The Dismal Silhouette

Reviews 4.80 star(s) 18 reviews

Great rework of e2m6. Scale being increased in a good way and not many backtracking issues except potentially at the cave section at the very beginning. And getting the secret required backtracking by design, but that is acceptable.

Challenging gameplay for AD which is hard to get right usually. Some of the enemies were used in hordes that really are not horde enemies(fury death knights), especially in such tight corridors.

Final area was really cool, probably my favorite AD combat setup I've seen so far. Super secret was neat too, but flashing lights warning for the red fog + dynamic lights combo when monsters were summoned. At least on my QS setup it felt like my eyes were melting.

Overall really nice experience. Detailing and quality of environments really are worth it to play this even with all minor issues in gameplay.
Skill
Hard
This one becomes one of my all time favourite maps ever created for Quake. It's real adventure, immersive, full of dangers and dark secrets. The map is damn impressive, really gorgeous. But also quite challenging & engaging. All in all this is true AD experience. 10/10


PS. I just finished playing 1997 Mexx episode "Penumbra of Domination" and Twilight super secret of this Dismal map now shines quite differently :) So if you like this Dismal map, then I recommend to play Mexx9
Skill
Normal
This was surprisingly amazing. I wasn't expecting much going in, as these big AD remix maps rarely stick to me, but this was great. Amazing build quality, well thought out level design for being so complex and open, and a great reinterpretation of the original. Good stuff.
Skill
Hard
This map is a blast! An absolute creepy, raining, stormy atmosphere in dank, dark castle. Loved every minute walking around this place!
Skill
Normal
Always great to see a veteran mapper roll out a new level! Rich has gone by different nicknames over the decades (Xen, XeNoN, RJ) & his experience shows. This is a massive map with clear progression, interesting secrets (including sections requiring a return & a special key combo location), and a polished atmosphere. An overall nicely done modern interpretation of E2M6!
Skill
Normal
In my opinion a good map is easy to memorize and brings the player back to certain area's. This map is a tribute to what already worked well in Quake and expands on that with Arcane Dimension characteristics.

The atmosphere is indeed very thick and i have to give credit for adding rain to the mix.

The cavern could have been reused a bit more in my opinion or some very desirable object placed there, we don't see it much after entering the castle.
+ remix of an original id1 map (i'm a sucker for these)
+ neat
mega secret side quest
that kept me playing
+ cutting the original elevator ride short
+ atmosphere & lighting work
+ Arcane Dimensions map

5/5 in my book.
Skill
Normal
AD maps are very rare. Most creators use Cooper mod, not AD. But when they do appear, they are beautiful and refined. This case is no different. A masterpiece in every respect.
I'm waiting for a new version of AD, remembering how I liked it from the beginning, playing ad_swampy, and later ad_sepulcher, and all the other wonderful maps on and on.

From time to time a new map is published, even though the focus may be more on Alkaline meanwhile.

This one is a real burner, not a remake, but an interpretation of the Obliette. Dark, gloomy, swampy.

First attempt: secrets 4/10, too few, of cause, but I was impatient. Second attempt: secrets 10/10, and the search for the western twilight key cost about one hour of lifetime, and was worth it.

Yes, no cobwebs here, but in my opinion Quake isn't perfect, never was, and never will be - at least I hope so. It's part of Quake's charm, that it needs my own imagination. And so the cobwegs will be always in my brains :-)

Thank you so much for this.
Skill
Easy
An absolutely wonderful release, a full adventure in a single map. It brings me right back to June 2010 (good times when rmq wasn't yet in the total gutter).

Loved all the AD enhancements on what I still recognised to be the original plan. The "third" key threw me in for a loop, though, as I went for a goose chase for something that was right in plain sight.

I got 100% on my "first" try:

otp_e2m6_100.png

I also have a demo (Quakespasm): https://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/otp_e2m6rq.zip

Congratulations on getting this out - I think it's been several years since we last talked about it, and I'm really happy to finally see this out in the open. Even if modern mappers might turn their nose at the 24-sided curves ;-)
Skill
Hard
R
~rj
Great to hear from you dude! And thanks, yeah def a relief to have it out, was bugging me so much over the years that it was just lying there incomplete and all that work had been for nothing. Hoping to get my other e2 stuff done too for the same reasons. Thanks for the demo too, have grabbed and will def watch some point this week :-)
Fantastic reimagining of The Dismal Oubliette. The secrets weren't too hard to find and ammo is plentiful, health can be a bit scarce in places, or at least it is for my mediocre combat skills.

I rather liked the ogres getting stuck in the elevator and eventually dying, it saved ammo.
Skill
Normal
Pays homage while also doing its own thing at several points in the map. The lighting was sublime, as was the way the map was leading you towards general progression and nudging you towards the secrets. Only nitpick or rather suggestion/question, at some point the player will find
a door leading towards a secret ending locked by 4 keys with cardinal labeled keys. I'm spoiling this because I think the secret hunt is worth it and while not too obscure I think it can be easier on the mind. Are the keys "actually" placed in locations corresponding to their assigned cardinal point? I think they actually are but I'm not sure as I only did a long almost 2h playthrough of this due to secret hunting, it was fun finding all 10. If they aren't then this can be ignored, if they are, a sort of compass in the iconic bridge shifting place could be placed.
Skill
Nightmare
R
~rj
They are, and that's a really good idea, thank you. I'm aiming to restrict versioning just to bugfixes but hoping one day to re-release it as part of an episode, I've noted that suggestion down
dismal /dĭz′məl/
adjective

Causing gloom or depression; dreary.
"dismal weather; took a dismal view of the economy."
Characterized by ineptitude, dullness, or a lack of merit.
"a dismal book; a dismal performance on the cello."
Dreadful; disastrous.

Oubliette - From French, literally "little forgetting."

I'm sorry but the mapper clearly didn't understand the assignment as this is not little OR forgettable. Nor does it cause me gloom.

I also at no time felt the need to skip 90% of the map by sequence breaking the bridge room with a rocket jump and there are entire fights and optional areas included that weren't even in the original map!

0 forgettable inept maps out of 10.








(psst, comedy. This is great, and I'm so happy to see Arcane Dimensions again. Please more Arcane Dimensions maps with mega secrets)
Skill
Normal
R
~rj
:D I'll be honest, when I started this map, I didn't know what an oubliette was. So I looked it up and included one! The original title is kind of funny because you just know Romero was scraping the barrel for more "The Adjective Noun" map titles by that point and threw them in whether they made sense or not
This one becomes one of my all time favourite maps ever created for Quake. It's real adventure, immersive, full of dangers and dark secrets. The map is damn impressive, really gorgeous. But also quite challenging & engaging. All in all this is true AD experience. 10/10
Skill
Normal
An amazing remake of E2M6, a must play. It was an instant replay just to find all the secrets and the alternate ending. It'd be a dream to have all the original levels remade in this manner.
Skill
Hard
An epic remake of the original map. My respects and applause! Good work!

Unfortunately, there are no places with cobwebs on the map, especially where spiders live, abandonment and devastation are a feature of this modification.
Pretty impressive remake of e2m6. It's definitely what you should expect of a Arcane Dimensions quality level. Secrets are well placed, had a lot of fun finding them. Encounters were challenging but fair. Highly recommended!
Skill
Normal
Color me impressed. This was fun, the difficulty felt forgiving if you were careful and skillful, and punishing if you were reckless. The last battle was really nicely done, although bunnyhopping/jumping around on the floor kept getting interrupted by the details on the ground and angled stairs.
I only got 3/10 secrets the first time around, and missed a whole secret key area ~ so I'm definitely gonna have another round at this one.

Nice work, RJ!
Skill
Hard