[Micky C]

Finally played this one. Now note that I haven't been keeping up with a lot of releases lately (quite busy at uni), but even then I can safely bet that this has the best gameplay of any map for a while! The progression is fantastic; lots of vertical movement. Huge variety in locations (or at least it felt like this), interesting scenarios like explosions causing slime to flow through the ceiling, and the train etc. Gameplay had huge variety as well which again is fantastic. First you escape the building, then there's this massive swarm of aliens, then it turns into a more traditional map which quite frankly was a bit refreshing after the exotic style of the first half. It was a pretty good looking map too in terms of texturing and details.

You clearly built the map around the gameplay rather than the other way around which is something more mappers should be mindful of. My only complaint is that I didn't find the chaingun. It's possible I didn't look hard enough (didn't find any secrets), but in any case I just spawned one in the subway since I'd already found plenty of ammo for it Oh and the other thing is that the final fight was a bit anti-climatic considering everything that came before.

If I didn't read this thread first I probably would have used the devastator on the battlelord too. As I'm sure you're aware it's a bit embarrassing you didn't realize people would do that, haha. Is there going to be a part 2 some time down the track?

[MetHy]

I didn't think of using the devastator against the BLord because I was pretty sure 15 ammo of it wasn't enough to kill one.

[FistMarine]

edit

[DotK3D]

Hello,

Thanks for the release. What can I said that was already said ? At the beginning, I was not enthusiast, died a few time then I flee ^^, but after that, I liked the map more and more.
I have found the texturing and the sprite work very creative (coffee machine with door texture in 7 = eleven or vending ticket machine in the subway was really good I think).
The level design is really nice, the more I played, the more I wanted to discover ^^. Some mapping ideas are quite good (the water pouring from the ceiling in the subway, of course, but the alien space ship strange part (the one very noisy ^^) also.).
I have played the map in level 3 difficulty and I have find not very difficult after the first part, plenty of ammo and health but finally, just enough to end the map.
The idea of going deeper and deeper is really good, the transitions between the different parts are well made. The End of The World ambiance is really nice.
And finally I found the map really original. The few "jokes" are a good idea.

Spoiler

The leg of the alien crushed by the train or the hand of the guy buried alive in the wall !

A few remarks :

- The outside street part outside the force field is a bit strange, feel "empty" I think.
- If I am correct, there is a "water from the ceiling" hole that is not a hole, instead of "going up", the ceiling hole part "go down", I don't know if I am clear enough ^^.
- The music combined to the background in the first part (building in and out) is really annoying, add up octobrain screams when you shout at it is really ... nearly unbearable .
- The use of green palette on "slime pools" change the color of the bad guys moving inside the sector, I don't know is it's intended.
- I find there's to much lens flares sometimes (on laptop near the peep show girl room at the beginning of the subway (more a matter of personal taste^^).
- Again about the light corona : in the subway, before the train there are a few lamps on the ceiling not render correctly (half the part disappear, blocked by the corona).
- The last part is ... a bit short I think ^^.

Edit : I almost forgot, but I think it's a good idea not to use the voxel pack from ReaperMan. Some shadows are made from sprite who are voxelized (e.g. faucet), others a made 3D with sprite work (e.g. toilet paper dispenser) and other are not used as they are in the original game (e.g. showerhead as lamp part, but it's possible the showerhead was not release yet )

Bye
Dotk3D

[ck3D]

thanks for your lengthy comment with detailed feedback ! glad you insisted on finishing the map and you had fun playing it, cheers for giving it a try. also thanks for your remarks !

(just to address this real quick :

Quote

there is a "water from the ceiling" hole that is not a hole, instead of "going up", the ceiling hole part "go down", I don't know if I am clear enough

if I remember correctly and rightfully identify the spot you are referring to, then it's supposed to be tiles in the process of dislocating from all the slime building up in the upper levels / ceiling, not really a hole yet)

[DotK3D]

Hello,

You are welcome, it was a pleasure playing your map. Just to be sure we are talking about the same hole, I have made a screenshot.

Bye,
DotK3D

Attached thumbnail(s)

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[ck3D]

oh yeah, not the one I was thinking of indeed, nicely spotted ! to be fair in retrospect I know that look was deliberate (I wouldn't overlook something that obvious while mapping), but I honestly can't remember what I was thinking it would be supposed to be (tiles getting loose in a very unrealistic maneer ?). it surely defies physics ! thanks for taking the time to post a screenshot. glad you had fun !

[LeoD]

I'm so happy that you can't stop mapping, ck3D!
The nicely detailed starting apartment made me feel comfortable right away. (Btw., I also killed the miniboss first.) Design-wise the outside area was a little anticlimactic to me, compared to where I came from and what was to come. The fighting there was very challenging though. So maybe this improved the overall rhythm of proceeding in the map. The subway area is, well, just MRCK at his best!
Thanks for all the work you've put into this.

[PsychoGoatee]

Very cool map! Had a lot of fun with it, especially the big open battle with plenty of jetpacks lying around. I did run out of ammo (other than pistol) by the time I got to the last few Battlelords though, after having checked the map's nooks decently thoroughly, so I did the ol' give weapons cheat, which i don't usually do.

I also didn't find the chaingun etc. But hey, loved the map, very cool battles, great great mapping all around.

[ck3D]

thanks for playing and taking the time to post some feedback ! you guys make me want to map again ! been really busy as of late and kind of disconnected from Duke 3D, also this map was the last project out of all of them that I had started a while ago and put on hold for years while still retaining the urge to eventually finish and release, now that it's out of the way I don't see myself starting an ambitious level again anytime soon, but I still love the shit out of this game / editor so I'll definitely make more maps at some point when I can find the time, even if that means quickies ! cheers

[ck3D]

Thread bump, just noticed Vidi games on YouTube put up a playthrough video of the level:



Always thought it was satisfying (and encouraging as a map author) how all - and even some of the oddest or most questionable - Duke levels always retained some kind of posterity. In many a community nowadays, this type of cult archiving and appreciation for any substantial contribution seemingly has succumbed to mindless, instantaneous consumption of any new material often with barely superficial interest; pair that up with how ephemeral attention spans can be nowadays due to people getting used to continuously refreshed social networking and whatnot, and it can be easy to miss works artists have been building for years, then - boom - are gone by a blink of the eye the second after they finally drop, like they never existed. Instead, here we still have people occasionally referencing i.e.. Supa 2 (OK that one may be a stretch, but still the mention of it will still trigger memories to a chunk of the community so my point stands), plus people here are still devoted enough to provide the mappers with the feedback they need. I think for creators that's rewarding in itself (as Duke maps can be really time-consuming to make), and should be brought up to the rest of the community just playing the levels, or reviewing them, or making videos, or e-mailing the authors that the appreciation goes both ways, because I feel like this system really is what keeps a fan base interesting.

Really just rambling, because I randomly found myself running into this last night and pondered some useless stuff: https://opinionator....ge-boards-past/

[Ninety-Six]

i also lament the slow deaths of forums

[Dukebot]

Today managed to play a few user maps, now I've just played this one as I saw the thread in the forum while exploring.

In general I enjoyed the map a lot! I took me 40 minutes to complete, but It wasn't as hard as Poison Heart (this time I played in let's rock because I suffered playing Poison Heart in Come Get Some). The map is looking really good, and makes and interesting use of the palettes, thing that I also noticed in Poison Heart. I love the ambientance of the map, this semi destroyed urban space with that cool effects that you do are just great. Hard to say bad things about this map, but if I had to say something "bad" or that could be improved is that I felt the interior of the building in ruins like less detailed than the other parts of the map. Not an issue or anything but that building in ruins felt a bit simple, maybe some rocks with different textures mixed with some broken wood or metal would have resulted in a more realistic demolished building (just saying this because other parts of the map felt really really well detailed). But this it's not an issue or anyuthing, maybe something that could be improved, overall the map is great and very original, as you always are with your maps.

Here are some screenshoots with some comments about the map, hope you like them!

[ck3D]

Dukebot, on 08 April 2020 - 01:17 PM, said:

Today managed to play a few user maps, now I've just played this one as I saw the thread in the forum while exploring.

In general I enjoyed the map a lot! I took me 40 minutes to complete, but It wasn't as hard as Poison Heart (this time I played in let's rock because I suffered playing Poison Heart in Come Get Some). The map is looking really good, and makes and interesting use of the palettes, thing that I also noticed in Poison Heart. I love the ambientance of the map, this semi destroyed urban space with that cool effects that you do are just great. Hard to say bad things about this map, but if I had to say something "bad" or that could be improved is that I felt the interior of the building in ruins like less detailed than the other parts of the map. Not an issue or anything but that building in ruins felt a bit simple, maybe some rocks with different textures mixed with some broken wood or metal would have resulted in a more realistic demolished building (just saying this because other parts of the map felt really really well detailed). But this it's not an issue or anyuthing, maybe something that could be improved, overall the map is great and very original, as you always are with your maps.

Here are some screenshoots with some comments about the map, hope you like them!

Thanks for playing, commenting and those nice screenshots. Yes I feel you on how some sections of the level can feel more bare than others in general, I don't get that from the interior of the ruined building myself (I know I intended it to be an apartment building so to me it makes sense that the hallways are empty-ish) but instead I do get it from its exterior and the general street area - I think that's the main sign that I took a big hiatus halfway through working on this map, essentially I started it just after the Happy Hangover series then 'quit' mapping for 4/5 years (?) and eventually came back to finish it. So the start of the map is done in my old style, then the building/street area was me relearning my way around the editor and everything that comes after that was more up-to-date material. In retrospect I do think I should have made at least the aesthetics of the street area more consistent and detailed but I guess at the time I was satisfied just finding the time to finish the map and put it out there, it's just now that there are quite a few elements I wish I could revisit (but I tend to prefer just moving onto new stuff in such situations in general). I know what you mean, it's not bad but it's a bit too simplistic not to clash with the coherence of the rest. Honestly, out of all the maps I've made, this one I tend to forget that I've even put it out, I still really like it but my brain seems to have registered it as a one-off type of thing (a few others too, I guess that was a weird period in general for me). The screenshots you took are from all my favorite places in the level as well! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks again for your feedback.

[Dukebot]

ck3D, on 10 April 2020 - 01:53 AM, said:

Thanks for playing, commenting and those nice screenshots. Yes I feel you on how some sections of the level can feel more bare than others in general, I don't get that from the interior of the ruined building myself (I know I intended it to be an apartment building so to me it makes sense that the hallways are empty-ish) but instead I do get it from its exterior and the general street area - I think that's the main sign that I took a big hiatus halfway through working on this map, essentially I started it just after the Happy Hangover series then 'quit' mapping for 4/5 years (?) and eventually came back to finish it. So the start of the map is done in my old style, then the building/street area was me relearning my way around the editor and everything that comes after that was more up-to-date material. In retrospect I do think I should have made at least the aesthetics of the street area more consistent and detailed but I guess at the time I was satisfied just finding the time to finish the map and put it out there, it's just now that there are quite a few elements I wish I could revisit (but I tend to prefer just moving onto new stuff in such situations in general). I know what you mean, it's not bad but it's a bit too simplistic not to clash with the coherence of the rest. Honestly, out of all the maps I've made, this one I tend to forget that I've even put it out, I still really like it but my brain seems to have registered it as a one-off type of thing (a few others too, I guess that was a weird period in general for me). The screenshots you took are from all my favorite places in the level as well! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks again for your feedback.

This is the area I was talking about:



But it was only to be critic and suggest something, I enjoyed the map a lot and besides of this, the map is really well detailed, good looking and it has a great atmosphere.

It was a pleasure playing this map as the other ones I played from you.

[ck3D]

Oh right, I thought you meant the hallways - yes that section is part of the general area that bothers me too. I actually like keeping destruction scenes somewhat simple, but this is too bare even to my own standards - rudimentary blocks, no slopes, no light effects, nothing to at least optimize the looks of the space. I guess mapping time was such a luxury for me and also something I thought I had left behind in that time period, for a little while I took a more carefree/mundane approach, that's already evidenced by some of my output around those years but here it's funny how it just stands out in the middle of an otherwise coherent map. I think I might have been paranoid to touch the core of the building as well because of the ROR tricks that I thought were flawless at the time, then later I watched the one playthrough video someone made on YouTube and right there he gets some super in-your-face HOM mid boss fight which had never happened to me, I was so bummed! If I ever were to update this map, I'd probably just redo the whole street section and give it a slightly more sophisticated look than just a square block in general (but maybe that's also part of the current charm, I don't know!).