Doomworld Mega Project 2016

Doomworld mega project is the kind of project that can be fun when you're a beginner mapper, but becomes totally useless when you become more experienced and have some consideration for your maps. This wad, like the others in the series, is a trash can for maps. It's a mixed collection of uninteresting maps, too conceptual maps typical of jokewad or more rarely good maps that have nothing to do with this kind of project (Antares and Yugiboy's map for instance).

Do not consider making serious maps for this kind of project. It will be devalued very quickly.

For fun, here are some quick comments on each map.

Map 01 : Yeah, not a big fan, but it's playable.
Map 02 : Cool layout , pretty difficult

Map 03 : Cool map with the style of Ultimate Doom

Map 04 : A much too long and nonsensical map

Map 05 : A nice map with a good choice of music.

Map 06 : Slaughtermap well buffered and quite absurd as it should be

Map 07 : Forgettable hell map

map 08 : Nice detailed cavern map

Map 09 : Pretty nice concept with a cyberdemon

Map 10 : Don't like it a lot

Map 11 : Short old-school map

map 12 : Ok concept map

Map 13 : Can't remember a lot , pretty random map

Map 14 : I liked the music , the layout was a bit confusing

Map 15 : boring and D_Runnin

Map 16 : Very cool brutal map

Map 17 : Funny short map with a cyber

Map 18 : Nice base

Map 19 : Very hard , but nice Sunder-like map

Map 20 : Boring and annoying , but nice aesthetics

Map 21 : Really cool short brutal map , loved the water falls

Map 22 : Very cool slaughterish map with the RL. Cool natural landscapes.

Map 23 : Nice slaughtermap I played in Slaughtermax

Map 24 : Very high conceptual map but fits perfectly with the project. Lot of creativity here.

Map 25 :  Very good and long maps but it has nothing here. Please release it as stand alone !

Map 26 :  Very interesting theme but I hated the gameplay.

Map 27 : Short and really fun. One of my favs.

map 28 : Very good hell map but same remarks as map 25 , it has nothing to do in the project. Too well done.

Map 29 : Quite fun and hard.

Map 30 : Nice HUB lol

Map 31 : Pretty nice.

Map 32 : Very basic, but I liked it.

Map 33 : Same as map 32 but with less health.

Map 34 : Short and fun library

Map 35 : Really cool details from a beginner map (I suppose).

Map 36 : Fun map with crates

Map 37 : Too cramped but pretty cool.

Map 38 : Didn't find the BFG so I finished the map without killing the Cybies.

Map 39 : Too Dark and Too cramped.

Map 40 : Pretty fun Ultimate-Doom style map.

Map 41 : Pretty fun but too dark near the end.

Map 42 : Very cool tower and bridges.

Map 43 : Messy office map but that's ok

Map 44 : Boring map but cool forest.

Map 45 : Very cool short beginner map. 

Map 46 : Didn't like it.

Map 47 : Didn't like too.

Map 48 : Very cool concept from sonic games. Loved the music.

Map 49 : Meh

Map 50 : I see nothing

Personally, I think that all DOOM maps are fun, as secret hunting is a lot of fun, except some FreeDOOM maps that did not exist.

(the quest to find the freedoom map led me to Phase 2)

Played all maps in UV with keyboard only. While there are certainly very bad maps such as MAP 02, 06, 09, 19, 23, 24 and 38 there're a lot of good ones such as MAP 07 (by WindbagJacket), 18 (by dt_), 20 (by Du_Man_Yhu), 22 (by rdwpa), 27 (by Jjp), 28 (by The_Thrigger), 42 (by Empyre), 43 (By Pinchy) and the best of all, MAP 25 (by antares031). All other maps not cited here were just fine. Overall worth a shot.

Rating: 3/5 overall, plus two stars I picked up on the ground near another wad after a reviewer "[docked] two stars because you disabled jumping and crouching." 

50 Doom maps by 50 authors. 

Mega projects are better regarded as DIY assortments of homemade candy than full-course meals. Is there any surprise, playing the full thing in sequence, that your stomach hurts and you might have diarrhea? That is not how these are intended to be played. 

My approach: Scan through for authors you've been pleased by in the past. Read the descriptions and see if any catch your eye. Bind a "next map" key and see if opening shots appeal to you. Above all, treat it as a compilation of single-map releases bundled in one file, which is more or less exactly what it is. 

The standout maps will find their intended playerbase well enough. Here is an incomplete tour of deeper cuts. Mind, this is not a full list of maps worth playing, more of a spotlight on some of the set's more obscure bites, excluding the GZDoom maps, which I haven't played. 

03: Crunchynut44's assorted Doom 2 output is worth a look for fans of fast-paced, Scythe-inspired modern action.

07: Reminds me of a CC3 map, an upper mid-length journey with gradual progression from weak weapons to power weapons. I know a lot of people eat that up. 

10: cannonball made his name within the Ultimate Doom's restrictions, and his Doom 2 work has been sporadic. I'd rate this as one of his best with the full cast. Compact, full of bloodshed. 

18: "Menagerie" is a well-made map that reminds me of Pavera: low-key combat in a "clean D2TWID" setting, with a classic focus on unraveling the map and exploring the environment but with modern design polish. 

21: A tiny action-packed map where you fire the rocket launcher for three minutes.

27: The swarm referenced in the title comes in the form of a hilarious surprise. This map is about three minutes long -- one core fight with some light intro and outro stuff.

Undeniably it's a mixed bag, like these invariably are, but some of the animus directed is unfounded, and in one instance, thinks itself far more clever than it actually is. 

is there really anything you need to create a synopsis on any Doomworld Mega Project other than "mixed bag with little or no quality control"?

well, this one tries to make the quality SOMEWHAT interesting, but not quite. it's one of those wads where the quality of the first half of the maps is generally good while the latter half is average at best, although I have complaints about several levels in the good half. notably, a lot of mappers seem to LOVE padding the ever loving shit out of their maps, featuring quite a few boring instances of backtracking as well as complete loss of where to go. Memfis (yes the mapper made a map out of his name) is a prime example of this, as is riderr3's MAP04. both SteveD's MAP13 and dpstatic's MAP15 definitely have a load of backtracking that really makes a max run way longer than it should be. there's also dobu gabu maru's smartass level with only one monster and a bunch of puzzles to get to the exit. MAP21 is hilariously out of place in comparison to the others, it's not bad at all per se but it's average as hell when put up with the rest of the crop around it.

the actually good maps in the first half include: MAP08, MAP16, MAP20, MAP23, MAP25, MAP27 (well this one has a funny concept, but eh).

the maps from MAP31 onward are quite average in quality overall, with very, very few standouts. these maps are defined by average to mediocre detail, and generally low difficulty without too much bullshit. the two standouts just so happen to be in the ZDoom set, MAP50 made by Stormcatcher is nicely done, and surprisingly enough, my own MAP44 (which actually SHOULDN'T be a ZDoom map, but it is for some reason which I never understood when I was making it in Eureka) which was detailed for forestry mostly despite not being as difficult I guess. the others in this half aren't entirely memorable and most are skippable but none are really awful awful.

so of course DWMP2016 decided to showcase the bigwigs first and everything else thereafter. if you know your mapper names and their distinctive styles, you'll perhaps enjoy some of the maps, while possibly hating some of the other ones in here. there's a lot of bad outweighing a lot of good in my opinion though.

Note: Originally written for /newstuff... figured I'd post it here...

You know how sometimes your memory completely fails you? I'm sure it's happened to me before but I can't recall... oh wait, it's all coming back to me now. I do remember looking at the sign-up thread for one of the Doomworld Mega Projects. For some reason, though, that memory was lost when I ventured to review DMP 2016. And so, I came at this with no predispositions, almost like a virgin Doomer who had never downloaded a PWAD before.

It's a good thing I'm obsessed with reviewing this sludge pit of WADS in perfect chronological order, because otherwise my instincts would have turned me away. Which, come to think of it, isn't that good of a thing. But suffering is necessary, at least if you want to complain as much as I do.

So the first thing I found was a beautiful description of my near future. "A megawad with 50 maps."

Oh yeah? I have so many questions already. 50 what maps? 50 maps why? Are they good maps, or notable maps, or cheesy maps, or maps of maps? Of course since the text file refuses to do anything other than pain me with knowledge of how dreadfully long this adventure will be, I have no choice but to fire it up and gaze at the equally beautiful titlepic. I was delighted to see something totally original: The regular doom II titlepic turned to grayscale, and then vandalized with sloppy red MSpaint text. Okay. I guess I still want to see what's inside, even though the box is literally smeared with feces.

I can't whine about the text file too much because it actually describes DMP 2016 in humorously accurate minimalism. This is a megawad, and it has 50 maps. And they are ALL the maps. Did you want an empty map that's too easy? It's in there (but it's not the first map). Did you want to get shredded by annoying hitscanners? It's in there. Did you want a nice-looking map with decent gameplay? It's in there. Did you want a gimmick map to jump in front of your car, causing you to crash and waste thousands of dollars on repair? It's in there. Did you want a severe waste of time? Well, obviously you did, since you chose to ignore the awful presentation right from the start.

Censorship is not really my thing. I like that people can make joke WADS. The fact that we can map to our heart's content, with only the boundaries of the game engine and our own imagination to contend with, is part of the reason Doom is my favorite game ever. But to me, DMP 2016 is almost worse than a joke. A joke wad is meant to troll you, to get a quick laugh, and to offer a small respite from the other side of the spectrum - obsession over detail and perfection. But this isn't supposed to be a joke. I mean, the title pic is an insult to your senses, but you arrive there in confusion because of the description: A megawad with 50 maps. It doesn't say a jokewad with 50 maps including some actually good ones. It also doesn't say 50 good maps but some are actually not so good. It just says 50 maps. And that's what it is. This WAD is like a reflection of the /idgames database itself. Just hit "random file" and play whatever you get. Your experience will be almost indistinguishable from playing DMP.

Except wait, when you hit "random file" you usually get a sane description of whatever garbage you are about to force yourself to eat. That way your stomach enzymes can get ready for the torture. DMP offers no such preparation. When you start, you are given a hub map from which you can choose any of the 49 other "normal" levels. It even has cute little screenshots of each map with the author's name. But is there any description of the maps, or indication of quality, difficulty, style? Nope. It does say which compatibility those maps were made for, because why would a WAD be tailored for a single port? Fuck it, let's have vanilla and GZDoom all rolled together in a horrendous mapping burrito!

My favorite part of the hub is that it doesn't even indicate which levels have been completed. That's right folks - you get the honor of remembering which ones you have played already! Completing a map doesn't bring you to the next one...it just spits you back to the hub. Naturally I resorted to warping to each map instead, for want of saving my forehead and keyboard from destroying each other.

There are some good maps in here, and since they cover almost all play styles imaginable, there's probably at least one that will appeal to you. I enjoyed "Teenage mutant ninja demons", "Bliss Toxin", "The Swarm", and "Ancient Base". If you scroll down the text file there is a description of each individual map, so if you feel like reading a book instead of actually playing the game, you can try to find out which maps you want to see beforehand. But I'm not here to review these maps as if they were released standalone. I'm supposed to review the WAD as a whole.

I said that I'm against censorship, and in the case of people deciding to throw together random compilations of maps with no theme, no quality standard, no organization, and no logic of any kind, I would say "Fine, go for it." And then as a player I would proceed to download something else, something that's actually worth my time. But as a reviewer I am submitting myself to even the worst quality maps, in order to hopefully help other players find WADS they like, and to give authors praise for well executed designs, as well as criticism in areas that could be improved. At least with  a map set created by a severe newbie, there's some amount of effort, some vision, some kernel of good Dooming to be found. The mistakes can be seen as necessary learning along the noble and never-ending path to Master Mapper. But this "Mega Project" is impossible to review in that light. Sure, some of the maps were good because they looked nice and played well, and some were fun because the gimmicks were a success. On the other hand, some were very amateur, very annoying, or just so different from their neighbors, that it spoils the entire thing. One bad apple ruins the barrel, they say. And this has more than one bad apple. One map is a repeating series of rooms each with a door, a cybie, and some soul spheres. It's kinda funny, but the fact that it's placed alongside serious maps makes it more insulting than amusing. I would be embarrassed if I actually created a nice map for this project. And if I was an aspiring mapper looking to join up with the community to improve my skills, I would have wasted my time, since nobody cared about the quality of submissions, and nobody will care to play it and focus on constructively criticizing it. If you really want to make a map just for the hell of it, and then throw it in the garbage, I won't stop you.  But if anyone thought this was anything more than a dumpster fire, I can't find much appreciation for your work. I've heard rumors that later installations of DMP have some sort of organization in terms of quality, so we shall see what that looks like. But as for the 2016 edition, you should only download it if you enjoy wading through sewage in real life.

This WAD is like box of chocolates - you'll never know what you'll get. Unless you will because I will tell you.

If you run this in a port that supports MAPINFO, you will start in MAP30 that is a "pick the level" map, Quake 1 style. You get 49 portals, each with a 512x512 pixel screenshot, map number, author name and designated port (vanilla, boom, limit removing, g/zdoom). Once you complete a level, you return to the hub and you can pick another map. This is excellent! You also carry over weapons between maps, which gives you a choice to whether you want to play each map from pistol start or carry the weapons over. I preferred to carry the weapons over, but it's apparent that all maps were designed with pistol start in mind as having access to BFG spoils the difficulty level of many of them.

The maps are divided by the MAP30 hub level. By this I mean that all levels before MAP30 range from very good to mediocre with some very few bad apples here and there, while all maps after MAP30 range from mediocre to really poor. MAP50 is the only one in this range that I'd recommend playing, and even then the scripts seemingly broke for us in multiplayer and we got stuck.

I can recommend playing all of the maps in the lower range (before MAP30), apart from the few mentioned in the list below. The particular hall of shame:

• MAP06 - not only it's the usual TimeOfDeath slaughterhouse, it's also a jokewad map with obnoxious "music". Avoid.
• MAP09 - this map is actually very impressive and it's not actually bad. The level is huge and it has only one monster in it - a cyberdemon. Once you kill it, the remainder of the level is switch puzzles, teleporter puzzles, crusher puzzles, etc. In other words: expect Tomb Raider gameplay.
• MAP13 - very plain, very 1994.
• MAP14 - This is a good map, but it's very, very confusing in its layout. I could not find the exit.
• MAP19 - slaughterhaus with poor visuals/architecture/geometry
• MAP24 - an abstract map where you will fall into pitch black pits of death.

The text file also deserves some criticism. Formatting is all over the place and you must rely on your editor wrapping the lines properly. There's one line with 810 characters in it.

All in all, I think it's a pretty successful compilation with majority of the levels being playable and enjoyable. There are better community WADs out there, with stricter quality control that will give you a more balanced experience in overall.

Most maps are borderline jokewad status. These maps are nothing more than a competition of who can spam Pain Elementals, Chaingunners, Archviles and Revenants in the most bullshit fashion. 

Maps of interest: 4, 8.

Sadly, 2 out of 49 - almost nothing to see here. Worse than DMP 2015, for sure - unfortunately these don't seem to get better with years. You may try to play through it, though, and there are some okay maps you may like, just don't expect to see something spectacular like, say, yakfak's map from the previous DMP. And, just a hint: do not play map 38.

As always, a very mixed bag. Some genuinely fun and well thought out maps, but also some honestly not so good ones. Also what the hell is up with map06?

A fun pack of VERY different maps from from any type of authors!