Spawn Cell
-
Spawn Cell
UAC is at it again! They've recovered samples from the IoS and begun to run their usual biological experiments on it. Something like generating their own expendable workforce without having to worry about safety inspections or unions. It doesn't work out. You have to go in there and shut down their mad experiment.
Now on idgames!
Spawn CellThis is my first WAD, but not my first map. I have no idea what I'm doing. Please let me know what you think.
Tested in DSDA on Complevel 2.
-
spawn-cell-rc1FDAjoe.lmp
Visually, the maps are better than your previous works, good use of lighting, bright and vibrant, yet cohesive texture usage.
However, in gameplay and navigation the mappack stumbles a lot, MAP01 was mostly fine, but the lack of item bonuses to indicate where you've been got me lost, because some paths look similar to where they look like I've been there already, even when I wasn't.MAP02 and MAP03 gave me a ton of trouble to get through, especially with the FDA format where I can't save and load. In MAP02 it was really unintuitive to navigate once the whole arena opens up, the lifts are hidden like secrets, and would've worked better with switches, or good ol' SUPPORT textures. The platforming was very irritating because the mastermind will shoot you if you're unlucky and it targets you randomly while platforming; the mastermind gimmick really doesn't work with the platforming. The teleporters are impossible to figure out, I couldn't tell where each teleporter would take me, so I have to make plenty of trial and error just to navigate.
MAP03 is one tough motherfucker, but at least you understand what you're doing when making errors unlike in MAP02. The switches are not always clear at what they open, leading to stalling around, adding some bonus items and enemies to show you what the switches do would be helpful, like in some cases in this very map. The icon of sin section is very confusing, there are so many distractions; getting the red key is unclear because the yellow door wasn't introduced very well, so it was easy to forget where it is, and then you forget how to reach the red door by the time you get the red key because of the yellow door ordeal.
On the whole there are also a ton of bugs such as an untaggable secrets, nukage sometimes not damaging, HOMs, enemies getting stuck in MAP03 because of the IoS monster spawners etc. That I won't go over because these errors are overwhelming.
-
Thank you very much for playing! Here I thought MAP02 was my best one. Your criticisms make sense now in hindsight. I really appreciate your feedback.
-
Played MAP01 and most of MAP02. I like how you use spectre demons but got lost a lot in the second map where I only chipped away at progression after killing 4 masterminds :S
here's my dsda cl2 FDA:
kvsarispawncell.lmp -
Thank you very much for playing.
I'm slowly working on v2. Very slowly. Map02 seems like a real pain for others (I know exactly where to go but I made the map so... real beginner mistake). I think I need to reduce the number of Masterminds...
-
Besides health/armor bonuses you can use lighting to help highlight areas to help with navigation. Maybe even decorative objects. I noticed you using warning stripes as an indicator for lifts or lifts that would open later, so you could reinforce that consistency.
-
Uploaded RC2.
-
Update to RC2.2. Top post also updated.
Changelog;
ALL
- Fixed various textures that weren't animating by re-introducing the swan table.
MAP01
- Sprinkled barrels.
- Changed grate door to "U" section to be red keyed on the other side locking player in.
- Added some bullets to flooded underground section.
- Made the annoying hell knight pop-up happen before the player ascends onto the machine block.
- Added monster block lines to prevent imps from wandering behind buildings.
- Reduced damage of nukage.
MAP02
- Added armour bonuses to help indicate which platforms to jump onto.
- Slightly re-arranged some ammo so as not to double up on the armour bonuses.
MAP03
- Fixed unintended route which skipped a linedef that raised the imp pit.
- Added more of those bone pillars to make the big fight in the first eye-switch a lock-in battle.
- Fixed the red columns so bumping into them at speed in -cl 2 doesn't clip into the megasphere/cell-charge-pack stored within before IoS reveal.
Not changed;
MAP02/MAP03
I really don't know how to make navigation easier without re-doing the whole thing. Sure lighting and bonuses help but I think the problem is a deeper structural one. I don't mind the "you need to remember where you've been" style of gameplay, so there must be a way to execute it much better than I have done so in these two maps. For next time.RC2.1 is not uploaded because it's an internal step to not lose progress on changes whilst stumbling about in slade trying to fix the animated textures.
I want to upload to idgames soon (one week) so if there's no showstopper bug...
-
Now on idgames. Top post updated.
-
Howdy again.
kvsarispawncell2.lmp I recorded a new demo in DSDA where I finished both MAP1 and MAP2. I gave up shortly into MAP3 though. I skipped killing some monsters as soon as I realized the exit was open.
Some notes:
The arachnotron in MAP1 where the blue skull key was got caught between the lift and the platform so it was rendered immobile when I tried getting up. Putting some monster block lines to stop it from reaching the lift may work since nothing else moves between that area. The imps in the broken down city sewer area felt a little redundant and a waste of my ammunition but thankfully I replenished just enough soon after.I like the positioning of the revenants in MAP2 where it was tricky to get up close to blast them in the face with the SSG due to the geometry in the early sections. The height of their cover helped too. Also the dual mancubus encounter where you get the rocket launcher could have had their Ambush/Deaf flag turned off since I was able to just take them down one at a time neutering the threat.
I like the archvile resurrecting the monsters and teleporting into the hallway if it still lives at the end. Though I was able to exit the elevator early through the archvile zapping me out of it.
After that I entered the main area, and there were a lot of monsters so I tried running ahead to get some infighting going on as it felt similar to the previous map but it didn't work due to the tight winding flesh geometry and new monsters kept popping up with new turns. So I deduced that I was meant to grind it out and I just didn't want to do that, especially since I kinda did that already in the previous map. [spoiler] yes I'm aware that it sounds like I dislike the core gameplay of Doom sometimes :S [/spoiler] I take note of a pattern of tight corridors leading to claustrophobic encounters in the first 2 maps.
-
I played MAP3!
I didn't record a demo this time. I made my way through the map and methodically cleared out the opening area. I particularly enjoyed it when I finally got surrounded enough to rely on some infighting. I progressed in a way I think wasn't intended by going around the flesh pillar barriers (the one near the platforms raising up and down) but it didn't seem to matter since I couldn't go anywhere until I had accomplished everything beforehand anyway. I wish there was a way to get up from the platform where all the hitscanners were: I hopped down to collect ammo but I couldn't go up from where I just was, it was in a 'U' shape. The icon of sin ending was cool, though that was when I rushed to the end since I died the first time meandering too long. I liked how the map got more convenient to more around in while also unlocking new areas. Congrats on your first WAD and uploading it to idgames! I saw you update this before so I'm sorry I didn't play it until now. -
Thank you very much for playing! I appreciate it.
