Well, i'm pretty impressed by the new menu screen and mouse support. A LOT has changed and i'm only a few
seconds in. The music is quite nice too.
Going through the Menu, it looks like a few things in discussion back when were implimented. Dual angel
challenges, and things even harder then angel challenges.
There is a custom game feature...I wonder what that could be about? I'll leave it be for now.
Going through the player statistics, I see a few new angel challenges. Mainly, Angel of Max Carnage (I really
don't remember that one, even if it was out in 0.9.9), Angel of Confidence, Overconfidence, and humanity. I
wonder what they're about, but I don't plan on spoiling myself just yet.
On the medals screen, I see something about the Mastermind. I'm cringing if the Spider Mastermind was added.
Please be a special level. Please..
Weapon gets and recorded statistics are now implimented! That's something that i'm very happy about. I remember
wondering how many times I did or didn't get something so I knew whether to curse my luck or not.
The next screen shows something called "Assemblies". I don't know anything about them, so i'll move on for now.
Badges are back and it looks like there's a full non-wiki listing of them. I don't know what ones have changed,
but the diamond ones look a lot harder then I remember.
Clear the vaults by dumb luck on UV? Complete the
Unholy Cathedral on N! without Bru? (Well, this calls for a special something..) Some of the easier ones such as
AoB on N! are still there, so after I get back into the swing of things i'll make that my goal, I guess.
To reach the first rank, i've got to get one bronze badge, so I think i'll go for a standard win,
I go to select a new game, and seeing as i'm only a pussy and a half, I go for M.
After that, i'm surprised by a new screen asking me to select my class. Marine, Scout, or Technician. These all
look like pretty nice buffs, so i'm expecting a spike in difficulty compared to where I left off. One of the
interesting things I notice is that the Technician class gives you the ability to "use consumables almost
instantly". I don't remember powerups taking any energy to use back in the day, which makes me cringe a little.
Please correct me if i'm wrong, however.
Not wanting to get anything too fancy, I start with Marine.
I see the trait screen and my eye immediatly goes to ammochain. One ammo per volley? What a rip. I miss my
autoturret abilities already. I remember back to the custom game feature and start wishing that someone makes a
custom game that lets me spew ammo infinitly. Ha!
Intuition now takes two levels. I remember it taking 3 levels, so that's something interesting to note.
Berserker now seems to give you turns in Berserk when being hit hard enough. I don't remember if that was a
feature at all before.
My memory is quite hazy, but I remember badass being a trait that required TaN. If this is now a normal trait,
i'm in for some pain.
Dualgunner now fires at 120% of the speed. I remember this being discussed but don't remember if it was
implimented before I left.
Shottyman now reloads...rocket launchers. Well, i'm not complaining about that. That's great stuff.
Bullet Dance now replaces the old Pistol master trait, which I don't remember (But remember being incredibly
OP.). It blocks Brute (no big deal), but also blocks Eagle Eye and Hellrunner. Could make for an interesting
playstyle, but a risky one...
Overall I decide that i'll go for a shotgun based gameplay this time. You can't really go wrong with them. I
take my Trait in Reloader and my journey begins...
As I start the first level, I notice that there are graphics. Graphics! In my DoomRL! Well, this is exciting!
I'll do my playthrough with these graphics, then. I wonder if there's a way to toggle them off - As awesome as
they are, it does put a bit of strain on my eyes. I quite liked the ASCII.
I also notice that i'm starting out the front of the base by default. I'm going to go check the config file to
see if these options can be changed for my next game.
I see this nice little piece here:
-- Graphics mode. Can be CONSOLE for raw console, or TILES for graphical
-- tiles. Overriden by -graphics and -console command line parameters.
Graphics = "TILES"
I'm going to assume that's the ASCII toggle. Wow, now I feel dumb!
I don't see anything in the config file that resembles the start feature from the 0.9.9, so i'll leave it be.
Let's resume the game!
I notice that my character sprite is in grey, without armor. That's a nice touch.
I see something called a Phobos Tree. I guess that's something new. It seems to act like a wall, so that could
be handy in open levels.
I clear the first level with naught a scratch due and notice that clicking will move you around the screen. I
also notice some slight move delay. Is this a feature or due to the graphics engine?
It also seems to be slightly too big for my screen and moves around a lot. It could get quite disorentating for
me later on. I wonder if there's a way to change that.
However, the first level seems to be the good old first level that I knew and loves. I'm really happy so far, so
I equip the trusty shotgun and proceed down to floor 2...
I start level 2 next to a green armor, berserk pack, and health globe and relative cover. How much luckier can
you be? I'll be ruing the day I said that when I get to post my YASD. Killing a few mobs, I notice that a barrel
exploded and didn't damage the walls. This is interesting - I thought only certain walls were undamagable? When
was this implimented? I'll have to take careful note of it.
I check my character screen and see this:
This is interesting! I notice that there's different types of resistances. I wonder what's what? Are monsters
Acid, Fire, or Plasma? On a whim, I guess that Imps, cacos, mancubus, revs, and viles are fire, Arachnotrons are
plasma and hell knights/barons are Acid. Well, for now, I only have 15% resistance.
I also notice that the alt fire on the Pistol is "aimed". I wonder what this does? This gives me some
interesting things to look up later.
In graphics mode, the "delay lag" while moving seems to indicate which way a monster went as well. This could
give you a very large tactical advantage when blind shooting. It might not be such a bad thing after all for
harder challenges.
I see some crates - those are new. If walls can't be destroyed, I assume crates would be destructable.
Unfortunatly, there's no barrels in sight.
Swapping weapons, I also notice something else that's cool - each weapon and armor has it's own sprite! So that
did make it into the game! This is amazing.
Advancing to level 2, I pick my second perk of Reloader. I want shottyman ASAP.
Despite the improved graphics, you can still shoot out doors. This is good to know.
I explode a bunch of barrels and they explode simultaniously. I miss that chain barrel reaction =(
My setup looks like this at the end of floor 2:
So I decide to take a risk and go to the Arena.
Upon entering the arena i'm greeted by awesome music. Well, I like this compared to the old music. It's also
much bigger then I remember. That's not a bad thing, it gives me more space for cover, but it is quite
disorentating with the screen not being centred on my character.
I level up to level 3 in the second round of the arena and gleefully take my shottyman perk. Oh yes, do I like
this...
While going around the arena, I notice the complimentary chaingun. I gladly take it, as I only have 1 stack of
shotgun shells left from scouting. I equip it in my secondary slot and prepare to deal some damage.
In doing so, I notice that the chaingun now fires 4 rounds. Guess 5 rounds was a little too overpowered.
I clear the Arena without a single medkit due to the abundant cover. Time to grab my goodies!
I grab the Rocket Launcher, the 3 rockets, the large medipack and the supercharge globe. However, no matter how
much I search, I can't find the Combat or Double shotgun, which I could have sworn was a reward from a completed
arena. Oh well, that's no problem. I place the rocket launcher in my secondary slot, keeping the chaingun and a
handful of stacks of ammo just in case I run out of shells.
On the next floor, I spawn next to a bunch of barrels which a sergent kindly blows up for me - destroying some
crates in the process. I was correct!
On level 4 I get a caves level, full of Lost Souls. I remember having bad, bad experiences with these things,
and I don't have a combat shotgun to totally destroy them - I better be careful. However, there was only about 5
enemies, so I come through unscathed. I find some steel boots and have a quiet chuckle - They haven't changed a
bit.
On level 5, I get the "Morbid Air" message. The entrance to the chained court must be here! That was always my
favourite special level, and i'm looking forward to the weapon mods and the free shotgun shells.
I also see a new powerup:
It's called a Tracking Map, and I assume that it would work similarly to the second level of the intuition perk.
Aha! It does! I can now see monsters outside of my sight range. This is good to know.
I also see my first barrel of Acid. Oh joy, I remember those. Let's try not to blow it u-
It explodes. Well, the animated acid graphics are quite nice! I really enjoy them.
While switching armors, I notice that Green armors give bullet and shrapnel resistance, but blue armors give
plasma resistance. This is interesting - I better go and pick up a green armor.
I grab a supercharge and get ready for some fun time in the chained court!
I enter the chain court to this:
2 Berserk packs, and an ominous message, along with the scream of a baron of hell.
I don't think i'm going to like this.
Getting a kill on a cacodemon, I advance to level 4. I take the Badass perk in preperation for the Army of the
Dead - This will also help with my recently-gained supercharge!
While progressing through the arena, I see this:
"If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let them be accursed at His coming. God save you from your fate.
Amen!"
Here it comes. The pain train. Oh dear.
I switch to my trusty rocket launcher that I got from the Arena. Time to put it to good use.
With ample rockets and 3 medikits, I eventually manage to banish this horrendous evil. That thing was tough
without eagle eye or a combat shotgun. And there wasn't even any sergents to gain more shotgun food from! I do
see an Arena master's staff...
The description is quite cryptic, like certain other items. Not caring about spoiling myself and caring more
about not ruining my run, I consult the wiki. The function of the staff seems quite useful - i'll hang onto it
for now.
Cautious as to what other evils could be lurking, I go around the map with great care. I manage to clear the
courts and am left wondering what the baron of hell noise was about - Perhaps it was a caution for the arena
master? I am quite amused by the new finish message, however.
I see two mod packs and go for them - one agility, one bulk. I apply the agility mod to my rocket launcher,
since i'm not investing in Eagle Eye. I grab the berserk packs for healing and move on.
I finally find my first combat shotgun on floor 6. I pick it up with joyous glee - to find that the damage roll
has been moved from 8d3 to 7d3. Oh well, I don't care. I'm still grabbing this badboy.
I find a lot of modpacks on floor 6 - Is it just my luck, or is the drop rate so much more common?
I get a message that there is a special level on floor 7. I don't remember any special levels on floor 7 - I
remember either hell's armory or the wall being deeper then that. Oh well, i'll surprise myself. The stairs are
near my starting point, and it's to a place called the Phobos Labs. A new special level? That's interesting.
I advance to level 5 on this, and take another point in Badass. I'm liking this new non-requirement for it.
I go down to the Phobos Labs. It says that i'm overcome by the feeling of Nostalgia. Well, I never played the
original doom much, but played a lot of Doom 2, so this is kinda new for me. I clear the labs pretty easily, but
lose some durability on my modded blue armor due to a silly mistake.
Going down the stairs to floor 8, I encounter this:
I certainly didn't go down red stairs, so perhaps it's a chained level? Oh well, let's do it!
I see a red armor on the floor and notice it only affects fire resistance. Well, that's different. I feel kinda
weird that the highest durability armor now only affects fire resistance - perhaps green armor needs a
durability buff? I drop it and ignore it for now.
As I go out, the walls drop and all these lost souls start swarming me! I don't like this...I better use the
arena staff to survive. I use it a few times and burn through a few medpacks. Wow, what a sadistic level. I'd
rather some other kind of monster, lost souls are just TOO fast! Luckily I survived, but my armor was destroyed.
Time to pick up that red armor, because it's better then nothing!
I approach the other room and hear some barons of hell. This must be the final level of the first part of the
original! I guess the walls will disappear as I get close to it again...
The walls explode, revealing 2 "Bruiser Brothers". More unique monsters? Okay, i'm kind of scared. Time to
employ coward tactics!
As I kill the last one, I advance to level 6 and take my well-earned Army of the Dead trait! Hell yeah!
Stepping through the teleporter, i'm rewarded with this hilarious text:
I didn't think it'd be that easy!
I enter Deimos level 1. Well, that's interesting - it's not just level 8. I spawn right next to a barrel and a
bunch of hell knights - What was I saying about luck earlier? It's time to get out of here! I also get a special
level message. Perhaps it's the wall? Good thing I stocked up on rockets, though i'm going to need either some
more firepower or some more health to clear that thing...
After clearing the level, I see the stairs to hell's armoury. Kinda useless on a shotty run, but let's clear it
out anyway!
I come face to face with my first Arachnotron of the run in unfavourable circumstances, and my armor pays the
price for it. Luckily, I lost minimal HP, so I keep going.
I see my first unique of the run, the Missile Launcher. (The chainsaw doesn't count, okay? :c) I discard my
rocket launcher in favour of this beauty.
I find a green armor and apply a power mod pack I got to it earlier, applying the other to a Double shotty I
just picked up. I then modify the Missile launcher for accuracy and a blue armor for bulk.
I clear out the armoury and notice a lever at the end. I wonder what that does?
I pull it and I hear a loud wail. I think it might be another Unique mob. Let's hop to it!
Woah, that thing is crazy! I wonder if my new 10d3 double shotty will work against it. Let's give it a go:
It made quick work of it, downing it in 5 shots (Then again, 10d3 shotty at nearly point blank...)
It opened up a "Lab cache", which gave me access to a new item: Tactical armor schematics.
Upon picking it up to see what it did, it appeared to work like a powerup. Confused, I went to the wiki, which
confused me even more, citing something called assemblies. I don't really understand it, but I somehow managed
to make something called a "nanofibre blue armor" which has infinite durability - i'm okay with this.
It did drop to 1, though. Reminding me that I forgot how armor worked in the first place. Oh well, let's move
on.
Entering deimos level 2, I spawn in a cave of Cacodemons. The graphics are really, really nice - if only there
was some way to stop that scrolling effect! I level up during this and take a level in Ironman - more health is
always nice, and i'm going to need every bit of it!
I also notice something called a "Rocket box" on this level. I usually carry 20 rockets, so this will save me an
inventory space. This is a great addition!
On the next level, I feel another breeze of Morbid Air. Gee, so many special levels! I'm loving it! I notice
another tracking map on this level which really helps. I see a thermie on this level which I hoard in case I
need to use it as suicide. Hey, a win is a win.
I clear up the level and see the stairs down to a level called the "containment area". This should be fun!
Upon entering, I get this message:
http://puu.sh/4pnVm/83721ac128.pngDid this level replace the wall? And it's on the other side! Oh well, let's dish some pain!
To my surprise, i'm greeted by imps. Is this merely a warm up, or is some sick twist in there like SUPER 'V's?
...Oh dear. Yeah, i'm in for it soon. *gulp*
Lo and behold, I see the backpack! Quite clearly it's a trap, and that's what I came to the wall for, so i'll go
explore and see if I can nuke the other walls to clear out the monsters first, on MY terms.
The level text goes blue as I clear out the last of the mobs. Time to grab that backpack!
As I go for it, I get this message..
Boy, was I right! I'm getting good at this! (inb4 i die here)
Upon finishing I get this cheeky message:
Well, Truth be told, I didn't prefer the wall because of all the Vs. =D
Going to Deimos level 4, I get a message here saying "The walls here look Tough". Now, i'm going to take that to
assume that means that there's either a wall destroying lever here or they're made of paper and will collapse if
anything hits it. I spawn in melee range of a few demons, being literally right next to them, so I need to take
cover! I see my first pain elemental on this level. Boy, did I not miss you guys.
I go to reload my missile launcher and get told I have no ammo with 2 boxes of rockets in my inventory - but
then notice that it takes up the prepared slot in order to reload! I got the feeling that it was too good to be
true, Kornel is too sadistic.
I see stairs to the city of skulls. Funny, I didn't get a notification that there was a special level - unless
that tough message was the special level notification. Well, time to clear this place out first before going
there - and hoping to high hell i get more shotgun ammo!
As I go down to the city of skulls I thank myself for saving that homing phase device earlier - the skulls now
instantly move upon pulling the lever! Well, time to get going, just betsy and me.
I killed everything but lost some HP due to some stupid moves (moving instead of reloading, etc). Upon clearing
the enemies, I got another message. Another unique enemy, perhaps?
Well, I was right again. A purple pain elemental called an Agony elemental, and it spawns pain elementals - oh
joy. Well, this should be fun...I still have a shotgun shell box, so i should be able to phase through this.
Though i'm liking these unique monsters, it makes it heaps of fun.
Upon finishing, I get a cheeky message and...some skulls? Well, I don't know what these are used for, but i'm
going to keep them just in case, like the hell staff. Where's my BFG though? I remember getting a BFG from here
last time I played. I feel like I just got ripped!
Upon entering Deimos level 5, I see something called a "Plasma Shotgun". Well, this sure looks interesting, and
I got it in a shotgun run too! I'm going to cheat and look at the wiki to see what it does. While i'm there,
i'll go take a look at those skulls.
I'm going to keep the plasma shotgun, it looks really fun to play with! I also get a tracking map on this floor,
which is really great because I hear pain elementals.
After demolishing 2 pain elementals with this new shotgun, I realize just how great a weapon this is on a
shotgun build. I'm really a fan of these new uniques. It's quite OP even though it doesn't work with Army of the
Dead - great for smaller enemies. Definatly keeping this one!
On the next level, I get a notification of a special level. Perhaps the Halls of Carnage?
On this level I also see a new powerup - Light-amp goggles. I wonder what it does?
Upon picking it up..."You see further."
Well, that was simple!
I see the stairs to the hall of carnage...but after coming so far on my first run, i'm not convinced. After all,
we saw a V in the chained courts, an eldrich abomination in the armoury, and no BFG in the city of skulls.
Therefore, i'm expecting both an eldrich abomination in this level and the BFG removed! I cheat on this one and
head over to the wiki...
OH NO NO PLEASE NO I AM NOT GOING THERE. NOT WORTH IT.
I decide to skip the HoC and go straight down to the next level.
Decending to Deimos level 7, i'm greeted by a commando at long range. Well, time to put my plasma shotgun to
good use! I kill him quickly then as I move, i'm greeted by the howls of Mancubuses. I'm not looking forward to
this in tiny, enclosed spaces, and I heard that they got a great buff...But the walls are now indestructable, so
I should be able to take them out with sufficiant cove-
A mancubus shoots at me, destroying the walls. Son of a bitch!
I had to use up a large medpack because of all the splash damage. Damn, they really did get buffed!
Upon killing him I do get to level 9 though. I take my final level in ironman, which should help me later on
with the Vs. I eventually finish the level which had some barons with mancubuses, but at a pretty heavy price in
ammo and health.
I go down the stairs and:
Wait, what? Wasn't this guy supposed to be on like, floor 25? When I was fully ready and prepared and stuff?
Either way, i'm so totally not ready for this. Time to go to the wiki and see what's happened with his stats.
Looks like he hasn't really been changed at all - buffed, if anything, on higher difficulties. Oh goodness...
I accidently use an envirosuit pack and the cyberdemon gibs me into pieces. Almost! I hang on with 9% hp and
start making a run for it.
Eventually...
Well! There we go! But I suspect there's still more. Worst still, I have little ammo, no medipacks, and 9%
health after that...RNG, please support me.
Entering the next level, I end up in a cave with Cacodemons. Yikes! Time to find some cover...
I also see the stairs to the Unholy cathedral.
Turning the corner, I see...
Well! I kind of expected that - Spawning in a cave level with no powerups. Still, I did quite well, I think!
Oh well, game over and back to the drawing board!