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

[Arrowhead]

Base 21 - 08/27/1994 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

B21 is an enjoyable yet spartan 1994 WAD. This is a map by Andy Hassall, an author, who as far as I can tell, only made this level. What's here is fairly basic, but still allows for a great classic Doom experience.

 

You'll start off in the middle of a very large square open room. Your first course of action will be to find yourself a viable weapon. The easiest way to find a weapon is by sprinting through the nukage room filled w/ imps, (to the left of the map) and fragging the shotgunner in the hallway there. This is a map w/ around 160 enemies, and there are 7 secrets - near this first shotgunner is where you'll find a secret - this secret contains a plasma rifle, but be careful, there's also a baron of hell in a trap here. You won't have enough ammunition to deal w/ him right now, so I recommend just leaving, and coming back when you've found the rocket launcher. I like the secrets in this map, they occasionally have enemies guarding things within them - something I haven't seen too frequently in the 1994 maps I've played for this project - this helps the map feel more alive and populated.

 

About a third of the way through the level, you'll encounter a ton of zombiemen standing around some barrels - it is a lot of fun blowing them to smithereens. There are a few little moments like this throughout the level - and serves well to make an otherwise simplistic map more dynamic. Once you've found the rocket launcher, return to that pesky baron, and make short work of him - you should now be able to take the plasma rifle without difficulty - this weapon will make short work of much of the remaining opposition.

 

Now comes a small part of the level that some might find an annoyance. There is a teleporter 'puzzle' in this map. It isn't particularly brain-intensive, but it might cause some folks some difficulty - it didn't cause me problems the first time I played through, (see video) but I think I got pretty lucky the first time. You essentially need to press a series of 6 switches in 3 separate rooms. The teleporting lines shoot you all around these three rooms, and it can be difficult to understand what line sends you where, unless you take a glance at the automap. It really isn't too bad, and if you get lucky and complete it quickly, it actually feels like quite the accomplishment. Pressing all 6 of these switches lowers 6 bulkhead doors, where there is a red key to snag.

 

The red key area holds a small shotgunner gauntlet - defeating them nets you a chaingun - upon jumping through the teleporter in the room, you'll be brought back to the main open room, where there is now a horde of about 60 varied enemies ready to take you on. Take out that reliable rocket launcher, and blast them back to hell!

 

A very fun early map. Sure, it isn't the most gorgeous, but it's perfectly functional - and sometimes w/ stuff from 1994, that's all you can hope for. I really had fun w/ this map - the final fight is super cathartic and satisfying, even if it is quite easy. Give this a shot if you like oldschool base levels - this'll certainly fit the bill. Takes about 7-10 minutes to complete! :)

 

Spoiler

 

 

Download link: https://bit.ly/3g3Ysmf

Edited January 30, 2022 by Arrowhead

[beast]

Ooh nice discovery @Arrowhead!

[LadyMistDragon]

Wow @Arrowhead, I couldn' stand Base 21, anyway....

 

Castle - 1/17/1996 - Daniel Millard

 

It's often said that Dario Casali was the godfather of slaughter maps with the creation of Go2It (not to mention the prior iteration Punisher) which appeared as the super-secret map in his megawad The Plutonia Experiment. However, there were plenty of maps made before anyone heard of the Plutonia Experiment by various people who probably played maps like Central Processing and the Suburbs and realized the potential of Doom as a game primarily relating to killing things as opposed to exploring, a la Containment Center. Unfortunately, many of these early efforts (a map called Slayfest that you won't find on idgames for instance) had little thought put into them beyond stuffing their maps as full of monsters as humanly possible. These maps were also sorely wanting for height variation and textural variety.

 

Our entry today that replaces E1M1 (little hint "Stricken Commission" from the Ultimate Midi pack is actually a decent fit) definitely suffers heavily from the latter two flaws. However, it's actually shockingly fun, even given the fact that it's also quite a map of its time as it pertains to obtuse progression. The author humorously points in the text file, like quite a few mappers in this time, that he'd actually never beat the map on UV. For the most part though, things are a-ok, and truth be told, I seriously doubt ammo is much more plentiful on HMP.

 

   You start in a wooden area that’s probably supposed to be the castle living quarters. You then traverse through some sort of religious and storage areas, represented by green marble, some red-bricked and heavily darkened cell blocks where the map also coincidentally ends, and most spectacularly, a sort of pit I guess they dump people that they want to be starved out, containing a blue floor texture not unlike shallow water literally everywhere, along with a series of rock outcroppings dotting a region that largely won’t show up on the automap. beyond many scattered linedefs.

 

     All this could make some solid and engaging action. But trouble arises from the rather obscure 90s progression alluded to from above. The trouble is the somewhat convoluted progression which becomes especially bad once you pass beyond the yellow door, which is the shallow-water area I mentioned above. It's not precisely a maze because this is a completely open area but everything starts looking very similar very quickly. You press a couple of switches at both ends of the area which each open up closets I feel quite certain were designed as excuses to unload your rocket launcher when given the amount of enemies contained within each one. Each of these closets also contain switches of which you need to hit both I think to open another chamber in this area containing 2 pinkies and the red key. I only hope you’ll find the computer area map which will clue you in to two untagged secrets located elsewhere in the map, as well as display all the untagged linedefs in this region, which there will no doubt be many. So if you're wondering where the red key is, don't fear. Wander around for 10 minutes!

 

 Besides, the area where you fight a Spider Mastermind with a handed-out plasma rifle whilst the many columns descent was pretty cool and you’re given just enough ammo and armour to survive (though the secret room here will make survival guaranteed). But shortly after this, you head through some storage areas and come out at one end of the wooden hallways near the beginning to find…..several Cacodemons and Barons with…No. Cell. Ammo. To be found. Anywhere. Granted, you might have been expected to run past them, which would make zero sense with this map’s focus. But the worst part is yet to come. Head back to the red bricked room behind the blue door in the map’s eastern section and be confronted by more mobs of Barons and Cacodemons with absolutely zero ammo to be found anywhere. This amount of ammo deprivation would make BPRD shake with horror.

 

It just makes little sense to me why a map that clearly emphasizes slaughter despite a very 94 design would decide to drop the ball in the last section for no other reason than to......intimidate you? No matter, other than that serious stain, it's hard to seriously complain.

 

Link

 

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

Edited January 29, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[Arrowhead]

27 minutes ago, LadyMistDragon said:

Wow @Arrowhead, I couldn' stand Base 21, anyway....

Haha, too each their own, I guess - I actually really enjoyed it - I felt it moved together pretty well, and I even liked the admittedly basic architecture / structure. The secrets were quite well implemented, too. I thought it all fit together fairly well for a WAD of this age, despite it being quite simple combat-wise. I've got no issue w/ easy-to-beat WADs; I don't think overall challenge is necessarily a make-or-break type thing for a WAD recommendation.

 

What was it that bothered you about it? Not calling you out, just genuinely curious! :)

[LadyMistDragon]

10 minutes ago, Arrowhead said:

Haha, too each their own, I guess - I actually really enjoyed it - I felt it moved together pretty well, and I even liked the admittedly basic architecture / structure. The secrets were quite well implemented, too. I thought it all fit together fairly well for a WAD of this age, despite it being quite simple combat-wise. I've got no issue w/ easy-to-beat WADs; I don't think overall challenge is necessarily a make-or-break type thing for a WAD recommendation.

 

What was it that bothered you about it? Not calling you out, just genuinely curious! :)

Oh wait, I meant Base 17, which was mostly intended as a deathmatch map. There is a couple bits there where you teleport and kill some trash enemies with barrels, but otherwis.e...

[Arrowhead]

Fenris1 - 10/10/1994 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

Fenris1 is a weird surreal 1994 puzzle WAD by Sean Briggs. This file was largely ignored when it was released, as according to one /idgames reviewer, it has a bum reject table. I imagine this would have made it difficult to play this back in the day - I encountered no technical difficulties at all while playing this map w/ GZDOOM, though.

 

I normally don't recommend puzzle WADs, as often I don't gel too well w/ the type of progression they employ. This map intersperses odd combat scenarios w/ equally odd puzzle situations. There are also a large variety of new custom textures, and I'm not sure I've seen these textures in any WAD but this one - I'm pretty sure they were author made, as the creator states in the readme: "Quite a few new graphics thanks to DMgraph...".

 

This map starts you off immediately in front of a large grey building's facade. Entering the building, you'll encounter a small horde of about 20 zombiemen. This is probably the largest single concentration of enemies in this level, the rest are drip-fed, as you progress through this map's relaxed encounter system. About halfway through the map, you'll encounter a peculiar series of symbols on a wall - this homemade texture can be seen in screenshot 3 - I stopped to briefly write it down in my video playthrough, yet for some stupid reason didn't realize that it was the solution to the next area's puzzle.

 

This next area is probably the most visually unique of the entire map. You basically teleport into a large open area w/ many disparate square pillars. On the walls there are trippy scrolling fish textures - as well as an overall blue theme. Makes me almost think the author was going for some kind of primitive underwater effect in a way. There is a teleporter stationed on top of each of these pillars. Attempting to get off said pillars simply results in you getting teleported to a different one - I had a little bit of trouble w/ this challenge, as I was foolishly unaware that I had already written down the solution to the puzzle. I don't know why my brain didn't put two and two together - it would have likely saved me a little bit of time. Oh well, the puzzle wasn't complex enough to waste too much of my life. The 'solution' to the puzzle doesn't specify from which initial three teleporters to start from, so if you were following the solution given in the prior room, you'll likely still get things wrong twice.

 

Upon returning from this teleporter area, you'll be required to battle another small horde of zombiemen. I don't want to make it sound like the only combat encounters you'll fight are zombiemen - there are many other monster encounters in this map, they're just usually more subdued. Once you clear these zombies out, you'll end up accidentally lowering a big blue pillar filled w/ imps. This will provide you w/ the yellow key needed to enter the final gauntlet.

 

This final region of the map houses a unique form of vertical progression. Essentially, you need to press two switches to lower a ledge so that you can access a switch to make you ascend to the next ledge. You then press another switch to rise higher yet again, and you repeat this about 4 times. I never tested this, but I'm pretty sure that if you fell down from here, you probably wouldn't be able to get back up - I think this climb is a one way ticket, so make sure you complete whatever else you want to in this level before attempting the final ascent - please see screenie 4 for an overview of this environment.

 

I very much enjoyed this WAD, and I was surprised that I did. I'm not typically a puzzle map guy, - as can probably be seen from my past recommendations. Sometimes a change of pace is nice - I recommend that you give this a shot, you might have a pleasant experience like I did! I'll definitely be remembering this map for a long time - it has a crazy unique vibe. :)

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Download link: https://bit.ly/3s1dWwI

[Arrowhead]

Merlin's Revenge - 05/06/1995 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

Merlin's Revenge is an architecturally sound hell map made by Jonathan Jordan. This is one of four maps that Jordan released in May 1995. This map's environments are positively stunning for a WAD of this age - there are so many geometrical details that I was a fan of in this map - ranging from the large star-shaped room you encounter at the beginning of the WAD, to the buildable staircase later on in the map - every design choice was carefully made in this level. This is a map I found on the /idgames archive by searching a prominent uploader's long defunct email address - 'super_shotgun35@yahoo.com'.

 

This map is on mapslot MAP06 for some reason, this isn't commented on by the author in the readme - the author does however state in the readme: "This level is a little slow at times, but I was going after the look." I'm not sure if he's referring to the subdued nature of the combat encounters, or if he's referencing the actual speed of the computers of the age, when he says 'slow' - this level is well-detailed, but I don't think it would have been well-detailed enough to slow down many of the computers capable of playing Doom at the time. He could just mean he was more focused on aesthetics than combat.

 

The map starts you off in a large room w/ a hole cut into the roof, overtop of a smaller star-shaped platform suspended in lava. Lava is extremely prevalent in this map, and while there aren't many radsuits, the lava is set up in such a way that you never have to spend too long on it - it never becomes an annoyance. This map's encounters are dangerous, but they never end up being too challenging - that's mainly because of the small total amount of monsters in this map - the encounters don't get too dangerous, as there's never too many demons in one spot in this map.

 

This map is linear, you never have to worry about getting lost, as the map isn't labyrinthine in the slightest - that's not to say it's boring, just don't expect to spend too much time exploring this map, other than looking for the four secrets. Progressing through the level, you eventually come to a large open-air room w/ an imposing keep in the middle of a pond of lava. My favorite trap in this level is when you go to snag the yellow key, (shortly after leaving this big open area) and the green marble walls that you were surrounded by lower to expose two pinkies - it isn't a particularly dangerous or challenging encounter, I just felt it was a fairly well executed trap for a WAD of this era. It is quite dread inducing to watch the walls slowly descend all around you. Once you've defeated the pinkies, you'll shortly encounter a series of closed doors - getting to the end of this door hallway, you'll press a switch - this will make more of the keep in the main lava area accessible. You then head back to the main room and proceed deeper into Merlin's realm.

 

This is where it becomes difficult to backtrack - as once you head through the yellow door and travel through the many lava filled hallways, you'll likely not have enough of your radsuit left to get back safely - if you were wanting to, say, find some secrets or something - so just keep that in mind before progressing through the yellow key door in the keep. Once you get all the way through this lava gauntlet, you'll encounter a large jagged staircase that isn't complete - you'll need to fix it before you can go up there and press the switch needed to get to the final area of the level. Be careful descending the staircase, as you'll gain a lot of momentum - you could easily fall off, and I'm unsure if you can get back up.

 

Once you press the final switch, the bars surrounding the last door will lower, and you'll be able to enter the last room - there isn't a giant battle here, only a single mancubus, the exit switch, and a superfluous  late plasma rifle - I'll admit, I would have maybe liked a more robust last encounter, but intense combat, (as I stated earlier) was not this author's goal. There are only about 65 enemies in this map - don't go into this one expecting anything too intense, that's not to say the map isn't fun - the traps and encounters are all lovingly crafted, they're just not very difficult compared to the average battles of WADs today.

 

This is one of my favorite looking levels I've played for this project in a while - it is a very attractive map for 1995. Give it a try if you want a relaxed experience - this one won't cause you too much trouble! :)

 

Spoiler

 

 

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

 

EDIT: Oh yeah, according to the spreadsheet, this is our 200th review for this project! Thanks to everybody who's been participating thus far! :)

Edited February 1, 2022 by Arrowhead

[LadyMistDragon]

Eye of the Beholder 2 - 9/16/95 - Jon Landis

 

Thanks to GZDoom, many fantasy-based partial and total conversions that convey a true reflection of the environments they represent they've been released (The Inqusitor 2 which I played not so long ago, is a good example of this). In the old days though, sets were made such as Wheel of Time Doom and the wad we're reviewing today would take the basic gameplay of Doom and add in some either visual encounters or level design that somehow reflected it's setting. And like that wad, it's possible old hats will have heard of it, but it quite forgotten these days.

 

In the case of Eye of the Beholder II, it adds in some layouts and death traps clearly drawing inspiration from the game it's named for, while also adding a transparent Hell Knight that proves to be shockingly underutilized. Granted, that's a better move than just spamming transparent enemies everywhere, but diehard D&D fans might have been drastically disappointed.

 

That being said, the map designs are for the most part fairly interesting, and have some fairly basic puzzles relating to the map's shape as well as the surrounding environment. Also, Jon Landis has composed the midis himself. Other than they exist and sound like someone who understands a sequencer, I really have little to say, though I like the hint of insanity in Map 06.

 

There are some cool visual touches, like the lava pit which constantly goes up and down near the end, the slime fountain the yellow key sits on top of in Map 04, and that simply divine night sky in Map 06.

 

Another thing to note are the death traps in Map 03 and Map 04. It can be quite tricky to figure out how to avoid the ones in the latter until you realize that charging at the Chaingunners will actually guarantee a higher chance of survival, though perhaps not significantly.

 

I haven't said too much about the combat, but it does get quite difficult at times, despite not spamming monsters for the most part. Facing a Pain Elemental in Map 01 with nothing but a pistol, forcing a multi-room scramble for a shotgun, or some slaughter-lite sections in Maps 02 or 05 or the sheer, ammo-starved insanity of the latter create a serious challenge, especially if you're playing keyboard-only. Alas, the combat really starts to suffer in the last couple of maps, with the rote nature of the combat in 06, and the interesting-but-misguided attempt to use the Map 07 tags in the latter not really compelling. Some of the puzzles also seem quite weak and needlessly obscure, like lowering the invisible barrier around the yellow key that seems fully accessible.

 

These sorts of death traps and confusing design simply won't be for everyone. However, for those that like this clear sort of 90s mapping mindset, it's worth a shot. The music's forgettable perhaps, but they are fairly good puzzle maps all the same, and the vibe's quite solid, whatever else the case may be.

 

Link

[LadyMistDragon]

Oberon Base - 07/11/03 - Simo Malinen

 

I find the awkward adolescence of Doom mapping to be quite fascinating. Much of the blatant amateurishness of the first 4-5 years had mostly gone away, replaced by some fairly half-baked attempts at real-location simulation featuring a detail-heavy aesthetic. Some maps have not aged so well due to generally boring and rote combat made overly difficult by too many objects placed everywhere. Simo Malinen, though, is someone who was a consistently entertaining purveyor of this.

 

Starting out, you're in an uncleaned slimepit at one corner of an otherwise immaculate warehouse...for some reason. Pressing a switch than opens a hallway up. This hallway seems to be something of a power conduit. As you continue to go up, you'll see boxes strewn everywhere and ledges you can't access right away. You will later though. And that's probably the best part of this map's design. It's absolutely guaranteed that you'll end up in these ledges eventually, especially as the exit teleporter is right above where you start. In this location, the  The one switch-operated door n has quite a curious appearance, not to mention a piston in the middle that keeps it open.  Toward the end, you find this base was built on the side of a volcano!

 

There are also some rather nonsensical detailing choices at certain points that aren't too noticeable but seemingly show Simo feeling a little more playful than usual. The trap in what seems like a sub pen is very nice. I like the prevalence of blue throughout this section as well. The one twisting brown hallway with all the operating computers that seems like an engineering corridor seems kind of nice, along with another structure toward the end outside, that I don't really understand.

 

I haven't really spoken much about the combat, because much of it is neither distinguishable nor all that difficult, but that would probably clash too much with this map's aesthetic. Still, there are 256 enemies on UV and there are a couple of fairly explosive ambushes. Though when you pick up the last key and return to the little room you came from outside, you're attacked by Pain Elementals and several Cacodemons I didn't quite have the ammo for at this stage. I died two many times because reasons.

 

Still, this was honestly really good, both as a sort of indication of maps being made during this time and also as a solid Doom map

 

Link

 

 

[Arrowhead]

The Ican Anomaly - 03/26/1995 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

The Ican Anomaly is a somewhat rudimentary map that has a lot of early Doom WAD charm. This is a WAD made by Steven Katz. Katz also created a map called The Cave Anomaly - that was his first level, and this appears to be his second - at least these were the only two to be added to the /idgames archive. This WAD was uploaded about a decade after the map was released - which may be why that one /idgames reviewer lambasted it so badly. I agree much more w/ the other /idgames reviewer, in that "...it's nothing extraordinary, but it a is good 10 minutes of old fashioned mindless fun." That's all this map is! It's just a quick little 1995 map - w/ some basic detailing, and some reasonably engaging action - it may not completely blow your mind w/ beautiful environments and other visual features, but I'm sure you'll come to see why this is at least worth a play.

 

I'm a bit confused about the name of this project - the filename says 'Inca.wad', but the WAD is titled the 'Ican Anomaly' - I found this very odd. This isn't elaborated on in the readme, either.

 

The combat in this map is fairly fast-paced for a WAD this old. You're gifted the chaingun, shotgun, and plasma gun very early in your run of this map. Some of the traps in this map are enjoyable - I especially liked the trap that opens up in that nukage hallway - I imagine this trap would be more difficult if I hadn't got the secret radsuit hidden in the pit immediately prior to the hallway. The trap still knocked me down to about 50 health, so it must have done its job somewhat well.

 

There are 7 secrets in this map, and a few of them are a bit easier to find than others. There is one secret in this map that gives you an inordinate amount of health and weaponry. Unbalanced secrets are one of the main features of these maps from the early years of wadding - yet, this secret does something interesting - there are two twin hordes of monsters that flank you from both sides upon entering the secret room - this makes you either do a hasty retreat, or might cause you to try to play more aggressively to get the secret items before the monsters close in on you. I found this quite a surprise in the video, and even accidentally wasted a BFG ball while I was at it. It could have been cool, if the author locked the door behind you w/ a key, and you had to enter the room to grab the key to escape - could have made the fight more dread-inducing, as in its current state, you can just retreat, and bottleneck your opponents at the entrance to the secret area - still, it was quite entertaining to see from a WAD this old.

 

The map has a reasonably sized horde of monsters, (about 150 on UV) yet a lot of the areas feel somewhat empty and barren. This is characteristic of many WADs of this time, and it is no different here. Needless to say, this is not a brutally difficult map to beat. There are certainly some surprises, and some areas can get a bit hairy, but any average modern doomer should have no problem giving this a go on UV.

 

This map culminates in a cyberdemon duel. The duel starts off a little bit more difficult than you'd expect, as the cybie wakes up prior to you entering his green marble lair - this can cause him to block you in from entering the entrance to the room, or can make him waaaaay too close to you when you do enter the room proper - so just keep that in mind, if you elect to try this map out. There is also another secret around here that makes this battle a bit more trivial than it needed to be - I supposed such buffs were needed back in the day, when people were still much less skilled at these two games than most of us are today.

 

Would this WAD have won a cacoward back in the day? Surely not. Is it still a good ten minutes of mindless classic fun, like that one /idgames reviewer said? Absolutely. If you're the type of person that doesn't get miffed about texture alignment or lower-unpegged door tracks, than this map might be for you. What it lacks in aesthetic refinement, it more than makes up for it w/ its simple laidback gameplay, and interesting secrets arrangement for the time.

 

Takes about 10-12 minutes to complete. :)

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Download link: https://bit.ly/3omDi7a

[Arrowhead]

Haunted House of Hell - 11/29/1994 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

HHoH is an early Doom2 'house' styled map by Steven Grogan. This is Grogan's only map, which is unfortunate, as he showed quite a bit of early technical prowess in this level. There are new textures to better establish the location as a house - I like the square shingle texture on the outside of the building, as well as the somewhat crude window midtextures. Some of the textures in this map are quite gaudy in appearance, namely the pink wallpaper w/ the little health symbols on it. Still, I find such early texturing attempts charming. The building is surrounded by a thick perimeter of grass - hardly any action will be taking place out here, unless you have a particularly hard time w/ the first arch-vile, like I did. The building consists of a basement, a ground floor, and a second floor.

 

The first arch-vile in this map is a bit of a doozy - the archie is situated in the farthest backroom of the house right when you enter the building - shooting at the former humans there will wake the arch-vile up, so be ready for quite the battle! I think the easiest method here, would be to keep him stuck in the backroom, by baiting him into constantly resurrecting the sergeant and zombieman there. That would provide you w/ more needed shotgun ammo to more easily take him out, instead of having to run around the entire exterior of the house shooting at the archie w/ the pistol, like I did.

 

Once you start making your way through the building, you will notice that it is divided up into numerous smaller rooms - these small rooms usually house 1-2  former humans at a time. That may make the map sound like a cakewalk, but that's not actually the case. These little rooms all have monster-openable doors, meaning that once they hear you fighting the arch-vile, they'll all start coming out of their rooms to attack you! This means that you'll be getting nailed by shotgunner blasts from behind quite often. This did quite the number on my health in this map, as it was quite unpredictable from where I'd be attacked next. I eventually was knocked down to very low health, and was lucky enough to find the map's only megasphere when I needed it most. There is another fight w/ an arch-vile in the basement of this map - he's guarding a BFG here - I found it a bit curious to give the BFG so late, as the two arch-viles in this map are dead by this point, and there are only a few other dangerous enemies in the map, namely the pack of revenants in the small cemetery. These revenants are completely superfluous, and can be avoided entirely if you're too low on health / munitions.

 

This is a pretty enjoyable map, w/ some dangerous combat scenarios - it plays quite well for a house WAD, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys early Doom kitsch - this map is very visually reminiscent of Kurf House. Other than the difficult archie placement at the beginning of the map, this is a decently solid experience. This takes about 10 minutes to finish! :)

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

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

[thestarrover]

22 hours ago, Arrowhead said:

HHoH is an early Doom2 'house' styled map by Steven Grogan. This is Grogan's only map,

In the original release of the wad, the cemetery is missing.

On 01/21/1995, Steven Grogan released a third version of his wad with three levels, Haunted House Of Hell *Plus*  (Trihaunt.wad)

Map01 is still Haunted House of Hell ( with the cemetery), Map02 and map03 are new levels from scratch. (Actually the beginning of Map02 seems to be a modified version of the original Map01 of Doom 2)

 

If you are interested in this version, you can download it HERE

 

Enjoy!

[Arrowhead]

24 minutes ago, thestarrover said:

Haunted House Of Hell *Plus*  (Trihaunt.wad)

I was not aware that he created a more 'advanced' version! Very cool! :)

[thestarrover]

In the txt file Grogan mentions other wads but I could not find them. The two additional levels are not bad, but there are few enemies and too many weapons and probably he designed the levels for deathmatch. :)

[Katamori]

Okay, this one's going to stretch the rule quite a bit, because I can't write a review right now, and this map dates to the late 00's, but please hear me out!

 

Russian Doom speedrunner Skepticist had a more known Plutonia release called skePLand, fair and clear, BUT! What I haven't seen bringing up anywhere is his OTHER release, Ashen Garden: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/a-c/asgarden

 

Now, this upload dates back to 2011, but it's the exact day as skePLand's upload, and also he states in the text file it's a very old map, intended originally for the discontinued Scorching Heat II project. About that one, I found a very old iddqd.ru thread (with people like @Memfis and Plut being involved) and that one dates back to 2006.

 

I'm telling all these because I played Ashen Garden some years ago, and it was an absolutely noteworthy map! As I said, right now I cannot provide any more details, but this stuff is so forgotten I couldn't even find a single damn DSDA demo for it! No demos, no Youtube videos, not a single written review, nothing! Well, maybe in Russian, but needless to explain that's not helping here.

 

So while it's years beyond the 2004 limit specified in the initial rules, I definitely want to suggest anyone with an interest in slaughtermaps to check it out and maybe write about it if deemed applicable. For me, I definitely consider it a forgotten jam, especially considering I haven't heard about Skepticist for years, either.

[LadyMistDragon]

Walkabout 2.0 - 08/05/95 - Jens Nielsen

 

Fans of Memento Mori will probably recognize the name of Danish mapper Jens Nielsen as the author of the infamous Map 28 (City of the Unavenged!). In the other Memento Mori maps he did though, he demonstrated a sort of progression style termed "puzzle-box by forum member @Ragu which then led me to make a comparison to 'mystery box' creator JJ Abrams (random? meh). But less known is that he also released two single-player maps to the archives, Corridors of Hell and this one that, in my opinion, is the better of the two(Corridors of Hell is somewhat on the boring side, though idk if you'd agree, it just didn't come across anything compelling to me). Somewhat hard by 95 standards it may be, but shocking amounts of it is due to strangely sadistic enemy placement, though that changes in the last hallway leading to the blue key (more on that later).

 

Although it's not exactly so obvious from the aesthetics, which largely showcase Jens' predilection for brown and tan that is evident in almost all of his maps and was quite popular in '95 as a way of apparently avoiding STARTAN by those who were artistically challenged. But seriously, Jens doesn't exactly have Jim Flynn's unique sense of visual flair, which may be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.

 

But what is clear is that he was clearly in thrall to the design tendencies of Jim Flynn when he made this. By that, I mean that verticality is utilized  in certain spots and important points in progression are largely dictated by logically-placed hidden doors that you have to sort of puzzle out. However, progression isn't really that tricky, unless you're searching for secrets (heaven forbid, but we'll get to that). While being quite linear for the most part, it's personally really cool to me how you unlock more interlinking areas of the map the further you go in. And the traps are genuinely nasty, especially the one triggered including the Cyberdemon the second time you find yourself entering the large outdoor slime pit.

 

Another way this map sort of riffs off Flynn is the occasionally unforgiving enemy placement. You can find chaingunners in Arch-viles are used very cheerfully here, to the extent that the infighting Jens says you can trigger in the text file may not work how you'd like. But Jens also has an Arch-vile that'll target you from close to the beginning that you won't be able to fell until near the end if you don't find the hidden rocket launcher.

 

Now the secrets aren't too hard to find for the most part, although there's one case (the large slime courtyard with the Icon of Sin pads in the center and a random Pain Elemental with some Arachnotrons) where the wall blocking it is more or less indistinguishable from the surrounding wall. As a general rule, Jens stacks most of the map's secrets next to each other in a somewhat clumsy manner, like someone who had a certain vague idea what they wanted in their mind, but well....

 

....let us just say the design can lack some coherency at times(like my writing; I apologize if you're tuning out for that reason, but the honest truth is my brain lost that formerly well-honed ability years ago, and I only polish that coherency aspect when I really have to). Both sets of dirt tunnels here are quite ugly and feel as if they could have been better rendered in other spaces. But that's especially the case regarding the tunnel with the exit and the one starting location I think is probably for Player 3.

 

Yes, Jens Nielsen was following the co-op convention that had been a major philosophy of the Memento Mori team, meaning there are at least 2 inaccessible location that only exist for other players to do things. It's not like there's any secrets that require the aid of another player, I think. Although that's the only way the last hallway makes snese

 

You see, the hidden rocket launcher is located in the chaingunner chamber in the room with the sort of diagonal slime pit in the first room you'll access from a Player 1 start. Pushing the switch raising the platform from the Megaarmor isn't a a huge problem, despite that you won't be able to see it from said switch's location. What is a problem is the side-strafing inanity from the hidden lift on the other side of the Megaarmor. The space between the wall you're coming from and the edge of the platform is so narrow, it's nearly impossible to do without unless you're better at side-strafing than me. While Jens seems to hint in the text file that switches can cause teleporters to have some different functions, I really don't think the one on the pillar that normally takes you to the outdoor slime pit can be changed from what I can tell.

 

And honestly, the rocket launcher is the only way that the last hallway won't prove horribly frustrating for a single player. Jens stacks this narrow-ass spot with the most annoying and deadly enemies Doom was capable off in a more careless manner definitely geared for co-op players as much as anything. This would be more do-able if the Arch-viles (yeah, that's right) at the dirt end of this passageway containing the blue keywere more likely to resurrect the pinkies/Imps than anything else.

 

Still, it's extremely playable and at least somewhat intriguing map up to that point. I dunno how you use the editor to located obscure secrets, and anyone who judges maps based on appearance should definitely stay away. However, it's still quite a cool '95 map despite the frustration near the end. Anyway, I gotta go. Just upload some pics and year

 

PS: I have no idea how one pic ended up sideways.

 

Link

 

Spoiler

 

 

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[Arrowhead]

dmtexas1.wad - 08/21/1994 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

dmtexas1 is a large open level w/ a medium difficulty created by future Eternal Doom contributor, David Bruni. This map is the last of the maps entirely made by Bruni, he worked in conjunction w/ his wife on his remaining projects, including their one Eternal Doom map, Crimson Tide. A version of this WAD called dmtexas was initially released, which didn't include deathmatch support - dmtexas1 is the revised version of this original level.

 

The map starts you out in a dark building w/ a nukage star in the floor, this dark environment hardly lasts for any time at all, as you soon can travel out into the main area of the level. This is predominately where most of your action will be taking place. This initial foray into the large main section of the map will be met w/ many weaker enemies attacking you from all directions. I enjoyed the initial chaos on display here - I liked seeing enemies from far in the distance travelling towards me - made me feel like I woke up the entire map!

 

There is one particularly cool building that is covered in red and constantly flashing - the first screenie shows this - I know it isn't the most sophisticated building we've seen in this project, I just really appreciate its design - it's got quite a formidable facade, and the red and silver chrome look great together. Combat is pretty varied in this level, as you often will find yourself fighting on top of buildings, in buildings, or as stated earlier, in the large open grounds area that surrounds the rest of the map. Fights set in the larger outdoors area are a little more difficult, as there is far less solid cover. Be sure to mind your health a little bit there, you will be given quite a reasonable amount of health in this map, but you still need to be careful, as it is very easy for monsters to sneak up behind you in this WAD.

 

This map gets a lot right! It has fun combat, interesting areas to explore, rewarding secret areas, and a great sense of exploration. I actually used a secret to get to the red key area prior to having had the red key - I ended up wandering around for a bit inside the building after that, trying to find my way back out. Turns out, I just had to use the same entrance I entered from when I found the secret - took me a few minutes to figure out in the video - I thought I needed to find the red key to get back out, that's why I spent so much time humping walls.

 

Great map - this is a very impressive level for 1994. This has about 175 enemies on UV, and a total of 4 secrets are in this level. This one took me about 15 minutes to finish, so this is perfect for a coffee break, or a break between other WADs! :)

 

Spoiler

 

 

Download link: https://bit.ly/34rMxfF

[Kokoro Hane]

The earliest PWAD I recall playing, that has still stuck to my memory all these years, was one where you wake up from your grave. I could not remember what it was called, but that detail has stuck with me ever since. I even recall in 2013 talking to a classmate in college (also a big fan of DOOM) about this map I remember playing years ago, he thought I was talking about the game Blood, but I knew it was DOOM (and even when he showed me playthroughs Blood, it did not ring a bell anyway). Now, because of Wadarcheaology, the level once again popped in my mind, and so I started at Doomworld's /idgames to try digging. I looked up keywords like "grave" or "graveyard", and I came across a few promising possibilities, but they weren't it. Then I came upon a wad with this exciting description:

 

"You have just been killed in a mission and were put in your grave, in the grave portal you open your eyes and see yourself in a strange world. Where the hell are you? And why these ugly zombies are attacking you? The answer comes in your mind and you know that you are in Hell Port 666 where the bad guys are sent to hell islands, and these guys want to send you there. Well, never mind, you don`t want to go there. You must find a way to heaven, but just now you must defend yourself!"

 

This had to be it! When my dad downloaded a bunch of random wads years ago and loaded this one up for me to play, his general description was "you were killed on a mission and wake up from your grave". Reading the wad's synopsis, that seemed to fit the bill! I loaded it up, it felt familiar. My brother looked at it and confirmed, because he remembered me playing the wad back then. 

 

The title of this wad was Afterlife by Sphagne. It was released around 2002, but the level itself was designed around 1995-1999 (a general timeline for all this author's early wads), as since back then (according to the txt file), they did not know about internet DOOM communities, so these maps were just played by close friends at the time. So despite being publicly released in 2002, it's actually a 90s wad. Looking up the wad author, there is a DoomWiki page, but it's considered a stub, and the most notable thing on that page is this author contributed to the Doom Community Chest (a map entitled "Avenger"). 

 

Now, onto the review!

 

Afterlife is a one map wad for DOOM 2. There's some ammo scarcity, so you need to be careful -- just to be sure I could make it to the end, I played like a wimp on I'm Too Young To Die since the scarcity is even worse on the harder difficulties (I'm not very skilled with scarce ammo type maps I'm afraid haha). The map, in my opinion, had some pretty nice level design. There's even this one area where you go onto a small ship, and you could even hear creaking sound effects, which I thought was pretty neat. There's a few tricks and traps that were unexpected, always keeping me on my toes, and again with that ammo scarcity--by the time I made it to the exit door I only had my fists left and had to finish the final monster I confronted by punching it to the death haha (I really need to learn how to conserve bullets, I know). I did like how getting to keys or advancing in general weren't always that obvious, so it made me think. And despite it having those challenges, the map overall was still plenty of fun to play and explore! I never found going through the map burdensome, always excited when I found a new area. I also liked how it had a sprinkle of unique SFX, it wasn't a lot but that tad bit of customization really added to the whole experience. It even had a custom night sky texture. For an old map, it was pretty impressive, and one I wouldn't mind playing over (especially to try and beat it on a harder difficulty level). 

 

Overall, I find the map worth giving it a try! I personally haven't seen people talk about it, so I'm guessing it's fairly obscure or else I might've found it earlier haha. I really love the concept (it stuck with me all these years after all) and it was truly a blast rediscovering it. But yeah, it was a good trip down memory lane, especially since back when I was younger, I never finished it since I had trouble finding the blue key--so the experience was also super fresh, too! It's my earliest taste of maps made by the community before knowing about forums like Doomworld existed, my dad only sought out maps for DOOM like once... I'm not sure why, it may have been since we were so used to finding custom maps for UT99, he somehow came across custom maps for DOOM and got whatever looked interesting since we played DOOM a lot, and more maps are always fun.

 

So if you're up for a little challenge and ammo scarcity, give Afterlife a shot!

 

And of course, here's some screenies attached!

 

[Endless]

That's a very eerie looking skybox! Really fascinating WAD and nice write-up. Thanks for sharing :)

[Dusty_Rhodes]

@Kokoro Hane Actually, Sphagne revisited that map in 2003 for Community Chest and with a few minor edits it became Map27 Afterlife. He also did Map23 Bloodrunners and (as you mentioned) Map21 Avenger. They're all really solid maps and I'm glad you found the version you were looking for. This wasn't really meant as a correction, I just love Community Chest :D

[Kokoro Hane]

9 minutes ago, Dusty_Rhodes said:

@Kokoro Hane Actually, Sphagne revisited that map in 2003 for Community Chest and with a few minor edits it became Map27 Afterlife. He also did Map23 Bloodrunners and (as you mentioned) Map21 Avenger. They're all really solid maps and I'm glad you found the version you were looking for. This wasn't really meant as a correction, I just love Community Chest :D

 

Oh really? That's neat! I haven't played Community Chest yet, but I've been planning to, so that's a neat fact to know! 

[Arrowhead]

46 minutes ago, Kokoro Hane said:

Afterlife is a one map wad for DOOM 2.

Very cool to hear how you found that WAD again! I had a similar situation recently w/ the WAD 'airwalk.wad' - I had played it when I was like 6 years old, but I couldn't find it. Finally found it after some 'whole textfile' searching on /idgames...

 

Great review! Always nice to see new blood around here! :)

[Arrowhead]

newt.wad - 05/02/1995 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

newt.wad is an engaging little 'challenge' map from the early days of wadding. This is a level made by William Roeben - I was able to find one other level on /idgames by him, but nothing else. If anybody knows of anything else of his that's floating around out there, I'd like to know about it! This is a very odd map in that you essentially fight the entirety of the level within the confines of a single constantly evolving room. This is a 'wave-based' WAD, where once you defeat one wave of enemies, another will immediately follow - this was a nice change from the usual monster placement and gameplay that I've seen thus far in this project.

 

Much of the Doom2 roster stays out of this one, w/ only the pain elemental and chaingunner making an appearance in this WAD - the rest are your standard Doom1 enemies. This map could have been a lot harder if the author used more Doom2 monsters - as it stands, though, this is still quite a difficult level - the two sections where you have to fight pinkies / spectres are very cramped, and you'll have to be really good at 'dancing' w/ demons to survive. These two demon sections are especially gruelling - it took me a few tries to finally get the fight down right, and get a decent video recording of it.

 

Roeben was kind enough to allow you to 'stock up' between engagements - he usually provides some type of armor / health in between battles - this helps this short little level be less of a slog. I found the ammo balancing to be great in this map - he only gives you just enough to work w/ - this stops the level from feeling like a 'power-fantasy' map - as you have to make sure your shots hit - there isn't much room for error. I left the map w/ a full chaingun, but no other ammo of any kind.

 

This is a fun and engaging early 'challenge' map - it uses the same gimmick ad nauseum, and can get a little predictable, (a new room always opens the moment you enter the room you just cleared out) but the combat always stays fresh, frenetic, and stressful. Took me just over 6 minutes to complete on UVMAX. Great map, give it a chance! :)

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Download link: https://bit.ly/3oFOc89

[Walter confetti]

Waterworks by Marc Fontaine (Doom 2, MAP01, 03/24/96, played with Eternity "forseti" 4.0.2)

 

DOWNLOAD LINK

 

Spoiler

 

 

A medium sized map sets in a tech base surrounded by waters made by Marc Fontaine, a talented Doom mapper from the early years of modding with few maps made from 1995 and 1996, with another good map being Jobe, having new textures and a pretty good layout and primitive "doomcute" in the map in form of charming small detailing, this level have the same style but expanded more, with even some real doomcute stuff a sector boat, a "camera screen" showing you bars that opens when you hit a switch, similar to Duke Nukem 3D. Layout is really well crafted and interconnected, including a very good use of detailing for 1996, it feels pretty modern for the year it was done. Includes new textures as well, like a waterfall animated texture made by Marc himself (i guess). Difficulty isn't really extreme, it's a acceptable, kinda relaxed play with it's 88 monsters and the hardest in the bunch being some mancubus, also level progression is semi-linear but fun. Overall, a pretty charming map for a small break play.

[thestarrover]

2 hours ago, Arrowhead said:

I was able to find one other level on /idgames by him, but nothing else. If anybody knows of anything else of his that's floating around out there, I'd like to know about it!

William Roeben released an Heretic wad , HTDEJAVU.WAD, as Johnny Nugnug. This wad is mentioned in the text file of Dumb.wad.

If you or someone else is interested I can upload it

On idgames is also available this sound wad: newsnd.zip

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by thestarrover

[FEDEX]

43 minutes ago, thestarrover said:

William Roeben released an Heretic wad , HTDEJAVU.WAD, as Johnny Nugnug.

If you or someone else is interested I can upload it

On idgames

 

I'm interested (and i know some others are interested too) so feel free to share it. Thx!

[thestarrover]

38 minutes ago, FEDEX said:

I'm interested (and i know some others are interested too) so feel free to share it. Thx!

HTDEJAVU.zip

[princetontiger]

Afterlife looks like a ton of fun... playing!

[pcorf]

On 9/17/2021 at 12:07 PM, Arrowhead said:

massive.wad - 12/31/1996 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

'Massive.wad' is a WAD I found today in an old OS/2 html archive. I've tried to search every common place for this WAD, or for more information on this WAD, but I haven't been able to find anything - not even a readme. That means that this is currently by an unknown author. I think its possible that this WAD could be known under a different name, and that this may be the old version. The map name for this WAD does not fit it. The map isn't tiny, but it certainly isn't 'massive'.

 

The map consists of a small square courtyard in the centre of the map, w/ a raised hallway on all sides around it. The first half of the map's action takes place in the tight corridors of the courtyard's exterior ring - the second half takes place in the middle of the courtyard, where you will encounter a particularly oppressive hitscanner teleport ambush. This final fight probably contains half the monsters in this map.

 

Oddly, there are two blue keys in this map. One is hidden in a secret, and I think it is there as a failsafe, in case the player fails to grab the 'original' blue key in the nukage pit included as a screenshot. I like the hot start in this map, you are immediately thrust into the action. Everything about this map is quick - the combat, the flow, the dodging in and out of corners to nab hitscanners... all of it is fun.

 

I'd like to know if anybody recognizes this map - as I found it in a very odd place. If this is by a well-known author I apologize, I had no way to know! Regardless, stellar map w/ some fun combat situations. Not too hard, not too easy, just right. :)

 

Takes about 5 minutes to beat!

 

  Hide contents

 

 

EDIT:

 

Download link: HAD TO REMOVE DOWNLOAD LINK - there is a copy of TNT Evilution's map01 in map slot 2 of this WAD. I will rip the first level out, via Slade, and re-upload the download link. The consequences of WADArchaeology sometimes! :)

 

NEW LINK: https://bit.ly/3Cm9uMu

 

Reminds me of a map created by Tom Mustaine and that is probably the truth.

Edited February 11, 2022 by pcorf

[Arrowhead]

Fort Doom - 07/11/1994 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

FD is a great early castle-themed map by Mark Tissue. I was not able to find any other WADs by this author, but I've been surprised before - at least I couldn't find anything on either /idgames or wadarchive. The map starts you off in a sort of 'prep-room' - the author gives you a lot of cell ammo, as well as a single-shotty and chaingun. The chaingun and single shotgun are imperative in this map, as you will be blasting former humans off of high up castle battlements, these weapons are important, as there are quite a few situations where you'll be fighting off demons from far awa, too.

 

Once you exit this prep-room, you'll immediately see the entirety of the castle in this map. The castle is a square type structure, w/ 4 raised towers in each of the corners of the building. There is an open courtyard w/ an elevator that you can use to reach the tops of the fort's walls - this castle walls section of the map is probably my favorite. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for the many roaming cacos in this map - they have a tendency to sneak over the walls of the castle in ways you might not expect - this can lead to a caco ball in the back very easily. I would have liked for the courtyard of this fort to be a bit more dangerous, as it stands, there aren't too many threats present there. You'll get the occasional smattering of aerial enemies - lost souls and cacos will often glide down there to combat you, but I just wish that there was maybe more of an exciting larger battle here, oh well, what's here is still a lot of fun!

 

To progress into the castle's keep, you'll need to retrieve a yellow key from the walls of the fort. Retrieving the yellow key will unleash a small pack of cacos - as you should have the plasma rifle by this point, they should be no issue at all. Take the yellow key, and open the yellow door - you'll then be exposed to a somewhat labyrinthine area - there are a few secret areas here, I won't spoil them in the review, but feel free to check out the video if you want to see where a few of them are. I wasn't able to find all of the whopping 13 secrets in this map - I only found 11/13. I'd be interested to see a UVMAX run of this level sometime!

 

Eventually, you will reach the inner watery keep of the fort; entering here will result in you being locked in by a red-key door. Here, you will fight a pair of barons, in much of an E1M8-type encounter. As you'll likely have 300+ rounds of plaz ammo at this point, these barons are more of just a formality - they aren't too dangerous. This flooded keep area is quite visually appealing for the time, and probably my favorite looking area of the map - see the final screenie. In this keep room, you'll find the red key - this will allow you safe exit from this inner crypt.

 

Upon returning to the outside world again - you will notice that a tunnel full of imps has opened. Having slaughtered these imps, you'll find yourself in a room w/ 4 teleporters. I'm not certain exactly where each of these teleporters go. These teleporters take you to a series of different diamond shaped areas - taking the right teleporter here, will bring you to a large red brick room - this is where you'll fight 4 barons at once! This also is a bit of a toothless encounter, as there is far too much room to navigate for the barons to be much of a threat, and you'll likely also have a ton of ammunition at this point. Taking the central teleporter escape in the middle of this red brick area, will send you up to the high alcoves visible from that room - from there you need to survive a spectre / shotgunner ambush, and once you do that, you can finally escape Fort Doom!

 

This was a very fun map - I liked the architecture especially. This is a map that isn't too difficult, but it still presents many unique combat scenarios. It is definitely worth looking into for any fans of the castle genre. This is a well above-average 1994 map! This can be beaten in about 10 minutes! :)

 

Spoiler

 

 

Download link: https://bit.ly/3Lxj30L