[FistMarine]

What's this thing?
We play through a set of maps/mods during the month, and use this thread to discuss it as we're still all fresh with our comments/opinions/feelings about the maps.

What's the purpose?
Basically, there are 4 purposes:

• Showcasing some of the older mods/maps to wider public - they definitely deserve the attention!
• Getting more people to actually enjoy and appreciate the user content - because let's be honest, over the past 25 years this was really what kept Duke alive after all.
• ...and while we're at it - keeping Duke alive by still enjoying it, as there's no new games in the franchise on the horizon (and let's be honest, they wouldn't be as good as some of this stuff!).
• Having a more structurized discussion on maps than what's going in "Last map you played" thread - which is great, but it's basically a monologue most of the time.

Can I join?
Sure, as long as you find some spare time during the month to play the stuff that's on the table!

Why a month?
Because people have lives, jobs or other stuff to do (like mapping). For smaller maps, this could be shorter time - it's all up to debate in the future!

What port should I use? Are mods allowed? Where to get the maps?
It's entirely up to you how you play the game, so you can use whatever port or mod allowed - it would be cool to state in your posts what you're using too, as there might be some slight differences between the ports! As for the maps, they should be always linked within the first post.

How should I play the maps or post about them?
Again, it's up to you. You can finish them all in one go or play them one by one whenever you feel like. On Doom forums, there's a rule that you should keep the pace by not posting about a map that has a higher number than the day of the month, so e.g. on 6th you shouldn't post about map 7 etc. I think that might be a good practice if there's a large interest in this, but first let's see how active the thread is for a start - so if there's nothing going on, feel free to post about whatever map you want to.

Previous editions:

Spoiler

December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021

Happy New Year everybody! For this month's choice (and obviously the first 2022 entry), Aleks has given me the permission to host the event from now on and with this occasion, we will also be playing through Alejandro Glavic's maps, including ADG Episode (with the option to play first 4 maps of that episode, as individual user maps as they were initially released back then) and also ADG06, which is Alejandro's newest entry, released back in 2017!

Additional notes:
1) All entries are made for Atomic Edition, most of them being DOS compatible as well, with the exception of Another Timeless Night (requires JFDuke3D at least) and ADG06 (requires EDuke32, I recommend using the latest 2017 build, which is r6576).
2) Many individual maps (HydroStation, Military Madness, Blackened, Alien Wipeout, Another Timeless Night) come with their own dethtoll.mid, so be careful where you install them to avoid overwriting the custom songs used! ADG06 comes with a new ogg file named as the map's filename, so there's no problem here since that map was made for EDuke32 anyway. If you play all maps in EDuke32, you can rename the other maps' songs as the same name as the map and the new songs will play in game, allowing for a cleaner directory.
3) Welcome Home comes with new art included, so you may want installing it in a different folder to avoid the new art overlapping with the older art, although from what Aleks told me before, Tiles014 and above, should be safe to add to your Duke3D/EDuke32 directory and shouldn't conflict with existing original Duke3D art (don't forget to delete/move the art files when finishing playing the map, if you plan to install another map/mod with custom art). In this case, the map comes with new Tiles014.ART and Tiles015.art files. I would still recommend making a separate directory just in case.
4) Space Showdown and ADGDM2 are DM maps, which may be worth exploring and taking a look in them.

Map/Mod listings in chronological order. Direct download links at Dukeworld for most entries, ADG06 original release thread (original download link is untested since early 2021 when I downloaded the map and the site may have went offline since back then, as a result I provided mirror download links) and additional mirrors provided for downloading the maps (especially ADG06) from MSDN and Scent-88:

ADG01
ADG02
ADG03
ADG04
ADG Episode
YMF500G
EDF Secret Base
The Lost Moonbase
HydroStation
Eye-Witness
Military Madness
Space Showdown
Blackened
Alien Wipeout
ADGDM2
Welcome Home
Another Timeless Night
ADG06

MSDN: https://msdn.duke4.net/hot.php

Scent-88: http://www.scent-88....adg06/adg06.php

Alternatively, you can check NightFright's Addon Compilation and you can play ADG Episode and Glavic Pack, respectively.

Have fun!

[NNC]

Good choice. I loved the ADG episode back then. First level was kinda dry, but it got better and better. The layouts were simple, but that's fine, you never got lost like in most usermaps. For a strange reason, Alejandro didn't use too many ambient sounds (there was a Metallica, I don't remember which one, song played in one secret in ADG04), also he almost exclusively used shotgun ammo in his maps, with a rare chaingun and/or level specific weapon added.

Enemy placement in his maps was also a tad bit too simple. There were many pigcops and liztroops, but for example in ADG episode, only the first level had enforcers, and he never, in any of his maps, used tank or reconcar, also skimpy on drones (there was one in ADG boss map) and other high-tier enemies like newbeasts were pretty rare too.

I didn't like his return map, ADG06, and the one before it, Another Timeless Night. They were just meh for me, typical modern maps with too many unnecessary details and boring encounters. I remember a boss-in-my-face moment in ADG06 as well.

As for Eye Witness, it was a co-production with Kevin Cools. It had some scripted moments that were atypical in Ale's maps. Btw. we still share the same birthday.

[LakiSoft]

Just started ADG Episode with Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition in DosBox, i just did beat ADG01 and i must say, though this is maybe even tenth time i am playing this episode, i really liked how Alejandro designed his maps, in very classic 3D Realms-like classic style, yet unique enough to get some Alejandro's typical look inside them. I like the combination of classic style with not too many but enough details too make his levels quite enjoyable, in fact i liked the way he used Atomic Edition assets in particular.

This time i don't have screenshots of this playthought but i do have recorded gameplay video, note it's low quality video.

 ADG Episode - ADG01.rar (15MB)
Number of downloads: 181

[Aleks]

I have recently (over the last 2 years or so) replayed most of Ale's maps and probably won't have time/motivation to replay it again now, but I will definitely play through the ADG Episode (which I don't remember ever playing for some reason) and ADG06 (which I most certainly didn't play yet). Perhaps I will also replay Military Madness which is one of my favourites from his levels, crazy with effects and BobSP like design.

As for most of his maps, they're some benchmark for details in pre-increased Build/Mapster limits, on the other hand they usually take about 10-15 minutes. I like the fact he has taken on most of the themes and it was usually with some success, from space and alien through industrial and hi-tech to city. The gameplay always seemed to be a bit too much on the conservative/safe side, probably this was only changed in Just Another Timeless Night finale and perhaps Blackened. Other than that, there's always been lots of shotgun action, which was quite convenient. Just Another Timeless Night is also probably his best map in terms of design, I also really dig Welcome Home that uses new textures and has a brilliant atmosphere and Alien Wipeout which has some cool effects thrown around, including the space vacuum sucking Duke out. There's also Eye-Witness, where he and Kuffi went a bit overboard with design and used up like 50% walls on perfectly rounded and multilayered shadows everywhere Nevertheless, it's very impressive how fast Ale could produce his maps back in the day and he was certainly one of the more talented mappers and also a great influence on my style as well.

[LakiSoft]

Aleks, on 07 January 2022 - 01:02 PM, said:

and also a great influence on my style as well.

Yes i did noticed some similarities with Ale's maps when i played your Back to Business episode Aleks.
His (and yours) mapping styles are so unique yet so classic.

Anyway, just did ADG02, funny subway styled map, though it was confusing at times, but it was detailed and fun overall.

Gameplay Video can be downloaded\viewed here: https://files.fm/f/dneuc2gwt

[Merlijn]

I think Ale is a great candidate for this topic, his maps are usually pretty short and accessible/easy to navigate. That's partly because he made extremely detailled maps with the old limits of course.

I already replayed the ADG episode recently so I'll move to his stand-alone maps.
I generally agree with The watchtower on the ADG episode: the maps look and play well but the combat relies too much on pigcop vs. shotgun for my tastes.
The first map is a tad weaker but still a very good effort if you consider it's the first map he ever released.

YMF500G
This is the most obvious bobsp-inspired map so far, it really feels like bobsp in space. This map is very compact and extremely linear, it's basically a series of hallways plus a couple of rooms.
There's almost no back-tracking or switch-hunting and only 1 secret.TBH this didn't bother me that much, a linear map is perfectly fine every once in a while. Combat is fine, not as repetetive as ADG
but also pretty easy. Hardest foe is 1 commander at the end. Design-wise it looks really good. I think one of the most important things in a space-map is to have enough windows and views of the
exterior, to really sell the idea you're in outer space. The map does really excel in that, also there's a really cool sequence with a meteor ramming the ship! I feel perhaps the map could have leaned even
more into that (the station being destroyed by a swarm of meteors at the end would have been really cool). Overall a very solid map.

EDF secret base

So this is the 'controversial' map that 'stole' from Maarten Pinxten. IIRC it even was removed from MSDN for some time. Looking back now, the whole ordeal was pretty silly. Yes, the map does have a
very similar style to MP's maps. But there's nothing wrong with taking inspiration from other work, MP himself borrowed a lot from Halflife.
Now we got that out of the way, the map itself is quite a bit more difficult than the previous one (I'm playing everything on CGS). I'm not even sure what makes it harder, perhaps there's less health lying around.
The map is a bit longer and features more elaborate set-pieces. There's a nice variety of locations, next to the base itself there's some underwater action, an outdoor scene and a battlelord fight in some sort of
warehouse. Shadows are very well implented in this map, here's a great example:


Only annoyance I had were the invisible walls in the starting area, I get that you want to have that wide ocean view but they could have been placed a lot better. Overall this is my favorite Ale map so far!

The lost moonbase

We're back in space! Another solid entry, with great design all the way through. I only wish we could have gotten more lunar scenery, you only get 1 view to the outside in the beginning and
1 tiny outdoor section at the end. The rest of the map takes place inside the moonbase. Not much else to say really, combat felt more varied compared to YMF500G and the gameplay is
centered around a hub area. At the end we get to blow up a reactor which is always good fun. Also the doors are a really deadly weapon in this map! I killed at least half of my enemies with them

Quote

there was a Metallica, I don't remember which one, song played in one secret in ADG04

IIRC it was Hit the lights.

[NNC]

Yea, Hit the Lights, thanks.
Not my favourite Metallica song, but it was really memorable in that location. Also ADG04 is somewhat different layout-wise to other Alejandro maps, it has a central hub and many paths connected to it. IIRC there were an unusually big number of commanders in this level.

As for EDFSB, the opening area was similar to MPCC2, but the rest of the level was totally different (probably the outdoor area with the scripted sequence took inspirations from MPResort with the trees). It was a silly rant by Pinxten really (fueled by Pascal Rouaud btw., who was also involved in Dogville controversy).

[LakiSoft]

ADG03

Nice map, its environment reminds me of BOBSP map series as well,
there was one a bit confusing part though, but fun level overall.

ADG03 Gameplay video: https://files.fm/f/uj4x7v6q3


ADG04

Higly detailed, and using very creative input of Atomic Edition assets.
Hence the Atomic Edition vibe is also present there.

ADG04 Gameplay video: https://files.fm/f/36r9pby3q


ADG05

Very wise and creative made Boss map, not too long but still epic Boss battle.
Very detailed as well.

ADG05 Gameplay video: https://files.fm/f/8tq9vzhtx

Overall i had great fun replaying ADG Episode after some time and i recommend it to anyone who didn't tried it yet, as Ale's maps definitely feel like some kind of official expansion for Duke3D.


ADG06

I took some chance to play ADG06 for first time. Since this map is too big for original DOS DUKE3D.EXE to handle, i used DukePlus 1.80 (EDuke32) to add some additional features as well, and my impressions are:

Man, Ale definitely improved his skills even more on this map, environment was so realistic and fantastic , i think further comment is totally unnecessary, this level is master piece!

ADG06 (with DukePlus 1.80) Gameplay video: https://files.fm/f/2e5snxant


Timeless

Very unique and interesting map. Nicely detailed, confusing and annoying at times, sometimes spawning too many monsters in face, but overall it gives you nice challenge and level to play.

Timeless (with DukePlus 1.80) Gameplay video: https://files.fm/f/nv968zq4x


Note that all videos are low quality to keep file size as possible.

[aglavic]

Thank you for this
It was even a good chance for my to replay my own maps after a long time, more from a "pure" player perspective as I didn't even remember a lot of things from the levels haha
I think my favourite in that time was Military madness followed by Adg04

This also inspired myself to setup a new simple website to host my maps, having also in mind that Amc web forums domain is no longer online.
Here is the URL: https://alejandroglavic.ar/duke3d/

Too bad I think I've lost that new favela-inspired map I was doing some years ago... I think if there is still a copy, it must be in a broken HDD I should recover some day... we'll see

Greetings! and hope you enjoy playing
Alejandro

[NNC]

Another thing I remember from these maps, that Ale made them in a very short time period. IIRC the maps between ADG01 and Blackened were all made between autumn 2001 and summer 2002. Alien Wipeout was the first one when I felt Ale lost some inspiration in mapping.

PS: Welcome home, Ale.

[LakiSoft]

Moonbase

Very detailed and fun, some parts of it reminds me off Imperium episode and E4L11: Area 51 from Atomic Edition.

Moonbase Gameplay video: https://files.fm/f/tpjd5uyhw


Welcome Home

New awesome ART, very realistic, highly detailed, a bit confusing but still fun. Thank you for making this masterpiece Alejandro!

Welcome Home Gameplay video: https://files.fm/f/5cxenqbr4


YMF500G

Cool oldschool styled space themed map. Very original, creative and fun. Not too hard, not too easy, balanced and fair enough!

YMF500G Gameplay video: https://files.fm/f/bz4jjr84t

[Merlijn]

Nice to see you here Ale! Too bad about the Favela map, it looked quite unique. Playing through your old maps really is a trip down memory lane!
I must say most of them held up very well despite being restricted by the old limits

Hydrostation
This map feels quite similar to ADG03 but with much more detail (especially the intricate sprite work stands out here). It's a very dark and gloomy map.
I like the vertical element here, where sprites are used to create multiple floors on top of each other. Combat is restricted to only a couple of enemy types and just 2 weapons (what is this, DNF? )
You don't even get your pistol this time, only the shotgun and the chaingun. The sequence at the end is pretty cool, especially the blaring sirenes are a nice touch.
Too bad we don't get to see the building explode at the end (I think that was the biggest complaint when the map was released as well, but I could be remembering it wrong).
This comes with the E2M1 music from Doom, but to be honest I don't think it fits the gloomy look of the map at all.
Overall a solid map, but not the strongest in the set.

Military madness
I remember some of us (including me) getting a bit tired of all the bobsp-styled techbase maps getting released at this point. You can especially notice it when you read back the reviews from Mikko.
Looking back it may have not been completely fair, because this level does improve on Hydrostation quite a bit. It's more fun to play, there's more memorable set-pieces (like the rocket or the car crash)
and it has a nice explosive ending. First half feels more cramped compared to the other map, but this changes in 2nd half with the explosive underground parkade section.
Spriteworks seem to only get more detailled and inticrate. I can see why Ale considers this to be a personal favorite.

[Aleks]

Nice to see you around, Ale!

Played ADG Episode - I don't think I have played it before for some reason, although some things seemed familiar - perhaps from other Ale's maps (especially the neat switch with chain in 3rd map). The first map was very neat and probably the coolest one in terms of layout, there was the most room to move around. However, it lacked pretty much any medkits, besides some atomic healths I really liked some stuff like the metro station and use of the "cables" with pal 4 for some fence.

The 2nd level that mostly took place inside a subway was the weakest IMO - it was still pretty neat for a metro level, I especially liked how fast-paced it was without too much backtracking through the subway cars. However, sometimes it felt too linear, also some areas were pretty much "copypasted" or mirrored. However, I really liked some of the "gradient"/layered shadows around the spotlights.

The 3rd level was brilliant - while the inside might have been a bit too dark for my taste, the outside looked really great, with the chimney and the tanker, probably my favourite area in terms of design in the whole level. The gameplay was also funnier here. The shadows in this were once again quite a highlight, especially on the outside.

4th map continued on from the third one, with less linearity and more respawns/more dynamic combat. Use of commanders and Battlelord around the central hub area was pretty cool. The design was a nice mix of industrial/hi-tech stuff with desert/canyon textures, I liked how they were smoothly combined together. The final level with boss fight had nice design, but it felt a bit pushed, could have just been part of the 4th level I think.

The biggest issue in this episode was relying too much on shotgun - it was basically the only weapon available for most part, there was some chaingun here and there, but 95% of time it was shotgun against pigs. The enemy encounters also were too much on the easy side, which turned out to be a bit repetitive around the 2nd level. Also quite some effects like doors or elevators were missing the sounds. Other than that, the episode was quite funny to play - the maps didn't drag at any point and were just short, fast paced and neatly designed pieces with strong continuity between them.

[NNC]

What I don't like in some Alejandro maps, ie. Welcome Home, Military Madness, Alien Wipeout, etc., is that they often end abruptly in darkness. Usually I don't like faded endings, they just can't replace the oldschool nukebutton endings, and if the level ends somewhere where it's not expected, it doesn't have an accomplishment feel to it. That's why I prefer episodic formats over single maps, because in those levels the nukebuttons are acting like keycards: they just separate the segments. The keycards separate the smaller segments, ie. outdoor and indoor, the nukebutton separates the level thematics. The true ending is the boss itself.

Talking about Welcome Home, it had some really nice textures (although some new sprites like lamps are unshootable). That kind of place deserved a more epic battle than the regular pigcop hunt. Ale was a master of environmental design, but rarely nailed the gameplay side of things. That's why I felt ADG04 is uncharacteristically strong in gameplay too.

[FistMarine]

Thanks everyone for joining in! And nice to see you, Alejandro! If I could edit the first post, I would add the new download link to first post. And yes, I'm aware that Eye-Witness was done in collaboration with Kevin Cools. I just forgot to mention earlier.

With all that said, it's time to join the discussion. I have played ADG01-ADG04 as user maps, then YMF500G and then the entire ADG Episode (which is where I took the screenshots from). All maps were played on CGS skill, getting 100% everything, in DOSBox 0.74-3 (except Timeless and ADG06, which are played in source ports).
I will write about ADG Episode and YMF500G for now. Let's begin!

ADG01
A nice opener. You will quickly find out that Ale likes the shotgun action, since at least 90% of time you will use the Shotgun. Sometimes you will get to use the pistol and chaingun as well, though once again, your main workhorse weapon will be the shotgun!
There is a secret containing atomic health, just jump on the car or trash cans, climb on the ledge and jump through window to get it! There are two more atomic health pickups later on (one is inside a box near the part with explosions and another is hidden inside a "happy meal" box) and a portable medkit! There are no armor pickups placed in the map (and this unfortunately applies to rest ADG maps and even ADG06), you will have to get lucky with pig cops dropping one for you.
Interestingly, there are two protector drones found in this map (and there is a third one later in the episode) but otherwise, they aren't often used.
There is a Mini Battlelord that appears halfway in map, although he didn't cause too much trouble, I wish I hadn't wasted most of my RPG shots on him. He managed to dodge half of my shots!
Overall, despite the balance that could have been a bit better (such as more weapons being used), this was a very solid map!




ADG02
A subway styled map. The only issue I had with this map is that it seemed dark and a bit confusing because when playing the map individually (from a pistol start), I got lost when I got the yellow card and didn't see where to place it, so I had to just take the train and stop at every point few times.
Once again, there is a lack of armor unless you get one dropped from a pig cop.
There is one atomic health secret that is found near the part with the slow elevator (where it doesn't seem to be a way back once you get there). You should find a single pipebomb, toss it near that wall and you will access an atomic health secret. There are a few more atomic health pickups present in the map as well, one inside the "happy meal" box and other is given near the end of map.
Other than the dark parts and the small confusion with placing the yellow card, this was again a very solid map!




ADG03
Not much to say about this map, it was fine. Just a bit dark at times and almost died (when playing it as an user map, had 5 health left at one point). When playing it as an episode, I had no problem with the health since I had nearly 200 from the previous map AND the portable medkit unused.
There are two secrets to find (two atomic health), located close to each other. It's in the room where you destroy two turrets (and before you get one of the keycards), there is a small door you can open. Note that to access second secret (inside the first one), you need to press on the computer panel (where you will find the card) and it will open the second secret. Absolutely worth finding these secrets!
The ending part of the map features lightning strikes, so be careful to not be struck by lightning!
Despite the darker parts where it was hard to see what was going on, this was still a very solid map!




ADG04
Interestingly, this map spawns you without weapons, although if you play the maps as an episode, then I highly recommend you to try to get those atomic health pickups in the previous map, to start this one with 200 health. The rest stuff (armor, inventory and weapons) is lost anyway.
With all that said, the map will be significantly easier with the extra health from the previous map, to also make up for the lack of armor (unless you get used armor from a pig cop).
The only weird thing I found at this map from the two playthroughs I've done (the user map and the episode) was the progression seemed different each time, with the Mini Battlelord also spawning in two different locations (first time he spawned in the open area, second time he spawned near where you would find the blue key). Not to mention it seemed like I did the map in a different order the second time around, with getting the Freezethrower and blue card (and fighting the spawned commanders) BEFORE the part where the Mini Battlelord and RPG are spawned.
Another disappointing thing is that the pistol is nowhere to be found, so all the clips dropped from assault troopers will be useless to you.
As with previous map, I nearly died when playing as an user map (since I took quite a bit of damage in later parts of map) but as an episode, with 200 starting health, was much easier and I expected what to happen next, so I can adjust my tactics accordingly.
Like with first map, there is a single Protector Drone to be found in this map, although he shouldn't give you much trouble.
There is a secret to be found which amusingly, doesn't contain an atomic health, instead it contains three medkits (one large and two small) that give 50 health, which means you can pick them up when less than 100 health.
Overall, despite some cramped parts and the lack of pistol, this was still a very solid map!




ADG05
The boss map, exclusive to the ADG Episode! It's a short map with 14 enemies (most of which are slimers and troopers, there is also a SENTRY DRONE waiting behind a door), ending with the fight against the Battlelord! Giving the ADG Episode a proper ending/finale!
You are given both the RPG and Devastator with tons of ammo, as well as two atomic health (one in same room with the weapons, the other is guarded by the Battlelord). I found it easier to kill the Battlelord from the place I entered in the room, you can do it safely without taking any damage! Using the RPG around corners seems easier and safer than using the Devastators.
There are no secrets to find this time, so don't bother searching for them.
Other than being short, this was a nice conclusion to the episode (though not the whole series)!




YMF500G
Funnily enough, back when I first played the map (in late 2000s), I was trying to guess what the initials stand out for. I correctly guessed what it meant (after checking one of newer Ale's maps and reading the text file).
As for the map, I liked it. A nice space styled map that felt like a direct sequel to the ADG Episode, although a bit shorter than I expected. I remembered a bathroom being present in this map but now that I think better, that bathroom might have been present in The Lost Moonbase.
I liked the scripted events at beginning of map and that green card you use to progress further (I always liked how in many of these early 2000s user maps, you can pick up random objects that you can actually use), these were quite well done.
There is also an atomic health secret halfway in the map that was a great help at the time.
There is finally an armor pickup available near end, as well as the Shrinker! Though I didn't make much use of either, as I barely took any damage with armor on near end and I didn't use the Shrinker, I preferred using the Shotgun/Chaingun on the remaining enemies, considering there was still plenty of ammo around for shotgun and chaingun (mostly dropped from enforcers).




As I have already stated, every map so far was solid and I enjoyed revisiting all these maps after all these years! I'm looking forward to (re)play the next maps!

[NNC]

It's a bit of an awkward monster placement really. First map had like 10 enforcers and 2 newbeasts, but the second and third maps had only 1-1 enforcer, and the fourth had only 2, and 1 newbeast. They had however lots of octabrains in places where you usually don't see them. It doesn't hurt the gameplay much, but you would expect a better progressing balance in it. Difficulty in ADG04 with the stripped weapons are the worst when you go to the office room with those many pigcops. Their hitscans are much worse than the commander/octabrains outside, which I found fun (forced the commander to kill those brains). The map had no pistol btw, which I didn't like though.

[Aleks]

The Watchtower, on 20 January 2022 - 09:48 AM, said:

It's a bit of an awkward monster placement really. First map had like 10 enforcers and 2 newbeasts, but the second and third maps had only 1-1 enforcer, and the fourth had only 2, and 1 newbeast. They had however lots of octabrains in places where you usually don't see them. It doesn't hurt the gameplay much, but you would expect a better progressing balance in it. Difficulty in ADG04 with the stripped weapons are the worst when you go to the office room with those many pigcops. Their hitscans are much worse than the commander/octabrains outside, which I found fun (forced the commander to kill those brains). The map had no pistol btw, which I didn't like though.

I did struggle for ammo a bit during the initial commander fight here (and yes I also used the commanders to kill the octabrains), but the pig cops weren't a problem - they could see Duke earlier through 1-sided windows, but couldn't shoot, so they all just lined at the corridor and were an easy target (also there was some more ammo in the trashcans outside I think).

As for general balancing, I did find the pig cops all the way through the episode a bit too repetitive, especially considering how easy they are to trick with shotguns even when encountered in larger groups - 3 enforcers at once usually can be much more dangerous than 3 pig cops. The episode also mostly utilized narrow places, so it was all about reflexes and dodging. I did take a straight up the face hit from a pig cop in the 1st map though, which made me continue with about 30 HP almost all the way to the end

[FistMarine]

I already finished playing the rest maps last week, I will talk about first half today and the other half tomorrow or when I will get around posting the rest.

EDF Secret Base
Nicely detailed map. The ending part was funny with the aliens stealing Duke's spaceship.
Died twice this time around (thankfully the ONLY map where I died), first time I got a rocket in the face from the commander (I only had 17 health left, at the part you get locked for a while in a dark corridor) and the second time I killed myself with RPG when fighting the Battlelord (though I was nearly dead too).
I found a funny thing when killing the Mini Battlelord behind the cover (took me 25 shotgun shells to do that way, since the shotgun shots wouldn't connect), he ended up stuck in his dead animation. I decided to reload the save and try killing him with RPG, which is where the second death came. I wanted to conserve the ammo because I felt 25 shotgun shell was a bit too much for a single mini battlelord.
This map could have benefited from having an armor pickup somewhere (this time unfortunately no armor dropped from any pig cop) and had me low on health halfway through the map, until after killing the Mini Battlelord, when I got the atomic health secrets and health seemed a lot more common (including a hidden atomic health underwater inside a destroyed box). I still think that the armor would have solved a lot of the problems regarding the balance of all these maps.
As mentioned, there's three secrets to be found. The first one is a hidden armory with an early chaingun + ammo and a large health pickup (a hidden switch can be accessed at the start, underwater). The second and third one contain the atomic health. To access the third one, just press on the nearby computer to trigger an explosion and the secret will become accessible (look into the second screenshot for the location of the secret)!
The only annoying thing I found was getting stuck in that crashed elevator when flying the jetpack, I wanted to go down to get shotgun ammo but then ended up getting stuck between sectors with no way out (a rare Duke3D glitch, which can happen even in original maps), thus having to reload the saved game to continue. The next time I went down, I actually found an enforcer that probably dropped down earlier, so I didn't get any missing kills. As there is no way back when you reach the very last room.
With that said, despite the minor annoyances, the map was still very enjoyable and it was certainly cool to take a look at the environments. I just wish the armor wasn't neglected in general!




The Lost Moonbase
Another nicely detailed space themed map.
From what I mentioned earlier in YMF500G, this was the map containing the bathroom I was thinking earlier. There are also various water fountains scattered around, so health will not be a problem (though again armor is sadly absent).
And as with YMF500G, there is this special type of card you must use at one point to progress, this time it's a red card (instead of green). Cool stuff!
Note that once you reach the very last part, there is no way back, as soon as you press the final switch (when you are supposed to rush to the exit), the previous room becomes inaccessible, so make sure you find those two secrets, both of which contain an atomic health. Once you are ready, press the switch and rush to the exit!
The only weird thing is at one point it seemed like I got stuck and needed to get close to that elevator to push it to come back, since there was no other way where to go. I feared I got stuck until I managed to call it back. Besides that and some monsters squishing themselves with those doors, I don't recall anything else strange happening.
Overall, another nice space themed map from Ale!


HydroStation
This map starts you weaponless, so no pistol for you for this map!
The only annoying part I found is towards end with the commanders, it was difficult to dodge their rockets and as punishment, I had to use my medkit to restore my health (yes you find a portable medkit somewhere, hopefully this makes it for the lack of armor).
Interestingly, there is no time limit for the map, once the whole place is starting to shake, you can wait a few minutes until it stops. There is no penalty for not rushing through the map during that time. I always wondered myself years ago if something happened if you didn't escape in time but that doesn't seem to be the case this time around, unlike with previous map where you must rush at the end to escape the moonbase in time. There are also no secrets to be found this time around, so you don't need to look for them.
Another fun base styled map from Ale!


Eye-Witness
Alejandro Glavic and Kevin Cools worked together to bring us this masterpiece! I enjoyed the looks in this map and the gameplay wasn't too bad either. Well other than the lack of armor (though it wasn't much of a problem in this map), there isn't much to nitpick at Ale's maps anyway since they are all solid.
I don't have much to say this time around but I think I enjoyed it slightly more than half of other Ale's maps since this one seemed better balanced and not too punishing, plus a few points to drink water from. There are also a bunch of slimer eggs in the last area on top of one of the wagons, though they aren't threatening at all, so I'm not sure why they were included other than just having a few additional monsters to kill.
There is a secret atomic health to be found towards end, look for a hidden button near one of the vending machines to lower it and reveal the secret.
Also the part with blowing up that crate to get the yellow card had me stuck years ago on one of the first playthroughs and since then I remembered what to do at that point, so progression wasn't confusing for me anymore.
Overall, great map and great joint effort!


Military Madness
As with the EDF Secret Base, this is yet another difficult one (again the lack of armor really hurts the gameplay). I almost died towards the end (at the part with turrets and Mini Battlelord) but thankfully the Portable Medkit really saved my life. Although I didn't understand why you are given an atomic health right before exit (maybe to survive that explosion at end? I stayed crouched near the door and didn't take any damage).
At least I got an used armor from a pig cop near end (after those problematic parts) that gave me 50 points and it did a fine job protecting me from some nasty attacks in last few rooms.
There is a secret containing atomic health at the room mentioned above, you have to press on one different part of the wall to unlock the secret. Reminder that there's about two points of no return, so make sure to explore everything before advancing!
There is also a funny rotating Alien Queen hologram that is seen when viewed on one of the monitors, a small tease for one of the upcoming maps where the same hologram is seen at one point during gameplay.
Overall, another great map from Alejandro!


Once again, all maps so far were incredible. I just wish armor wasn't ignored since it is an essential item for survival (Duke is so fragile without armor) and I don't like having to rely on random drops from pig cops. I suspect that Ale (and many other mappers who don't use armor much in their maps) may have played with the minimal vanilla Duke3D HUD (that only shows health, ammo and inventory), so in that case the armor might as well not even exist. Plus the fact people in general prefer picking up stuff even when not needed, while these days I'm always careful with managing my resources, except when there is no way back and must pick up everything before that point.

As mentioned above, I will post about the remaining 5 maps soon and then we will decide what to play next month!
Considering that February is the shortest month, I would prefer if something shorter gets chosen for the next month. Won't reveal yet my nominations but I suggest to start voting after I make the last post tomorrow. Then based on the winning nominations, I will create the new topic at beginning of February.

BTW for those wondering why I couldn't align all screenshots correctly (and why previous post especially was affected by this) is because if I put all 5 of them in a row, then I get [png shown between them. No idea why but after aligning the ones from EDF Secret Base (like with previous post), the other screenshots stayed normally. Hopefully I will find a better solution from now on.

[Aleks]

Played ADG06 and I can safely say it is now my favourite of Ale's maps. The design is great as usual, though seems more "mature" than in his previous maps - for obvious reasons, but seems all the architectural details (which are pretty much at a Roch level here) sell the locations much better, the texture combinations are great and all the apartments look really like something one would like to move in and live there But where this map really shines the most is probably the outside scenery, even if unreachable - the map feels classic as hell, but not claustrophobic due to the cool highway with cars that keep driving around, bridges, buildings, sailboats... I must confess this is also something I'm doing in the current city map I'm working on, making the city feel much larger and more open than what you see. Here the progression probably suffers a bit, as it is super linear, so the map doesn't benefit from the "open world", but still is immersive and cool enough to really make a difference.


As for the gameplay, with 130+ enemies and all the cool sights to look at, the map took me about 20 minutes. The enemies respawning in plain sight might be a bit of a letdown, but the combat feels much more dynamic than in previous maps. It's again mostly pig cops and shotgun, but the difficulty level of enemies progresses quite naturally with the map, ending with a nice battlelord encounter. There wasn't any fight that was too challenging or dangerous, but enough to keep me busy. I also liked the small puzzles to figure out the 8-button code in the apartment, the presentation of it was very clear and made sense without interfering with the pace of the map. Maybe the outside bit where red key was found could use a more engaging fight with flying enemies with commanders and troopers coming at you there, but that's about it. Loved the map


Also, for the next month I'd like to nominate the maps by Mikko Sandt

[FistMarine]

I just realized that yesterday I only posted about 5 maps rather than 6, meaning that this time I have to post the rest 7 maps. However, since 2 are DM maps and rest 5 are SP, this evens out. I will also say that this time around there isn't much to say about most of the maps compared to previous posts that were longer and more detailed, however the last two maps should have enough written information (since they were the ones that I played first) and they also have the most screenshots taken (though in case of JFDuke3D pictures for Timeless map, again I had to crop them out and they aren't exactly 800x600 resolution). You will see what I mean!

Space Showdown
This is the first Deathmatch map and it takes place in space, as you can tell from the title!
I don't have much to say other than it's worth taking a look and grabbing everything available in the map.


Blackened
This map may already be familiar to you. Chances are you either played the original version OR the version included in DukePlus, which came with DukeBots assisting you and played slightly different (including the blue card that could only be seen with Night Vision Goggles). Shame that the map is broken in latest version of DukePlus due to that card that can't be picked up at all, forcing either using DNCLIP or SPAWN ACCESSCARD in the console to finish the map, meaning it is recommended to download an older version of DukePlus in order to finish the map normally...
OK, time to talk about the original version now. Again the armor is absent, although if you are lucky, you can get one used from a pig cop, like in my case (and it even gave me 75 points, lucky me), which should make the rest of the map a breeze. You are also provided with two places to drink water from, in case you will run out of health (though that wasn't the case thankfully). The ending features a fight against Mini Battlelord and two commanders, which can be easily taken out with the RPG.
There are no secrets to be found, so no need to search for them.
Overall, another great map from Alejandro!


Alien Wipeout
Possibly one of the best maps so far, this one was a lot more detailed and it even had very beautiful music! I liked the Earth view (which seems to be gray) at the start of level and I also enjoyed seeing that rotating Alien Queen hologram (probably one of the few things I still remembered about this map after all these years), which was also present in Military Madness (on a viewscreen). And as you can tell, this is another Space themed map!
Gameplay wise, it can be annoying when taking unavoidable damage from the aliens (which is why I suggest shooting around corners and hitting them in arm, for example), thankfully I managed to survive (had 17 health left at one point, halfway in map). Since there are no pig cops (for obvious reasons), this also means there is no possibility to get armor at all!
I also felt like the Shrinker and RPG, that were given right at end, didn't get much use (only used the RPG to blow up the pillar that unlocks the exit), though the RPG would have been difficult to use in cramped areas and the Shrinker would have neutralized the Commanders. I have a feeling that being given supplies at end would have been useful for continuous play.
Other than the lack of armor and no secrets to be found, this is an EXCELLENT MAP! A must play!


ADGDM2
The second deathmatch map! This one appears to take place on an island and is shorter and less detailed than Space Showdown. Still worth taking a look and grabbing everything.


Welcome Home
Welcome Home in the year 2004, Duke! This map is unique compared to the rest, in that it contains new art that supplements the map rather well. Nothing felt out of place and it gave the map a bit of an unique dark feeling, post 2001 era.
This time, there are two secrets to be found and they aren't atomic health, instead they are Devastators! To get the first one, after you get to the Matrix billboard, after getting upstairs, approach that wall slowly but then go back and crouch.
Then the second secret is accessed by pressing on a babe poster, which will blow up the nearby wall. It's in the corridor near where I took the second picture from.
Since I got an used armor (just after exiting the building that exploded), this map felt much easier by comparison to others that had no armor available. The encounters were also a bit more straightforward and predictable, plus there was much more space to dodge.
Overall, another excellent map and the last DOS-compatible map! Now for the last two maps...




Another Timeless Night
I actually started the month by playing this (and ADG06) first, so at the moment of writing, I may be forgetting some details.
When the map first starts, you will notice no enemies present just yet. You will have to go into the restaurant and then suddenly the aliens strike. Since this area cannot be accessed at a later time, I highly recommend you to not only find the secret (destroy the fire hydrant to access it) containing atomic health but ALSO smash that "happy meal" box that contains an atomic health hidden inside, effectively giving you 200 health at first, which will be much needed.
Once you clean the beginning parts, you will eventually have to fight more powerful aliens, including a few commanders and mini battlelords. I nearly died from taking a couple commander rockets to the face, I survived with 8 health and decided to grab that atomic health quickly (thankfully the last Mini Battlelord didn't fire the chaingun at that time, otherwise it would have been an instant death).
I also got lucky with few pig cops dropping used armors, though there are at least two more full armor pickups located.
The other two secrets are found towards end and are located close to each other, with one being a hidden Freezethrower behind a window you can open and the other being hidden Devastator accessed by shooting a hidden tiny button. The weapons are very nice to have but they aren't needed to complete the map (I never found these secrets before, I only found them with help of Mapster), so I choose to use the other weapons.
You will be fighting many teleporting monsters, so be careful! There are also many protector drones being used/spawned at times. I was lucky to not get shrunk by them, since it could lead to a hopeless situation if surrounded by many monsters.
Overall, a very action packed map and nicely designed too. Highly recommended!



ADG06
Alejandro returns after many years to bring us this masterpiece! I enjoyed it very much. The visuals and gameplay are all excellent!
There was a switch puzzle that took a while before I figured out its solution, which reveals a keycard to progress in the map. The solution to the puzzle is in the bathroom (interestingly, if you pay attention, you can see the solution in my screenshot that I took in the bathroom, which at that time I didn't think of the hint being in the bathroom).
There is another switch puzzle towards end to raise some bars, just press all the buttons to continue!
There are four secrets to find and they are all easy to find, although I admit I took a look in mapster before playing the map but since they are easy to find, I won't spoil them. Most contain an atomic health, which is what you would expect from most maps by Ale anyway.
I don't think there are any armor pickups (at least until near end, I remember one armor being given before final part), however once again I was lucky I got a few armor pickups dropped from pig cops. That early armor giving 75 points was VERY MUCH NEEDED! Though I never fell below 100 health (interestingly) since most of traps (which consist of spawning enemies) are predictable and damage can be avoided. Not to mention the better controls (and mouse aiming) of EDuke32 compared to the default keyboard controls of vanilla DUKE3D.EXE and JFDuke3D!
The ONLY complaint about the map is that it could have used some Atomic Edition monsters such as Protector Drones. They were used in a few of Ale's previous maps after all.
Also, I used the latest EDuke32 2017 build (r6576) to play this map and it worked fine, although I got a few visual glitches at times (mostly because I played in Polymost 32-bit mode).
Excellent map and hope to see more in the future! Sad to hear about that Favela map being lost, would have been cool to play it! I know I should have talked about this earlier...
png]
png]
png]

Final thoughts: I enjoyed playing through all Alejandro's maps, most of which I have played before, many years ago! They were all excellently designed and balance was mostly spot on. I only wish that most maps had actual armor pickups and more weapons given (for more variety) but what we got so far was still very good. Every map could also be 100%'ed, which is much appreciated that there weren't stuck monsters or inaccessible secrets!

Overall, this month has been a blast! All maps by Alejandro were excellently designed and while there were a couple of flaws (such as the gameplay becoming a bit repetitive at times with having to rely on shotgun most of the time, armor also being absent and few other nitpicks for various reasons), you can tell that the way the maps are designed, makes you forget the major flaws easily. Still an armor pickup present in each map (at least in secret areas) wouldn't have hurt to have.
I would also like if Alejandro will make more maps into the future, maybe an ADG Episode Part 2 (featuring ADG06-ADG10) and maybe even all the maps released so far into an episode with proper progression, leaving the first ADG Episode as it is (though possibly giving it an actual name) and a potential future ADG Episode 2 with ADG06 and newer, as I already mentioned.

Since it is time to vote, I will nominate two new things instead (and leave others to vote in meantime, also I originally planned to have a third new option but since Aleks already nominated Mikko yesterday, I took out one of my options, that option was maps by Kevin Cools, while Mikko was an option for later this year, meaning I will nominate Kevin Cools' maps for when that month comes instead):

Maps by Mikko Sandt (nominated by Aleks)
Maps by Bob Averill
Operation Blitzkrieg (5-map episode, released back in 2011-2012, available HERE)

I want to clarify that the Christmas maps won't be played anytime soon due to being long past December (it won't make much sense to play Christmas maps in February, even if it's still part of the winter season) and Last Reaction & Water Bases (which was my original nomination from back in summer 2021), wouldn't work for a short month. I think LR&WB will work much better in March. I promise to vote for it at that time!
Note that you can vote for all three options if you want (after all you can vote up to 3 choices) and if they get enough votes (and all tied), then they can be all played in same month, like in past few months where we played through many maps/episodes made by two or more authors (such as the December's winners). Although I would suggest keeping it in range of 10-15 maps, especially for February, so don't vote all three, preferably vote one author and the short 5-map episode as an extra thing to have, that should be enough for February.

I was thinking to also nominate Chimera (before I settled with the current choices) but since LR&WB wasn't played yet, it wouldn't make sense to play through it right now. I don't know if I can get both LR&WB and Chimera to be played all in March but if there aren't any objections, I can vote for both and have them be played in March, assuming people would agree, otherwise we will have to vote for something. As for April and further, I won't reveal yet the surprises I kept for that time. Especially the month April will be very interesting with the choices I have in mind right now.

Also if Mikko Sandt's maps win, will we also play through his episodes (MSSP Episode and The Brave New World) or just his user maps? I could remove my current nominations and have instead the following three suggestions for next month:
Mikko Sandt's maps
MSSP Episode v3.0
The Brave New World

What are people's thoughts so far? I would like an answer for the end of the month and then I will decide alongside Aleks in a private message, what will win for next month.

And once again, THANKS EVERYONE for participating in the topic! After the month ends and I will take a look at the entry/entries with most votes and talk with Aleks privately, I will create the new topic. See you on the February 2022 map/mod club!

[Merlijn]

Did the last stretch of Ale maps this week.
Interesting remark from FistMarine about the lack of armor pick-ups. I never really noticed it, but it does explain why some fights felt harder than usual.

Blackened

Not much to say about it really, it's a very well designed city map and has good flow. I especially like the outdoor scenery (plus some nice exploding street effects) and the train station.
I remember being beta tester for this map and complaining about the over-usage of the brown floor tile haha. It's not just used for side walks but also in most of the indoor locations.
But since no-one else ever commented on this, I guess I was just being really nitpicky.

Alien whipeout

A radical departure in theme from the last couple of maps, now Duke boards an alien ship. Sidenote: I love that Duke's superior is called general Heisafuck in all of Ale's txt-files. XD
It's stupid as hell but I can't help but laugh at it. Anyway, the map really sells the alien atmosphere very well with lots of ambient sound and moving machinery.
Of course the moving tentacles in the beginning are noteworthy and a very memorable sight. Gameplay-wise the map is extremely linear, it's basically one long hallway with only a
couple of buttons to press along the way. Combat can get pretty hard, mostly thanks to the large number of enforcers (and probably the lack of armor which makes their hitscan attacks even deadlier).
Then there's a section where you get sucked out in space if you're not careful. Luckily I still remembered this part so I didn't die.
The ending is a bit anticlimactic but overall it's another solid entry!

Another timeless night

A medium-sized city map, it starts of quiet but at a certain point the aliens invade and stuff explodes! Pretty cool way to open a map. The combat is noticably different from most of the previous maps,
with a much larger number of high tier monsters to deal with. There's about 8 battlelords in this map, plus several commanders and a swarm of protector drones. Overall the action gets pretty heated!
I personally quite enjoyed this change of pace, in fact this may be my favorite Ale map if I'm looking purely at the combat scenario's. The first big fight in the main hall is pretty hectic and memorable.
Design is top notch as always, with a keen eye for detail. Shadows aren't quite as prominent this time around.
My only complaint would be the abundance of invisible walls, for instance it would have been cool if the Duke Burger could be explored more but you're not even allowed to jump over the counter.

ADG06

This map is still relatively recent, and you can find the original release thread on these forums. When it was released, the extensive background scenery just blew everyone away. And I must say it still holds up!
I stand by everything I said back then, the map just neals the aesthetics of a modern appartment and the texturing is pretty much flawless.
As others have said the gameplay is pretty standard fare but blasting your way through these environments is fun anyway. Originally I couldn't solve the 8 button puzzle, looking back the clue seems really
obvious and I don't know how I missed it. Once more the background scenery must be mentioned, which really makes the city come to life and adds a lot to the overall atmosphere.

The overall takeaway is that these maps are all well designed and worth playing. It was also a nice trip down memory lane.

As for next month, I vote for Operation Blitkrieg since I never played it. I assume Aleks will vote for maps by Mikko Sandt?

Maps by Mikko Sandt (nominated by Aleks)
Maps by Bob Averill
Operation Blitzkrieg (5-map episode, released back in 2011-2012, available HERE) +

[Aleks]

Merlijn, on 27 January 2022 - 12:05 PM, said:

As for next month, I vote for Operation Blitkrieg since I never played it. I assume Aleks will vote for maps by Mikko Sandt?

Nah hahaha, I will also vote for Operation Blitzkrieg, haven't played it either (in fact I don't think I've ever heard of it) and looks like something nice and cleanly designed that should go fast, so why not?

Maps by Mikko Sandt (nominated by Aleks)
Maps by Bob Averill
Operation Blitzkrieg (5-map episode, released back in 2011-2012, available HERE) ++