Let's See The Sights
I'd like to try something now, something that I've been thinking about off and on for the past week or so. Something to get me motivated to not only play Doom, but to also write about playing Doom. So I've created this new column, Doom Tourism. I'll be using this to post about my casual playthroughs of various Doom WADs.
If you're new here, a WAD is usually a file of user-created maps for Doom or Doom II. This time, I'll be playing a newly released WAD called Valiant, created by Skillsaw of the Doomworld Mapping Forum. Valiant was released just last week, so I thought it would be an excellent example of how the Doom modding community is still going strong.
Valiant is a full mapset of 32 maps, 30 normal maps, 1 secret map, and 1 super secret map. Skillsaw separated the 32 maps into 5 episodes, instead of the usual 3. Each episode will have a distinct theme and feel to it. Skillsaw includes several modified enemies and weapons to help the gameplay feel fresh. I can't wait to see what these new monsters and weapons are. So without further ado, let's jump right into it!
MAP01 - Bad Reception
"Air" by Stewboy
MAP01 is usually a pretty interesting slot in mapsets. It is usually on the easier side, but gives a good idea of what the mapper(s) want to accomplish with the full set of levels. And one of the most important parts of a map is always the initial shot, pictured above. What does the player see first and how will this inform their play? Right away, we have a goal, namely, a door to walk towards. We also get some nice detail and what looks like a tower of sorts off to the right.
I love this shot, Skillsaw uses some custom tree sprites with a lot of detail. Great use of varied colors as well, the rich blues really pop in the mostly gray buildings, with the green flora giving giving the landscape a softer border.
On the other side of that first door is a small base with a drop into the unknown. These kinds of 'traps' always unnerve me. You can never be sure what kind of baddies you'll run into when you hop down.
Looks like Skillsaw opted for the slow start. Just a couple of zombies milling about down here. You might have noticed already the different pistol sprite. Immediately Skillsaw shows off one of the modified weapons. Not only does this pistol look a little fancier than the original Doom pistol, it also has a faster fire rate and new firing sound.
To the right of those first zombies is a little water way preventing me from getting to the door over there. Also preventing me is a dumb zombie, but he isn't much of a threat. This map so far has a nice techbase type feel to it, like a lot of Episode 1 maps.
Up the stairs behind those first two zombies are... More zombies. There's also some green armor peeking around the corner there. Armor is really useful against zombies since its impossible to dodge their bullets. I love the little touches in this map, like those vines in the top. Run down techbases are my favorite flavor of techbases.
Oh boy, the first switch of the WAD. I bet this will release some monsters...
I was right! A demon with a new sprite and a couple of shotgun dudes. Once you've played enough Doom you start to get kind of cynical and start expecting traps like this.
That switch also raised a bridge so I can get to this door now, but it looks like it requires a yellow key. This is some pretty typical map progression. Now I gotta go somewhere where the key is.
Found it! This room has some neat cryotubes or something as well as some exploding barrels. You can probably guess that picking up the key will unleash some...
Imps! Skillsaw has modified these jokers a bit too, giving them more spikes and a faster projectile.
Past the imps and beyond the yellow key door is this neat looking outdoors area. Imps snipe at me from on top of the boxes, while some shotgun guys patrol the courtyard.
I managed to find this waterfall that hid an elevator, taking me to the first secret of the WAD, a lovely blue Soulsphere. Soulspheres give you +100% health, up to a maximum of 200% health.
Dropping down from the Soulsphere, I landed on a Berserk pack! I'm a Berserker packin' man and a half! The Berserk pack is one of my favorite powerups in Doom. It heals you to full (100%) and makes your punch attack do MUCH more damage than usual. Most people don't know that the Berserk effect lasts for the remainder of the map. Your fists can still cause carnage once the red glow dims.
I found the rocket launcher, on MAP01 no less. The rocket launcher in Doom is one of the most satisfying weapons to use. It has great sound effects that make it feel powerful. I used it to ice some chaingunners who were hiding in this elevator. Time to go up!
OH FUCK. At the top of the elevator was a damn mancubus! Doomguy's expression mimics my own. I had to rocket the fucker in close quarters, soaking up some splash damage from the rocket launcher in the process. Not ideal.
There, killed the fucker. The mancubus has an awesome death animation where his head pops open and you can see his brains. Let's see what's beyond this tub of lard.
A sort of roof-like area with another mancubus and a few imps and zombies. You can see the base in the middle of this picture, looks real neat.
Past that roof area is a little garden thing with a fountain and another mancubus. What's that he's guarding?
I love this shot, Skillsaw uses some custom tree sprites with a lot of detail. Great use of varied colors as well, the rich blues really pop in the mostly gray buildings, with the green flora giving giving the landscape a softer border.
On the other side of that first door is a small base with a drop into the unknown. These kinds of 'traps' always unnerve me. You can never be sure what kind of baddies you'll run into when you hop down.
Looks like Skillsaw opted for the slow start. Just a couple of zombies milling about down here. You might have noticed already the different pistol sprite. Immediately Skillsaw shows off one of the modified weapons. Not only does this pistol look a little fancier than the original Doom pistol, it also has a faster fire rate and new firing sound.
To the right of those first zombies is a little water way preventing me from getting to the door over there. Also preventing me is a dumb zombie, but he isn't much of a threat. This map so far has a nice techbase type feel to it, like a lot of Episode 1 maps.
Up the stairs behind those first two zombies are... More zombies. There's also some green armor peeking around the corner there. Armor is really useful against zombies since its impossible to dodge their bullets. I love the little touches in this map, like those vines in the top. Run down techbases are my favorite flavor of techbases.
Oh boy, the first switch of the WAD. I bet this will release some monsters...
I was right! A demon with a new sprite and a couple of shotgun dudes. Once you've played enough Doom you start to get kind of cynical and start expecting traps like this.
That switch also raised a bridge so I can get to this door now, but it looks like it requires a yellow key. This is some pretty typical map progression. Now I gotta go somewhere where the key is.
Found it! This room has some neat cryotubes or something as well as some exploding barrels. You can probably guess that picking up the key will unleash some...
Imps! Skillsaw has modified these jokers a bit too, giving them more spikes and a faster projectile.
Past the imps and beyond the yellow key door is this neat looking outdoors area. Imps snipe at me from on top of the boxes, while some shotgun guys patrol the courtyard.
I managed to find this waterfall that hid an elevator, taking me to the first secret of the WAD, a lovely blue Soulsphere. Soulspheres give you +100% health, up to a maximum of 200% health.
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| ass fisting |
I found the rocket launcher, on MAP01 no less. The rocket launcher in Doom is one of the most satisfying weapons to use. It has great sound effects that make it feel powerful. I used it to ice some chaingunners who were hiding in this elevator. Time to go up!
OH FUCK. At the top of the elevator was a damn mancubus! Doomguy's expression mimics my own. I had to rocket the fucker in close quarters, soaking up some splash damage from the rocket launcher in the process. Not ideal.
There, killed the fucker. The mancubus has an awesome death animation where his head pops open and you can see his brains. Let's see what's beyond this tub of lard.
 |
| better dodge these fireballs |
Past that roof area is a little garden thing with a fountain and another mancubus. What's that he's guarding?
It's a partial invisibility sphere, one of the more useless powerups. It makes Doomguy partially invisible for a minute. While invisible, hitscan enemies like the shotgun zombies will have a much higher chance of missing their shots. It also makes projectile enemies fire wildly, which can sometimes make them HARDER to dodge, not easier. Whatever, I'll pick it up anyways.
You can see the effect of the sphere, making my rocket launcher appear translucent. Unlike the Berserk pack, partial invis doesn't change the color of the screen. As far as what I'm looking at, it seems like its a nice little optional area. There's a soulsphere on that pillar in the back.
Which naturally makes a bunch of monsters teleport in. Teleport traps are a little more finessed than monster closets, but they have the same effect: Make the player fight monsters. Since the monsters teleporting in are all hitscanners, I'm glad I picked up that partial invisibility.
 |
| in doom, corpses don't disappear, so you'll always have to wade through your slain foes |
Moving past all that carnage, I found a switch in the wall. This will most likely either raise those doors, or spawn more monsters, or maybe a combination of the two.
If you guessed "combination of the two," you'd be right! More demons here, you get to see their modified sprites a little better. They've got sharper teeth and neat robo-legs. Doesn't seem like anything else about them has been modified though...
Inside the doors is the exit room! Exit doors usually have that same texture. Once you've played enough Doom, spotting the exit door can be a huge relief. But it looks to me that there's a few chaingunners milling about, so I probably won't be able to just rush to the exit.
Looks like I'm gonna need to hit this switch to open the exit door anyways, and it needs a blue key.
Well, I found it and really got myself into a mess. An arch-vile on map one? Skillsaw, you're wrong for this. Arch-viles are tough enemies that can not only blast your ass with fire, they can also reanimate dead demons. Lucky for me I have ROCKETS.
BOOM! One dead arch-vile. Those jerks can be a real problem if you let them run around resurrecting shit. But now with the blue key I can make my way to the exit.
Nice, map finished. And I managed to get all the kills and secrets! I wonder if all the maps will have that same red 'x' exit. My final thoughts on the map are quite positive. This is the first mapset I've played of Skillsaw's, so I'm not used to his style. This map had a great difficulty curve, culminating in a tight fight against an arch-vile and some lesser monsters.
The item and ammo placement felt really nice, as well. I was surprised to get a rocket launcher on map one, not to mention enough ammo to really put it to good use. I liked where the monsters were placed, too, it helped keep the player heading in the right direction. The fight on the roof area that had the three or so mancubi was probably my favorite encounter in the map.
Aesthetically, this map has everything I like. It leans towards the abstract side of things, instead of the realistic, which I much prefer. Less bits and bobs to run into and get caught on, even if it looks nice. Skillsaw has a good eye for colors. The texture placement kept the map from being too gray or brown.
I'm definitely interested in continuing this. Hopefully the maps will stay this focused and exciting. Thanks for reading.
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