The DWmegawad Club plays: Judgment

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

Have had a busy couple days, so going to blast my way through these 3.

 

MAP05: Incised Path

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/1 secrets

 

The outdoor areas are looking even more hellish than usual now, starting to make use of the red cliff textures that we hadn't really been shown previously. The interior areas are your classic demonic marble fortresses, and it all looks very nice. Like the different coloured torches and those caged decorations in the starting area, very neat. The combat is a different breed from previous maps, most noticeably the ammo balance is a lot less sensitive in this map with a tradeoff for some higher energy fights. We see an inkling of Rayziik's slaughter experience shine through here, there's definitely nothing too over the top but there are some nice busy encounters. That last area is especially fun, although the sniping chaingunners were a bit of an annoyance. Also really like that cramped yellow key fight, which punishes you with an archvile if you try to make your escape early. Great map, probably my favourite up to this point.

 

MAP06: The Stronghold

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 1/3 secrets

 

The episode closer begins in the middle of an ocean of lava, with the titular stronghold before you. It's huge and imposing, love those pillars with the flames on top especially. Inside the stronghold is very cool looking as well, more demonic marble goodness, but with a grand size not seen in the previous maps. Soon after entering, you'll find something all too rare in the world of Doom, a friend. There's a dog in a case, and freeing it will cause it to follow you around. Any enemy unfortunate enough to hit it will be mauled by the dog, who can do some pretty nice damage. Sadly it will eventually die if it does take too many hits though, tragic. Gameplay-wise this map is quite a tough one, definitely the toughest up to this point. The closing fights at either end of the initial two routes can both be quite dangerous, with the one on the left side feeling a bit tougher. The last fight pits you against two cyberdemons, who are eventually joined by more hordes after some time. These hordes include two archviles, and they are hellbent on making your life miserable in this fight. It can get very tough to avoid being zapped by them if you're unlucky. And if you're extra unlucky, they can actually trap you by blowing you clean over the exit gate, which did happen to me once haha. If you avoid them long enough though, they tend to eventually get mad at the cyberdemons and get killed in all the chaos. You can just kill them yourself too of course, but they can be pretty elusive. In any case, great map, made a nice closer for the episode.

 

MAP07: Arcanaeum

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/1 secrets

 

Oh hey a Death midi, love to hear that, Crystal Mountain is such an awesome song. I've mentioned it lots before, but I'm a sucker for big library-themed maps, and that's just what we have here. It looks awesome, love the architecture in this one. We are introduced to a pair of new monsters here too, the Nightshade is a ghostly being that spits green goop at you and has more tankiness than you'd expect. We're also introduced to a new hitscanner, I never got hit by him but I did hear him make the click-clack sound of a super shotgun, so I'm already terrified. The map is quite simple, no pun intended as it does use the MAP07 tags in its progression. It's a nice breezy and streamlined map that gets things off to a good start for the episode. Not a ton to say but I did really like it, and look forward to the rest of the episode.

[General Roasterock]

Map 06: The Stronghold

  Now we're talking. What a spectacle: the scale of the fort from the starting position, the flame effects bursting from the turrets, the actually strongly present MIDI (I haven't been crazy about most of the music selections, but that's more towards how seamlessly they fade into the rest of the level rather than their quality, because they're all good, save maybe Map 02's strange chiffler lead). It's definitely strange to see a caged dog after all of this world building, and stranger still to see it be practically useless against a singular Lord of Heresy (who I've been erroneously calling a Baron this whole time) that killed it quite handily. If they're meant for diverting aggro, then I could only see them being useful in dozens, which might be cool if it happens later, but by themselves they seem like an in-joke. I know that this is a feature of MBF, but considering some of the other bizarre choices of the original format a la infighting, the fact that the main selling point of Man's Best Friend is essentially a friendly Pinky but worse is baffling.

  But enough about archaic design choices that are years old, this level is great. Combat is fresh, mostly due to the amount of flying monsters populating the space. Fallen are a blast to kill with the combination of their Hexen death sound, neat animation, and drips of magma peeling off of it. I do wish people creating custom monsters would expose themselves more to mods and other resource packs that could better suit their visuals, but the Fallen is about as good of a sprite to have for a project like this. The final fight was really good, and having two Cyberdemons as backup encouraged me to run around in a circle and let them do all the work only to realize that my contribution was a key part of what made the fight work. Not only does the arena get easily overwhelmed, but the Arch-Vile that gets loose will likely be swallowed up by all the living demons. It was my mistake to understand, and didn't detract from the intended effect. Killer piece.

 

Map 07: Arcanaeum 

  I think this map works fine, not every single one needs to rewrite what a Mancubus means in a Dead Simple map. The detailing for a demonic library is downright gorgeous, and it's one of the few times I can say that a Doom map feels like a real place, mostly attributed to the symmetry. I don't understand why the lifts to the lower level are blocked off with midtexture bars if I can just walk right through them, but I guess it looks nice.

  On the other hand, I have no idea what the Mancubus trigger does to the point where I don't know why I would kill them in the first place. I understand that the Arachnotrons control the access to the Red Key from the outer area, but the rest of the map seems to be controlled by switches that are placed close to the Mancubi, rather than any trigger they might have. Actually looking into the map spells the answer, it's more speedrunning. For this map to be possible in Pacifist and NoMo, these are in place. It's almost difficult to talk about considering how many different ways that this map can be completed, and its intelligence is definitely further than skin deep. Kudos to the dedication that it takes to consider all walks (or runs) of life for people making their favorite demo category, if there was such a thing as a list of maps with good will, this map would be at the top.

  The new enemies are introduced unceremoniously to the point that I didn't know there full range of capabilities when I first ran into them. The Super Shotgun Zombies died mostly before they could get a single shot off, and the Phantasms appeared single file, and were quickly caught in a number of explosions. Phantasms have the same firing sound as a plasma bolt, so it leads me to think that their projectile does the same damage, despite not sharing the same sprite, but the only damage numbers I can guess for an SSG zombie are "lol lmao", so it's intimidating to see them so numerous already. Cool chapter introduction, hard to believe this map was drafted in 2013, it feels so modern. 

 

Power Rankings:

Spoiler

1. The Stronghold
2. Pit of Fire
3. Arcanaeum
4. Incised Path
5. Ritual Ground
6. Blood Mountain
7. Temple of the Lost

 

Rayziik's Circular Column of the Day:

Spoiler

I fucking love circle tool

 

[NiGHTS108]

MAP07: Arcanaeum

Kills: 86%

Items: 70%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 6:02

 

This map is pretty short and I don't feel much for it overall tbh. The start is okay, Dead Simple clones are uncommon enough in 2022 it doesn't make me frustrated to see one again. It's pretty exciting too, enough rockets here to essentially go wild. Sadly after this the map kinda falls for me. The library segment isn't bad, but I don't really like these new former brutes, Arch-Viles, Pain Elementals and lack of health. Maybe I just sucked here but I find it a little obnoxious, still okay overall, not much more to say.

 

Grade: C+

Difficulty: C

 

 

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Blind/Saves

Map 07: Arcanaeum

100% kills and secrets

Time: 7:54

 

Hot start time! Immediately grab the SSG just slightly to your left, the backpack, and the invis, and hide. You've got pinkies running at you, and chaingunners and mancubi taking pot shots at you. Going onto the balconies net you the rocket launcher and the plasma rifle, plus other goodies (one has a lit up bookcase that is a switch for the secret). Killing the mancubi lowers the corner rooms, with more enemies and the blue key. Grabbing said key unveils a new enemy: the Nightshade. These whips fly and shoot a bouncing projectile at you. They're about as strong as a caco, and they disappear when killed, so they can't be revived by archies. Nice. I think the 4 switches on the balconies will allow access to either the lower library, or are combined with the 4 switches down there. The lower library is a maze with assorted goons (including archies), and another new enemy: the Former Brute. These are tougher shotgunners whose shotguns have been upgraded to SSGs, so keep your distance. Killing the arachnotrons down here raise a path to the red key, with the yellow key sitting right before it. Kill the 2 spawned archies and the 2 azazels behind the final door, and we're done. Short and simple map. The library looks pretty nice, and the map 07 gimmick is pretty understated.

 

  

Map 08: Rotting Garden

100% kills and secrets

Time: 18:52

 

This is a nice stoic slime garden with a few small set pieces. My brain is trying to remember specifics as I took a break in the middle of playing since I wasn't feeling good, and I spent the last 5 minutes looking for the secret exit. The tiered fight with the arachnotrons and singular archie wasn't a threat at all, since you can plasma the bottom arachnotrons and hide from the archie and spiders above pretty easily. The surprise teleport into a pit with flying foes, barons, and new zombies wasn't very nice, and is the most panic-inducing part of the map, but more cells are given here so just spam it. In fact, plasma is a great way to go here. The final room is another surprise teleport into the exit room with 4 barons and 2 pain elementals. Somehow, I got all the barons to infight each other!

 

As you can see, I hit the screenshot button just as the baron on the right won his fight, and the other 2 are still going at it. I've never gotten 2 pairs of barons to infight at once before, so that was really cool. 

 

Knowing this map had a secret exit is really cool, honestly. I'm tired of having map 15 being the only main map to do that, so thank you MBF21! I actually figured out how to find the secret exit almost immediately based on some decorations, but you can't get it until all the keys have been obtained. Then it's all about speed and figuring out a certain pattern. Here's the only clue I'll give: 

Spoiler

green

Hitting the switch to unlock the secret exit sends a couple more enemies back into the main area, including an archie, so quickly get back. All-in-all, it's a short and concise map that looks pretty good.

 

Map 33: Neon Crater

100% kills and 0% secrets

Time: 10:26

Deaths: 1

Crashes: 1

 

This map takes place in a very nice scenic looking park area. It's a wide open map, and most of the monsters will be on you as soon as you start and/or fire. We have another monster making their introduction here: the Wraith, straight out of Doom 3! He behaves a lot like he did in that game, teleporting around, running very fast, and melee attacking you only. Minigun or plasma works best. Weapons are picked up along the way, with the SSG nearby start, minigun down the path, rocket launcher by one of the keys, and the plasma kinda hidden in a little ditch off the main path (I didn't find it until I beat the map). The RL/key fight sends a bunch of barons at you, and the plasma gives you 4 hell knights and an archie. The ravine key fight can be tricky, but the cells around it should help out a bit. The final key fight is where I died, as it sends a cyb and a bunch of cacos at you, but it does net you the BFG for the first time this WAD, so hooray for secret maps giving you goodies early! Take the 3 keys up the cliff to the titular crater, glowing neon green. Hitting the 3-key switch triggers the final ambush, teleporting in a wide variety of monsters, with another new one on top of the exit: the Archon of Hell. I wasn't playing attention to it enough to see its attack, but apparently it has several, cancels attacks when their target hides, and explodes on death. At least that means it can't be revived. The first time I did this fight, GZDoom crashed on me. I think the error said it was trying to call something that wasn't defined. I was just circle-strafing, with the fire button held down while using the BFG. I thought maybe it had something to do with the archon's death animation, but the game didn't crash the second time I attempted this fight, so idk. I'll have to keep a better note if it happens again. Nice and fun little level. The crater looked cool, the natural scenery was a nice change of pace, and getting a BFG early is always a plus.

[Book Lord]

MAP 08 – Rotting Garden

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

The elegant traits of MAP07 got replaced by a dreary landscape, characterised by muddy waters, mossy walls, and hanging vines everywhere. Rotting Garden began with some incidental combat against hitscanners, faraway Revenants, and a Lord of Heresy that I exploited to kill the skeletons. The skull switch opened the way into a large arena made of 15 squares, connected by waterfalls that could be climbed back up only in a few selected spots. Picking up the YSK summoned 13 Arachnotrons backed by an Arch-Vile, who was killed with spider AI manipulation. The map was generous with cells, so the plasma rifle was the weapon of choice for all set pieces.

Spoiler

The second arena was the most dangerous because it teleported the player unexpectedly at the centre, just to surround him viciously with flying monsters and Hell Nobles on floor level. I sprayed cells like there was no tomorrow; this kept the enemies at bay and myself alive. The room with the Arch-Vile seen at the start must be visited to unlock the way out, then hop on the columns to cross the slime pit and obtain the BSK. The secret backpack could be found here by looking at the automap.

Spoiler

The blue door brought me shortly to the exit, resorting to another surprise teleport that dropped me among gushes of acid, already surrounded by Lords of Heresy and an Arch-Vile. I improvised well and the map was already over, except that there were several unreachable sections and two missing secrets. I noticed there were some odd green torches, and I am aware of Doom modding traditions. I even heard a lift moving at some point, so I checked that area. A series of timed switches, marked by the green torches, opened a gate to the unreachable chamber that opened the secret exit. I think the third and the fourth switch could have been swapped, with the teleporter appearing in a much more visible place, but it was a good chain of secrets to access MAP33. Ironically, I had to look in Doom Builder for the Megasphere secret after leaving the map. I liked the gameplay in Rotting Garden, as it was oriented towards set pieces, though not too extreme ones, and the secrets were a good complement to the challenge.

[Book Lord]

MAP 33 – Neon Crater

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

Finding this place was not easy, so it would be better off have good things in store. The first secret map was set in a park that resembled some place on Earth, but as told by the intermission screen it was only a vision induced by the demons to lure Doomguy into a trap. Indeed, the park seemed a serene and tranquil place, with peaceful glades, birch trees, a placid river, and trails lit by human-made lamps. A helper dog was waiting to be freed nearby. It was a false appearance, as dangerous ambushes lay amid the woods, including the first brief appearance of the Wraith.

Spoiler

My first encounter was the RK battle, the closest to the starting point. It involved a mob of Lords of Heresy, trying to box me in on a terrace. I followed the trail down to the river, and it was not exactly “a walk in the park”. Sneaky monsters surprised me along the way, especially the Arch-Vile on the mound and the Pain Elemental near the waterfall. The progression was quite straightforward: the YK was in plain sight, obviously guarded by a teleport ambush, and the bright yellow teleporter pad threw me into the embrace of a Cyberdemon and his Cacodemon friends. Luckily, the troublesome encounter was solved efficiently thanks to the first BFG of the game, which received a sprite revamp. The BK was also granted, completing the assortment.

Spoiler

The automap showed that the northern hillside could be climbed, so I follower the trail up to the eponymous Neon Crater, soon to be the scenario of the obligatory final assault. I died here regardless of the BFG, because of a couple of irritating things: the pulsating light of the crater and the presence of invisible annoying monsters, such as the Nightshades. I think the battle would be much nicer without them and the omnipresent Pain Elementals. I wish I could have focused more on the first Archon of Hell, appearing on the exit gate, and surviving everyone else, as a proof of his sturdiness and mean temper. As a secret map, it was outstanding; it afforded an early glimpse of monsters and resources that will be part of the third episode, and it was a visually distinguished place with a clever layout, alternating relaxed moments and crazy combat action.

Edited May 8, 2022 by Book Lord

[finnks13]

Was very busy yesterday, so here's a three-pack:

 

MAP07 - Arcaneum:
It's slightly odd to have an episode opener be a Dead Simple clone, but I liked it. The aesthetics are a bit of a step back from the previous maps, it's a very vanilla-looking library and I don't mind this aesthetic in a more standard looking wad but it feels a bit dull considering what we've seen so far. The opening room fight is entertaining, the rush for weaponry is tense and uses the mancubi very well. After killing them, the arachnotrons are a bit less threatening, but picking up the blue key shows the first of two new enemies I encountered - the Nightshade which has a surprisingly high amount of health (2 SSG shots from my count) and fires a new projectile which didn't hit me so I have no clue how painful it is!

 

The mazey library section is less fun than the other section, it's quite dark and a bit annoying to navigate. The other new enemy is introduced here - an SSG zombie which is a terrifying concept from the first time you hear the SSG sound effect coming from someone that isn't you. I like that they use Quake noises to distinguish them from other zombies. I've taken to using high firerate weapons against pain elementals in this wad since the retailiation on pain frames makes using the SSG spawn far too many lost souls for my liking! The double archvile ambush upon picking up the yellow key gets the heartrate going, but isn't too bad if you haven't wasted all of your rockets. Overall, a solidly entertaining opener to episode 2.

 

MAP08 - Rotting Garden:
A theme shift from library to overgrown temples made of stone, Rotting Garden has some cool fights and a very well done, looping layout (something I feel like I'm going to say a lot). Maybe I'm going nuts, but it feels like this wad is obsessed with Barons of Hell, they're so common compared to most things I've played recently and despite the double projectile attack being slightly more interesting than normal, they're still an unfun slog to fight. A sixth of this map's pretty small monster count is barons, and that would be fine if they were used interestingly, but instead I'm often slowly wearing them down, one-on-one with a chaingun or SSG. I hope this is something that calms down a bit.

 

The arachnotron fight is pretty cool, and makes me wonder if this used to be on the Map07 slot, there's loads of room to move but the archvile can really screw with you if you're getting shot by the arachnos. It feels like a particularly well crafted fight compared to a lot of more scrappy ambushes so far (that I have still mostly enjoyed to be fair). I also really like the fight before the platforming section, it's the only part of the map I feel barons worked well since their fireballs are very easy to get lost in the mess of lost souls, zombies and cacos. I didn't like the secret exit, these switch hidden behind a torch secrets are already beginning to wear on me and the secret exit requires you to run around the map looking for them in a not-fun trial and error "puzzle" - I did enjoy the small fight that was hidden behind this wall of secrets though. I know I've spent most of these two paragraphs complaining, but this map is pretty fun and I did like it overall.

 

MAP33 - Neon Crater:
Really cool map, this is one of my favourites so far. This is set in a lush forest under a starry sky and you get loads of freedom to grab weapons and keys (each of which triggers a small ambush) in preparation for the large brawl that happens at the end of the map. I really like the song the MIDI is based off (Underworld Forest from the SNES game Last Bible 3, that I have exclusively heard in SMW romhacks), but I really don't think it survived the transition to MIDI intact. The wad's first BFG is found here, and while it has had a makeover, I think it functions identically to the regular one.

 

We see the introduction of the Wraith that didn't do very much in my playthrough, and the final ambush shows off a boss monster in the Archon of Hell. I didn't really get a chance to see it's attack pattern because I was more focused on the huge wave of monsters instead. This final ambush is fun and I think saving a few BFG shots paid off for me in that I didn't have much trouble getting everything to group up the middle to be circle-strafed to death. The "Neon Crater" itself looks really cool and stands out from the rest of the map in a very alien way that I think worked well. Very fun map overall.

 

RANKINGS:

Spoiler

Really Liked: MAP02, MAP05, MAP33
Liked: MAP06, MAP07, MAP08
Mixed Opinions: MAP03
Didn't Like:?

Boring: MAP01, MAP04

(Don't take these as an objective measure of quality, they're just reflections of how much fun I had with the map after completing it and this could vary wildly for various reasons.)

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 08: Rotting Garden

 

A temple, rotting, overgrown, decaying. A little squarish at the beginning but this quickly starts getting better. You acquire a plasma rifle in a sloped open area with waterfalls. Very decaying. Megasphere secret not hard to find. You've got quite the large arachnotron fight. Spray and pray to win. And kill the Arch-vile first The fight behind YK door is harder. Pain Elementals are the worst harriers because of course they are. Adjacent to this is an open area with Revenants from the beginning that may or may not be dead. Accidentally dropping down into the poison slime plunked me in front of a small passage with a backpack and something else really good. Anyway, I had the blue key at this point so I went to that door, gazed upon some slime fountains amongst the sight of some disturbing green-fied corpses of various kinds and pushed a switch that teleported me right in front of an arch-vile. Dropping into the slime pit in the last room will lead you to a slime pit which does the same thing. Anyway, my ammo was almost completely exausted at this point, and knowing there was a secret exit, returned to the room which allows access to the blue key to find a switch you can't access from the starting hallway due to facyschmansy Boom. Shoot this switch and it'll reveal another switch I kept missing even though light will point you the way. Pushing that switch will reveal another switch just behind the blue door you'll have just enough time to get to...and at this point, there were no sound cues to signifiy the direction I should head in so after 20-plus minutes, I gave up. I see other replies that say green torches should be checked, but my mind was in a slightly different place. And I'm not used to light actually marking anything.

 

I am liking this overall challenge though. I think this is going to be somewhat better at least than the first episode.

lmd_judg08.zip

 

Map 33: Neon Gardens

 

In contrast to the ancient stuff we've been through before, we're taken to a genuine park, set in autumn or so it seems, but naturally, the surrounding rocky landscape perfectly complements this theme in a manner that might hint at decay. Probably. This map is completely open, to the extent that it's very easy to stumble on most of the weapons. As you'll see intially, I played like a moron and died a few times as a result, but you'll get your bearings here, even if the little ninja enemy you might have seen in Realm667 before makes things more difficult since a Pain Elemental will emerge from a nearby waterfall at the same time. Though I may have stumbled upon the somewhat-hidden switch, locating the secret ledge with the berserk pack isn't really difficult.

 

Again, this is an entirely open map, which I repeat mainly because I tend to despise the sorts of maps like No Chance that only exist to murder you and make you feel constricted and exposed at the same time. While everything in Neon Gardens, pardon a dog I head barking at one point is trying to kill you, there's lots of height variance, not to mention a river running through much of the middle. The blue key ambush in particular was a nice little sort of fight.

 

The final area decided to essentially depart from the theme by plastering everything in bright green, including some old-school hell cavern rocks. After collecting all three switches (because it's is declared by the rip-and-tear guy that you must collect all three to proceed or whatever) you then unleash the final fight! The baron variant covered in volcanic rock along with a fairly easy chaotic slaughter section containing many enemies that want your hide and some hitscanners thrown in! You will be killed if you're still for a second or two, but this isn't all that difficult otherwise. After failing to two-shot the Cyberdemon, I exited.

 

As a thematic departure with somewhat different structure, I actually think this is a very worthwhile secret map. I think one of my favorite so far.

 

 

 

lmd_judg33.zip

Edited May 8, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[tonytheparrot]

(Played continuously on UV with DSDA-Doom, saves are allowed)

Map 8: Rotting Garden

87% kills, 100% items and 66% secrets 

Time: 7:52

 

Set to a nice Jimmy midi, Rotting Garden is sublime forteress with earthy visuals and that doesn't lack excitement or tough fights, despite being much less populated than most of the wad. This level is full of deadly traps including the yellow key fight with lots of arachnotrons forcing you to move away from cover while an archie tries to zap you, the part where you teleport and get surrounded by hitscanners, barons and flying foes or the ending that surrounds you with 4 barons, an archie and a pain elemental. While these fights may sound threatening, the map gives tons of cells, which allows the plasma rifle to shine. Overall, a really nice map that doesn't waste your time.

 

(Since I didn't find the secret exit, I pistol stared this one)

Map 33: Neon Gardens

100% kills, 64% items and 0% secrets 

Time: 6:24

 

First of all, I love the atmosphere of this map, the lighting, the stary sky, the luxurious vegetation, the midi, Rayziik nailed it. On the combat side, I wasn't impressed at first, the traps were easy, predictable and the level seemed underpopulated. The only exception being the the blue key fight with the cyber and cacos, but also  the first BFG of the wad. Despite that, the introduction of the wraith, a weak but very fast and annoying melee enemy who also has the ability to teleport was memorable. After getting all 3 keys and activating the final switch, a glorious arena fight ensued with cacos, chaingunners, hell nobles, nightshades and even another new enemy, the archon of hell, who is very similar to Valiant's pyro knight, except that he has much more health and shoots more damaging projectiles in a lower quantity. This encounter is awesome and saved the entire level for me. Overall, a beautiful, dreamy map that compensates for it's weaker combat at the start with a really satisfying final encounter.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

 

Love:

Map 5

Map 6

Really Like:

Map 33

Map 3

Map 8

Map 2

Like:

Map 7

Map 4

Map 1

 

 

[cannonball]

MAP08 - “Rotting Garden”

 

Despite the small monster count, this packed a couple of nasty encounters. The spiders/archvile can really nail you good and proper. The following fight behind the yellow key door can also go sideways quickly and the sudden teleport to the middle of the gunk pit is a surprise. The ending was a little flat given you are given a soulsphere and plenty of ammo to clear it (I also found the megasphere secret prior to this). I don't know, I think the final fight could have been spicier and the repeat gimmick from earlier wasn't a plus point.

I did not find the secret exit, so IDCLEV33 it is....

 

Map 33: Neon Gardens

In my opinion this is hands down the best map so far. The entire map is completely open to be played however you want. You can place it fairly safe, or you can go around and simply unleash everything and have a ball blazing everything down with the full arsenal that you can grab. The blue key is probably the hardest fight, you really need the cyber to become distracted because the cacodemons will shrink your playing space quickly. The final fight is a little bit of a joke because circling the perimeter should see most of the monsters infight to the point where cleanup is fairly easy. 

Overall an open, and fun map to blaze through that never takes itself to seriously. The visual are the best so far and the midi really compliments and enforces the atmosphere here. 

 

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 09 – Hanging Death

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

A level with overly strong visual ties to Rotting Garden, Hanging Death might feel a tad repetitive at times, even with the thematic departure of MAP33 in between. However, the action always kept me engaged, starting from the opening Arch-Vile that cannot just be killed in case of a pistol start. The rooms ahead were populated by zombies and Imps, a configuration that might still be lethal with Judgment’s expanded roster.

 

The way to the south was not appealing with the faraway Revenants, so I took the other direction through L-shaped courtyards and followed it to the YSK pillar. Pressing the switch deployed Pinkies in close quarters, and the nearby ammo unfortunately made me think that the rocket launcher would be the weapon of choice. That caused my first death on this map due to face-rocketing. The rockets were needed for the deadly sniper squad around the corner.

Spoiler

The exit required all keys, so there was no other way than through the large slime basin, jumping on Rayziik’s signature columns, while keeping the distant shooters in check. The skull switch allowed further progression to the south, but not before dealing with a savage teleport ambush with lots of different monsters. Infighting was the best weapon, though some of the breeds did not contribute as I hoped, especially Nightshades. The area behind the bars divided in two branches: to the east, flying monsters ambushed and killed me once when I picked up the BSK; to the west, the path descended through many flooded round caverns down to the RSK, protected by assorted zombies and two Azazels. The Former Captain, attacking with quickfire shotgun blasts, was introduced in this section, and I first mistook him for a normal Sergeant. Warping Arch-Viles made sure that the backtracking was not boring.

 

Reinforcements appeared in the basin area, but the trail of columns had sunken in the slime. The new way out was defended by a Cyberdemon, supported by Mancubi in cages; thankfully there was enough room for dodging. I found 2 out of 4 secrets, missing the trigger marked by an odd green torch, and the invisible switch teleport inside the toxic pit, where I did not want to fall. I can see the speedrunning purpose of that secret, but I cannot find a good use for its Radiation Suit. I was also surprised that the Soul Sphere behind the “generic locked door”, reached after tearing apart some twitching impaled humans, did not count as a secret. Hanging Death was neither the most eye-catching map of the megaWAD nor a very difficult one, but its structure was rock solid. I wish all serviceable levels were made with the same care as this one.

[finnks13]

MAP09 - Hanging Death:
The third Episode 2 map looks very similar to the second one, it's another overgrown, stone temple with nukage and brown slime everywhere. While I have complained about Judgement reusing level designs in Episode 1, the similarity to Map08 is only aesthetically here. It plays much faster, and harsher - an archvile immediately spawns behind you just to start off the map! You can grab the keys in pretty much any order, as far as I can tell, but require all three to exit. I went to the yellow key area first, which contains a pretty easy ambush against pinkies and a pain elemental (which seem to feature in a starring role in this map), there are some revenants and chaingunners on a high-up ledge but they didn't really interfere much with me.

 

After grabbing the chaingun and jumping over a few circular pillars, we come to my favourite part of the map. The large teleport ambush in this area is very fun to take out, you're given just about enough rockets to get the job done and the Fallen are able to harass you no matter where you run here, the wide open space allow projectiles from far across the arena to still be a threat. It's one of the best parts of the whole wad so far. The two side paths unlocked after this ambush are also pretty fun, the blue key one especially is very mean with all the flying enemies that you don't have quite enough space to take out, along with the archvile on the other shore sniping you with his flames. I don't particularly care for the cyberdemon that spawns in at the end of the map, it doesn't take away from the rest of it, but it doesn't really add anything to the map. I had a fun time here, other than the secret map this is the Episode 2 map I've enjoyed most so far.

 

RANKINGS:

Spoiler

Really Liked: MAP02, MAP05, MAP33
Liked: MAP06, MAP07, MAP08, MAP09
Mixed Opinions: MAP03
Didn't Like: ?

Boring: MAP01, MAP04

(Please don't take these as an objective measure of quality, they're just reflections of how much fun I had with the map after completing it and this could vary wildly for various reasons.)

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 09: Hanging Death

 

Another decaying temple, another map I spent far too long looking for a secret I'd probably softlocked myself from. Nice to be attacked by an Arch-vile from behind a second or two after starting though. It's extremely easy to pull the risky move of shotgunning him but instead, run foeward into the courtyard with all the bloody corpses and pick up the rocket launcher, upon which 2 Hell Knights will teleport in. I suppose this could be difficult if you were not playing with mouse, but I'm not so who cares? The secret that you may spot in the nearby drain is actually one I missed for a long time because I didn't spot any items at its location.

 

The path to the right leads to some pillars on the other hand from whence Revenants will fire at you. You'll probably take a fair beating here, but don't miss the chaingun on the right, you'll probably have trouble here. Anyways, enter the temple on the other side and find two different paths. One is a series of roundish, descending rooms featuring 1 nasty ambush at the bottom that seemed only like Cacos to me, but I got killed by some shotgun bimbos and plasma guys on the right, brought up by an Azazel. And of course, there's an Arch-vile. It's fine though, since you get plenty of ammo. Though let's hope you find the plasma rifle sooner than I did. You might have an easier time.

 

Now the other path leads to an indoor path with more pillars and more enemies, such as a couple of Pain Elementals and several Nightshades. I think I suffered my second death here. I also stumbled into my first secret of the map by falling down while trying to dodge the Revenant trio you're greeted with, teleporing out and running back toward the entrance and spotting a passage blocked by vines which contained a rocket box or two and several medkits at the end.

 

I don't think this was my favorite map so far. The midi absolutely shines of course, it's all temple-like, but the action basically has high points, then stuff like the Cyberdemon at the end that I guess you get to infight with the Mancubi that also teleport in? I'm not sure, and it wasn't worth the trouble for me to find out.

lmd_judg09.zip

[tonytheparrot]

(Played continuously on UV with DSDA-Doom, saves are allowed)

Map 9: Hanging Death

104% kills, 100% items and 75% secrets 

Time: 9:24

 

Despite keeping the same theme as map 8 and being scored again by Jimmy Paddock, Hanging Death is much less linear and way more populated. After killing the arch-vile, zombies and imps at the start, get the rocket launcher at the center, and then grab the 3 keys necessary to exit. The yelllow key is the easiest to obtain as it is guarded by some pinkies, imps, revs, arachnos and chaingunners, but the other 2 are much trickier to get. To obtain them, you need to go through some areas, ranging from more open ones to caves and face teleport ambushes with nightshades, imps, revs, barons, archies and more. An other enemy is introduced in here, the former captain, who is a faster and bulkier shotgunner that uses the same attack pattern as the nazi, but with a lower firing rate. Overall, Hanging Death is another really solid map.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

 

Love:

Map 5

Map 6

Really Like:

Map 33

Map 3

Map 9

Map 8

Map 2

Like:

Map 7

Map 4

Map 1

 

 

[kalaeth]

monday, doom day! 

 

MAP 07 - Arcanaeum :

Talk about a hot start! no weapons, pinkies everywhere and 4 mancs shooting at you! I managed to kill all the mancs, starting with the RL one, then grabbed the plasma for the spiders. And those little flying things took a big toll on me, but I survived. Ended up falling down to the library before wanting too, killed a few specters, an hk and a new kind of soldier before going back up for the megasphere I'd been saving. After that it was time to pick a path and move onwards. But before that, a secret with cells, health, green armor. Then it's down into the library. Oh, the new soldier shoots an SSG? Cool. Kill everything, press switches, grab the red key, kill the AV, onwards to the exit. And then all the way back to the library, 'cause I left a single HK alive. And then yes, exit.

100% K/I/S, 0 deaths, 12m05s

 

MAP 08 - Rotting Garden :

The garden may be rotting and it probably stinks in here but it is pretty! I go all the way to the switch, opening a small lake with a plasma gun and pinkies. Then it's down a path filled with so many cells I'm kinda scared of whats gonna show up when I press the switch that should give me the YSK.. Oh, only a few spiders, no big deal. no, YSK, yellow door. Now this is a trap! teleported to the center of the room with attacks from all sides! I survived but for a moment there I was scared. Then it's switch, switch, specters, platforming, a pair of pinkies and then the BSK. Instead of exiting through the blue door I go back since I had spotted a secret on the slime floor of the platforming room. And now yes, blue door one, blue door 2, another teleporting switch and it's the exit! But I'm 2 secrets and 7 enemies behind.. So it's all the way back to the start and now... There's a door that is opened "elsewhere", a candle that has no secret door behind it, a megasphere visible but unreachable.. There's also a switch I see but can't reach nor even shoot at... hum... Ok, I ran out of ideas. Cig break and reading what the club wrote searching for a clue. Ok, yeah, it's the torches but.. I can't do it. The third switch is never open for me and the second one only triggers some 2 times out of 10.. So eventually I just nocliped into the teleport. But then there's still the megasphere secret.. Ok, I have no idea what triggered the switch showing up but ok. Done, 

100% K/I/S, 1 death (in the final ambush, I lot way too much life looking for the exit and then after the teleport back a rev caught me in a corner while I was trying to get rid of the baron. But it lowered my time considerably, from over 30 minutes to only) 14:53

 

MAP 33 - Neon Crater :

 First attempt : I actually almost finished it, killing everything but 6 monsters! Second try : I go for the red key first, yellow key after, via blue armor, and then the blue key. After that, BFG in hand, kill everything and now to find that one secret. Hum.. I'm pretty sure I know where it is, but how to reach it? Ah, teleport-switch. All the way to the top and that's that.

100% K/I/S, 1 death, 9:50

 

MAP 09 - Hanging Death : 

We are back to the same type of place as before, surprise rev and a few zombiemen, lot's of ammo, a blue armor and two paths. I go right, all the way to a teleport that puts me right in the sight of a spider. Switch, pinkies, YSK and soulsphere. Teleport back, grab the RL I had left there before, left path. Revenant, platforming, yey. I stick to the left, and reach a switch that open up more path. I enter a secret fall into rockets and health, teleport back, reach a room with a switch behind a torch, another secret, and then go down, down down, kill one caco, one winged baron and two minigunners. Switch, RSK, kill the AV, and then... Oh, white door, with a switch before? Open door, kill human kebabs, grab blue sphere, and now there's a path to the BSK. There all, keys. Kill the cyber,  and now.. I'm one monster and 2 secrets away. The enemy is at the exit door, another baron. Secret chainsaw makes it 3 down, 1 to go... oh! Found.

 

100% K/I/S, 0 deaths, 19:32

[General Roasterock]

Map 08: Rotting Garden

  When I see that this WAD is supposed to be a modernization of Plutonia, I see that description is both inaccurate and self deprecation. Everything presented thus far has done far better than simply using the principles that the IWAD set up. The only reason I mention it is due to the amount of Plutonic texturing is present. It does however go beyond making a name for itself in its blocky and rigid structure, so it's only a visual observation. I like all the decorations, like the corroded bodies in the acid.

  The combat was neat, I really liked the Arachnotron fight for the Yellow Skull. A lot of the map relies on the element of surprise by teleporting you into the middle of big groups, but that was never a significant issue. I'm finding myself now expecting an Arch-Vile to show up after any fight of significance, as that seems to be the trademark of extending combat in these maps. It's not overbearing, definitely not uncreative. I wasn't a fan of the Revenant platforming on more cylinders, and didn't know that a Super Shotgun was tucked away there because I avoided doing it for a while, so I guess that's my fault. 

  I will say that the secret mentality confused me for a good while. I thought I got the Megasphere by revealing a switch by pressing the green torch by the Yellow Door, but that switch was just always there and I missed it. The secret exit on the other hand was genius, if a bit cryptic. The map does a great job at signaling that the green torches are out of place, and lets you put together how they interact with that switch that pops up before the Blue Skull. It took me half a dozen tries to actually open that teleporter, only to release even more Arch-Viles into the level, but the rewarding feeling for actually figuring it out, plus the map after, was definitely worth it. 

 

Map 33: Neon Crater

judg33-311.zip

  It's really hard to put into words the proper emotions that I would like to write. The first minute I had playing Neon Crater put me back into a state of being that I hadn't felt since I first discovered Crumpets. The peaceful midi, the way it wraps around in a natural yet intentional way, the somber night sky, the setting is immaculate. The lighting I feel is what ties it together, a serene darkness struck with lamp posts that give off blocky sector light in a pleasing manner. The harshness fits so well with how dark the rest of the level is that it's uncanny, and climbing all the way up  to see the glowing namesake crater dug into the earth inspires awe. I could not tell you the last time a map made me emotional, it sure as hell hasn't been recently, but Neon Crater has a theme that goes beyond what nature maps attempt to achieve.

  Combat naturally has the player going at breakneck speed, rushing through every fight to bring on the entire horde at once. Every key being on a switch set pedestal encourages this, along with the fact that the closest one is guarded by half a dozen Lords of Heresy, and like hell am I rocketing all that. The Cyberdemon being isolated amongst so many flying foes is great at clearing the skies for you, and creating spectacle all the while. The rations on Cell ammo are perfect, letting loose on the BFG feels both smart and tactical when you have the ammo to spare. No weapon feels wasted here (except maybe the regular Shotgun). My least favorite is easily the crater fight, I feel like it's too wide to efficiently use what little BFG ammo you get for it and the constantly replenishing Imps are there specifically to stop cleanup from going quickly. Least favorite, in this case, is still above the bar of amazing.

  I maxed this map not only because I saw points where I could build on @Professor Soundman's time, but also because it was one of the most personal accomplishments I wanted to have in Doom all year. Thank you, Rayziik, for making me feel like a kid again.

 

Power Rankings:

Spoiler

1. Neon Crater
2. The Stronghold
3. Rotting Garden
4. Pit of Fire
5. Arcanaeum
6. Incised Path
7. Ritual Ground
8. Blood Mountain
9. Temple of the Lost

 

Rayziik's Circular Column of the Day:

Spoiler

Even if Neon Crater did have circular columns, I'm not going to search one out since it would take away from how wonderous that map is.

 

[NiGHTS108]

MAP08: Rotting Garden

Kills: 92%

Items: 58%

Secrets: 33%

Time: 9:23

 

This one is pretty slow, at least comparatively to the last few, but I actually really like Rotting Garden. Maybe it's the visuals for me, they are absolutely gorgeous, it gives me similar vibes to Sunlust's forest maps near the middle of that wad, this and 09 look stunning. So, let's get the elephant out of the room, this is another iconic "Nights Spends Half His Time Looking For The Secret Exit" map. If you want to know, in a specific room, a switch will appear behind a green torch you can shoot, then you have to run around to the few other green torches in the map pressing buttons which opens a teleporter which leads to some Plasma Guys which leads to another teleporter where a mob of enemies will appear with an opened previously-locked-door. I can only hope the next 3 exits aren't so obscure. Oh yeah also the combat is pretty neat I guess! I found myself a bit low on ammo a few times so be warned here. My favourite fights are definitely the Arachnotron yards and the tense final battle with Lords and an Arch-Vile, and also these Revenants on circular pillars are pretty snazzy. Overall I really like this map, it somewhat reminds me of Doom Gardens from Scythe II, a nice little change of pace from the last three.

 

Grade: A-

Difficulty: C+

 

 

MAP33: Neon Crater

Kills: 85%

Items: 50%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 5:21

 

This one is another map I really enjoy. Being a secret map it bares a visual style completely unlike anything else in the megawad, a dark more vanilla toned adventure at a neon crash site. The combat feels pretty distinct too, unlike the other maps this one is pretty open, it's essentially a constant demon party. Even the first BFG is in this map, it doesn't have a load of ammo to it but it's still cool being here. The Arch-Viles can be particularly deadly, especially the ones higher up for obvious reasons, but it's never exactly easy to reach them. The goal of the map is to reach the crater, so you'll have to go to all the corners of the map to get the keys to climb the cliffside there, unleashing what ranges from a Cyberdemon to a mass of Lords and Revenants, I say the more chaotic this map is the better. I really like the final fight, I'd suggest saving a few BFG cells for it though, it's pretty easy to die entering with just rockets. This map is really solid, it's everything a secret should be, distinct, snappy and enjoyable.

 

Grade: A-

Difficulty: B

 

 

[cannonball]

MAP09 - “Hanging Death”

 

This feels like a larger version of the previous map, that said I would probably say that this is a little easier and slower paced with the encounters tending to be easier to deal with. I completely missed the chaingun in the central area close to the three-key door, that said I didn't really need it. The fight that unlocks the path to two of the three keys is probably the toughest fight, I assume the secret in the slime is there to allow the player to use the pit as extra cover? 

The fight for the keys were decent enough, the cyberdemon fight was a little weak, a very easy dispatch.

Again there isn't much to complain about here, but the map doesn't grab my attention either. One compliment I will give is that the extra enemy roster has fitted in pretty well so far. 

[Alaxzandarz]

Played with pistol-starts on UV on DSDA-Doom

 

Map 08: Rotting Garden

 

Plutonic jungle tempple. I myself really like this aesthetic in Doom. I like that this map is essentially "plasma gun the map". I enjoy using it as a main weapon. I like how the map loops around itself, it makes the place feel more real. I like the nukage drenched corpse decorations. I would like this map more if it had a tad bit more health. Still, I liked this map.

 

Map 09: Hanging Death

 

Visually very much the same as Rotting Garden. Scalewise it's a lot larger. Really fun fights in this one, especially the one in the L-shaped area with the three teleporters. I love how this wad has those breakable corpses, and in this map you have to break through one to get a Soul Sphere. Some of the dehacked enemies have started to get on my nerves, the Nightshades have way too much health for a small light flying enemy (they get pushed around and tank way too many rockets) and I do not get the appeal of buffed hitscanners. It's a really fun map.

 

Map 33: Neon Crater

 

This map has heavy Grove energy, from the starry sky to the dead leaves on the trees and the particular way the light from the lamps is drawn. It is a lot of running around trying to find weapons and picking of weak enemies and hitscanners. I am a bit mixed about the final fight. It's a bit too much of a shitshow for my liking and there is way too much hitscan, but I really enjoyd beating it. The music really crowns this map. Really liked this one.

 

Order of preference:

Spoiler

1: Incised Path (05)

2: Neon Crater (33)

3: Hanging Death (09)

4: The Stronghold (06)

5: Rotting Garden (08)

6: Blood Mountain (02)

7: Pit of Fire (01)

8: Arcaneum (07)

9: Temple of the Lost (04)

10: Ritual Grounds (03)

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Alaxzandarz : Spelling

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Blind/Saves

Map 09: Hanging Death

100% kills and secrets

Time: 15:42

 

Back to the murkiness of map 08. This map is pretty similar in style and design of that map, with similar areas of giant stone squares in muk, but there's more of an openness to it. This is another map where you have to grab all 3 keys, but you can do it in any order. 2 of the keys are on the other side of a big slime room that you have to jump across some pillars to get to. The first key is nearby where you start, and that trap was actually surprisingly nasty. It's only a few pinkies and forgotten ones, but they teleport in right next to you, and you'll probably be using the rocket launcher here, so you may face rocket. Plus, some chaingunners and revs spawn on the ledge above the teleporter you came from. The other key fights aren't as bad. The red key is more of a fight getting to it, going down a waste cavern taking out pinkies, mancubi, and stronger hitscan. Plus, an azazel guards the key. Grabbing the key spwans 2 archies back the way you came. The blue key spawns fallen, cacos, and pain elementals that you can plasma. Plus, another archie back the way you came. Interestingly, getting back outside you'll notice to columns you took here are gone, but the bars on the other side are now open. Problem is a cyb is guarding this, and 3 mancubi are in the cages in the center. No big deal, as if you're playing continuous, you can 2-shot the cyb. Some cells have spawned in front of the switch that opened the bars to the keys too. The secrets weren't too hard to find, though the one in the slime can be hard to spot, but somehow I saw it instantly when I went to grab the minigun. The other 3 just need some minor observation. At one point, you'll see a white skull door that when opened, will be blocked by some impaled corpses. If you haven't noticed by now, some decorations like these can be destroyed, so rocket to gib them and collect the soul sphere behind it. It's not a secret, but it's nice. I'm not sure if I like this or map 8 more, but they're both pretty good.

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 10 – Cenotaph

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continous, blind run w/saves

 

One of the few maps that date back to 2014, after the entrance Cenotaph was a fully indoor level. The interior was dark, lit by faint artificial lights similar in design to the hanging glyphs of MAP07, and had the macabre looks of an abattoir for humans. Once the plasma rifle was collected, I accessed the hub area for the first time. Wood panels with grim symbols surrounded pools of non-damaging blood, patrolled by large groups of zombies. Despite continuous play, I was not swimming in ammo and had to stick to the weapon progression intended for pistol starters, so I used plasma rifle and chaingun most of the time.

Spoiler

Many doors were visible, though only one of them could be opened without keys. It soon became obvious that the progression would lead me to each one of the keys, then return to the hub for an ambush or other events in store. The first was the BSK, found at the end of a long hall dominated by an Arachnotron, A switch was used to raise a line of pillars that could be used as a shield, but doing so forfeited some items and it was not necessary, in my opinion.

 

I am glad I opened the generic locked door immediately, finding the helper dog and having it at my side for the rest of the level. It helped me in the RSK area against the Lords of Heresy, even though the greatest danger came from the small Chaingunner ambush, and for the first part of the YSK segment, until I put my hands on the rocket launcher. Unfortunately, it was sealed out of the key room, as the bar raised quickly behind the player, so I was left alone to deal with a phasing Arch-Vile on columns, then with multiple closets releasing a mishmash of zombies and Hell Nobles with a high damage potential. I finally experienced what a Former Brute can do if it gets a clear shot on Doomguy.

Spoiler

The hub was now full of Revenants, but they were quickly destroyed with rockets. One of the two yellow doors brought to an optional room with a Hell Knight and many cell packs, which came in handy for the final battle. I knew the gate was not the exit and I was expecting exactly an arena fight. A Cyberdemon was standing on a pyramid, the only thing that resembled a Cenotaph in this level, while the area was surrounded by shooting monsters. I took advantage of my carryover BFG to eliminate the Pain Elementals quickly, then it was all a matter of moving constantly. The boss killed most of the snipers for me and was rewarded with a shower of plasma. Unless the player failed to collect the cell ammo, it was not a difficult end for the penultimate map of the episode, which was a varied and entertaining journey.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP08: Rotting Garden

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 2/3 secrets 

 

An green brick and metal structure overgrown with hanging vines, and with green slime and running mud everywhere. In a new concept to me, this map houses a secret exit despite being only MAP08, taking you to MAP33. Pretty hard to access, but not impossible to figure out. You'll notice the odd green torch littered about the map, and remembering where you see those is the key to solving the map's riddle. The midi is an awesome one, Pollutants by Jimmy Paddock. Originally composed for Flashback to Hell but I know it from JPCP MAP19, one of the absolute highlights of that set. 

 

The monster count may be small, but this is a pretty nasty map. The ammo feels tighter here than in any other map so far, especially if you let the many archies do too much or the pain elementals in the caged area cause too much trouble, which they tend to do more often than not. Going for the secret exit will give you ammo, but also unleashes more foes including two archviles, so it won't completely save you. Had to berserk punch the last baron in my successful run, which is terrifying for me because I suck at punching hell nobles, and these guys' double attack makes them quite a bit more dangerous. Otherwise, the fights here are pretty strong. Those revenants that oversee the beginning hallway are quite nastily placed, and that aforementioned caged fight with the pain elementals is probably the most fun part, even if it tends to get out of hand.

 

Surprisingly tough map considering the enemy count. Onto the first secret map!

 

MAP33: Neon Crater

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/1 secrets

 

Damn, this one looks real nice, definitely reminded me of Grove at a glance. A nighttime area full of green grass, cliffs, and trees, with lamps stationed around to give it a nighttime park kind of feel. I love how you get a glimpse of the cliffs behind the final fight from the very start of the map, gives this map's landscape a great sense of size. The midi is from Last Bible 3, seems to be one of the many games under the Shin Megami Tensei umbrella. I've played quite a few of those games, but never actually heard of the Last Bible games until now. Learn something new everyday I guess.

 

You get your canine companion at the very beginning of this one, but he doesn't really have the opportunity to do so much in this map I find. In any case though, this one's a lot of fun. You have to track down each of the 3 keys in this open area, in whichever order you please. There are monsters all over the place trying to make your life difficult though, and each key itself will be guarded by a fight. The nastiest of which brings a tight quarters cyberdemon accompanied by a horde of cacodemons (also brings a BFG, finally!). There are two new monsters here, the first of which is the Wraith. He's a terrifying little guy that runs around very quickly, teleports on occasion, and tries to cut you down with his melee attack. The next one is the Archon of Hell, a hell noble skinned monster covered in flames. I didn't really notice what he did a whole lot because the fight he appears in is very chaotic, but he's got a ton of health. Said fight is the last fight of the map, a small slaughter with monsters teleporting in at the perimeters of the arena. Hope you saved BFG shots, because this one would be very tough without a few blasts. Clear out as much as you can as fast as you can, if you get to the point where you can circle-strafe cleanly you've pretty much won.

 

Loved this map. Kind of a shame it's a secret map since it should definitely be played, but it also sticks out like a sore thumb from everything else so far so really it'd have to be a secret.

[Alaxzandarz]

2 hours ago, DisgruntledPorcupine said:

The midi is from Last Bible 3

I have been listening that soundtrack recently and somehow I didn't realise this. It's a really nice song

Edited May 10, 2022 by Alaxzandarz

[finnks13]

MAP10 - Cenotaph:
The second map that starts you surrounded by lost souls, and just like with Map04, this map is fine, if not particularly interesting. The visuals have changed from stone temple to a much more demonic fortress made of metal and flesh, I really like all of the lights hanging from the ceiling, it looks great. There's some entertaining ambushes here, the surprise teleport into an ambush on all sides is a shock the first time and works pretty well even after a death or two. The large yellow key ambush is pretty fun, and I think the custom monsters are used well in both that ambush, and the map overall. I also like the finale, though I wish I had more rockets going into it - I didn't find out how to lower the walls until I killed everything since I expected that the top of the pyramid was the exit.

 

It seems I missed the helper dog, which would have been nice as the first half of the level is very tight on ammo. After getting through the red key doors, you're inundated with shells, bullets and cells so this becomes much less of an issue.  Interesting that there's a death exit here, I would have expected that to be saved for the episode closer.

 

RANKINGS:

Spoiler

Really Liked: MAP02, MAP05, MAP33
Liked: MAP06, MAP07, MAP08, MAP09
Mixed Opinions: MAP03
Didn't Like: ?

Boring: MAP01, MAP04, MAP10

 

(Please don't take these as an objective measure of quality, they're just reflections of how much fun I had with the map after completing it and this could vary wildly for various reasons.)

 

[tonytheparrot]

(Played continuously on UV with DSDA-Doom, saves are allowed)

Map 10: Cenotaph

100% kills, 76% items and 50% secrets 

Time: 12:41

 

After the start in which Rayziik surprises you with lost souls, Cenotaph takes you into a gorgeous indoor fortress in which only the ceillings light up the rooms. AD_79's midi also set the tone for some fun and fast-paced action. The hub is well guarded by revs, hitscanners and imps, and trying to get the blue key teleports you in the middle of an area with a pain elemental and a cacodemon among a lot of other stuff. This blue key encounter along with some other ones in the previous maps all really show how much Rayziik loves his surprise encounters. Then, the red key is guarded by zombies and barons and the yellow key is protected by lots of revs, imps, zombies, nightshades, barons and more. The map ends up on a glorious infight party with revs, hell knights, a cyberdemon and lots of flying foes, which makes for one of my favorite fights in the wad so far. After that, there's a surprise death exit and the map is over. TCenotaph looks great and plays very well, making it one of my favorite maps in the megawad so far.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

 

Love:

Map 5

Map 10

Map 6

Really Like:

Map 33

Map 3

Map 9

Map 8

Map 2

Like:

Map 7

Map 4

Map 1

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 10: Cenotaph

 

Well, this midi sounds serious. Hard-rocking and furious (though containing some synths) with a strong sense of action, you can only hope the gameplay proves a strong complement to this. And indeed it does. While this gothic fortress isn't exactly stacked with monsters compared to other maps, they are placed in such a manner that they'll leave an impact regardless. Not to mention the skull piles and Cybie-head at the end.And things aren't particularly easy starting out because it'll be some time before you acquire the Super Shotgun, and it'll be even longer before you get the rocket launcher (near the yellow key). The first Revenant of the map killed me once after losing a game of fisticuffs. Grab the red key and when you return to the central area, some Hell Knights along with Revenants on pillars appear seemingly to annoy you to no end. It was not long before this that I ended up in a room with some corpses I shot in part because other people mentioned they could be shot and freed to MBF from its cage, and it went on to probably aid me in fairly minimal ways. They did end up surviving surprisingly enough though.

 

The ambushes as a rule feel quite satisfying. There's one on the way to the blue key involving Pain Elementals, Hell Knights, along with some Chaingunners and former captains that aren't teal-colored nailgunners from Eviternity that killed me because I was using plasma and didn't exactly have too many cells at that point. Incidentally, this was possibly the first map where I can say chaingunners felt genuinely threatening in a number of ways. I thought that teleporting Arch-vile near the yellow key was a creative use of teleporting to say the least, because I was still able to hit them quite easily.

 

I found exactly one secret: a tiny passage unlocked by hitting a switch that you'll see if you're facing down a lift that you just rode up.

 

The final area is quite the sight, though not really a challenge: a Cyberdemon on a pyramid in the center of the room while Revenants and Hell Knights fire from the sides. At some point, shoot the Cyberdemon, then the ledges on the side will lower, pick up the rocket boxes here to pick off the stragglers and...death exit. The next map seems like it's hardly more than story progression, but we'll have to see.

lmd_judg10.zip

Edited May 10, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[sandwedge]

Got through most of the second episode "Bringing Death in Kind" with 4 maps this time, really liked the resetting difficulty and change of themes in this episode and I'm now really excited to see how all the other episodes do that as well!

 

 

General thoughts from vid description:

Played in GZDoom blind on UV with pistol starts, compatibility MBF (strict). I continue the 2021 Judgment megawad by Rayziik and get through most of the second episode "Bringing Death in Kind". It looks like the episodes are going to look quite diverse because we move from the prior hell feel into a library, some beautiful garden areas and finally into some sort of charnel house. The garden areas are definitely my favourite with all the little details, creeping vines and so forth. It also looks like difficulty will be episode based too, as the monster counts were sort of reset, though it still wasn't super easy. I really like difficulty levels that reset for each episode as that gradual ramp up is always fun and it avoids getting tired of too many huge levels at the end of a wad. This is a very encouraging episode for showing me what lies in store in the rest of this playthrough!

 

More thoughts:

I think my least favourite here is Map 7 Arcaneum, I just don't have much of a thing for libraries, in Doom and mostly in real life too.  I prefer to read my books at home or find ebooks! :-)  But anyway, it's an interesting level combat-wise but even with the cool skylight it can't save those vanilla bookshelf textures for me.  It also has some weirdness with those switches, I honestly didn't figure out what they did because I tried to save them for after I was finished combat, but then they actually retracted but I could still hit them?  And they didn't seem to do anything at that point?  Very weird, but of course I may have missed something obvious, who knows.  It also has some interesting new ghost enemies that I didn't see used again in the episode, they weren't the most threatening but they did like to snipe me from on high.  I hope each episode includes some new enemies like that.

 

The garden levels really stood out to me because I love the aesthetic.  Creeping vines around ornate skylights always give off such a neat mood.  They are also really cool spaces to have the series of setpiece battles that this wad emphasizes.  I honestly could have done with a whole episode with the garden theme, so I'm not sure why it was put with the other stuff, but perhaps it would have worn thin.  See the end of map 9: hanging death for a very rude fake switch/ teleporter into poison fountain and archvile trap, definitely got me the first time!  Also missed an opportunity to call that map Creeping Death as a nod to Metallica/ vines. 😆

 

Map 10 gets back a little to the episode 1 theme, it feels like a combination slaughter house/ gravesite or tomb.  Yes I see cenotaph means monument to the dead, usually buried elsewhere, but there seems to be quite a bit still buried here, including some sort of vampire archvile arising from a tomb.  It's interesting to see this episode's theme change a bit but it keeps things interesting and varied.  This map has a really cool main area with pillar lights in the ceiling, it's also quite dark and moody.  You return several times to the main area to contribute more offerings to the grave site.  I also found another dog!!  Was looking forward to that, and while he is a good boy and helps me out a bit I may have shot him a few times. 😅  Blame the auto-aim, not me!  He also can't really jump down off ledges.  I will never forget him, though.  The final encounter looks like a scary trial with a cyber on a mesa with enemies all around and even pain elementals!  However it didn't give me much trouble because you can circle strafe with the plasma rifle, take out the pain givers and then the cyber without too much trouble, allowing the rest to come down for a quick rocket mop up.  Not hard, but still keeps the heart rate up a bit!

 

 

All in all I am super excited to continue discovering what new themes, monsters and ideas crop up in the new episodes, this megawad feels like its spoiling me with so much variety!  Like I said earlier I am also loving the way the difficulty and monster count sort of resets in this episode, assuming that continues.  I played Pagodia recently and it did the same thing, it makes a nice ebb and flow to the wad instead of the long ramp up which is sometimes too easy for too long at the beginning, and then way too long and fatiguing at the end.  Would love to see more wads do this.  Anyway, see you in a few days for the next episode!!

[RHhe82]

I've got to face it, but I think I'm opting out of the club for the rest of the month. Judgment's been great - I'm already on MAP14 - even if some of the maps have been a mixed bag for me due to ammo starvation issues (MAP08 was miserable time for me just because of that, an otherwise great map ruined!) and some of the new enemies being not so great than some of the others. But I'm really finding it hard to come up with something to say about the maps, and I'm I know for certain that I won't be able to keep up for the whole of May.

 

So, instead of pressuring myself to play Judgment and making it a chore, I'll just enjoy it on my own.

[cannonball]

MAP10 - “Cenotaph”

 

I must confess, this one left me feeling rather underwhelmed. Some rehashed moments like the insta-teleport trap and the starting lost soul ambush. Most of the fights in this one are quite trivial. The red key ambush gets a black mark for some excessive baron useage + no rocket launcher at this point. The yellow key trap almost killed me and not doomguy due to the horrendous effects of the teleporting monsters on the pillars. The rest of the fights never really hit the spot for me, the clump that is released into the central hub can be easily dispatched from safety and there is little temptation to do anything else, the final fight is pretty basic and the only threat really is the pain elementals, melt them with plasma and you can circle the central pillar with little worry. The biggest joke came when I was looking for the final monster and discovered a large ammo cache that I didn't even need. It almost felt like this map was supposed to go harder on you and the final product was toned down significantly.

In the end, the visuals are pretty nice, the midi wants to give this heavy metal vibe which works with the thematics.

However in the end, despite proclaiming to be Metallica, it felt more like Scouting for girls...... Sorry this one didn't win me over.

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Blind/Saves

Map 10: Cenotaph

100% kills and 50% secrets

Time: 19:57

 

Another map that starts with forgotten ones immediately charging you, enjoy the outside light, as once you head inside, it gets pretty dark. Yeah, this map was surprisingly dark, which is unfortunate, as the interior of this fortress looks very nice. I like some of the uniform design choices, like the candles in front of the same wall texture throughout. Most of the fights in this are set piece based, with some incidental combat before each. Most of these fights aren't too much of a threat. Let's see if I remember the key order here. The blue key just has 2 revs hiding behind some pillars nearby, but the fight just before it teleports you in to an area with some monsters than can be a panic. The red key sends chaingunners and barons at you, but there's enough cells and shells to make this no issue. The yellow key fight is the hardest, as cubbies open up with a plethora of different types of monsters into the room, and you're locked in for a bit. I noticed that some of the nightshades ended up locked in the teleporting archie pillars, so that made them easy targets. The final fight has you in a square arena with a balcony filled with hell knights and revs, 4 pain elementals, and a cyb in the center pyramid. Plasma the pain elementals immediately, and as long as you keep moving, you should be fine. You get a death exit, so don't worry about keeping ammo. Level is fine enough, but isn't as punchy as a few before it, and it was a little too dark.