Played through about 1 minute of the map, just got a call from my friend to hang out so I'll play the rest later. Really love the atmosphere, it reminds me of what the base in the beginning of Warpspasm would turn into after you open the first portal. 

liked first room and final cave the most, terminals were well modelled, lava stones - perfection. some tough long-jumping on the top of the quake2 crates? I cheated to get to the button 

missed the hidden barrel, my mistae, really nice map 

Played through the map, this time I didn't break it :P The design is a lot less confusing than part 1 and the aesthetic is even more extreme. I'd say its a good improvement. Great map! 

 

3 Secrets (I know where one was though!)
Skill 2

https://copy.com/poMhcUI2vnaWpevU

First demo I die in a most fitting way...

Got utterly confused at the large crate section due to...I have no clue what.

Lovely continuation, a lot less haunting now that we know evil has uprooted itself and a lot more intense action. The music choice also helps in that regard. Pretty rough ambushes with the vores but I like that it makes you think quick on your feet.

I had an easier time finding secrets but still only found 3...thankfully I did locate the SNG or I would have been up shit creek with all of those shamblers. Love the secret with the mini teleporter.

I did not lost (not including the crate catastrophe) whatsoever in the map as there were only so many routes to go. I think this is a massive improvement over the previous map.

Nice going and enjoy my long winded demo! 

I no-clipped afterwards and discovered the super secret. I just want to give you credit that was a very unique idea and especially the end of that section! 

played via Bastion mod http://uloz.to/xv9byYnT/j83rootp2demo-dem 

Starts in about an hour I'd say. May be subject to interruption. We'll see.

https://www.twitch.tv/ionous 

I really liked this one, much more so than the previous m3a map. I did have to explore a bit, but never got lost. Gameplay was always tense, with limited ammo and health, I was always cautious. The boxes moving from the explosions was a neat feature, and brushwork was just all around better. I'm looking forward to the final map, which is technically the first map sequentially of the three?

First run demo, hard skill. Quakespasm. Only died once, and found one secret.

http://qrf.servequake.com/~orl/misc/orl_dwroae_m3b.rar 

@Orl
what kind of magic is this?! How did you record a demo with loading from save?

Next map would be #2 then probably #1 and #4 after that (Infernal Science was #3a and #3b) 8)
I thought about it and found reasoning for weird order BTW.
I'm still learning and improve I like to think. In theory normal order would produce episode with gradually increasing overall quality with worst map being first.

Creating maps from the middle will result in best maps in the beginning and at the end of episode with some fluctuation in between. 

This map isn't bad but has a number of problems that keep it from being really good.

1. It uses an unusual game mechanic, which is okay, but it's not explained very well and is confusing for that reason. Several times "usable" items were passed by without realizing that they weren't just part of the scenery.

2. The map is too big and feels like more of a maze than a "place". Much of the connecting corridors have similar visual style which leads to a lot of wandering around wondering where you are and what to do next.

3. Places that needed to be accessed in order to progress were sometimes more secret than the secrets. There was apparently a gold key somewhere which would allow access to an area with 30 or so monsters that was not part of reaching the end.

I almost gave up in frustration several times but I finally finished it.

Time 121:03
Secrets 3/18
Kills 172/204 

I believe you are referring to part1 of this map.
This is part2 and it is reported to be much less confusing.

Try it and please provide demo - it is the best way for me to see what works and what doesn't in my design. 

You're right, what I downloaded and played is dwroae_m3a, I guess I wasn't paying attention.

I had a demo started, but I had to stop playing after about 30 minutes. 

I thought people who strongly disliked part1 just ignoring part2, now I suspect they could have also confused it with m3a.

Not only my corridors look all the same, but thread names too. I call that consistency! =) 

aguiRe's convdem utility has the ability to join multiples demo files into one, so long as they are the same protocol.

http://web.comhem.se/bjp/convdem.zip 

Played it, good map. I didn't find the layout confusing at all this time, which was nice, although I did miss being able to return to a higher area a couple of times (one being when the floor drops immediately after killing all the grunts, the other near the rl + ya secrets). Also I was a bit frustrated after picking up the quad, it was a bit of a waste as I was unable to quickly proceed and got a bit flustered when searching for the correct crates to jump on. And I was a bit surprised that the "must you jump every ramp" bit was not a secret, but eh. Cute super secret. The final area was a tad anticlimactic, with only the four or five scrags opposing the player.

skill 3, 102/104 kills, 7/8 secrets demo 

did not find layout confusing
did not record demo because I suck/ am drunk

played in medium difficulty and it was too easy but fun - probably would have benefitted from more testing on this setting.
found MH and nailgun secrets, thats it.

Some nice touches in this map, and the mishmashed scheme was actually kind of nice, not least because it provided a kind of throwback vibe of sorts, differing from the typical 'old skool' renaissance throwback stylizations more ocmmonly seen. a nice kind of post-nehanra era vibe. some fun gameplay ideas and nice progression of theme overall, though would have been good to have less meat at the start perhaps.
I quite enjoyed the warehouse setpiece!

thanks, sorry for no demo. 

Played both parts yesterday.

It's a cool map with some nice tricks. Visually solid, a few things stand out as very good, although overall this is less of a setpiece map or one with many distinct or clearly memorable areas. Not meant as criticism.
I like the flickering light in the cracked ceiling right at the beginning. It enhances the geometry nicely. The flesh/infestion bits could have been used more aggressively. Not random bits or backdrops behind lose floor/wall tiles, but made to look like it's actually growing over the facility, bending the surrounding tiles and panels inward etc.

The interconnected layout allows for some exploration and a couple of extra rounds in my case. Bit derping there, but I didn't feel hopelessly lost. Maybe next time when doing an open button hunt level, try to make each route stand out somehow to aid navigation. Not handholding or overly obvious things, just something to let the player realize he leaves the area he's supposed to search. The three buttons are fine really, the signs help; I think my 'problem', if you can call it that, was finding a way to disable the security protocol. And I initally missed the slot for the chip. Partly my fault, though it would have helped if the machines were more pronounced, prominently placed in areas of their own without the risk of some other details distracting from their important role (in this case the cargo train and the laser/transformation device).

Details were good, though the rooms and corridors' basic shape is often quite boxy. This could be something to improve upon.

Gameplay seems fine overall. Would have wished for a more grenade launcher in the open sooner. I failed terribly at secret hunting... and in consequence missed like 40 enemies. Optional areas are a nice thing for added replayablility - though I think I would have prefered knowing about it. Being able to see (look into) additional areas that are intitially inaccessible. Since the exit is unmarked in this map (generator pit), one usually only realizes having missed a chunk when it's too late.

Two showstoppers: I ran out of ammo in the transformation chamber (second chip slot) and inadvertedly died trying to axe the spawns. I suppose normally this wouldn't happen, or maybe more testing would prevent it, but I'd suggest in such a situation it's better to not solely rely on a counter to open the door again, but also a timer - as safety net of sorts.
The second one is at the beginning of the second map. The armor triggers the ambush which then opens the way to progress. However, I still had some yellow armor from the previous level and no way of damaging myself enough to be able to pick up the blue armor for the ambush which means I was stuck. For such setups it's always better to have an actual trigger activate the ambush instead of the item itself. This is somewhat related to a problem that arises if having weapons target something vital on coop mode (which doesn't work due to a bug in the code).

The exit area in the second map was a bit of a problem for me, because I was low on health and the terrain made for some awkward movement.

You can watch me play it on stream for the next 7 days. Just skip forward until your maps start. 

The super secret jumping puzzle was awesome! Very Quakey. 

hey! played part one, loved it. great textures and architecture. didnt get lost, and i was drinking... only found 9 of the secrets though, which is cool bc that just means i need to play it again.

started part 2 tonight. i was stuck for a while bc i couldnt pick up the armor at the beginning to trigger the way forward. after trying everything else, stood on a grenade and sure enough that worked. so maybe change the armor to red armor or something so that players who start the map with high armor dont get stuck.

im looking forward to what comes next! 

so i beat this one a little more quickly, was surprised at that. i wouldnt have minded more time on the moving platform and more time in the caves. also, i could see the big explosive entrance in the crate room being a bigger battle, since it was such a cool event. maybe a few waves of enemies, or a mid boss or something idk. but overall it was fun and beautiful, although it was just over too fast... a sure sign of a fun map. 

I made some notes and will fix this in the last pass that I plan after all maps of this episode will be finished.

Trap triggered by armor was a mistake. In my defense -from general feedback I couldn't expect people to play first part again just to get complete experience.
Some didn't finished it at all and that imo is harshest criticism one can get.

But yeah, need to use separate trigger there. 

well i finished it lol... maybe theyre just not cut out for interdimensional shambler slaying? 

honestly u should stick to your original vision and not water it down for people who prefer compasses and waypoints. imho.

roaem3a is not that confusing.