[D1 Singleplayer / Co-op] Quotiency

[Parabolicus]

A new 22+3 level singleplayer / co-op set for Descent 1 developed over this year (2021). I designed most of the levels, but one secret level has been contributed by LightWolf.

Current version: v1.1.1 (2021-12-29)

Mission download is available on DXMA: Here

Some screenshots included as attachments.

[vision]

OK, I've definitely played the level in the screenshots. Is that the one from LightWolf? Are these new levels or ones you curated into a campaign?

[Parabolicus]

OK, I've definitely played the level in the screenshots. Is that the one from LightWolf? Are these new levels or ones you curated into a campaign?

Light Wolf designed the third secret level, and none of the screenshots are from that. All other levels were designed by me specifically for this mission.

Screenshot sources:

• The DXMA screenshot is from level 2, specifically from the wide corridors located somewhere behind the blue door
• The first attached screenshot is from level 16, specifically from the small room that has the red door in it
• The second attached screenshot is from level 9, specifically from one of the many rooms behind the blue door
• The third attached screenshot is from level 4, specifically from a room located opposite the blue door that has a prison on one end

All of the attached screenshots are ones I've posted before in the development thread.

[Pumo]

Oh, this is pretty cool! Will give it a play after I manage to finish my current Ultima Thule playthrough.

[vision]

OK, maybe I've played other levels you've designed then? Heh, or maybe they are all starting to look the same after three decades of playing hundreds of levels... I'll check out your campaign, thanks.

[vision]

Started working through these levels and I have mixed feelings about them. I've played through level 6 and my impression so far is:

PRO:
* Feels authentic
* Challenging robot placement
* Good geometry and attractive texturing

CON:
* Levels 4-6 are bulky and took too long to complete
* No discernible themes
* Could use more energy centers

Regarding levels 4-6, I like that the mines so far have been light on resources because it's a challenge. However, it might be a little too light on energy, especially if you want to cold start them. The rooms look great, but they just feel like a collections of rooms cobbled together then joined with some intermediate sections. The levels don't have any kind of thematic continuity and I had a hard time getting my bearings because the layout and textures felt really random. They don't feel like "a place," unlike the original Parallax levels that all had a distinct feel. There were some great looking rooms in level 6 and I thought it was building up to be a boss level, but it wasn't [spoilers, sorry]. Spent way too much time reading the automap and it was practically useless because of the mine density.

I'm hoping the next few levels will change things up a bit otherwise completing this is going to be a slog. Still, this campaign is already near the top of community made levels, so it's got that going for it!

EDIT: Level 7 was one of the best community level's I've ever played. A bit big, but basically a perfect level. I'm reinvigorated to finish this campaign.

[worldoffood]

Another great level set! I'm currently on level 9. It's been a long time since I've played a strictly D1 mod. I forgot how crunchy the old sound effects were, it's been a big nostalgia trip. Also a reminder how much I really prefer the OG Descent color palette. I'm only about halfway through, but really appreciate how the level design really feels like the original. Geometric rooms and long winding tunnels. Crooked halls like that aren't my favorite, but don't detract in any real way and it makes things feel authentic. Rooms are simple to read, but have very interesting embellishments. I don't really agree that the levels don't have themes and I think length is pretty spot on. D1 kept texture variety lower, but everything blends together nicely and allows more options.

As far as balancing goes, I always default to Ace
-Level 1-3 were an absolute breeze. Don't think I ever dropped below 100 shields, was beginning to wonder if I should have selected insane.
-level 4 has a big difficulty spike I was looking for. A few deaths are going to happen, especially in some super hulk fights, but the life system exists for a reason
-E-centers are pretty sparse! If there was more vulcan ammo I wouldn't mind much, but I found myself run out of both a couple times and had to backtrack
-levels have a number of dead ends, so backtracking can take some brain power. Or at least finding the most efficient route.
-Primary weapons are very limited! I do like the choice to stick to default laser for a while, I always felt the original handed spreadfire out too early, but a quad laser wouldn't hurt.
-Missiles resources are perfect. For every homing pack and bombs I picked up there was an encounter to use them. Though by halfway through I have found myself max out a couple times.

Not much else I can think to add so far. Encounters can be pretty tough and I have taken quite a few deaths, but there have been good opportunities to make them back. The life system is one of my favorite features of descent over other FPS, I hate trying to predict when to save in Doom etc. so for me things are great in that department, but I could see other play styles finding it frustrating.

Secrets are clever but not too obtuse. I didn't find the secret exit from level 8, and I feel like I was pretty thorough, so I'll have to go back through and see what I missed.

Really nothing but good things to say, with a few caveats that mostly come down to personal taste.

Given that this is version 1.0, should I leave a .txt open to take notes of misaligned textures and such? I've only noticed one or two, but I'm down to help if it's welcome

OH! I also really like how you mimic certain rooms from the original game to play with expectations. As I'm sure we've all played through the original campaign a million times, it's a nice trick

[vision]

but a quad laser wouldn't hurt.

This is funny. I was in level 5 I think? when I said to myself "wow, I could really appreciate some quad lasers right now" and less than a minute later I opened a secret door that had quad lasers. Super fun.

[vision]

Two-thirds of the way through and I'm still really impressed with the design. The only criticism I have is that the mines are "too dangerous," meaning there are too many areas with no good angle of attack. Every section is jam packed with robots hidden around corners pointed at doors, there's too many hulks in tight spaces, and too many robots in general. It slows down the pace of the game when you have to snipe around corners several times per level. I've found the best level design has a good balance of flying/exploring versus shooting/dogfights. This campaign seems to be heavy on the later, and I'm sure it's going to get even worse when the levels contain those green platform bots. Still, Quotiency is one of the top thrid-party campaigns of all time, IMO.

About me as a pilot: I'm not sure about the replay-ability, this first run is exhausting. I'm no slouch, I've run through D1 several times under Insane/cold-start/all-kills/full-rescue, though I generally play on Ace because the bot behavior on Insane is easier since they tend to rush you (it's like shooting ducks in a barrel).

[vision]

Final thoughts on Quotiency: The geometry, texturing, and overall level design are great. Each mine is large and challenging. Boss levels are fairly straightforward and not too difficult. There are a few cool surprises and traps.

However, I feel this campaign only makes sense as co-op, and even then it would be extremely difficult. Too many robots! Speaking of difficulty, I feel the campaign ramped up too fast. Halfway though the level set it's just Class 1 Heavy Driller snipers behind every door and it just became monotonous. And strangely, the later levels seemed easier than the middle ones. So what I'm saying is, the difficulty is not linear at all. Also, the pace, as I mentioned before, is a slog since you basically have to quick-save before going through every doorway because instant death awaits. Not a lot of flying here, just mostly shooting around corners.

I never found the secret levels. Well, I did find a door to one, but forgot about it when I blew the mine. I looked at them in a editor though and they look interesting enough.

Anyway, still a top-notch level set. Too tedious to replay as SP, but I would definitely do it again as co-op.

[Parabolicus]

Final thoughts on Quotiency: The geometry, texturing, and overall level design are great. Each mine is large and challenging. Boss levels are fairly straightforward and not too difficult. There are a few cool surprises and traps.

However, I feel this campaign only makes sense as co-op, and even then it would be extremely difficult. Too many robots! Speaking of difficulty, I feel the campaign ramped up too fast. Halfway though the level set it's just Class 1 Heavy Driller snipers behind every door and it just became monotonous. And strangely, the later levels seemed easier than the middle ones. So what I'm saying is, the difficulty is not linear at all. Also, the pace, as I mentioned before, is a slog since you basically have to quick-save before going through every doorway because instant death awaits. Not a lot of flying here, just mostly shooting around corners.

I never found the secret levels. Well, I did find a door to one, but forgot about it when I blew the mine. I looked at them in a editor though and they look interesting enough.

Anyway, still a top-notch level set. Too tedious to replay as SP, but I would definitely do it again as co-op.

The final remark is interesting - it's how I feel about the Apocalyptic Factor and I was playing that on Hotshot, while I was able to play this one through on Insane. There could be a degree of author bias in there though.

I also don't feel I ramped up the enemy counts relatively speaking compared to my earlier levels (although I did not really compare exact figures). I also tried to place them strategically so that the player usually has a chance to avoid taking damage if they are able to figure out the best approach. Similarly, with sniping enemies, there are usually ways to kill them from afar, or fly around in some larger space instead of having to just kill robots around corners.

It is unfortunate if that hasn't come across from my designs for this set - naturally, there isn't anyone else to blame for that but myself. Thank you for playing through the set and sharing your opinion on it nevertheless.

[Parabolicus]

Another great level set! I'm currently on level 9. It's been a long time since I've played a strictly D1 mod. I forgot how crunchy the old sound effects were, it's been a big nostalgia trip. Also a reminder how much I really prefer the OG Descent color palette. I'm only about halfway through, but really appreciate how the level design really feels like the original. Geometric rooms and long winding tunnels. Crooked halls like that aren't my favorite, but don't detract in any real way and it makes things feel authentic. Rooms are simple to read, but have very interesting embellishments. I don't really agree that the levels don't have themes and I think length is pretty spot on. D1 kept texture variety lower, but everything blends together nicely and allows more options.

As far as balancing goes, I always default to Ace
-Level 1-3 were an absolute breeze. Don't think I ever dropped below 100 shields, was beginning to wonder if I should have selected insane.
-level 4 has a big difficulty spike I was looking for. A few deaths are going to happen, especially in some super hulk fights, but the life system exists for a reason
-E-centers are pretty sparse! If there was more vulcan ammo I wouldn't mind much, but I found myself run out of both a couple times and had to backtrack
-levels have a number of dead ends, so backtracking can take some brain power. Or at least finding the most efficient route.
-Primary weapons are very limited! I do like the choice to stick to default laser for a while, I always felt the original handed spreadfire out too early, but a quad laser wouldn't hurt.
-Missiles resources are perfect. For every homing pack and bombs I picked up there was an encounter to use them. Though by halfway through I have found myself max out a couple times.

Not much else I can think to add so far. Encounters can be pretty tough and I have taken quite a few deaths, but there have been good opportunities to make them back. The life system is one of my favorite features of descent over other FPS, I hate trying to predict when to save in Doom etc. so for me things are great in that department, but I could see other play styles finding it frustrating.

Secrets are clever but not too obtuse. I didn't find the secret exit from level 8, and I feel like I was pretty thorough, so I'll have to go back through and see what I missed.

Really nothing but good things to say, with a few caveats that mostly come down to personal taste.

Given that this is version 1.0, should I leave a .txt open to take notes of misaligned textures and such? I've only noticed one or two, but I'm down to help if it's welcome

OH! I also really like how you mimic certain rooms from the original game to play with expectations. As I'm sure we've all played through the original campaign a million times, it's a nice trick

If you still remember where the misaligned textures are, please let me know -- considering the feedback I've gotten both on DBB and outside of it, I've seriously considered making an updated version that tries to get rid of some of the most unfair spots in the level set, which in hindsight there are too many of, in a definite case of author bias (and I should've known better). For the latter, I'd like to know which parts anyone thinks need to be changed - I'd like the unfair parts (the ones where you really felt there was no proper way to get through), not necessarily the ones that were frustrating.