Scorching Earth (32 Level Megawad)

Ultrawide statusbar, coming in hot!
 

scorch_uwide.zip

17 hours ago, morningstars10 said:

I still cannot find it, just updated, where is the launcher? The version you uploaded just now says 6/3/2024. Did you upload the wrong version? As for map 31, that's it, thanks!

The latest version should be up now. archive.org is a bitch sometimes.

13 hours ago, Auron said:

I finally finished the entire WAD on ultra-violent continuous. Quite an experience, well-designed maps with just enough difficulty to keep the gameplay interesting without being frustrating. Amazing work @Astro definitely a must play.

 

Thank you!!

8 hours ago, Astro said:

The latest version should be up now. archive.org is a bitch sometimes.

Finally, I can beat map 30 :). Way easier too now that killing the horde or hellknights isn't painful. I give this wad a certified (by me) 9/10 on pistol starts (plus I could have sworn some levels have ammo for weapons that are not given, but in your defense, I know sometimes they were in a secret only, plus I could be mis-remembering in other cases), and 10/10 continuous. Agree with Auron there, Definitely would be a bit less frustrating without trying to pistol start every level (lots and lots of punching and chainsawing), but I think it is super fun to have to run forward quite a ways into a level to get the weapon.

2 hours ago, morningstars10 said:

Agree with Auron there, Definitely would be a bit less frustrating without trying to pistol start every level (lots and lots of punching and chainsawing), but I think it is super fun to have to run forward quite a ways into a level to get the weapon.

To tell the truth, I started the WAD from pistol start until map 10 then I decided to start again continuously and the experience proved to be much more satisfying and enjoyable for me (although I have no problem playing from pistol start).

I particularly enjoyed looking for secrets and exploring the maps, especially map 12: Metropolis due to its large size.

I'm not playing many GZDoom wads these days since I've moved on to Woof!, but this one is worth a return. Nevertheless, should you ever manage to convert this into a proper vanilla/Boom project, it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. In any case, this one should be on everybody's playlist this year.

I've been playing this and I'm about halfway through.

The level design is really good and I love your attention to detail and sense of place. The environmental storytelling in the wad is really strong and I've been enjoying the exploration aspect of the maps.

I do have to mention a couple of glaring issues I've experienced that have been hindering me from enjoying this wad as I should.

The first is the fact this wad is not exactly pistol start friendly. I tend to pistol start megawads and the balance is all over the place in here. Some maps work okay, but for example map08 had me starving for ammo while having 440 cells for a plasma gun that doesn't exist in the map. I mostly spend the time searching for weapons while all of the maps have ammo for all weapon types way before you can find them.

I realize that continuous is probably the intended play style and is the "natural" one in terms of Doom progression, but pistol start balancing has to be taken care of IMO. No map has been impossible so far, but some have been way more unfair than if I'd have continued as usual from the previous without resetting my inventory.

The other issue I have is with the backtracking. Most maps just have you backtrack from one side of the map to the other after picking up a key, and I noticed that you're not a fan of monsters teleporting in or monster closets in general, so the backtrack just tends to be very boring most of the time. Not as much of an issue rather than a personal opinion on how you could improve engagement in your maps.

The Cyberdemon fight in map32 felt very unfair with the tiny space I was given to try and tackle it. Couldn't beat it without cheating.

Other than that, great work and congrats on a very solid release! Hope to see more from you in the future. :)

I caught covid part way through playing this in VR and it might be a while before I can put my headset back on without immediately vomitting, but here are the few levels I got to play so far:

This goes beyond what I would call inspired and encroaches on outright plagiarism. 

As well done as the maps are, if I wanted to play Hellbound for the 10th time, I would do just that.

I'm not sure why you wouldn't just say so in the main post. It's obviously a copy of it. It doesn't just look like it, it is it.

The maps are a bit switched around, but all the notes are there. 

I've played maps 1-20 and map31 and the the only one that is original is map31, and that one is essentially "find the switch to proceed". Eternal Doom would be proud of that one.

Been playing this on and off.

Since this is designed for continuous play, I think all maps should be maxable as such. Currently, if you try to take the regular exit in map 12, you cannot return. Now,, normally this wouldn't be a problem, but there are there shotgunners there, so the player is faced with a choice. Take the secret exit with 99% kills or take the regular one.

In map 13, the yellow key ambush is broken. The monsters (revenants, hks, and barons) never get triggered in that area so you just go into the vent, pick up the key and leave. This is on UV, in GZDoom 4.11.3.

As someone who thinks hellbound's gameplay is an absolute slog save for map 2, Doom District, and map 29, I think so far the same gameplay transgressions are present here. I understand the style you're going for, it's visually impressive, BUT combat most of the time is a chore - unless you're fighting loads of monsters in open areas. Now, thankfully, I've done what I normally don't do and that is, I decided to play this with a weapon mod to speed up the killing process (Final Doomer, Hellboundguy) and that definitely helps. FYI the mod doesn't modify the monster behaviour in any capacity so it shouldn't be affecting the issues I've mentioned above.
I also agree with what Terminus said about backtracking. It's just not fun. You're going through empty rooms with nothing happening at all.
I disagree with Bryan on the fact that this is plagiarism. The style is very similar sure, the story is similar too, but the maps themselves are definitely not the same. Perhaps I don't remember anything from Hellbound and I don't think I'll ever feel compelled to replay it, but I don't believe anything here was copied and pasted into the maps.

Will edit this post if I run into any more bugs.

EDIT: Map 21, these guys are deaf and never activate https://prnt.sc/S5sHSKR8dUQa

Map 24: More deaf monsters (12 at the back) https://prnt.sc/14cYHuoNiffm

@Astro What are the names of the various levels' music tracks?

On 7/3/2024 at 5:58 AM, Master O said:

@Astro What are the names of the various levels' music tracks?

Which map songs did u like i can find them for you

5 minutes ago, Astro said:

Which map songs did u like i can find them for you

It would really be best if you put together a complete credits list before the final release (music and also custom textures that you borrowed and things like that). That's other people's work that you used. And that's fine, this is a modding community and we all use each other's stuff. You just have to give them proper credit.

Playing this right now and I'm really liking it. Currently on map 12 and I've been searching everywhere for the last three monsters. You can get 100% kills on this map, right? I'm assuming they're hiding in a secret unless you didn't add monsters inside a secret sector. 

On MAP16, it's actually possible to finish the level immediately by opening the door behind the starting point and pressing use a little bit further in.

On MAP17, secret sector 1255 cannot be triggered since it's a teleporter, making it only 6/7 secrets max. Should probably delete this secret sector since there's already the other one next to it. Also for the blue bars (sectors 1543-1545) should all be one sector AND with linedef action 32.

MAP21: Easternmost teleport closet, I assume the monsters there were supposed to awaken when you fired in the first area, but they never actually waked up once.

MAP24: Monsters 373-384 have the Deaf/Ambush flag and never teleport in.

MAP30: When you take the portal to the next half of the map, make it so that I face north instead of south.

Well, I'll make a contribution too. All this week I've been working on adapting this masterpiece wad for prboom, doom retro, crispy doom, I had to change something, but everything works the same as on the zdoom series of ports.

16 hours ago, Garrett said:

Well, I'll make a contribution too. All this week I've been working on adapting this masterpiece wad for prboom, doom retro, crispy doom, I had to change something, but everything works the same as on the zdoom series of ports.

My fix is pretty much ready to be worked on but i feel really burned out to do anything big right now. 

5 hours ago, Astro said:

 

My fix is pretty much ready to be worked on but i feel really burned out to do anything big right now. 

Hi. I can send you a copy of my edits.

It will only make everyone feel better if there are two versions. )

Impressive work, style and fantasy in the kit. The beautiful picture is spoiled only by not aligned textures and some designer design elements. Sharp shifts of a calm current to stormy battles can be attributed to the author’s plan. But frequent return paths after selecting keys instead of quickly returning along a short road are able to bore the player with monotony. Take advice in the future to avoid such decisions.

The Hellbound's lost child, good wad bro