Struggle MAP28 (ex-MAP25) UV-Max Playtest

[@stephenhowe4107]

Awesome. Intense. Just right.

[@kakhome1]

One other inspiration question. Is Map20 inspired by Map28 (Maelstrom) of Sunlust? That definitely does predate it (Sunlust was released August 2015 with its beta being June 2015, prior to any beta of Struggle). Also Map08 will be one day late - it should be up Saturday evening. I know I'm usually only four days apart, but I actually put Map07 up a day early by accident.

[@_antares031]

kakhome1 Any one-color themed levels I've made, including the entire levels of last episode, were inspired by Killer Colour, MAP31 of Alien Vendetta.

[@kakhome1]

Thanks for clarifying that. :) Yeah that is an inspiration source - in fact it shows up again in Map04 of Hell Ground (2009 wad) as well. So far the last episode is blue from what I can see, though it's only half finished as of this beta...

[@PartyCrasher04]

Cool weapons :O

[@kakhome1]

Map03 is up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJvKp61umpyVidU (Sorry music isn't great quality, fixed this for Map04 onward) Also I left a comment with a few questions on my Map01 & Map02 video. Direct hit from rocket doesn't seem to always 'take' (playing in ZDooM).

[@kakhome1]

Map07 available now: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6fVkmeAnqlpfs0 I typed out some feedback in the video but per a request I received from Map09 onward any feedback will be in the description and/or comments.

[@kakhome1]

How was the video? Generally if you don't mind I enjoy getting a comment - even if brief. :)

[@kakhome1]

Is this now going to be Map28 of the final product as the title indicates? Also the Archvile bug on Map06 was my fault (posted on that video), sorry about not catching it myself.

[@_antares031]

yes, I adjusted the map slot a little bit to balance the difficulty between the levels.

[@kakhome1]

That makes sense, definitely. Also would you like me to re-record any levels & how was my Map06 video otherwise? Sorry about that bug and for posting so many comments on the video.

[@_antares031]

nah, you don't need to re-record the levels you've done; they're already useful for me, and we haven't seen that many arch-viles yet so far :D

[@kakhome1]

What have you thought of the somewhat mixed feedback to-date? I had really hoped myself as a tester it would be more clearly positive. ;(

[@_antares031]

kakhome1 People have their own taste, after all

[@kakhome1]

antares031 I hope it doesn't dissuade you from future endeavors - or even from a final release for Struggle. I could just imagine a shorter episode of uniquely themed maps, perhaps Boom compatible, similar to DMP and NOVA 3 mapping.

[@kakhome1]

antares031 Is this likely to result in making Struggle your last release (or even canceling the release)? I hope it doesn't mean either. Is anything you're getting from DWMC potentially helpful at all?

[@_antares031]

Receiving feedback is always helpful

[@p1nkfreud]

antares031_연어。 I think the map design, effects, music, atmosphere, etc is actually some of the best out there. Right up there with your work on Eviternity. A real high-point for Doom!!! However, I did personally find that there were some balance issues (only speaking for myself) but I still thought this was an excellent megawad!!! Thanks! EDIT: I forgot to give example. Usually, I play Doom on UV of course. For your "Struggle", I have to play on HTMP!!! WOW

[@kakhome1]

(If desired I can remove this once it's been addressed.) Did you get the Map31 video/link? I'd just like to check. I'm concerned mainly because it's been longer than usual (since upload) + I ended up leaving so many comments on Map15 at once, more so than I had really meant to; I hope I didn't cause offense. Very sorry if I did.

[@_antares031]

nah, I just took a sleep, after I posted the last comment. It was late 2AM, so I was tired.

[@kakhome1]

Map25 (of the latest RC) - kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4O3q4OCbdqdj6M Also there is no hurry at all but what would be a current ETA for an RC (or beta) that has all 32 maps? I'd just like to know roughly when I should expect that.

[@_antares031]

RC1 will be released 4 days later

[@kakhome1]

4 days later from when - as in 'it will be released in 4 days (from today)'?

[@_antares031]

Yes, from today.

[@kakhome1]

I won't have Map27 or Map28 recorded yet - I hope that's okay and it can still be done afterward (along with 29/30)?

[@_antares031]

Sure, feel free to do that.

[@kakhome1]

Also - in addition to Map19 video (below) - what software did you use to capture this video? I want to play this level in PRBoom+ but my software I'm using (OBS Studio 2.0.1.1) seems to not capture it despite capturing ZDooM fine. :( Alternatively if you did use OBS or are familiar with it - do you know how to get it to recognize PRBoom+ for capturing?

[@_antares031]

Try GLBoom+ instead, which is the OpenGL version of PrBoom+.

[@kakhome1]

I prefer software rendering when possible. The port itself works fine, just I can't get the window to capture with OBS. So my question is what video recording program did you use?

[@kakhome1]

Two questions: Is Map10's aesthetic inspired by Tangerine Nightmare? And while I'm not there yet is the 15-31/32-16 sequence inspired by Doom 3?

[@_antares031]

1. MAP10 was finished, and included in the second public beta version in November 2015, which is 2 years earlier than Tangerine Nightmare. The brown/orange-colored texture was just my choice to harmonize with those dirt/grass textures. 2. No, I wasn't thinking about Doom 3, while I was making those levels. I just wanted to include at least one traditional hell level, with those red textures and lava flats, in the wad. The idea to use secret levels as the part of general progression was actually inspired by Astrostein 3.

[@kakhome1]

antares031 1. Sorry I wasn't aware what beta introduced it; I only have copies of 1 & 5 and wasn't sure if they necessarily introduced the levels sewuentially. 2. Yeah that hell transition is what a quick look reminded me of. Probably the best advantage of using one or both secret levels as regular is you get extra briefing screens for story (of course any higher than limit removing and this probably doesn't matter since you can just add them with dehacked).

[@kakhome1]

Also I forgot I also wanted to mention in Map31 using ZDooM (at least when I checked in 2.8.0) you cannot zoom in on the automap, which makes it of little use in navigating. Is this intended?

[@_antares031]

I tried it in ZDoom 2.8.1 with no problem. And no, if that happens, that's not intended.

[@kakhome1]

antares031 I'll test soon in that version & get back.

[@kakhome1]

I'd appreciate a response here even if brief (just get concerned when I have a question without a response) - Regardless of if there are any changes to the balance or not - all of which are your choice (I'm just stating my opinion of how the levels' difficulty compared to your target) - are you still interested in seeing me continue to record these levels blind? If you want you can respond on my video instead & I'll remove the comment here. :)

[@_antares031]

Of course I'm interested in seeing more blind gameplay for later levels. And don't worry, I'll keep on leaving responses to new videos.

[@kakhome1]

Will do then! :) My personal opinion is that Map10 and Map12 were a bit below what you say your target difficulty is (AV-level), Map11 about right, and early on in Map13 a tad hard, otherwise about right for Map13. Those are just my personal thoughts I'm sharing from a blind run though; what ultimately gets changed if anything is up to you completely. :)

[@kakhome1]

Map05 now live:kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4nYY3SIpdprZtk

[@kakhome1]

Posted Map04 now:kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5aog6eoopeYmq8

[@kakhome1]

I have a video of this wad, first two levels for now: kzbin.info/www/bejne/laDWqol_gaelpdk