Ah that's nice the water teleport thing is intended, was hoping it would stay as even if it were accidental is one of those things that indirectly adds a lot of timeless charm to a map or game.
About the train ceiling bug, assuming the train car is a free-floating sector (island in the middle of a larger one), what happens if you lower the parallaxed sky of that sector to the height of the sprite ceiling, wouldn't just that be see-through and block any taller collision altogether, and then you could declutter the map of the invisible sprites. Might be worth considering trying if you ever update the file, or keeping in mind for the next similar set-up. Again I didn't even try to break that part, it just kept happening with that Commander spontaneously pressing me against the stuff, but I did try and replicate it on purpose after that and noticed it wasn't so easy by just jumping.
I have quite a bit to say about this one, it's difficult to hold my thoughts for until I've gone back to the boss but in general I think it's a brillant map, I love the way the TROR is used in a practical way that is focused on serving layout and not just to show off as though we would be on a timeline where Quake never existed. I think TROR is at its best that way when put to use to embellish and push sector-over-sector driven constructions and not just to make little platforms. I have some minor issues with collision but not so much with the scale, most likely will expand on that later. You are underselling your placement of the enemies and weapons - it is all super well done until the last part that is just mayhem, but the pond trick remaining in indeed is a huge relief when one figures it out, and whilst I would have hoped for less chaotic combat as climax (maybe more oriented around the features of the terrain being affected by the passage of time similarly to what happens to the crops) it's also a valid step-up from the difficulty of the first phase, makes sense to go out hard. I think I would have been warier with enemy type diversity though; the first half of the map does it well with specific types reserved to distinct areas, and some clever spots too, for instance those two Enforcers on the train that can hitscan you from across the map are awesome and a real threat if low on HP. Goes well with the world building throughout that the level establishes but then at the end suddenly is fireworks cacophony, maybe could have done with one or two less enemy types (phase two tanks for instance felt a bit redundant and foreign and could have been replaced with greater numbers of one of the other encounters). Anyway that part reminded me quite a bit of my own Rural Nightmare map (super ancient one) except a better take on it, loved it.
It is interesting seeing you mention inspiration from Spacetronic - to me it feels a lot more like a BobSP map (which invented the 'motherboard' trick), or Domino (which I wouldn't be surprised to also be Bob's works seeing as it's now been established he uses aliases). Blown Fuses atmosphere also sensible (design-wise one of my favorite maps) but only so much, I would say this style would be closer to a unique mix of Gambini's and Alejandro's. Another oldie that instantly came to mind is Dave City 2
https://msdn.duke4.n...otdavecity2.php because of the general vibes of the environment (albeit the progression is nothing like in your map) but also the relatively narrow scale. Welp I guess this is the perfect transition so might as well mention the scale now; I've noticed you seem to enjoy building on what I would call the L.A. Meltdown scale that would be realistic to Duke's sprite dimensions (relative to doorways etc.), but from experience this works better paired with a smaller enemy count like the original maps themselves were designed to hold. Otherwise generally works better to inflate things a little, especially width of things if one is going to throw swarms of strong enemies in. Now, in this map that actually was never a problem outdoors at all because it isn't just open, but really well optimized for all of the quick footwork and jumps the player has to improvise in order to make it to the guns (because yes I didn't find most weapons including the shotgun for a little while but really enjoy when levels do that). It is indoors or in narrower nooks and crannies that now instead of decorating space, all of the detail sort of closes in on the player. Hotel in Weather Report had the same issue, and I remember people complaining about that in Locked and Loaded too (can't believe it is so many months old already) although personally it didn't bother me in that map, maybe because I expected narrow settings from the theme. Maybe gradually getting used to say making your interiors 20% the scale you currently make them would help playability all the while allowing you to keep all of your fine detail. I keep mentioning it these days but maybe you would enjoy and be inspired playing Mister Sinister's Death Drive episode for its efficient way of articulating tons of enemies:
https://msdn.duke4.net/hotddrive.php
Design is mostly excellent by the way, bar the scale thing. You have a cool way of using fogpals that is the polar opposite from a lot of people's (from mine at least), which may be why you think they clash with the rest of the base palette, they are designed to be applied to whole regions of map with large scale dynamics but instead you use them in very fine ways to come up with precise color touches, not that no one's ever tried that before but I think most everyone who did promptly gave up (and went back to reserving them to big blocks, or not using them at all) and so that is an interesting particularity of your style.
Guess I'll get the collision complaint out of the way too; there are a couple of places where you can blow holes into walls but then can't throw pipebombs through those as the TROR seems to block the trajectory, and since those spots have enemies around that can be a bit frustrating. It really just ties back to the scale thing honestly, as in if the holes were higher and didn't look in reach of pipebomb then it wouldn't be a problem. Merely just noting that because it made me realize that that was a thing and I should be on the look out for it when making my own maps; would suck to design a whole complex puzzle around the idea if it may not work. Some normal windows also will block pipebombs a lot in spite of being open invitations, since they are so narrow and packed with sprites. Died a few times trying then stopped, but lamented it because would have worked really well. In general never a fan of plain invisiwalls to block unreachable areas (adding a little barrier, signage or justification never hurts) but only that one end of the road got me (perhaps it originally had sprite barriers the tanks blew up before I could see them). Some of the roofs blocked my jumps but somehow I still haven't found one secret IIRC so it is all the more intriguing where they might be. One aspect of the design that caught my attention was how relatively small and low the map was and yet felt so vertical because the entirety of the Z axis gets utilized when playing with no filler or gaps in space (which would be more typical for a big city to have, but not work so well here). Enjoyed having to dive through all of the barrels and trash cans for sustenance.
Done rambling for now but might keep going later, it really is a fun, fresh map, nice work and thanks for sharing.
edit - oh yeah, progression was rather straightforward, didn't remember the plot from that specific Simpsons episode and so the screen actually helped. I was a bit confused about where to insert the green tube at first, the machine is complex and originally I was trying to use the wrong sector for it (off memory, the one where the '!' marker is; if that's the right one, then a different one that looks like it could also be it). The power sign on the page also confused me because there is that one back alley with the same signage and broken switch and so for a second I went back there wondering if it would be relevant. Maybe it was and I didn't realize I activated something there? I did notice the electrical sounds, wasn't sure if ambient or cue.
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ck3D, on 02 March 2026 - 07:45 AM, said:
Could be due to the TROR layers, the intricate amount of details or a combination of both. But mostly just my laptop being old :\
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