The Top 25 Sector Ships of All Time

[Jimmy]

Over the course of this year I, for some reason, have been compiling a list of some of the most notable pieces of sector-based maritime vessels featured throughout the Doom community's extensive catalogue of content, reaching from the early 90s to the present day. I have now amassed a "Top 25" list, complete with Honorable Mentions.

 

Points (anchors) are gained for how the ships are used (for cinematic purposes at the start or end of a level, or for scene-setting purposes in the middle of a level), how they execute combat, and how lavishly they are designed.

 

All aboard!

-
25. "A.L.T." MAP07 by Nomad

Dead Simple with more arrrrrrr. The centerpiece of the map is a floating installation beseiged by four pirate ships, each commanded by a mancubus. Points for having all the Jolly Rogers facing the same wind direction, and for the touch of directional lighting giving this setpiece a bit of cinematic flair, but the ships themselves are fairly crude in appearance and can't be accessed by the player, merely serving as decorative turrets for the mancubi. Displeasing! Off the pier wi' ya!

 

Rating: ⚓

 

 

 

24. "Alien Vendetta" MAP03 by Mattias Berggren - "MS #NIGHTMARE"

Perhaps one of the most iconic decorative pieces to come out of the new millennium. Anyone who played Alien Vendetta, a set known for its crushing difficulty, at least got as far as the third map, and the stark REDWALL hull sticks out to literally everyone. Precisely why the boat exists in this otherwise unremarkable area of the map remains a bit of a mystery, but the inclusion of a pound sign in its name implies some sort of ye olde IRC-based in-joke. Not that those have ceased to exist! As we will see further down the list...

 

Rating: ⚓⚓

 

 

 

23. "REKKR" E4M9 by @Revae

For a project that paints a lovingly crafted world of Viking warriordom, I really struggled to find actual sector boats in this set! However, one is featured in the secret level of Episode 4. The sky here is a beautiful pixel-art gradient and the music is gentle and soothing, making for some great scenery. There is, however, little to explore here. You can kill the crewmates at no penalty if you wish (they aren't voodoo dolls) but there's no combat to be had, nor really any objects of intrigue, save for a teleporter to take you to the rest of the map.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓

 

 

 

22. "Sacrament" MAP11 by @Azamael

Points for the scenic quality of the absolutely colossal cavern in which this boat is held, for sure - although getting onto the boat itself is done via teleporter, which feels slightly unintuitive. Once aboard there's merely one switch to press, since the crew comprise a trio of imps you can very swiftly dispose of. Missed potential!

 

Rating: ⚓⚓

 

 

 

21. "Khorus" MAP05 by @Shadowman

After a lengthy trek through overgrown moonlit wilderness, the sound of Russian folksong haunting your every step, you eventually happen upon this humble sailboat, and steal the crimson skull from its chaingun-toting captain. It makes for a welcome intermission from getting lost in the forest. Design-wise it's a little simpler than the other offerings we have here, but the structure to imply a boat is definitely all there.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓

 

 

 

20. "Akeldama" MAP31 by @valkiriforce, DerFurer'sFace, @joepallai & @gaspe

This introductory scene to the first secret level of community ultrawad Akeldama puts you on an impressively large boat drifting in a nightlit sea. There's even a crow's nest containing a soulsphere you can access.

 

After outsmarting the handful of demons here, you are transported to another place entirely, a pattern that continues with the multitude of singular, self-contained setpieces throughout the map. The sector ship here is impressively designed, but this entry loses points for essentially being the first in seemingly a series of cutting room floor sketches.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓

 

 

 

19. "Harmony" MAP01, 02, and 04 by @t.v.

The first level of Harmony, after setting the scene with a fast-paced shootout at a riverside tech facility, ends with boarding a boat and carrying it downstream to the mysterious caverns and labyrinths of the second level.

 

MAP04, an industrial city with a quayside section, offers a much larger shipping vessel, which you board to grab a key while frantically avoiding the Centaur's ceaseless grenade fire, creating a tense moment of combat.

 

MAP01 also features a submarine.

^{But we don't talk about those here.}

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

18. "Chosen" MAP03, 04 and 05 by LilWhiteMouse

This Cacoward-winning total conversion from 2004 by resident ZDoom sorceress LilWhiteMouse, although somewhat dated by today's standards, is quite the imaginative set, and the sector boat featured in three of its maps showcases her capacity for world-building. Watch the animated oar textures on the sides of the boat as it moves gracefully through a lava river during the inter-level cutscenes. You even get to fight a hoard of ravenous harpies during the first voyage. Repeated visits to this vessel throughout the episode as an actual means of transportation to new areas also earn it extra points.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

17. "10Sector" MAP25 by Jonas Feragen

Finely detailed and structurally sound. How this was done with a mere 10 sectors I have no clue. What's interesting about this example is that it relies on line specials that very carefully reconfigure the map's sectors' properties in order to properly shape everything in the map past a certain point - if you noclip at level start and go to this area, this boat looks like a jumbled mess of sectors and flats. Massive points for technical creativity with this one.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

16. "BTSX" Episode 2 MAP01 by @Joshy - "Visplane Overflow"

The HMS Visplane Overflow is a staple of the first level of BTSX's second episode, and is very impressively detailed for a non-limit-removing Vanilla map. While specific boat-like details are left out in favor of a setpiece with smooth, functioning gameplay, this part of the map is still a treat to explore and the fight aboard is decently challenging. The secret-savvy among us will also fondly remember the CRATE FULL OF DRUGS.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

15. "Serpent Resurrection" MAP01 and 02 by @The Ultimate DooMer - "Thunder-child"

I was absolutely not going to forget about Heretic or Hexen for this list. The potential for boats (boatential, if you will) is huge.

 

The first level of this stupidly expansive Hexen megawad features a portside town. Clearly no small amount of study has been done into the workings of a maritime vessel such as this, with lavish detail across every part of it, right down to the name imprinted on the ship's hull. The mapper employs skybox camera trickery to show the ship pulling away from port and even passing distant islands before the ship is assailed by hordes of demons from Hell's maw.

 

Unfortunately this entry loses massive points for the majority of its in-game life taking place during a painfully long unskippable cutscene. World-building though it is, you are itching all throughout to get to use some of those usable, rotatable midtexture cannons.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

14. "Mutiny" MAP02 by @Pinchyand @Tarnsman

This humongous cargo ship dominates an entire corner of this spacious and chaotic map. Disappointingly there doesn't seem to be much in the way of gameplay taking place onboard, if any. An opportunity sorely missed, as teleportation seems to be the primary means of getting around here for both players and monsters.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

13. "Super MAYhem 17" MAP04 by @Pinchy

Another shipyard map from Pinchy! Seems to be a staple of his work at this point. This one is only slightly more easy-going than the previous. The smaller boats are not exactly impressively boat-shaped, but the larger one stationed in a cave that gives you a plasma gun is definitely the standout vessel here. The map also gets points for having sector whales (yes) that rise up out of the water once you acquire the key.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

12. "Quest for the Crystal Skulls" ISLAND01 by @Captain Toenail

Continuing the Heretic trend, here we have a cute little sailing vessel that opens the very first map of the episode. Points for relevance to the narrative - you stowaway on this boat bound for the Island of the Crystal Skulls where this episode takes place, in order to thwart the heresiarch's plans.

 

There is also a second boat on this map replete with supplies that you can access via a secret teleporter.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

11. "Icebound" by @Lutz

Once again we have a Heretic map that opens with a boat. Detail don Lutz doesn't disappoint here, as the level of linedef intricacy here positively borders on the absurd, but I have to say I'm a fan - particularly of how the ice is broken up around the ship.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

10. "Dark Tide" by @Lutz

It's no surprise to me personally that Lutz appears on this list twice. This giant castle stronghold is home to a large and spacious docking area where you can find this lovingly crafted vessel. The fight on this decrepit old boat after grabbing the crucial key is really quite vicious, and makes for a highly memorable setpiece.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

9. "Doom: The Golden Souls" MAP05 by @Batandy

A colorfully decorated ship complete with cannons along the hull and Donkey Kong barrels on the deck. Unlike most of the other entries, this one is set in swimmable water, and you can go underneath into the submerged part of the ship, which you'll need to as you scout around for the eight necessary red coins, Mario 64-style.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

8. "Doom: The Golden Souls 2" MAP13 by @Batandy

These cruise ships, while feeling somewhat undersized, make for a great staple of both decoration and gameplay in one of the final areas of this beautiful dusky port town map. You can platform off of them using GS2's insanely smooth jumping capability to enter a pipe leading to a secret big coin.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

7. "BTSX" Episode 1 MAP24 by @Tango and @esselfortium - "The Unsinkable Fats Domino"

The one, the only. While it carries no "gameplay" to speak of, it's still the perfect ending to a brutal and challenging megawad - stepping upon the deck immediately plunges both the ship and Doomguy into the briny blue depths, whereupon the episode ends with MAP25's bittersweet sinking sequence.

 

EDIT: Tango says blame Essel for this one.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

6. "Super MAYhem 17" MAP06 by @Gothic

Huge points for this entire map taking place on an flying airship. Er, airboat? It's a pirate ship in the sky, akin to the finale levels from Super Mario Bros. 3. The animated sky, scrolling clouds and sector-based rotating blades go far to setting the scene here, and the music is of course on-point. The combat and gameplay flow are also good fun. Hitting all the right notes here.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

5. "Serpent's Wake" E3M6 and M7 by @hervoheebo

This wonderfully clever and imaginative Heretic set has many standout moments for me, but this floating battleship at the end of E3M6 has to be somewhere near the top. The combat surrounding it varies drastically with every difficulty level you play on, right down to where you pick up the key to raise the bridge onto the ship, thanks to the ground-breaking "quest" system that this set employs for all of its maps. Stellar presentation and thought gone into this.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

4. "Hellcore 2" MAP01 and 02 by Fusion and Darkfyre

What makes this level memorable for me can be attributed to a combination of things: namely the music, the deep and evocative skyline, the spacious and unsettling nature of its underpopulated outdoor areas, and then the climax of the map as you board a large frigate and scramble your way to the cockpit for the exit switch. A very well-designed gameplay setpiece that still manages to evoke feelings of realism.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

3. "Avactor" MAP01 and 03 by @Eradrop

I daresay these are the most visually striking sector boats to have come out recently. All of Avactor is a masterclass in environmental design and scene-setting, with its gloomy brown texture palette and tonally altered enemies that fit the scene of a haunted island in the middle of a vast and unforgiving sea. But there are flickers of humanity in these wonderfully crafted sailboats that can be found throughout. The first is found at MAP01's level start, and the texturing and linework here is already impressive enough, but then the examples shown in MAP03 utterly dwarf it in comparison.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

2. All of "Pirate Doom"'s ships by @Darch

There are scant few mapsets out there that go as far into their world-building as Pirate Doom does in its entirety. Over the course of the set's eighteen levels you will hop aboard many different boats to transport you through the various episodes, swim through the wreckage of a haunted ghost ship, and man the cannons of an armed battleship in a naval battle against the seafaring forces of Hell. The last one shown here is also a completely transparent ghost ship.

 

What more needs to be said? It's Pirate fucking Doom.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓

 

 

The winner is below - a mapper who has already appeared on this list at least once - but first, some arrrrrrr-norable Mentions.

 

Honorable Mentions:

 

- "DWANGO4" MAP09 (SHIP.WAD) by Rand Smith

This oldie from 1994 is, to my knowledge, the Doom community's very earliest instance of an actual sector boat. Notable traits: It features enemies, despite being a deathmatch level. It also has two floors, accessed via the gargoyle-faced teleporters. You can even swim in the nukage sea, providing you grab a radsuit from the captain's quarters, at which point you may paddle to a distant island and grab a BFG9000 and some other goodies. The way back onto the ship is via two lifeboats which teleport you back onto deck. Curiously imaginative for the year of Doom 2's release!

 

How well it plays in multiplayer? I have little to no idea.

 

 

 

- The Linedef Longboats from "REKKR" by @Revae

I don't wish to snub REKKR purely on the basis of it having only one sector boat, so after some consideration I decided to also make mention of the linedef-based longboats, seen here in E1M1 and E2M1. They make for great environmental storytelling, providing you turn in the right direction at the start of the episode to catch a glimpse at them. The second one is even on fire!

 

 

 

- "Penthouse Paradise" by @Dexiaz

I am unsure whether to count this one on the basis of it being a Duke map ported to Doom. Caked in Duke textures, it makes no apologies about its origin, but it's still a sector-based boat in a Doom level, and so on the list it goes, I suppose! Small and dinky compared to some of the ones we've seen here, but it still serves its purpose in the level's introductory area as a piece of storytelling. Dukeguy has a boating license, who knew!

 

 

 

- Various boats from "Doom Vacation" by @Doorhenge

Again, these are directly lifted from Duke maps, this time being those found in Sunstorm Interactive's Duke Nukem 3D: Life's a Beach. These lovable dinghies make an appearance at the end of almost every level in this set as a means of exiting to the next one, and the continuation of this trope in the Doom version earns it points here.

 

The Wavemistress map from the Doom set is unfortunately lacking in content, essentially being a deathmatch map, cut down to size perhaps due to the limitations (at the time) concerning room-over-room in Doom's engine - something that could probably quite easily be replicated with line portals today. The extra splash of color provided by Doom Vacation's custom palette has definitely not gone amiss, though.

 

 

 

- "Struggle" MAP17 by @antares031

Okay this is just the cutest. I want to name her. How about... the Visplane Destroyer.

 

 

 

And the winner, to no-one's surprise, is:

 

 

1. "The Alfonzone" MAP48 and 49 by @Pinchy - "The Rustling Jimmy" / "Great Ship Doominati"

I'm not conceited just because my name is there, I swear. These two maps are just so cool. You end MAP48 on a sailboat stationed in the midst of a freezing sea, and the start of MAP49 has you gazing upon a gigantic megaship, which is not only a full map inside with 1000+ enemies, but has two floors. There's heaps to explore and enjoy here, perhaps being the most ambitious ship-based level for Doom created in modern times.

 

Rating: ⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓

 

 

 

-----

 

Join me again next year, when I'll be listing the Top 35 sector tram lines.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Jimmy

[Not Jabba]

Jimmy, you're amazing. I've thought about doing something like this before, but I knew I'd never be able to remember where I saw all those boats.

[SOSU]

Maybe the real best Doom wad were the boats we made along the way :)

[Scuba Steve]

What!?! No Action Doom boat!?

[Jimmy]

I knew I'd be forgetting some really obvious ones.

 

Sad yarrrr.

[esselfortium]

Great list, thanks for the mentions!

 

Thinking about the little rowboat from Sunlust though... ❤️

[Andromeda]

Alien Vendetta sure is a boatyful wad

 

[Hunting4r2d2]

The list I never knew I wanted, thank you for this.

[leodoom85]

@JimmyTop sector trucks when? 

[Captain Toenail]

Yarr that be a fine selection of vessels yarr

 

Sector toilets next?

[Scotty]

Fun list :D

 

I just want to shout out this goliath cargo ship from Interception II (Map27):

 

 

...and yet another Pinchy effort, from the unreleased Cereal Killer:

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by Scotty

[Gez]

There are more than a few maps with boats that I remember playing, but I can't bring back the mapsets' name to mind for a couple of them.

There's this one for Heretic

Doomsday Machine from NDCP

Afterlife from Community_Chest

 

One for Doom that made use of ZDoom effects to allow to swim under it. We had to go to the boat to get a key. It was next to a small warehouse with the usual Doom crates and stuff. Pretty basic detail level overall IIRC.

 

Another was a large city's dockyards with two or three cargo boats on it, as well as sector cranes and stuff. Much more advanced detailing, kinda similar to that Interception 2 screenshot but the boats weren't as big.

[JadingTsunami]

This is really great! There's something uniquely fun about sectored ships.

 

I suppose that once it is downloadable, that recreation of the Titanic has to make the list... :)

[Scuba Steve]

I completely forgot about Twilight Warrior and the Navy Seal boat assault mission...

 

 

[Angry Saint]

You missed the ship in Final Heretic Chapter One: The Docks by UltimateLorenzo

 

EDIT: ok, Gez already noticed this.

 

So, now I wait for something similar but for starships

Edited November 5, 2020 by Angry Saint

[xttl]

Does this count?

 

 

 

The same WAD has a spaceship too:

 

 

 

(it's ODYSSEY.WAD from 1996)

Edited November 5, 2020 by xttl

[Denim Destroyer]

Personally can't wait for the list of top 50 sector cars. Joking aside it is always interesting to see what people can make with just sectors.

[Tristan]

This is the kind of content I like to see on my Doomworld. Easily the best thread about ranking sector boats I've ever seen. Thank you, John Paddock.

[Dexiaz]

Thank you, @Jimmy! That was a really all of sudden, and also very pleasurable!

 

BTW, there was a ship assault mission in Covert Operations TC:

[ViolentBeetle]

The glorious barge from 2048 units of /vr/ was unfairly snubbed.

[SOSU]

Since we're listing boats here:
This Ghost Ship is Haunted by @Philnemba

E1M1/Schiff.WAD from SOSUvania Double Pack! by someone mysterious :O

[Scuba Steve]

There is no more opportune time than now to post the long-lost level my sister made more than twenty years ago...

 

CARRIER.WAD

[Roofi]

The cute boat from "The Room below" by TimeOfDeath. Also the trick with the ceiling is amazing. You should check it out

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by Roofi

[Martin Howe]

Trying to find out when DWANGO4 was released, but if after Fri 13 May 1994, then SHIP.WAD wasn't the first, it would be EVIL_E.WAD by Ian Suhrstedt ( image from another DW thread where EVIL_E was cited yet again for this ship :) )

 

 

 

[Spie812]

I present Dimensions of Time Map04 for your consideration without comment.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by Spie812

[DooMAD]

I can't seem to find a better quality screenshot, but there's a cool ship in 'Phobia - The Age' by @kristus.

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/p-r/phobiata

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by DooMAD

[Linguica]

23 minutes ago, Roofi said:

The cute boat from "The Room below" by TimeOfDeath. Also the trick with the ceiling is amazing. You should check it out

 

 

 

 

Unrelated but thank you for this, I have been trying to remember what this WAD was for years.

[Tango]

haha what a great list. I should point out though that essel is entirely responsible for that BTSX E1 boat, I had no hand in it whatsoever D:

[Redneckerz]

I feel a Doom WAD made out of all of these boats should be made in the form of a playable game of Battleship.

 

Have Zombiemen arm the guns and the oars.

 

Boats are easily one of the more identifable things in levels, and i am always impressed by them when they are found. Impressed because i can't imagine designing a sector-based boat being an easy task.

 

Jimmy, you are to be thanked.

[Doomkid]

1 hour ago, Roofi said:

The cute boat from "The Room below" by TimeOfDeath. Also the trick with the ceiling is amazing. You should check it out

 

 

EDIT: How could I forget the SS Radnsmash, unused boat map from Impromptu1, a fine vessel indeed:

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by Doomkid