SIGIL v1.21 - New Romero megawad [released!]

[LuciferSam86]

First of all: I could not wait 'till May, 31 so I bought the digital version.

I'm playing with GZDoom in Truecolor mode with Smooth Doom, and I'm enjoying the maps mainly for the architecture but for the gameplay, too :)

 

When I'll finish I'll update the post, but for now, I really like it.

The only thing I did not like was

Spoiler

the crusher section on map 4

 

[LadyVader1138]

33 minutes ago, John_Hamhock said:

9:45

 

Nothing but net

I only watched a little bit of E5M1 since I don't want to be too spoiled. It is what I've been looking for. I just want maps that capture what I love about the original Doom. If someone can capture this style again but a megawad with Doom II monsters and stuff, I would die a happy girl.

 

NOTE: Me wanting a full flegded megawad for Doom II like this is NOT a criticism of Romero or "Sigil". Just a fantasy of mine that I want to see be made real.

Edited May 26, 2019 by LadyVader1138

[Shawneth]

I'm surprised that the wad hasn't been leaked yet. What kind of blackmail are they holding their customers at :O ?

[TheUltimateDoomer666]

It has been leaked.  And asking for illegal downloads is generally frowned upon on most forums.  Patience, if you want the free WAD. 

[Shawneth]

Just now, TheUltimateDoomer666 said:

It has been leaked.  And asking for illegal downloads is generally frowned upon on most forums.  Patience, if you want the free WAD. 

 

Wasn't asking for it?

[TheUltimateDoomer666]

2 minutes ago, Shawneth said:

 

Wasn't asking for it?

Ah, my mistake.  There were some posts from other users who were asking for a download link (the posts were removed by a moderator), so I mentioned why there's not much discussion of leaks here.

[gaspe]

29 minutes ago, TheUltimateDoomer666 said:

And asking for illegal downloads

What's illegal about a free wad exactly?

[Doom64hunter]

4 minutes ago, gaspe said:

What's illegal about a free wad exactly?

It's not exactly illegal to share the free portion but it's still a dick move to do so before the official release date.

[Kira]

6 minutes ago, gaspe said:

What's illegal about a free wad exactly?

We honestly can't say leaking the Jimmy music version is illegal without contradicting the previous discussion about the legality of selling a wad alongside goodies, so I guess it's more about etiquette here. I can wait a few days, not even looking outside this forum to grab a version because I'm a good kid.

Besides Romero came to say hi just a page ago and you don't want a stray spawn cube to land on your room, because he's watching you.

Edited May 26, 2019 by Kira

[seed]

5 minutes ago, gaspe said:

What's illegal about a free wad exactly?

 

Probably the fact that it isn't yet officially out for the people who have not bought the limited edition boxed sets.

 

We'll have to wait till May 31st.

[MeatSafeMurderer]

8 minutes ago, gaspe said:

What's illegal about a free wad exactly?

Free =/= freely distributable.
Sigil is Romero's work and is, therefore, his intellectual property and as such he holds certain rights over it...including (but not limited to) the right to decide who can distribute it and, (in this case) more importantly, when it can be distributed. That means you're not legally allowed to distribute it without his permission, which, until May 31st, nobody has. Until the 31st even getting your hands on the free portion is still piracy.

[J Bro]

Any chance of being able to wadsmoosh Sigil in with all the official Doom episodes?

[SaladBadger]

it's probably feasible since there's no overlap with the non-compat version and other doom content but ATM the program isn't set up to work with Sigil, it'll need to be updated to support it.

[Doomkid]

Lmfao Doom reviewers on YouTube always crack me up with lines like “ugh jeez this wad uses stock assets” like that’s somehow a bad thing 😂 I find their reviews are often down to two factors 1) Is it loaded to the absolute brim with custom content and 2) is it easy to play through. Tick those boxes for an instant A+!

 

The review actually made me stoked to play it! Looks like a total grindy nail-biter that doesn’t dip into slaughter. I love wads like that.

Edited May 26, 2019 by Doomkid

[Mk7_Centipede]

5 hours ago, Nine Inch Heels said:

I always was under the impression that E4 was doomguy getting out of hell and back to the "normal earth".

 

I thought so too, but apparently you are just *Deeper Lower Further* into H-E-DoubleHockeySticks. i try to think of AlienVsPredator movie, Indiana Jones 4, or any narrative with The Lost City (of Hilldoggo) or whatever- and that within the confines of H-E-DoubleHockeySticks there is an ancient celebratory temple for when Baphoment wants to party like an Aztec.

 

Of course, the Orange Sunset is stolen from the end of Episode III and its on Earth. So there may have been crossed sigils, er, signals with the official story for Episode IV. And that is likely we are given a Furry Revenge Theme.

 

Ostensibly, it takes place in Texas and has aztec influences. My plotline for Episode IV (its always changing with me) would be something like:

 

While Our Hero was blasting away the invaders on Mars, in quiet Odessa Texas, an ancient temple to Archviles has been unearthed and activated. The gears of war begin clicking away and this time nobody will be able to stop the end of the world. There is only one Space Marine in Texas with balls big enough to smile back into the void of hell. And thankfully, R&R is over. In Episode IV THY FLESH CONSUMED, the Doom Marine must again battle the forces of evil until every last demon is dead.

[SGS Man]

Ah yes. Good ol' GmanLives with those delightful FPS takes.

 

If anything, the review has piqued my interest in SIGIL even more. I have a soft spot for Doom 1 mapsets as they are exercises in limitations, and some have been exceedingly successful within those confines (Double Impact, No End In Sight, Thy Flesh turned into a draft-excluder, and Return To Hadron come to mind). SIGIL appears to be quite the trap-fest with ammo starvation thrown in for good measure.

Edited May 27, 2019 by SGS Man

[andrewdowell]

Can anyone that currently has the wad upload a youtube video that shows off all the deathmatch levels?

Edited May 26, 2019 by andrewdowell

[Mr. Duk]

2 hours ago, MeatSafeMurderer said:

Okay, so I am just a cynical asshole. Good to know 🤣
For anyone else in our shoes:

 

 

Awesome!!

 

Or, to quote Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, "Good news everyone!"

[TakenStew22]

Just watched Gman's review. I honestly like the guy and thinks he makes good reviews but I think he was expecting too much from this. SIGIL is not supposed to be this all-new groundbreaking Doom mod experience, it's just Romero going back to the old days and making some Doom stuff for his fans. The levels so far don't look all that bad to me and some even look pretty detailed. He said he had high expectations and I think that's kinda what effected his view. But I guess I'll play SIGIL myself and see if he's correct. I probably won't mind the challenge of some of the levels because from playing TNT and Plutonia I should be able to handle it.

Edited May 26, 2019 by TakenStew22

[andrewdowell]

1 minute ago, TakenStew22 said:

Just watched Gman's review. I honestly like the guy and thinks he makes good reviews but I think he was expecting too much from this. SIGIL is not supposed to be this all-new groundbreaking Doom mod experience, it's just Romero going back to the old days and making some Doom stuff for his fans. He said he had high expectations and I think that's kinda what effected his view. But I guess I'll play SIGIL myself and see if he's correct. I probably won't mind the challenge of some of the levels because from playing TNT and Plutonia I should be able to handle it.

 

 

I think Gman gave a fantastic review, and see myself agreeing with alot of what he was by just watching a couple of playthroughs. I just hope people are allowed to criticize the game if they want. 

 

To a certain extent, I think doomworld has too much worship over official releases by id software or anything that comes from Romero. I think this is selling the community short, which to me hs made wads that far exceed anything that iD has ever came up with. Romero's releases in 2016 were good wads, but they were far from being the "best of" that year.

[dybbuk81]

1 hour ago, LuciferSam86 said:

First of all: I could not wait 'till May, 31 so I bought the digital version.

I'm playing with GZDoom in Truecolor mode with Smooth Doom, and I'm enjoying the maps mainly for the architecture but for the gameplay, too :)

 

When I'll finish I'll update the post, but for now, I really like it.

The only thing I did not like was

  Hide contents

the crusher section on map 4

 

There's a digital version you can buy?

 

Edit: I thought you meant online. I realize now you meant the box.

Edited May 26, 2019 by dybbuk

[Doom64hunter]

2 minutes ago, andrewdowell said:

 

 

I think Gman gave a fantastic review, and see myself agreeing with alot of what he was by just watching a couple of playthroughs. I just hope people are allowed to criticize the game if they want. 

 

To a certain extent, I think doomworld has too much worship over official releases by id software or anything that comes from Romero. I think this is selling the community short, which to me hs made wads that far exceed anything that iD has ever came up with. Romero's releases in 2016 were good wads, but they were far from being the "best of" that year.

He complains about deliberate design decisions such as not having a lot of ammo to work with, and makes them out to be a bad thing.  He complains about not being able to breeze past enemies and actually having to fight them. He complains about "too many cacodemons" in a Doom 1 episode of all things.

 

This has nothing to do with "Romero worship". The guy once again rushed a video out just to cash in on the hype.

[gaspe]

56 minutes ago, MeatSafeMurderer said:

Free =/= freely distributable.
Sigil is Romero's work and is, therefore, his intellectual property and as such he holds certain rights over it...including (but not limited to) the right to decide who can distribute it and, (in this case) more importantly, when it can be distributed. That means you're not legally allowed to distribute it without his permission, which, until May 31st, nobody has. Until the 31st even getting your hands on the free portion is still piracy.

Sounds fair enough

[Noiser]

I can't care less about Gman's opinion. He is the same guy who said that Plutonia is "not good" with "artificially-increased difficulty" (lol) and put it below Doom 3 as the worse Doom game ever:
 

He is entitled to his opinion, but I can't take him seriously after that.

Edited May 26, 2019 by Noiser

[Buckshot]

If you don't want to wait for May 31 to nab the free megawad without the Buckethead soundtrack, you can pick it up and play now for a nominal soul-stealing charge of  €6.66 / $7USD with the soundtrack included below. Again, you are actually paying for the soundtrack, and you'll immediately receive the link to download the free megawad.

https://www.romerogames.ie/si6il?fbclid=IwAR1mGfFqrXlINXumJSDk6vS_JjrOaHlazTs8W0Qxaf-Ac0bmo-xHQT1atFQ

Edited May 26, 2019 by Buckshot

[ImpieEyez95]

With the great response to SIGIL so far(works great as an E3 replacement imho!) , I wonder if Romero would think of doing an E2 style replacement?

Edited May 26, 2019 by ImpieEyez95

[Mk7_Centipede]

"This is the kind of thing that will end with death the first time" -GManLives

 

 

Gmanlives on SI6IL:

 

"LAVA POOLS THAT YOU CANNOT GET OUT OF!"

 

"At times SI6IL feels like I am playing survival-horror. I mean, what is the problem? This is doom, not Amnesia the Dark Decent. Give me some fucking Rocket Launcher Rounds!"

 

"You will notice immediately, too, that this level is really confined. You find yourself in a bunch of dimly lit rooms with a bunch of enemies without much ammo or weapons to defend yourself with"

"there is a great example of this in the third level when you open this red key door and then there is this thin walkway that has an imp, pinky demon, zombieman, shotgun sergeant, and a couple of cacodemons on it- all blocking you way forward. This is going to be a recurring design throughout this map-pack, so get used to it."

 

EDIT: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/m-o/mapgame

So this was an Ultimate DOOM Episode from 10 years ago. Gman lives said SIGIL would be inferior 10 years ago. I dunno about that.

Edited May 26, 2019 by Mk7_Centipede

[SamuelNMEvander]

Quote

If you shoot it at the wrong angle, its possible to close the wall in front of the eye without your projectile ever hitting the wall with a trigger that opens the doors. In other words, you have to shoot it directly or you break the map and can't proceed.

Yup, experienced it myself as well. Pretty big fuck up on Romero's part.

Edited May 26, 2019 by SamuelNMEvander

[Cruduxy Pegg]

1 hour ago, Noiser said:

I can't care less about Gman's opinion. He is the same guy who said that Plutonia is "not good" with "artificially-increased difficulty" (lol) and put it below Doom 3 as the worse Doom game ever:
 

He is entitled to his opinion, but I can't take him seriously after that.

 

If Doom 1 is the best when why is he complaining about Sigil playing like it?!

[Welfare Prodigy]

13 hours ago, Epyo said:

I finished it!  Here is my writeup, spoilers ahead:

 

  Hide contents

I super loved it!  Very fresh!!

 

I played on UV and it took me 1-2 hours.  I died about 2-5 times, and didn't find the secret level, but played it after.

 

Some background about me, Doom remains my favorite game of all time because, in my opinion, it's all about the levels.  Levels in Doom (both official and custom levels) can be endlessly expressive, of fresh gameplay, atmosphere, fresh sense of space... in most games, levels are just the tools to bring out the programmed gameplay.  But in Doom, the gameplay is simple, but the levels are the game.  Doom truly has infinite games within it.  Other games have custom levels of course, but they just aren't interesting as Doom's.  So that's my opinion anyway.

 

So anyway, what I look for in Doom levels, is fresh expressions of gameplay, atmosphere, sense of space, all achieved through just interesting level design.

 

That's what I was hoping for with Sigil and it's exactly what I got.

 

The general atmosphere was perhaps my favorite aspect.  It's extremely indoor, and dark, but still intense.  It didn't feel like a revisit of Inferno, it felt very different, something new.  The most memorable moments I keep thinking about, theme-wise, are the levels that are cramped buildings surrounded by a giant black void.  Levels 2 and 5 were the main levels doing this.  They had a really fresh cool feeling, that I'm still thinking about.  I think the Buckethead shreds assisted way more than I expected, it really felt like the right atmosphere for the sort of badass-spooky vibe being achieved here.

 

Throughout the wad, just a general good use of darkness and dimness, with torches and stuff for contrast.  It was a very dim version of hell.  Another highlight was the cyberdemon maze in level 6.  It was a good looking, dim cavernous room, with a lot of torches and short marble walls with perched enemies.  Well designed encounter, not too gimmicky, still Doom gameplay, but fresh, and good atmosphere.

 

Another highlight was the first half of level 6, cool use of exploring/fighting through pitch black dark halls, but you can just make out enemies' outlines thanks to bright cracks in walls.  Original doom has good use of lighting, but generally didn't make you fight in extreme darkness much, so this felt pretty new.

 

But just in general, the moment-to-moment gameplay was well done, pretty much every few seconds I said "yep, that was fun".  "Yep that was weird and cool."

 

Oh, the new switch mechanic was an unexpected new fun thing, I thought.  It was fun having a new mechanic to think about while scanning rooms!

 

All in all, I'm expecting this will be among my all-time favorite wads, that I will continue to play often.  My favorite wad of all time is nerve.wad (aka no rest for the living) (seriously I worship this wad I play it like twice a year), and I doubt this tops it... although man e5m3's layout really reminded me of nerve.wad...

 

Anything bad to say?? Mmmmm I'm not sure about the end of e5m8, that was a weird finish, I have to try that one again.  The level itself was cool, just the end of it I'm not sure I understood.

 

And the crushers in e5m4, it was a well-designed part, but I got sick of it.  Well, it was kind of my fault, I explored the heck out of the crusher maze because I thought I was supposed to find a key in it.  But apparently you don't need the keys or something.  Or maybe I had a bug or something, 'cause I didn't end up needing the keys to hit the key-switches... I would have liked the part if I didn't over-explore it!

 

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by Welfare Prodigy
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