File:E3M1 - The Surface

Description
We hit Episode 3, which has plenty of disclaimers saying that it will be painful and is not intended for inexperienced players. Being the veteran (self-proclaimed as of this moment, possibly to be ripped away by the end of this playthrough) that I am, I am ready for the worst they can throw at me!

Gregory A. MacMartin is the level designer for this entire Episode, plus the artist for all the textures and the developer of the story for this Episode. With a time constraint of one and a half months, he managed to do quite a bit.

The texture art for this level appears a bit odd compared to some of the earlier levels. MacMartin described these levels as experimental, which I would have to agree with when talking about appearance. It is extremely abstract, using colors across the entire spectrum in close proximity to each other. I seem to prefer tamer colors (I was one of those that wasn't against the alleged small palette used in Quake), but that isn't to say that this style isn't terrible. It is just different.

Unlike the previous two Episodes, we get a story this time around! All that matters so far is that we are salvaging stuff on a ruined Earth, only to find that this facility is still inhabited by people that fire on sight. A very interesting post-apocalyptic story, I definitely wonder how this will play out (and if it will involve more than idBase opponents).

The detail level has increased tremendously over what we were playing before! Light years ahead of ..Ambush?, we get grates on the walls and wires on the ceilings. All of this makes for a pretty attractive level, even if the abstract textures aren't exactly my cup of tea as stated before.

This level is supposedly the hardest of the Episode. It seems the difficulty here isn't so much Enemies, but resource management and hazards. To get either Key in the level, you will need to lose a large amount of Health (to the point that the second one gives you three 100 Healths just so you can survive). These hazards definitely give off a feeling of The Wizard's Manse, where the intent is to make the player panic as they lose their Health. Unlike that level, it seems you can be at a loss if you didn't manage resources appropriately here.

I recommend not using a large number of 25 Health packs as you will need them to recover from the Slime (the Water has a glitch that makes it by-passable, plus it isn't severe in its injuries in comparison to the Slime). It is fine to take them if needed to survive the onslaught of hitscan opponents, but conservation is key to survival. I also recommend saving that first secret (the one with the Green Armor) until you plan to navigate the Slime waterfall. You will lose most of your Armor in the ascent, but it is better than enduring pain from Slime unarmored (which can practically kill a player if those 25 Health packs were taken earlier).

Being a level designed to be a challenge to navigate, it should come as no surprise that my mistakes here all involve blundering in the environment. A ramp near the Double-Barrelled Shotgun requires timing to leap across a pit of Slime to a platform. I do it perfectly, but then realize that I need to show off what happens if you don't time it correctly. After showcasing that, I get the Double-Barrelled Shotgun, only to start failing in my leaps across (taking a couple tries more than I would have liked). I get pretty beaten up by the Grunts, but I was expecting that (the three 100 Health and fresh Green Armor negate any damage in the level prior to the Slime waterfall, meaning I could afford to be careless). I get the Gold Key and manage to perfectly get onto the Slime waterfall (don't hug the wall due to a ledge sticking out, you need to move pretty smoothly up the waterfall to negate as much damage as possible from the Slime). I get out and start healing up, but then fail to leap across the sewer, basically ending up in the Slime I just left. Suddenly I cannot climb onto the grate as easily as I can before (I think it has to do with the angle and movement of the player), meaning I am rapidly losing health. Though I get out, I lost a bit more Green Armor than would have been ideal (due to my conservation of 25 Health packs I was able to heal myself).