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It's always a good idea to upload your final release to Quaketastic at the very least as a backup link/mirror. You can find the login info in the top post here:
http://www.celephais.net/board/view_thread.php?id=3&start=15648 http://www.quaketastic.com/ I tested this one. No clue how Easy plays, but Normal and Hard are pretty different.
On Normal, it's pretty fun. Good layout and encounters. Detailing and texture work is interesting, if a bit thin and fiddly at times (those buttons are still weird, I could easily see someone not realize they're buttons). Balanced well, beat it no problem. It's pretty bullshit on Hard though. You take a lot of damage you can't avoid from Zombies and Grunts, and there's no armor and not enough health to recover. You end up pretty weathered by the time you hit the end, or at least I did. I've yet to beat it on Hard as a result. I suggested to JCR that he add some more armor and health in spots, but that didn't go in, it seems. Here's an early morning demo of a Hard run anyway: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ikg7nptj3vfdxao/mx_mire_final.7z?dl=1 https://drive.google.com/open?id=11PW1kLNBiE3u5cZuHlcPZtBzKn7Wwmfx
a lot of derping around the obvious.. Cool map! This was insanely frantic and in terms of combat, I never felt that it was unfair so overall, I thought that it was fun as hell. In terms of map design however, I felt that there were some unfair bits:
-After getting teleported into the water pit, I didn't have much time to react after killing the piranhas and given that my health was already low, I drowned almost immediately. I think that you should consider that on a blind play through, the player might naturally be looking for a pocket of air since it's not often that you get completely submerged with no escape except to hunt for a switch so that you can press forward. -Making the left path/jail area accessible from the very start seemed kind of brutal. On my very first play through, I wasted all my ammo and most of my health trying to clear that area out so that by the time I had to go the opposite way to hunt for the silver key, I didn't have anything to work with. -In the final walkway with the nailgun wall traps, it's possible to fall into the toxic water and I don't think that there's any way to get back up. I'm not sure if this was by design but it didn't feel like a fair punishment. On the same note, it's also possible to cheese that walkway by jumping onto the railing. I guess falling into the toxic waste is punishment for attempting to cheese it but I would rather that the railings be higher and if you retain the choice of allowing the player to fall into the waste, give them an escape. It's also possible to cheese the final fight by retreating. At the very least, I would close the door at the walkway entrance once the player walks through in order to prevent completely retreating. Then again, the final fight might have been way too crazy without an easy escape like that. The way that the jailed zombies force the player to kept moving is great. There are some enemies that naturally force the player to avoid becoming a sitting duck but not to this degree. That was definitely my favorite part of the map and I thought it was a cool mechanic. Really fun map. Skill 2, 1/3 secrets, 102/117 enemies. As Poorchop wrote, frantic is a good description. The zombies everywhere do a good job keeping the player moving; zombies being around without an explosive weapon to immediately dispatch them- or another enemy to fight them- always makes me uncomfortable and anxious. Unfortunately, in this case it's easy to take big chunks of damage between them and the Grunts, and the easiest way to get some breathing room is ducking down and getting the Quad in the slime after clearing out the Grunts and Enforcers, then taking the double barrel shotgun and killing as many of them as you can before it runs out. Not entirely sure where else that Quad would be put to use, honestly, nor why anyone would think to intentionally dive in the slime in the first place.
Biggest complaint is probably the water pit where you have to find/shoot the button before you drown- the only reason I didn't die here was reading about it ahead of time (but not spoiling the rest of the map), it's a royal pain trying to get a good angle on the button even with a zero-spread weapon like the nailgun. Trying to swim to the surface only to be forcibly pushed back down by a trigger_push is sort of a kick in the crotch. Also: armor. Even a green armor would be helpful when clearing out the rooms at the start, and if you don't find the yellow armor secret you're not gonna have a fun time for the rest of the map after. Never figured out how to get up on the last platform where the zombies were; probably could have rocket jumped but didn't want to risk the health chunk what with the kill counter saying there was still enough enemies left for a fight, only to find it was the end of the map, so I'm guessing that's due to the rotfish kill count bug. Overall not bad at all, pretty enjoyable outside the few issues above. Skill 2 demo here: 10:06, 3/3 secrets, 102/117 kills. When I noticed the map didn't have a lit file, I got excited and decided to play the map on the "oldchool" winquake mode of the Mark V engine, so I'm not sure if the demos (first run, skill 2, 100 %, one death, around 14 minutes) will run on Quakespasm.
I agree with Poorchop's compliments on the mechanic of keeping the player moving with the zombies, that remain unkillable for a large portion of the map, until he or she find a GL/RL. As you'll see in my demos, I was able to "break" the map by being accidentally able to come up for air in the water pool, which is why I was just barely able to survive the pool. Poorchop's comments were pretty much spot on on the place. I, too, ended up wasting time trying to secure myself a breathing spot, instead of just concentrating on finding the shootable button. Maybe you could have some bars shut the way above the player as soon as the player is flung into the water? Then it would be more obvious for the player to not even attempt to go up. Maybe also add some health pickups to give weak players some health to drain while running out of air? I liked the aesthetics of the map, which was an interesting blend of medieval and base. I think the mix worked really well! I think I liked the underwater ruin area the most, though. It was brimming with detail and the large number of air bubbles somehow just stuck out as a nice detail in particular. I think the secrets were pretty nicely done, too. I'm not sure if I would have survived with only one death, though, if I hadn't found them. Also, had I played on nightmare, I probably would have died more often. I was actually going to play on that difficulty, but accidentally had chosen hard instead, which may have been the right choice after all. xD All in all, a really nice first map. Good work! Here's my playthrough (skill hard/ all secrets and enemies)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QToENSpmRDw I already played the beta version, so it's not a "blind" playthrough. In the beta, i went into the water first, so this time i went first to the prison, just to make the playthrough different (and more challenge without the nailgun) =D I love all the changes you made, the gameplay is more enjoyable without the handrails in the prison, the lightning-gun is easier to reach, the zombies in the last arena are more menacing (and now i can go to the second floor) XD This map is great! Thank you!! =D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUS7hN7bXEk&t=3556s
First of all, welcome to the community! I have a lot more notes for you in the playthrough as I traverse the map, but I will say that you have a lot of ideas here all meshing together which is good! I love the waterfall area with the secret and the idea of the zombie prison in these terrible conditions was very cool too. I do have a few issues with texture usage, some of the brush work and how you get around to certain areas (watch the video for more) but overall this is a very strong first map! Nice work! Nice architecture, decently detailed. Love all the ruined bits. I noticed a graphical bug under one of the staircases (see demo).
Skill 2 combat is a bit on the tough side (died 4 or 5 times) but not too unfair. I liked how you used the zombies as unkillable turrets until the player gets a GL and/or quad. Secrets were nice - only got the YA one after it could be of any use, though, but that's totally my fault: I should've known that these tiny ledges near the stained glass windows were there for a reason... Here's my blind skill 2 demos, 100% kills, 100% secrets. It is hard to believe cause its very detailed and polished for a first map. Congratulations!
Lots of cool ideas and nice underwater areas. Really good job. Hope to see more from you. Thank you Check out SM184 & SM185, he has one map in each pack. I haven't played SM185 yet but his SM184 entry is pretty good.
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I just finished watching your demo, mug, and I appreciate how much time you took to check every little corner of the map. I've learned quite a bit since this release and it's great looking back!
Yes, I'm the slow kind of player that likes to look at everything. Not only to gorge on the scenery but also to hunt for secrets - I don't enjoy doing it after completing the map, as I like the extra supplies within to actually be of some use. I've just posted a review (with demos, yay!) of SM184 if you want to check it out.
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