RaRu Des2122 Posted June 21 (edited) That's it, the Road to Hades is over. Is it need to say even the local incarnation of the Icon of Sin surprised me greatly because I had never seen anything like it before? A brilliant megawad, full of a variety of interesting maps that embody a lot of different ideas and therefore not boring until the very end. To be honest, it's been a long time since I've been hooked on something so much that I've played through it completely in such a short time... @Rose Holmes, you are undoubtedly talented and I thank you for the great pleasure! I think that when the final version is released, I will be happy to record a letsplay of this megawad. P.S. What about adding at least one secret to the last map? So that all 32 of them are contained secrets? Edited June 21 by RaRu Des2122 2 Share this post Link to post
Rose Holmes Posted June 21 49 minutes ago, RaRu Des2122 said: That's it, the Road to Hades is over. It is need to say even the local incarnation of the Icon of Sin surprised me greatly because I had never seen anything like it before? A brilliant megawad, full of a variety of interesting maps that embody a lot of different ideas and therefore not boring until the very end. To be honest, it's been a long time since I've been hooked on something so much that I've played through it completely in such a short time... @Rose Holmes, you are undoubtedly talented and I thank you for the great pleasure! I think that when the final version is released, I will be happy to record a letsplay of this megawad. P.S. What about adding at least one secret to the last map? So that all 32 of them are contained secrets? I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for all the feedback you gave :) I probably still have some changes to make but seeing a letsplay of it would be amazing 0 Share this post Link to post
Rose Holmes Posted June 21 1 hour ago, NightFright said: The included DEHACKED had a few glitches (level 21 title not defined properly, some typos). Here's a cleaned-up version. DEHACKED.zip The MAP21 title is deliberate, because the map itself is supposed to be super glitchy and everything I did misspell "teleporter" in a text screen though 0 Share this post Link to post
NightFright Posted June 21 Alright. I just started playing, so I don't know what MAP21 looks like. The first few levels flow quite smoothly, though. 2 Share this post Link to post
Devalaous Posted June 21 The hidden little Map 33 is cute. No gameplay, but cute. 3 Share this post Link to post
RaRu Des2122 Posted June 22 20 hours ago, Rose Holmes said: but seeing a letsplay of it would be amazing I'd like to start in the near future but I'm not sure that this version is the latest. This is important considering that I have a continuous playing style and thus any possible subsequent additions will be guaranteed to pass by me. When it turns out one way or another (for example, the megawad will be distributed on idgames or at least it will be announced), then I will understand that it's time to start ;)) 0 Share this post Link to post
omnibot Posted June 30 This is my favorite WAD of the year so far, and I have a feeling it might stay that way. I could write a lot -- probably a whole review's worth if I broke it down more or less map by map -- but for now I'll just say this set is perhaps the most TNT of any TNT replacement I've ever played. Something of particular note: the entire WAD's visual storytelling is incredibly strong, but MAP19 is nothing short of brilliant. What a ride. Congratulations on the release! 4 Share this post Link to post
Keyboard_Doomer Posted July 4 Hello, we're going play the first half of the wad for Thursday Night Survival today. The session starts 15 hours from the time of this post and you can expect it to be fairly active for 4+ hours. 2 Share this post Link to post
princetontiger Posted July 5 We enjoyed the heck out of this wad during TNS... well done! 4 Share this post Link to post
Zahid Posted July 8 (edited) just finished it.... its really good megawad....one of best i played recently.... designs and visuals are interesting.....esp like the retro homages..... fights are fun mostly my fda and first exit demos for all 32 maps cant finish map 25 prboom cl9 uv and iddt used demo.zip 3 Share this post Link to post
RaRu Des2122 Posted July 8 (edited) Dear @Rose Holmes, let me congratulate you with the release on idgames! Edited July 8 by RaRu Des2122 2 Share this post Link to post
FearTheReaper Posted July 8 (edited) Nice, it reminds me a bit of S.T.R.A.I.N. especially final boss. Also is this intentional or mistake that only front of lost souls is red but whole thing is painted blue on all other angles? Edited July 8 by FearTheReaper 2 Share this post Link to post
RaRu Des2122 Posted July 9 (edited) 11 hours ago, FearTheReaper said: Nice, it reminds me a bit of S.T.R.A.I.N. especially final boss. Also is this intentional or mistake that only front of lost souls is red but whole thing is painted blue on all other angles? It's not about the angles, it's about the lost soul's state. It is blue when it's calm and when it's aggressive it becomes red. Practice shows that this helps to shoot them more safely from a rocket launcher. This especially makes sense on MAP24)) By the way, it also looks beautiful. And that's why it's a pity that lost souls without pain elementals we can meet extremely rarely in the megawad (I counted only nine of them - six on MAP06 and single lost soul each on MAP24, MAP25 and MAP32). Edited July 9 by RaRu Des2122 1 Share this post Link to post
UserPlayer89 Posted July 9 (edited) 56 minutes ago, RaRu Des2122 said: It is a pity that lost souls without pain elementals are extremely rare in megawad. Totally agreed! they can be a great tool to put pressure on the player in fights or general map traversal as long as they aren't in great numbers. also Pain Elementals can go to Super Hell, still don't like em as long as I've been playing DOOM. especially in complevels with an uncapped lost soul limit 1 Share this post Link to post
UserPlayer89 Posted July 9 (edited) there's some interesting looking environments in the example screenshot plus it's not everyday that you see a megawad that's both TNT based and done solo. I'll probably hold off on saying anything more till I actually play this though 1 Share this post Link to post
Large Cat Posted July 9 Just finished this. I'll admit it was humdrum but cute for me in the first half. However, starting at MAP16, the wad suddenly takes off and walks its own path. Excellent stuff, many great concepts, and immaculate atmosphere. Every map 16 and on was a big hit for me. I don't know if this has been fixed since the version I downloaded, but there seems to be a softlock on MAP23: Spoiler I ran to the blue key wing and shimmied around the cyber pit, then hit the switch by the BFG. This meant that, when I properly activated the blue key pop-up, I was unable to leave, as the switch had already been used up. I recall some minor quibbles with earlier maps, but I'm not sure they're worth recounting for something that's already on idgames. Plus, the second half is far more polished with none of the minor errors I saw in the earlier half. Once again, excellent work. I know some of these concepts might be polarizing (I can see why you might worry about MAP24 in particular), but I think they all worked for me in the end. I did have some moments of frustration, but those would have been easily countered had I used save games. 2 Share this post Link to post
MtPain27 Posted July 14 What a pleasure this was! Such a particular vision of Doom with so many evocative scenes, especially towards the end of E2. The hell episode is completely bonkers, but I'd expect nothing less from Hell's architects. Don't change a thing about MAP24, it's great. The more Doom I play, the more I treasure wads like this. Road to Hades dresses itself in classic atmospheres (TNT, Alien Vendetta, Kama Sutra, Scythe, etc) but they set up big pivots to original concepts and gasp-worthy variations on old themes (Techbase Babel!). Maps 18-20 were captivating, and I particularly liked 22, 23, 24, and the part of 27 spoilered below, but I don't think there's a map I didn't enjoy here. The first half gave me that half-comforting, half-unnerving tingle that TNT always delivers, and the second half is some of the most consistently daring and idiosyncratic work I've played in a while. Thank you for making this, Rose, it's marvelous. Spoiler Man, I love this so much. Thank you :) 16 Share this post Link to post
RaRu Des2122 Posted July 15 @MtPain27, am I right that in the fourth season of Dean of Doom you won't be able to get past the analysis of this megawad? 0 Share this post Link to post
NightFright Posted July 16 (edited) Found an issue with MAP23: The Red Skull key (thing #494) is only flagged for Hard skill, so it won't appear on lower difficulty levels (THINGS flag is 4 instead of 7). PS: It should be considered to rebalance this map, at least on lower difficulties. It's a ball buster compared to previous entries, and also the following ones are a lot easier again. Edited July 16 by NightFright 0 Share this post Link to post
Firedust Posted July 20 Made it to map 15. This mapset is just oozing with atmosphere. I love how it looks like something that could have well been an iwad in 1996, minus any potential jank. If you're tired of playing hyper-difficult uber-polished modern wads and just want a classic Dooming sesh, this is the one for you. Excited to continue my playthrough over the next few days. 3 Share this post Link to post
Firedust Posted July 23 Apologies for the double post! Finished RtH last night. Fantastic stuff! I love how it starts out as your usual TNT replacement (not that there are many to speak of), and then all of a sudden, starting from map 13-ish, the plot... thickens. This was a really memorable megawad from this year although I do find it funny how maps 23 and 24 are notably tougher than the rest. Not sure if this is was your first foray into Doom mapping, but regardless, you delivered in spades. Last time I had this much fun with a TNT-influenced megawad was when I played Good Morning Phobos. The atmosphere you conjure from the stock textures is simply wonderful in every level. And your lighting-work is spectacular as well! Favourite map: Blind, Deaf & Dumb. Some real spooky moments paired with fun combat setups there. Had me on the edge of my seat. Hopefully, we'll see more from you in the future :3 1 Share this post Link to post
Rose Holmes Posted July 23 18 minutes ago, Firedust said: Apologies for the double post! Finished RtH last night. Fantastic stuff! I love how it starts out as your usual TNT replacement (not that there are many to speak of), and then all of a sudden, starting from map 13-ish, the plot... thickens. This was a really memorable megawad from this year although I do find it funny how maps 23 and 24 are notably tougher than the rest. Not sure if this is was your first foray into Doom mapping, but regardless, you delivered in spades. Last time I had this much fun with a TNT-influenced megawad was when I played Good Morning Phobos. The atmosphere you conjure from the stock textures is simply wonderful in every level. And your lighting-work is spectacular as well! Favourite map: Blind, Deaf & Dumb. Some real spooky moments paired with fun combat setups there. Had me on the edge of my seat. Hopefully, we'll see more from you in the future :3 Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it :) this is the first wad I've made but it won't be the last :3 2 Share this post Link to post
RaRu Des2122 Posted July 29 (edited) On 7/23/2024 at 6:33 PM, Rose Holmes said: this is the first wad I've made but it won't be the last Really? It sounds good! Do you have any ideas about next wads already? :D P.S. The letsplay of megawad is still in the process and I won't start posting it until I finish with it completely. Edited July 29 by RaRu Des2122 1 Share this post Link to post
Rose Holmes Posted July 29 43 minutes ago, RaRu Des2122 said: Really? It sounds good! Do you have any ideas about next wads already? :D P.S. The letsplay of megawad is still in the process and I won't start posting it until I finish with it completely. My main project is a very story focused wad that will probably consume my life for many years. right now i'm just making some basic textures / sprites but here's some very early screenshots: I also have a side project which is 6 maps all based around getting harassed by a cyberdemon :p 2 Share this post Link to post
galileo31dos01 Posted July 30 Hey! I've played your wad somewhat recently, well last month actually speaking when it was a fresh release, and I've been meaning to give feedback via miscellaneous observations about bugs, questions and the like. As for the wad itself, I must say your ideas here for a TNT-inspired project got me engaged til the very end, I enjoyed this more and more as it progressed with creativity growing richer in gameplay, with fun combat setups and cinematic sequences with voodoo dolls, light variation and pure suspense, visuals notably improving exponentially episode-by-episode, and showing you weren't shy about increasing difficulty to much higher levels than the original source every now and then, especially the closer you get to the end. Concepts like the shootable eyes in map 09, the vehicles in map 13 and pure city exploration, the breath-taking scale of maps 12, 18 and 20, the foreboding atmosphere in the forest of map 22, the trip that was 21 included, even the pain elemental nightmare in you-know-where, the spike of bloodbath in map 23, the "am I in Hell Revealed all of a sudden?" in [redacted], and the little details like the fork lift trucks that I loved, just to name a bunch of highlights, and lemme continue, the ship theme in map 26, and kudos for the innovative finale in how to shut down the hellspawn. Oh, and I can't forget this. That said, observations below, UV/PS dsda-doom. This is from an earlier release I believe, file dates from June 18th so there might be a thing or two you might have already addressed (or not): Spoiler 02 - From this angle, the window displays a HOM effect, which isn't that important. You can use action 242 to achieve the same idea without having any visual glitches, if created correctly that is. 03 - There's an easy chance to skip the lines that raise this pit with imps, apparently so cause Vile did on his twitch stream, I did on my own too. With walkover lines, specially W1 for instant-raise sectors or most any other use, one way to make it safer not to ever skip the lines is by drawing them slightly diagonal. Some people draw two lines with 16 units apart from each other, for example with teleport pads, cause speedrunners often manage to skip action lines by accident. 07 - Fat visual glitch here. You used self-referencing so it might be a pain in the ass to fix even while resorting to action 242, but you'd get rid of the HOM. Note that some of the glitches I point out may appear only in software renderer, which is my choice, other cases may be opengl only. 09 - There are two berserk packs on this plate. Honestly it looked funny to me, but maybe one of them wasn't supposed to exist? 12 - Minor suggestion: the bars around the RK, merge the sectors together so it's like only one sector operating, since currently the sound of all bars opening is so loud lol 13 - Line 4278 is untextured 15 - Not-so-minor suggestion: at the finale with the cyberdemon and company, monster block lines to keep cacodemons from getting pushed too far would be ideal, even though I admit they looked like planets at the distance heh. 31 - After the small room with teleporting archviles, you are then taken to the exit outside, and you can use the teleport to return to the pyramid except these bars stayed locked, so there's no point on having the option to teleport back. Maybe the bars could reopen at some point? 32 - There were a few bonuses I couldn't grab, intentional? - The pit with the SMM at the exit, it's possible that you could be running straight to the exit and fall into the sector as it's raising. Not really a problem per se, unless you happen to be too low on health and the spider immediately fires back but uh, unlikely. - Are these your cats? :P (don't mind the max ammo/health, I noclipped back to the start) 20 - There was a mancubus that found its way to the map very VERY very late, long after I was gone (or maybe he did teleport and remained too silent to be noticed). Nevertheless, it'd be worth tweaking the closets where the monsters come from, e.g. adding more teleport lines, shrinking the closets, perhaps you'd find this thread useful. 21 - I recall seeing that Vile managed to skip the teleport lines heading to the exit the first time, and thus nearly missing the sequence. Easy fix: make the action lines angled/diagonal slightly, or add a second line 16 units close to each. 25 - Potential softlock here, if you pressed the switch to lower back the rocks, and you cross one of the lines that raised them before, that you didn't cross before, then you're stuck. One quick fix is to make the switch repeatable. Another would be, instead of three action lines, have a voodoo doll that controls the setup so everything works fine one time. - Question... how does one shoot this switch? My guess is that, a cacodemon needs to float in front of it and you rely on autoaim, but I'm not sure if that's the way or not. 29 - Any reason why lines 2661 and 2662 exist to block monsters? Just curious cause I noticed them with the cyberdemon walking around and didn't get their purpose. - So I take that there's two ways to reveal the secret soulsphere in this maze, one is by walking towards the blue armor, which is the way it was spoiled to me, and the other via pressing a wall with different texture. Seems like this second way is redundant if you headed to the blue armor first, but perhaps it was added for a reason I missed? I read that this is your first public wad and I was impressed throughout, you pulled out a joyful megawad worth sticking to the end. Thanks for sharing! 3 Share this post Link to post
RaRu Des2122 Posted July 30 (edited) 2 hours ago, galileo31dos01 said: 32 - There were a few bonuses I couldn't grab, intentional? I have already pointed this out and in the current version from idgames they can be taken if you go around the bar from behind. 2 hours ago, galileo31dos01 said: Question... how does one shoot this switch? My guess is that, a cacodemon needs to float in front of it and you rely on autoaim, but I'm not sure if that's the way or not. When you was stuck in a swamp, did you raise barriers with shots to protect yourself from monsters' fire? If so, then you need to raise the right or central barrier at the moment when you are standing on it - this will just lift you to the height suitable for shooting at the button you are interested in. Edited July 30 by RaRu Des2122 2 Share this post Link to post
Rose Holmes Posted July 30 Thanks for the feedback :) the problems you pointed in maps 03 and the bonuses in map 32 were fixed in later versions. 4 hours ago, galileo31dos01 said: 07 - Fat visual glitch here. Damn, that kept on happening when I was making it but I thought I fixed it. I guess it broke again at some point :( 4 hours ago, galileo31dos01 said: 25 - Potential softlock here, if you pressed the switch to lower back the rocks, and you cross one of the lines that raised them before, that you didn't cross before, then you're stuck. No idea how I never managed to softlock myself when I was testing this map, it's so obvious now that I see it 4 hours ago, galileo31dos01 said: - Are these your cats? :P yeah those are my cats Ziggy and Inky :3 2 Share this post Link to post
galileo31dos01 Posted July 30 12 hours ago, RaRu Des2122 said: When you was stuck in a swamp, did you raise barriers with shots to protect yourself from monsters' fire? If so, then you need to raise the right or central barrier at the moment when you are standing on it - this will just lift you to the height suitable for shooting at the button you are interested in Eh, I see now. Thanks for the tip! 1 Share this post Link to post
FearTheReaper Posted July 31 According to progression of the maps looks like Spoiler Maps 1-12 happens in the game but at map13 invasion suddenly start in reality. 0 Share this post Link to post
RaRu Des2122 Posted July 31 4 hours ago, FearTheReaper said: Maps 1-12 happens in the game but at map13 invasion suddenly start in reality. It looks like it. By the way, maps begin to embody more and more unique ideas compared to TNT from this moment. Anyway, I got a lot more emotions from visiting and exploring the city presented on it than on the previous 12 maps combined. And I had a little hand in correcting it :D 1 Share this post Link to post
