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Speedmap Pack 175 - Koohoo's Castle
Creepily awesome maps by Cocerello, Digs, DOOMer, Fifthelephant, Scampie and Sock.

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Please note that one map requires SoA and another requires DoE.
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True nitin a map to replay for sure. 
Catching Up 
This pack is the first in my huge backlog of maps to play - both mapjams still to play

Fifth: Really impressive scale for a speedmap, loved the use of many spotlights to create interesting lighting. I kept misjudging jumps and falls due to the grand scale though! I found both keys before their respective doors, but other than that and too long hunting for the underwater buttons progression was fine.

I found the secret, and since it was right at the very beginning of the level I didn't have to explore after 20 seconds, which is a bit of a shame, but also an unfair criticism of a speedmap - I guess it's a useful idea for regular maps to hold back at least one secret until the end. Gameplay was never unfair and I didn't even mind the spawns, as there was acres of room to dodge them, plus opportunities to use them against other enemies effectively.

Cocerello: This map on the other hand really annoyed me with spawns, frequently trapping me with them in spaces that were not only cramped, but underwater to boot. The first map had again an imposing, large scale exterior, but the dark lighting was a bit of a shame as much of it couldn't be seen. Darkness also caused problems on the latter map, with monsters on high which were invisible and an exit gate that was pitch black open and closed.

I don't know if balance was better on the mission pack versions, but I played on vanilla and constantly felt under-equipped for the battles. On the first map this made me veer between worry that I'd taken a shortcut past all the weapons, and moments where I felt real tension. On the second map it was just frustrating, it took about a dozen attempts to beat, epitomised by the attempt where I first beat wave 1, and was immediately dropped into lava for my troubled. It was a shame to find it such a slog, because the design of the final arena which expanded out, then expanded out again was really cool. The balance just needed to be adjusted.

Digs: Really loved all the chunky architecture across the walls and ceiling, solid designs throughout. Flow through the level was a bit confusing at first - having a very early teleporter which takes you to a new part of the level is disorientating (although using it to escape voreballs with no other cover was cool). But the way the level looped around, taking you past the gold key, then the gold key door, then back round again once the key was unlocked worked well for me (although I wasn't sure what the button that unlocked the gold key did at the time), and how the level finally joined up was neat.

Combat-wise this map was never unfair - I had a shortage of ammo near the 6 ogres but I think that fighting past them to grab the ammo was the idea there. The big climax of the map seemed to come in the horde combat shortly after those ogres, which was fun, and then everything else seemed more tame. I guess had it not been a speedmap we might have seen a bit finale before the end.

Doomer: shorter and slightly boxier than the previous maps, but much more in the speedmap tradition. I liked the green room with the ogres best, seemed more colourful and lush than Quake can usually achieve. I also liked the series of fakeouts with the switched-on lights before the shotgun ambush, and although the end combat wasn't too dangerous, weighing up the rocket launcher against the other low powered weapons was an interesting choice. I'm sure someone has already recommended different textures for shootable and push buttons...

Scampie: A really well polished map, coming out of the cave the lovely sky and the coloured lighting to match just popped, and the rest of the map had a great sense of place. The ending was pretty weird and abstract, but I guess that was the point. It kind of reminded me of those paintballing arenas where realistic design takes a backseat to making interesting terrain to hide behind and shoot over, and that suited the combat.

The rest of the map was well paced, and for the most part I was ok for ammo - I ran out of shotgun shells early, but with a surplus of nails that was no problem. The shambler after the three keys sucked up my last nails and shells, but partly because he was guarding the route to the packs on the ledge in the lower hub area. The best ambush in the map came from the broken pillar room - I first visited before I'd found the key buttons under the hub, with the dungeon key already under my belt. After using that key I came triumphantly back for the second and got caught completely off-guard...

Not played sock's map yet, as that's now gone into another thread... 
Preach 
but I played on vanilla and constantly felt under-equipped for the battles. On the first map this made me veer between worry that I'd taken a shortcut past all the weapons, and moments where I felt real tension

Maybe, i don't know without a demo. The first map lacks of a SNG and RL, the rest of the weapons are placed there, with the LG as a secret, and must be carried on to the second map.

If you want to be sure of how the map is, watch Spirit's demos from post #39. He got and killed everything except the LG and a ring of invisibility, and finished the two maps, so it is a good reference to check them. 
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