series of misfortunes. The SSG shots going through the spectres that blocked the exit, elastic collision that throws me away AND getting hit by 1-2 very damaging fireballs from behind at the same time. I was still trying to escape but that stupid spectre refuses to die thanks to shots going through it twice and got surrounded, then just as soon as I get out while getting attacked up from behind, I found myself with 35 or so hp left. Wow, I just couldn't believe it myself how much health and armor I lost just from one dumb ambush.

 

Afterwards, I get health and ignore the green armor to preserve whatever little remained from my armor. I then almost get killed by the Baron that corners me in front of a door. Luckily, that door was closed as I haven't pressed the three switches earlier. I realized later on there were monsters waiting inside and I can't imagine to have been any better running from a baron and finding myself in a tiny room with hitscanners and a knight, so forgetting to press the switches earlier seemed like a good thing.

 

Anyway, while the Baron was approaching, I pulled my BFG and prayed while I was getting slashed. I survived with 11% health left. Then I carefully make my way back to get health while killing the imps and whatever teleported in the central room. Then at the end, after killing the two chaingunners and backing off from the Hell Knight, I'm happy that Spectre didn't block me for too long, so I could escape in time, though I don't recall taking any damage here but it would have been embarrassing to die right at the end, after all the suffering in this level. It seems I didn't need the green armor but I absolutely needed the blue armor near the exit which is opened by pressing the red light switches in each room containing the keys. And then grabbing the medkits to get back to full health. I appreciate all this.

 

Overall, I think the map is okay. I don't know how it plays from a pistol start but I can imagine being a bit miserable since the health seemed a bit scarce and mostly available in form of stimpacks, while the armor is not given immediately, well besides the 15 armor bonuses that were automatically picked up at map start. But yeah, this was a map that seemed easier than I expected, so this is why I got surprised.

 

MAP19: Nova Scotia Robots
by Esselfortium

 

Well, finally a breather level. It was unexpectedly easy. 40 monsters in total and mostly weaker ones. There's THREE Arch-Viles but they aren't that bad. There is one early and two at the end that are all easily killed. This map is shown in the third demo and the player dies (probably on purpose) at the first Archie encountered.

 

The red key trap contains a chaingunner, so it's not that bad. While the blue key trap can be a bit tricky but running away seemed to be the easy way to deal with the trap if you don't want to fight two Revenants in close quarters. Though keep in mind you will also have to fight two teleporting Mancubi outside. Then at the very end, watch out for TWO Archviles.

 

Design wise, the level is nice and gameplay wise is also pretty nice and relaxing if you take your time. Just keep in mind this map has no difficulty settings implemented (skills 2, 3 and 4 are identical) and there is a Blue Armor secret that is always nice to have, even though I only got hit once by two surprise shotgunners but other than that, I didn't have to worry about the problematic enemies in this level, since it's one of those levels that can be beaten without much trouble if you play carefully.

 

Oh and 0% items again at the end (only in Boom-Compatible ports, ZDoom ports give you 100%) because there are no actual items to be found in the map. I always found it odd that Boom only fixed the Secrets count but not the Items count when none are present in the map and I believe the Kills count still show up 0% on empty maps to not cause desyncs with IOS spawners, I'm sure that's the main reason why Kills remained untouched but I don't know why they couldn't also fix the Items if bothered to fix the Secrets. I know that ZDoom ports are the only ones that award 100% for each category in an empty map.

 

In the end, this map was a nice short break from the previous more difficult maps. I find it funny how I thought MAP18 was going to be easy and MAP19 was going to be hard but it ended up the other way around. :P

 

MAP20: Refinery
by Dutch Devil

 

Well, this was a good surprise. The design is quite nice and gameplay is mostly easy except the beginning part where after a somewhat "hot start" (mostly involving teleporting enemies), I did find myself with around 40% health left until I got a couple health pickups and afterwards, the map's difficulty dropped down significantly.

 

I must admit that the Blue Armor from the previous map(s) has saved me, so my thanks to the level designers for providing a Blue Armor in each level as of lately. Though the pistol starters also get a green armor right away, so that is also appreciated, as opposed to some of the maps that don't give you any armor at all.

 

The majority of the monsters encountered here are zombies and imps. There are THREE Hell Knights and ONE Mancubus that appear at a few points in the map but they don't pose much threat and other than that, there aren't any of the mid/high tier enemies. The main difficulty comes from the great number of imps and zombies and they can chip away at the health slowly. Though luckily there are plenty of health pickups in this level and there are even two armor pickups that are found right at beginning (green at start, blue in a secret on top of the crate but accessed from the red key room). The progression was also pretty clear for me, so there really isn't anything to complain about this map. Secrets are a bit tricky to find and I only found the SSG one by myself but the other two required assistance from Doomwiki.

 

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this one and serves as a nice finale to the second "episode". I only wonder why weren't both MAP19 and MAP20 placed a bit earlier in the megawad?

Deaths so far: 3 (MAP07, MAP15, MAP17)

 

Screenshots

 

Anuva day, anuva triple map runthrough:

Map 20 - Refinery:
Despite the boring name, this map is anything but. It really feels like an early DOOM 1/2 level, but with better architectural level design. There weren't any stupidly cramped fights, and space was pretty cleverly utilised throughout the map to add a nice level of verticality without resorting to bridge trickery and whatnot. I found the SSG quite early on, so that did make combat a little easier.

Map 21 - Padma:
Hrmmm... another one with Hell Revealed syndrome, but worse. An SSG would have been perfect here, just to remove the grindy feel of the map. Who on earth actually finds using the single shotgun on Hell Knights/Revenants/Arachnotrons/Mancubi FUN?! It's a shame, because the visuals are very nice, and some of the encounters are a bit spicy, but it all gets ruined by the slow plod of the lesser shotgun... oh well. At least it's more palatable than Dreadopp's other map.

Map 22 - Diminished Apparatus:
Another Mechadon classic, and that includes the incredibly difficult to find secrets. I had to resort to the wiki to find them after the level was done, and BOY was I disappointed at what I could've had. It would've made the Archvile segments so much easier... but here we are. Level design is on point as usual, there are sight lines for monsters everywhere. You do have to go quite a while without armour though, which does up the difficulty a little.

Padma was among the first, if not the first, map collaborations I've worked on within the community. During the development of the project, I remember admiring some very nice looking screenshots from KingKill33, so it was very cool to have the opportunity to work with someone who had a great eye for detailing and texturing. I knew I had to bring my A-game to work on a map with such fantastic visuals already. Hopefully I didn't derail or ruin the original vision of the map too badly. :P

 

Much like with Deception, I found this to be a right challenge to play on UV. I can also see that another pass at the gameplay could have ironed out some of the kinks. As others have pointed out, and rightfully so, this map really does need a stronger weapon (probably the super shotgun). There are quite a few mid-tier monsters blocking various paths and having a slightly better arsenal would help give it a nicer flow. I don't remember exactly who did what in terms of the monster placement, but I'm pretty sure I did the area where the monsters teleport in, so apologies for any boredom/rage induced there, haha. I sure loved to stuff a bunch of revenants in tiny spaces. Looking back on it now, this section does have a few too many monsters and the outdoor area has too little for the amount of space being utilized. I think both areas could benefit from finding some sort of middle ground, rather than the two extremes that are currently there. Perhaps a bit more of a transition between the two, both in terms of gameplay and the visuals to help even out the space being used in either section.

 

Anyway, I enjoyed taking a bit of time to revisit and reflect on this project after all these years. It would be fun to work on something like this again. Thanks for playing the maps I worked on, everyone! And thanks again for reading!

1 hour ago, Dreadopp said:

Padma was among the first, if not the first, map collaborations I've worked on within the community. During the development of the project, I remember admiring some very nice looking screenshots from KingKill33, so it was very cool to have the opportunity to work with someone who had a great eye for detailing and texturing. I knew I had to bring my A-game to work on a map with such fantastic visuals already. Hopefully I didn't derail or ruin the original vision of the map too badly. :P

 

Much like with Deception, I found this to be a right challenge to play on UV. I can also see that another pass at the gameplay could have ironed out some of the kinks. As others have pointed out, and rightfully so, this map really does need a stronger weapon (probably the super shotgun). There are quite a few mid-tier monsters blocking various paths and having a slightly better arsenal would help give it a nicer flow. I don't remember exactly who did what in terms of the monster placement, but I'm pretty sure I did the area where the monsters teleport in, so apologies for any boredom/rage induced there, haha. I sure loved to stuff a bunch of revenants in tiny spaces. Looking back on it now, this section does have a few too many monsters and the outdoor area has too little for the amount of space being utilized. I think both areas could benefit from finding some sort of middle ground, rather than the two extremes that are currently there. Perhaps a bit more of a transition between the two, both in terms of gameplay and the visuals to help even out the space being used in either section.

 

Anyway, I enjoyed taking a bit of time to revisit and reflect on this project after all these years. It would be fun to work on something like this again. Thanks for playing the maps I worked on, everyone! And thanks again for reading!

Nice to see the criticism taken in good spirit! Fundamentally the maps are great, and they both look awesome. Each one just needed an extra weapon adding in (an SSG for Padma, and maybe a Plasma gun for just after the Pain Elemental in Deception, just to speed up the Revenant hallway... or maybe a Rocket Launcher to make it extra spicy with the risk of splash damage).

Deception dealt me my first death (UV pistol start saveless etc yadayadayada), so the challenge is definitely there!

MAP22 - “Diminished Apparatus” by @Mechadon

QuestZDoom, UV, blind, pistol start, saves

 

This one was tough but so much fun! Might be because I finally got to use the rocket launcher to good effect. There sure is a ton of rockets laying around this level which got me quite worried. And I needed every single one of them. I liked how for most of the map there were opportunities to weaken enemies by infighting (and occasional VR cheese) in rooms that only unlock later. Playing slow and careful pays off.

 

The rush hour triggered by picking up the rocket launcher is amazing. It proved to be quite easy to hold off, but I was worried the whole time. The enemies just keep on teleporting in, a satisfying mix of fodder and more dangerous monsters. The map felt like it was winding down at that point, with some more light fighting and three important looking double-switches I flipped without a care in the world. Only to realise I have a plasma now. And I hear ruckus. And gib sounds. And those laughs... That "oh crap" moment was amazing. I panicked and lost precious seconds getting to where it was all coming from - the pile of bodies I created earlier, obviously, and got trounced, but my second attempt went well. Only to realise there's still that laugh coming from somewhere.

 

Luckily the second vile was easily dispatched using my free aiming. I wasn't taking any chances doing this fight the honourable way. And yet the laughter persisted. But the third vile was stuck behind a rotating UAC column (or was it CUA?).

 

I could tell there's more to the map than what I've seen, with so many buttons, the odd multiple-choice exit button, the obvious secret I don't know how to open... But surviving the map is enough for me. What a ride!

 

 

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Blind/Saves (if needed)

Map 21:  Padma - KingKill33 & Dreadopp

100% kills and secrets

Time: 4:56

 

Sounds like my continuous SSG made this map a lot better than it would have been if I had pistol-started it. Cause with it, this was a short and sweet map in one of the cooler-looking areas of the WAD so far. The grays and blues in this mesh well. You can see an archie in the exit hall blocked by a forcefield, so that should gave a clue to not pile up dead bodies in there if possible. The few in front of the forcefield already are whatever, but once revs and hell knights show up in adjoining rooms, you'll want to keep them there. The 50 monsters in this map can be annoying to deal with, since there's a decent amount of mid-tiers all throughout it. The toughest fight is the incredibly cramped ambush that sends in a lot of imps, a few revs, and a spider to boot. The chaingun might be the best way to go here even if you have the SSG, just so you can try to stunlock them. 3 hell knights guard the switch to lower the forcefield, so as soon as you hit it rush back to stop the archie from doing any medical work it can. Another bonus to playing continuous: I BFG'd the crap out of it. Overall, decent map for continuous that looks really good!

Map20 - Refinery
K: 100 |I: 100 |S: 100 |

Gzdoom UV Continuous, CCards 5.0

Zombies throw acid viles that coat an area in poisonous mist

 

Refinery feels extremely DOOM2-esque. The map features stock doom2 textures (for the most part i think if not entirely), a Doom 1 MIDI, and a generic name that could easily have been in the EP2 list. This map also probably does the "faux-size' thing the best out of the maps I played, with tons of décor, monsters, and locations outside the bounds of the play space. Its effective enough that it really does feel like you are just in a subsection of a larger map, with there even being door switches and other details outside to add to the facsimile of there being more map. The only downside here is that there is a lot of window dressing hiding behind fenced windows that is a tad annoying to deal with but this is minor.

combat is stout for the size but mostly low tiers. The flow is pretty good with a circle back to the start being accessible relatively early on. The key switches feel like they are there for padding and could be removed for just door access (also since usually you have to backtrack to flip them, then go back to the area they open) but again, more minor than anything. This was just a fun map with good detailing and tone. Also 3 secrets in such a small space makes me happy.

 

Map21 - Padma
K: 100 |I: 100 |S: 100 |

Gzdoom UV Continuous, CCards 5.0

Zombies throw pumpkin bombs that color entities transparent green, orange, or purple

 

The cards are starting to stack against me as all zombies can now throw 3 different types of grenades, and each have their issues. They can AoE revive monsters which in these smaller maps can be problematic. They also can throw the acid viles which again, due to smaller maps makes them quite effective and cornering me. Finally the pumpkin bombs can home on me, and while they don't do much damage, the combination of translucent colored enemies (which can be green btw) paired with the acid potions is a very deadly combo, turning the acid mist into a smokescreen for enemies aswell. This caused a few issues and deaths especially with the revenants in the map.

 

Padma initially felt like an alternate take of Map02. Layout nor theme was exactly the same but it might be that opening quarter circle area and the placement of the exit being very similar. One thing i can say about this map and the rest of this WAD is that the quality of detailing in these small maps never passes below mediocre. Even the more minimally dressed maps have had a consistent quality. This is likely easy to manage given the limited space but is welcomed nontheless.

As for the gameplay of Panja, the flow is nice, with a teleporter being used to break up the room-to-room progression. Combat felt alright, tougher than previous maps due to higher tier enemy placement, but I felt the encounters this map wanted to use was at odds with the map limitations. There were many instances of cramped SSG battles with thicker demons, or baiting them into chokepoints. The ominous design of the exit forcefield was cool though, giving a reminder to the player there will be a nasty vile at some point. The choice to make the doors lifts instead of regular doors was good too, whether intentional or not, meant that door abuse could not be done against the tougher foes, and that sightlines were broken up forcing the player to fight rather close. Does also mean that demons are penned in rooms and can't chase the player as much, maybe a benefit im not sure.

 

Rankings:

DNR: map13

Cards:

 

MAP22: Diminished Apparatus. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 128/128 K, 2/4 S, 99/99 I. Comp. time 22:36

 

At first I could find only half of the secrets, which is sad. Especially as the map itself is a top-tier one -- Mechadon already became one of my favourite mappers with Fomalhaut in THT, and these microscale maps only solidify his place in my mappers' pantheon. The map looks great, it's the right amount of challenging for me, ie. there are tight spots but nothing overwhelming, and most importantly, nothing dickish. Mechadon is generous with resources, but indeed makes secrets hard to spot. The soul sphere secret near the beginning I was able to find (not sure how it was unlocked, I'm guessing by pressing the CUA wall?). After clearing the map, I spent several minutes looking for secrets, and could find only the sequence reealing the megasphere.

 

Anyway, Grade A map.

 

Update on the next day: went back for the two final secrets, but I found only one on my own, and that even isn't a tagged secret. A closer look on the automap revealed some interesting arrows. Long live the lazy! As for the rest, I had to resort to Doomwiki. I didn't really get the point of the third secret other than it needed to be reached in order to reveal the fourth secret. Dang, I hated that thin ledge dance! Makes me want to update the map grade to A- :(

GZDooM 4.10, PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), continuous play, no saves.

 

MAP16 - “Nocturnal Abyss” by brinks

 

MAP17 - “Transfer Base” by Solarn, Kyka, Jodwin

My first thought was I got trapped in here but the exessive use of pressing "use" on the wall to the right hand opens up a way let you move on :-/. I don't know what gets activated there.

 

MAP18 - “Weather Station” by InsanityBringer, Kyka, Jodwin

MAP22: Diminished Apparatus by Mechadon

 

The project leader does not disappoint and delivers yet another highly detailed and space-efficient map with energetic combat.

 

This time, it's some sort of nukage processing facility, half-flooded with green slime. Early combat is functional, with far-away chaingunners being the most deadly. This all changes when you reach the red key. You're given a rocket launcher, a metric crapton of rockets and a teleporting ambush nearby. Just hold fire and blow them to pieces. Well, that was fun, however, it's not the end. Once you reach the spot with the three colour switches, Mechadon releases archviles around the map, including one on this huge pile of corpses. Luckily, rockets and plasma solved this issue (there's also a secret BFG, but it was too cryptic to find myself).

 

The map took me a bit longer to complete than it should, this is because I couldn't figure out I could just reopen the red bars. Still, a minor complaint in an otherwise great map.

MAP15: This map was going smoothly until the author decided they were done playing mr. nice guy and just chucks hell knights and revenants at the player in hopes that it's enough. Why must you be so mean, author? Anyways, the music's pretty good. Otherwise, the secret exit is so cryptic that after looking up the map's secret exit on the doom wiki & watching not 1 but 2 walkthroughs of the map, and having me still not understand jack shit about it leaves me to believe that either it's a bug or it's overtly cryptic... Either way, it's still not good. Oh, and make sure not to very easily walk off the edge and get softlocked... Man, this map was one big letdown.

Grade: D+
Difficulty: A-
================================================================
MAP31: This map is so, so, so, so, so, so, so... You know what? I have no idea what this map is! This map somehow manages to be annoying, mean, tedious, boring & overlong all at once! I have no idea how they managed to do it, but this is a genuinely torturous experience. Plus, there is nowhere near enough ammo to take out these hordes, either. This map looks fine, and the midi is pretty great... However, there is no saving this map. It's negatives are so heavy that the few positives are outweighed like a feather and a cubic meter of tungsten. Please, let me out of this nightmare.

Grade: F
Difficulty: A+
================================================================
MAP32: Welcome to Padding - The Map! Here we have unnecessary boss enemies, barons to shotgun, nothing to look at, and ear torture! My favourite! Oh, and don't worry... You only have to endure THREE CYBERDEMONS worth of time wasted, plus at least like... What? 10 barons? This map is not fun, it's boring, tedious, and the midi is so grating it makes the earlier shit I made sound tolerable in comparison. I have no idea who would enjoy a map this slow, even through 80 quattuorvigintillion layers of rose-tinted glasses.

Grade: F
Difficulty: B+
================================================================
MAP16: No words can describe how this MIDI makes me feel. It's like a calm moment of peace and thoughtful recollection before a fierce storm passes over. One final whisper before death. The way this map looks greatly compliments the serene soundtrack. The dark halls leading to a balcony hanging over the edge of the abyss. All that can be seen for miles are some rock formations of which cacodemons gently glide over to the player from. Their slow, methodic nature of moving around makes slowly picking them away feel right at home with this map, complimented once again by the beautiful soundtrack. The song is so good, and the atmospherics are so strong, it makes picking off the baron in the lift feel almost gentle despite slowly shredding him away with a shotgun. After all is said and done, concluding the map, I look back fondly on this one. A truly beautiful walk through one of the most striking, imaginative and beautiful environments I think I have ever seen rendered in this small little engine. This map is a must-play among no other.

Grade: A+
Difficulty: C-
================================================================
MAP17: This map starts off with a roar, and then proceeds to not live up to it in any way. I can't remember the MIDI for the life of me, this map once again does not appropriately supply the player to thin the hordes of monsters, and these teleporters have never had worse placement. I have no idea who in their right mind thought that disorienting the player automatically made a map more enjoyable, however clearly this map seems to display a very clear obsession with that. All in all, this map is silly, very silly.

Grade: C-
Difficulty: A-
================================================================
MAP18: Well, if it's one thing, I immediately forgot about this map. However, upon a replay, this midi rocks. It's groovy, but not distracting. The combat is fine, I guess. It doesn't pull in one direction or the other, it serves it's purpose. If I were to say one thing about this map in particular, it's that the ammo starvation concept was executed rather sloppily. By the end, I found myself a little bit under-equipped for the monsters that were handed to my ass. That's fine though. This map serves it's purpose, and hey... A fine map is a rarity in this set.

Grade: B-
Difficulty: C
================================================================
MAP19: Holy shit, is that what I think it is? Yes... YES... YEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! An open area! Wow, I never thought the set would ever try pulling off an open area again after the fun it had with MAP04, but here it is again! The groovy midi, the fun combat, the creative progression... Holy shit! This map is actually quite nice! I have got to say, I am impressed how the set managed to recover after the terrible run between MAP05 and MAP32, but it did! This was one hell of a surprise, if I had anything to take away from this specific map. Dynamite, is what it is.

Grade: A
Difficulty: B
================================================================
MAP20: This feels like a sort of knee-deep in the dead+ type deal. It uses Doom 1 music, at the very least, if you don't agree with that sentiment. This map is a prime example of how to lead the player in the right direction, showing them what can open before they open it as opposed to after, so that way they don't wander around for three whole minutes wondering what in the hell just opened up. The combat is lightning fast, and despite hiding the super shotgun away in the secret, is clearly independent of it. What else can I say? This is just a bottle of lightning!

Grade: A
Difficulty: B
================================================================
MAP21: This map is a slog. From the not giving a player a super shotgun to the throwing tanky things at the player for no purpose other than to extend the runtime. I am bored, please get me out of here before I pass out. That's all that can really be said about this map, the rest is unremarkable and forgettable.

Grade: D
Difficulty: B
================================================================
MAP22: Welcome to the next installation of Padding - The Map! We were so sure that you loved the previous one, so we decided to throw twice the amount of enemies at you for maximum boredom! Enjoy your stay at this miserable place. Oh! Before you leave, take this complimentary "Go F**k Yourself" token of our highest appreciation while you're at it. In all seriousness, though... This map is so dull. The beginning is back and forth tedious running, the middle is filler & padding, and the end is more padding, because why not? I can't remember the MIDI, and the rest of this map was so unremarkable that after a second playthrough, I am still struggling to remember anything about the map other than the combat. If there was any map that really needed to go back to the drawing board, it was this one.

Grade: F
Difficulty: C+
================================================================
Well... This set continues to disappoint, doesn't it? I am bored now, please just let it end before I end up aging 80 years and dying on my own due to how long this set likes to extend itself. Let's just hope that MAP23 is a unique one, because the whole set really needs a breath of fresh air after so many same-y maps all bundled together. Time to sleep. I started at 12:30AM and now it's 4AM. I want nothing more than my sleep.

GZDoom, Boom compat, software, HNTR, blind, continuous with saves.

 

MAP20 - “Refinery” by dutch devil
Unfortunately this is probably my least favourite map so far. It tries too hard to blur the 1024 limitation by making it seem as if a lot of the areas outside should be accessible, but then it solves the problem of access by just putting up big impassable invisible linedefs everywhere. There are windows everywhere and things shooting from every direction, the hot "start" goes on for far too long, and there's rarely much space to dodge. As with most maps in the wad there's an attempt at making the space seem larger, but instead I found navigation incredibly confusing (the windows didn't help). I spent almost half an hour on the map, longer than any other, and half of that was just running around trying to find where to go next (and my pet peeve got triggered again, I found all 3 secrets while just trying to find the way forward). There's nothing inherently wrong with what the map attempts to do, others that I enjoyed used similar tricks, but the execution here just didn't work for me.

 

MAP21 - “Padma” by KingKill33, Dreadopp
I never thought I'd need a breather map in a 1024 wad, but I was thankful for it. The texturing is more Quake than Doom but I don't mind and liked it a lot. It's very laid back on HNTR, and honestly I don't think that much more difficult on UV, compared to some previous ones. I like that you hear and even see the archvile early on. It took me just over 3 minutes to finish the map, but it was an enjoyable romp.

MAP22: Diminished Apparatus

 

100K | 89I | 0S

 

Still pretty quality keeping up the recent hot-streak, but a bit too dense with monsters and not enough challenge for me to call it a home run. For instance, the teleport ambush after getting the red key is almost comical in how many monsters the map spawns in 1 tiny area, where you can just camp out with your SSG and fire away until they stop spawning. There also returns the feeling of proper claustrophobia in this map, and it’s just trying too hard in my honest opinion to be grander than it actually is. I still enjoyed my time with it though, just nothing amazing. 4.2 out of 5.

MAPRANKS:

 

MAP22 -  Diminished Apparatus - Mechadon (100%K/96%I/0%S):

This was my favourite so far, because even though it feels a bit cramped, you usually forget this is a 1024 map, you will feel this the most out of any map so far. Amazing map, it falls into the "reusing a lot of previous areas" category, but seems like the most effective solution for these kind of maps. It has a solid TP encounter in the area at the middle, which is a great place to be using the rocket launcher without struggling with space. Mechadon outstands everyone in a technical sense at these kind of maps for the most part. There is so much that you can fit inside this area, that it blows your mind, so much that, there are some secrets aswell, that are really difficult to find. Another thing with this level is the heavy dose of overdetailing it has, just like the other Mechadon maps. I think I'm repeating myself with the good levels. But most of them follow the same principles, reusing space to make them a bit longer, hard overdetailing, strong areas that connect to previous ones, solid encounters... Mechadon understood the formula pretty well before pulling up this project, this is a great example.

(UV - Playthrough/PRBoom+)

Order of Preference:
 

 

MAP22 - Diminished Apparatus

 

The first moments in this lovely CUA base didn't exactly captivate me - the map seemed pretty cramped and grindy overall. However, my impressions changed quite soon - the circular room where you fight some Cacos and Spectres in two waves really convinced me that the author knows what they are doing! And indeed, the rest of the map consists of combat encounters that, while cramped, are at the same time deliberately designed around the lack of space - such as a sudden Baron ambush or a giant tidal wave of monsters that can only be stopped with a rocket launcher (I actually ended up intentionally face-rocketing just to clear out some much-needed room!). The final Archvile hunt was also great - though time pressure aside, it wasn't very difficult because I had so much plasma cells and other ammo I almost though I had typed IDKFA by mistake :p

Edited August 22, 2023 by sq. Tiramisu

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Blind/Saves (if needed)

Map 22:  Diminished Apparatus - Mechadon

100% kills and 75% secrets

Time: 15:59

 

Mechadon really gets how to make an engaging map with this size restriction. Another finely detailed map, this one is probably the closest to feeling like a traditional map in terms of enemy encounters. Revs, nobles, mancs, spiders, pain elementals, and archies all show up here, really putting the squeeze on you. In addition, we actually get a RL fight! And it's fun. Picking it up triggers a giant teleport ambush where the monsters teleport just far enough away where you can stand back and rocket them with little fear. It's a nice smattering of fodder with hell knights and revs. Highlight of the map for me. Hitting all 3 key switches will send out a couple of archies back where there's a lot of corpses to revive, so you'll need to quickly take them out. I recommend using a BFG. Need one? That's where this map's secrets come in! The secrets in this map are kinda cryptic. I'm pretty sure I got locked out of the SSG/map one. I was on the right track, but when I looked it up on the wiki, it made it sound like I could mess it up which I think I did. The BFG is a 2-step process that I figured out on my own, but the megasphere I had to look up how to get. Interestingly, I managed to find an Easter Egg that involves the 273 different exit switches. I don't get the reference, but it was cool to find! So overall, this was an incredibly fun map with some cool secrets. 

 

Also, I got the end of game text after this map, continuing this WAD's streak of having those intermissions pop up earlier than normal.

MAP22 - “Diminished Apparatus” by Mechadon

 

Of the three maps by Mechadon so far, I found this to be the weakest, that said it is still above the par so far for this wad. The map isn't too bad and most of the fights are pretty fun and manageable. The rocket launcher fight didn't do much for me, there still isn't enough space to really make this encounter fun as you are restricted to the small space you tart in and hope that nothing manages to break through. The ending sequence is another one of those that feels a little dragged out, the archvile placement is okay and you have the ammo to deal with them, that said this is the point where the progression starts to come off the rails a little bit, kind of like running out of easy moves in a board came and have to come up with more convoluted ways of reaching your objective.

That said this still was enjoyable, but lacked the real highs of Map05 and Map07.