Game:

Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994)

Duration: 6:36

353 views

10

Hello again Doom fans. Hot off the presses of Doomworld, we have the newest A2Rob mapset to explore - a 10-level, MBF21-compatible WAD called Escape from Sunveil Starport. Rob worked on this wad during NaNoWadMo2023 and describes it as a prequel to their megawad Machete. Given my appreciation for the author's other works like the Running Late series plus a bunch of beautiful screenshots in the Doomworld thread, I got super excited and quickly made the decision to check it out. In terms of storyline we don't have much to go on since Rob keeps the intrigue short and...intriguing:

"I knew firing that nutjob was a bad omen. It started with the security systems going haywire, then the explosions outside, and finally there were those damned shrieks down the hallway. At some point one has to wonder whether the job's worth it or not. I made that decision a few hours ago."

It appears that our hero - perhaps in the role of security chief at some top secret military facility or something - once again needs to pick up his weapons and deal with trouble.

Basic info
----------------
IWAD: doom2.wad
Difficulty: Ultra-Violence (aka Hard) (pistol start)
Map author: A2Rob
Music: "Central Command" by Deadwing
Port: DSDA-Doom 0.27.5
Compatibility level: 21 (MBF21)
QoL mods: Colored Blood
----------------

Additional notes
---------------------------
For the seasoned Doom aficionado, I bet that A2Rob needs no introduction. To cut a long story short, Rob has an uncanny ability to put you in tight situations that are very clever and supremely conquerable with thought and preparation, together with a great eye for constructing absorbing environments and superb attention to detail. A few things will immediately jump out with 'Docks': the custom faster pistol that might seem familiar due to its use in Eviternity 2; the very pleasing palette which drenches you in warm tones; Rob's understated tribute to 'Entryway' in the first few seconds as you head left to grab the armor and discover a secret; a stunning skybox; a genuinely endearing sense of humor with the "more goddamn useless chainsaws!" message on the monitor; and, to my surprise as well, one of Deadwing's compositions as the music track. Nothing is haphazard or left to chance as the first great impressions further blossom while you explore the base. For the most part, the ambushes are what you would normally expect from a mapper that wants to get the blood of an average Doomer moving a bit...until the big gates open and the revenant horde drops seemingly out of nowhere. It's destabilizing, tension-raising moments like these that encapsulate A2Rob's undeniable skill in coming up with stimulating set pieces. If you think you've had enough, then the final double portion of flameboi will convince you otherwise. An amazing opener.

P.S. As a general note that will probably be valid for at least a part of this playthrough, Escape from Sunveil Starport is currently in the RC1 (Release Candidate 1) stage, so expect some bugs. If you decide to pick this up yourself, please post all the relevant information about the issues you may encounter in the WAD's Doomworld thread (linked below).

Secret 1: 0:36

Secret 2: 2:38 (the goddamn useless chainsaws!)

Links
---------
WAD:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/144155-escape-from-sunveil-starport-9ish-mbf21-compatible-maps-rc1/

QoL mods:

Colored Blood:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/118074-dsda-doom-source-port-v0243/?page=16

Other Statistics