Favorite Visual Theme Throughout An Episode

[Jacek Bourne]

What is your favorite visual theme perpetuated during an episode of a megawad?

 

Examples:

 

Each episode of Scythe 2, Valiant, and Eviternity all have a singled visual theme.

Scythe 2 episode 2 has an egyptian theme. Episode 6 of Eviternity has a heavenly theme. Episode 5 of Valiant has a moon theme.

Expand on this as you will.

 

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

Eviternity's snow episode, mainly due to its awesome music.

[Nevander]

Definitely Valiant's lunar theme present during its final episode. It's just incredible and the Gundam Wing Endless Duel music fits sooo well.

[out_of_service]

I've got to go with Winter's Fury. The frozen landscape blanketed by a ghostly fog with chilly demons lurking about. Perfection.

Edited June 11, 2021 by PSXDoomer

[CherryPoptartzzz]

I have a fetish for maps that use quake 1 textures, Dimension Of The Boomed and The Ultimate Torment And Torture have my favorite visual aesthetic 

[continuum.mid]

It's between Scythe 2's Egyptian episode, Valiant's moon episode, and Eviternity's Heaven episode. They're all just beautiful throughout.

[Hawk of The Crystals]

Doom's knee deep in the dead, I may sound very basic, but I prefer consistent and basic over something flashy and all over the place.

[Mayomancer]

Eviternity chapter 1 and 3 and map24, Ancient Alien's first episode, Thy Flesh Consumed, Demonology from going down

["JL" was too short]

The hell/'malevolent otherworld' maps of any given megawad are almost always my favorite.  With that said, here are some wads that I feel have done especially well in the Hell department:

Valiant (quite possibly the orangest take on Hell ever)

Bloodstain

Whispers of Satan

Hellbound

Scythe 2

Unholy Realms

Eviternity

ZPack (a bit more inconsistent in quality than the others)

rf_1024 (not an episode per se as themes are scattered throughout this wad)

[Pechudin]

I liked the Suspended in Dusk's concrete brutalism.

[DSC]

Eviternity Heaven theme.

[yakfak]

sunlust cave theme

generally I like things less coherent and grouped together in general, "episodes" tend not to appeal

[Sotenga]

I'm quite partial to Scythe 2's first episode, because fighting through gothic architecture to the tune of literal gothic music is a really inspired idea. Also, Temple of Love is a real banger to start the wad off with.

[SilverMiner]

2002 Doom Odyssey: the first three episodes (I like these heavily detailed maps paired with fast and simple gameplay flow plus the music(not visual but it heavily affects my overall opinion) makes feel the theme even better, especially the tracks in the third episode perfectly touch the vileness of certain places like E3M1,2,4,5,6,7,9)

 

Bloodstain: in the second episode the theme arranges from fall to winter, all under the orange burning sky, I like it

 

128KB challenge, 4th episode: my the most memorable theme includes green torches, candelabras, lava, sp_rock, metal, wood, sp_hot and grates.

 

 

 

 

[Biz!]

I like City themes.

[Nefelibeta]

Sunlust's first and final episodes, black and yellow fits well.

[BoxY]

Green Sunlust.

[Maximum Matt]

Maze-ass techbases. 

[Scypek2]

I can't remember the name, but there was that ZDoom megawad with custom monsters, floating platforms from ROTT, and floating doomguy heads that attack you. The first episode's theme was just "green", and the second was all crates. I liked the crates.

[Gez]

1 hour ago, Scypek2 said:

I can't remember the name, but there was that ZDoom megawad with custom monsters, floating platforms from ROTT, and floating doomguy heads that attack you. The first episode's theme was just "green", and the second was all crates.

Probably Beyond Reality.

[ReaperAA]

14 hours ago, northivanastan said:

It's between Scythe 2's Egyptian episode, Valiant's moon episode, and Eviternity's Heaven episode. They're all just beautiful throughout.

 

^This. As well as the Industrial theme of Heartland.

[Antkibo]

17 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

Eviternity's snow episode, mainly due to its awesome music.

Amen brother, and also the purple hell maps of the second-to-last episode. There's not enough PURPLE in hell.

[Teo Slayer]

My favourites are from Scythe 2 Ep 2 and Valiant Ep 5

 

I really like Ancient Egypt stuff so I really enjoyed the ep 2 of Scythe and the ep 5 of Valiant reminds of Lunatic WAD which was the first PWAD I've ever played

[roadworx]

On 6/11/2021 at 6:41 AM, yakfak said:

sunlust cave theme

generally I like things less coherent and grouped together in general, "episodes" tend not to appeal

same tbh - it's fine if you're trying to tell a story that requires there to be logical progression between the themes of the maps (like in going down, where you're...you know. going down.), but if you're not, then why have anything else other than, at most, an earth-to-hell or x-to-y or whatever progression?

 

for example, in scythe 2 there's episodes for each theme, but it's not even trying to tell a story!! "this is the castle episode, this is the egyptian episode, thi-" NO!!! that's BORING and PREDICTABLE!!! i wanna be in a toxic waste dump in one map and then in an ancient temple the next dammit

Edited June 16, 2021 by roadworx

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

54 minutes ago, roadworx said:

For example, in scythe 2 there's episodes for each theme, but it's not even trying to tell a story!! "this is the castle episode, this is the egyptian episode, thi-" NO!!! that's BORING and PREDICTABLE!!! i wanna be in a toxic waste dump in one map and then in an ancient temple the next dammit

I agree, when you know what's coming it's not as fun. Another problem is that by having individual episodes where all the maps adhere to one theme, there's probably going to be one or two themes you don't really care for. Going back to Scythe 2, I didn't really like the jungle setting too much, which made it a little harder to look forward to the next map in that episode.

[BaileyTW]

Haven't played a hell of a lot wads, but Scythe's last episode has been my favorite hell aesthetic so far, I mean when it is a hell map, not sure why it's snowing in hell in the last 2 maps but I guess Run From It is you escaping hell I dunno.

[Walter confetti]

Joining the moon episode team, but this time from Ancient Aliens, as well with the Mayan/American Indian theme from episode 1.

 

From the classic Doom games, I'd say the twisted techbase/hell theme of Episode 2 from Doom, with the Green marble structures of episode 4 that i start to re-evaluating it. The water world theme of Heretic episode 3 is neat too, together with episode 1 from the same game and the Mayan and Alien themes from Strife.

 

Another interesting themes are: Egyptian, Hell (especially the one portrayed in Deus Vult 2 and the @Lutz vision of it), Cities, abstract places and void.

[Stocki]

I can't name a specific WAD. I like themes where tech and flesh/bones are mixed. It always reminds me of H.R. Giger.

[HombreSal]

Huge ass hellish palaces, like Sunder's surrounded by lava oceans or Stargate 20x6's floating in space. They're the grandest type of level. Too bad many of them are so long, but something smaller like Bloodsea Keep works too.

 

 

[Pirx]

On 6/11/2021 at 6:05 AM, jerrysheppy said:

The hell/'malevolent otherworld' maps of any given megawad are almost always my favorite.  With that said, here are some wads that I feel have done especially well in the Hell department:

Valiant (quite possibly the orangest take on Hell ever)

Bloodstain

Whispers of Satan

Hellbound

Scythe 2

Unholy Realms

Eviternity

ZPack (a bit more inconsistent in quality than the others)

rf_1024 (not an episode per se as themes are scattered throughout this wad)

 

 

this. skillsaw's orange skin-tech hell is the best variation on this theme so far, imo.