The 2020 Cacowards

[RonnieJamesDiner]

What an incredible year of Doom stuff. I certainly had some expectations... namely Bastion, and Ar Luminae. An absolute pair of powerhouse maps. And a special congratulations to Primeval for the inaugural music award, and to Bridge for Creator of the Year - both extremely well-deserved! I'm probably most excited about that Rowdy Rudy 2 award, however. Between the dehacked work and the overall vision for the project, @Doomkid really created something special. Here's to hoping there's a RR 3 project down the road!

 

It's an honor to receive my first Cacoward. Being a small part of the RR2 and Mapwich 2 wins would've been more than gratifying, but that Tartarus Runner-Up was completely unexpected. I really, really appreciate it. A huge thanks to everyone who has taught, supported, and just put up with me.

 

Congratulations to all of the winners, tremendous work on the award write-ups by the panel (always a joy to read), and thank you to everyone for providing so many hours of fun again this year!

Edited December 10, 2020 by RonnieJamesDiner

[Vorpal]

Yeah I mean, the number 6 was more of a jest at myself, I really didn't mean this as a dig, just the point that; while yes nearly the whole of releases in a year can get cacoward-judge eyes on them (multiplayer guy, vanilla guy, zdoom guy, weapon mod guy, or however the pie is sliced), each individual judge can only hope to have a partial slice of the whole. It simply wouldn't be healthy or sane for one person to cover and absorb and review the entire thing, esp in a year like this.

 

Also this is doomworld and not really ravenworld, and Abysm leans more towards raven. Might be nice to have raven stuff represented next year tho, if 2021 produces as much.

[DoomGater]

Gratulation to the one and only damn old original monster game!

Where's the thread with all the useless meanings of the D.O.O.M.

acronym??

[Scuba Steve]

We long ago decided that the Cacowards can be thought of as the "idtech1 awards" however it just happens that Hexen, Heretic, and Strife don't see many user made add-ons, hence their general absence from the Cacowards... But all three have seen an award from time to time.

[UndeadRyker]

Sweet, the Cacowards are out already! This whole year was really rough but it went by so fast. Personally, I'm really glad to see @Doomkid and @Endless get the recognition they deserve. I've been watching their projects unfold quite nicely, and as someone who helped jumpstart the Doom Master Wadazine it's beautiful to see it get mentioned and all the praise it's gotten.

 

Congrats everyone, I'm proud to be a part of this community! :)

[Master O]

I love this image, by the way:

 

[fraggle]

I'll add that I also love the Microsoft Bob parody cover image. For comparison:

 

 

 

For anyone who's never heard of Microsoft Bob, LGR has a great video about it. It's probably Microsoft's biggest and most famous flop of a product. And of course now that Microsoft owns Doom, it really is "Microsoft Doom"!

[Pegleg]

Congratulations to everyone who won, to all the honorable mentions, and to the handful of maps mentioned as being just on the cusp of honorable mention. This was a great year, quality-wise, and it couldn't have been easy for the committee to sift through 6-15 and 16-30 and sort them down into what was in and what was out. Great job to them and here's to looking toward a great 2021 for the community!

[pavera]

So excited to see Syringe on this year's list! Thanks a lot @Major Arlene for the wonderful write up.

 

Congrats to all the winners, runners up, and mentions! 

[Not Jabba]

3 minutes ago, Pegleg said:

it couldn't have been easy for the committee to sift through 6-15 and 16-30 and sort them down into what was in and what was out.

Tell me about it! Selections are always tough, but the number of strong HM contenders was particularly brutal this year (and you may notice there are more HMs).


 

Just for kicks, here's a list of the six Doom projects I played this year -- I should probably give myself a break and play some other games in 2021 :P
 

Spoiler

Antaresian Reliquary
Abandon
Rowdy Rudy 2
Ar Luminae
Running Late 2
Bastion of Chaos
Mutabor

Three Is a Crowd
Syringe

Faithless Trilogy

Tartarus

Mapwich 2

Shrine 2

Christibox Anticolour Tech
Hadron E3
Criticality

Freaky Panties 2

25 Years on Earth

Gods & Guardians

Intergalactic Xenology

 

A Lost Soul?

Akeldama

Alpha Centauri

Biotech Is Godzilla

Blood-Stained Marble Halls

Bloody Rust 3

Bond of Hatred

The Cabin

Candlemass

The City of Damned Children

Clock Out

Clucking Dubbed to Feathers

Cold Front

CPD

Dead but Dreaming

The Demon Blade

Devil’s Grip

DyingCamel’s Demons 3

Evil Egypt

Exarch’s Keep

Heretic: Quest for the Crystal Skulls

1KLines 2

Infernovasion

Interception 2

Isolation

Lycanthorn

Mayhem 2020

Mean Green

Nova 3

Occult Secrets of the Third Reich on Mars

Pathogen

Penumbra

Ray Mohawk’s Manic Monday

Realms of Cronos 

Refracted Reality

Rust

Serenity Now

Serpent’s Wake

Shrine 1

Skinship

Spaceballs: The Sequel

Terminal

Umbral Platinum

Wormwood EU

 

 

 

 

[Noiser]

Congratulations to everyone! That was a bad year worldwide, but also a great year for the community despite everything else! 
 

Glad to see Mutabor, Rowdy Rudy 2 and Syringe on the list. Mutabor is probably the most impressive vanilla map I ever saw and Rowdy Rudy 2 have all the dehacked goodies I love so much. A lot of awesome winners and HM including ones I didn't saw before and I'm willing to play and the ones I was not able to play but it also looks amazing.

I also would like to highlight Akeldama as a great comeback to oldschool-styled megawads and also @Cheesewheel's CPD megawad which I've been playing lately and having a lot of fun. EDIT: Also @Egg Boy, which I think it's the most prolific mapper this year and make a lot of excelent maps

Edited December 22, 2020 by Noiser

[Nootrac4571]

I've only just realised, thanks to the Cacowards, that Anteresian Reliquary uses my BFG photo sprites for some of its weapon replacements. I'm delighted - and also it definitely means that I won 0.05% of a Cacoward this year. That's just maths.

[Lizardcommando]

Another excellent Cacoward write-up. I sure missed out on a lot of great releases this year. Time to catch up on those after speeding through Episode 1.

[Cheesewheel]

Feels great to get a little mention, expect something even better next year.

 

Congrats to everyone producing quality content this year.

[Horus]

Congratulations to everyone mentioned in the Cacowards!

 

To be honest I haven't played most of the outright winners (or HMs for that matter) but I've been very impressed by what I have played.

 

Doomkid's dehacked work for Rowdy Rudy 2 was absolutely outstanding and adds heaps of character to that wad. And Doomkid's upcoming megawad is very promising and I can't wait to play it in full once it's released.

 

Tartarus and Technicolor Christ Box are both fantastic maps fully deserving of their HM. Both RJD and Major Arlene are excellent mappers and I'm fully expecting them to get a Caco outright before too long! :P

 

But the thing I'm most glad about is that the wadazine got a mention. The demise of /newstuff and kmxexii's hiatus has left a gaping hole and Endless and team have filled it to great success. When I mentioned it in the thread I knew it wouldn't fit any of the pre-existing categories, so it's good to see it as part of a Special Features section this month. It's also good to see a music award for the first time, finally!

 

I am a bit disappointed that 1kLines 2 didn't get at least an HM, especially as it has a consistent quality that is extremely rare for community projects, and Aurelius's ambitious puzzle map in that wad was my favourite map of the year (with Xaser's MAYhem 2020 map a close second).

 

EDIT: Having seen Daerik post, that reminds me. Also glad to see that Daerik and Looper got recognition, even if I would have preferred it have a bit more prominence. I watched many of Looper's streams and know how long he spent trying to get that sub-18, and it was an epic achievement to finally get it! And as for Daerik, completing D2ALL on Sunlust is absolutely insane, might rank there in amongst the best all-time endurance achievements in Doom...!

 

Edited December 10, 2020 by Horus

[Daerik]

Honored to have gotten mentions for the insanity I've subjected myself to this year. It's been a wild ride and I'm thankful to have joined this community.

[Redneckerz]

I have been late to the party, but @Not Jabba and the outstanding Cacoward Crew: Thank you!

Perhaps next year, i can help out? ^^ I am just laying this card out on the table, bold as it may be.

 

I am happy to see DoomWare get an award - The novelty of Wariowareesque Minigames in Doom makes up for a perfect party game and its something i am going to recommend at work.

 

Some special mentions are in order, because obviously this isn't about me, but about the community that year on/year out deliver in spades - Even in a year where real life monstrosities endanger our society. To see such beautiful playable paintings of Doom despite this come out in such numbers is dazzling to see.

• @Major Arlene for Technicolor Antichrist Box. Such a wonderful tour de force and a magnificent of modern day mapping, and i thank you for mentioning Wadazine.
• @Endless - It has been nothing but a joy writing for Wadazine - At this professional level, its THE poster child for the entire Doom Community. Thank you, for all your efforts, along with the graphical magicians that make the magazine work every month.
• @kgsws for the ACE Engine. Of anything, i am rather proud this got a Machaward - and for good reason. Its one of the defining technical breakthroughs in a year full of them, because what about FastDoom, DeHacked Special Edition, VULD, Rum & Raisin Doom and more?
• @Doomkid and his team for Rowdy Rudy. Rarely have i seen someone be so dedicated to the craft of vanilla - From Doomshack to making compilations of the various executables, to the ultimate WAD list - Doomkid is a known presence lasting over 2 decades, and its been an absolute joy to converse on these topics. If anyone says vanilla is boring - Doomkid will tell you otherwise.
• @Quasar winning the Espi Award is truthfully almost a given. Though we rarely discuss things together, Quasar (and @Xymph and @Gez) has been very helpful for the Doom Wiki. I see your likes, Quasar, and this award is nothing but deserved on that level. But then there is a whole nother level, at Nightdive. Both in the community and in the industry, praised by the likes of Digital Foundry's John Linneman (Along with @Edward850 and @Kaiser!) Quasar's influence is present in every direction. From Strife to the Raven source code relicensing and a geniunely great person in between, Quasar deserves every modicum of appraisal for his incredibly long standing service for the community.
• @Jimmy for winning a Cacoward, but also for his recognition at Bethesda's Slayers Club for Deathless being part of the Unity port as an addon - From making maps to making complete games to constructing new midi soundscapes for us to listen, one can wonder what your limits are. I would wager there are none. Deserved win. PS: Speaking of midi's - The Schilder Midi review is on the way, i have not forgotten. A promise is a promise!
• @Wraith777 for Gods & Guardians - Personally, i love the fact that you use Doom-plus as a requirement in your works - Finally an author that puts these executable hacks to good use. And to good use they were, given the recognition. Please keep up taking advantage of the upper limits of vanilla mapping - both in the technical department, and artistically so.
• @Not Jabba I just read your little tag in the text for Technicolor Antichrist Box - thank you for this. I am glad that on that day i was able to phrase it such that it reminded you to make such a mention. I have no horse in the Cacoward race, but the mention for me is not only a complete surprise - It is something i hold dear. 
• Everyone else involved into making the Cacowards a reality. A special thank you to @Linguica for being the Badminstrator, writing the Machaward for ACE Engine and going above and beyond to keep this site up and running but also to organize every little thing imaginable, such as at Quakecon, and his fantastic hacks at Mikoveyor central. @fraggle for Chocolate Doom and all the vanilla utilities/experiments that came from it, and Dehacked support for Unity Doom. Without your miniwad, Doom for the Game & Watch would be a lot harder to pull, and we wouldn't enjoy all the add-ons that rely on DEH to be alive. Along with Quasar, a driving force behind this community.

Spoiler

Mordeth may still not be released, as is Millennium, but their history is if ever so fascinating. What the public eye does not yet see, the private eyes may uncover.

 

[baja blast rd.]

Just wanted to say 'grats to everyone mentioned for their work in any capacity, and thanks to everyone not mentioned who made the experience of playing a lot of stuff enjoyable anyway -- which is a lot of people, actually. That includes stuff like basic My First Maps I still try from time to time, and obscure idgames cuts with reviews like "three maps = three stars." 

 

Also I'm grateful for the activity in the 2020 mentionation thread, which directly influenced some of the expanded "tour" bits. That thread is generally cool -- everyone's participation is appreciated, from people with deep cuts and commentary, to...people who attempt to nominate 2012 Cacoward winners. 

 

So if you've ever wondered whether you actually make a difference there, the answer is a resounding duh. I'm glad some of the expanded coverage is resonating well with people. 

 

Also much love to everyone who has appreciated anything I've written (which has mostly happened on Discord so far because I'm in too many servers). Uh, I don't know how to make this type of post. I'll try better next time. [dramatic sendoff]

[Peccatum Mihzamiz]

Congratulations to all the winners! And props to all the writers! From an editorial perspective I am impressed that so many great puns, descriptions and metaphors are used by a multitude of writers and nobody seems to copy any of the others! And none of the writing seems 'forced cool' or something like that, chapeau!

 

Can I say that I love how the Cacowards aren't a static thing but keep adding, removing or changing categories if the year calls for it? I love how the 'Special Features' has been added this year. I loved last year's 'Spaceship of Theseus' award, and didn't even notice that there was no 'Mockaward' awarded this year until I started comparing this edition with the others. <) 

[Bauul]

1 hour ago, Horus said:

I am a bit disappointed that 1kLines 2 didn't get at least an HM, especially as it has a consistent quality that is extremely rare for community projects, and Aurelius's ambitious puzzle map in that wad was my favourite map of the year (with Xaser's MAYhem 2020 map a close second).

 

It did get a shout-out on the Special Feature's "Recommend me a... coffee break wad" section, so it wasn't completely missing.  I do agree though, one usually forgives CPs a lot of lurches in quality and pacing because of the nature of how they're made, but playing 1K Lines 2 was a reminder that they can also be as good as the best dedicated megawads.  Probably one of my favorite full meagwads of the year.

[Zillah]

I gotta nominate my boy @LacedCase for Blackened DM (it's real good) and @MikeyScoots for his revival and upcoming (Hell Unleashed) Projects. Hopefully this year's a good one! (I'm aware of the irony of my statement :P )

[jazzmaster9]

7 hours ago, Vorpal said:

 

b) cacowards are not comprehensive, but more "contributor [x]'s favorite wad of the year, and maybe they only played 6 wads"

 

You're right.

At the end of the the day this is just a list of a groups favorite wad of the year. And i need to remind myself that always.

 

I did give absolutely everything I got for Abysm 2 and I seriously dont know Anything more i could have added to it to have it make the top 10. I think getting a HM and An postive Reviee by Mr Icarus and Endless is enough confirmation that I did make an amazing product.

Edited December 10, 2020 by jazzmaster9

[Benjogami]

Thanks for the amazing writeup of Abandon, @Demon of the Well! It was a treat and honor to read. I’ve always loved your descriptions of Doom and have even held as a design goal, “make something worthy of a DotW writeup,” but still, I wasn’t prepared. It captures the vibe of what we were going for so well that I can’t help but feel it’s too generous. :D

[dew]

1 hour ago, Zillah said:

I gotta nominate my boy @LacedCase for Blackened DM (it's real good)

I actually did check this project out and it's indeed very solid, particularly from someone not in the usual spheres of DM community. However I think it lacks just a bit of balancing and "focusing" the designs. That might have been suggested by community feedback... if the community knew about it. Seriously, basically no one heard of it. The choice of hosting on itch.io and that players get asked for money when downloading (even if there's an option to set the fee to zero) is extremely counterintuitive to decades of praxis, so even if someone does stumble upon it, they get scared off.

 

I suggest the author continues with the project in 2021, but drops the "stats collection" premise and hosts in the open. There are no stats to be gained if there's no audience.

[Suitepee]

Nice to see more GZDoom/UDMF stuff getting acknowledged.

 

Also congrats to @Bridgeburner56 for being 'Creator of the Year'. He's essentially become the biggest "Doom hub" of the community as far as I'm aware with his Discord server and general online presence, and with his hard work deserves that award.

 

I'd have like to have seen @Kraja's I Have No Idea- Episode 1 get a mention, but otherwise I did like this year's Cacowards. Good stuff.

 

(P.S. Lunar Catastrophe 2 when @Miss Bubbles and @Count651? I didn't know that was a thing in the works until seeing the 'waiting for' list!)

Edited December 10, 2020 by Suitepee

[Not Jabba]

5 minutes ago, Suitepee said:

I'd have like to have seen Kraja's I Have No Idea- Episode 1 get a mention

It was after the mid-November cutoff -- it will be looked at for next year's awards.

[durian]

Happy birthday DOOM! This year has been so rough for so many, but it really warms my heart to see that - in spite of all that - DOOM continues to flourish. Congrats to all the winners, and thank you to all the team, and to all the creators who keep this game so very alive.

[Linuxmaster1992]

I loved the Windows 3.1x style cacowards logo this year! Very nostalgic, and very good looking.

[skillsaw]

Congrats to all the winners and runners up, and to everyone who got a mention for doing something cool! I've played some of these, but it looks like I've got a lot more Doom to catch up on. Somehow, it seems like the community gets more prolific every year, even as Doom gets older and older.

 

I can't imagine how much work goes into preparing for, writing, and editing this each year, and how tough it must be to make some of the decisions. I'm not the first but I want to shout out another huge thanks to the Cacowards team for all their efforts - I look forward to the Cacowards and love reading them every year. So... Thank you to everyone involved!

[Denim Destroyer]

As always I am excited to find new wads from the Cacowards even if I am bad at actually getting around to playing them. Also I glad to see this year's addition of the special features section! Allowing projects or people that can't fit into any other category to have a spotlight is always nice!