[FINAL] EVITERNITY II - FINAL VERSION OUT NOW

And also, the fact that you decided to drop it with no hype, no release date, no nothing, but just as a surprise, was a brilliant move.

Just finished and walked around the credits map - and you know what I love most about that one?

That you can use it as a fucking jukebox! The whole soundtrack isn't released right now on YouTube, but who cares when you can boot-up map 37, walk to your favourite song and let it play while you minimize your sourceport lol

Lovely thing this whole wad - so many maps that are already burnt into my mind and that I will want to experience again in the future.

(And the ending sequence of Kenosis... man oh man... after that I had to get up and sit down in the kitchen to take a breather - and not because of difficulty, but because of all that happened there at the end...)

I made an account here just to say WOW. Map32 caught me off guard in many ways, but the most surprising thing was the soundtrack. It has no right to go as hard as it does, I found myself pausing often to just take it all in. While extracting the music from the WAD is rather trivial, I am of the opinion that, in due time, the soundtrack from the maps could totally merit a released as their own stand-alone album. The music from chapter 2 also really hits the spot. I don't know if that was intended, but I get a distinct Indiana Jones / Tomb Raider vibe throughout that whole chapter, exploring lost temples, killing monsters, finding secrets and all. The theming is bang-on throughout and I don't know what I enjoy more. I am using fluidsynth with the Roland SC-55 v3.7 soundfont, and it just sounds so good. Definitely a step up from the GZDoom default soundfont, but here individual tastes will differ of course.

I just recently played through Eviternity I again and that left me wanting more of it. What a completely unexpected and pleasant surprise to drop this before the new year. Thanks to everyone who helped bring the sequel about, the wait was well worth the time.

Finished in HMP except secret levels. Masterpiece, one of those you have to close the stadium, one of those that open and close eras, the great problem is that it makes you cry when it ends, 10/10. I'll try UV soon.

All the worlds catch you and play with you in their own way, but offering you serenity to explore its peculiarities: decayed heaven as if you were the fallen angel itself, sad at his fall from grace; precolombus empire where an explorer cries out to escape from ancient temples; brutalist complex, imposing japanese utopic architecture, clean but dirty concrete, modern temples which makes you stupidly small; feudal lordship as if you were a peasant abused by his lord for incomes; lost artic scientist base where something has happened but you never know what it is; timeless void of emerald, pretty stainless hell itself testing if you are worthy.

Sincere congratulations to all the staff and thank you for contributing to keep the flame of Doom burning forever.

Revert the improper lost soul SKULLA1/SKULLB1 animation from the 'minor sprite fix' to the proper Doom 2 appearance.

I believe this is the last of the OST releases to come from my side.

EDIT: I am going to arrange the upload of MAP29. After that, @Tristan's set to release the rest! Speaking of which, MAP32's MIDI, Velocity, is premiering in just under 28 hours from the time of writing.

Also, you should make the title/intermission/end images widescreen compatible.

PSA to anyone playing using dev builds of Eternity Engine: You'll want to grab a new build whenever DRDTeam updates (today/tomorrow) or build from the latest source. I fixed a couple of things (including an outright crash) that affect MAP32 and possibly other places.

Also this wad is fucking incredible so far, as expected. Fantastic work to everyone who contributed.

Finally got the Blue Skull in Temeraire, though I beat it in a beat of a cheap way. After many, many attempts I finally noticed the outer ammo cache that opens up, and that stupid, stupid Arch-Vile followed me inside of it. Before that point, that arena in particular felt brutal enough to be worthy of Insane_Gazebo's "The Singing Void", but even then the entire megawad built up to it organically enough that it fits in just fine. It was also worth persevering through just be hit with a twist in environmental storytelling worthy of System Shock 2. 

...And now what's this? A  - real - mid game boss fight in demo-compatible classic Doom? That's almost more shocking than the MAP14 puzzles, in a good way of course. I mean, I guess Struggle did come very close to doing the same thing, but not quite like this.

OK, this time it actually is my final OST upload - @AD_79's "A Dreamless Eternity", uploaded with their permission of course.

On 12/13/2023 at 11:47 AM, Lizardcommando said:

I just got done with those Egyptian Mayan(?) temple maps and just stopped at MAP14. Pretty cool stuff so far, although I really don't like the new enemies, especially those Astral Cacodemons. They feel pretty bullet spongy to me. It seems like the Astral Cacodemons can 1 shot you at close range.

Personally, I find the new manks a lot more bullet spongy. 3 good ssg hits and sometimes a few bullets "usually" seem to take down those astral cacos just fine. It's just hard to get clean shots on them because well, they're fast, flying, and like you said, bruise you a lot.

Those new manks though... I could be just fine never seeing one again. Their attacks that do 45 degree turns in mid air are just cruel haha.

A little heads up:
The latest release of @hobomaster22's Helion engine (0.9.2.6) is now confirmed capable of playing Eviternity II. Try it out, and see what insane framerates you get.

Actually from what was told, Eviternity II actually does things in the map that did had an effect on engine, so consider this also a good workout!

How hard would you say map 36 is compared to say Sunlust map 30?

2 minutes ago, nobleflame said:

How hard would you say map 36 is compared to say Sunlust map 30?

Much easier, Eviternity is for normies. I'm interested in making something truly difficult for the elite players, but I need to build up to that. My ability to exploit Doom's innermost mechanics is far less evolved than that of Danne or Ribbiks. I have other strengths, I guess.

42 minutes ago, nobleflame said:

How hard would you say map 36 is compared to say Sunlust map 30?

It won't bring decino to the edge of losing his sanity, as did God Machine!

Nice! I’ve UVMAXd Sunlust, and Stardate 20x6, so when I IDCLV’d to map 36 I was, like, holy hell this looks epic and hard. 

49 minutes ago, ukiro said:

Much easier, Eviternity is for normies. I'm interested in making something truly difficult for the elite players, but I need to build up to that. My ability to exploit Doom's innermost mechanics is far less evolved than that of Danne or Ribbiks. I have other strengths, I guess.

Don't worry, I think you did pretty well. I don't think it's a matter of coming up with incredibly complex or obscure stuff, but rather well done setpieces that try to present compelling gameplay/combat scenarios. MAP36 already does that. If you want to ramp up the difficulty I feel like you're already in a position where you can, but I understand wanting to get there along a series of steps rather than trying to jump straight to it.

Just recently completed pistol start uv (with saves) and wow.. goty 2024 tbqh. anyways my only real complain would be the end of map 24. see while it is possible to consistently kill the cyberdemon guarding the teleporter at the end via just streaming and restreaming (bullet hell terms), the problem is the end gets narrow and you are forced to run straight into the teleporter and pray a cyber rocket doesnt hit you before you get in. that part feels a bit rng unlike the 1st part. i believe a solution could be to place an invuln right where the cyberdemon is so you can't cheese the fight but the ending would be consistent. just my opinion though and really just nitpicking. 10/10 wad otherwise. oh and map 14 slide puzzle.. sigh.

I realized I hadn't tried any of the secret maps because I didn't find them while playing, so I just played all of them... Some incredible stuff.

Recently completed MAP 30 and damn, what an incredible experience this WAD was. The first Eviternity already held the title of my favorite WAD of all time, so I was quite thrilled when I found out a sequel was released, especially since it was developed in secret for the past 5 years. Despite the high regards I held for Eviternity, I can confidently say the sequel surpasses it on all fronts.

The maps here are all of an incredibly high quality, presenting fantastic and diverse combat puzzles intertwined with fun incidental encounters and exploration. The secret maps are particular standouts with fun gimmicks, and figuring out how to access them was great fun as well (though I ended up using a guide to find the exit to map 32). The pacing between maps is excellent as well, with nice dips and peaks as the difficulty gradually crescendos. There are a couple of moments I can nitpick, but they are minuscule compared to the whole experience. Presentation is on another level as well, from the serene but decrepit ruins of heaven to brutalist facilities surrounded by frozen wastes. Each episode provides a unique and pleasing theme that keeps the visuals fresh, with episode 6 being my personal favorite look wise. Not to mention some incredible set pieces (unveiling map 26’s arena, the Death Star interior in map 33, end of map 24, the beginning of map 36’s final fight, etc). The credits map was a nice closer as well.

The music is a particular standout for me, with a wide range of genres. From fast paced metal that gets your blood pumping, to serene tones that pull on emotional cords, to haunting hymns that instill dread, to brilliant fusions of these elements. This is easily the most memorable OSTs of any WAD I have played. Shoutout to my favorites Velocity, Enchanting, Hyperdrive, Vector, and I Wish I Was Where I Was When I Wished I Was Here.

Finally I loved the customs bestiary included in this WAD as they helped to further diversify the combat encounters. 

All of these guys feel like natural extensions of the original Doom 2 lineup, and serve to really make the WAD feel unique. Gonna miss fighting some of these guys when playing other WADs.

Overall, just an excellent WAD that everyone involved should feel proud about. Definitely my new favorite. (Ok, but why do you have Doomguy holding a sword in the title but not as a weapon in-game, you can’t tease me like that).

While I don't think MAP35 is my favorite map of this wad, I think it's the best and most creative map I've played in DOOM, ever. I've talked about it before and I just can't stop praising how genius this level is, insane.

On 1/4/2024 at 9:30 PM, Tristan said:

MAP32 track is up

 

I'd love to see this OST hit Spotify.

Heck i wish most custom OST's (Skillsaw's, Primeval's, and Jimmy's) would hit Spotify. They are so good, given the limitations all composers have in midi.

Man, I gotta ask. Is there something wrong with my (supposedly default) settings? (GZDoom g4.11.3 on Mac)

I thought this weird lighting was intentional at first, but having checked Vytaan and other playthroughs on YT, it doesn't seem to be the case. Maps 06 and 31 on screenshots.

6 minutes ago, BCHQ said:

Man, I gotta ask. Is there something wrong with my (supposedly default) settings? (GZDoom g4.11.3 on Mac)

This is because you're using software render, which unfortunately doesn't work well with the fog effects of some maps, You need to switch to hardware render on GZD, or if you're still keen on still using software render, you can use DSDA Doom instead, which is the port we recomend for software render (tho you can also use other ports like woof that also support evi 2)

16 minutes ago, DMPhobos said:

 

This is because you're using software render, which unfortunately doesn't work well with the fog effects of some maps, You need to switch to hardware render on GZD, or if you're still keen on still using software render, you can use DSDA Doom instead, which is the port we recomend for software render (tho you can also use other ports like woof that also support evi 2)

Understood, thanks!

Just finished on UV (with saves), played through most maps, except 31 - couldn't find the exit to that. I really like the WAD on the whole, perhaps more than the original, although that's a high bar to clear. I hope Dragonfly doesn't mind if I take inspiration from MAP35 for my own project - it's pretty close to what I had in mind for wrapping up my Lovecraft-themed map set and probably my favourite level.

As for the other secret maps - MAP36 is an absolute masterwork, but I feel its placement hurts the pace of the WAD a little bit - the penultimate levels do a great job at building momentum towards the finale, which Kenosis promptly kills with a long, grueling experience. I would have placed the exit to it in MAP26, but maybe that's just me.

I'm not quite sure what to think about Catalyst - this was the first Doom level that made me rage quit and IDDQD through it, and I've played through Sunder (up to map19), but when I came back and beat it properly afterwards I ended up really liking it. I guess it was too much of a genre-whiplash the first time around.

Out of the mainline episodes the last one has got to be my favourite - I really dig the hellish space aesthetic in Doom.

That would be it for my initial, disorganised thoughts. Sorry if this has been asked before, but when should we expect the final release?

MAP26, RC5 (dsda 0.27.5)

Multiple softlocks in the exit area where you climb the rocks.

After playing through MAP33, all I have to say is...

...thank fuck I play with saves.

Couldn't imagine doing all that and not fucking up once, though that may just be a skill issue on my end.

To balance that out, though, I bloody loved MAP32. Those last two fights had me an evil grin plastered across my face without pause.

Is the blue key fight in Maelstrom intended to be this cheesable? You can alert the cybers by sight and and fight them one at a time, from outside the pit, where not only do you not need to contend with the damaging floor, but on top of that the cybers effectively can't hit you for the most part (RC5). Also the gameplay in MAP27 was just weird in general. Other than that, this final chapter is fantastic all around, but I'm left wondering... what exacty is it? Minas Morgul? Some obscure niche vision of the afterlife plane? The world of black metal in the collective human consciousness?  (Well, considering Maelstrom's midi, perhaps it is...) The fact that I'm even wondering certainly makes it the most intriguing chapter across both WADs...