The DWmegawad Club plays: Icarus: Alien Vanguard

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP11: Feeding Frenzy
36:35 | 100% everything
This map is wicked. Wicked awesome. Just, so very much about it is so very, very cool. The sector diner, the kitchen, the hidey-holes nestled away everywhere. That rockin' soundtrack. Best map in the WAD so far, by a country mile. I anticipate complaints about all the keys being located in secret areas, but they didn't give me any problems. My only two beefs (beeves?) were the ammo in the toilets (a rocket and some bullets) that I was unable to pick up, as the bowls are too small, at least in GZDoom. (I was able to grab the other items that were there, though.) And the crusher over the SSG was too fast for me to even straferun under safely. Other than that, it's a beauty of a map. The berserk pack just as you teleport into a nest of chaingunners was a nasty trap, but I could have just gone outdoors and picked them off from outside if I had headed that way first...

[7hm]

Salt-Man Z said:

MAP11: Feeding Frenzy
36:35 | 100% everything
This map is wicked. Wicked awesome. Just, so very much about it is so very, very cool. The sector diner, the kitchen, the hidey-holes nestled away everywhere. That rockin' soundtrack. Best map in the WAD so far, by a country mile. I anticipate complaints about all the keys being located in secret areas, but they didn't give me any problems. My only two beefs (beeves?) were the ammo in the toilets (a rocket and some bullets) that I was unable to pick up, as the bowls are too small, at least in GZDoom. (I was able to grab the other items that were there, though.) And the crusher over the SSG was too fast for me to even straferun under safely. Other than that, it's a beauty of a map. The berserk pack just as you teleport into a nest of chaingunners was a nasty trap, but I could have just gone outdoors and picked them off from outside if I had headed that way first...

There are switches on the side of the toilets.

I love those toilets.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 09 -- The Moat - 106% Kills / 100% Secrets
Second map by Mentzer, and also the second VR simulation map. Much more thematically down to earth than its predecessor in 'Flipside', it could pretty credibly pass for part of an ordinary Doom II-abstract 'City' map, with two office buildings or the like facing each other across a lava flow, with a concrete step-monument or something in the center. Modern art! Titling the map 'The Moat' is a mite odd given how largely uninvolved in either the actual scenery or the meat of progression said topographical feature tends to be, but I don't suppose I'm prepared to offer any better alternative, either. Like 'Donnybrook' before it, the visuals here gain their character from Mentzer's relatively 'realistic' sense of spatial scale and his preference for using a limited number of textures, in this case brushed silver and the anonymous black 'modwall' being the order of the day, with concrete and fluorescent accents here and there. Again, very clean, although not particularly interesting architecturally.

The real party piece for the map is the use of darkness as both an aesthetic and gameplay element in the western building, where the player spends much of the time in pitch darkness, left to combat enemies by firing at either their silhouettes against some fluorescent details, or perhaps the telltale ethereal green flash as they first hit the scene. Combat in these dark sections is quite easy, particularly if you happen to press on towards the soulsphere when the lights first go out, but it's worth noting that Icarus is old enough that in its day it was quite a bit easier to scare/intimidate players (even skilled ones) with pitch darkness or other uncomfortable lighting shifts than it is today. After completing the dark segment the player emerges upstairs and dutifully wades through a rather uninspired meat-tunnel before returning outside, although at least the level closes out with another sensibly deployed arch-vile--depending on how he paths around he can be surprisingly effective out on the middle island (i.e. if he happens to actually scale the monument), especially considering he can easily throw you into the moat for some additional damage if he manages to get off an attack, but sometimes he also ends up being totally harmless (i.e. he just sort of loafs around near the base of the monument). Other than this, the only other real point of interest in the action here is whether or not a new player goes to the central island first before 'porting into the dark area (which determines whether or not s/he will have the SSG for most of the map), but the availability of shells more than compensates for the variation in weapon efficiency this might cause. Incidentally, where's Steve D. when you need him to complain about shellboxes obnoxiously placed right in front of inset switches and the like?

Not particularly impressive, but not what I'd call an offensive map, either. Again, the brevity probably helps in this case.

[Capellan]

Map11
I'm almost sure this map was released as a standalone wad prior to Icarus (though with a different exit obviously), but perhaps I am conflating it with some other "diner from Hell" map with thunderingly obtuse progression.

As a work of representational architecture the map is fairly impressive. You can work out what many of the areas are supposed to be, for instance when you get the blue key and move from booths to the kitchen. But as a Doom map: yuck. Two essential keys are in secrets, and the map is packed with "well, that switch did something" moments. The decent combat encounters – and there are some – are overshadowed by the way the action comes to a crashing stop every time you have to play the "what the heck do I do now?" game.

[Jaws In Space]

Icarus Map 11 - HMP, Continuous

Feeding Frenzy is Gregg Anderson's sole contribution to the Doom community & what does he make? A my house map, or a my restaurant map to be specific. This is a planet set map & I do like the setting of this map quite a lot there is obviously a lot of work into making this map as realistic as possible, but I do feel that the setting of a restaurant seems a bit of an newbie thing to do. There are other issues with the map, there are a few mandatory secrets that are required to progress, such as when getting the red key, or hitting a torch to open a door, I had to quit & look in the editor to find out what I need to do, which is a big minus. Gameplay is starting to ramp up in these maps, which is nice since we're now on map 11 & everything has been pretty easy up to this point. Overall this map map has a great setting & good gameplay, but a few dumb progression issues make me not enjoy it.

So far Icarus has been quite a letdown considering it was supposed to be an apology for selling Evilution to ID. The rushed time frame in which this wad was made obviously has a lot to do with it. Some maps seem unfinished, while others are just filler maps, & the whole wad so far seems to lack the quality control that Evilution had. I don't think I would call a single map in this wad great so far, but my top 3 maps are 1, 6, & 8 with map 3 being my least favorite.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP11 Feeding Frenzy

I really wasn't looking forward to this map in the slightest, and I can predict some likeableness for this map from other clubgoers. Yes, more realism, this time of a restaurant with tables, restrooms, bottles on tables, registers, frying shit, all sorts of stuff. For me, this is the longest map in the set. first question, why the rather oblivious and REQUIRED secret with the blue key? second, you cannot dodge that SSG crusher even if you tried. third, the storage rooms just plain suck. that includes the yellow key room, with another poorly constructed teleport closet rounding up the way back. I'm also not a fan of having three berserk packs in the map or the barrels in tight rooms. the damaging floor at the red key area just plain annoy the crap out of me.

[gaspe]

MAP11 - Feeding Frenzy

Kills: 96% | Items: 93% | Secrets: 100%

Ugh... A restaurant map where the whole thing is made to be pretty realistic. We have tables, kitchens, toilets... I don't mind the unusual progression, but the gameplay is boring for the most though finally we start to see some more stronger monsters. Visually it's a mess, the outdoor and the first areas with the tables are still acceptable, but all the rest is ugly at best.
It would fit well in Maximum Doom.

[SoundofDoomDoors]

After 30 minutes of demoing, I died to hell knights jumping blind into the blood area at the end of MAP11. Up until then, I thought it was decent gameplay and visual-wise (I like doom furniture), but the mandatory secrets for literally everything were awful. The Mastermind was a complete joke too. I'm going to play this with saves. It's too long to try another demo.

EDIT: I may want a save for MAP12 too. I saw a picture of the beginning of it the other day, and it looks like you pretty much have a dice roll's chance of dying from the start if you aren't playing continuously. RIP if you attempt it.

[Capellan]

Playing continuously doesn't help much with the start of map12.

[Salt-Man Z]

SoundofDoomDoors said:

I died to hell knights jumping blind into the blood area at the end of MAP11.

Yeah, I forgot to mention it in my post, but that blind drop was obnoxious. Thankfully, I had kept track of the radsuits, so the damaging blood wasn't much of an issue.

SoundofDoomDoors said:

The Mastermind was a complete joke too.

I sat and watched two revenants punch the mastermind to death, which I found hilarious, so I won't complain. :)

[purist]

11

I very nearly said "fuck this shit!" I was quite intrigued with this map before hand as I have a map planned with the provisional title of Feeding Frenzy in Visions of Hell but making a demon infested resteraunt is not in my plans. There's a lot about this map that I like, it's essentially an island fortress style layout like Dead Zone from TNT or the Factory from Doom II except there are blockages preventing you from circling the building and the progression mainly has you inside the building working outwards instead of the reverse.

The author must be applauded for his bold commitment to Doom pseudo furniture. This ain't Sick Bay or the Bridges vague semblen of place with sector hospital beds and ping long tables thrown in for representation - in this map we have diner areas, kitchens and flush able toilets. Sure it's all very 90s and quaint but this is part of its charm and unlike some levels depicting real spaces I don't think it suffers from it gameplay wise - possibly thanks to the heavy use of zombies and imps.

There are absolutely tons of little rooms, secret areas and doors everywhere. It feels a but overwhelming at times but most doors lead to little optional rooms with some provisions in. Speaking of provisons I found both health and ammo tight enough to cause continuous discomfort. Despite finding two bezerk packs I struggled with health until I found the mega sphere near the end of the level and even this got chewed up pretty bad. I think there is only one green armour vest earlier in the map though which didn't help.

So far so good but what caused my anguish was difficulty in getting all three keys, which each required visits to the wiki walkthrough. The blue and yellow keys being too obtuse for me to figure out myself (I was certain I'd already wall humped that red torch) and in the case of the red key I thought it was far too brutal to be the intended method. Lastly, by the time I reached the Spiderdemon I threw all my remaining ammo into her without seeing it fall. I scouted the level and managed to shake out about 20 shells, which just about did the trick.

Phew, so pleased I didn't save myself into an unwinnable situation!

[NuMetalManiak]

purist said:

11

So far so good but what caused my anguish was difficulty in getting all three keys, which each required visits to the wiki walkthrough. The blue and yellow keys being too obtuse for me to figure out myself (I was certain I'd already wall humped that red torch) and in the case of the red key I thought it was far too brutal to be the intended method. Lastly, by the time I reached the Spiderdemon I threw all my remaining ammo into her without seeing it fall. I scouted the level and managed to shake out about 20 shells, which just about did the trick.

Phew, so pleased I didn't save myself into an unwinnable situation!

that's the only wiki walkthrough for Icarus that I didn't do!

of course the ones I did for the remaining 31 were more of "speed walkthroughs" in most cases than anything.

[purist]

Well the walkthrough came in handy for the yellow key in MAP08 as well so thank you :-)

[Magnusblitz]

MAP11: Feeding Frenzy
100% kills, 10/10 secrets

Gotta side with Salt-Man Z on this one, I loved this map and it's easily the best of Icarus so far for me. It also feels quite different from the rest (much longer, much more detailed), so Capellan's assertion that was this was pre-Icarus map makes sense to me.

Yeah, it's a demonic diner, with all the representationalist detail that carries with it, but I think it's done rather well. It's also carried out strongly throughout the whole map, which helps sell it (as opposed to just being in a few rooms here or there in an otherwise banal Doom map). The aesthetics seem a bit different from the usual, too... usually mapmakers seem set on using textures in representationalist stuff only for the color, for example, and so you'll end up with a lot of SHAWN-everything or other furniture that doesn't quite fit, but here things seem to be used for color matching or such within the confines of the Doom universe. Won't see many marble benches in a diner, for example, but here it works.

I admit that I was also a little peeved that all of the keys are located within mandatory secrets, but for the most part, they're all pretty intuitive/easy to locate. The push-torch for the yellow key might be the worst, but you're locked in that room, so wall-humping is kinda forced upon the player. Ammo and health also became a problem for me later in the map (ammo, though, was partially due to so many unavoidable shell boxes being consumed at 48/50). I'm glad to see some challenge though after so many mind-numbingly easy levels.

[gaspe]

MAP12 - Hydroponics

Kills: 100% | Items: 83% | Secrets: 100%

I didn't know that the hydroponics was an actual thing. Another level with a lot of silver but there are some little variations that make the map less dull. I had to restart 4-5 times before finally survive the barrels explosions and the hitscanners afterwards. For the rest it isn't very engaging, except maybe for the area inside the computer where is located the yellow key. Overall it's pretty much a room after room with some hallways. The most interesting area is probably the one with the machineries where you can find the plasma gun. Very notable are the vegetables textures. Pretty much ok as map.

[7hm]

I'm going to come back with my final thoughts on Map 11 once I actually beat it... I'm having a crazy amount of trouble with it for some reason. That pit at the end just wrecks me even when I know what's coming. I really like it though, and I'm sorry Gregg Anderson doesn't have more maps to his credit. I liked the obscure progression, and didn't think it was really that hard. It had a critical path but I really liked the non-linear nature of the map.

Slot: 12
Map: Hydroponics
Author: Gary Gosson

So I'm recording all my attempts at Icarus, and holy fuck this map.

On my 89th attempt I finally beat the damn thing. It's not just that (pretty clever) fuck you trap at the start, the rest of the map is just pretty ammo and health starved unless you know where to look, after which point it becomes a bit of a surplus of health and plasma ammo in particular.

I don't know if I like it or not, but it's certainly a thing.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 10 -- Bridge - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets
Ty's second map in Icarus is similar to the first in that its most notable characteristics are aesthetic/depictive in nature, rather than gameplay/combat-oriented. I imagine that many Doom players probably think of 'Wormhole' from Evilution as his signature map, and stylistically this one bears many similarities to that map, with wide, airy, but generally flat rooms, long ambling corridors (well, really only one in this case, but it's quite long and ambling), and even a similar squeaky-clean silver/blue futuristic tech theme in the 'public' areas juxtaposed with grittier backroom areas. More decals and new custom assets appearing here and there continue to flesh out the overarching spaceship theme, as well, ala the evac map appearing on the large terminal screen on the main bridge (I was slightly disappointed to see that this didn't hint at the low-key 'staff entrance' to the cafeteria area). Oh, and I suppose we shouldn't overlook the Doom furniture, either--the semi-requisite chairs, counters, and computer consoles are here, of course, but there are also billiards tables and a pingpong/table-tennis outfit, amongst other trappings (kind of surprised there's no bathroom, actually). Looking at this stuff, and considering his other maps, it seems that representationalism is clearly one of the defining qualities of the Halderman style, but this doesn't mean he wasn't able to shoot for more whimsical or abstract angles when the fancy struck him, as we'll see later on in Icarus. Probably fair to observe that lighting here is very flat, but it didn't really dawn on me until after the fact that this was the case, so I guess the choice must look fairly natural in this case. Quite like the music here, as well....Tom Mustaine didn't exactly have the most varied repertoire in this regard, but what he did he generally did well.

Gameplay is quite basic here. There are actually a fair-few more heavy hitters littered around than we've seen in most prior maps up to this point, but there ability to levy pressure is generally minimal because pretty much nothing ever prevents you from retreating if you feel the need, and the return of the motion-sensitive doors between rooms means they generally can't give chase (although this would also tend to make door-camping the encounters somewhat less practical, I suppose). From a pistol-start perspective, there seems to be something of a trial/error exploration concept at work, where you pick a door, and either gain a foothold in the level (e.g. by encountering the group of weak enemies outside the exit transporter, or by finding the SSG in the rec area) or are repelled (but unlikely killed) by a more intractable group of monsters, prompting to try a different door until you make headway. The other side of the coin in this case is that the secrets are extremely powerful in this map, and finding the (fairly easy) plasma rifle/megasphere combo essentially guarantees any halfway competent player a win. Incidentally, just for something different I used almost nothing but the plasma rifle in this level--more than enough cells to keep it fueled up, even in the absence of some of the other secrets.

The action here is quite dry any way you slice it, but the setting is pleasant enough, I suppose. Again, something that makes a more or less genial impression largely by dint of being short.

[Capellan]

Map12
This is another level I remember hating back in '96. Not because of the opening barrel trap – I'd forgotten all about that, though I had a few colourful things to say about it today – but because it's another one of those "well, time to wander around until I work out what I just did" maps.

Now to be honest, it's not quite as obtuse as the me of near 20-years ago found it. It actually tends to give you a chance to see the doors that the switches operate, before you find the switches. Of course, that doesn't excuse that you then have to trek all over a blandly textured and almost completely empty map to get back to said doors (oooh, you released two barons in a wide open space. However shall I cope?). This is particularly an issue when the author sometimes makes the switches and doors quite a long way apart.

The red key "trap" is also a misfire of an idea. On levels other than UV you'd have to be asleep to be in any danger, and even on UV it looks like it would be easy to hide in a corner until the door opened.

Opening trap aside, I no longer hate this (I do hate the opening trap, since it's "without foreknowledge of the map you die" stuff), but I don't see much to like, either.

[vdgg]

Just to say the SSG on map11 is perfectly obtainable without being crushed.

I didn't understand, however, the comments on Suitepee's video when he was struggling against barrels on map12. "Sergeant absorbing barrel damage"? It's because not killing the sergeant is not mandatory in any way. In my NM100 demo I pick up the berserk, punch the sergeant and escape the chain reaction in a pretty reliable movement setup.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP12 Hydroponics

I have no idea what's up with that start...

besides that, another okay map. Another ship map, so doors are automatic, and spacing is pretty large so projectiles can be easily avoided. the sense of progression is a bit more confusing this time around though. the plant areas are pretty cool, especially when illuminated, also a good idea to get rid of monsters since they can shoot through them. the thirty-second door trick here is only a waste of time (you can even kill the hell knight/baron that's shooting you from "space") and it's even possible to skip it entirely, which thankfully makes this one not as bad from a speedrun perspective, if you know where everything is, that is. that start, though...

[Jaws In Space]

Icarus Map 12 - HMP, Continuous

Here we are back on the ship, with our second map from Gary Gosson. This is one of the better looking ship maps, either that or I've just gotten used to all the silver by now. We are in the food production section of the ship now, looks like your only option for veggies on The Icarus are Pumpkins, Eggplants, Tomatoes, & Greenbeans, which doesn't sound like a very balanced set if you ask me. The start of this map is pretty freaking awful & if I hadn't watched Suitepees stream I would not have know that I needed to use the shotgun guy as a shield from the barrels, add this to the fact that there are several chaingunners in front & behind you led to many many deaths for me at the start. One you get past this though things are pretty straightforward, well outside of getting the yellow key, which is inside a secret. I liked the realistic aspects of this ship, again like the better Icarus maps it tells the story in game, you go about the level turning on the reactor to get the doors working & then you hit some important switches to turn the sun lites on for the plants. Gameplay is hit & miss the start is horrible & there are some pretty tight battles here & there, but there is also the problem of huge open spaces with non threatening monsters as well, & since I'm playing continuous I was able to use plasma to clear out the entire map & still had lots to spare by the end of it. It also looked like there was a 30 second timed door when collecting the red key, but I made it out of there before the door closed. Overall I wasn't to bothered by this map though it could have used some reworking of the monster placement to make it more enjoyable.

[SoundofDoomDoors]

MAP12's start is as painful as the picture I saw before playing it made it look. I took more deaths there than in the rest of the wad combined. Dying early in a map like that is okay, since I can restart quickly. My problem is the hitscanners left over after you dodge the barrel trap. I usually had between 40 and 50 hp after the barrels. Then I lost it to chaingunners/sergeants every time but once. The one time I got out of the opening room alive, I couldn't complete the level due to lack of ammo and health. What I actually found was stuffed into corners, so what 7hm said makes sense.

I've heard 28 was bad on ammo starvation and was meant to be worse. I don't want to even think about that after playing this.

I'll need to play 11 and 12 in sequence to finish them. Unlike 11 where I died after seeing virtually everything, I don't think I've played enough of 12 to call it finished. 11's a better pistol start, too. On the bright side, I still like this better than Evilution. Two words: hitscanner hell.

[purist]

12

Barrels without the fun! Odd design decision to make the warp amidst the barrels so awkward to escape. After several tries I got out with around half my health. Outside of this and the titular vegetable patches lighting up after the generator and hydroponic pods are powered, the level is pretty ordinary. Some additional interest occurred in my playthrough due to having to really scrounge ammo and use bezerk and saw to get past some mid-tier monsters but that was more to do with the uneven distribution of ammo and sub-optimal route I took than any sort of deliberate design choice I think. Once I found the PR and soulsphere the tables really turned and the only problems I had from there on in was completely missing the fact that I had the yellow key and finding the alcove that opened, which contained the red key.

The layout is a very unimaginative room > hallway, texturing is dull, lighting is flat and mapflow is all over the place. There are some reasonable architectural landmarks that are meant to be representative of actual ship parts like the generator and a huge filter at least.

The arachnatron fire in the red key room was quite cool but should have been made into a bigger, more crucial setup. As it is this level would probably be quickly forgotten without the barrel spam at the start.

[yakfak]

I just played through MAP 12 to refresh my memory and giggled throughout... between the barrels, the unmarked megasphere and the sheer amount of stuff that looks like it should be a door, but isn't, it totally appeals to my sense of humour

[Magnusblitz]

MAP12: Hydroponics
98% kills, 1/1 secret

After one of my favorite maps comes what will probably be one of the worst. I'm fine with a dick-move barrel trap at the start, but it should have a solution that becomes clear after a couple of tries, I think I took around 20 tries before finally succeeding... even times when I survived the barrels with ~10 health I would then quickly lose it to the hitscanners in the room. What worked for me was using the pistol to nudge some of the barrels around before setting them off, allowing me to survive at ~55 hp.

Aside from the trap, though, the level isn't much better - lots of squares connected by hallways. The hydrophonics rooms themselves are especially dire, as they're just boxes with manucbus or hell noble meat in them and not enough ammo to take them out. The leg once the player has found the yellow key (in another required secret, natch) is a bit more interesting, but bogged down by "what the hell did that do" syndrome (turning on the generator makes some of those half-open doors suddenly open, others remain broken).

[Devalaous]

I rarely ever play Doom anymore, due to being busy with Re-Logic, but I made an exception for Ty. Got Map 1 to 12 done tonight, and it really has aged badly. Map 1 and 2 are fine, but then it goes downhill until 11, which is amazing, and one of the few maps I remembered from many years ago when I first played this (Back then I reached Map 24 and gave up due to my port not supporting something integral to Map 24)

I'm playing with NightFright's story text + automap names fix, as well as his arachno soundfont music pack, while the maps are very all over the place, the music is pretty much consistently great.

[gaspe]

MAP13 - Asylum

Kills: 98% | Items: 95% | Secrets: 0%

A more maze oriented level. It may seems complicated as first but it isn't very difficult to find the right way once you start to see how all the places are connected. There's some non-linearity though the navigation is kinda annoying in those long corridors, especially when you clean the areas and everywhere is emtpy. Ammo is kinda abundant and the challenge is low.

[Capellan]

Map13
Well, this sure is a lot of orthogonal, mono-textured corridors and rooms. Most of it is functionally flat as well: even when there are changes in height they're not used in ways that have an impact on combat. Lighting does show some diversity in a couple of spots, but only a couple.

Visually, this all sums up to blandsville, with only the south-eastern area being very memorable. The combat isn't much better. I imagine it might be quite nasty from an ammo perspective if you pistol start and go the wrong way, as the supplies tend to be clumped together when you find them – like the 180 shells (!) in three rooms in the north-east section, whereas the central section has relatively sparse ammo.

The blue key is kind of tucked out of sight and I missed it while playing. Fortunately it is not necessary to finish the map, so I exited without seeing the western wing other than through a window.

[Devalaous]

Asylum was an awful map really pointed out a lot of the weak textures that Icarus has.

[Jaws In Space]

Icarus Map 13 - HMP, Continuous

Robert Taylor, the author of this map, is unique in that he worked with Ty Halderman before Team TNT existed, his very first credits are as a coauthor of Ty Haldermans pre Evilution work, he missed out on making a map for Evilution but was able to make this one for Icarus & continued as part of Team TNT until his last release in Reclamation. So as one of Ty Haldermans oldest team members how does he hold up as a map author here? Quite terribly in fact, this may be the worst map in Icarus yet. So far the simulation maps are 3 for 3 in being some of the most awful maps in Icarus, these maps had the opportunity to just be anything & they could have taken quite unique approaches to their design, but instead all we have gotten from them is just uninspired crap. This map is filled to the brim with 64 wide corridors all coated in a monotonous grey texture scheme, doors are poorly marked & just blend in with their surrounding textures so I missed them quite often. Gameplay is a complete joke, since it's mostly narrow hallways there is no threat as the monsters line up to be killed & in the larger rooms they are either caged or blocked by monster blocking lines. The first Arch-Vile appears on HMP, but it was a complete non event, he's trapped in a square box, I didn't even bother facing him & he was eventually killed by the Mancubus in the same box. This map was just of piss poor quality throughout in terms of layout, architecture, texturing, & gameplay, it's easily the worst so far.