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SIGIL "Split from "John Romero and Adrian Carmack's new FPS""

NNC

#301 Posted 28 May 2019 - 10:23 PM

I've seen various feedbacks so far, and it seems people enjoy E5M1 to M3 and M5 and M6 a lot, while M4, M7, M8 and M9 got major criticism.

M4 is very infamous by the crusher maze, and for a valid reason, it's really not fun gimmick. M7 gets the flak for the last third section as it's basically a nastier version of The Chasm. M8 is said to be a lukewarm boss level without a true ending, while M9 is just an also ran map with poor design choices.

As for the music, I will be unpopular here, but I think Jimmy's tracks are clearly inferior to Buckethead's cool riffs. It's more fun to play this mapset with Buckethead music, than with Jimmy music. The only exception is the secret level, where the midi was absolutely awesome.

This post has been edited by Nancsi: 28 May 2019 - 10:33 PM

Aristotle Gumball

banned!

#302 Posted 28 May 2019 - 11:09 PM

The Buckethead stuff is sort of "just there" for me, but after beating Sigil, I think it was pretty cool. If it had been made by anyone other than Romero, I probably wouldn't have finished, though.

axl

#303 Posted 29 May 2019 - 01:20 AM

Ninety-Six, on 27 May 2019 - 03:58 PM, said:

Out of curiosity, for those who played it, what source port and compatibility settings were used during your playthrough?

I always use GZDoom while setting the visuals as close to vanilla as possible (still retaining high resolutions)

- Polysoft renderer or software renderer;
- Disable bullet and rocket holes (decals = 0);
- Disable rocket trails;
- Disable translucency of fireballs etc, ...
- Compatibility settings = Doom (strict)

Anyway, just finished Sigil. It was good, but I expected more. I actually thought it was rather easy (mind you I played on Hurt me Plenty) and definitely easier than the first 2 levels of Thy Flesh Consumed. I really liked Buckethead's soundtrack though. So yeah, a fine episode but not necessarily better than some fan megawads out there. And definitely not as good as No Rest For The Living.

I hope he will make a megawad for Doom 2.

This post has been edited by axl: 29 May 2019 - 01:21 AM

NightFright

The Truth is in here

#304 Posted 29 May 2019 - 02:49 AM

Maybe Romero can patch in a way to skip or at least stop the E5M4 crushers. The idea with the broken teleporter pad is neat, but to reach it you still need to beat most of the maze first and if you use it, it's impossible to make all crushers stop to clear the path.

Btw there was a short duct-like maze later on with a few Lost Souls in it (in E5M7). I disliked that part even more since it was just a dark maze with bland wood textures, nothing else. Stuff like that just doesn't belong in any modern map, regardless who is the author. Then again, the whole final part of E5M7 is pretty much dickish. That pit with the narrow ledges you got to balance along while fighting Lost Souls and Cacos without falling down, then fighting your way up those narrow stairs with Barons right behind the yellow skull key door... meh. OK, once you have played it and know what to expect, it's not that bad any more. It's also the penultimate level, so you can argue that Satan (aka Romero) really wants to stop you at all costs.

I'm also not a fan of putting Cyberdemons in tight spots where it's easy to catch rocket splash damage even if you manage to evade the projectiles. Luckily, if you don't play on UV, there is a max of two CDs to deal with, and the encounters are kinda OK-ish.

I liked the MIDIs, but Buckethead has a certain Doom 64 vibe which I prefer for the darker maps. 6.66 bucks is a fair price for the music, and I believe it's worth buying, even if you don't like the maps.

Romero needs positive feedback to keep mapping, so spam him on social media. I already mailed him, not without adding some criticism. Any difficulty up to HMP is managable while UV tends to be rather nightmarish and nothing I'd like to endure. Even Romero couldn't do it during his live video feeds, so if you don't want to get frustrated, stick to HMP.

This post has been edited by NightFright: 29 May 2019 - 03:15 AM

pimpampet

#305 Posted 29 May 2019 - 09:12 AM

I just finished it. Short, but sweet. Not a great mapset, but pretty good. If some anonymous community member had submitted it, it would be considered decent but no more. Pretty cool that Romero took the time to do this, though. I liked the music. Worth the 6 or 7 bucks, but don't expect anything super-special. It's a good wad for wasting an hour or so.

Zaxx

Banned

#306 Posted 29 May 2019 - 06:38 PM

NightFright, on 29 May 2019 - 02:49 AM, said:

It's not impossible, it's just hard to do. I managed to do it in two of my 3 playthroughs and I think the trick is that you have to pay attention to the two bigger crushers between the broken teleporter and the end of the room with the lost souls: there is a state where one is wide open while you can only barely fit under the other one.

This post has been edited by Zaxx: 29 May 2019 - 06:38 PM

MusicallyInspired

The Sarien Encounter

#307 Posted 30 May 2019 - 06:58 AM

Looks like Civvie is not as hard on it.

Ninety-Six

#308 Posted 30 May 2019 - 07:16 AM

He certainly wasn't wrong about it being divisive.

NightFright

The Truth is in here

#309 Posted 30 May 2019 - 07:38 AM

Good to know Civvie thinks HMP is the way to play, too.

I only listened to Jimmy's MIDIs with OPL3 emulation. Seems like that didn't do the tracks justice. Gotta do a third replay with a good soundfont to re-evaluate its true quality.

I stick to my initial opinion and say Sigil is a good episode. Maybe not fantastic or legendary, but still good enough to beat episodes 3 and 4 easily (spontaneously remembering E3M7 with its horrible teleporter puzzle). It feels and plays like Doom, and if you can forgive a few moments of dickishness and pretty much E5M8 in its entirety, you are in for 1-2 hours of classic Dooming you won't regret.

That issue with the eye switches being walled off before you can shoot them should be addressed, though. TBH I don't even know why they need to disappear after activation.

This post has been edited by NightFright: 30 May 2019 - 07:45 AM

Ninety-Six

#310 Posted 30 May 2019 - 07:50 AM

NightFright, on 30 May 2019 - 07:38 AM, said:

TBH I don't even know why they need to disappear after activation.

I assume it's to make things less confusing so you don't keep shooting the same switch over and over if you get unsure of what to do next.

Ninety-Six

#311 Posted 30 May 2019 - 09:27 PM

free version is out: https://www.romerogames.ie/si6il/

something I noticed: this is called v1.1, and in the internal changelog (something you can only access by opening it up in slade for some reason) it talks about switching around the trigger lines for the eyes to stop maps from being messed up. I don't know if this is updated from the paid release or if it's the same, but just in case maybe you should all give it a second download.

Spoiler

NightFright

The Truth is in here

#312 Posted 30 May 2019 - 11:19 PM

Full v1.1 changelog was posted at Doomworld:
https://www.doomworl...comment=1993241

Since retail and free editions are identical, everybody can update by downloading the free version.

This post has been edited by NightFright: 30 May 2019 - 11:21 PM

cybdmn

#313 Posted 31 May 2019 - 12:34 AM

NightFright, on 30 May 2019 - 11:19 PM, said:

Since retail and free editions are identical, everybody can update by downloading the free version.

Free edition just contains the Jimmy-WADs. ;-)

I got an email from romerogames.com, with an download link to v1.1 with all 4 wads updated. I guess everybody who forwarded their order to info@romerogames.com got that email too.

Ninety-Six

#314 Posted 31 May 2019 - 12:49 AM

NightFright, on 30 May 2019 - 11:19 PM, said:

Full v1.1 changelog was posted at Doomworld:
https://www.doomworl...comment=1993241

But why not anywhere else? You'd think there would at least be a text file in the zip. He has a full guide on how to even set up GZDoom, but puts the changelog inside the wad itself and expects people to be able to look at it?

I don't get it.

Zaxx

Banned

#315 Posted 31 May 2019 - 02:49 AM

cybdmn, on 31 May 2019 - 12:34 AM, said:

Yeah, I bought the digital version a few days ago and received the email about the update.

Anyway what's wrong with getting the update through the free version? If you look into SIGIL_SHREDS.wad all you'll find is the music, that needs no updating.

NightFright

The Truth is in here

#316 Posted 31 May 2019 - 03:26 AM

That's what I wanted to say earlier. Sigil.wad free = paid. Only without the additional Buckethead wad. No need to bother support again for that.
Free version is also going to be on /idgames database. Was already uploaded, awaiting authorization.

Curious: On Romero Games, they state
"Note that the Buckethead soundtrack is playable ONLY in SIGIL and not as MP3 files."

Well, you can still open sigil_shreds.wad with Slade or any other wad editor and extract the MP3s. No big deal.

This post has been edited by NightFright: 31 May 2019 - 03:27 AM

MusicallyInspired

The Sarien Encounter

#317 Posted 31 May 2019 - 06:01 AM

NightFright, on 31 May 2019 - 03:26 AM, said:

Well, you can still open sigil_shreds.wad with Slade or any other wad editor and extract the MP3s. No big deal.

That's probably for copyright reasons similar to how GOG couldn't offer the digital files for the Quake 1 soundtrack, but you can still access the tracks through the included "hidden" game ISO. Music distribution is a very specific copyright nightmare, obviously. Terminology regarding distribution is everything. It's probably a loophole to get around saying that the MP3s are distributed along with the game. The fact that they're not easily accessible to the layman is enough for them and saying the MP3 files "aren't included" in this way sidesteps them out of trouble.

This post has been edited by MusicallyInspired: 31 May 2019 - 06:03 AM

Sanek

#318 Posted 31 May 2019 - 06:27 AM

I'm sorry. Somehow felt like I'm obliged to do that. <_<

NightFright

The Truth is in here

#319 Posted 31 May 2019 - 07:36 AM

I think seagulls wouldn't be very happy in these maps. Too dark, too tight spaces and too hot (lava). 😁

Zaxx

Banned

#320 Posted 31 May 2019 - 09:46 AM

Jimmy released the MIDI soundtrack on Bandcamp (comes with MIDI files if you buy):
https://twitter.com/...345206973644800

NightFright

The Truth is in here

#321 Posted 31 May 2019 - 11:39 PM

I hope Romero isn't done with updating Sigil yet. He already indicated that missing par times may be added with a dehacked patch in a possible future v1.2. He should also do some balancing changes, e.g. more ammo in the first couple of maps and more rockets in E5M9 - at least on lower difficulties. Then again, probably not too much since it shouldn't get too easy.

MajorTom 2417

#322 Posted 01 June 2019 - 05:32 AM

My effort at playing the first few levels of SIGIL.

Tea Monster

Polymancer

#323 Posted 01 June 2019 - 06:21 AM

I'm really enjoying this. As before, Romero is an evil dungeon master.

He does like shooty switches though, dosen't he?

Jimmy has done an excellent job on 90's-ifying the soundtrack.

This post has been edited by Tea Monster: 01 June 2019 - 06:22 AM

johnnythewolf

#324 Posted 01 June 2019 - 06:31 AM

Tea Monster, on 01 June 2019 - 06:21 AM, said:

Jimmy has done an excellent job on 90's-ifying the soundtrack.

Wait, so Jimmy's soundtrack is a MIDI demake of Buckethead's? I was under the impression that they were original compositions.

This post has been edited by johnnythewolf: 01 June 2019 - 06:42 AM

The Ultimate Doomer

#325 Posted 01 June 2019 - 06:52 AM

johnnythewolf, on 01 June 2019 - 06:31 AM, said:

I was under the impression that they were original compositions.

They are.

johnnythewolf

#326 Posted 01 June 2019 - 10:20 AM

I wonder if Andrew Hulshult is considering doing a cover album for SIGIL. His IDKFA album was pretty damn good! I reckon he must be really busy nowadays with Prodeus and WRATH, not to mention the Doom II cover album (IDDQD?) he promised he would make when he gets the time, but it would be interesting to hear his take on either Jimmy or Buckethead's sountracks.

This post has been edited by johnnythewolf: 01 June 2019 - 10:21 AM

Aristotle Gumball

banned!

#327 Posted 01 June 2019 - 10:47 AM

Hulshult always seemed like a budget Mick Gordon to me. Similar stuff, but more amateurish. The constant single note chugging (like in Dusk) gets tiresome after a while.

johnnythewolf

#328 Posted 01 June 2019 - 12:36 PM

So I finished the episode on Ultra-Violence and as a whole it was... not fun. It really feels like John Romero looked at Thy Flesh Consumed and decided that it was not unforgivingly difficult enough. I would not say the maps are bad per se, but unlike the masterpiece that is E1M8b, they do not feel like an improvement over official Doom maps and they tend to be just frustrating to play. <_<

Oh well. Hopefully, Blackroom - if it is still being worked on - will be better...

This post has been edited by johnnythewolf: 01 June 2019 - 12:42 PM

MrFlibble

#329 Posted 01 June 2019 - 12:50 PM

I just watched a little bit of this video and my first thought was how creatively the stock Doom assets are used to make the levels feel new and different from the original vanilla stuff.

The music is quite nice indeed too <_<

NightFright

The Truth is in here

#330 Posted 01 June 2019 - 02:24 PM

Well, Romero already proved his sadistic ambitions in E4M2, so Sigil's style didn't really come as a surprise for me. I played it on ITYTD at first and found it definitely too easy. Overall I find HMP quite acceptable, and besides the crusher trap in E5M4, the cyberdemon encounter in E5M9 and the final part of E5M7 I didn't have any major problems.

Ammo IS the big issue in this wad. Romero really wants you to save your precious cells and rockets for the big encounters. I doubt he will consider any major balancing changes now, but I would have really wished for a bit more firepower, especially towards the end of the episode. Funny enough, in the last map you won't need much ammo, you can even run past all the bosses since their deaths are not required to end the level, as you would normally expect.

My main criticism about Sigil right now is actually not its difficulty or evil design (I'm ok with that), but the fact I still haven't received any notification regarding the status of my Beast Box order. I am not the only one, and in fact it seems most of the deluxe editions haven't even started shipping yet.

This post has been edited by NightFright: 01 June 2019 - 02:32 PM