On the 13th hour of the 10th day of the 12th month for the 13th year, we bring you these, Doomworld's 2016 Cacowards.

2016 has been a VERY busy year for Doom. The biggest news: duh, Doom 2016 was released! For the first time in 12 years, we have a major Doom title. I'm sure this has brought some new blood into the community, curious as to the moddability of this creaking engine when running into the crib bumpers on the much-vaunted Snapmap system. If you're reading this and have any doubts about making maps for the original Doom and Doom II, I highly recommend you try. John Romero already has! Yes; in 2016, we have the first original Doom PWAD from an id dude since 1996. That's, like, 20 years. And actually, it's two levels: Tech Gone Bad (E1M8B) and Phobos Mission Control (E1M4B). Romero fetishists finally have their lifelong dream - Knee Deep in the Dead done completely by Romero.

But the Doom community is about so much more than John Romero or a current-generation PC title. And it's not just about maps, though new levels for an old game are a big part of it. We have people constantly thinking of new ways to make the already existing maps feel fresh. Have you ever wanted to take the reins of an imp in one of the original campaign maps and attempt to fight WITH the monsters to kill Doomguy? Well, now you can! On the Doom musician's guild front, this year is the second year of MIDI mayhem, with contributors fashioning another complete soundtrack for a megaWAD that was previously released without an original. First The Plutonia Experiment, now Revolution! What will be the next megaWAD to be graced with auditory aid?

Presumably, though, you came here for the maps, and we're STILL hitting milestones. For one, another international community megaWAD, this one from Japan! Also, I'd like to recognize events like DUMP and The Joy of Mapping for attempting to get even more people to jump into this melting cauldron. Even more, this has been a GREAT year for the original Doom. It's been SO great that the No End In Sight team published their no doubt fantastic four-episode Monument of a megaWAD less than two weeks before December 10th. I would hate to dissuade anyone from releasing their Hell of sweet projects, but I love those celebratory anniversary publications because they remove any ambiguity for us, the people expected to play them. That said, if your pet project was DUMPed on us in November, don't let your hope sit Extinguished; I strongly suggest you nominate it the moment the next nominations thread is opened.

We should be so lucky to have so many great releases to experience. As they say, there's No Sleep For the Dead, and every year someone ratchets up the bar just a little higher. I hope you enjoy reading about those mapsets as much as we did playing them, and as much as - if not more than - the authors had creating them. To run the risk of repeating myself, the Doom community remains the best damn custom content community out there. Whatever you personally do for Doom, I want to thank you for keeping the spirit alive and for giving everyone else a reason to keep checking in.

- kmxexii

2016 Cacowards

Espi Award for Lifetime Achievement

Top Ten - Page 1

• Tech Gone Bad
• Ancient Aliens
• Nihility: Infinite Teeth
• Mutiny

Top Ten - Page 2

• Absolutely Killed
• Elf Gets Pissed
• Comatose

Top Ten - Page 3

• Miasma
• Alpha Accident
• Japanese Community Project
• Blade of Agony E1

Multiplayer Awards

• AeonDM
• 32in24-16

Other Awards

• Best Gameplay Mod
• Mordeth Award
• Mockaward
• Mapper of the Year

RUNNERS UP

• Warp House
• THT: Threnody
• Bloodstain
• Strange Aeons
• Echelon
• Shadow of the Wool Ball