Doom Wadarcheology - To dig, rediscover and enjoy the classics.

LUISDooM · August 10, 2021

Great thread idea! I love old 90's maps!
Can't wait to see what hidden gems this thread will unearth from the deeps of time. XD

Arrowhead · August 10, 2021

House666.wad + newflats.wad - 11/29/95 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

House666 is a 'myhouse.wad' type map by Andrew Lattof. The author essentially has recreated the entirety of their house. This WAD, while rough around the edges, has a lot of charm, and is worth experiencing - despite some of it appearing silly by today's standards.

There are many new textures in this map. They are very simple - one might even say monochromatic, but they add a certain kitsch to everything, and the monochromatic look is kind of cool. The living room in this WAD is a great example of early DoomCute, and the author makes an effort to make the house a nonlinear experience w/ their key placement.

I would have liked to see the author detail the garage door a little more, in similar fashion to how they detailed the smaller household doors... It looks odd being so monochromatic and monolithic. That's more of an aesthetics nitpick, than a genuine complaint though. The map culminates w/ a fight against a completely harmless Cyberdemon stuck in a closet.

Comically, the author has replaced the fist w/ a broomstick - I don't think it's damage or attributes have been altered though. Its just a cosmetic replacement, yet I find it interesting that people were replacing weapon sprites this early. The MIDI has also been replaced, and while not terrible, doesn't really add anything to the map.

Overall, pretty fun - despite an obvious dated DIY aesthetic, this map still turned out to be an enjoyable 5 minutes.

Spoiler

Download link: https://bit.ly/3s2VoMl

Doomkid · August 10, 2021

Oh, this is the absolute best! So glad to see the first 10 years of Doom mapping getting proper e-archaeology treatment!

I’ve been doing basic forms of this for many years - Dwango20 was a (successful) attempt to find a full megawad of old forgotten DM maps from 1994-1998 and save them from obscurity. And it worked, Dwango20 has remained a somewhat popular DM wad since 2014! It’s satisfying reaching into the maw of obscurity and pulling deserving works out for the world to see..

Since late 2017 - with help from many others - I’ve also been doing occasional hunts for old but worthwhile vanilla wads, for the Big Vanilla Wad Pack linked in the OP. I’ve found many obscure treats over the years, but beyond being “saved into the fold” and joining the BVWP collective, I never did any proper documenting of the wads on an individual level - just bagging and tagging (lol).

I love how each wad gets somewhat in-depth love and attention using this method. It’s going to be a huge boon for the BVWP. From now on when I find something old but decent, I’ll be sure to post it here alongside adding it to the BVWP.

I love this!

Edit: While I think there’s only a handful of wads to find here, people interested in Doom archaeology may also like to see the BIG directory of old, forgotten archived Doom sites - https://doomshack.org/olddoomsites.html

310 sites have been documented since 2016, though Mad Butcher has provided me with like 100+ more since last update.. I just haven’t added them due to mix of other obligations and laziness (d’oh)

Doomkid · August 10, 2021

18 hours ago, Vorpal said:

great idea, but as a debbie downer I am obliged to point out that Mike Reed was about as famous as a doom mapper could get at that time and various maps of his were on everybody's "top 10 wad" sites, and people still make Let's Play vids of his maps etc., pretty much violates all your rules ;-p

This community is just so old that once-popular mappers now really are obscure (though still less so than the “never known” mappers). It still blows me away when I see discussions pop up and I expect an old map (or mapper) of legendary status to be mentioned, then realise it’s all so old that most Doomers came well after their time in the sun, and thus them and their works are now relegated to obscurity by the ravages of time..

It would actually be an interesting endeavour in its own right to find all the once-popular mappers and get them and their works added to the Wiki, and maybe mentioning it here when and if it happens. I’ve personally added a few myself, such as Tom Sanner (Mr.Doom, who had one of the most popular Doom GeoCities sites).

(double post because UgBoards software doesn’t let you add quotes to edited posts on mobile)

Endless · August 10, 2021

12 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

Oh, this is the absolute best! So glad to see the first 10 years of Doom mapping getting proper e-archaeology treatment!

I’ve been doing basic forms of this for many years - Dwango20 was a (successful) attempt to find a full megawad of old forgotten DM maps from 1994-1998 and save them from obscurity. And it worked, Dwango20 has remained a somewhat popular DM wad since 2014! It’s satisfying reaching into the maw of obscurity and pulling deserving works out for the world to see..

Since late 2017 - with help from many others - I’ve also been doing occasional hunts for old but worthwhile vanilla wads, for the Big Vanilla Wad Pack linked in the OP. I’ve found many obscure treats over the years, but beyond being “saved into the fold” and joining the BVWP collective, I never did any proper documenting of the wads on an individual level - just bagging and tagging (lol).

I love how each wad gets somewhat in-depth love and attention using this method. It’s going to be a huge boon for the BVWP. From now on when I find something old but decent, I’ll be sure to post it here alongside adding it to the BVWP.

I love this!

While I was writing this concept, one of my first thoughts was ''Pretty sure Doomkid will like this'' haha.

While my experience with the community is relatively recent compared to other veterans (hell, there's so much content that even if I had 10 years ago it would still be relatively new) I've come to admire the old work. They have a palpable charisma in their adventurous spirit, you can look at them and genuinely think that most of them were made by authors with a certain sparkle in their eyes to discover, create and share. It would be a shame to leave so many classics forgotten in obscurity, and I'm sure there are many.

Your BVWP thread is a great inspiration for this. I remember looking at the huge list and thinking ''Fuck, I don't even know 90% of these WADs''. That made me really want to explore them all to give them their proper and recognized documentation. Digging through the obscurity to find these dusty gems.

It'll be an honor and joy to have you onboard, and I hope, in the long-term, this wadarcheology project manages to build up a proper museum full of hundreds of awesome classic titles.

Arrowhead · August 10, 2021

25 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

though Mad Butcher has provided me with like 100+ more since last update.

Wow, this is exciting news! I've gone through a large majority of them already, so its good to hear that there are more in the pipeline. :)

Dexiaz · August 10, 2021

A very interesting thread I see here! Well, lemme include some research from Russian Community about old russian WADS, ~~stolen~~ taken from iddqd.ru

fLKRcnQ6Kuo.jpg?size=800x500&quality=96&

|YEAR|AUTHOR|LINK|

1994 | Unknown (Russian Pirates) | SAI.WAD (Russian voice over for monsters. Don't ask why, even russians don't know)
1995 | Peter Porai-Koshits | OLD_PARA.LMP + OLDWST.WAD

1995 | Unknown | MIEM 12 (Wikipedia info)

Endless · August 10, 2021

@Dexiaz Greatly appreciated! A few hours ago I was thinking of doing a search in the pockets of the forums of different countries, such as French or Russian, and you just fulfilled my wish. Thank you very much, this is extremely useful. I hope there are more yore WADs from other countries as well.

TheGreenZap · August 10, 2021

I love this idea and have enjoyed checking out what has been posted so far. I started digging yesterday on IDGames, but didn't find any I really liked or met the requirements yet. I think I will switch gears and dive into the Big Vanilla Wad Pack. I've been wanting to do more of that anyway.

thestarrover · August 10, 2021

zj49MILL.wad (strange name I know) by Simo Malinen, 05/3/2000

Although Simo Malinen won in 2005 a Cacoward for his Hi-tech Hell 2 - Alien Tech, and many his works (in particular from 2003 to 2005) are available on idgames, this map maybe is not very well known.

It is a medium sized map for E1M1 of Ultimate Doom.Like almost all his maps, the textures are predominately grey and the design is essential but at the same time elegant ,thanks to the insertion, here and there, of red and blue elements and also to the good use of light and shadow effects.Since the only weapons available are the pistol and the shotgun the map is quite hard, in particular in the final area where there are a lot of monsters. No secret rooms.

The map works perfectly on DosBox.

Screenshots

Download HERE

Edited August 10, 2021 by thestarrover

Jaccident · August 10, 2021

I haven't posted much to doomworld so sorry if the formatting is wrong or something. I started looking through old wad review sites (thanks doomkid) and Team Insanity gave a 10/10 review to a TC called Real that was initially uploaded to cdrom.com. Turns out it's actually just a partial conversion but it's still quite cool. It was published on the 16th of April 1998 by Joe "JAZ" Zona, and has a bunch of new textures, things and sounds. It was made for DOS so I had to use DOSBox to play it, but I rather enjoyed using dosbox for my playthrough. Most of the weapons sounds except the shotgun and SSG have been replaced, alongside most of the monster sounds. There are also lots of ambient sounds added in. The 6 levels themselves are nothing special, in fact the first one is pretty awful, with it mostly being narrow corridors made of one texture with some pinkies thrown in, although the rest of the levels were still enjoyable due to the novelty of the new textures and sounds.

/idgames link: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/p-r/real

Here are a few screenshots that I thought were noteworthy:

Spoiler

Waterfall.png.58ac96625250543c7f40cd2253d948cc.png

A waterfall with its own waterfall sounds and animated waves

903959949_BFGmusic.png.7668d43359eb45b9ab8f12fffc71631d.png

A hall with a BFG in it that plays grand music when you walk in - this made me laugh

2121742136_Nightjungle.png.3646a46acf4b86f9a4da507baff9ecc9.png

An atmospheric night jungle where vine midtextures block your view.

I really enjoyed my time with this mod, although its 3.5 star rating is reasonable given its downfalls.

Endless · August 10, 2021

МИФИ

¹⁹⁹⁷

^{By Peter Kosyh}

^{Played on Doom Retro}

Thanks to @Dexiaz, I now have the opportunity to find some russian history in this great world of WADs, and this is quite the history! An enigmatic WAD, which apparently is not archived in /idgames and is floating around on the internet. It caught my attention for two reasons: 1. the name and 2. the university it seems to be based on (with a link provided by Dexiaz himself). So my first thought was: Oh! This must be one of those WADs that seek to replicate real architecture or life scenarios. And well, apparently, that's what it is. While it's not a 1:1 copy of the university, it certainly falls into that infamous type of WAD genre: myschool.wad. And what's up with the 90s WADs and their taste for Nirvana? Heh. This WAD starts off quite well with an iconic introductory scene to this university, the map design has a touch between abstract and realistic, giving it a certain surrealistic air as a result. It is well known that one of the most outstanding features of Russian mappers, is their ability and taste for recreating real world locations, and together with the limitations of the Doom Engine, creating something quite unique, theatrical and that feels like a dream. This WAD manages to touch a bit of that fantasy. While it's not extremely amazing from a technical standpoint, it seems to be one of the first of its kind in the way it's developed. It's quite difficult to find more information about the precise background or history of this WAD, much more from the author, but it certainly has something unique. On the other hand, the WAD claims to have 5 new maps, but the truth is that there are only 2 new maps. The first map, which is the university, and the last one, which seems to be a kind of tower that I feel is affecting me with the Mandela effect. MAP02 is a DM version of MAP01, I believe, while MAP03 is regular Doom MAP01 and MAP02 is TNT: Evilution MAP01. Quite the setup! The last map is a very challenging high tower with a cryptic and unique progress. The design reminds me of Stephen King's The Dark Tower for some reason. This is a WAD that probably took the first steps in what would later become the typical Russian style: an altered reality, a unique vibe and a palpable architecture.

Edited August 10, 2021 by Endless

Arrowhead · August 10, 2021

Quake2: Base1 - 12/06/98 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

This is a 1:1 recreation of Quake 2's first level by Danny 'UrHaSh' Tam. The map is unique in that the author chose to not include any Quake 2 textures, the entirety of the map uses the default Doom 2 textures. Texture usage is to great effect, the author has really made the world of Doom2 resemble Quake 2.

All enemies are simple zombiemen / chaingunners - this makes sense, as in Quake 2, you only encounter 'guard' type enemies in the first mission. Placement is great, w/ monsters being placed in nearly the same locations as they are in Quake 2. The author even bothered to include a Berserk pack in place of the Quake 2 'Adrenaline' item - this kind of attention to detail really won me over.

A small complaint I have for this map, is that the exit switch is unmarked. This is fine if you've played Quake 2 before, but if you haven't, it may be confusing to exit this small map. The exit is located in the centre of the farthest room from your startpoint - you need to climb a tall staircase to get to it - it should end up being fairly obvious.

Gameplay is reminiscent of what one would expect for an 'intro' type level - it is very simple. Don't expect to encounter any kind of challenge in this map, as there was hardly any challenge in the original Quake 2 level.

I don't get why this seems to have been lambasted on /idgames, it is a solid, commendable attempt at recreating a far more complex game in a far simpler engine, and because of that, this map should be played again.

Spoiler

Download link: https://bit.ly/3lNr2w8

Arrowhead · August 10, 2021

hellbell.wad - 07/11/97 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

Hellbell.wad is a great 3-key map from Joe Winter. 3-key design usually lends itself to exploration type maps, and that is definitely the case w/ this level. The map takes place mostly underground in a type of 'subterranean castle / dungeon' - architecture is quite nice, w/ a large grey arch being one of the focal points.

There is a fair challenge here. Health pickups are scarce, and you will have to be extra careful to conserve health on UV difficulty. The main difficult stems from the multitude of hitscanners in this map - they aren't placed unfairly, there are just a lot of them. The map alters between tense corridor fighting, and larger areas where circle-strafing reigns supreme.

The map comes w/ a custom MIDI - perhaps in a different soundfont this MIDI would sound ominous, but to me, it sounded very similar to Christmas music. There are far too much 'bell' sounds in the track - makes it sound like a festive tune, rather than a foreboding 'Hells Bells' type tune that the author may have been going for.

The map is not difficult to navigate, despite being quite large in size. This is because the author was decent at designing recognizable locations, the subterranean arch is an especially helpful landmark, as is the blue key tower. Encounter design is fairly basic, w/ most monsters attacking immediately when you enter a room. The map is not very trap heavy, and the player is often left unpunished for picking up important items.

Despite some basic encounter design, this still turned out to be a very fun, complex map. Expect to spend 10-12 minutes to get from beginning to end. :)

Spoiler

Download link: https://bit.ly/3yP0X3e

Catpho · August 11, 2021

Awesome, i've been on this exact trip a year ago. Here are some sources i think will be helpful in discovering lost gems:
- Doomworld threads:

Spoiler

- 32 best mappers (circa 1998) on John Bye's website (index where you can find Bye's fav levels too)

- Ricorb's list of great doom maps

- Doomworld users dropping reviews for stuff that really should be known more:

Spoiler

+ TimeofDeath

+ vdgg

+ lupinx-Kassman

+ argenteo

Very tempting for myself to drop in once in a while :) Have fun everyone!

Arrowhead · August 11, 2021

8 minutes ago, Catpho said:

Very tempting for myself to drop in once in a while :) Have fun everyone!

Thanks for the great info dump! Definitely some helpful leads there!

You should definitely do that! We'd love to have you on board! :)

Endless · August 11, 2021

24 minutes ago, Catpho said:

Awesome, i've been on this exact trip a year ago. Here are some sources i think will be helpful in discovering lost gems:

Big thanks for all these threads and sites! Extremely useful for this endeavor. Would be awesome to have your knowledge and skills onboard with the Wadarcheology. Maybe this thread can also help out with creating Doomwiki articles for classic WADs :D

Arrowhead · August 11, 2021

DMT.wad - 1994-07-06 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

This is a 1994 map that was uploaded to the /idgames archives in 2019. This is one of those rare maps w/ an unknown author. There is very scarce information provided in the readme for this WAD, other than the bare basics. I wish we were able to know more about the author, or if they'd made any other maps. Maybe someone will recognize this WAD and share more information, stranger things have happened.

Regardless, this is a better than average 1994 map. The layout is what's to be expected of the time, with many of the areas being large open rooms w/ barely any monsters. The map while not challenging by today's standards, still offers the occasional surprise. There is a section that requires some teleport puzzling, but you're rewarded w/ a fun fight each successful time you find a switch.

Architecture is pretty basic, w/ only the large 'O' shaped hallway really being memorable. Progression is really not that obtuse - don't let the words 'teleport puzzling' scare you, it isn't that difficult to navigate, all things considered.This is certainly a very old-school looking map - w/ texturing ranging from hazardous to competent. There is nothing too visually wowing in this map - though, it does look better on average than a lot of 1994 maps I've played. The map ends w/ a dual cyberdemon fight that is effectively neutered by the invulnerability sphere that is provided - they look cool in their little cages, and it can be fun to release both of them at once.

This map, while not difficult by today's standards, still offers quite a bit of fun and exploration, one can definitely see the map's age, but it plays quite well. Lots of fun w/ the BFG... :)

Spoiler

Download link: https://bit.ly/3fOaErm

Edited August 11, 2021 by Arrowhead

thestarrover · August 11, 2021

5 hours ago, Arrowhead said:

This is a 1994 map that was uploaded to the /idgames archives in 2019. This is one of those rare maps w/ an unknown author. There is very scarce information provided in the readme for this WAD, other than the bare basics. I wish we were able to know more about the author, or if they'd made any other maps. Maybe someone will recognize this WAD and share more information, stranger things have happened.

I have a copy of this wad but, unfortunately, unzipped and without text file; probably it doesn't exist at all.I have other wads without textile, in particular for doom 1.2-1.9, and this is a problem because not only you don't know the author but also you don't know the map slot and so you have to try and find it.

thestarrover · August 11, 2021

THE KURSE (THE KURSE.WAD) by Sean Swanson, 07/8/1994 GZdoom 4.6.1

The map begins in a big room with organic textures and you are immediately surrounded by monsters. When you defeat them, the big doors are locked and your journey to find the key begins.But it not so easy. You have to walk in narrow passages full all monsters ,with a little room to move and avoid they attacks; you have to find secret doors to enter the next section of the map and if you find an items be careful because not always it is good idea to take it. And when you finally find a key, in particular the yellow one, it becomes much harder. There is also a well designed wide area and, of course, a long mazy section (it’s classic for a ’94 wad! ). This 1994 wad has a very good detailed design, in my opinion of course, with organic and hellish textures and a good use of shadows and light effects, and it's full of monsters. According to the author, there are extra monsters and weapons in multiplayer mode. If you looking for some real action this wad is for you.

It works perfectly on DosBox

Screenshots

Download this wad from idgames

Argenteo · August 11, 2021

4 hours ago, thestarrover said:

I have a copy of this wad but, unfortunately, unzipped and without text file; probably it doesn't exist at all.I have other wads without textile, in particular for doom 1.2-1.9, and this is a problem because not only you don't know the author but also you don't know the map slot and so you have to try and find it.

Maybe you can try using Slade to check the slots. In Gzdoom you can type "listmaps" on console.

11 hours ago, Catpho said:

- 32 best mappers (circa 1998) on John Bye's website (index where you can find Bye's fav levels too)

Wow, I love his designs. Sure to check that.

Magnum Opus by John "Spooky" Bye (1996)

The elements in here were the ones that got me to doom. The quiet music, the unknown and the void. The fear of knowing something is there watching you.
As I move on, the demons make me feel uneasy as the midi rises from the tombs.

It's a great short adventure with awesome light effects. Its not his magnum opus, but a presage of what's to come.

Edited August 11, 2021 by Argenteo

thestarrover · August 11, 2021

10 minutes ago, Argenteo said:

Maybe you can try using Slade to check the slots. In Gzdoom you can type "listmaps" on console.

Thanks a lot @Argenteo!

TheGreenZap · August 11, 2021

Made new post.

Edited August 12, 2021 by TheGreenZap

Somniac · August 11, 2021

Someone should do Deimos Subway, I might cover it myself if I get the time.

Arrowhead · August 11, 2021

WOOD.wad - 02/08/95 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

Wood.wad is a large exploratory wad created by Ryan Shephard. This map is a gigantic wood-textured complex w/ some underground regions included as well. For being such a large map, I really did not have a hard time navigating - the author lays out the goals of the map very clearly - and there is no confusing progression. The map has seven secrets, and while that may seem like a lot for the time period, many of the secrets open up as you 'unlock' new areas of the map to explore.

The map, while having a quite basic texturing theme, (mostly wood) still manages to look nice. There are a few large rooms in this wad that are particularly nice to look at. The three screenshots I've included show off some of my favorite areas.

Combat is fairly intensive for a Doom1 map. Intensive, not difficult - I found myself being forced to retreat a few times due to the sheer number of pinkies in some small rooms. You also encounter a few higher tier enemies in this map, w/ a few barons and cacos thrown in to spice up the map.

One of the very few complaints I have for this map is that the secrets you do find are pretty overpowered. You'll see what I mean if you choose to play this map.

Architecture and geometry are well above average for the time. The level has lots of height variation, as well as a cool 'concrete chute' that you have to leapfrog down. I am surprised by just how much effort was put into making this a fun map to run around in. Ammo is fairly plentiful - the author did make an attempt at ammo balancing - there aren't just dumps of ammo everywhere like in many other early maps.

Overall very fun map! I really enjoyed myself, check it out if you have 10-15 minutes to spare!

Spoiler

Download link: https://bit.ly/3iDcxsX

Arrowhead · August 11, 2021

Bilbo's Smegging WAD - 07/27/1994 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

This is an absolutely amazing level made by Brad Spencer, aka 'Bilbo'. This map really feels ahead of its time, and its hard to believe that it only came out within the first few months of WAD editing.

There are a few toughish fights in this map, namely a teleport ambush, a crate maze, and the end encounter.

The final room features an interesting set-piece of an inverted cross, paired w/ the word 'SATAN' etched in the ground. This final room is one of my favorites in all of Doom, as it absolutely bleeds old-school charm.

The cross also releases cacos during the end encounter. The end encounter while hectic today, must have been much more difficult back then, when so many players were still playing keyboard only. There is a BFG secret in this map that isn't a 'must find', but you should still try to seek it out - it really makes the map more fun!

Progression is completely logical in my opinion - w/ switches performing obvious nearby actions that require little backtracking. This is definitely a more combat oriented WAD - there are few puzzle elements, and much of the map is linear - what you do end up exploring is quite large, but it does end up being a linear path.

I don't know much about the author, other than that they joined up quite a few years later w/ Karthik Abhiram, to create a project known as 'Metamorphism'. I haven't played it, but w/ two talented WAD authors at the helm, its probably pretty decent.

This map also features a great MIDI - 'chris3.mid'. Its got a really catchy chorus that I've had stuck in my head for hours now.

Easily one of my favorite overall 1994 maps. I feel it deserves far more attention for being so solid gameplay wise - I mean, its not a brutally difficult map - its just really fun, and really surprising considering its age.

Spoiler

Download link: https://bit.ly/3sa2rTo

Doomkid · August 12, 2021

That wad is impressive for the time, and I have to admit the name is kinda nasty if you interpret “smegging” as a verb, I’ve for some reason always read it that way.. Yuck 😂

TheGreenZap · August 12, 2021

BLT - download

by Neal Ziring

1994

Doom 1 wad

Played using Doom Retro

I found this wad in the Big Vanilla Wad Pack. The name drew me to it. This is a map designed by Neal Ziring back in 1994. After some research I see Neal designed 3 other maps and his most popular seems to be The Deimos Subway. I was surprised to find out a wiki page was created for BLT. Besides that I really didn't find any other information in my search.

BLT could have been a really well designed map if Neal would have taken more time I believe. He states in the text file he did this in a 24 hour period. There are some misaligned textures here and there. There is also a misplaced extra "level exit" that I found when I pulled it up in Doom Builder. With that said, this is a fun level to play. It is primarily a tech base design with some hell design thrown in. There are several secrets to find that will help you a bit throughout, except for ammo. Ammo is a little tight, so you have to conserve when you can. It can also be a challenging map which will see your health decline quite rapidly in some spaces. I think that really added to the level and made me keep going because the gameplay was quite good. This is a short map that is definitely worth your time because it's fun to play. Actually, I am thinking about making a modern version of this map. I plan to change and try to make the design a bit better, make it bug free and add a little more space in cramped places. Anyway, this old map deserves a little attention in my opinion.

Edited August 12, 2021 by TheGreenZap

Arrowhead · August 12, 2021

22 minutes ago, TheGreenZap said:

I found this wad in the Big Vanilla Wad Pack.

I originally played this after finding it on a shovelware disc collection I bought - I don't remember which disc now, lol.

Great review! I too agree that it should get a little more attention, its a pretty decent effort for the period. You're right though, a little extra polish would have helped. I'd love to see a 'revised' version. :)

Endless · August 12, 2021

OPOST21.WAD

^{By Scott Amspoker}

¹⁹⁹⁵

Quote

As with any Doom level, please play this level in a dimly lit
   or dark room. I strongly urge that you not use gamma correction
   unless you really have an unusually dark monitor. Gamma correction
   tends to put a "wash" on the otherwise deep Doom colors and I
   have chosen the light levels carefully. Some parts of this
   level are dimly lit. This is not to disorient the player or
   pull a cheap shot in the dark. It is to create the proper
   mood and to exploit certain Doom textures that would look
   unconvincing in brighter light (and with gamma correction).
   Have fun!

Well, this guy knows what he's talking about! OPOST21 It is a WAD originally created in 1994, designed for Doom 1, with a very attractive style and a cohesive design that follows a broken, non-linear progression full of secrets, hidden paths and forbidden areas that the human eye should not see. Ha! WAD's story is applied to its level in a pretty cool way, giving it a touch of palpable personality that I appreciate quite a bit in this type of map. The map design is simple, for the most part, but it has a huge variation of scenarios, special areas and a lot of secrets, most of them being secret paths that we must take in order to continue with the map. This makes the progression somewhat cryptic, and forces us to do a lot of wall-humping at times, but a trained eye can easily spot the purposefully misaligned textures that hide the path to freedom. The rooster of enemies is not as saturated and uses predominantly Imps and Zombies, but every now and then a Revenant will throw in a Revenant to spice things up. Probably what I enjoyed most is the sense of exploration that WAD offers; while I'm not a fan of the complicated path system, the fact that each zone feels different but connected to the story, makes the sense of adventure pop and I feel like a little kid playing Doom at 7 years old, wondering ''Satan was here? Oh yes!''. A blast. The exploration feels like a lovely vibe and it's one of those WADs that I'm sure those who appreciate non-linear progression will love.

Edited August 12, 2021 by Endless

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