FATAL
June 18th, 2007, 12:17 PM
Mesh by Jon Saloga.
Mesh.wad (68kb)
ftp://ftp.fu-berlin.de/pc/msdos/games/idgames/idgames/levels/doom/m-o/mesh.zip
Port: Doom.exe.
Single player, Coop, Deathmatch.
May 1994.
1 map.
Danimetal using Jdoom.
Score: 6.
As I´m used to do, first, I want to warn you about the flaws of this wad. It´s an old wad (at least the timestamp says it´s from 1994) and you can expect it looking quite bare so in case you want to have any eye candy you´d do well in firing up Jdoom or any other engine that provides you with a good amount of visual pleasure before playing. When you´re done and started, trust your first impression: what you see is what you´ll get so if you happen to like it, try getting past the first minutes...
After playing a little you´ll find a closed door with no switch and no clues about how to open it. There´s no other way around and well, this happens when the map begins so you wonder what´s next and if this wad is worth playing. It happened to me that I was wandering around the place during half an hour until I finally loaded the wad into the editor to see how could I get past that door until I finally saw it was connected to a linedef hidden enough and non textured as a switch. Luckily, this is the only time in wich the author manages to annoy the player since the rest of the wad flows fine.
In terms of lenght, you can complete it in 15 minutes during your first run and depending on your skill and reflexes you could get killed once or twice (plus another one in a crusher trap that is so obvious once it´s activated). These 15 minutes can be 15 minutes of great fun since the map is well balanced in terms of monsters, ammo and health... Monsters will appear gradually during the lenght of the map configuring battles that, mostly take place in medium spaces, not narrow, nor wide. These battles can put you into problems if you´re not paying attention to what you shoot and in a couple of times you can find yourself lacking on ammo. Plus, the ambushes are not completely predictable but are very effective as there are the teleporters that put monsters in places you cleaned before... To sum up, in terms of monsters this wad is fun.
Puzzles are a very different thing. Aside from the door on the first hallway and all the pain and frustration it can provoke, there is another point in the map that is quite annoying: the teleporter room. I don´t want to spoil anything but be sure to have a pen and some paper in hand when you play this map ´cos you´re gonna need it (or a big deal of luck or randomness)... Other than these two the map flows well in terms of puzzles: a switch here opens a door, a new wall opens so you can find another way when you go back, floors lower so you can cross through them. There´s nothing original in them (in fact, after the first door you´ll be prompted with a familiar vision: a hall with two locked doors and other one where, presumibly, you´re to find a key) but they work... Another thing to speak about here is the crusher trap. Again, nothing you can´t expect but I only found a way to cross unharmed after saving and trying it repeteadly. I don´t know up to wich extent this is a design problem or a fully intentional effect, but can get frustrating.
The visuals of the map are so 1994s. You can expect it to look better than your average square "startan" map but not much more. Here and there there are nice architecture tips, like curved stairs, odd shaped caverns or two-stored rooms that have some angle and feel to them... Textures and themes chosen are mostly tech, with a little "hot red hell" and work well during the whole map. There are some nice details in form of lighting (primitive but moody), consoles and usage of decorative objects (lamps, lots of bodies...) but nothing more worth mentioning. Then, of course, there are visual problems like missing textures (specially upper ones, wich created fun effects in Doomsday), misalignments, some weird texture and flat combinations and the like: nothing that makes the map unplayable.
The gameplay value for a single player game is worth it: as said, about a quarter or hour of fun, killing monsters and going through thick moments... Sadly, the map doesn´t seem that much suited for DM due to it´s size and connectivity (quite limited, with center in the room of the key-locked doors). Cooperative could be a different thing: the passages are not entirely narrow and the structure of the map is interesting but there are not a lot of monsters or ammo so this style could result a bit flawed. Overall, the replayability value is not much: once you´re done with it in UV (wich the author says is not much different than the rest) you may want to give it another try to find any missing goodies but considering that the secret count of this map is 0 (though there are a couple of hidden alcoves) there´s not a lot of pleasure on it.
To sum up, the map does a good, average play, but nothing more. It´s up to you if you like these maps to give it I try. I certainly liked it (and also liked that it was for Doom and not Doom 2 :P) and had a nice time but wads like this one are aged, limited and not as exciting as they could be before.
<a href="http://img498.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mesh014yg.png" target="_blank"><img src=" http://img498.imageshack.us/img498/500/mesh014yg.th.png" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>
A little hell, blood and bones.
<a href="http://img498.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mesh025ff.png" target="_blank"><img src=" http://img498.imageshack.us/img498/4553/mesh025ff.th.png" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>
Lighting and passages.
<a href="http://img498.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mesh036tp.png" target="_blank"><img src=" http://img498.imageshack.us/img498/4381/mesh036tp.th.png" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>
Does this look like a switch to you?.
Mesh.wad (68kb)
ftp://ftp.fu-berlin.de/pc/msdos/games/idgames/idgames/levels/doom/m-o/mesh.zip
Port: Doom.exe.
Single player, Coop, Deathmatch.
May 1994.
1 map.
Danimetal using Jdoom.
Score: 6.
As I´m used to do, first, I want to warn you about the flaws of this wad. It´s an old wad (at least the timestamp says it´s from 1994) and you can expect it looking quite bare so in case you want to have any eye candy you´d do well in firing up Jdoom or any other engine that provides you with a good amount of visual pleasure before playing. When you´re done and started, trust your first impression: what you see is what you´ll get so if you happen to like it, try getting past the first minutes...
After playing a little you´ll find a closed door with no switch and no clues about how to open it. There´s no other way around and well, this happens when the map begins so you wonder what´s next and if this wad is worth playing. It happened to me that I was wandering around the place during half an hour until I finally loaded the wad into the editor to see how could I get past that door until I finally saw it was connected to a linedef hidden enough and non textured as a switch. Luckily, this is the only time in wich the author manages to annoy the player since the rest of the wad flows fine.
In terms of lenght, you can complete it in 15 minutes during your first run and depending on your skill and reflexes you could get killed once or twice (plus another one in a crusher trap that is so obvious once it´s activated). These 15 minutes can be 15 minutes of great fun since the map is well balanced in terms of monsters, ammo and health... Monsters will appear gradually during the lenght of the map configuring battles that, mostly take place in medium spaces, not narrow, nor wide. These battles can put you into problems if you´re not paying attention to what you shoot and in a couple of times you can find yourself lacking on ammo. Plus, the ambushes are not completely predictable but are very effective as there are the teleporters that put monsters in places you cleaned before... To sum up, in terms of monsters this wad is fun.
Puzzles are a very different thing. Aside from the door on the first hallway and all the pain and frustration it can provoke, there is another point in the map that is quite annoying: the teleporter room. I don´t want to spoil anything but be sure to have a pen and some paper in hand when you play this map ´cos you´re gonna need it (or a big deal of luck or randomness)... Other than these two the map flows well in terms of puzzles: a switch here opens a door, a new wall opens so you can find another way when you go back, floors lower so you can cross through them. There´s nothing original in them (in fact, after the first door you´ll be prompted with a familiar vision: a hall with two locked doors and other one where, presumibly, you´re to find a key) but they work... Another thing to speak about here is the crusher trap. Again, nothing you can´t expect but I only found a way to cross unharmed after saving and trying it repeteadly. I don´t know up to wich extent this is a design problem or a fully intentional effect, but can get frustrating.
The visuals of the map are so 1994s. You can expect it to look better than your average square "startan" map but not much more. Here and there there are nice architecture tips, like curved stairs, odd shaped caverns or two-stored rooms that have some angle and feel to them... Textures and themes chosen are mostly tech, with a little "hot red hell" and work well during the whole map. There are some nice details in form of lighting (primitive but moody), consoles and usage of decorative objects (lamps, lots of bodies...) but nothing more worth mentioning. Then, of course, there are visual problems like missing textures (specially upper ones, wich created fun effects in Doomsday), misalignments, some weird texture and flat combinations and the like: nothing that makes the map unplayable.
The gameplay value for a single player game is worth it: as said, about a quarter or hour of fun, killing monsters and going through thick moments... Sadly, the map doesn´t seem that much suited for DM due to it´s size and connectivity (quite limited, with center in the room of the key-locked doors). Cooperative could be a different thing: the passages are not entirely narrow and the structure of the map is interesting but there are not a lot of monsters or ammo so this style could result a bit flawed. Overall, the replayability value is not much: once you´re done with it in UV (wich the author says is not much different than the rest) you may want to give it another try to find any missing goodies but considering that the secret count of this map is 0 (though there are a couple of hidden alcoves) there´s not a lot of pleasure on it.
To sum up, the map does a good, average play, but nothing more. It´s up to you if you like these maps to give it I try. I certainly liked it (and also liked that it was for Doom and not Doom 2 :P) and had a nice time but wads like this one are aged, limited and not as exciting as they could be before.
<a href="http://img498.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mesh014yg.png" target="_blank"><img src=" http://img498.imageshack.us/img498/500/mesh014yg.th.png" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>
A little hell, blood and bones.
<a href="http://img498.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mesh025ff.png" target="_blank"><img src=" http://img498.imageshack.us/img498/4553/mesh025ff.th.png" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>
Lighting and passages.
<a href="http://img498.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mesh036tp.png" target="_blank"><img src=" http://img498.imageshack.us/img498/4381/mesh036tp.th.png" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>
Does this look like a switch to you?.