The DWIronman League dies to: Abcess

[Alfonzo]

November, 2019

 

(Cool pic pending...)

 

> Download Abcess
> NaZa's unofficial leader board

 

Leaderboards

 

Spoiler

Standard

1. -
2. -
3. -
4. -
5. -
6. -
7. -
8. -
9. -
10. -

 

Prepared

1. -
2. -
3. -
4. -
5. -
6. -
7. -
8. -
9. -
10. -

 

What is the Doomworld Ironman League?

The DWIronman League is a monthly competition in which participants aim to survive for as many levels as possible in the given map set, preferably in one sitting. Click the spoiler tag below for a detailed list of rules. Players of all levels of ability are welcome. It could change the way you play Doom!

 

In November 2019 The Doomworld Ironman League dies to Abcess, an episode of six levels by resident pelt-farmer @Steve D. Abcess was released in 2017 but finalized nearly two decades prior in 1998, so the adoring hordes of Duff's Heat Miser will find precious few blankets of cacodemons to blast out of the sky. It has a more classic lean, instead, with wide networks of loosely textured corridors and with very open combat design. Navigation can be a bit tricky for some; resource management a problem for others. Expect a slow build and some customarily rude awakenings... from the '90s! ^{(no Insertion crushers, I promise)}

 

This set comes at the old recommendation of @Demon of the Well, who is sorely missed... and probably still trapped down there, for all we know. Who volunteers to get lowered down in a bucket and take a look?

 

Essential Info

 

• Doom 2 as the IWAD selected.
• Compatibility level 2, or "(Doom (strict))" for ZDoom derivative ports.
• 6 maps total.

prboom-plus -file abcess -complevel 2 -warp -skill 4 -record dwironman...

 

Spoiler

• There are two competitions: Standard and Prepared:
   
  • To compete successfully in the Standard competition: your first play of the selected WAD(s) constitutes your one and only attempt for the month.
  • To compete successfully in the Prepared competition: your one and only attempt for the month is determined BY YOU immediately before play and may follow any prior number of plays that are strictly for practice/inspection purposes only. You cannot compete in the Standard competition after submitting a run to the Prepared competition. You may submit the first of your practice attempts to the Standard competition.

   

• UV only (excepting 1CC format). No pistol-starting.

• Demos (PrBoom+, GLBoom, Eternity or Chocolate), stream highlights and video recordings are the only accepted proofs. You must link to these runs in the thread. 

• No additional WADs may be loaded.

• No inspection of the WAD(s)'s content in an editor if you are submitting a Standard run.

• No cheat codes and no features that result in behavior beyond what is possible in the intended source port (e.g. freelook, jumping and crouching in a boom set). This includes dynamic lights and brightmaps. If streaming or recording videos using an advanced source port with compatibility options, you must display these settings on-screen before your run. In ZDoom derivative ports, "Doom/Boom(strict)" will suffice.

• If you choose to stream/record your run for video rather than provide a demo and you die before completing a single level, either on MAP01 of a set OR because a single level was selected for the month, you must display the number of monsters killed/remaining in the level before you quit.

• You do not have to play the secret levels in order to register a complete run. However, a player who finishes the game having completed more secret levels than his/her competitors will rank higher than them.

• You cannot load a game having progressed past the save point.

• You cannot consult Doom Builder during your run to check for map details.

• If the recording of your official run is interrupted due to technical difficulties, you are not permitted a second attempt. Any surviving recording may be used to register a DNF result.

• Accidentally restarting a level before a death exit takes you to the tally screen will disqualify your run.

• If you are competing in the Standard competition, you are required to affix one of three numbers to your run informing the League of your degree of familiarity with the map/set played. Note that your evaluation should only take into consideration the content covered in your run (e.g. if you remember only one part of a level in a set you haven't played before but never reach that level, you should list your run as a [1] instead of [2]):

   

  1. This is a blind run. If I have played or watched any of the level/set being played before, I cannot remember any details that would offer a reasonable advantage over truly blind players. *
  2. This is not a blind run. I have played the level/set before, or watched it being played, and can remember some details that would offer a reasonable advantage over blind players.
  3. This is not a blind run. I have watched the level/set being played via stream, demo or video after it was announced as this month's challenge.

 

* "Reasonable" in this instance asks you to consider whether the details in question are worth committing to memory. As in, you would thank the person who gave you this information with a straight face and not expect to be laughed at for being an utter berk.

 

Previous Threads

 

2016
Jenesis (winner: Demon of the Well)
Crusades (winner: Ribbiks)
Nilla Doom (winner: Demon of the Well)
Khorus' Speedy Shit (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Perdition's Gate (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
UAC Ultra (winner: Bloodite Krypto)

 

2017
Jade Earth (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Legacy of Heroes (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Back to Saturn X E1 (winner: dew)
Mapgame (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Vae Victus 1 & 2 (winner: Demon of the Well)
Disturbia (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Insertion (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Unholy Realms (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Osiris (winner: Demon of the Well)
End Game & End Point (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Oscillation (winner: Ancalagon)
Doom The Way id Did (winner: kmc)

 

2018
Combat Shock 2 (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Coffee Break (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Warlock's Hearth (winner: Demon of the Well)
50 Monsters (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Double Impact (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Rush (winner: WH-Wilou84)
The Darkening E1 & E2 (winner: Veinen)
The Plutonia Experiment (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Interstellar Sickness & Shaman's Device (winner: leodoom85)
Doom 64 for Doom 2 (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
TNT: Renascence & Resistance (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Ultimate Doom The Way id Did (winner: Bloodite Krypto)

 

2019
Hellfire: Dreams (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Fomalhaut (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Stardate 20X6 (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
Base Ganymede: Complete (winner: Bloodite Krypto)
SIGIL (winner: leodoom85)
Vanguard & Lunatic (winner: Bdubzzz)
2017 Collection (winner: an_mutt)
Revolution! (winner: NaZa)

[Alfonzo]

October's gig is still running! You have until the end of this month — not the 10th of the next — to complete both this challenge and the previous one. Heaven knows I'll need the time to roll back and watch some demos (and make a recording of my own, for that matter). I might even write an obituary or two, just like old times.

 

Don't hold your breath or anything. Just play some Doom.

[Havoc Crow]

https://www.mediafire.com/file/dxa57gu1i5zg7jx/DWIronman_abcess_JudgeDeadd-1.lmp/file

Hope you have 2 hours to spare.

 

Category 1 (Blind).

Died on MAP06, overwhelmed by the initial ambush.

[Walter confetti]

I have this wad lying around my hdd iirc.

Good reason for playing it blindly, I guess!

[Steve D]

Whoah! Never expected this. I've been planning to return to Ironman based on the previous selection. Now I feel somehow compelled to see how far I can get in my own maps. But keep in mind that I'm a masochist and design my maps to kill me, early and often. As a result, I typically die more in my own maps than I do in others, though large stretches of Abcess are fairly easy, and I know where all the secrets are. Nonetheless, I'll have hell's own time trying to beat 04, 05 and especially 06. So, uh, I reckon I'll give it a go, obviously on Cat 3. ;D I'll also have tons of fun watching the demos. Looks like I'll be starting with JudgeDeadd. And yes, these are some big maps once you hit 03.

[RonnieJamesDiner]

I cannot believe how I died..... left side pit was 5% damage, how was I to know the right side was 20% D':

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/pti2vw8d8l7kh44/DWIronman_RJD_abcess.lmp/file

 

Category 1

Died on MAP02... looking at a Soulsphere

[Steve D]

2 hours ago, Walter confetti said:

I have this wad lying around my hdd iirc.

Good reason for playing it blindly, I guess!

 

Make sure you have Version 1.1, as the first release has some flaws including a potential game-breaker on Map04.

[Walter confetti]

16 minutes ago, Steve D said:

 

Make sure you have Version 1.1, as the first release has some flaws including a potential game-breaker on Map04.

 

is the one that is uploaded on idgames?

[leodoom85]

What in the hell is this wad?

Well, guess that another blind play will happen. Hopefully I survive this one.

[Steve D]

52 minutes ago, Walter confetti said:

 

is the one that is uploaded on idgames?

 

It's the one that's up there now, yes. It replaced the earlier version.

[Loud Silence]

Cat 1. Died in map03. Very cool levels!

loud_abcess.7z

[Anima Zero]

Never played this mapset before.  Got to map 4 before, for once, I didn't completely Anima it up and die a stupid death.  Rather, a Mancubus fireball decided to wallhax my face.  Interesting levels though!

DWIronman_Abcess_AnimaZero.zip

[NaZa]

You know I rarely start the post containing the run with a paragraph of text. Also, you surely know I rarely ever express my disdain with the monthly Ironman pick. Indeed, I only did so two or three times: with Hellfire: Dreams, Doom 64 for Doom II and I also threw a very sharp remark at TNT: Resistance. When it comes to Hellfire: Dreams, I revisited it quite recently and I don't think my comments were warranted - I rather liked the experience then, however excessive supplies drought in the earlier maps wasn't my thing. Doom 64 for Doom II was just really awkward at times and felt quite stale, while TNT: Resistance had some questionable maps, like MAP02, MAP05. However, all of these sets had such things at some places, not throughout the whole of my playthrough. Thus, this happened.

 

 

RESULT: Dead on MAP03.

CATEGORY: Blind.
TIME TAKEN (to reach MAP03): 24:42.

SATISFIED? Both yes and no at the same time.

 

Yes, it's a set I haven't really enjoyed. I might have been wrong in pistoling 40 monsters on the start of MAP01, but I don't think it would have changed much. The design was okay, although there was some steep staircases and awkward-to-move-in places. The music isn't worth of my comments, as I toned it down to the minimum on MAP01 (even though I did enjoy MAP03's track).

 

The gameplay however? Take Coffee Break, another set I haven't thoroughly enjoyed, and Hellfire: Dreams. Mix them together. That's the feel I got for this set. Looks excellent but it's just so damn stingy. After reading Steve D created the set I started prejudicing the difficulty of the set by looking through the boards over the years (not nice of me, true, I apologize), I wasn't thinking of much challenge to be perfectly fair - and then MAP01 happened and immediately no health, ammo. I know it should be the premise of Ironman to go as far with real constraints, but... eh. It was really annoying on MAP01, got better on MAP02 but there were still really unfair ambushes, especially the soulsphere trap, and then on MAP03 where that crazy ambush tore me to shreds. I might have survived said trap had the angled wall not been so fixed while facing an insolent, immobile cacodemon and an angry hell noble behind my back. Eh, man. I rarely write this much, but... I don't know. I'm sorry if this is harsh, but I haven't enjoyed playing through these three maps at all.

 

dwironman_nov19_naza.zip

[seed]

Dead on MAP02.

 

Interesting, could have done better maybe, but whatever.

 

abcess.zip

[Loud Silence]

9 minutes ago, seed said:

Dead on MAP02.

Category?

[seed]

Just now, Loud Silence said:

Category?

 

Oh, right.

 

Cat 1 of course.

[antares031]

Category 1. Survived the wad in 2:25:56. There were some nasty setups throughout the wad, mostly with ^{lots of chaingunners}hitscanners in wide area. Thankfully, this wad provides some helpful supplies with many secret areas, so keep your eyes on those suspicious walls and false textures. Regardless of some questionable ambushes, it was a pretty good wad, overall. Kinda felt like the combination of IWADs.

 

 ironman_anta_abcess.zip

 

 

[Bdubzzz]

Category 1 Dead On Map 06

Time taken to reach Map 06: 1:02:59

Well that escalated quickly :p 

 

DWironman-Abcess-dubz.zip

 

[Horus]

Category 1 Dead on Map 02 (yes, I died on the map called 'Death to you')

Completed Map 01 in 09:14

 

Knew I was going to die in map 02 very early on, was on the brink practically the whole way. In the end a hell knight trapped me which was lame. So stingy on health it's ridiculous. After surviving Back to Basics in IronEagle, this presents me with a reality check. I also find it harder to play in prBoom+ than GZDoom due to the poor mouse precision I get when I play that source port (I tried fiddling around with the mouse sensitivity settings and turning off enhance pointer precision but that doesn't really help much) and the vanilla-like grainy graphics.

0_ironman_horus.zip

Edited November 13, 2019 by Horus

[Walter confetti]

Category 1, died on MAP02 by a caco fireball.

 

walt-ironman-abcess-1.zip

 

Also going out of ammo on MAP01, there's also a hanged corpse sets as blocking that locks you from getting a stimpack.

 

Overall, cool mapset so far. Is a like a walk in park and you shoots to a lot of people during your jogging or something like that.

[Horus]

Lol now I find out the problem after the run. When I turned off 'Use extended format' in Options --> General, suddenly the prBoom+ mouse precision issue disappears. Damn that would have helped me on map 02. Oh well there's always the next ironman!

[galileo31dos01]

Hi hello sup g'day etc.

 

First time participating. Category face 1, or 2? The only map I recognized was 03, even if slightly revamped it's essentially like in Realm of Chaos. Otherwise the rest was new to me, you judge. 

 

Demo: gal_abcess_DWironman.zip

Result: Completed

Time: oof 3 to 4 hours my butt hurts

Comments: overly spacious areas with relatively low monster count reminded me of Vile Flesh, which on that side isn't a positive sign. However, the attention to light contrasts and bits of detail, vast number of easy-to-spot worthy secrets, and irregular geometry, leaded to a more enjoyable and run, adding of course playing on survival with no music (that's not TAS, I just forgot to configure Crispy correctly). Couple spikes and tense situations, particularly the teleport trap in map 06 and one specific tweak in "Splatterhouse". Thought I'd hate it but not at all, given that I wanted to finnish it alive and it's not my usual way of playing, super conservative so you might fall asleep, though I usually tried to communicate my IRL actions/thoughts via chainsaw :P

 

I might have paused two times for a second to scratch my arm, not used to this hehe

[ReaperAA]

I Survived!!

 

Demo: Abcessdemo.zip (Category 1)

Used: Glboom+ 2.5.1.7um (complevel 2)

Time taken: 1:58:32

 

Well this wad is very different. Instead of closed corridors, this wad has open spaces. The combat was easy for the most part (except for the final fight in map 6 where I nearly died). The wad overall felt very TNT'y to me with huge open areas (and chaingunners placed a mile away to annoy folks). Thankfully I didn't get lost much and there were plenty of supplies in not-so-hard-to-find secrets.

[Beginner]

Category 1 keyboard solo. Survived in 2:21:36.

[Horus]

1 hour ago, Beginner said:

Category 1 keyboard solo. Survived in 2:21:36.

Have you thought about a name change to Expert? ;-P

[Beginner]

10 hours ago, Horus said:

Have you thought about a name change to Expert? ;-P

Yes.

[Archi]

What, did you expect me to shotgun all those enemies?

dwironman_abcess_arch_cat_1.zip

[duvel]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fdfgzjd5utkagyx/abcess-im-nov2019-cat1.lmp?dl=0

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/508739952

 

My net cut off the end for the video sadly, but the demo should work. Got destroyed by an ambush on MAP03.

[SleepyVelvet]

Dead Map03: noisy_Abcess.zip (blind)

 

Interesting map choide.

[seed]

Interesting, seems this month I'm competing for the last spot. I'm okay with that :p .