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I'm so excited to try this out tomorrow :D !

I'll try to stream it aswell. 

and just wanted to say the "loophole" i've just noticed where someone would make something a func_door just to adjust its position arbtrarily via the door movement behaviour, to avoid the 64 grid, is so stupid it actually hurts my head. 

Looks like my map wasn't included https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/481520204002623504/559850210537504789/sm194.zip 

Swallow some tylenol, skip mine and play the rest of the pack. You're missing a lot.
Mine is the only one that so far abuses this "loophole".

Cheers, and have fun. 

My apologies, I don't know how I forgot. :(

I'll fix it tomorrow. 

...I know, it surprises the fuck out of me too!! xD
I wanted to clarify, before I was accused of cheat... err nope, too late ;) that I DID NOT CHEAT with the 64 rule. Yes, there is brushwork that is not on grid 64, but that is only fancy use of rotation & clip tool MADE ON GRID 64.

I would very much welcome as many demos as you'll be kind enough to throw at me, as well as your constructive criticism. Thank you. 

Lol, my map uses the door trick in several places. Skip mine too I guess. 

What's up with people typoing my alias as Esreal, it's Esrael!!! >:C Just kidding, it's a very common typo, so I don't blame you. :)

So, Purple, while you're fixing the issue with Ish (pun intended), could you fix the typo in the readme too, while you're at it? And also in your original post, if it is updated with the final version.

P.S. I was quite surprised to see Mugwump participate, too. O_O (I was quite surprised enough of me participating already, to be honest.) xD 

The one which is kinda like a section of a normal quake map, but scaled huge so everything fits on a 64 grid, and textured in upscaled ESREGNAN-SFTERGGANEGNANSRE textures.... is pretty clever... and an actual use of upscaled textures that doesn't make me want to arbitrarily punch a small woodland mammal out of vague, undirected despair. 

that should have been the real theme

search your feelings..... 

Started playing these last night. My performance was a bit underwhelming, I blame the 8 hours of jet-lag. Video here :
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/401197181
Cool stuff so far. 

 

The pack is now reuploaded with ish's map and readme fixes. Sorry for the trouble!

I'll be sure to leave everybody a demo sometime this week. 

Everything looks good now, except for ONE more lingering typo in the original post. Fix that, and I have nothing to complain about anymore. ;D Sorry for nitpicking. 

I don't have the ability to edit posts. 

Shambler? :3c 

Excited to play these, I'll be uploading them as I play here: Sm194 playlist 

Still missing 2 I think, will try to do them tonight.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/401674159 

http://twitch.tv/ch0ww !

I hope I'll have lotsa fun ♥ 

Following that awful/cringy stream of mine, I'll quickly make a very short review of the maps, in 2 PARTS.

Artistical : Yup, that's a maze. :P very simplistic though, and the end of the map was quite fun with all of those enforcers to kill. And those endmessages... LMAO :)
However, I've noticed a few holes in pitch dark places that are *really* cheap deaths. A few items here and there forces you to backtrack which is slightly annoying. And the nailgun was really awful & frustrating to get.

Danzadan : That music fits so well with that style of map! Also, I really appreciated the trap before getting the silver key, I wasn't expecting it at all. The architecture feels nice, despite seeing too long slopes (as said on the stream)
I've spotted that in the last part of the map, a few items were inside walls after those lifts moving. It's minor (because you still see them with the z-trick) but it's still something to notice.

Ersael: The idea was creative for sure ! But it just was too long and boring after a while. I was lacking ammo during my first time and had to do it with another strategy because I had to make a rocket jump to continue the map, and the Chthon battle at the end was extremely painful, because of the size of the arena and the radius of the explosions, while not forgetting chthon taking some of my ammunition. So ammo/health management was entirely needed to finish that map : killing ogres/enforcers with the nailgun, the rest and yourself with the rockets. (is 100% possible though?)

Fairweather : I was confused at first with the choice of the weapons and the sudden disappearance of my buckshot. But it quickly reminded me of that previous Speedmapping session where a map felt really similar (inspiration ?). But I really liked the map anyway. Small disappointment : the 8 MH next to each other, making the secret... Making it like a disappointing joke (because of that health ticker bug). Also, the RL/MH respawning at the second part of the map wasn't entirely necessary, since Chthon wasn't really a threat (it's too big and many covers available). I appreciate that gothic architexture, and the first part of the map was, to me, better made than the second one.

ing1: LMAO, that map was really fun to play ! the design is super simplistic, but the last enemy was giving me a good laugh ! And indeed, nightmare! was perfect for the choice.
Also, I don't get that MH trap.... Is there deathmatch weapons in it ? :P

ing2 : Radical change compared to the first map. Huge areas (yet behind the spawn, it's reaallly empty), traps, and big monsters. I had the unfortunate idea to play it on Skill3 and it was hard at the end (lack of ammo). Otherwise, the layout is simple yet fun to play.

ish : DAIKATANA ! That was my first thought when I saw this map, even if there were some palette-mismatching on some textures. The map is well-made, but was it incomplete ? I got the gold key at one point, but I didn't see a door, other than the entrance. And even when opening it after noclipping, I was welcomed with a wall.
Also, that underwater part was a pure nightmare. I mean, the hidden spawns in the vents (classic "watery-scare" btw) plus some other spawns around a few parts was truly hellish. I liked it :P

JCR: Very obscure lava castle, and it's a fun one ! The symetry at the end of the map was nice, I wouldn't expect too spawns jumping at me at the end, it really surprised me. ALSO, did you add invisible clips to stop some monsters to jump ? I heavily exploited that (and had a laugh too making a jumping contest on the stream) with the fiends.

Also, just a little note: that small line of enforcers followed by that spidery-thingie... I don't know, but it was sorta... misplaced to me. I'd have them being teleported around me to make them slightly more... Threatening..?

Kamp : The map has very nice esthetics. I just have a problem with an invisible hurtbox while going on the final lift (again, SM193 had a similar issue). Also, quite a small and quick map to play, but I see the architecture was heavily bet on.

khreathor : Oh god, it's me, and I didn't crash your map, hopefully ! I was confusing at the beginning of the map, wondering where was the last Switch. That Quad being the last piece of the puzzle was weird. Also, the silly traps and jokes you put here and there made me really chuckle sensitively. Also, poor Mr.Dopefish :c

Maxx: It's ALL SC_Tetris all over again ! I really loved it. Made me play Sven-Coop all over again. :p
(Also, isn't it called a tetramino ? unless it's french). Just a slight lack of ammo in my opinion... 

Mugwump : OH. MY. GOD. I was amazed by the size of the map ! The music is also PER-FECT. And the ambience was spectacular (I always like those kind of mystical, oriental maps). Really reminded me of Serious Sam: TSE.
Oh, I just thought too that a bit of everything feels a little unproportionnal compared to the beginning of the map, but I do understand this is a mapping restriction. And the gold key placement felt kinda wrong, for some reason (I mean, you should be able to notice it after coming on the teleporter or on the other end of the area you're teleporting into, but it was just blending with the walls). Otherwise, a fairly enjoyable map, despite feeling slightly empty even if the map is huge.. (And I'm sure there's a way to break the map near that bluekey crate)

Pinchy : Okay, I have to admit I was really lost at the beginning. I didn't know you were able to choose several paths and play it the way you wanted ! It was when you were chatting during the stream that I was aware of it. But a little too late, sadly... And the futuristic/aquatic music (that really, REALLY made me think of Deus Ex/UT99's music) is PURE LOVE ! I'll replay the map later on today, but I really enjoyed it.
ALSO, those full ghostmonsters that made me scare like hell (Doom 2's Ghostmonster bug is creeping me out already, but this with 2983932 wizards? NO F-WAY !! ). :P

Ukko : I felt really small while playing the map, and you managed to perfectly capture that feeling of being minuscule (playing good old rat maps on HL1/CS1.X). The MH above the MH was cute, and the objective kills were neat. But, one small thing to think about : I was confused on a few props, thinking I was able to grab some of the items. And it's really dark on a lot of places, and that wasn't that enjoyable. Overall a good map experience.

Overall : Really great maps and can't wait for the next session ! :D 

Thanks for the playthrough, I noticed the fiends couldn't get to you at the top of the fortresses! There wasn't any clips used there, I guess their hitboxes are slightly larger than those corners. 

Just a heads-up: it would seem that I botched my wateralpha setting in worldspawn, so if you play my map, please set it to 0.3 in the console, thanks. 

Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, I get the Serious Sam comment quite a lot. Ironically, I never played TSE.

If you had read the readme, you'd know that this map is supposed to be a place where a race of giants lives/lived. That's what the map title actually means (the palace/fortress of giants). Tried to rationalize the use of grid 64 and big textures...

And yeah, after watching the first playthroughs, I agree that I should've signposted the GK better. As for the relative emptiness, I lacked time to refine gameplay as much as I would've liked.