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Messages - Merlijn

#1
Classic Duke 3D / Re: Reviews and Submissions
01 December 2021, 20:36:47
Woah :o Didn't expect to get 100, that's awesome. I'm really thankful for that. :D 
And thanks for Aleks for your detailled and well written review! I especially like how you go into the episode as a whole and not just the individual maps.
#2
Classic Duke 3D / [RELEASE] Shaky Grounds episode
12 November 2021, 19:47:27
Hi there, The Shaky Grounds episode is finished and released! 5 epic maps, custom soundtrack :)

Download at ModDB: https://www.moddb.com/mods/shaky-grounds

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0OZjq02LDg&feature=emb_title



CGS download/review
#3
Hi there. Here's a review for Submachine:

Aleks recently returned with his release of the Back in Business episode, now he's back with another old revived project. Submachine has been in development for over 12 years. It probably means the map was collecting dust for several years before the author decided to finish it, but hey '12 years in the making' sounds a lot cooler! Despite this long development cycle, the map feels very cohesive and well put together.

Now unto the map itself - just like Back in Business it features insanely intricate design, a great eye for detail and several innovative effects. Some of them will make you scratch your head, wondering how the hell the author managed to pull this off in a 25-year old engine. It improves on BiB by not being too cramped, there are still some claustrophobic areas but this time around it doesn't hinder the gameplay.
The map takes place in an underground research and mining facility which, of course, has been taken over by aliens. This could have made for a generic looking map, but luckily that's not the case. Aleks managed to create a large variety of environments, from research labs to mining sites to ominous caves with glowing chrystals. The whole place looks and feels believable, with cool little details everywhere and even some well placed bits of humor. The design will remind you of old classics from Bob Averill and Alejandro Glavic, but also makes use of modern Eduke features like expanded limits and sloped sprites (this means you need a recent version of Eduke to run this).

When it comes to gameplay, the map isn't your typical run and gun affair. Of course the enemy forces are present and there are several well placed fights and respawns, but you'll need to use your head a bit more than usual. The map may feel a bit overwhelming at first due to its intricate layout and several mini missions. But if you take your time, carefully read the viewscreens and take a good look at your surroundings you should be okay. There's nothing unfair here, buttons and rooms are well defined and the viewscreens do provide you with useful information. There's also a mini game involving getting a red key. I won't spoil it, but it's a well made puzzle that you'll either love or hate.
Mastering the map feels rewarding and it even has a secret side quest for you to conquer. The level ends with a boss fight on ground level. While the arena itself looks great, the boss isn't all that difficult to take care of. Just keep your distance and press that fire button (of course completing the side mission may also help!).

Overall this is a fantastic piece of mapping that you should check out. Don't be too intimidated by the intricacies and have fun!

Rating: 98
#4
Classic Duke 3D / Re: Reviews and Submissions
07 November 2020, 10:31:07
Great review Aleks! I agree that this maps evokes a feeling of uneasyness and horror, mostly because it gets so strange and unpredictable at times. It's like you're trapped in some weird dimension where nothing is like it should be. And those moving meat pillars really add to the uneasy atmosphere. 

I personally really liked Still Wanteds part. It managed to create tension because you just didn't know what was going to happen in the next room.
Although I agree that the platforming in the flipped dining room was a bit tedious.

100% agree on the other parts, every author brought something unique to the table and did a great job!
#5
Classic Duke 3D / Re: Reviews and Submissions
27 September 2020, 11:33:17
Thanks!

And wow, that Doom map is really impressive! I wonder if mapster could even handle that size. It kinda reminds me of the unfinished Duke theft auto mod, but this is even bigger.
#6
Classic Duke 3D / Re: Reviews and Submissions
20 September 2020, 20:14:13
Alright, it took a bit longer than expected, but here it is. If it's too long, don't hesitate to shorten it a bit. :)

Review: Another alien attack 1: Woudrichem War

Duke Nukem 3D is well known for it's simulation of real life locations, in a time where most FPS games were just abstract mazes. A lot of user mappers took this idea even further and started recreating monuments, castles and even whole city blocks. Authors like Pascal Rouaud and Ck3d are well known for translating European architecture to the build engine and pushing the enveloppe. Now Maarten has taken the next step by recreating an entire town and its surroundings. This whole map tries to replicate the city of Woudrichem, a real historic place in The Netherlands. The result is a very ambitious and remarkable map.

The map starts outside the city and lets the player circle the place first. This is a nice way to introduce the player to this world and give them an idea of the general geography of the area. Enemy encounters are built up in a similar fashion, starting off slow but becoming more intense as the players progresses. Once the city is unlocked, the map becomes more unlinear. The player has to hunt down 3 keys and has the freedom to decide in which order to get them. The entire city is ripe for exploration, and there are hidden goodies everywhere. Even most of the rooftops are accessible, resulting in some enjoyable parkour.

Throughout the city, there are a lot of historic Dutch buildings to be admired, and there are a lot of fun little details. For example, there's a playground with some creative usage of sprites. There's even a little nod to E1L1 (you know it when you see it). But it's the sight of the whole city on screen at the same time that's the most impressive thing about this map. The hunt for keys will frequently take you from indoor sections to the top of a building and the sight alone is worth it.

Gameplay-wise, there's quite a lot of enemies to deal with. A surprisingly high amount of recon patrol vehicles and pig cop tanks patrol the area, combined with lurking assault troopers and fat commanders. But Maarten is always pretty generous when it comes to ammo and health and this map is no exception. And while there are some spicy fights in here, it never gets unfair. The city itself may be a little disorienting at first, but luckily there are viewscreen camera's to guide the player. What's more, there's a large bell tower in the middle of the city, which looms over the other structures and serves as a handy landmark.
My only minor complaint is that some indoor areas are cramped, but luckily these areas don't contain too many enemies.

The map saves the best for last though, with a thrilling and awesome finale which I won't spoil here. Let's just say it's the perfect cherry on top.

Conclusion: this map pushes this old game to its utter limits by creating an entire city and its surroundings, and showing it all on screen at the same time. That's remarkable enough, but it also offers a lot of fun firefights, exploration and memorable moments.There's no reason not to play it, so 98 points is what it gets.

Rating: 98
#7
Classic Duke 3D / Re: Reviews and Submissions
08 September 2020, 21:32:14
Thanks for the review! ^_^
I'm willing to write a review for Woudrichem war (and perhaps some other recent maps too). But since Woudrichem war is made by Maarten, it's probably not appropiate for me to determine the rating.
#8
First of all: glad you liked SG3 so much! The fact that you even consider giving it 100 points is really flattering already. :)

As for the subject, I first want to get this out of the way: I would generally prefer a 1 to 5 stars system, or a 1 tot 10 scale. 1 to 100 suggests a higher accuracy, but in most cases that's not really true. In the case of MSDN, the rating system effectively locks each new release somewhere between 85 and 95 points, with a few exceptions.

A 10/10 or a 5/5 map would also be less controverial than a 100/100 map.

As it stands, I personally wouldn't object to maps scoring a 100 points. To me, a perfect score doesn't mean a map can't be outdone anymore, but it would mean that the map in question achieved exactly what it set out to do and did so with absolute perfection. For example, with that mindset you could argue that Hollywood Holocaust is a 100/100 map. It's a perfectly executed first level and I really can't think of a way to improve it.

With that in mind, a Roch map scoring 99 or 100 wouldn't be too out there either. Those maps were made with the old limits and they were also very innovative at the time. IMO they have aged just fine as well.
#9
Classic Duke 3D / Re: Reviews and Submissions
30 August 2020, 10:36:38
Hi Puritan,

yeah I understand why you ditched Facebook. I mostly keep it for band related stuff.

PS: I screwed up the zip file in the duke4 post. There's an ogg file in there that should have been a voc file (bookem03.voc).
I just added a new reply with the correct zip, please use that one if you upload to the site.

(I assume a mod will also add it to the original post, but I can't edit it myself)

#10
Classic Duke 3D / Re: Reviews and Submissions
27 August 2020, 19:13:21
Damn, ck3d beat me to it! :D

Hi Puritan, long time no see. Great to see that this site is still running! :)
#11
Media Forum / Re: Oostrum's band Calculated
29 June 2019, 15:33:58
Another update from me, we made a music video! I did the editing myself, which is just as hard and time consuming as mapping ;)
Also: we're going back to the studio to record new stuff this summer (which will probably be released somewhere in september).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOKUhiRPg3w
#12
Media Forum / Re: Oostrum's band Calculated
10 December 2018, 17:02:09
Thanks! Appreciate the moral support :)
#14
Media Forum / Re: Oostrum's band Calculated
27 November 2018, 22:36:47
Just popping in to say that our EP will be available on Spotify on december the 7th. :)

We already posted one song in advance on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzPzjC2wYCo

It's the studio version of Agree to disagree.
#15
Media Forum / Re: Oostrum's band Calculated
14 October 2018, 15:27:51
"Being inspired by" is a very broad thing for me, the final result might end up in a completely different place.
I wrote that song after attending a concert by The Staat and I wanted to write something in a similar vein.
Without straight up copying a riff of course. :)