Reply To: DGC Map Pack Collaboration

[sorceress]

#9711

i did a couple of test plays of E1M9. Here are my thoughts, with a spoiler warning 🙂

The central room is reminiscent of original E1M9, but with barons instead of imps. The fire pit makes it feel all the more intimidating. I clearly don’t have enough ammo starting out to defeat them, so I’m running around the pit to check out the 4 corridors instead.

The imps on the balconies are an interesting addition, but i’m not sure if they are needed, because I’m not hanging about here anyway, and shooting them doesn’t give me anything in return.

West Corridor:

This was initially a bit of a puzzle, how to get inside, but eventually figured I might as well try shooting the switch, which worked. This feels unconventional. Decending the steps we find a room with imps and shotgunners. We have enough ammo to defeat them, and there is some infighting which helps. We pick up 20 more shells and proceed to the pentagram. I’m expecting teleporting monsters as happened in the original E1M9, and that is what happens. I’m already at 100% health, but I pickup the rockets as I run back to the steps, while being followed by imps, demons and spectres. I my rockets to destroy most of them at range, and shotgun to clear up what’s left. Shooting down the steps felt a bit weird, both because the angle was awkward and the monsters were kind of hidden through the doorway. I return to grab the yellow key and exit the room, requiring both health packs. A secret room is discovered at the base of the stairs with health and ammo. This registers as two secrets because it has two sectors, which I suspect is a bug. Visually, this wing is beautifully crafted. Completing it doesn’t require much agility, but being familiar with how it works feels essential to surviving it.

South Corridor:

The door won’t open. No key card is indicated, so it must be opened elsewhere.

East Corridor:

I approach a slime pit along a narrow ledge and can see imps through a barrier as well as imps across the slime shooting at me. I defeat them all with my shotgun, and I take a little damage, down to 65%. Apparently the only way forward is to run across the slime bridge, taking 20% damage. It becomes clear I have to do this 5 times, flipping 2 such switches. Unless I’m missing something this is impossible to do without armor/supercharge or health pickups, which we don’t seem to have. :/ Using iddqd, I get to the exit corridor and collect a red key. A doorway briefly opens back to the main room. Should we fail to step through it, we’ll have to run across the slime bridge a sixth time. Visually, this wing feels rather minimalist, and doesn’t feel finished. Completing it seems to be not currently possible using normal movement. Perhaps strafe running can cross the slime bridges with less than a 100% chance of getting a damage hit, which would technically make it possible, albeit at the mercy of RNG, and this doesn’t take into account damage taken from monsters. I don’t think strafe running should ever be essential, as it is hard to aim.

North Corridor:

I think this is Tijn’s corridor. I first notice missing textures on the floor below the lights and at one end of the corridor. It’s hard to judge at the the moment, but it’s a start!

South Corridor Revisited:

The door still won’t open, so I noclip through it, and it does open from the other side. I expect this is a faulty trigger, not a feature. Ok, so there are three rooms marked I, II, III. Activating the switch in the first room produces an imp, which proceeds to walk around a spiral, before teleporting away. Room II has the same thing, but there is a puzzle to lure the imp to the white teleport, while the red teleports take him back to the start. This takes a couple of attempts, but is relatively easy. Room III is more complex with platforms that have to be lowered to allow the imp to pass. This room is more annoying than anything: the switches block view of the imp and room, and it’s too long and trecherous a path to get him to walk. After 5 attempts I give up. Visually nice, and the “gameplay” was ok upto but not including room III.

Conclusion:

The design of this map currently feels incoherent and lacking any overall vision. The east and west corridors both seem to expect the player to enter with high health, which is likely not happening. Perhaps the imp platforms in the central room could be lowered to reveal medikits/armor/supercharges, to restore player stats between tackling each wing. I also want adequate ammo to defeat those barons in the central room, which I don’t currently have.