Carnage Oasis

MAP01 is broken.

the link must have been updated.
New error: ZDoom32. There are warnings about ZMAPINFO in the console.

@dmslr post the warnings dude. I checked and GZDoom 4.6.1 doesn't throw any up so no probs there. ZDoom 2.8.1 doesn't recognise the author field in the ZMAPINFO but that's not really an issue, it just won't display the map author on the intermission screen.

Played some of it tonight, and overall I like it quite a bit. I didn't get to playtest most of the other members maps, so going through this was like playing a random WAD I stumbled upon. I love seeing everyone's different styles and takes on this. And I really appreciate the variety in scenarios that play out from map to map.

A couple notes:

I was doing pretty well until I got to MAP07. Aesthetically, this map is just as good, if not better than the previous 6. But so far, I've been: running out of ammo, getting lost/confused, then dying (lmao). I'm fairly tired, so maybe that has something to do with it, but I'm a bit surprised certain aspects of this got through all the way to release. Its' a really cool map, and personally I don't mind when something requires more effort or work on the players part. I consider dying and failing a normal part of the experience. But it seems to be a bit intense for a DBP.

Also, I forget if it was MAP01 or MAP02, but I got to 1% health at one point haha. They are good though.

The other thing was the sound. I don't know exactly how these were implemented or the level of flexibility the designers have (I messed with this a little in UDMF/ZDoom stuff), but the reverb and low health effects could be more refined. My office where I make my maps also doubles as a music studio, therefor I play Doom with a set of professional 8 inch studio monitors (speakers). I get a really wide frequency response from whatever is playing. The reverb and near death stuff was so wet and muddy at times that I felt like I was in a massive concert hall while suffering from severe
barotrauma.

Now, most people probably aren't using high end monitors while playing a 30 year old game, and I'm hard on myself when designing sound or music, so I'm probably not the most practical person to take feedback from, but I thought this was worth mentioning. Maybe I can assist with this in the next project, if it's wanted.

I'm watching you play my map and you are wayyyyy over thinking this hahahaha. I had a couple people play test this right in front of me and they didn't have any trouble figuring out the initial switch at the top of the pyramid. Also, when you intentionally bump keys and jump, it shouldn't be a surprise to get odd results with progression. But I admit this also helped me with how to improve the next map. 

The biggest problem I am seeing is that I way over saturated the map with ammo and health. It's hard to judge how much people need, and I didn't really get much feedback on that.

People were split on the gameplay. I have another version of this where monsters spawn in a more spread out fashion and it seemed to confuse people since the best way to indicate the keys after hitting that switch was to seek out the source of enemy fire. But then various secondary structures were less useful, because the player didn't feel they were being chased down or tracked by revenant missiles as much, and therefor moved around the map less.

As for breaking up that big map into smaller maps.... Well, I actually asked about this on the thread within the first day or two of 39's launch. I knew I was allowed to make multiple maps, but what I didn't know was if I could be guaranteed the maps would be placed back to back due to the direct continuity they would have. No one responded. Even another member was wondering if anyone was going to answer my question. Still nothing. So I made it one map and just did what felt natural to me.

Thanks for crossposting on Doomworld, @dmslr.

Pleasant. Here's a blind continuous playthrough where I died on Map09. I should've just unloaded my BFG but got greedy and didn't think I needed it... then the other monsters spawned in .

FDA Ironman (Dead Map09)

edit: I did die on map 01 once tho, i forgot about that.

edit: It desync'd at map 05!? damn.  oh well.  I did make it to map 09 tho, I swear!

And here's Map 10-12 fdas.

This was a very good set and exceeded my expectations.  I felt the desolate atmosphere, what I think you guys were going for.  Otherwise, just good "Doomy" gameplay and environments without being too bland. No bad maps.

Not sure if I'll keep doing recordings all the time going forward.  Doom is a good "pick-up-and-play for a bit" non-commital game, so I might cut that small layer of friction (demo-recording) out from my Dooming.

Also, to curtail off ketmar, I also wouldn't mind seeing development cycles for DBP's being staggered/slowed/etc.  I see the strengths of the streamlined 1-month "40oz DBP process", but things like a week for QA beta testing, or a break every other month might be a good thing to consider. Who knows.

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Here's episode 1 of my playthrough! Maps 1 to 3. Good stuff so far!

Part 3 is here, with maps 6 & 7!

Your welcome! These maps are fun to play, good size and difficulty balance, with a variety in mapping styles.


Here's part 4, with maps 8 and 9: