Megaman Deathmatch - Cutman Mike

Colour me shallow, but Megaman Deathmatch is beautiful. Just look at the screenshot in this review or check the website to see how accurately NES-like this project is. Cutman and team recreated dozens of original Megaman characters, weapons, and stages to produce a deathmatch experience that is unbelievably gorgeous and entertaining. The project even includes a single player DM challenge complete with Megaman-themed boss battles after each hub.

I have heard arguments that actual deathmatch in Megaman DM is rather spammy and a frantic free for all. This is a pretty accurate description I would echo, but I don't really care. So much care was taken to make this project a perfect Megaman experience that it doesn't bother me. When I grab Metal Blades and start spamming Dive Man, Centaur Man, and Gemini Man with dozens of pixelated saw blades, I don't even care that I am just spamming projectiles until I die and can do it again. I almost cried while playing the single player experience when I was forced to battle the yellow robot who disassembles himself and restructures on the other side of the screen... this wad is fantastic. (Devil - Thanks Wikipedia)

Honestly, this project is one of the 10 best projects this year, but just was not chosen for a general award. Every Doomer who grew up with an NES owes it to themselves to play this throwback. 

-Scuba Steve

Worst Wad

Æons of Death

Take a look at that screenshot. I see a sword from Eriance's 'Demon Eclipse', a strife robot, Hexen mage, a 3D model from what looks like Half Life, the Skulltag Klesk skin, and what appears to be a skeleton archer from Whitchaven or Daggerfall or something. I don't get it.

Æons of Death is a mish mash of stuff; Doom stuff, Strife stuff, Heretic stuff, Duke stuff, Half Life stuff... stuff from games I have never heard of or played. There is no cohesive theme, no real reason for the elements added, they just continue to be added to the project for the sake of adding things. Æons of Death is not the worst of these "everything" mods, that dubious distinction probably goes to something like "Doomguy's Warzone", but Æons of Death is the most significant. This project has been in development for over 4 years but has no purpose. I can appreciate the amount of work that has gone into this project and the creative use of decorate in the plethora of entries... but couldn't that time have been spent on something worth playing? A single medieval themed map perhaps? A new Strife add-on? A lost UAC base with demons run amuck where you must find all the parts to a hidden "Big Gun" while defeating 3 skeletons?

My problem is this: There is no reason to play this. When I downloaded the 250MB project, I just ran through the motions—IDDQD, IDKFA—just to see the guns and point and click them at different pictures. I asked myself why I should care. Even if I wanted to use the impressive decorate effects or a specific monster, how could I ever find all the resources in the mammoth wad file? I just don't get it.

-Scuba Steve

Mordeth Award - Released project with the longest "development time"

Stronghold - Tormentor667

There is some contention as to the actual duration it took to complete Stronghold. The project was put on hold, work stopped for several years, then it continued and everything was finally finished in 2010. Whether it took 4 years or 7 years to complete, Tormentor spent a long fucking time messing around with this wad.

I remember thread posts about Stronghold while I was working on Action Doom 2, so this certainly took a long time to finish. While there is certainly a lot of material in this project... it probably didn't need to take as long as it did. Granted, the four years it took to create this wasn't as long as some projects... but good lord, Tormentor was talking about this project for a long damn time. At least it is finished... Mordeth, are you listening to this? Lüt?

-Scuba Steve

Mockaward - Best comedy wad of the year

This award is a relic from a different time in Doom's history. There was a period when jokemaps were popular and mappers would spend time making terrible maps as a laugh. With the advent of more advanced ports, we had joke maps with scripted events that were silly... sometimes funny. Those days are gone and I haven't played a good jokewad in a coupe years. There is no point to this award anymore and I will not reward projects because I have to fill a category. The only Doom thing I chuckled at this year was possibly Facepalm. Consider the Mockaward dead... unless a truly hilarious project comes along that is worth it. Speaking of facepalm.wad, it was created by...

TurboCharged ARCADE! The Sequel Episode - Xaser & Jimmy

Merry Christmas, assholes! TurboCharged arcade 2 was released the DAY BEFORE the Cacowards were released and single handedly saved the Mockaward. Thank you Xaser and Jimmy for renewing my faith in the Doom community... it's a Christmas miracle!

-Scuba Steve

Mapper of the Year

40oz

Over the past year and a half, Jon "40oz" Vail has given the community a staggering number of great maps. He's created a megawad (Motornerve), a Cacoward-winning episode alongside Super Jamie (this being UAC Ultra, of course), several single maps, multiple quality 32in24 contributions, a dark and gritty texture pack, and whole host of maps made as birthday presents to various members of the community. That's already a lot, and I might be forgetting something.

Of course, the story doesn't end there. He's also heavily involved himself in the ongoing production of the Hellbent-led "Doom the Way id Did" community project, a three-episode replacement for Ultimate Doom aiming to study and replicate the design philosophy of the original id Software levels in a new, original set. In addition, he's also been working with ArmouredBlood on the much-awaited UAC Ultra 2 and making contributions to other upcoming projects.

Even if his attitude might be found off-putting at times (I admit to considering him a bit overzealous and stubborn at times, myself), it's hard to fault his dedication, the quality of his work, and his enduring love for the game. Congratulations, 40oz. We hope your love of Doom lasts you many more productivity-filled years.

-Esselfortium

2010 Cacowards

Page 1

• No Rest for the Living
• Arcadia
• Curse of D'sparil

Page 2

• UAC Ultra
• Unloved
• Valhalla

Page 3

• Speed of Doom
• Drip Feed
• Epic 2
• Stronghold

Other Awards

• Best Multiplayer
• Worst Wad
• Mordeth Award
• Mockaward
• Mapper of the Year

Did You Know...

September 8th marked the 2 year anniversary of Action Doom 2: Urban Brawl.

Did You Know...

Mordeth and Millennium were still not released in 2010 despite over twelve years of development.

HEH

Heh

Best Wad NOT Released

Several years ago I had the opportunity to play a demo build of 'Rainybase' a project by 5hfifty. The entire project was built as a realistically scaled base, set on a mountainside, in the middle of a severe thunderstorm. It was shaping up to be an intense, atmospheric wad... but all we will get are a few impressive screenshots.

Wanted

Ambitious and involved Doom member to take over the reins of the Cacowards. Post inquiries in the thread.