The DWmegawad Club plays: NOVA III (Download RC2b)

dobu gabu maru · January 1, 2020

What is the DWmegawad Club?

This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

Can I join?

Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

What levels am I allowed to post about?

Whatever day of the month it is, is the upper limit for the map you can post on. So if it’s the 6th, you may discuss up to MAP06.

Do I have to post an entry every day?

Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

When do we vote on the next month’s megawad?

Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example:

+++ Ultimate Doom

Note that you can only nominate up to three separate wads for a single month, and the wads must contain at least three maps each. The winning wad must receive at least four votes for a thread to be made. Ties will be decided by RNG.

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>>>DOWNLOAD NOVA III (RC2b) HERE<<<

You know what they say—third time’s a charm! Except here, it’s (roughly) the first time for many of these mappers! Helmed by Scotty, NOVA III continues the longstanding tradition of being a megawad organized by new Doom mappers to showcase and hone their talents. Let’s see what these greenhorns can do!

Reminder that NOVA III is in beta, and we might be getting an updated Released Candidate somewhere down the line.

Author & Maplist:

MAP01 - “Port Murder” by A2Rob

MAP02 - “Death Crypt” by Tactical Stiffy

MAP03 - “Dante Allegory” by NeedHealth

MAP04 - “Calm the Fire” by AnonimVio

MAP05 - “Blood Eagle” by Scotty

MAP06 - “Fury Begins” by A2Rob

MAP07 - “Cannibal” by Paul977

MAP08 - “The Crow Comes Last” by Angry Saint

MAP09 - “Scarlet Syzygy” by Xyzzy01

MAP10 - “A Partner of the 49th Day” by Kurashiki

MAP11 - “Terramin” by P1NKAC1D

MAP12 - “Beautiful Agony” by sincity2100

MAP13 - “Tomb of Solitude” by dt_

MAP14 - “El Dorado” by Albertoni

MAP15 - “Megiddo III” by A2Rob, Paul977, Pegleg, Scotty

MAP31 - “Solar Powered” by Big ol’ Billy

MAP32 - “Fireblue Palace” by Bemused, Scotty

MAP16 - “Dregs of a Bitter Cup” by Obake

MAP17 - “Khmeer Agul Tan” by Wereknight

MAP18 - “Napkin Math” by Killer5

MAP19 - “Ancestral Domain” by Paul977

MAP20 - “Ritual Horror” by Scotty

MAP21 - “Platform Base” by skeletonpatch

MAP22 - “Lunar Comms Station” by DMPhobos

MAP23 - “Lunatic Dais” by Finakala, Paul977

MAP24 - “The Ship That Wore A Mask” by Albertoni

MAP25 - “Alpha Scorpii Supercluster” by antares031

MAP26 - “Armstronged” by A2Rob

MAP27 - “Beta Three” by dt_

MAP28 - “Mare Crisium” by Benjogami

MAP29 - “Deep Space 9mm” by amok

MAP30 - “Into the Unknown” by Eris Falling, Paul977, Scotty

BONUS CONTENT

Suitepee plays: 1 2 3 4

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OLD THREADS

Spoiler

The DWmegawad Club Metathread

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Edited May 8, 2023 by dobu gabu maru

PeceMan · January 2, 2020

I love this new megawad

I didnt comment anything in the 1024 megawad month, because that one(to be hones), was not exactly top quality.

But with nova, I instantly got the feeling that it would be different. Maybe that's because nova starts on such a high note, port murder was amazing.

I must admit, I'm a sucker for details, and port murder has them all. So much attention was put into making every part of the level fun to watch.

The level design was greatas well. The level flow was well constructed, and I always knew where to go and what to do.

The only exception would be the beginning, where i was supposed to use the chainsaw on the switch to lower the stairs, but i didnt realize. Instead, as i was playing in GZDoom, I tried jumping, and as it turned out, it worked, which gave me the wrong idea about being able to jump in the level. Having said that, jumping and crouching didn't cause any sequence breaking at all, which is always a good sign that effort was put into a map.

All in all, this level truly was a good start, and I'm more than willing to see the next level in the wad.

Octillion · January 2, 2020

I loved the first two Novas, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Pistol start, UV, on GZdoom.

MAP01 - “Port Murder” by A2Rob.

A hellish fortress right from the start, and you have to shoot a switch thus alerting the monsters. The cacodemon might be a problem, as you do not have the shotgun ammo to dispatch him, you do get a chainsaw so there's always that option. There's a lot of chainsaw/berserk action in this opener, so this might bore some people. Wasn't able to figure out the chaingun secret, probably accessed from the blood canals below. A sneaky revenant is ready to ambush the player behind the BK door. He's not really the trap, but a vertical endeavor. The curved stairs themselves are the trap, one homing rocket is enough of a challenge to dodge. So its either you blitz these stairs and fight him at the upper room, or joggle with him for a while. A lot of barrels are setup in the outside, foreshadowing of the upcoming battle. You can just blow them all up before triggering the trap, there's plenty of bullets in your stock by now. Of course, the trap wasn't too rough, a couple of imps and shotgunners. It's the double-edged barrel use here that makes the trap, if you decide to keep them. You grab the RK and a few pinkies teleport in, at first I thought there's more teleporting in somewhere; however, it was only them, an underwhelming event. The exit fight featured a few chaingunners teleporting in a locked area, restricting their view, making the fight easy for the player to deal with the revenant and imps.

Aesthetically, the use of grey brick dominate the map, but, the wood and metal used here help break up the monotone nature. I enjoyed the blood sea surrounding the fortress, as well as the small details that you can see outside like the boats and the flickering lighthouse. The use of hellish features and marble are used as decorations, truly give the map an extra flair. Progression wise, it was decent, nothing convoluted which is expected from an opener map. There was that timed switch that opens the door outside to the barrels area. It might be a negative to some who only prefer timed switches as a secret sequence. All in all, a nice opening map for the wad.

Death Counter: 0.

Rankings:-

Spoiler

7/10 - Map (1).

gaspe · January 2, 2020

I remember signing for this when it started heh

MAP01: Getting some Scythe 2 vibes from this levels. Part is due to the theme and some texture choices, then the architecture and the way it's detailed remind me a lot of Erik Alm style (the green bricks sewers with those gradient lights, the outdoor part with the towers near the RSK...). Quite easy with the usual low-key opener gameplay but it's spiced up a little bit and with some more substance than the usual. The secret chaingun is very important as I was very low on ammo overall in the first half, though this happened also because I didn't used the chainsaw which seems mandatory if you miss the optional weapon.

diceman · January 2, 2020

I'm not a terrific player, but I do enjoy oldschool Doom and play it a lot, so count me in on this one as well. :-) I never took part in a Community-based Playthrough before, it sure sounds like a fun undertaking.

I'm only gonna play on HNTR-Difficulty, though, since I like to experience each map with as little saving as possible, and this usually gives me a decent challenge and some suspense as well. If it doesn't work out, I'll make up my own Saving-Rules, tho, no problem. ;-)

Edited January 2, 2020 by diceman

Suitepee · January 2, 2020

I might have a chance of participating in this one for a change to start the new year, pending that Dark Tartarus doesn't take forever.

obake · January 2, 2020

I've been looking forward to this for so long!

I decided to do something a bit different. For this playthrough, I'm using the Guncaster mod. This is the first time I've used a full fledged mod like it, and I feel it will make for a different perspective as I play along.

I'm still getting used to mouselook, and I'm being extra careful not to sequence break. With all this out of the way, on to the reviews:

Port Murder by A2Rob

Kills 100% Items 100% Secrets 0%

16:28

I'll admit the use of a new mod made me take longer than I normally would, but in a way, that works in the map's favor. I really appreciate the details and care put into the layout. I like the endless blood sea, and how Doomguy has arrived (and will escape) this Hellish place via boat.

Combat has bite, especially the teleporting trap of imps and sergeants. Though the ambush of pinkies after picking up the red key is a bit weak. Overall a nice start.

Only anomaly was this, which may or may not be due to the mod:

Spoiler

tourniquet · January 2, 2020

Guess i'll join this month, given my involvement in the predecessor I'm quite curious what the third installment has to offer. I'm already familiar with the works of a few authors, others i haven't heard of before.

M01: Off to a good start. Great setting, really like the scenery with the open sea and the boats, some neat little details. Difficulty wise this was pretty low key but fits perfect for an opener. Really good stuff.

FDA

Andromeda · January 2, 2020

Okay, I haven't played the first two NOVAs yet so going in blind here. I've seen this mentioned in the thread for the next Cacowards already so I'm looking forward to playing it!

MAP01: Port Murder (NOVA III)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

We start our adventure on a port, behind us lies the humble boat that brought us here. On the vast blood sea is a strange structure in the distance, maybe it's some sort of demonic contraption that fused hell and earth? Anyway, after leaving the port we arrive at a well detailed fortress where the action starts. It can be quite tricky to deal with the first monsters due to the limited ammo, but you can always skip them until later. Below the fortress is an underground blood maze containing the blue key. The rest of the level takes place inside or outside the fortress, with the bulk of the traps being deployed outside. Nothing too challenging, but definitely more action packed than what is usual for an opener. Good stuff, reminds me a little bit of MAP03 from Alien Vendetta.

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP01: Port Murder

MAP02: Death Crypt (NOVA III)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

Just by looking at the level name and the starting area, it's clear that this level is inspired by MAP13 of Plutonia. The action is light here, with the only mildly dangerous moment being the trap deployed after picking up the chaingun. I did not see the crushers coming, thankfully they're fast crushers so I managed to escape alive. I really like how the water in the area before the red key turns to blood afterwards, but the highlights of this level in my opinion are the secrets - really well hidden, especially the partial invisibility! Decent level, but could have done with a greater level of threat.

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP01: Port Murder

MAP02: Death Crypt

Edited January 2, 2020 by Andromeda

diceman · January 2, 2020

Oh I didn't know, that this was ACTUALLY the 3rd part in a series. Haha. Should I play the others as well? Are they good? :-)

Anyway ...

MAP01 - “Port Murder” (HNTR, ZDoom)

Had a lot of fun to navigate the map, the difficulty is fair for bad FPS-players like me (tbh, in my younger years I had fun to play hard and challenging games, but now that I'm 40 years old I'd rather get my kicks from of stuff like Level Design and Gameplay Flow). Also nice eye-candy here and there, you can tell, that a lot of work went into detailing and polish. I liked, how in the very beginning Ammo was a little tight (or at least I got the impression that it would be a good idea to conserve some ammo), so I improvised by luring enemies behind corners and then finished them off with the Chainsaw. Fighting the Revenant in the End with just the Shotgun felt like an (easy) Miniboss-Fight. Fun!

Overall a very promising start, will stick around!

MAP02 - "Death Crypt" (HNTR, ZDoom)

Had some spare time left, so I took a shot at the 2nd map. Was pretty easy overall, short and sweet, but good flow, visuals are detailed, yet clean enough to not distract from the action. Some decent traps as well, little fun surprises, nothing frustrating. Can't say any more about this, except that I really enjoyed it!

Edited January 2, 2020 by diceman

Pechudin · January 2, 2020

So, I did not finish the last month's DWMC pick (2 maps left, but for whatever reason I feel like not finishing them, A.L.T. playtrough hogged up all my playtime). But anyway, let us start, GZDooM, HMP, Continuous, I will shoot for no mid-level saves until it gets too hard (if it does). No gameplay-enhancing mods this time, only Smooth Doom or Vanilla Essence (when I want for some more pixelated look).

MAP01: Port Murder (HMP, Deaths: 0, No Saves: Yes)

Man, does it feel LIBERATING to be able to stretch out after a month of 1024 by 1024 maps! We have a castle of sorts (reminding me of two maps from AV) in a circular blood sea, really nice-looking stuff. I sawed trough the beginning imps and the cacodemon and picked up the shotgun. Enemy roster is wholly appropriate to your arsenal, mostly zombies and pinkies, for whom you have your pick of either the chainsaw or a berserk later in the level. Most fights are head-on and a few teleport traps are quite tame. Red key trap especially (the teleporting pinkies) can be corner-cheesed with the chainsaw. Most trouble I had was with the end revenant, whose rockets somehow always found their way around the wooden crates. Thankfully, health abounds in the level.

Awards: How do I exit the start?? Apparently there was a bug or something as first few times the second set of stairs did not raise up after I sawed the switch. Weirdly, after I watched the start of a YouTube walktrough it worked. Whatever. I'll just say it was on me.

MAP02: Death Crypt (HMP, Deaths: 0, No Saves: Yes)

Hm, the map does not continue where the last map ended but it is visually similar with its gothic design. Fighting could be a bit tricky at the start since you are without a shotgun/SSG, or atleast it would be if I was not playing continuous. A tiny red switch inset into a texture? Why, I just played trough A.L.T., the master wad of tiny switched. Too bad I didn't find out what it does. Fighting here is a tad trickier with mostly the same set of enemies (except lost souls) but deployed in a more dangerous way. Speaking of lost souls, nice way of using them to push the player into the fight. Also, bonus points for the optional fight in the blood pit with two teleporters.

Visually, I really liked the pool of water turning into blood and the last exit switch, which really is three separate switches, really nice as it looks like the switch is gradually flipped on. Again, I do not know what (if anything) that does, maybe it is secret-related.

Awards: I will ~~steal~~ borrow those switches. After you go trough several dozens of wads, it is uncommon to see something you've never seen before but this is the first time I ever saw a three-part switch. Wonder if you could bind each part of a switch to a different key?

Capellan · January 2, 2020

I doubt I will have time to keep up with things, but I'll play along as long as I can.

PrBoom+, continuous, HMP, no music.

MAP01

Nice-looking hell fort. A few of the inset texture choices don't fit all that well, to my mind, but this may just be an aesthetic thing. Action is generally good, with a fair bit of pressure early due to lack of ammo. It gets more relaxed later, despite the several attempts to pincer you with teleport traps, because of cover and barriers that inhibit monster movement. The demon trap on the red key is a good example of this: you can safely stay in a doorway to the room and just saw the helpless pinkies as they try to get at you.

Not a fan of the double lift behind the blue door, as it felt a bit pointless as a section. I did like the later revenant fight, though: in this case I think the player having plenty of cover options works to the fight's advantage.

Pretty good start, overall.

cannonball · January 2, 2020

I guess like Tourniquet above, being involved in the past two iterations of Nova meant that I have an interest in where the series has gone.

MAP01 - “Port Murder” by A2Rob

A fairly lengthy opener compared to many, it certainly looks the part with a nice Gothic setting contrasting with the sea of blood and various ships. The combat is mostly engaging, albeit on the easy going side (as one would expect the first map to be). the double lift after the red key door does seem a little pointless and kills a bit of time for no real reason. Otherwise it is a nice map to start.

MAP02 - “Death Crypt” by Tactical Stiffy

This map in comparison felt rather more primitive in approach, a lot of corridors and the occasional larger room branching off a central hub. It came across rather flat with most of the combat coming from monster closets, which opened up after completing certain parts of the map. This very much felt like a very early map in terms of someone's mapping career. I am not sure what the best suggestion would be to improve this, but it certainly needs to be fleshed out more, more height variation and inter-connectivity here and there.

Spectre01 · January 3, 2020

While I haven't played the previous Nova sets, I was temporarily involved in this one before departing due to creative differences. As has been common in previous club threads, I may not stick around for the whole month, but we'll see what happens.

PRBoom+, UV-Pistol Starts, out of combat (OOC) saves.

MAP01 - “Port Murder” by A2Rob

Map01 is as good as any for some Chainsaw gameplay - the 2nd most underrated type after Pistol. Understandable why, as the vanilla Chainsaw is kind of crap and prone to disconnecting with the monster you're trying to saw. After losing a bunch of health during poor sawing decisions, it was nice to get a Berserk for all those Pinkies and Spectres. There is quite a bit of visual variety in the texture scheme, perhaps too much with variously-coloured bricks, vines, marble, and disco lights. The various sector boats are cool, as are the views to the horizon of the blood sea. Combat is a nice mixture of low-key shot/chaingunning, with melee mostly reserved for the Demons.

MAP02 - “Death Crypt” by Tactical Stiffy

This map provides fun in the form of SSG'ing groups of weak enemies, or sleep if you happen to miss the SSG secret. Luckily, the switch to grab the double-barrel is nearby for those paying attention. Plutonia influences are apparent, both with the starting area and the textures used. I appreciate the bit of Pistol Gameplay™ at the start. There are people who would try to skip a group of 5+ Imps in search of a better weapon. I am not one of them, as my Pistol delivers slow justice upon the hellspawn. Straightforward map, but I feel that it accomplishes what it sets out to do, assuming you don't miss the SSG. Oh yeah, I was able to fall down and get stuck between a rock and a hard place (wall) near the Soulsphere secret. Not sure if bug or feature, as some mappers enjoy the odd inescapable pit.

Edited January 3, 2020 by Spectre01

TheOrganGrinder · January 3, 2020

So, disclaimer: I played through this WAD in a bit of an excited rush immediately upon its release, not knowing at the time that it would come so quickly to the DWMC's attention and feature in the voting so soon. That said, I enjoyed my first playthrough enough that I was happy to vote for this and to commit to playing through it again; I will however be skipping the secret levels this time around. ZDoom, Hurt Me Plenty, continuous play with saves.

MAP01: Port Murder

This one is fairly meaty as far as opening maps go, with a substantial population of generally low-tier enemies supported in a few places by toughter opponents - right at the beginning you've got a cacodemon to deal with, and then at the end there's a revenant comes out to play? I feel as though the winning strategy there is to bait one of the demons into a cacodemon fireball, get the two of them to infight when the big ol' flying tomato comes down to play, and then chainsaw through both of them to conserve initially sparse shotgun shells. After that, things settle down into a nice rhythm of shotgunning down troopers and imps as you pluck the blue key from the blood sewers, then wander out onto the balcony to gain access to the red key. The whole of it is set in an attractive take on the Medieval/Hell aesthetic, an island fortress perched amidst a sea of blood; it's a very nice introduction to the theme of the first one-third of the WAD and a pleasantly engaging warm-up for the more substantial challenges ahead.

MAP02: Death Crypt

This adheres to a similar theme to MAP01 while following a fairly classic hubspoke layout; go left, go right, head up the middle and you're done, with the various branches connected only through the central hub (which at least has the decency to repopulate itself with fresh meat every time you pass through it). I feel a little bit as though this map wants to be more engaging, might be so with bigger weapons available and higher-tier threats to confront, and maybe its early map slot and tendency toward mobs of low-tier enemies aren't doing it any favours? It feels like a step down and back after MAP01, with its very direct encounters (though the lost souls sneaking in through the windows of the western wing are a nice touch) and an artificiality to its progression that makes it feel disjointed in a not-entirely-deliberate way.

Capellan · January 3, 2020

MAP02

Fairly low key action on continuous, with plenty of troopers and imps to shotgun or pistol whip. Probably a few too many monster closets, on the whole, but I appreciated the lost souls coming through the windows just beyond the crushers.

I'm still 0% for secrets after two maps. Go me! :)

Mk7_Centipede · January 3, 2020

hmp with pistol starts on prboom+ with classic controls (mouse) and savescumming.

port murder.

chainsaw exploration. the sewers are pretty neat with roaming pinkies and imps in closets. specters blend in rather well here and killed me. revenants/chaingunners makes for a great end of level fight. an agressive approach wins this map over and sets a great tone for map 01. music is a little pensive but grooving. apt. sewer is the weakest part but the boat is nice.

death crypt.

this is my jam. it begns like e3m1 and maintains a strong visual style with some nice setpieces. the enemies are pretty much the same fair as map 01 and are chainsaw prone. fewer specters this time but they are used to block paths which is interesting. a lot of door combat tbh. i was expecting something more after one of the keys. 1 revenant would have been nice. oh the song is a banger.

great stuff.

map 03 was pretty broken on rc2.

Edited January 4, 2020 by Mk7_Centipede

Steve D · January 3, 2020

No telling how long I'll be able to keep up, but I'll try.

UV, pistol starts, GZDoom, savescumming, keyboard only

Port Murder, by A2Rob. 100% Kills, Zero Secrets, 3 Deaths

A fun, stylish map, even though it has some of my least-favorite gameplay mechanics, i.e., lots of pistol work, lots of chainsaw work, and ammo starvation for the shotgun for about half the map. A2Rob managed to avoid going overboard with these features, so I found the map very enjoyable. And that Stewboy midi is one lush piece of work. Loved it.

My 3 deaths show that I did not find this map to be overly easy or calming in any respect. And that's a good thing! Styles make fights, and my preferred gameplay mechanic is headless-chicken in large rooms loaded with monsters trying to kill me. Corner abuse and cover-based gameplay are not the forte of this keyboarder. I say that to make it clear that this is a personal preference, not some objective truth about gaming.

I played the map twice, but I'm only counting stats from my first run, when I didn't find the chaingun. I had really bad luck with snipers on my first run and was hammered 3 times by that damned Sergeant in an upper alcove. I also foolishly killed the Caco, thus wasting a lot of shells

Despite the sky above and the view out over the lovely ocean of blood, this map is basically a corridor crawl. This is obvious in the blood tunnels, but it remains true upstairs as well. A2Rob cleverly hides this with the openness found upstairs, but you can see the truth at the trap leading to the switch that lowers the red key platform. This is an L-shaped corridor with a great view and wonderful architecture, and the trap spawns monsters in front of and behind you. I chose to fight it in the open and died when I advanced on the Imps -- thus exposing myself to Sergeants in the Red Key Room -- instead of hiding behind a column like I did on my next try. I also died to the Revvie at the end fight. That area is composed of 2 U-shaped corridors, and the one at the switch has teleporting Imps on both sides plus a Chaingunner teleporting into the cage. Yeah, the columns provide cover, but who needs that? So yeah, I died. ;D That area also accounted for my only death in Run 2, when the Revvie got me as I was trying to hide behind a crate.

Overall, this map made a great impression on me with its fantastic looks and well-tuned gameplay.

Death Crypt, by Tactical Stiffy. 100% Kills, 33% Secrets, Zero Deaths

I survived the Death Crypt! This is a good-looking map. I especially like the Gstfont area, but overall it seems less cohesive than Port Murder. The gameplay is also much easier, in spite of the fairly heavy population of 176 monsters.

The hardest fight is at the start when you battle a bunch of zombieboys and Imps with just a pistol. I drew them back into the start area to avoid being hemmed in. I found this battle tedious. IMO, a shotgun, a box of shells, and 9 Imps plus 6 zombieboys would have been more fun.

After that fight, I door-camped the Imps and zombieboys outside, and by now I was really annoyed with all the pistol work. Luckily, when I decided to break out, I ran to the left and found the shotty, and from that point the map became easy, apart from occasional shortages of shells.

The most damage I took was from the Lost Souls pouring in through the windows. Luckily, I found the switch that opened up the Soulsphere secret. I was down to 56% health, so was very happy. The radsuit out there made me feel like I might have missed the next link in a secret chain, so I'll check that in GZDB. BTW, I liked the crushers, but not the Block Monster lines there. Half the fun of crushers is luring monsters under them. Release the Imps! ;)

I defanged the Chaingun trap by walking into the alcoves the monsters teleport out of while looking for secrets. Didn't find any, but I knew some pain was coming, so I placed myself at what turned out to be a perfect angle and mowed them down. Nice visual as they emerge from behind the fire curtains.

Overall, the traps were too weak and often opened too far away to present much threat. There were also too many Pinkies/Specters for my taste. They presented little threat and mostly served as ammo sponges. This lowered my shell count and as a result, I played more cautiously when aggression would have been more fun. My advice is to make the combat a bit more severe and try flanking the player, forcing them to divide their attention. As a nitpick, the A-Dbri2 in the exit switch sector -- Sector 325 -- needs to be aligned with the adjacent walls.

All in all, a nice map with a kickin' midi by Lee Jackson, but it needs some gameplay upgades.

tourniquet · January 3, 2020

M02: Even if it were just 3 rooms until you can find a shotgun, it were still a few too many mobs to clear with only the Pistol for my taste. Not really threatening but rather slowing down the pace, once you got the SG it flows a lot better. In terms of esthetic there's nothing to nag about it's a good looking map. However compared to the previous one it suffers quite a bit from lack of height variation in many areas. Nonetheless a fun map with some decent gameplay. Almost forgot to mention that i really liked those tiny hidden switches for both the SSG/Invisibility secrets.

10 hours ago, Pechudin said:

and the last exit switch, which really is three separate switches

I didn't notice this on my playthrough so i just double checked the exit. Dunno if it is intended or an oversight but the switch is split into 3 lines which can be activated separately.

FDA

gaspe · January 3, 2020

MAP02: It's alright, in the end it's the kind of more generic and forgettable level but it was fun and I liked the water fountain that turns to blood and the crushers. Despite it takes a while to find the shotgun and there's a slow pistol start the level is very generous with the ammo, I only wish I found the SSG before taking the exit. The challenge is given by the strict health balance, if it wasn't for the secret soulsphere I would have some big problems.

MAP03: This is a bit all over the place with the details and the theme, starting in a marble building then visiting some ruined tech building with computer panel embedded in wooden and marble walls. I think I need an explanation for what's written in the automap. I must say I liked the level and had fun. The main area with the bright reds and the black walls and floors was cool. Like the previous level the health is stingy. The revs in the wooden lava silo can give some troubles since sniping them takes a while but you can activate that weird machine over them and crush them when you get the RSK. There's a nother very helpful soulsphere secret but I wasn't able to find it. I did find the RL and I thought it was werid that it isn't marked as a secret.

Octillion · January 3, 2020

MAP02 - “Death Crypt” by Tactical Stiffy.

A lot of pistol action here, which might be tedious if your RNG low rolled. This also looks hell-ish in nature, possibly Nova III's theme? I'm with everyone's opinions here, it does look very flat and bland, not much in terms of architecture. The secrets are a plus, well-hidden I suppose. I was able to find the soulsphere and the SSG, I didn't know there was a switch for the soulsphere, I simply strafed out of the window using the red pillar as elevation. I liked the crushers, the red brick texture stood out to me, and I came to the conclusion they were crushers, so I was able to wait and dodge them. Combat was ok, nothing stood out to me.

MAP03 - “Dante Allegory” by NeedHealth.

This one has more bite to it, particularly the sniping revenants. I died once here, mainly because I played very poorly in the opening sequence and ate every pellet the shotgunners threw at me. The rocket launcher, as mentioned by gaspe, isn't a secret. You don't need it however, you'll have enough shells and bullets to kill everything. I didn't mind the change of theme much, having said that, the use of wood was a bit too much for me, it seemed out of place. There's a convenient switch to crush all those pesky revenants, if you don't want to peek-a-boo them for too long. Overall, I enjoyed this one the most out of the three so far.

Death Counter:-

Spoiler

1

One on Map (3).

Rankings:-

Spoiler

8/10 - Map (3).

7/10 - Map (1).

6/10 - Map (2).

Pechudin · January 3, 2020

MAP03: Dante Allegory (HMP, Deaths: 0, No Saves: Yes)

The map name made me think of the Dr. Sleep's Inferno series. My memory of Divine Comedy is spotty so I went and checked what the punishments in each circle of Hell were. I found no explicit references to those images in this map however, except the general Hell aestethic. The combat is harder still compared to the last map, revenants and hell knights starting to feature more heavily. Speaking of revenants, I rather liked the central revenant tower. I did not want to spend a lot of ammo on killing them so I just ran past them and into the small outpost where I almost got killed by a surprise hell knight behind the door. Already at low health the teleporter threw me into another hot pan, thankfully only pinkies and zombiemen were present, and enough health to recuperate. After this it was fairly easy, a straightfoward chaingunner corridor and a hell knight and revenant closet behind the red door. Not sure what's with the exit switch monster teleporters, when I played it yesterday they opened so the monsters could go after me, but today they only opened halfway, so I could just gun them down in the teleporter. Did not find the rocket launcher.

Awards: How did you hit me?? For some reason I had the most rotten of luck with this map's revenants, their rockets had the most ridiculous of curvatures and consistently hit for above average damage. No deaths but that soulsphere sure came in handy.

obake · January 3, 2020

Death Crypt by Tactical Stiffy

Kills 98% Items 100% Secrets 66%

10:26

This map introduces the SSG and Chaingun. Holy crap, are both way more powerful in Guncaster! I was able to take down the swarms of Cacos in a single SSG blast, while simultaneously being flung across the room from kickback. I had to be careful of my surroundings, especially in the crusher area (I like the detail of the Lost Souls getting into the windows). A fun map, not as punchy as the first, but still cool.

Dante Allegory by NeedHealth

Kills 98% Items 100% Secrets 50%

7:02

A bit more confusing than its predecessors. Not a bad map, but the weakest of the first three. My favorite part is the beginning ambush, which is hectic. Also the first map I died on in this playthrough.

Pechudin · January 3, 2020

1 hour ago, obake said:

This map introduces the SSG and Chaingun. Holy crap, are both way more powerful in Guncaster! I was able to take down the swarms of Cacos in a single SSG blast, while simultaneously being flung across the room from kickback. I had to be careful of my surroundings, especially in the crusher area (I like the detail of the Lost Souls getting into the windows).

I am unsure about later maps (difficulty wise) but Guncaster, like Trailblazer and Russian Overkill were not built for balanced gameplay. I sometimes use them for wads I know I'd never beat vanilla. Tons of fun, PillowBlaster sure knows how to make satisfying weapons.

Edited January 3, 2020 by Pechudin

UncleTito · January 3, 2020

MAP01

UV, PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, no saves, pistol start(duh)

Kills: 100%

Secrets: 100%

Very fun, action packed and stylish map with lots of tightly paced combat. I love the hellish industrial-like artstyle. The map gives you a chainsaw right away but you can just run past a few zombies and pinkies and grab the Zerk pack instead. I like maps that let you do that, I'll probably do a Tyson in the future. The chaingun secret was crucial for the final fight on my first playthrough. Although it has over a 100 enemies, it's mostly hordes of low-tiers, with two revenants and a few chaingunners to back them up at the end. Overall very tight and fun map, with very good flow, i.e. telling the player where to go next.

MAP02

UV PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, no saves, pistol start

Kills: 100%

Secrets: 66%, 100%*

Still trying to figure out the blur sphere secret, used IDDT/IDCLIP after finishing the map to check for secrets. Slight ramp up in difficulty from Map01, chucking hordes of imps and zombies at you right from the start. The SSG secret makes the whole ordeal a lot more manageable though. Very little health coupled with a lot of hitscan early and later on, makes grabbing the Soulsphere secret crucial. The chaingun fight was really fun, it lets you wail on the enemies while they pour in, with chaingunners shredding through the imps.

Final room has even more hitscan, backed up with a few cacos and an HK. Noticeable ramp up in difficulty but still nothing too bad. I really liked the monster closets, made me be aware of every item pick-up.

Very gothic, hellish castle with pools of (non-damaging)lava. I really like the water fountain transforming into blood, very cool effects all around. Also nice usage of FIREBLU. Just all around 10/10 aesthetic, nothing seems out of place, and everything flows together really nicely.

If someone knows how to get the partial invisibility secret feel free to share, please.

Edit: Thanks @Andromeda for the help.

In return, here's a demo for your viewing pleasure

no02-331.zip

Edited January 3, 2020 by UncleTito

Andromeda · January 3, 2020

On 1/3/2020 at 3:52 PM, UncleTito said:

MAP02

If someone knows how to get the partial invisibility secret feel free to share, please.

Spoiler

Look for a switch (similar to the one that allowed access to the super shotgun secret) in the chaingun room.

MAP03: Dante Allegory (NOVA III)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

We're now in a techbase that has been corrupted by hell forces. The aesthetic is very well done, with texturing that feels natural throughout the different settings seen in the level. While combat starts rather weak at first, it gets more challenging after the first outdoor area, with lots of hitscanners, demons & spectres and hell knights used in somewhat cramped indoor sections with little cover. Barrels are provided here and it's always fun to blow up some zombies :).

The crusher that kills the revenants on their vantage point is not very effective, but if you're patient it can be useful I guess. A bit surprised the rocket launcher is not a secret, given it's harder to find than the first secret. The final few ambushes are not too dangerous but they manage to pressure the player regardless. There's also a cryptic message in the automap that I was unable to decipher, seems like it has to do with years perhaps? Anyway, I really liked this level, it flows really well and provides lots of run & gun action!

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP03: Dante Allegory

MAP01: Port Murder

MAP02: Death Crypt

Edited January 7, 2020 by Andromeda

Scotty · January 3, 2020

Sup all, please note that RC2 is now available for Nova III if you wish to switch to it.

Capellan · January 3, 2020

MAP03

Numerous mis-alignments here, mostly in the X axis but also some in the Y axis (e.g. the SP_HOT pillar right at the start). Also several cases of that SUPP232C texture being cut off halfway through a divot/indent, which looks a bit rubbish. Nice sense of visuals overall, though.

The teleport cubbies on each side of the exit didn't seem to work properly, as the monsters were stuck after teleporting. Possibly I have inadvertently selected the wrong complevel? All the other parts of the map seemed to work OK though. (I just double-clicked the WAD, so it should be using complevel 9 according to my config file)

Gameplay was pretty good. Liked the revenant crusher. Is the intended progression there to take the lift up and then catwalk around the outside to leap back over the SP_HOT wall? That's what I did, but I could have missed something.

Actually found a secret! (the soulsphere)

Magnusblitz · January 4, 2020

UV, pistol starts, save as desired.

MAP01: Port Murder by A2Rob

100% kills, 1/1 secret

So, right off the bat, I'll note that the map doesn't work in the source port I was first trying (ZDoom 2.8.1) - the switch only activates one set of stairs and not the other. So, switched over to a more recent version of GZDoom and went from there. I don't blame them for my trying to use an out-of-date source port but just something to be aware of. (Looks like @Pechudin had the same issue)

Decent little map, and I agree with @gaspe about the Erik Alm vibes both thematically and in terms of the architecture size/design. The first area is a nice little fight with some chainsaw action and a decent threat with the caco floating around, the undertunnels were not as good with a lot of unthreatening, easy-to-dispatch pinkies. The barrel area is a good surprise with lots of potential danger, and the final revenant can be a pain since the room lends itself to the rocket being able to follow you.

tourniquet · January 4, 2020

8 hours ago, Scotty said:

Sup all, please note that RC2 is now available for Nova III if you wish to switch to it.

Looks like i was a tad to hasty, as I've already recorded Demos up to Map11 but I'll switch to RC2 for anything beyond.

M03: I liked the hellish setting mixed with tech elements. Sorta corrupted or even surreal with small details like Doors standing in the middle of the room and such. Opposition is getting more challenging as we encounter more HK's/Rev's and the likes, still not too tricky though. Wish i had known about the crusher beforehand so i wouldn't have wasted a ton of ammo to dispatch the Rev barrage. I think some spots could use a bit more light variation, especially the area near the start with all the black textures felt a bit too dark, but that's just a minor nitpick. Overall a good map.

FDA /RC1

M04: I'm not a big fan of scenarios with little or no room for error and this seem like one of those. I guess you're pretty much screwed in case the Vile is able to revive the Mancubus. I barely had enough ammo to make it to the exit. Visuals are nice but the gameplay wasn't really my cup of tea. I've spotted a misaligned Support3 inside the RK cubby but forgot to take a screenshot, shouldn't be hard to find considering the rather petite size of the map.

FDA /RC1

Edited January 4, 2020 by tourniquet

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The DWmegawad Club plays: NOVA III (Download RC2b)

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