What would be your "must play" mapsets for someone new to the Doom community?

[CasualScrub]

Someone sees a video on a cool mod for Doom, and they want to play it. They've never really played Doom before, but they manage to figure out how to get the game up and running. Maybe they play a bit of Doom/Doom 2 to try it out, and then they play that cool mod they saw. Now they want to play more, but they're tired of the base game and want something different, so they hop on over to the ZDoom forums or here on Doomworld only to get lost in the hundreds of levels available, with many new ones coming out every day! What's a budding fan to do?

 

In a situation like this, what would you consider your top five/top ten mapsets that anyone new to Doom should play? The ones that you feel give the very best first impression of the community and could recommend to someone who just wants to play some more Doom?

Edited March 30, 2020 by CasualScrub

[Roofi]

Hell Revealed 1 and 2

Eternal Slumber Party 1 and 2

Death in excess

Sunder

Floatsam

Stardate 20X6

[an_mutt]

Back to Saturn X

Scythe 2

UAC Ultra

Nihility

Eviternity

Valiant

Counterattack

Suspended in Dusk

[Breezeep]

The Scythe trilogy

Valiant

Ancient Aliens

Eviternity

Absolute Dishonor

Vanguard

Running Late 1 + 2

Edited March 30, 2020 by Breezeep

[Doomkid]

Well, my answer depends on if they're actually tired of the base game, or just want more Doom! Unless they were truly bored of the "iwad stylings" I'd offer them classic flavored stuff. Other people will definitely handle the newer shinier recommendations anyway!

 

Episodes/megawads (old stuff):

 

Memento Mori

Fava Beans

Scythe

Alien Vendetta

Revolution!

 

If they liked those and weren't afraid to try something a little more rough around the edges, they could take a dive even deeper into the realm of OS Doom mapping:

 

MarsWar

Operation BIOWAR

The Vilecore

Fragport

NJ Doom2

 

If they liked the first 5 but wanted something more refined/clean overall, I'd suggest these instead:

 

Japanese Community Project

Doom64 for Doom2

THT: Threnody

Going Down

Kuchitsu

 

Of course, there are a lot of creative single-map releases out there. I love a quality single-map wad. I'd pick some of the old/historic ones that are still fun and aged nicely:

 

Hellrun (for Doom2)

Galaxia

DoomCity

Area51

Bermuda

 

..Basically, any combo of the above resulting in a grand total of 10 will do depending on what day of the week it is.

 

Also, any list would be incomplete without the Deathmatch classics. For those who love DM, these are absolutely must-play wads:

 

Dwango5 & Dwango6

Dweller2

EXECUTION DM

Brit10 & Brit11

UDM3 & UDMX

GreenWar

Classix

Don't Be a Bitch (dbab)

Progressive Duel 2

Styx DM Series

Lazarus1j

PyrrhicXL

 

I couldn't stop at just 10, so there's my top 15. A couple hundred DM maps all up, but these wads are so good that I know all the maps from each and every one of those wads like the back of my hand at this point... They're all my stomping grounds.

 

I've played the DM wads far more in total than any of the SP stuff I mentioned. I simply never get tired of DM, and these wads offer the absolute best turf to frag on, so it's a simple choice for me. Maybe it's just me, but I can only replay a great Single Player wad so many times before I've gotten every last drop of fun to be had out of it. With a great DM wad, it simply provides a great place to frag friends (or randoms) any time of day, any time of year.. A good DM arena is a good DM arena forever, and it's always there waiting for more frags to be had.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Doomkid

[ReaperAA]

Doom 2 mapsets:

- Eviternity (must play in my eyes)

- Back to Saturn X E1 and E2 (must play in my eyes)

- Valiant (a must play but I recommend playing on easier difficulty)

- Ancient Aliens (a must play but I recommend playing on easier difficulty)

- Doom Zero

- Lunatic

- Vanguard

- D2TWiD

- TNT: Revilution

 

Ultimate Doom mapsets:

- DTWiD

- Deathless

- Base Ganymede

- NEIS

- Double Impact

- Romero's E1M8b, E1M4b and Sigil

- Sinergy

 

 

2 hours ago, Roofi said:

Hell Revealed 1 and 2

Eternal Slumber Party 1 and 2

Death in excess

Sunder

Floatsam

Stardate 20X6

 

CasualScrub is not a very skilled player. They would probably get slaughtered in even easy difficulties on these maps.

[Poncho1]

In no particular order:

 

Vanguard

Alien Vendetta

Going Down

Back to Saturn X - Episode 1

Eviternity

Ancient Aliens

Jenesis

Counterattack

Sunlust (lower difficulty recommended) 

Scythe

Edited March 30, 2020 by Poncho1
Better picks

[MFG38]

Back to Saturn X and Eviternity are really the only ones to come to my mind at the moment.

 

Oh yeah, and Suspended in Dusk.

 

2 hours ago, Roofi said:

Hell Revealed 1 and 2

Eternal Slumber Party 1 and 2

Death in excess

Sunder

Floatsam

Stardate 20X6

 

That's just sadistic.

Edited March 30, 2020 by MFG38

[Snikle]

Full Megawads:

-Sunlust

-Valiant

-Going Down

-Struggle: Antaresian Legacy

-Eviternity

 

Episodes and small map packs:

-Stardate 20X6

-Preacher

-Hellscape

-Tangerine Nightmare

 

I'll probably edit this later as I come up with more.

[Misty]

1000 Lines Project

A.L.T
Violence
Any Doomer Boards project
Echelon

Doom 2 Reloaded
TVR!
TV1998
1994 Tune up project
Chainworm Kommando
Epic 2
Doom Zero

Well, besides those mentioned above by others and me, you can always dive deep into idgames archives and grab any set and make your own judgement, that's how I used to do when I was younger. 

[[Vitz!]]

There is only one I would recommend 100%

[Phobus]

As you're probably into GZDoom if you're in the ZDoom forums, ZDCMP1 and ZDCMP2 are all you need. Both lengthy, interesting maps that you can play at a low difficulty and have an awesome, impressive adventure with.

[valkiriforce]

If someone was just coming out from playing Doom and Doom II for so long, I would recommend checking out Final Doom with The Plutonia Experiment and TNT: Evilution just to complete the IWAD line-up. After that, I'd suggest checking out some of the classic wads and megawads the community has put forth since that time:

 

Memento Mori

Memento Mori II

Requiem

Icarus: Alien Vanguard

 

I tend to think of these four because they seem to be the most IWAD-like megawads that work in any source port of choice and are all-around solid experiences. Icarus is rough in a few places but it's often compared with the original TNT IWAD. Playing it early on could also work as a window for appreciating something which otherwise probably hasn't aged as well these days, though it various per the individual's taste.

 

Scythe

Alien Vendetta

Plutonia 2

 

These next few are a step-up from the previous megawads - mostly Alien Vendetta and Plutonia 2, as Scythe works as a classic short-map experience a lot of people have enjoyed for accessibility, despite the ramped-up difficulty of the episode 3 curve. I feel they work as branches connected between the classic days previously mentioned and to modern design standards, as many have cited Alien Vendetta and Erik Alm's workmanship as a prominent influence even to this day.

 

Though honestly I'd probably just point someone to the Top 100 Wads & Cacowards page so they can explore from 1994 onward and decide for themselves what they want to play, hopefully to gain an appreciation for how much Doom has progressed within the community after all these years. They can decide for themselves if they want to play the older stuff or go straight for the juggernauts this community has to offer.

[ZeroTheEro]

Hell Revealed 1&2, Japanese Community Project, Community Chest series for starters.

Anything new John Romero put up.

 

Any PWADs chosen to be added to the AddOn collection for Doom Classic Unity, experience them in their original form.

 

also nuts.wad. ^{just because}

Edited March 30, 2020 by ZeroTheEro

[Archanhell]

In no order at all:

 

Umbra of Fate

Shadows of The Nightmare Realm

Lost Civilization

SHRINE (It's a total conversion more than just a set of maps, but it's still pretty amazing and much more, worth it!)

Abysm: Dawn of Innocence (The same as above)

Valiant

HellCore 2.0 (There is a lot of difficulty, yes, but the maps are simply amazing to play through!)

5to2-re-textured (It's a singlemap AFAIK based on Silent Hill hospital thing, very good to play with Dark Doom, Hideous Destructor/Sneaky DooM, etc)

Diabolus Ex (Single map based on Deus Ex)

Hurt (Amazing single map by Elend!)

And as a bonus.. Any Lovecraftian WAD/Mapset out there that I have not found yet and thrive to find... The more into this cult Lovecraft, the better (?)

 

[Tormentor667]

Ultimate Torment and Torture

Stronghold

KDiZD

ZDCMP 1+2

Austerity

The Refinery

ZPack

Community Chest 3 (only one map of it though)

Blade of Agony

Sapphire

The City of the Damned 1+2

🤷🏻‍♂️

[Pechudin]

Hmm, if they want breathtaking visuals and atmosphere, then:

 

    HellGround

    A.L.T. (someone already suggested)

    Maxim Xul

 

    Although guys, a newbie is probably going to play high-profile ZDooM stuff before any of the crummy-looking old wads. And they are especially not going to play something like HR or HRII, I remember when I was starting out thinking those looked like ass. You need visual candy to attract someone new, then bring them in! Definitely was like that for me.

   

[Thermal Lance]

Winter's Fury

 

Eviternity

 

Ancient Aliens

 

Valiant

 

To name a few.

[Horus]

Eviternity and Ancient Aliens would have to be the key two really. Modern megawads with both enticing visuals and great gameplay

[joepallai]

Slayer 

Death Torment: The Complete Trilogy

Brotherhood of Ruin

Monument

Back to Saturn X: Ep1

Hellrun

Back to Basics

Reverie

 

That's a good start and the text files of those wads will lead to other excellent choices.

[CasualScrub]

On 3/30/2020 at 12:13 PM, ReaperAA said:

CasualScrub is not a very skilled player. They would probably get slaughtered in even easy difficulties on these maps.

You're not wrong.

[NuMetalManiak]

To start out for those who are completely new and can handle beginner stuff:

Operation BIOWAR
Twilight Zone 1+2
2002ADO
Requiem

Scythe

 

And then for those that get through them and want slightly harder challenges (but not hard hard) and better designs (we don't want to get too slaughter heavy):

Community Chest 2
Sunlust

NDCP

Eternal Doom

And then a dose of TC with any actually great TC

[versionfiv]

Scythe Scythe 2 and more Scythe and Scythe again and again and over and over and over again. AND AGAIN!

and i don't know much about your big city ways but Doom Zero sure made an impression.