It's really good though, even though I mailed him on Monday and said he should repack it. 

The best part is that the autoexec is dated 2004. 

Fantastic episode overall. The end map feels a bit rushed/underwhelming compared to the rest but the overall quality is very high. I love how old-school it feels and yet there is a subtle layer of modern Quake on top of it.

e5m5 was my favorite of the bunch and e5m1 and e5m2 were pretty great as well. I also quit enjoyed how the Runic maps were a mix of classic E3, e3m5 and some hints of E4.

Now I need to find where to get to e5m8. Is there a way to petition Machinegames to produce only Quake maps in the future? Is this only a shareware episode and is there more to come? A man can dream. 

This is some good stuff. I played through 2 and a half levels. I'm saving the rest until I can play it in the dark.

I was slightly disappointed at the lack of colored lighting, but that's a minor thing (some might consider it a plus).

It's fantastic that this was done. 

Got up to The catacombs, maybe about a third of the way through the level and then i got crushed by a wall and literally went :OOOOO

Will continue later. Very refreshing after playing through the new Doom 

Yeah, some traps are a little on the cheap side. But nothing too offensive. 

Disclaimer: It's Made By My Boss

Why aren't you level design lead ? 

 

Okay 

Played the whole thing on Hard, the whole thing just screams Quake from start to finish, it's awesome.
Though the latest map was the hardest map I've played but it was kinf of cheap.
And what's the deal with the map before it, where you jump behind the exit portal and opens up the waterway from the start area? It leads to nowhere. 

http://i.imgur.com/pK1v7Kc.png

A nice classic (-ish) episode. Much like No Rest For The Living, it finds a way to be memorable while using only the original content.

I laughed at how obvious the secrets were in the first few levels, but the situation improved later on. Still, I managed to find everything without much trouble. Dopefish lives! 

 

say your boss he should make an AD map =) 

So good, oldskool-eyt-modern-ish episode with lots of awesome traps. A+ for dopfish! 

Give your boss a high 5 for me.

Pros:

Excellent level design
Fun
Challenging (on nightmare)
Thought has gone into the brushwork, beyond what is required for basic geometry (I know this is expected these days, but it has a level of polish over what some of the original id maps have)

Cons:

Secrets waaay too easy
Some areas have too few varieties of textures
Lack of variety of mobs in encounters
Mob placement somewhat predictable

Now having said all this, the pros waaay outweigh the cons. The length of the maps is a bit longer than the orignal id maps, but retains that id feel.

Highlights:

Killing a shambler with an axe after running out of ammo.

E5end map, last room, killing the two shamblers with 1 health and watching one earlier kamikaze off a ledge into lava. 

Very cool "modern oldschool" episode out of nowhere. Pleasantly surprise. It strikes a good balance between classic style/themes and modern touches/details. Same with gameplay. A refreshing step back from many of the recent complex, ultra-detailed releases - at least that's the initial thought that crossed my mind yesterday.

Enjoyable classic secrets. Most easy to find, but that's okay, because it adds to the vibe. Combat offers a good challenge without feeling overbearing. Usually enough supplies around. Could have been a little more varied perhaps.
The crusher tunnel in that one map is somewhat intransparent - luckily, being at the start of the level, dying there is not a big deal. Some unmarked instant death trap a bit further which sucks, though.

I missed the secret exit, and then died horribly attempting to play the secret level individually. I love the fact there's a start map, a secret level, and a deathmatch map.

czg disqualified as tester due to the existence of several obvious wizmet misdemeanors.
No tarbabies = 7/10 

Nice, this is equivalent to Doom's "No rest for the living" 

One could say that. 

I like maps with the classic Quake feel :-).

Also it sounds like Machine Games (or at least the level designers :-P) will know how to make a good Quake SP if they get to work on that :-)

(although i wonder how they'll emotionalize Quakeguy :-P)

I haven't finished it yet though, i died on the crushing ceiling. I'll try it again later. 

pure oldskool sexiness.
i liked fast and fun to play levels with relatively easy secrets.

czg's boss rocks! 

What a great surprise! This pack was excellent fun, and a worthy celebration in my opinion. I enjoyed the varying styles of maps, and almost never got lost in the levels!

This is somehow reminiscent of the terra release! Unexpected but most welcome episode in classical style.

I recorded my first playthrough on easy skill. Died a couple of times. In particular on e5m7, from traps, insta-evisceration, etc.

DirectQ, protocol 666. I have post-processed the demo to keep playing over level changes. DirectQ bugged out on e5end so I had to restart from a save game.

http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/mandel_dopa.zip 

Hmmm I'l have to play this. I'll need something to cheer me up a bit for a few moments after waking up friday morning to learn that my beloved country just cackled like a crazed loon, raised a gun to its head, and pulled the trigger. 

Nice one. 

DOPA = Dimension of the past.