I just finished Demonfear, what a great wad

[Dusty_Rhodes]

It really was just wholly enjoyable. I played with the midi pack and dehacked file for the story and that really elevated the wad, in my opinion. I've never played a wad that stressed having a story and designed the levels around the story. It was pretty simple, but it gave an urgency to the map set. And on his Youtube channel, Adam Windsor has a playthrough of Demonfear and even stated that he wrote the story first and then designed the levels to fit. It made for some really cool visuals, like Map03 which is a gas station, there were also military offices and outer space cities. It's pretty quaint in the looks department (by modern standards), but Demonfear is both really good looking for a 90s wad, and visually consistent. The lighting is well done too.

 

On a gameplay side, I played it on Ultra Violence with continuous play. It wasn't impossible by any means, I'd say close to Plutonia, maybe a bit easier (the first two maps are way easier). However, instead of Team TNT style large non - linear maps with outdoor areas and teleporter hubs, or Hell Revealed style tight slaughter maps filled with Barons and Archviles, or E1M3 style techbases (these are probably the three most common styles of 90s maps), Demonfear has small, very tightly designed maps with little bursts of fast, deadly combat. Then once the fight is over you end the level. It's a very satisfying way to play Doom, barely any exploration or secrets, just kill some demons, grab the key, and teleport out (not that exploration and secrets are bad, they're great, but much more common in my experience). Later in the wad, some maps were bigger, but most were almost like an early version of Scythe 1 gameplay. Also, the music from the midi pack was excellent, I want to thank all the contributors. Apparently, Adam plays Doom without music, so it only had Doom 2 music originally. The new tracks really fit the wad better. 

 

Anyway, if you haven't played Demonfear, go play it. Maps are short but decently challenging for a 90s wad. So you can finish it in an afternoon. Grab the midi pack and you'll have a good time. Also are there any other wads like it and Scythe 1? Short, tight maps that feel like deathmatch levels and use mostly stock textures? I'd really like to see more in this style.

[roadworx]

while i do love demonfear - it was the first megawad i ever completed - there's review threads dedicated to posting this sorta stuff. no need to start a new thread. edit: nah fuck that demonfear deserves way more attention

 

to answer your question, bourgdm and revolution! sound exactly like what you're looking for.

Edited July 17, 2021 by roadworx

[Dusty_Rhodes]

27 minutes ago, roadworx said:

while i do love demonfear - it was the first megawad i ever completed - there's review threads dedicated to posting this sorta stuff. no need to start a new thread. edit: nah fuck that demonfear deserves way more attention

 

to answer your question, bourgdm and revolution! sound exactly like what you're looking for.

Hey sorry, I'm not new to Doom, but I am relatively new to Doomworld. I had no idea there were review threads. Anyway it is a great wad. I'll check your recommendations. 

[roadworx]

3 minutes ago, Dusty_Rhodes said:

Hey sorry, I'm not new to Doom, but I am relatively new to Doomworld. I had no idea there were review threads. Anyway it is a great wad. I'll check your recommendations. 

it's okay! i'm pretty sure everyone makes these sort of mistakes when just starting out here, it's no big deal.

 

btw, if you wanna see more of adam's work, i highly suggest checking out doom 404 as well as his maps in memento mori ii and requiem :)

[Dusty_Rhodes]

13 minutes ago, roadworx said:

it's okay! i'm pretty sure everyone makes these sort of mistakes when just starting out here, it's no big deal.

 

btw, if you wanna see more of adam's work, i highly suggest checking out doom 404 as well as his maps in memento mori ii and requiem :)

Gladly will check out Doom 404. Memento Mori 1 and 2 and Requiem are some of my all time favorites.

[Arrowhead]

.

Edited July 17, 2021 by Arrowhead

[Arrowhead]

Gonna have to agree w/ you here. Easily my favourite 90s megaWAD.

 

Love the small tight levels - and the fast, often frenetic combat on UV in some of the later stages. I didn't really care much for the story, but that's simply because I never really have cared about the story in Doom games.

 

I've yet to play it w/ the MIDI pack. Thanks for reminding me! :)

 

@roadworx I can second Doom 404. Great small maps. Another good recommendation for @Dusty_Rhodes is Zone 400. (Zone 300 is also great) It actually just came out yesterday. Great small maps using only 400 lines.  So yeah, if you liked the smaller sized levels of Demonfear, those should work for you too.

 

Edit: Almost forgot! These are even smaller - but still have very good combat! Try out 'Bijou Doom' as well! Or Congestion 1024! Or Claustrophobia 1/2 1024! They're all great, but somewhat experimental compared to Demonfear and the like. Worth a look though!\

 

NO IDEA HOW I DOUBLE-POSTED :P

Edited July 17, 2021 by Arrowhead

[Teo Slayer]

Nice

[Mr Masker]

Maybe you should make a sort of reviews thread for yourself, could be a good place for these sorts of reviews. It's clear you can have lots of say about certain wads.

[P41R47]

2 hours ago, Dusty_Rhodes said:

Gladly will check out Doom 404.

As a fan of his work, (hence why i made the MidiPack :P), i recommend you to play Doom 404 on HNTR, first.
Adam took a lot of time to refined this project, and is far far difficult than anything he made before, and also above Plutonia difficulty. The most difficult maps being map11, map20 or 21, and map26, i have seen really good players even having a difficult time on those maps.

Now, if you want experiences similar (short good maps) to Demonfear, here they are:

-Revolution! (with it midipack)

 

-The Rebirth (With it midipack)

 

-25 Years on Earth

 

-Mini-Level Megawad

 

-Perdition's Gate (author's official page, don't get scared for the weirdness of it)

 

-2048 Units of /vr/

 

-Khorus's Speedy Shit

 

-NoisyDiarrhea

 

-The Journey

 

-Zone 300

 

-Zone 400

 

-100 Lines (a community project leaded by Adam himself :)

 

-1000 Lines Community Project

 

-1000 Lines Community Project II

 

-3 Heures d'agonie

 

-Bourgeois DM

 

-Congestion 1024

 

-Countdown to Extinction

 

-H2H-Xmas (with Doomxmass for even better experience)

 

-The 64 Kb Challenge

Do note that some of this mapsets are far more difficult than Demonfear.
And i'm really glad you liked the MIDIPack, it was my first contribution to the community and seeing the good response to it feels really good :)
I just found this, i have no idea that it existed hahaha.
 

Spoiler

 

If you want experiences that are storydriven like Demonfear, but with more larger scope on the maps, check this thread i made and continue writing to these days.
 

 

Edited July 17, 2021 by P41R47

[OpenRift]

Honestly Demonfear is a interesting little WAD, though I think a little too small for my taste.

[Dusty_Rhodes]

1 hour ago, Arrowhead said:

Gonna have to agree w/ you here. Easily my favourite 90s megaWAD.

 

Love the small tight levels - and the fast, often frenetic combat on UV in some of the later stages. I didn't really care much for the story, but that's simply because I never really have cared about the story in Doom games.

 

I've yet to play it w/ the MIDI pack. Thanks for reminding me! :)

 

@roadworx I can second Doom 404. Great small maps. Another good recommendation for @Dusty_Rhodes is Zone 400. (Zone 300 is also great) It actually just came out yesterday. Great small maps using only 400 lines.  So yeah, if you liked the smaller sized levels of Demonfear, those should work for you too.

 

Edit: Almost forgot! These are even smaller - but still have very good combat! Try out 'Bijou Doom' as well! Or Congestion 1024! Or Claustrophobia 1/2 1024! They're all great, but somewhat experimental compared to Demonfear and the like.

Your comment about the story is totally fair, it's not like it's Fallout New Vegas, or Bioshock, or Thief 2 or Half Life or something like that distilled into Doom. It's just flavor text to give context and also inspiration for the levels which I think is a neat concept, at the least. Also thank you for the recommendations. :D

 

And yeah, on Ultra Violence the later levels are hectic and it's really a fun and fresh combat experience. I really like Adam's stuff from Memento Mori as well, so he's shaping up to be one of my favorite classic mappers.

[Dusty_Rhodes]

43 minutes ago, Mr Masker said:

Maybe you should make a sort of reviews thread for yourself, could be a good place for these sorts of reviews. It's clear you can have lots of say about certain wads.

I take that as a compliment, thank you so much. I might. I'd have to set a schedule to play things regularly as well as write a script becuase this is not my finest writing work lol. But if I do end up doing a review series, I'll be sure to credit you for the idea.

[roadworx]

2 minutes ago, Dusty_Rhodes said:

And yeah, on Ultra Violence the later levels are hectic and it's really a fun and fresh combat experience. I really like Adam's stuff from Memento Mori as well, so he's shaping up to be one of my favorite classic mappers.

he's been among my favorites for quite a while, up there with the moellers and matthias worch - he doesn't hesitate to beat the player over the head with a blunt object as soon as the opportunity presents itself, and i love it.

[Dusty_Rhodes]

1 hour ago, P41R47 said:

As a fan of his work, (hence why i made the MidiPack :P), i recommend you to play Doom 404 on HNTR, first.
Adam took a lot of time to refined this project, and is far far difficult than anything he made before, and also above Plutonia difficulty. The most difficult maps being map11, map20 or 21, and map26, i have seen really good players even having a difficult time on those maps.

Now, if you want experiences similar (short good maps) to Demonfear, here they are:

-Revolution! (with it midipack)

 

-The Rebirth (With it midipack)

 

-25 Years on Earth

 

-Mini-Level Megawad

 

-Perdition's Gate (author's official page, don't get scared for the weirdness of it)

 

-2048 Units of /vr/

 

-Khorus's Speedy Shit

 

-NoisyDiarrhea

 

-The Journey

 

-Zone 300

 

-Zone 400

 

-100 Lines (a community project leaded by Adam himself :)

 

-1000 Lines Community Project

 

-1000 Lines Community Project II

 

-3 Heures d'agonie

 

-Bourgeois DM

 

-Congestion 1024

 

-Countdown to Extinction

 

-H2H-Xmas (with Doomxmass for even better experience)

 

-The 64 Kb Challenge

Do note that some of this mapsets are far more difficult than Demonfear.
And i'm really glad you liked the MIDIPack, it was my first contribution to the community and seeing the good response to it feels really good :)
I just found this, i have no idea that it existed hahaha.
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

If you want experiences that are storydriven like Demonfear, but with more larger scope on the maps, check this thread i made and continue writing to these days.
 

 

Sorry for the late reply. 

 

I read your post (more of an article lol), and it was great. I have a lot to play now, well even more than all the wads already on my list. 

 

Also, thanks so much for the midi pack, it really was great and made the maps feel so much better (even though they were already great). Thanks for the small Demonfear style mapsets as well.

[Dusty_Rhodes]

1 hour ago, OpenRift said:

Honestly Demonfear is a interesting little WAD, though I think a little too small for my taste.

That's fair. I definitely enjoy the big,  exploratory wads as well. 

[DOEL]

I was just talkin with my co-op buddy B4T about Demonfear the other day! Is that you?? 🙃

[Dusty_Rhodes]

Just now, DOEL said:

I was just talkin with my co-op buddy B4T about Demonfear the other day! Is that you?? 🙃

It's not. But you should make sure he plays it. It's really good.

[Redneckerz]

Finally someone else who thinks Demonfear is a great mapset!

 

The short and concise maps make it ideal for inbetween-dooming. Ofcourse, its not superb, but its one of the great 7/10 WADsets.

 

''It just works.''

[Dusty_Rhodes]

16 hours ago, Redneckerz said:

Finally someone else who thinks Demonfear is a great mapset!

 

The short and concise maps make it ideal for inbetween-dooming. Ofcourse, its not superb, but its one of the great 7/10 WADsets.

 

''It just works.''

Perfectly sums Demonfear up tbh