Ramp2024 Reviews Part XV
Just a generational run of really great levels in this update.
Here's Ramp2024 and here's an index of all the reviews so far..
Spiralling Mountain by yayarchea
Well, it runs! And you definitely have a sense of the rhythm of the basic monsters and the shotguns. I definitely think you could take the next step and do some texturing, lighting, and perhaps add in some further encounters. Best wishes. 2 stars.
Starship Moriah by MonkeyShock
A great little experience, with custom monsters that really change the style of the game, yet are still manageable when you learn the new rhythms. This is one of the things that custom monsters and weapons often get wrong - you need to be able to learn them, and have it feel at least adequate (having it feel as good as the original DooM is extremely difficulty.) A real achievement. 4.5 stars.
Stealing from the Vault by Ash4ash
A fun little level, but the custom monsters lack legibility - it's unclear where they're firing, how damaged they are, and how they move. That means my lack of ammo in the last confrontation could be my own bad DooM skills, or there might just not be enough ammo. Could be polished into something cool. 2/5.
Stranded by Elias (tetriskid)
Why did Margaritaville stop?!?! Let us have Margaritaville the whole level? Actually I quite like the layout and the monster progression; you could have added a bit more tropical flair to the base for a unique experience. With a bit of polish and some thought to lighting, this could be a classic. 4.5/5
Sturme das Schloss by Palindrome
Wow! Most Wolf3d adaptations either hew too closely to the clunky, slow aesthetics of the original without noticing the DooM's high-speed player character makes it unbearable, or moves too far into just making a DooM level with some annoying textures. This is perhaps the best Wolf3D adaptation I've seen, with versions of the bad guys that have new and different strengths and weaknesses, with a map that has the over-flat, over-bright textures of Wolf3D but has just enough realism in the spaces to make it feel like you're really exploring a Nazi castle (and killing them.) 5/5
Subdivided Attention by ctwoafiveb
Really fantastic - some big fights, some little, but I never felt like I couldn't get through it if I fought hard. Just a pleasure from start to finish. 5/5
Subtle Spaces by Rita Remton
An unbelievable achievement. Feels massive, alien, the monsters come in just the right doses with just the right discombobulation as you move through it - and you just start grinning and cackling as you wake up every monster on the gigantic staircase and have to climb up every step. A masterpiece. 5/5.
Temple of the Void by Steve the Stone
Just an unbelievable run here of maps with incredible work. The addition of the void imps (?) is extremely well tailored to produce a monster of precisely tuned difficulty. The one thing I don't love about it is that depending on your route you can get very deep into the map and have virtually no ammo. If you're going to make me dodge along narrow bridges over death pits and introduce a bunch of new tough monsters, at least give me enough ammo to miss a couple of shots! 3.5/5
Termites - Friends in High Places by LoatharMDPhD
One of my favorite kinds of slaughter maps is something where you don't necessarily need to slaughter everyone, but must navigate an impossibly huge set of monsters. I loved the monsters getting flung out of the tree, I laughed so hard, and when I figured out what I needed to do, I was really excited. I just feel like the opening sequence before you get there was unnecessarily harsh; just start me at the tree, maybe extend the tree sequence somehow! It's great. 4.5/5
The House - RAMP Edition by Sven ATDynaX Reinold
A marvelous, innovative experience; I loved going from the lava to the ice and back to the start. I think there's some parts of it that I didn't get (was the portal supposed to open after I fixed the fuse?) but it was still a top tier DooM storytelling experience. 5/5