The DWmegawad Club plays: Doom II: Hell on Earth

dobu gabu maru · March 1, 2020

What is the DWmegawad Club?

This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

Can I join?

Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

What levels am I allowed to post about?

Whatever day of the month it is, is the upper limit for the map you can post on. So if it’s the 6th, you may discuss up to MAP06.

Do I have to post an entry every day?

Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

When do we vote on the next month’s megawad?

Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example:

+++ Ultimate Doom

Note that you can only nominate up to three separate wads for a single month, and the wads must contain at least three maps each. The winning wad must receive at least four votes for a thread to be made. Ties will be decided by RNG.

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>>>PURCHASE DOOM II HERE<<<

It’s Doom II: Hell on Earth time! Maybe you’ve heard of it? But hey, it’s 2020—maybe you haven’t! Either way, let’s see how it holds up, shall we?

And I know for some of you, you’re probably thinking, “Golly dobu, I’ve played Doom II so many times before that it can’t possibly be fun on my sixtieth try! I know these maps so well that I can beat them blindfolded!” Well then have I got a kooky antidote to your problem!

You can only turn when necessary. So what exactly does that mean? You can only turn to use activatable linedefs like doors, lifts, and switches—you cannot turn to face enemies, strafe run, or scan your environment. Once you turn to use an activatable linedef, that is the new direction you must face until finding another activatable linedef. To best adhere to these rules, I recommend disabling the mouse and using the arrows or WASD for strafing/moving forward & backward, as well as binding turning left and turning right to something a bit awkward like < and >. Good luck marine…

Author & Maplist:

MAP01 - “Entryway” by Sandy Petersen

MAP02 - “Underhalls” by American McGee

MAP03 - “The Gantlet” by American McGee

MAP04 - “The Focus” by American McGee

MAP05 - “The Waste Tunnels” by American McGee

MAP06 - “The Crusher” by American McGee

MAP07 - “Dead Simple” by American McGee, Sandy Petersen

MAP08 - “Tricks and Traps” by Sandy Petersen

MAP09 - “The Pit” by Sandy Petersen

MAP10 - “Refueling Base” by Tom Hall, Sandy Petersen

MAP11 - “Circle of Death” by John Romero

MAP12 - “The Factory” by Sandy Petersen

MAP13 - “Downtown” by Sandy Petersen

MAP14 - “The Inmost Dens” by American McGee

MAP15 - “Industrial Zone” by John Romero

MAP31 - “Wolfenstein” by Sandy Petersen

MAP32 - “Grosse” by Sandy Petersen

MAP16 - “Suburbs” by Sandy Petersen

MAP17 - “Tenements” by John Romero

MAP18 - “The Courtyard” by Sandy Petersen

MAP19 - “The Citadel” by Sandy Petersen

MAP20 - “Gotcha!” by John Romero

MAP21 - “Nirvana” by Sandy Petersen

MAP22 - “The Catacombs” by American McGee

MAP23 - “Barrels o’ Fun” by Sandy Petersen

MAP24 - “The Chasm” by Sandy Petersen

MAP25 - “Bloodfalls” by Shawn Green

MAP26 - “The Abandoned Mines” by John Romero

MAP27 - “Monster Condo” by Sandy Petersen

MAP28 - “The Spirit World” by Sandy Petersen

MAP29 - “The Living End” by John Romero

MAP30 - “Icon of Sin” by Sandy Petersen

BONUS CONTENT

Just go to Doomwiki, I ain’t listin’ every Doom 2 thing ever

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OLD THREADS

Spoiler

The DWmegawad Club Metathread

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

NOVA III

Hellscape & Preacher & Deadly Standards 2

Edited May 8, 2023 by dobu gabu maru

baja blast rd. · March 1, 2020

Let's hope we get a good turnout this month. As the Nova threads have shown, feedback is very useful for up-and-comers!

Edited March 1, 2020 by rdwpa

AFallingObject · March 1, 2020

I forgot it was a leap year and played MAP01 on the 28th. Oh well. For future maps, I might disable vertical aiming as another self-imposed challenge. I remember being a young and stupid kid that got introduced to the series by Doom 3. Then I played classic Doom and actually felt nauseous not being able to look up and down and having to rely on the autoaim. Now it just annoys me a little bit, so I usually play with freelook on. However, because I'm really familiar with Doom 2 and occasionally see it in my sleep, I'll be pistol starting every level on UV with no freelook and autoaim on. I will be using midlevel saves to make the pistol starts a little more forgiving. I want more of a challenge than usual, but not too much.

Fun Doom 2-related story to ring in the new thread: When I went from Doom 3 to classic Doom as a kid, I loved the shotgun being useful at range. Recently I heard a youtuber compare the experience of Doom 3's shotgun to being like hitting a demon with a bat, except when it's occasionally a rubber chicken. That's not the case in old Doom. I got so attached to the pump action shotgun and so averse to fighting up close that when I first played Doom 2, I despised the SSG. I must not have noticed the whole thing with it liquefying 3 enemies for two shells at point blank range. You can't beat that value. Today, whenever I play a shooter and it gives me a double-barrel shotgun, I want to reach through the screen and hug it, almost like it's an old friend. Fallout 4 in particular lets you name weapons. I named my double barrel shotgun "Doom."

What I wrote on the 28th is below. Sorry for two trains of thought instead of one. Things happen. I miss Demon of the Well's almost victorian English level reviews of yesteryear. Does he still play?

I've always thought of Doom 2 as a roller coaster with respect to map quality, but lucky for me, Doom 2 starts out strong. Entryway's a good time. The secret chainsaw takes the monotony out of the opening rooms. Then you get the shotgun in a secret. I had plenty of ammo to get rid of the 2 or 3 guys left after collecting it. The same can’t be said about the rocket launcher. At two rockets, I decided against using it, even though I plan on pistol starting every map. Doom 2 is too easy for me if I carry over weapons, but my instincts cry out, “it’s too awesome to use with that little ammo!” Next time I play entryway, the imp in the exit room gets a rocket to the face. Life goals, right?

100% Kills

100% Secrets

0 Deaths

Horus · March 1, 2020

Looking forward to dev commentary from @Romero this month :P

Dobu's challenge aside, there is actually something new for me for Doom II. As many times as I have played the game, I have always played it continuous, somehow I have never pistol started Doom II. So now's the time to start.

UV, GZDoom, Pistol Start, trying to keep the save and death count to an absolute minimum

MAP01 - “Entryway” by Sandy Petersen (0 saves, 0 deaths)

Well not that pistol start vs continuous makes any difference on this one of course. I got the chainsaw at the start and resolved to chainsaw kill every enemy. Then I bottled it when I got to 8% health and pistoled the last 3 zombiemen :P Honestly like @AFallingObject said it's a good opener, the chainsaw combat spices it up, as do the 5 secrets. Totally unnecessary secrets, but fun to collect nonetheless!

Spectre01 · March 1, 2020

Doom 2: The definitive IWAD, providing a solid base for decades of user-made content. I am not big on replaying the IWADs but have likely played Doom 2 the most. Not only that, I remember watching the entirety of BigMacDavis' 100% walkthrough video years ago. As for this playthrough, we'll see what happens, but I ain't doing pistol starts. Let's try Crispy Doom in widescreen vanilla resolution. It's as retro as I'm willing to get, since I don't like the original 35FPS cap.

MAP01 - “Entryway” by Sandy Petersen

Alright, those Imps look hilarious with this pixel limit. The way their heads are rendered is especially amusing. Regarding the map itself, I've never had a huge attachment towards Entryway and prefer Hangar in most aspects. The outdoor Shotgun secret is the most interesting part of the map, largely due to how it's activated and the simple fact that you can go outside to see the green grass and blue water. This is Earth after all. Some peculiar texture use is the brown ashwall in what's an otherwise green techbase. That one's usually reserved for rocks and cliffs and not decorating the walls of a small UAC outpost.

Summer Deep · March 1, 2020

MAP01

I've never played through the whole of Doom II on a PC! My original acquaintance with the wad was the incomplete version on the PS1, then I played the version on the XBox 360 BFG pack (which was however either very close to the PC version or identical to it). I'm going to do all maps in UV with pistol start, avoiding saves as much as possible, but using a mouse and freelook.

Decided to do the first level using just the chainsaw, which was straightforward enough, the imps in the shotgun area providing the biggest challenge. Never before realized that there are actually three imps in that secret compartment behind the lift. Very easy level, but it's notable that you don't get a second chance to obtain the chainsaw if you miss it at the start, but you can still get the armour if you press the pedestal switches in the 'wrong' order, though one or two players might never have realized that.

100% kills, items, secrets.

RonnieJamesDiner · March 1, 2020

Alright, let’s see what all the fuss is about. GZDoom, UV, Pistol Start.

MAP01: "Entryway"

A very conspicuous name for a very tame, opening level. This reminds me of a Milo Casali map, can’t remember which one though. I like the V-shape with the gradient lighting that greets you, but that’s about all I can say for the visuals.

Instantly missed the Chainsaw behind me, but that’s okay, I have a 56-unit vertical leap and I just jumped back up there and snatched that bad boy. Missed the secret armor closet to an interesting switch (puzzle?) thing, but again, that’s okay – linedefs are forgiving like that. Had to open the map in the editor to find the fifth secret with the Rocket Launcher which, of course, is opened by passing over top the magical UAC light mechanism. If I’m being honest, this level feels more like a training ground for secret-hunting.

Combat is... serviceable at best. Never liked using the Chainsaw much, and the pistol even less, so the 6-8 seconds it takes to do a speed run feels like the optimal approach to this lukewarm entry into Hell on Earth. Catchy MIDI, though. Wouldn’t mind hearing this a few thousand more times.

I appreciated the brevity of it – it shows you what it needs to, and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

What I do not appreciate are invisible walls, man. 10/10 immersion breaker.

Steve D · March 1, 2020

WOO HOO! Back to those thrilling days of yesteryear. This map was literally my first FPS experience back in September of '95. You gotta know I died as I fumbled around trying to figure out how things worked. And what was that nonsense with secrets? Everything was beyond me in those days. ;D

As for Dobu's Challenge, sorry, not gonna give up turning, but on the other aspects, I already play keyboard only, all movement done with my right hand on the numeric keypad. My keys of choice are;

Forward - KP8

Strafe L - KP7

Strafe R - KP9

Backward - KP5

Turn L - KP4

Turn R - KP6

My left hand gets to shoot with the A key. No mouse, no jumping.

So let's get to it.

GZDoom, UV, Pistol Starts, Savescumming, Keyboard Only

Map01:Entryway by Sandy Petersen

Kills:100% Items:88% Secrets:100% Death Count:Zero

Really an excellent little map. Sneaky Chainsaw at the start, 5 secrets, some of them tricky and, as @RonnieJamesDiner said, more a training ground for secret hunting than combat. That's okay, the next map delivers on the mayhem. Here, the Rocket Launcher and Shotgun secrets are choice, while the Green Armor secret is in the annoying "One shot is all you got" category. Altogether a fine opener, and it was even more fun using the Chainsaw on most enemies instead of plinking away with the pistol. Even though I haven't played this map in a looooonnnnnng time, I can still beat this thing in my sleep. But again, that's okay. I also agree with @Spectre01 that Hangar beats this map -- by a mile, IMO -- but again, that's okay. The American McGee classics start tomorrow, and it won't be long before I start dying like a dog. The mere thought of Refueling Base has me sweating in dread. Therefore, I cherish this opportunity to kick back, drink some tea, and beat a map with one hand and both feet tied behind my back. :)

Edited March 1, 2020 by Steve D

TheNoob_Gamer · March 1, 2020

36 minutes ago, RonnieJamesDiner said:

This reminds me of a Milo Casali map

Plutonia's MAP32?

...

Crispy Doom, pistol start on some maps with Dobu's challenge.

MAP01: Entryway

Nothing much to say, just a very easy and weird one, aesthetically.

Why is there a chainsaw outside the spawn point?
How the hell did our protagonist get in here?
Why did the big armor secret room have weird ceiling texture choice?
Why is the hallway so cramped?
Why can't you jump over the windows?

..Jokes aside, the map itself provides a decent challenge when using only the chainsaw. The enemy placements are something.

The weapon secrets are something I really like in this map, especially the rocket launcher one - it really shows that id does indeed care about continuous players.

100% everything on this map I guess.

Edited March 1, 2020 by TheNoob_Gamer

plums · March 1, 2020

Anyone who's never played Doom 2 with pistol starts should definitely give it a try for this month. A lot of the map design decisions make a lot more sense when played that way.

DJVCardMaster · March 1, 2020

What a time to do this finally, Doom II, probably not the best of the two main games and not my favorite, but is the one who inspired most people and got them into mapping. It has actually been a really long time since I gave this a complete walkthough, probably 8 years or so, but this is a good moment to play again through it and see if it plays as I remember (Or I can enjoy this a little bit more).

DOOMII.wad "Doom II: Hell on Earth":

The official sequel to our beloved Doom, this one changes things a little bit, with new weaponry, new monsters, more maps, and now all of those maps being distributed into a lineal mapset aside from the first game, where levels divided themselves into episodes.
Doom II of course has loosely defined episodes, depending on both the sky textures and level's architechture, and also Intermission screens from time to time narrating the story.

MAP01 - "Entryway" - Carl Sanford Joslyn "Sandy" Petersen (100%K/I/S):

What a memorable start, it is what it is, an entryway, with a quirky pointy staircase that leads to a hallway. A map that leaves nothing to envy E1M1, good starting level, with low-tier enemies, horse-shoe design, short, and well designed. The first level, as Romero said, in any game, has to be one of the best, so it makes you feel attached to the game, Sandy acomplished this without a doubt, making one of the most memorable "Level 1" in oldschool videogames history, at par with Doom's Hangar.
This map has a twist, A ROCKET LAUNCHER AT THE FIRST LEVEL. This made people back in the day, think that Doom II was serious bussiness. Also, having to find the chainsaw at the start, made things a little bit heavier and slaughtery, making you think that Doom II's gameplay is indeed going to be more dynamic than the previous game.

Deaths: 0 (UV Playthrough - Chocolate Doom)

I remember when I only played the first Doom that my friends said Doom 2 was bad, and that was why I used to avoid it when I was younger. But I don't consider it as something bad, in its own being, is a really good game, at least, the start of the game, makes me think so.

Edited March 1, 2020 by DJVCardMaster

Pechudin · March 1, 2020

So, DooM II. I remember when I "discovered" DooM, back in 2016 (I knew it existed before, of course), it was really a thrilling experience. Monsters and maps were an unknown, all ready for me to explore. Today, DooM maps simply do not offer such an experience anymore (bar heavily modified GZDooM offerings or outliers like A.L.T., Sacrament etc.).

So, back then I was way more serious about becoming a better DooM player, I resolved to do saveless runs of every WAD I played, and DooM II was the first one I did saveless. Nowadays, I am far more chill, time is precious and I like the exploration aspect of DooM far better anyway. So, I figured since I am capable of doing saveless DooM II, I might try it pistol start this time. Let us go! GZDooM, UV, pistol start, saveless, freelook on.

MAP01: Entryway (Deaths: 0, Secrets: 5/5)

We open our eyes behind the enemy's back, perhaps we were paradropped onto the balcony outside (but mysteriously did not automatically pick up the chainsaw)? Does not matter, this map is easy on any difficulty with basically any weapon besides the fist (and even then). I used the chainsaw and cornercamped the imps/zombiemen, and pistoled the rest of them. Found all the secrets and used the RL on the imps outside. The shotgun did not get to do much work, used only on the unfortunate imp in the exit room.

Visually, this one really does not look like Sandy. It is ... somewhat attractive, looks more like a McGee map to my eyes (no doubt more experienced members can tell the difference, especially those who worked on the DTWID series, like @Alfonzo).

holaareola · March 1, 2020

Map01: Entryway

K96% / I100% / S100% 2 deaths - LZDoom Unholy Massacre

Here it is, Doom II, or as it seemed to me at the time, Doom 1.5. Petersen plays it conservative here, opening with the striking V steps is the only hallmark weirdness in an otherwise conventionally proportioned, conservative map. Also of note on the opening view -- you are immediately shown one of the main new Doom2 themes - the pale green techbase panelling, but other than that and the hideous new sky, this feels pretty much like it could be a dud from Doom 1.

Didn't fancy the Dobu challenge. However I've only got LZDoom on this computer for some reason and controls are a bit buggered, so I ended up doing the hola challenge of no turning while shooting or even until about half a second after shooting. I assume it's MacOS being shit, but am somehow too lazy to rebind. I see LZDoom has added a new skill above UV, Unholy Massacre. Why, that sounds even Doomier than Ultra-Violence, I think. Why indeed - I soon die twice at the pea-shooting hands of zombiemen, the shame, the shame... except that on this difficulty, Doom's most pathetic filler-for-filler's sake enemy wallops 30% off your health per hit. Fuck!

The other really notable thing in this level is the quantity of brown. From the brown of the start, the depressing mudwater brown of the sky to the total brownload of the penultimate room. I think this is genius. The green techbase panelling and the excess of brown are Doom2 levels for me, so in this one sense Sandy really has crafted the perfect introduction for what's to come.

Anyway, I think the secrets are the best thing about Entryway. Getting outside is always satisfying in Doom when it feels like you're not meant to (even more so with the ridiculous invisible wall here), and I remember the rocket launcher secret trigger feeling quite new mechanically at the time. But other than the opening, it's an ugly little thing and perplexingly inferior to Doom1's introduction visually, technically, fun....ally. And the music is dreadful. NEXT!

Andromeda · March 1, 2020

Ahh, Doom II! Completed it countless times, yet it's always fun to revisit it every now and then. Gonna try to tackle Challenge of dobu but on HNTR, it's probably going to be harder than regular UV so we'll see how it goes.

MAP01: Entryway (Doom II)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

Our adventure starts with the iconic view of two zombiemen facing away from the player, standing on a weird looking stairway. To your left is an easy to miss chainsaw that will help to dispatch the lowly enemies faster. There's a couple of interesting secret mechanisms for the armor and the rocket launcher. Speaking of, by the time you get to either the rocket launcher or the shotgun you'll have killed everything, so they're only really there for continuous players. Not much more to say, it's an adequate starting level and thus very easy, I really like it.

Video:

Spoiler

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP01: Entryway

noisebloom · March 1, 2020

MAP01: Entryway

GZDoom, UV, Pistol Start, 100% K/100% S

The first thing that hits me when I play Entryway is... D_RUNNIN. It's a track that has become a joke for many in the community due to its overuse, but the first time you hear it, it really gets the blood pumping and sets the stage for Doom II.

After dispatching a few zombiemen from the first room (already more action than we saw in in the first map of Doom at this point), one simply has to turn around to find the chainsaw, which (ooh!) comes one map earlier in Doom II than in its predecessor.

Entryway is not quite as pretty as Hangar, but it has a good number of satisfying secrets, and much like Hangar blesses you with a shotgun with one of them. It also accomplishes what I believe a first map of an episode/WAD should: provide a short and sweet experience that gives the player enough momentum to want to keep playing. An overly long and/or boring affair would potentially turn players away. There are actually some tense moments that can/will occur here, e.g. opening up the north room and getting hitscanned from behind by a zombieman that wanders down the hallway, being attacked from both sides in the final large area, etc.

One musing I have is that Entryway doesn't really reveal what it's in store for the player as far as Doom II. The player has no idea what the scale of Doom II is going to be like or how the combat dynamic will change. I don't think this is inherently positive or negative... though I do wonder if some (back in the day) were perhaps let down at this point that this game felt a little too much like the first game.

Overall, this is probably one of my favorite Sandy Peterson maps and a fantastic introduction to Doom II.

universal-quantifier · March 1, 2020

I have to admit I've never done a pistol start UV run of Doom 2 yet, so count me in.

MAP01 - Entryway

K/S 100%

Crispy Doom

Feels almost redundant to go through this map again for the nth time, but we've got to start somewhere. Entryway is by far the easiest and shortest of all the IWAD starter maps; nothing but standard zombiemen and imps even on the higher difficulties and the map consist of only 3 rooms connected by a hallway, one of them completely optional. Having the chainsaw available from the very start is a nice touch and I always prefer to melee my way through the map instead of slowly and painfully plinking enemies to death - not the most safe option, but anything is preferable to using the pistol. The rocket launcher secret is a bit obscure, I'm pretty sure I opened it by accident on my earliest playthroughs and had no idea what actually triggered it.

Visually this is one of the most solid looking Petersen levels. The triangle staircase with gradient lighting is, as many others have said, iconic and the small outside areas add some nice variety to the map. The last room using a brown rocky texture is a bit baffling though; are we still inside the same building? Did we suddenly enter a cave of some sort? It's not the weirdest texture choice in the history of official Doom maps but I'd like to have some consistency.

Overall Entryway serves it purpose as an easy tutorial map of sorts, but I still find it just a tad underwhelming compared to most other starter maps out there - like it's still missing some sort of element that made maps like Hangar so memorable. MAP02 is where the real fun starts.

Capellan · March 1, 2020

13 hours ago, Steve D said:

the Green Armor secret is in the annoying "One shot is all you got" category

Your mind is playing tricks on you, old-timer. The green armour isn't in a secret, and it's accessible at any time because switches are infinitely tall :)

Summer Deep · March 1, 2020

Errrrr......

:)

DuckReconMajor · March 1, 2020

Funnily enough, I just bought the Dooms on sale on my Switch and I've been save-scumming my way through Skill 3.

However, as @universal-quantifier said, it's a great time to finally pistol-start UV through all the maps.

I'll record the demos and at the end of the month (or maybe each episode) upload video to the YouTub.

I'll be struggling enough already so I won't be dobu'ing through. But @Andromeda's video was very fun to watch and I look forward to seeing more.

MAP01:

This was Sandy? I feel like I probably knew this at one time and forgot. Great job Sandy! As much as I rag on Doom 2, the beginning and ending levels of the game do hold a special place in my heart.

MAP01 playthrough is fun as it always is. I chose to ignore the side room with the green armor, but I did go outside and grab the shotgun for no reason. As @Spectre01 mentioned, I love grass and water areas so I could not resist.

Screw it, i'll upload unlisted as I go, then put up the full level-set later

Steve D · March 1, 2020

1 hour ago, Capellan said:

Your mind is playing tricks on you, old-timer. The green armour isn't in a secret, and it's accessible at any time because switches are infinitely tall :)

My thanks to @Summer Deep for proving the Green Armor is a secret. ;) You're right about the infinitely tall switches, though . . .

And Heat Miser is still waiting for you. ;D

Capellan · March 1, 2020

2 minutes ago, Steve D said:

My thanks to @Summer Deep for proving the Green Armor is a secret. ;) You're right about the infinitely tall switches, though . . .

A switch texture placed in sight and right in front of you is not a secret, regardless of what sector effect decisions Sandy might make :-D

OK, yes, technically a secret. Definitely not 1 time though :)

Arbys550 · March 1, 2020

I'll probably join in this time but don't expect any groundbreaking commentary. This was my first introduction to the doom franchise so itll be interesting to see how my opinions on the maps have changed.

Pechudin · March 1, 2020

It is as we speak 00:07 at my place, so I shall proceed onto the next map. Hopefully I do not spoil a level of a 26 year-old game to anyone!

MAP02: Underhalls (Deaths: 0, Secrets: 1/1)

I guess the MAP01 exit was an elevator? I do not see a door or a shaft though, DooM II has some continuity problems. At any rate, this is a McGee level! I always liked his semi-realistic boxy style, his levels feel lived-in, or atleast plausible. The opposition is rather light, just zombiemen, imps and like 2 demons. The SSG feels like such a massive overkill against them, it feels almost wrong to use it. Indeed, I found myself using the regular shotgun against almost all of the enemies. It really does not matter which you use, for the overwhelming amount of enemies are comprised of shotgunners which will keep you topped up on ammo.

The opened-up bit with the brown brick building always did look odd to me. What is that? If we are in sewers, why is it opened to the skies? Also, the secret with the blue armour was something I discovered embarrasingly late!

So yeah, a very easy level. Unless you decide to do it pacifist ...

Walter confetti · March 2, 2020

Well, i have asked so much for this to be played by the club, and since it's here, why not talking about it?

Doom 2 was, actually, my first sight to the Doom franchise, the strategy guide of the game first and game 4 months (?) later, as a gift by cousin when i was 12 or 13, together with silent shareware Doom present in my PC with many other games (Transport Tycoon Deluxe, Little Big Adventure and many other that i don't remember now), until some year ago i will say that i could enjoy more Doom than Doom 2 due to better story and maps, but now i could say that are both great classic wads! Now i'm going talking in detail about the first 2 maps (is already the 2nd of march here)

MAP01: A great opener like Hangar was for Doom, but this map shows you at first sight that this is not the world as you remember and this time Doom will be a little... weird? Triangular stairs leading to a full bright hallway, sort of sandbox style layout where you can choose to see all the rooms or just run straight to the exit sets in that.. cave structure? Ruined walls of a forgotten techbase (that, as some of you pointed out, how the doomguy have reached this place? By being parachuted? Jumping out to the river? Being teleport here after killing the Spider Mastermind in Doom?)? It is also a great form of inspiration for many mappers (including me) and a badass 1-on-1 deathmatch map. Ah yes, also "Running from Evil", the infamous musical track.

Spoiler

Also, better this entry spot that we have in the game than the the barren wood that was in original beta version

MAP02: The first of the many maps by American McGee making part of the first part of Doom 2, a journey that will follow us until MAP07 of the game.

This level is better visually than Entryway imo and McGee is the guy that will show you what are the new dishes on the menu. As a appetizer, this level shows for the first in 1994 fast doors and in a secondary alcove down the left sewer (or aqueduct?) wing the best thing of the game: the almighty SUPER-SHOTGUN!

... That is actually just a double-barrel shotgun, but here have the same power of a rocket launcher, but without the annoyance of the splash damage. Wonderful. Thanks for this weapon, ID software.

Anyway, is another short and straightforward map like MAP01, even mimicking the start point with the player come out from nowhere and 3 zombiemen taking the but difficulty is slight increased due to heavy usage of shotgunners at the brown building, that can also teleport at the start of the map and come out from hidden alcoves after you take the red keycard, pretty much similar to what he made on Ultimate Doom E4M1, but way less harder, luckily. And why a water sewers or aqueduct contains a prison place (in version 1.666 this is more visible, since not only the locked room with bars are the one that can be open with red keycard, but also the left alcove)?

PetalousPanoply · March 2, 2020

First time taking part in the DWmegawad Club! And a fitting start too since my interest in Doom started in 2015 when I beat Doom 1 and 2 in a single sitting while listening a podcast (Watch out for Fireballs) about Doom 2. While I've been playing a lot of Doom ever since, I have mostly focused on community wads and haven't replayed the first two games as many times as most people in the community have. So this should be a good opportunity for me to give one of the originals the attention it deserves.

(UV Pistol Start)

MAP01 - Entryway, then. I think I like this one more than Doom 1's first map. The initial view is great, super iconic with the weird stairs, the enemies facing away from you just waiting to be rushed at making you miss the maps first secret unless you know what you're doing. Speaking of secrets, this map has some really fun ones but the single stimpack in the wall is a bit lame (though the way it can spawn imps is fun). It's super short, as I think a first map should be. Overall, just a solid introduction to Doom II.

As per @plums suggestion above, I'll be trying to do all maps with pistol start, since I've never done it before. Should be fun!

Edited March 6, 2020 by capybard

head_cannon · March 2, 2020

Hi there, DWmegawad club. Long time reader, first time poster. The choice to put the classic game in the spotlight this month has drawn me out of lurking.

It's coming up on one year since I got back into Doom, which I did by resolving to beat every level of this IWAD from pistol start. So, the time has already been put into solving each level. I'm curious to see if there's any new first impressions to be gathered in this thread, but all I have to contribute are cold, calcified takes.

I really think the appeal of Doom 2 is that, like its predecessor, it's a maze game. Fully exploring and learning your way around the space reveals what the most resource-efficient route is, and a player who's having trouble has probably not finished investigating everything yet and is missing some key way to power themselves up or skip past what's troubling them. But that style of gameplay doesn't really reach the forefront until the midgame. To begin with, it'll be more traditional linear levels that introduce the game's concepts and teach a newcomer how to play.

MAP01 - Entryway (Crispy Doom, UV, Pistol Starts, No Saves)

Entryway accomplishes what it sets out to do. A new player can learn the controls and get up to speed before plunging into the actual firefights of Underhalls, and the presence of three separate bonus weapons trains the player to explore thoroughly if they want an edge over the foes that block their path to the exit. The rewards in this map power up continuous runs rather than providing passage through a pistol start run, but the principle is the same.

Edited March 2, 2020 by head_cannon

Arbys550 · March 2, 2020

Map01

This was the very first thing I laid eyes on ever that had anything to do with the doom universe. I remember I downloaded this off of the Xbox Live arcade in 2010 based off of my dad's recommendation. Playing through this at a slow pace, I began to feel nostalgic and I hope this isn't too dramatic, but it reminded me so much of why I love this game in the first place. I didn't expect much when I first played it but was soon taken in by the secrets and interesting monsters. I remember being absolutely OBSESSED with layouts at the time, and doom 2's layouts are what made me interested in picking up mapping. Anyways, this was my first doom map ever and playing through this again is bringing back memories.

Looking back on it, obviously this would be a pretty shit map based off of today's standards. Playing through this I noticed for the first time some weird texture choices, chiefly of which were the weird metal grate texture on top of the cement texture outside the chainsaw pickup area.

Also I don't give a rat's ass what anyone else thinks, D_RUNNIN is one of my favorite doom tracks of all time. The solo for me perfectly complements the chord progression and has some interesting melodies.

Horus · March 2, 2020

MAP02 - “Underhalls” by American McGee (0 saves, 0 deaths)

The hitscan spam makes this one hellish on nightmare or pacifist (or to speedrun in general). Even on UV, this one got me down to 13% thanks to some carelessness on my part (this is why I suck at ironman lol). None of McGee’s maps in this segment are visually exciting (though in that part I’d say this is better than what’s to come), but this one does use lighting and barrels to good effect around the BK area to enhance tension.

Seeing @Arbys550 post about nostalgia reminds me of the nostalgia I got when playing Doom Collector’s Edition when that was released. I recalled much more of E4 of UDoom, Plutonia and TNT, than Doom II though, from which my memory was very fleeting at the time. I've played Doom II enough since though that my memory of it now is pretty good.

DJVCardMaster · March 2, 2020

MAP02 - "Underhalls" - American James McGee (100%K/I/S):

This is our first time (At least chronologically) that we try one of the new mapper's, American McGee maps. With a totally different style, and here we are with our sewer level, with a mapping style that looks for me totally advanced in comparison to Petersen's maps in terms of aesthetics, most of this made sense, a sewer with a courtyard, a "Control Room" and some other things here and there, this composition felt less abstract in comparison again with Sandy. Sewer maps are always a hit or miss in some megawads, but this one I think, nailed it. here we have our first Key encounter, which you can see on a ledge of one window in the outside house. This map is, at least on UV, pretty hard for a E1 map, since it has tons of shotgunners (Also introduced here), and zombiemen shooting you on small corridors, with barrels placed carrefully all over the place, to make things harder. This map is also memorable as it features our first encounter with Doom II's powerhouse, the Super Shotgun, a weapon you are going to love (or hate because it's OP). It also features for the first time in Doom, something that I didn't know is was not featured on the first Doom, fast doors, and yes, there is only one, but you are going to see lots of them in our playthrough, I guarantee it.

Deaths: 0 (UV Playthrough - Chocolate Doom)

Order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP02
MAP01

This map shows again, that Doom II is going to be more action packed, featuring hallways from Ultimate Doom with more monsters blocking your path.

Summer Deep · March 2, 2020

MAP02

UV Pistol Start, GLBoom+, no saves

Made three attempts initially to complete this using just fists, pistol and infighting, but had to admit defeat on each occasion, though I don't doubt that there are plenty of people on this site who could pull this off. Nevertheless, I feel that my best total of 73/90 kills was pretty respectable!

Now to the main playthrough. The acquisition of the SSG not long after the start stacks the odds clearly in the player's favour, as indeed does the blue armour hidden in the red key building. Incredibly I must have played this map at least 15 times (mainly as a 'spillover' from MAP01 PWADs) and had never noticed the latter until yesterday. The real fun and games start with the basement section towards the end, with barrels playing a starring role. For maximum, if short-lived, excitement, jump straight down into the right-hand room without doing any preliminary surgical removal work....

An enjoyable map, obviously a fair bit trickier than the opener.

100% kills, 100% secrets.

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