[Jan Satcitananda]

NNC, on 01 June 2025 - 12:40 PM, said:

Is this map Duke's answer to Doom's MyHouse?

Some compared it to myhouse.wad, although there's little in common, and I don't copy someone else's concepts. This map is weird right from the start, it's mostly linear and its secret endings contribute relatively little to the gameplay, although they are necessary for better understanding of the map.

TLOD has left a comment with a fair point on this in his stream.

[Dr.Panico]

At last, I finally beaten this level!!! After 4-fucking-hours, I made it (with some help both from the author and TLOD's stream)!

I'm speechless. This level is a juggernaut. It's one of the most groundbreaking and avant-garde levels ever produced for Duke3D. Might even make the likes of It Lives feel like "baby's first map"; atleast in terms of effects and Build porn.
As for the gameplay, I... how do I explain it? Pick any of those old Sierra adventure games, bath it on LSD, then send it to the devil for some pointers and sprinkle a little bit of Armed & Delirious over it. It is pure insanity mixed with malice. It's basically anti-game design at its finest. I can't say it was pleasant, but it was certainly intense. Beating it feels like completing a painful rebirth process. Despite all that, there are only two parts I genuinely despise: that stupid Pride switch and that second-to-last section which is all dark (it feels like playing Doom II's The Chasm blindfolded). Everything else is well-done, with the right amount of sadism.

Can't wait for Mikko's review of it. I wonder what's going to be his reaction.

Oh, and just for some added bonus, here are my saves (chronological order, starting from the bottom):

[Jan Satcitananda]

Dr.Panico, on 01 June 2025 - 07:18 PM, said:

At last, I finally beaten this level!!! After 4-fucking-hours, I made it (with some help both from the author and TLOD's stream)!

I'm speechless. This level is a juggernaut. It's one of the most groundbreaking and avant-garde levels ever produced for Duke3D. Might even make the likes of It Lives feel like "baby's first map"; atleast in terms of effects and Build porn.
As for the gameplay, I... how do I explain it? Pick any of those old Sierra adventure games, bath it on LSD, then send it to the devil for some pointers and sprinkle a little bit of Armed & Delirious over it. It is pure insanity mixed with malice. It's basically anti-game design at its finest. I can't say it was pleasant, but it was certainly intense. Beating it feels like completing a painful rebirth process. Despite all that, there are only two parts I genuinely despise: that stupid Pride switch and that second-to-last section which is all dark (it feels like playing Doom II's The Chasm blindfolded). Everything else is well-done, with the right amount of sadism.

Can't wait for Mikko's review of it. I wonder what's going to be his reaction.

Congrats dude, glad that you've also managed to beat the level! These are interesting associations. Sadism is the right word. I find breaking the game design rules particularly intriguing, in such ways that it brings something totally new to the game. I also wonder who's gonna be the first to discover other map secrets.

Guess I'll continue making new maps, since I still have lots of crazy ideas to try.

[Merlijn]

Congrats on the release, this sounds like a must play! I hope I can experience it soon, as soon as I have enough time (and sanity ) to tackle it!

[Nacho]

Jan Satcitananda, on 01 June 2025 - 06:47 AM, said:

What kinda puzzled me in TLOD's stream is that sometimes he seemed to be very close to the solution but somehow kept missing it...

That's just how I roll... 😎

My ADHD brain always makes me second guess my choices, often leading me to abandon the correct path because I start to doubt myself. Without going into spoilers, it really is the aiming that was the biggest throw off for me for MOST of the puzzles.

I had no idea the aiming would be so precise, or require you to aim OFF target to actually hit certain things, so even though I would understand what to do, I wouldn't know how to execute it.

A ton of cool tricks in this one, definitely something that I feel does require a deeper understanding of the Engine to appreciate, but even then you have to be in the right mood (absolute gauntlet).

I think you have a great way of dressing up switch puzzles to feel like they are not just switch puzzles, which is essentially everything Duke operates on outside of combat!

I hope that people do take this things like this, and Zykov's Memories, as a sign that Duke (mainly just Build Engine games) can get wierd and abstract, stuff like this won't always land with everyone, but when it does, it inspires!

[Jan Satcitananda]

Merlijn, on 02 June 2025 - 10:18 AM, said:

Congrats on the release, this sounds like a must play! I hope I can experience it soon, as soon as I have enough time (and sanity ) to tackle it!

I hope you won't regret that

Nacho, on 03 June 2025 - 05:07 AM, said:

My ADHD brain always makes me second guess my choices, often leading me to abandon the correct path because I start to doubt myself. Without going into spoilers, it really is the aiming that was the biggest throw off for me for MOST of the puzzles.

Mine is also kinda ADHD, so I feel you. Yes, that kick aiming needs to get used to. Thanks again for playing with us, that was one heck of a stream

[zykov eddy]

I hope to tell you my thoughts on the map in person, because I don't think I can put my impression into text. All I can say is, there never was a map like this for DN3D, or maybe for any game ever, and there will never be another. It's crazy how unique it is. I played it two times, researched it in the mapster, and even then I think I've only scratched the tip of the iceberg. A truly magnificent work.

[Perro Seco]

A very difficult map. I don't like when you have to find secrets in order to progress, specially if they are so little intuitive, but from a technical standpoint it's the most impressive and original map I've ever seen.

Feels like you're playing a TC with custom art and CON scripts, but it's only a map file. Here are just a few examples:

Spoiler

Dynamic lighting:


Using the game menu to enter the Doom section:


A keycard sprite made without using any custom art:


Where's the "1 hour ASMR video of cycloid music to help you sleep"?


Sectors over sectors without using TROR and a rug with heightmapping:

But I insist, it's a shame that only a few people will get to see all this because of how unfair the difficulty is.

[ck3D]

Perro Seco, on 06 June 2025 - 07:02 PM, said:

But I insist, it's a shame that only a few people will get to see all this because of how unfair the difficulty is.

I think it makes sense that one would need to deserve it. The type of player who wouldn't be familiar enough with the engine to progress also wouldn't be able to comprehend the feats on display anyway, so that's coherent.

[Jan Satcitananda]

zykov eddy, on 06 June 2025 - 05:27 AM, said:

I hope to tell you my thoughts on the map in person, because I don't think I can put my impression into text. All I can say is, there never was a map like this for DN3D, or maybe for any game ever, and there will never be another. It's crazy how unique it is. I played it two times, researched it in the mapster, and even then I think I've only scratched the tip of the iceberg. A truly magnificent work.

Thanks Eddy, I knew you'll like it, and yes, a great thing that we live in the same city. I'll be interested to hear how you understood the map.

Perro Seco, on 06 June 2025 - 07:02 PM, said:

A very difficult map. I don't like when you have to find secrets in order to progress, specially if they are so little intuitive, but from a technical standpoint it's the most impressive and original map I've ever seen.

Feels like you're playing a TC with custom art and CON scripts, but it's only a map file.

But I insist, it's a shame that only a few people will get to see all this because of how unfair the difficulty is.

Thanks Pablo, great to know that you made it through. I think of the challenge as a filter, such that one has to "deserve" it and prove their interest to see all these things by learning some tricky moves. But this is a kind of difficulty where replaying the map is a lot easier, because you already know what to do. By the way, you don't have to find any secrets to get the standard ending. There are some shortcuts possible though, like jumping with the steroids over a pit.

[quakis]

One thing I'd like to make clear assuming my earlier posts didn't do well to convey but I do really, really like this map. It's the type of involved experience that engages the mind I find the most enjoyment over more traditional stuff or combat focused levels. Honestly something I seek out when picking games to play too. Having to squeeze out solutions for progression with a deeper understanding of the game itself or paying attention to provided environmental clues. Learning to deal with purposely frustrating elements antithesis to "good game design" and thinking outside the box. All this to be rewarded with more crazy application of mapping tricks and exploits each step of the way. An impeccable atmosphere permeated the whole playing experience through visuals and sounds that never felt comfortable, often assaulting the senses in more ways than one. It was cryptic and at times almost threw my hands up not understanding certain mechanics, taking short breaks and the pointers made here helped. The end results were satisfying, especially from a mapping perspective.

There is so much yet to delve into and discuss I haven't already in my posts and do intend to play through the level again to seek out another ending. I'll eventually write up an indepth review covering my full thoughts after contemplating further, but might be a short while as I'm working through a backlog of releases I want to write about. Covering works like Memories (and by extension, lilith.pk3) first would also serve as nice supplements and topics of comparison while talking about E9L99.

[Perro Seco]

ck3D, on 06 June 2025 - 09:47 PM, said:

The type of player who wouldn't be familiar enough with the engine to progress also wouldn't be able to comprehend the feats on display anyway, so that's coherent.

Well I was clearly not familiar enough with the engine to progress because I needed to ask Lezing and also to follow Nacho's stream, but as I showed in the gifs above, I think I still comprehend the feats on display and the merit behind them.

I'm pretty sure you also needed some help despite being a veteran mapper.

Jan Satcitananda, on 06 June 2025 - 11:39 PM, said:

By the way, you don't have to find any secrets to get the standard ending.

I think I got the standard ending, the one you showed in the first post, but I mean that sometimes progressing is like finding secrets, or even more difficult. Having to activate a switch through a mirror is cool, but having to activate it through the mirror and a wall? I thought I was missing something else and needed to restart the map from the start.

Also, I had a nightmare last night in which you became a monster. No joking. I'm glad it's over because I thought I would never get to see your Brahma Engine finished.

[ck3D]

Perro Seco, on 07 June 2025 - 07:44 AM, said:

Well I was clearly not familiar enough with the engine to progress because I needed to ask Lezing and also to follow Nacho's stream, but as I showed in the gifs above, I think I still comprehend the feats on display and the merit behind them.

I'm pretty sure you also needed some help despite being a veteran mapper.

That's true and also honestly why I was low-key a bit confused about the author being 'puzzled' that Nacho kept coming close to the solutions but sometimes barely missed them. It shouldn't be a surprise that the player gets stuck if the intent is cryptic stuff to get the player stuck, or else that just means having missed some of the very finesse that was brought up earlier if it turns out there are more reactions they can have than planned (including giving up).

I actually haven't played the map yet, but 'by proxy' watching Nacho's stream and trying to wrap my head around the solutions in real time myself, taking guesses as he was experimenting with options. I think two spots that would have stumped me for sure would have been the mirror kick needing to be this precise, and then later on having to use the water sector in that math room in order to be able to flip that lower switch (in spite of knowing that water lowers player Z). Also the strafe running against a wall thing I might have figured out eventually but would have considered an exploit, when the map claims it doesn't rely on them, it's a fine line. All of those mechanics are fine to have in, but they also have to come at the corresponding cost in fluidity and so the (anti-)designer should expect that as a given regardless of how many hints they chose to provide or withhold.

I'm actually waiting a little until memories from the stream dissipate a little before I personally go in, so that even if I remember most of the solutions when stumped, it doesn't feel like going through the motions either and so my approach can be at least a little fresh. I don't think I'll find all of the secrets since I generally really suck at those (I always try the stuff that doesn't work and miss the stuff that does work to unlock them).

[Jan Satcitananda]

quakis, on 07 June 2025 - 04:12 AM, said:

One thing I'd like to make clear assuming my earlier posts didn't do well to convey but I do really, really like this map. It's the type of involved experience that engages the mind I find the most enjoyment over more traditional stuff or combat focused levels. Honestly something I seek out when picking games to play too. Having to squeeze out solutions for progression with a deeper understanding of the game itself or paying attention to provided environmental clues. Learning to deal with purposely frustrating elements antithesis to "good game design" and thinking outside the box. All this to be rewarded with more crazy application of mapping tricks and exploits each step of the way. An impeccable atmosphere permeated the whole playing experience through visuals and sounds that never felt comfortable, often assaulting the senses in more ways than one. It was cryptic and at times almost threw my hands up not understanding certain mechanics, taking short breaks and the pointers made here helped. The end results were satisfying, especially from a mapping perspective.

There is so much yet to delve into and discuss I haven't already in my posts and do intend to play through the level again to seek out another ending. I'll eventually write up an indepth review covering my full thoughts after contemplating further, but might be a short while as I'm working through a backlog of releases I want to write about. Covering works like Memories (and by extension, lilith.pk3) first would also serve as nice supplements and topics of comparison while talking about E9L99.

That's awesome, I was sure that you liked the experience even though it was tough on the senses at times. This level is kind of a grotesque metaphor of my life and how I see the real world. It's also meant to be a big "fuck you" towards the mainstream video game industry that keeps trading creativity and ingenuity for accessibility and "political correctness", releasing buggy, intentionally bloated and unoptimized games withal.

I understand that it takes a while to write an in-depth review, and you have other cool maps on the list. If you need my help, I can provide some more hints (already helped Eddy find the other endings).

Perro Seco, on 07 June 2025 - 07:44 AM, said:

Also, I had a nightmare last night in which you became a monster. No joking. I'm glad it's over because I thought I would never get to see your Brahma Engine finished.

Interesting. Was it a Duke3D monster or some other? Making this map gave me important clues on how to implement the basic gameplay design features in Brahma Engine, so consider it a step towards actual games powered by it.
Amazing gifs btw

[Perro Seco]

Jan Satcitananda, on 07 June 2025 - 11:13 AM, said:

Interesting. Was it a Duke3D monster or some other?

Was something like the tile 2308 you used in some places, but totally black. I'm glad you're back in your human form , will be waiting for ck3D's sleeping report after playing the map.

[Jan Satcitananda]

Here I tried to list some videos that are referenced in this level, aside from obvious nods to some game titles, including Duke3D itself. These might help understand the setting better. Interestingly, I found some of them only after releasing the map (such as that "88888 lol" meme I wasn't even aware of).

The Wall
Windows 3.0 in real mode
To win the game you must...
Sonic the sea urchin
Windows 2.0 BSoD
8888888
We get signal
Genesis Duke
Excellent
The sadness will last forever

[zykov eddy]

Replayed the map one more time. It's much, much easier once you know what to do, and because of it, it's more fun to play.

The list of features that blew me away and even made me question "how the hell did he do that?":

* The rotating mirror;
* Not being able to jump in the Doom area;
* Sprites being offset on x axis;
* Animated shotgun ammo box;
* Getting player not being able to move in cutscenes, and even making it seem like he's rotating;
* Key sprite from Doom;
* Security screen killing the player;
* Whole sections of the map being replaced;
* TROR effects without using TROR;
* DOS screen from Duke 3D;
* Fractal effect on one of the security screens.

[Jan Satcitananda]

 zykov eddy, on 23 June 2025 - 01:08 AM, said:

Replayed the map one more time. It's much, much easier once you know what to do, and because of it, it's more fun to play.

Yes, it gets more interesting as you learn more of it. It's awesome to get such a high praise from you, and I appreciate your genuine interest in various aspects of the map.

[Aleks]

Congrats on the release! I've finally managed to complete the map (took me several days, playing about an hour a day - the in-game time was at about 2 hours, but in reality it was probably closer to 6-8 in total), it's very impressive... but also a bit disappointing. It really felt more like a tech demo for LeBuild than an actual level and the shitty-on-purpose design in most parts just feels like a wasted potential, because with all this map is packing, it could have been so much more. Now this is a level that I respect for all the crazy stuff it does, but can't honestly say I liked it. There were some genuinely cool parts, but most felt like brute-forcing your way through obscure puzzles where even if the solution is simple, you need to grind it to progress - then the end result was more of a relief than reward/satisfaction.

Now obviously you can't escape comparisons with Memories (the fact that both Lezing and Eddy are from the same town is quite amazing - now I wanna look at how the winds were blowing during the Tchernobyl catastrophe to see if there may be a pattern!), but also with another level made by a Russian guy, Naked Dash, which to this day is one of my favourite maps. Memories really resonated with me and felt perfectly relatable due to having some twisted consistence, this one didn't at all (despite being more likely, in theory, to do so, as it's all done on the mapping side so should be more familiar to me) and overstayed its welcome. From the purely Build Porn point of view, High Treason's episode from last year also worked better (despite being all DOS-compatible), also due to better presentation. This map, with all the brute-forcing, felt more similar to Glitches in the System which is basically having to tap exactly the right keys at right moments to progress through exploits.

Now let's get to the details - I'll start with the parts that sucked in my opinion then move to the ones I liked, so that my post doesn't come off as too dickish (it's really not the purpose and I'm trying not to sound overly negative or harsh). The multi-striped door was the worst offender, obviously. Then the pride switch which would have been a good puzzle in itself, but making it almost impossible to press was not the right idea as it makes the player question whether they found the right solution and look somewhere else (and the fact that you had to write the solution on where to kick here kinda confirms it). I didn't hesitate to consult TLOD's stream wherever I got stuck for too long so I'm glad it's out there. Cycloid drummer was wonderful in all aspect, but then putting it in these god-awful surroundings killed a lot of the vibe I think. The sound-clue puzzle was a nice idea, but felt too inconsistent even when playing on headphones in my experience. The "deconstruction" bits after the button room also dragged a bit too long - especially since it didn't really feel like there was something to deconstruct in the first place.

Parts which I liked are definitely the Doom TC (and this is coming from someone who has never really played Doom), how smooth the blocking of jumping worked (and glad to know that the crack sprites are set to be 1-sided and blocked!) and the transition from "menu screen" was certainly amazing. The math room puzzle with blinded buttons was one that worked well. The jump-scare monster thing when coming back with the clyster seemed a bit trial-and-error based, but I liked how it was done. Sonic part also felt more thought-out than the rest of the map (never played Sonic, again) and the apartment at the end with all the cool design tricks was a highlight. The most impressive part, however, was probably the "main" ending where you have to suicide, really clever (and, after Blast Radius and The Conundrum, confirming for the third time that Duke's nemesis is really the mouse!). Yin-yang puzzle and the mirrored rooms where also nice.

I ended up finding 13 secrets

Spoiler

(holoduke at the beginning, jumping on hands, The Abyss one, meat storage near the sin switches, yin-yang crack, 2 in Doom TC, slimer mouth and karaoke floor near Cycloid drummer, NVG after moving the couch, the poster secret that kills Duke if he is not careful, spitting room after shooting a duck and "these doors won't open" one)
and 3 (?) endings (main one, falling to hell which you can prevent with tripmine and unplugging at the Matrix, which I'm not sure if counts as an ending).

Spoiler

I know there's a secret behind the reversed crack that supposedly can take you to another ending, but no idea how to jump out of the hole (or if a jetpack is required) and I suppose there might be something at the end of the super-long slope behind the "monster" when coming back to the "epilepsy room" near the beginning, but never bothered to follow it all the way through. I also know the pixel-wide switch unlocked by "fractal" buttons unlocks a secret (didn't bother following whether its the armor one right next to it or the one with new beasts in the nonsense land), but never managed to trigger it - I suppose it's doable with painful grinding kicking as I managed to "successfully" kick the 2 smallest buttons right above it, but not luck with this one.

Not sure if I really want to "reverse engineer" this map in the editor much more, but nevertheless, it certainly was helpful for a lot of tricks and ideas.

[Jan Satcitananda]

Aleks, on 28 June 2025 - 04:51 AM, said:

Congrats on the release! I've finally managed to complete the map (took me several days, playing about an hour a day - the in-game time was at about 2 hours, but in reality it was probably closer to 6-8 in total), it's very impressive... but also a bit disappointing. It really felt more like a tech demo for LeBuild than an actual level and the shitty-on-purpose design in most parts just feels like a wasted potential, because with all this map is packing, it could have been so much more. Now this is a level that I respect for all the crazy stuff it does, but can't honestly say I liked it. There were some genuinely cool parts, but most felt like brute-forcing your way through obscure puzzles where even if the solution is simple, you need to grind it to progress - then the end result was more of a relief than reward/satisfaction.

Spoiler

I know there's a secret behind the reversed crack that supposedly can take you to another ending, but no idea how to jump out of the hole (or if a jetpack is required) and I suppose there might be something at the end of the super-long slope behind the "monster" when coming back to the "epilepsy room" near the beginning, but never bothered to follow it all the way through. I also know the pixel-wide switch unlocked by "fractal" buttons unlocks a secret (didn't bother following whether its the armor one right next to it or the one with new beasts in the nonsense land), but never managed to trigger it - I suppose it's doable with painful grinding kicking as I managed to "successfully" kick the 2 smallest buttons right above it, but not luck with this one.

Thank you for your feedback! It's normal to be disappointed in some aspects of this map. You're right, this isn't a normal level, neither is it a tech demo. It's a cri de coeur. I worked by intuition and wanted the whole thing to be a work of art, sharply distinct from other levels, perhaps even testing the limits of playability. You might notice that the map is rather grotesque and plays on contrasts a lot, trying to mix the uncombinable and emphasize its variety in a bold manner, not respecting player's feelings. Hence the somewhat random layout with seemingly out-of-place things. The shitty stuff you see here and there is an artistic choice. For instance, the harsh looking surroundings reflect constant sensory overload of an autistic/ADHD person living in the regular world, and the ear-bleeding sounds reflect the pain of having to go through every life struggle no matter how hard you try to avoid that.

Spoiler

Yes, there's a secret jetpack and also a freezethrower that unlock access to other endings. Normally I differentiate the endings from traps, i.e. places where the player just dies or softlocks. Some bad endings were initially traps. The hellish pit used to be a trap, until I added the ending tag to display a message "we're gonna fry your ass, Nukem!", but that also made possible to complete the map by falling down and using a tripmine exploit to stop the fall.

[Dr.Panico]

How many secret endings are there? So far, I've only found two...

Spoiler

...the out-of-bounds ending and I guess we can count the firepit as a ending if you survive.

[Jan Satcitananda]

Dr.Panico, on 19 July 2025 - 04:52 AM, said:

How many secret endings are there? So far, I've only found two...

Don't waste your time trying to beat this map. It sucks, let's face it. It goes all-in on uniqueness and being weird. It's just random shit piled in together to express my resentment and disappointment with life as it goes. Hopefully it gets better for my next map to be more thoughtful and enjoyable. Or it doesn't if it just can't.

Spoiler

But if you insist, here is my listing for endings and traps that could help you understand the progression. Note that if you had the misfortune to trigger that "creepy Duke" in the starting room window, you're screwed up with the endings that will require you to go back to bed upon your return. You'll be also unable to "transcend" if you escaped the underground graffiti monster using steroids instead of shooting it from afar (Eddy has dubbed it a "mega cryptic" solution btw ).

  ENDING GRAPH

Accidental suicides during the game are not included.
Traps are marked with "!", bad endings with "#" and good ones with "@".


PART I

Escaped the starting room
# QUIT ENDING--obey the "don't try" message, don't play the map and simply quit the game
OR Continued playing and walked outside the starting room
  ! BLACK PIT TRAP--jump into the pit to be eaten by black monsters below
  OR Found the "catch of the net" room and kicked all 35 portraits
    ! HELL TRAP--jump over the pixelated creatures to die
    OR Buried into the floor and navigated to the area inspired by the original episodes
      Made it through the rooms and the jolting maze (activating the GREEN and BROWN keycards)
        # ENDLESS FALL ENDING--jump into the pit behind the corner and end up falling forever
        OR Found seven sin switches and took the elevator to the "sad" stadium
          ! FATAL FALL TRAP
          OR Jumped through the small rectangular hole and found the "mode" changer
            ! LAGGY REFLECTION TRAP
            OR Proceeded to the Doom creepypasta area by activating the COLORLESS keycard (will get a green Doom key)
              Proceeded to "Slonic the Urchin" area and collected all 10 rings
              Made it back to the underground hallways
                ! EYE TRAP--try returning to the start location and get squished by a giant eye
                ! BLAST WAVE TRAP--Blast wave killing you
                ! FALL TRAP--You fall because the floor in the hall has disappeared
                OR escaped the blast by hiding in the small duct to the side
                  ! RICOCHET TRAP--The graffiti kills you if you shoot it at close range
                  OR reached the BLACK keycard lock and took the elevator to the surface


PART II

Reached the surface, found the shrinker and BLUE keycard
Executed the sentinels using the "Sane Asylum" mind control device
Made the way to the "Society for thee" room and found the right switch
Activated the "CEASE" lock with the CHAMELEON keycard
  ! SLIME TRAP--get killed by the skull monster
  OR Looked at yourself in the mirror and found yourself in the "Level Beta" area
    # HELLISH ENDING--get tempted by lots of health in the passage and have no way back, only fall to your doom
    OR Unlocked Lezing's office and "edited" the map to create a new door
      Walked through the unfinished door to find yourself in the corrupt zone
        # DOS SCREEN ENDING--walk into the Matrix-inspired "Wake up, Nukem..." message to realize that you are inside a game
        ! PLACEHOLDER MONSTER TRAP--found a user art placeholder that approaches and kills you
        OR Found a hot patch to neutralize the placeholder monster (terribly "corrupting" the map in the process)
          Made it through some "corrupt" doors and passways to the lobby with a naked babe
          Killed the babe and took elevator to the clinic, got checked and failed the "cognitive ability test"
            # MONSTER ENDING--get near the monster at the "information" booth so it holds and slowly kills you
            OR Found a glitchy door and got outside, then solved the shrinker puzzle to "crack" Duke by blowing up the "keep out" door
              ! BLACK PIT TRAP--be eaten by the black worm
              OR Activated the giant calculator and made it to the "Nonsense Land"
                Found the CLYSTER keylock and found a clyster in the clinic
                  ! HALLWAY MONSTER TRAP--get killed by the monster in the hallway
                  OR Ran away from the monster and made it to the magician's hut
                    Activated RED keycard and walked through the mirror to find a way back to the map
                      ! ANGRY WASPS TRAP--get killed by a swarm of wasps if not quick enough
                      OR Found the devastator, solved the math class puzzle and "bribed the committee"
                

PART III

Made it to Bobby's apartment and activated the shrink cabin
  # CRASH ENDING--open the "NO ENTRY" door and meet the force spheres that will crash the game for you
  OR Activated the shrink cabin and crawled out to the backyard
    ! SCARY DEATH TRAP--went too far away and died on the endless boiling oil surface
    OR Reached the final location ("hold the key to my heart") by activating the YELLOW keycard and locating the teleport by ear
      @ NORMAL ENDING--proceed to "REJOICE" button and blow up yourself in the tomb (first "good" ending)
      OR Jumped into the hole back to the starting location
        ! BLACK PIT TRAP--now happens if you simply fall down
        OR Dodged the pit by moving away during the fall
          @ TRANSCENDENCE ENDING--walk into the green tunnel that was previously blocked by a creature, carefully reach the singularity point
          OR Went to the bed and teleported to Bobby's apartment (with some changes, the "EXCELLENT" sign now reads "FINE")
            Got the freezer, jetpack and scuba gear
            Returned to the final location--now freeze yourself in the tomb to get to the credits alive (and see the text upside down)
              @ ALIVE ENDING--the level will end the same way as with the "normal" ending
              OR Shot robot mouse button before the bonus screen appears to teleport to the "you belong here" area
                @ NUKEBUTTON ENDING--proceed to the "staged" Hollywood Holocaust level (jetpack not required)
                OR Used jetpack to escape from the scenery
                  @ SECRET BOSS ENDING--navigate to the dark hallway full of doors and find a secret teleport, then locate and defeat the boss
                  OR Skipped the boss and jumped into the small hole that has become all white
                    @ ULTIMATE TRANSCENDENCE ENDING--walk into the slow reflection and teleport perfectly aligned for transcendence on steroids
                    OR Still refused to transcend and returned back to "love" area
                      ! INSTANT DEATH TRAP--Duke dies once he approaches the "REJOICE" button once again
                      # SLEEP PARALYSIS ENDING--go to bed again to get punished by a permanent sleep paralysis

[Dr.Panico]

While MSDN doesn't review this map, I decided to write a review of my own. May contain spoilers:

Spoiler

Ever since the golden days of the Duke Nukem franchise, independent level designers have been trying to push the limits of the good ol' Build Engine; to break away from the formula established by 3D Realms. One of the earlier examples is the BobSP series, which introduced a series of unique new effects that were hidden in the engine itself. Then came the Roch series, which taught us how to create more diverse and lively levels through the combinations of clever texturing, spritework and architecture. Then, the Red series showcased the use of scripited events that would make a Duke3D level feel like something out of a more contemporary game like Half-Life or Doom 3. All this knowledge eventually gave way to levels like 'It Lives', which was for a long time considered the apotheosis of Duke3D's vanilla mapping; so much so that mappers decided to look back into simpler times, before the advent of Eduke32 and it's limit-busting Mapster32 editor - at least for a while.
All this creativity makes it regrettable that the Duke3D mapping scene doesn't have the same attention as the Doom or Half-Life modding scenes. So many wonderful creations are known only by a handful of individuals, who decided to stick with a franchise that was by all means a product of its era; forsaken by the gaming mainstream due to a series of unfortunate events. And perhaps the biggest hidden gem the general gaming public doesn't even know about is the recently released E9L99. Created by Lezing (creator of 'Last Pissed Time' and the "cute-but-seldom-used" LEBuild editor), this level was unleashed to a unsuspecting public in late May 2025. Many of those who played gave up on it after 2 minutes of obscure puzzle design.

And by doing that, they missed out on something beautiful. Transcendental.

This level, which by author's own admission was "not (meant) to be fun or entertaining" and got "out of control and kept mutating" during development, is something that comes out once in a lifetime. Something that cannot be properly replicated or compared to. One person tried to compare it to the infamously fourth-wall busting MyHouse.wad; but such comparison doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what this level represents. It doesn't just break the rules, but writes a entirely different playbook. It messes with the very foundations of the Build engine and questions the fundamentals of game design.
As the level begins, you see yourself in some kind of dark, creepy room; with a incessant pulse coming from...somewhere, some kind of black node protruding from a hole, disencouraging messages written in the walls and no clear direction on what to do. At one point, one may wonder "is this supposed to be one of those creepypasta-esque maps?". Again, such comparisons are futile. Now, those who are patient, perseverant and open-minded will fall into a rabbit-hole to a world far more insane than anything Lewis Caroll came up in his life and a adventure far more hostile and mind-melting than anything to come out of the 90s Adventure gaming hell (cue Sierra On-line theme).

To describe in detail the set-pieces this level contains would be a disservice for those who may be tempting of giving it a shot. What I can say is that this level turns the entire game and its architecture upside down. Rooms warp into themselves, Duke's movements are deliberately limited at the most inconvenient of times, incredible effects and illusions that would make even Ken Silverman himself wonder "how the fuck did he do that?!". Sure, tons of levels exploited gimmicks and loopholes in the engine in order to create seemingly impossible scenarios and tricks; but not to this extreme. And what makes all this magicshow so much more impressive than any map released since 1996 is that, in spite of what you may see and experience in E9L99, this level was made entirely without any CON hacks or custom ART files. Yes, really. You can check the folder yourself. Nothing is being hidden from you. The only thing new here is a MIDI track; that's basically another ambient pulse - yes, even that sound that you'll be hearing for a while is not a composition, but something played by the level itself. Feel free to collect your jaw from the floor before you continuing reading this.

But that's just the garnish of what is a considerably bizarre and punishing journey into the mouth of madness. E9L99 runs entirely of what I personally call "anti-level design". This level goes out of its way to frustrate and confuse you in ways seldom seem before in this community. In lesser hands, this could be easily dismissed as just bad level design; certainly not helped by some locations looking not so different from your typical Duke!Zone fodder. However, unlike all those amateur works who are like this because they didn't know any better, E9L99 is like this because the author knows too much. It is methodical madness. A very liberal comparison would be to Captain Beefheart's seminal record "Trout Mask Replica". To the untrained ear, it sounds just like a bunch of untalented hacks playing badly. Pay closer attention and you'll notice that said cacophony was by design. Every wrong note, every wrong beat, every piece of dissonance was carefully calculated to deliver something unique and out-of-this world. Lezing's latest map is just like this. Puzzles are designed with deliberate obscure solutions that will require some lateral-thinking, some dexterity and maybe some intimate knowledge of Build itself and its secrets.

Now, that is not to say that this is the hardest level ever released for Duke3D. I'd argue most of the late Zaxtor's later work and the penultimate level of ck3d's 'Blast Radius' (itself a mind-bending, meta-linguistic odyssey; which may have influenced (and subsequently outwitted by) E9L99). However, while these levels rely on surgically-precise platformming and unforgiving combat; E9L99 relies on highly tricky and delicate puzzles that will make the likes of Armed and Delirious look like a Dora the Explorer game (Heck, even with a walkthrough or a longplay, you'll still have difficulty solving some sections; isn't that right, Mr. Pride Switch? You bastard...). Not to mention, we still have segments where you either think fast or die young. Save-scumming is a must here.

To negotiate through this level, one must really forget convention and rely on every single thread it gives to you to solve its enigmas and decode its definitive message. This level intentionally betrays everything held sacred by the other very talented level designers in this community to create a work of art; born of frustration (perhaps not so different from the frustration the player may feel at certain points), disillusionment and sadness at the path that not just Duke, but most of gaming is taking. It's a product that could only come out of a community that is running out of fumes, but is fighting very hard to stay alive despite of it all. A product of passion and talent, but also of contempt and insanity. Once you reach its decidedly hard-hitting conclusion, you may want to try it again; if for no other reason that to try and make sense of it all. And get the other endings as well, naturally.

And yes, there IS a coherent message behind its delirious and feverish design. Something that can be hinted by certain intricate details and setpieces, coexisting with all the visual and conceptual harshness that permeates 90% of the map. It can also be felt as you go through and experience some of the most bone-chilling, funniest and even depressing visual pieces you'll see in a Duke3D map. It's funny how Russian mappers are kings of this kind of arthouse level-making. The difference is that, while auteurs like Zykov Eddy and Sanek rely on angst and horror; all powered by custom graphics and code, Lezing uses all the tools from vanilla Duke to paint a canvas with the darkest colours of the palette; affecting the player in ways no map or TC manage to do so before. It leaves you a different person than the one who started playing it.

Now, I might be overselling this map just a bit with all these words. But I am being very sincere when I say that this is probably the most ingenious, haunting and breath-taking work to come out of the Build engine. The logical conclusion of the work visionnaires like Bob Averill started in the old days. I highly doubt anyone can surpass the sheer deranged majesty E9L99 represents - but you're welcome to try. Is it the greatest map ever made for Duke3D? It's hard to say. I wouldn't call it pleasant, honestly. But I would call it enlightening; like a very difficult to read, but otherwise well written book. It's art, in every definition of the word. And I do mean it.

SCORE: 98/100

The reason I don't give this level a perfect score is because of its alienating level design. And part of the reason I give such a high score is because of its alienating level design.
It's that kind of work...

BTW, I got one final question...

Spoiler

...about the Transcendence ending. Is the player really supposed to just die at the end of that path? I've tried it so many times and that's the only result I'm getting.

[Jan Satcitananda]

Dr.Panico, on 19 July 2025 - 04:11 PM, said:

While MSDN doesn't review this map, I decided to write a review of my own.

That's a great and thoughtful one! I guess it could be published on DukeMaps.net after correcting some occasional typos (I am hyperlexic and have a special eye for inconsistencies in writing ). I like your associations and mentioning other stuff this can (or maybe can't) be compared to. I suppose the score thing doesn't work well with niche or artsy maps that don't readily compare to other works, hence you ended up with an ambiguous assessment of the map design being alienating.

I see that reviews lag behind releases considerably, and I can understand it seeing folks not having much spare time nowadays. Perhaps best reviews may come from people like you who genuinely liked the map and understood its message. I wonder what Quakis review is gonna be about and whether his interpretation is different from yours. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on this!

Dr.Panico, on 19 July 2025 - 04:11 PM, said:

BTW, I got one final question...

Spoiler

...about the Transcendence ending. Is the player really supposed to just die at the end of that path? I've tried it so many times and that's the only result I'm getting.

Spoiler

Getting to that ending requires some skill and knowledge of the engine. When approaching the singularity, you need to stay in the exact middle of that path. Some advices to help you out:

• Make sure to approach the midline in small increments from the right side, otherwise you will slip away and die due to velocity rounding behavior.
  
• Disable auto-run and duck to move slower as the path narrows down.
  
• To practice, you can use dncoords cheat to track your position. Player's X coordinate should be equal to 44544 for the transcendence to work.
  
• Alternatively, you can locate the secret teleport that will do all the alignment for you (let the mirror suck you in and don't move or turn when teleporting!).

[Gorilla]

Wow, what an experience! I heard this mod compared to Finnegan's Wake on discord and had to see what was going on ( I love bizarre and unapproachable things ), and I decided to check the mod out after eating some magic mushrooms (psilocybin-derivative psychedelic shrooms, legal where I live ). Well I only got to the room with many faces and didn't manage to progress any further after about 30 minutes, but man alive! It was an experience that no other medium has ever, or certainly will ever, convey the same type of abstract helpless dirtiness and uncertainty. This map is dark, and not just in luminosity. In a brightly lit room and all the incandescence is sucked out once this mod is turned on. I might just be projecting some of what I felt due to the hallucinogens in my system at the time, but what little I managed to explore felt like walking through complex-PTSD.

When I first opened the map I thought the spinning black thing was some kind of record-player, and when I moved around that illusion gave way to something that felt purely obscene, like it shouldn't be visible from a child's bedroom. Looking around to see the child's bed made me feel a sort of vicarious melancholy, certainly familiar to my own difficult childhood, but the experience is distinct - this is not my childhood nightmare, but a horror native to being that young and vulnerable.

The vending machine with the Duke Burger face on it was, at first, funny and felt warm after the gritty dirty environments before it, especially the scary moment with the hanged man. The music was comforting and reminded me of the hallmark sleazy nightclubs endemic to the world of Duke Nukem - it was a brief reverie calling back, once again, to moments of my own youth, seeking shelter from the chaos around me in this very same video game.

Staring at the face on the vending machine's side turned from comfort to terror as my controls and mouselook locked up, I assume a side effect of the ostensible "corruption" or what-not going on in the background? In any case, the effect was visceral and deeply unsettling! Rather than a voluntary reprieve, the machine was suddenly a malignant and mildly incomprehensible force. After that, I kicked the faces on the wall for about 10 minutes, and eventually, well, I ran dry and quit not out of boredom but lack of hope! I was totally helpless to make any further progress, and the experience thus far had left me feeling clammy skin and a dry mouth. Well okay that last part is because of the shrooms.... but it just feels right to give the credit to the mod at hand.

I watched a short bit of TLOD's stream of the map but in truth I don't want to spoil anything! I had a wonderful time and the abstract nature of the mod is perfect for psychonauts and abstract thinkers like myself. It's a potent kind of unnerving, depressing, and ultimately distressing that I have only ever seen come out of Russia and Scandinavia. I LOVE IT. Though I'm not ready to dive back in again just yet, I look forward to combing through this mind bending experience more on my own. Truly this is the work of an undeniably genius and unhinged mind. The greatest and most complex thinkers in humanity are fringe-thinkers, I think. This is what it looks like when you expose that kind of genius.

Thank you for sharing this. I'm sure it was a pretty gnarly experience to make it, in multiple ways. It's definitely a gnarly beast to play

[Jan Satcitananda]

Gorilla, on 12 September 2025 - 01:59 PM, said:

Wow, what an experience! I heard this mod compared to Finnegan's Wake on discord and had to see what was going on ( I love bizarre and unapproachable things ), and I decided to check the mod out after eating some magic mushrooms (psilocybin-derivative psychedelic shrooms, legal where I live ). Well I only got to the room with many faces and didn't manage to progress any further after about 30 minutes, but man alive! It was an experience that no other medium has ever, or certainly will ever, convey the same type of abstract helpless dirtiness and uncertainty. This map is dark, and not just in luminosity. In a brightly lit room and all the incandescence is sucked out once this mod is turned on. I might just be projecting some of what I felt due to the hallucinogens in my system at the time, but what little I managed to explore felt like walking through complex-PTSD.

Interesting to know you were that impressed just by playing the beginning part! The psychedelic effects have a lot to do with it, seeing how much it can affect even sober minds. The map is rather deep and diverse by itself, who knows what you discover on your later play. I wonder if it can induce spiritual experiences, since there is a lot of background religious context. But you'll probably not proceed far unless you have a clear focus (or use a playthrough ).

I never encountered a total lockup of controls other than the game occasionally freezing when opening the menu (Esc key). Seems like some random glitch on your end.

Also, I found some other "reference" videos that have connection to the map:
Sonic.exe
Microsoft SONiC
Useless box