Sludgehorn Station - Single Player Map (-cl2)

[Tangra]

A remastered version of a map i made exactly one year ago. Previously it was a vanilla-compatible map under a different name, using only Doom 2 textures, this new version branches out to limit-removing territories and adds some CC4 textures and more visual details. I reworked the map to be used in a solo project of mine that's been taking way too long. The combat is also slightly changed, to fit one of the map slots between 07-10 (to be decided), while the old version played pretty much like a solo map, because it was just that.

LINK: www.mediafire.com/file/yyyr7cznhq6mg8x/sludge.zip/file

Format: Doom 2

IWAD: Doom 2

Gameplay: Single Player

Tested in: DSDA-Doom, Crispy Doom, GZDoom

Difficulty Levels: Yes

Textures: CC4, Perdition's Gate (UAC Logos)

Screenshots: imgur.com/a/sludgehorn-station-nsMMdIA


Old vanilla version: www.moddb.com/games/doom-ii/addons/a-night-in-sludgetown

[killer5]

Here is a demo. Comments in the txt.

www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5c1gtjzy79c7xiis15w6y/Killer5_cl2_sludge.zip?rlkey=8gja23mgwu0rkybsis4fg2m38&dl=0

[Tangra]

Thank you, just watched the demo and read the file. It gives me some ideas for changes, but overall, i'm glad the map doesn't require much more work. You even found something that i couldn't in many playtests - that out of place mid-texture on the exit lift.

- For the first soulsphere secret, there are no teleports or platforms, just i tiny step in the left corner that you can use to climb on the ledge.
- The four archviles around the two mancs, never play out the way i want them to, so i'll be changing that encounter entirely. The mancs will remain, but the viles will all be gone. I will make a monster closet that goes around the whole square, filled with imps, that opens up while you're in the middle of it. Should be fun to blast through with rockets, while the mancs are shooting at you from the center.
- In the final open area, the two changunners that spawn on top of the small generators while you're walking across the bridge, will be gone as well. I didn't like how they forced you to drop down and backtrack.
- The small crate storage just before the end could use some tweaking as well. That pain elemental woke up way two early, and was ineffective behind the metal bars. He's meant to attack while you're up, moving between the crates. The archvile there also spawns earlier. If you know he's there, you can kill him before you trigger the shotgunner, the cacodemon and the pain elemental, just like what you did.
- The cyberdemon should be gone as well. An earlier version of the map had two cyberdemons at the end, one on top of the exit platform and one down in the toxic pool, but it still didn't play out very well, so i guess i'll go for a normal peaceful exit.
- I didn't understand what you mean about missing something at the end, something to do with an archvile? I'll watch the demo again and try to figure it out.

[killer5]

Oh I was wondering if I missed a vile jump to the soulsphere secret I mentioned I didn't find. You made it clear that is not the case. No worries.

[stodgyayatollah]

Just did a blind run and ended up quitting a ways in so wanted to give you my blind run take instead of giving it another go. First. In the room with the yellow key, the revs that tele in the center below are useless unless you somehow force the player down into them. Staying up top and taking out the mancs is easy enough that it really neuters the whole fight imo. You already have a fair amount of mini rev swarms in the map so replacing them with pain elementals/cacos may work better. Needs some tweaking regardless. This also really makes the invuln there pretty useless imo.

The only other issue I had was when I quit. Ran out of ammo in the big room with the slime... after the previous big room with the slime... I'm guessing towards the end since I had all the keys. The midtex fence right next to the rad suit by the crates is missing the texture on the slime side btw. Anyway, I ran out of ammo. Whether that's balancing or me being sloppy since I haven't been playing lately is hard to say. Had to non berserk punch a shotgunner at the top of the lift, grab the rockets up there. Waste them on the two chaingunners that spawn in on the platforms. Then waste more using infinite height splash damage to take out the specters blocking me from jumping into the little room in the center. Was at low health and pretty much no ammo again so I said fuck it and pulled the plug maybe 20 minutes in. Worth mentioning I wan't spending any real time looking for secrets, which could have been a factor. Either way, considering I had no issues until that point it probably wouldn't hurt to hand out some bullets and/or shells leading up to that. I'm assuming the blocking specters are an intentional troll? If not I would cut them. If so I would still cut them.

Enjoyed the map quite a bit otherwise. The fights felt well balanced and thought out. Also nice to see the WizardWorks assets getting some use.

[Tangra]

stodgyayatollah , thank you for giving it a shot, i've updated the download link with all the changes mentioned in this post.

It's interesting, i was getting a feeling that the map contains too much ammo. There are two secrets with ammo, one contains a box of bullets, invisibility sphere and a backpack (which you get anyway in the red key wing). The other secret contains a plasma gun with ~100 cells. Both of these secrets are not necessary for completion, i've playtested the map many times without taking any secrets. That being said, the ammo pickups are not always in plain view, i like to put ammo and health near corners and inside newly opened monster closets. There is always something to get from a monster closets in this map. There's also a berserk pack in the small revenant closet that opens near the start of the map, on your return after collecting the blue key. I've moved the berserk to the center of the closet to make it more visible.

When i uploaded the old version of this map last summer, i watched a few playtests and demos, and in the yellow key area all players jumped down to fight the revenants. But... i like your idea, and i think spicing up that fight with a few cacos and a single pain elemental, instead of revenants, is the better choice. As for the invincibility sphere, i actually love that secret. On a first playthrough it looks like it's meant for the yellow key fight. But you can keep it and bring it to the red key area, and by the way, the slime pool there is 20% damaging. You have enough time, to either kill the initial spawns there, or directly jump in the slime, collect some health and box of shells, and if you discover the secret there, you'll be all set. You'll have, of course, a second chance to do that with the rad suit nearby. Did you also collect the plasma gun in the red key area? I hope you did, because without it, i can see the map getting short of supplies later on.
You can also try the invincibility on the fight that comes after the red key door - the squared corridor with the archviles and the two mancs in the center. After Killer5's demo, it is concluded that this fight is poorly designed, and not very interesting, but in the update, it is a different encounter entirely and one that can definitely use the invincibility, but you have to get there immediately after picking up the sphere. So yes, i think i'll keep that secret intact as it gives you 3 choices on how to use it, and i like that.

The blocking specters. I assume the ones in the small building in the center of the big area near the end. I never got blocked there, but i can see how you can get blocked and hit at the window if you take it slow, instead of immediately running and jumping inside. The specters will remain there, but they will teleport in once you cross the window, so that way they can no longer block the entrance no matter how you approach it. I did that change, but it's untested in the update.

Like i mentioned before, the two chaingunners on the platforms are trash, and they're gone now. The cyber at the end is gone as well, because he was useless. The midtext fence is also fixed... it was fine in the original version, but i must've pressed some auto-align bs on it by accident.
I did add a few more shells between the red door and the open area. Did one playtest with no secrets and had 80 shells before clearing the place. So i ended up replacing the extra shells with boxes of rockets, as i was short on those after the new encounter at the squared corridor. Of course, more testing is needed. I'll be playing this map multiple times, when i feel like it's time to start compiling an episode, and once i decide in which slot to place it.

Additional changes - i did some minor visual upgrades.

[stodgyayatollah]

Gave the update a run and think the changes work well. The archies you replaced with imps played well for me on my first go but I do think the imps work a little better. I don't know how much you tweaked the ammo or if I was just grabbing more but I was certainly more stocked up this time around. Did notice you have the lift in the yellow key room unpegged. I also don't get the blue armor secret by the mancs. Is there a way to get it earlier than the exit? Found all the secrets this time except the blursphere/backpack. Ended up using iddst for it at the end.

[Tangra]

Thanks, good to know the map works better now. I didn't commit to playtest all changes and was worried if i overlooked something. I didn't tweak the ammo much, as far as i remember, i added maybe a dozen shotgun shells and 15 or 20 rockets in the new imp fight.

You can get the blue armor secret in the same way you grab the megasphere secret earlier... kinda dumb to make the same solution twice, but i didn't think about it at the time. You can press on the small slimefall near the teleport to the blue armor and it will lower.