⬆️ Doomworld Community Top WADs of All Time (resurrected)

[m8f]

doombedoom, thanks for the update!

 

Tally updated.

 

Quote

WADs: 498

I don't mean that we should add wads to this list just to make it longer, but come on, we're 2 wads short of half a thousand!

[Maribo]

Spoiler

On 11/13/2021 at 9:03 AM, Maribo said:

Talking to kvothesixstring about favorite pwads last night in their stream made me consider a list to contribute to this thread:

 

9: No Chance

8: Wormwood (link)

7: Deus Vult

7: Swim With the Whales

6: Vanguard

5: Stardate 20x6

3: Scythe

3: Scythe 2

2: Unloved

2: Combat Shock 2

1: Violence

1: Grove

1: The Mucus Empire (link)

 

For fun, some honorable mentions.

  Reveal hidden contents

Honorable mentions: Northern Powerhouse + Testing Pool, Bourgeois Megawad, A.L.T., Arrival, Sunlust (probably very highly ranked if I ever finish it), The Mucus Flow, Jenesis, Italo-Doom, Stardate 20x7, Magnolia, Glaive 2, Mayan Mishap, Tangerine Nightmare

 

old post here

 

Previous post in spoiler. Felt like this needs an update.

 

Let's see:
Jumpwad - 9
Sunlust - 9

Elysion - 9

Deus Vult - 5

Wormwood - 5
No Chance - 5

Lost Civilization - 4
Grove - 4
Unloved - 2

Pagodia - 2
Cyberdreams - 1
 

With some honorable thoughts towards:

Spoiler

Cydonia, Blackroom, Combat Shock 2, Back to Saturn X Episode 2, Return to Hadron Episode 1, Dark Resolution 2008, Haste, Italo-Doom, NoSp3, Stardate 20x6 + 20x7, Rush, NoSp3.

 

And some self-commentary on old list vs new:

Spoiler

This list feels a lot more "me" than my previous list did. :P but I guess some of that is the consequence of looking back. I don't dislike anything from that list now, but tastes change. Scythe in particular landed on that list primarily for its final episode, and well... I can't really justify keeping it there when there are other things I love without having gripes with the rest of its content. Sunlust's inclusion was inevitable. Unloved left such an impression on me when I played it that I still cling onto it because it's just... a special experience, in some way. Death-Destiny is my favorite mapper, I think, but Ribbiks and dannebubinga aren't very far behind in that ranking.

[Andromeda]

I'd like to update my votes please.

 

Old votes:

On 11/20/2020 at 8:25 PM, Andromeda said:

Speed of Doom - 10
Alien Vendetta - 9
Eternal Doom - 8
Plutonia 2 - 7
Scythe - 6
Kama Sutra - 5
Scythe 2 - 4
Hell Revealed - 3
Requiem - 2
Hell Revealed II - 1

 

New votes:

 

Stardate 20X6 - 10 points

Stardate 20X7 - 9 points

Haste - 8 points

Crumpets - 7 points

Uprising - 6 points

Rush - 5 points

Sunlust - 4 points

Speed of Doom - 3 points

Micro Slaughter Community Project - 2 points

Newgothic Movement 2 - 1 point

Edited July 5, 2022 by Andromeda

[m8f]

Maribo, Andromeda, thanks for your updates!

 

Tally updated.

 

Quote

WADs: 501

We did it!

[Christophine Place]

1) Grove [15]

2) Equinox [15]

3) Eternal Doom [10]
4) The Given [10]

5) Epic 2 [5]

[akolai]

found some more cool stuff, i need another crack at this

Finely Crafted Fetish Film - 10
Fractured Worlds - 7
Disturbia - 5

Jumpwad - 5
Old Still Life - 5
Abandon - 4
The Event Horizon - 4
Magnolia - 4
Occula - 3
Poogers - 3 absolutely no bias here at all
Mutabor - 2
Wormwood: EU - 2
Frog and Toad - 1

[m8f]

akolai, thanks for the update!

 

Tally updated.

 

@Christophine Place

On 10/8/2019 at 9:22 PM, m8f said:

you can vote for 10 to 20 of your favorite WADs and you have up to 55 points to allocate any way you wish, with a maximum of 10 points for any particular release.

Edited July 10, 2022 by m8f

[Billa]

Hell Revealed - 10

Italo Doom - 7

Ancient Aliens - 6

NoYe - 6

Haste - 5

50 Shades of Graytall - 5

Going Down - 4

Down the Drain - 3

Cyberdreams - 3

Zone 400 - 2

Zone 300 - 1

Perdition's Gate - 1

Eviternity - 1

 

Can only comment on wads I played all the way through, sorry Scythe, AV, Sunlust etc :)

[Ravendesk]

I have not played too many wads at this point, but I guess that would make it more so interesting to update that list after a few years.

 

Fractured Worlds - 10
Sunlust - 8
Jumpwad - 8
Eviternity - 5
Swim with the Whales - 5
Down the Drain - 5
Valiant - 3
BTSX E1 - 3
Pagodia - 3

Haste - 3

The Plutonia Experiment - 1

Micro Slaughter Community Project - 1

 

There are other wads I really like but I can't extend this list forever so had to settle on something.

Edited July 11, 2022 by Ravendesk

[doombedoom]

Okay,  I browsed this list and found out that people even vote for:

 

-Doom2, Plutonia, TNT:Evilution, No Rest For The Living. They are pretty much canon, don't you think?

-BTSX E3. It's not even released yet!

-Custom music packs. I will argue they are tied to their designated mapsets (or similar mapsets) and couldn't be voted separately, at least in here.

-Basically non-playable joke/mockery wads like Wooo, Nuts, Imp Encounter :(

-Chillax. I heard that it take other people's maps without permission?

-1993.wad. 0 level. What does it even do?

-2castles. Existence's not verified, the voter even waits for Romero to confirm it and send the wad to him/her. Duh.

 

But I'm not complaining nor insisting on any change. I'm just pointing out things that seem misplaced here. Peace.

[Nefelibeta]

Since the title suggests you to vote for Wads instead of maps, then I think any type of wads is acceptable, even if there is no maps in it.

[Dragonfly]

16 hours ago, doombedoom said:

-Custom music packs. I will argue they are tied to their designated mapsets (or similar mapsets) and couldn't be voted separately, at least in here.

 

 

I would argue a counterpoint to this, they are custom content for specific map packs, sure, but these packs are usable in conjunction with any other WADs. If music packs aren't applicable then any pwad is essentially irrelevant over a vote for the iwads, as it could be argued that they are "only modifying doom".

Edited July 14, 2022 by Dragonfly

[Andromeda]

4 hours ago, doombedoom said:

Okay,  I browsed this list and found out that people even vote for:

 

-Doom2, Plutonia, TNT:Evilution, No Rest For The Living. They are pretty much canon, don't you think?

-BTSX E3. It's not even released yet!

-Custom music packs. I will argue they are tied to their designated mapsets (or similar mapsets) and couldn't be voted separately, at least in here.

-Basically non-playable joke/mockery wads like Wooo, Nuts, Imp Encounter :(

-Chillax. I heard that it take other people's maps without permission?

-1993.wad. 0 level. What does it even do?

-2castles. Existence's not verified, the voter even waits for Romero to confirm it and send the wad to him/her. Duh.

 

But I'm not complaining nor insisting on any change. I'm just pointing out things that seem misplaced here. Peace.

Agree on all points except jokewads and 2castles.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Andromeda

[Mr Masker]

4 hours ago, doombedoom said:

Okay,  I browsed this list and found out that people even vote for:

 

-Doom2, Plutonia, TNT:Evilution, No Rest For The Living. They are pretty much canon, don't you think?

-BTSX E3. It's not even released yet!

-Custom music packs. I will argue they are tied to their designated mapsets (or similar mapsets) and couldn't be voted separately, at least in here.

-Basically non-playable joke/mockery wads like Wooo, Nuts, Imp Encounter :(

-Chillax. I heard that it take other people's maps without permission?

-1993.wad. 0 level. What does it even do?

-2castles. Existence's not verified, the voter even waits for Romero to confirm it and send the wad to him/her. Duh.

 

But I'm not complaining nor insisting on any change. I'm just pointing out things that seem misplaced here. Peace.

I agree with the BTSX E3 one but I feel like the rest is just nitpicks of people's opinions.

 

If they're not outlawed by the thread maker, then people will vote for them.

[m8f]

Billa, thanks for voting! You still have 1 point left.

Ravendesk, thanks for voting!

 

Tally updated.

__________________________

 

@doombedoom

 

In general, I'd like too keep policing the list to minimum.

> Doom2, Plutonia, TNT:Evilution, No Rest For The Living

The list is not "Top WADs by Doomworld Community", it's for what Doomworld Community likes. If it was "Top WADs by Doomworld Community", I'd have to exclude works published on ZDoom forums, Doomer Boards, etc.

 

> BTSX E3

I think voting for WIP is okay, I see it as another way to support authors. It's like "I know it's going to be good".

 

> Custom music packs

I wholly agree with Dragonfly.

 

> Nuts, ...

This is a good point. The value of a WAD is not always in playability. It's may even be not in quality. I believe that someone may simply be happy that these things exists, for whatever reason. Also, there is another thing. I want this list to represent all of community. There is at least one voting post that I suspect to be a joke, and it's still counted.

Spoiler

I don't get why people vote for them. But I think my personal opinion is simply irrelevant here.

 

> Chillax

Yes. Some people like it, and it has to be expressed in the list. Otherwise the list won't show the truth.

 

> 1993.wad

It's a horror gameplay mod. It's typical for a gameplay mod to not include maps.

 

> 2castles

If it's a lost media, so be it. At its time it had enough significance so it's remembered many years later. A short description from Soundblock, a well-known Doom veteran, is enough.

[doombedoom]

On 7/14/2022 at 1:25 AM, Nefelibeta said:

Since the title suggests you to vote for Wads instead of maps, then I think any type of wads is acceptable, even if there is no maps in it.

And even if there's nothing in it, as long as it's still a wad? But I see your point though.

[doombedoom]

On 7/14/2022 at 4:41 AM, Dragonfly said:

I would argue a counterpoint to this, they are custom content for specific map packs, sure, but these packs are usable in conjunction with any other WADs. If music packs aren't applicable then any pwad is essentially irrelevant over a vote for the iwads, as it could be argued that they are "only modifying doom".

Usable in conjunction with any other WADs, that's my point. Other WAD (a compatible mapset) are required. And different mapset changes the experience. I'm not against custom music packs, actually, I'm just not sure how to rate them properly without also considering what mapsets being paired to them, which complicates the voting.

Yes, voting for commercial iwads from id/raven/velocity is redundant, and doesn't seem fair to pwads.

[doombedoom]

On 7/14/2022 at 5:28 AM, Andromeda said:

Agree on all points except jokewads and 2castles.

I didn't mean all jokewads, just the virtually unplayable or pointless ones. I mistaken Wooo.wad as Wow.wad, sorry (don't know enough about Wooo.wad, actually). Nuts 2 is okay, it's more playable and gives better experience than Nuts or Nuts 3 while still conveying the absurdity.

[doombedoom]

On 7/14/2022 at 5:50 AM, Mr Masker said:

I agree with the BTSX E3 one but I feel like the rest is just nitpicks of people's opinions.

 

If they're not outlawed by the thread maker, then people will vote for them.

More like "curious" or "couldn't figure out why" than "nitpicks"

Yes, of course.

[doombedoom]

On 7/14/2022 at 10:31 AM, m8f said:

> Doom2, Plutonia, TNT:Evilution, No Rest For The Living

The list is not "Top WADs by Doomworld Community", it's for what Doomworld Community likes. If it was "Top WADs by Doomworld Community", I'd have to exclude works published on ZDoom forums, Doomer Boards, etc.

And I never said it has to be Doomworld Community's. What I meant is commercial iwads from id/raven/velocity, which should be clear from my examples.

 

On 7/14/2022 at 10:31 AM, m8f said:

> BTSX E3

I think voting for WIP is okay, I see it as another way to support authors. It's like "I know it's going to be good".

Ah, okay then, at least there's something to try for. (Update: I assumed WIP means there's already a few alpha/beta maps available to public, but apparently not even that...)

 

On 7/14/2022 at 10:31 AM, m8f said:

> Nuts, ...

This is a good point. The value of a WAD is not always in playability. It's may even be not in quality. I believe that someone may simply be happy that these things exists, for whatever reason. Also, there is another thing. I want this list to represent all of community. There is at least one voting post that I suspect to be a joke, and it's still counted.

Gotta disagree a bit. The thread title includes "..of All Time", which entails at least minimum playability/usability and especially quality. But yeah, this is just my personal opinion, and I respect your decision to let people voices their own opinions.

 

On 7/14/2022 at 10:31 AM, m8f said:

> Chillax

Yes. Some people like it, and it has to be expressed in the list. Otherwise the list won't show the truth.

Okay, I understand the stance you take here. But these discussions lead me to another idea: what if such wads I mentioned are marked with different color than the "usual" wads, say with cyan color, to indicate that they are in "special category", meaning they require some context/apprehension (Edit: I meant comprehension) about their nature in order to experience/appreciate them fully? Then no wad/vote need to be eliminated and this may also improves this list usefulness as a pwad reference, especially for newcomers.

 

On 7/14/2022 at 10:31 AM, m8f said:

> 1993.wad

It's a horror gameplay mod. It's typical for a gameplay mod to not include maps.

Thanks for the info. The linked site doesn't come with any description.

 

On 7/14/2022 at 10:31 AM, m8f said:

> 2castles

If it's a lost media, so be it. At its time it had enough significance so it's remembered many years later. A short description from Soundblock, a well-known Doom veteran, is enough.

I didn't know that the voter is Cranium! Sorry about that.

Edited August 22, 2022 by doombedoom

[m8f]

> And I never said it has to be Doomworld Community's. What I meant is commercial iwads from id/raven/velocity, which should be clear from my examples.

Sorry I misunderstood.

 

> Yes, voting for commercial iwads from id/raven/velocity is redundant, and doesn't seem fair to pwads. 

I'd agree if commercial/canon wads were occupying top N entries, pushing community works down. They don't, this means that their position is uncertain - therefore, it should be decided by community. And again, I see nothing wrong in showing appreciation for the originals.

 

> mentioned are marked with different color than the "usual" wads

The problem are borderline wads that can be considered "usual" by some and "other" by others. What I can do is to make links for those wads lead to wiki instead of idgames/download pages where possible to give more context. Edit: some links updated.

Edited July 16, 2022 by m8f

[Steveb1000]

Here is my contribution, thanks!

 

 

Sunlust - 9

Arrival - 7

Going Down - 7

Alien Vendetta - 6

Struggle - 5

DB37 Auger Zenith - 3

Eviternity - 3

Epic 2 - 3

Miasma - 2

Valiant - 2

Running Late 2 -1 

Fractured Worlds - 1

Eye - 1

[m8f]

Steveb1000, thanks for voting! By the way, you still have 5 points.

________________________________
Bonus: entries that appear both in this list and in that other list, sorted by weighted sum:

• The Adventures of Square
• Winter's Fury
• Pirate Doom
• Urban Brawl: Action Doom 2
• Doom: The Golden Souls 2
• Doom 64: Retribution
• Doom: The Golden Souls
• Reelism
• Hell-Forged
• Unloved
• Zen Dynamics
• Shadow Of The Wool Ball
• Legacy of Suffering
• Stronghold: On the Edge of Chaos
• Dark Encounters
• Action Doom
• dead.air
• Eternal DOOM IV: Return from Oblivion
• Waterlab GZD
• Demon Eclipse
• Cold as Hell
• Paradise
• Skulldash
• The Ghoul's Forest 3
• 007: Licence to Spell DooM
• Strange Aeons
• Beyond Reality
• Gene-Tech: Before the Storm
• Void
• Dark 7 (with Mission Pack)
• Dawn of Reality
• SpaceDM9

Edited July 19, 2022 by m8f

[heliumlamb]

10 for:

-no end in sight

5 each for:

-lilith.pk3
-the sky may be

-mock 2: the speed of stupid

-heartland

-back to saturn x: episode 1 - get out of my stations

-doom II in spain only

-ancient aliens

-action doom

-tnt: evilution

[doombedoom]

Allow me to update my votes again :)

 

5 points:

Darkening E2; Scythe E2; Plutonia 2

4 points:

Requiem; Memento Mori 2; IC2005

3 points:

Simplicity; Phobos: Anomaly Reborn; Chex Quest 3; Batman Doom; No End In Sight

2 points:

Zen Dynamics; All Hell is Breaking Loose; Dark7 MPK; 10 Sectors

1 point:

Eternal Doom IV: Return from Oblivion; Crusades; Decade; Thunderpeak; Deus Vult

 

[Azure_Horror]

Time to update my votes:

 

10 - Ozonia

9 - 180 Minutes pour Vivre

7 - Struggle: Antaresian Legacy

6 - Eviternity

5 - Fractured Worlds

4 - Uprising

4 - Tangerine Nightmare

2 - Judgment

2 - 3 Heures d'Agonie 2

2 - Antaresian Reliquary

1 - Sunlust

1 - Doom Zero

1 - Bourgeois Megawad

1 - Ray Mohawk 2 - Ray Wrecks Havoc!

 

Honorable mentions (top 5)

Spoiler

Doom Negative One - Beyond the experiment

Lost Civilization

Doom 1 the Way Id Did

Ancient Aliens

Going Down

 

Previous tally

Spoiler

10 - Eviternity

9 - 180 Minutes pour Vivre

9 - Struggle: Antaresian Legacy

7 - Antaresian Reliquary

5 - Rowdy Rudy II: Powertrip

4 - Ancient Aliens

4 - Sunlust

3 - Doom Zero

2 - Going Down

2 - Vanguard

 

When making my lists, I had to cut points. I cut most points for popular things, like Ancient Aliens, Sunlust and the like. That's the main reason, why Eviternity went from 10 to 6, Struggle from 9 to 7, Sunlust from 4 to 1 and Ancient Aliens from 4 to honorable mention.

 

55 points is really not enough nowadays.

When it comes to good wads, 2021 year was monstrous. Even 2021 cacowards felt the impact!

And year 2022 will likely be the same.

 

With so many awesome WADs, the votes get spread too thin. More points would be very welcome.

 

How about allowing a "bonus round" of voting?

Say, everyone who voted would get 30 additional points to distribute between 5 to 15 WADs, neither of which can be from the first voting list.

Bonus rounds could be counted as "<username>-bonus" in the big tally.

 

This would be a way to allow more points, while not breaking the existing tally too much.

 

Edited July 31, 2022 by Azure_Horror
MBF 21 megawad is called Judgment. I always write it with extra 'e' in the middle!

[m8f]

heliumlamb, thank you for voting!

 

doombedoom, Azure_Horror, thank you for the updates!

 

Tally updated.

 

___________________________

 

If the points limit is raised, the points of old voters who won't update will lose some value. It would be unfair to those people. The same is about a bonus round.

 

I agree that the votes get spread too thin. However, the only solution to me is a steady stream of new voters, and some old voters updating their points. So, invite people to vote!

 

After reviewing the rules I decided to relax the limit for the number of WADs to vote for, so it's more welcoming for new members. Now a vote must have at least 5 WADs, not 10. The upper limit is removed (technically, it's 55 WADs now, by the number of points).

Edited August 2, 2022 by m8f

[Maribo]

20 minutes ago, m8f said:

After reviewing the rules I decided to relax the limit for the number of WADs to vote for, so it's more welcoming for new members. Now a vote must have at least 5 WADs. The upper limit is removed (technically, it's 55 WADs now, by the number of points).

Big fan of this change, might have to do some thinking about another redistribution for my own points (sorry!)

[Asure]

1 hour ago, m8f said:

The upper limit is removed (technically, it's 55 WADs now, by the number of points).

I want to vote for every wad released until now. That means 55/the amount of wads points. :P

 

I don't even remember voting, and yet I did that in the old thread.

Can you remove my votes please? They are outdated, but I don't want to make a new list, because I suck at choosing favorites.

Edited August 2, 2022 by Maya Amano

[m8f]

28 minutes ago, Maya Amano said:

Can you remove my votes please?

Done.