Deimos: Slight Return [Release]

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Rex Claussen
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Deimos: Slight Return [Release]

Post by Rex Claussen »

Deimos: Slight Return is a nine-map replacement for Episode 2 of The Ultimate DooM (DooM I). It resembles the original and is 100% vanilla-DooM compatible, but has more detail, has tougher gameplay, has some extra areas to explore, the logical progression in many maps has changed, and the access routes to many secrets have changed.

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Enjoy!
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Enjay
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Re: Deimos: Slight Return [Release]

Post by Enjay »

Wait! Wut! You mean you were working on this the same time as the Phobos Directive? Impressive.

I managed to get some time to play it through and, although I had to rush the last half of the episode a little (both because my sore arm was playing up and I had something I needed to get on with), I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Shores of Hell has always been an episode that I like (though not as much as Ep1) but I felt the id original lacked a little polish and therefore fell short of its very interesting potential. This map set is a very faithful re-imagining of The Shores of Hell. It is very well put together and neatly constructed using more up to date mapping methods and quality than the original levels. There was some really nice "pepping up" of the difficulty too but at no point did I find myself struggling in a frustrating way. Sometimes areas in the maps were very close in appearance to their counterparts in the original maps and I wondered for a while about whether them being so close was a good thing or not. Given that I really enjoyed the game, it can't have been too much of a problem. The flip side, of course, was me thinking that I knew where I was going and then realising that you had turned the logic of that particular area (or whatever) on its head. :lol:

As usual, I sucked at finding your secrets. I only found 4 in total and 2 of them were on E2M6. I had to cheat to get a peek at E2M9. :oops:

Two very minor "complaints":

The final level lost a little bit of its spontaneity for me. Having the fights essentially controlled by the player actively hitting switches made me feel too much as if I was the ringmaster, able to introduce the fights when it suited me. E2M8 for me has always felt like I was on the run from the first moment I fired a weapon and woke the cybie. Not so with these maps.

E2M9 - for me, the defining feature of the original map has always been that it was a great opportunity to use monster infighting to do most of the work for me. In fact, until I realised infighting was the way to go "back in the day", I don't think I had ever managed to complete the level legitimately up to that point because the initial baron-rush always got me. (I remember cursing and asking how the hell they expected me to win when I started off surrounded by so many barons. :lol: ) Nowadays, of course, it feels much easier than back then and it's easy to comlete the map at my pace but, if I want, I can still herd the barons and cacos together and have them "duke it out" (can a baron duke?) until there are only one or two enemies standing with me not having fired a shot. Anyway, long ramble just to say that, for me, E2M9 is the ultimate infighting novelty map and I didn't feel that your version gave me that opportunity. I will concede, however, that I really did rush my playing of the map a bit and perhaps I simply didn't see the opportunities. Of course, you may simply have not wanted it to be such an infight-fest and that's fine too.


Anyway, griping aside, this is a very enjoyable SoH replacement episode/tribute and I had lots of fun playing it.
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Re: Deimos: Slight Return [Release]

Post by Rex Claussen »

Enjay wrote:Wait! Wut! You mean you were working on this the same time as the Phobos Directive? Impressive.
You said it wrong. It ought to have been: "Eempressive! Mosst eempressive!" Heh.
I thoroughly enjoyed it... This map set is a very faithful re-imagining of The Shores of Hell. It is very well put together and neatly constructed using more up to date mapping methods and quality than the original levels. There was some really nice "pepping up" of the difficulty too but at no point did I find myself struggling in a frustrating way.... me thinking that I knew where I was going and then realising that you had turned the logic of that particular area (or whatever) on its head. :lol:
This is an embarrassment of riches. But thank you for the ego boost.
Sometimes areas in the maps were very close in appearance to their counterparts in the original maps and I wondered for a while about whether them being so close was a good thing or not. Given that I really enjoyed the game, it can't have been too much of a problem.
Yes, I realize now that there are many, many areas that look, feel, and play just like the originals. For me, that's not really a good thing, as it indicates a lack of originality on my part. However, I'll blame it on having to work on those areas late at night in hotel rooms flung far and wide across this continent.
As usual, I sucked at finding your secrets. I only found 4 in total and 2 of them were on E2M6. I had to cheat to get a peek at E2M9. :oops:
You have got to be kidding me! Map E2M1 alone has 3 secrets. Surely you saw the switch near the blue key that lowers the teleport pillar nearby? On E2M2, the SoulSphere secret after the crushing ceilings is found in virtually the same manner as in the original. (As I always do, in the zip file I have included a text file that tells how to reach each secret.)
Two very minor "complaints":

The final level lost a little bit of its spontaneity for me. Having the fights essentially controlled by the player actively hitting switches made me feel too much as if I was the ringmaster, able to introduce the fights when it suited me. E2M8 for me has always felt like I was on the run from the first moment I fired a weapon and woke the cybie. Not so with these maps.
I agree with your sentiment. The fight is very different from the original, and is clearly "staged". But it is possible to make the fight very chaotic. Simply run around and press all the switches, release the beasties, and try to stay out of the way.
E2M9 - for me, the defining feature of the original map has always been that it was a great opportunity to use monster infighting to do most of the work for me..... for me, E2M9 is the ultimate infighting novelty map and I didn't feel that your version gave me that opportunity. I will concede, however, that I really did rush my playing of the map a bit and perhaps I simply didn't see the opportunities. Of course, you may simply have not wanted it to be such an infight-fest and that's fine too.
You know, I had forgotten about the infighting opportunities in the original. And, no, this version offers none whatsoever. Ah, well.
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Re: Deimos: Slight Return [Release]

Post by Cyberdemon2006 »

The requested URL /Stuff/deimos-v.zip was not found on this server.
:|
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Re: Deimos: Slight Return [Release]

Post by Rex Claussen »

You can find it on idgames archives.
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