[Alien Vendetta] MAP08: Beast Island (UV-Max Demo)

we've had a lot of good levels in alien vendetta so far... but beast island might be one of my favorites in the first episode. when i first played it, it was really kind of the first level i could call an adventure. maybe only odyssey of noises from plutonia came close. nowadays, on the one hand, i've played way bigger level that make this one seem kind of small in retrospect. on the other hand, all of the levels i'm thinking of (anagnorisis from eviternity, the destination from rush, several of the maps from epic) aren't actually vanilla-compatible, or even limit-removing for that matter. something like the bit from this level where you can see the castle in the distance that you can then go to later seems especially at risk of causing problems. but i guess it's a small number of lines, relatively; i will admit to not being totally on top of the more technical limitations vanilla compatibility imposes.
as far as the level itself, it's not too tricky, although i certainly didn't feel that way the first time around. the intro is great, what with the cyberdemon stomping around that you'll encounter later, the narrow caves full of traps, and the larger open areas that require watching your head a bit. the part where you telefrag all the revenants is fun unless you get stuck like i did this time and take a bunch of needless damage. the castle fortress itself is definitely tougher, with its cyberdemon gatekeeper, guards on the parapets, and very cramped spaces inside. there are also a lot of secrets here, and i won't lie some of these i'm not a huge fan of, like the incredibly narrow path needed to get to one of them. it feels oddly artificial in a level that mostly evokes a natural, real-world environment. still, overall this level is a real winner in my book.
oh and the midi... this was probably my favorite midi from the original soundtrack. the replacement is still really good, but this is definitely the smallest gap between the midis so far.
alien vendetta: www.doomworld....
av midi pack: www.doomworld....
get the demo: s3.yrriban.net...
source port used: dsda-doom 0.27.5
sound font used: arachno.sf2
flags: -complevel 2

[@Skronkidonk]

One of my favorite maps OF ALL TIME. I have yet to make an adventure map that satisfy my needs as much as Beast Island does. The grandiose feel to it is a nice change of pace from the last 7, short firecracker maps. As you said in the description, this map being vanilla makes it even cooler! Its not easy to make a aesthetically pleasing large room within vanilla limits. All though some secrets may be tedious, I think it makes the map all the more exciting. Also.... Don't get me wrong this midi from the midi pack is great! But the Lands of Lore 2 music is just iconic. Great run.