Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #014

ICID · August 23, 2021

7-01.png.07ab48d91b0286d25a5dff0e60de02f7.png

(New logo by @4MaTC!)

ICID, what the hell is this now?

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures is a small project of exploration, interaction, entertainment and reviews where we meet once every 2 weeks to select random WADs in search of hidden treasures, lost promises, or our worst nightmares! We use the /idgames archive’s special feature that lets us search for random files. Of course, sometimes they are resources or unplayable stuff, so we focus on looking for WADs.

The event is named after its originator, fearless leader and WAD reviewer par excellence Endless, but I am helping to run things for the time being.

So, what do we do here?

We/I try to play at least 5 (or more if you can) random WADs on /idgames. For that, we use the Random File feature.
We comment/review the WADs for the duration of the two-week event. There’s no required pacing (you can do all 5 on the first day if you want), but most of us post a review once every 1-2 days.
Please take screenshots or video of your adventures.
Play however you want, on any skill level, as long as you play the WAD as intended/in working shape.
Avoid shitting on people’s work and try to review in a respectful manner. Of course, we can all have a good laugh if we find something odd.

What kind of WADs are we looking for?

Mostly singleplayer Doom or Heretic WADs that work in your sourceport(s) of choice. You can skip DM WADs if you don’t have anyone to play with. I also pull at least 7 random WADs for the event and add them here. Feel free to play them with me if you wish, or look for your own! The point of the event ifs to encourage you to explore this vast, random world.

Tips/recommendations for commenting/reviewing:

Spoiler

Always provide the name of the WAD, the name of the author, and a link to the file. Very important.
Commenting the source port and skill-level is not required, but provides helpful context to your review.
Try to stick to no more than 1 WAD per day to avoid burnout, but this part’s all up to you, champ!
As mentioned above, screenshots or videos are awesome.
Reviews of all formats are valid. Both longform and shortform are good as long as you write with integrity.

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures of this event:

Reclamation (Note: Heretic map)
Gauntlet
Alien Hideout
LOST SOULSPHERE: Gold Edition (Note: jokewad)
SlaughterMAX
The Landing Pad
Petersen Station
Doomworld Mega Project 2016

1076803717_adventurersscores.png.0acc1debc0f7115beaa942ebc12b114f.png

Spoiler

The Top 10 (out of 25)

@Roofi | 1535
@Sena | 655
@Walter confetti | 350
@Endless | 290
@ICID | 245
@LUISDooM | 200
@smeghammer | 175
@Maribo | 145
@Biodegradable | 105
@Misty | 75

Join the Doom Master Wadazine community for more events like this! » https://discord.gg/Q2RKn4J

» Previous adventures:

Spoiler

Edited August 23, 2021 by ICID
credit for logo

ICID · August 23, 2021

Per usual, I'll kick things off with our first review of the adventure.

Reclamation (2001) by Christopher Lutz

^{Play Settings}

^{Source port: k8vavoom}

^{Difficulty: Thou art a smite-meister}

I like Heretic a lot, but for some reason I’ve never played a PWAD for it before. The first harsh lesson I had to learn is that Reclamation wouldn’t be supported by my beloved Prboom+, and since there’s no way in hell I’m using Gzdoom any time it’s not strictly required, I figured it was as good a time as any to try a new source port. I’ve had my eyes on ketmar’s K8Vavoom for awhile now and I have to say, I really enjoyed using it for this. It ran super fast and was easy to customize how I like, and the unique lighting features look really really good for Heretic – your magic spells and weaponry sparkling in the dark, gothic environments. Great stuff.

As for Reclamation itself, well, like I say I haven’t touched Heretic in years and I haven’t played any other PWADs for it, so I’m not sure I can really evaluate it properly. It’s clearly designed for people who understand the nature of all Heretic’s items and who can really use them to their fullest potential, not like me constantly running back to the Doom Wiki to remember what the heck a “mystic urn” does.

But the map’s combat feels quite well-paced – it’s got a lot more enemies than I remember of standard Heretic fare, requiring you to be smart with infighting and ammo/item usage to make it to the end on UV. I can’t say that it had any particularly memorable setpieces or areas – visuals are more serviceable than outright beautiful - but it’s a nice long map that I found engaging, challenging, and above all fun – a pleasant reminder of the joys of one of the best Doom engine games.

Authorship corner: by my count Chris Lutz has contributed to 5 Cacoward-winning projects, has three of Doomworld’s Top 100 WADs of All Time, and even gave a somewhat recent interview to Bethesda about one of his most well-known projects, No End In Sight. So it’s safe to say you’ve likely heard of him and don’t need to hear much more from me. I will note, though, that this was only his fourth published map ever – and it seems the talent was obvious from the start.

Grade: 7/10

TL;DR: Meat and potatoes mapping excellence.

Biodegradable · August 23, 2021

Oooh, I like the logo. :^)

Walter confetti · August 23, 2021

Lots of cool finds, including Petersen Station! I'm pretty proud of that map, really enjoyed making it! As well as my map for DMP 2016 that i had a lot of fun making it (yeah, you'll have a double dose of confetti this time!)

Edited August 23, 2021 by Walter confetti

Roofi · August 23, 2021

Thanks for the new thread ! Slaughtermax and DMP2016 are very lenghty wads.

Month 4 Day 09

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

File 1) Ice Prison (v1.0) by @Angry Saint (2016)

Spoiler

Quote

I created this level for the Zauberer project. Ice Prison is a small Hexen level set in a prison placed in a icy region. I would be the ideal beginning for an Hexen hub, if one day I will make one. The intention was to have it Vanilla Hexen compatible. I tested it using the Chocolate Hexen Source Port.

One of the rare Hexen maps I have encountered on idgames. This one is pretty good, with few monsters but a pretty tense gameplay due to the many ravines. Don't move too fast or you'll fall off the ledges. I enjoyed this kind of the gameplay and the theme perfectly fits here. Also, the mapper created some interesting circular structures.

However, gameplay-wise, you absolutely have to play with the mage. Indeed, I read the comment on idgames before launching the map and it's true that you absolutely have no ammo and scarce health bonus. The mage is the only character which has the abitity to kill enemies from afar , especially the ones locked in cells. Killing them in melee seems impossible without losing too much health.

Cool little find.

File 2) BID 2 by (Serious_MOod) @_Mud (2016)

Spoiler

BID II is a set of 2 Boom maps , which is maybe the sequel of BID I. The wad consists of a singleplayer map and a monsterless ending map. BID II stands out for its well exploited night theme with its starry dark-blue and black sky. I really like the light gradients in this map , which greatly enhance the stock textures without adding too much texture. The map itself is pretty classic and has an open layout despite its linearity.

The global darkness mixed with a limited weaponry (The SSG is the best weapon you can find) leads to a pretty tense gameplay where little traps prove to be quite efficient for the most unaware players. If you don't look for the secrets, the SSG will be given very late in the map but it can be found in one of the few secrets as well in a "super secret". I'm pretty glad I didn't find the secret SSG too early because I think it's a bit overpowered compared to the traps designed for a player armed with the SG and CG.

Anyway , it's a high quality night-themed map with great classic aesthetics and a bit challenging gameplay with well placed monsters.

File 3) Nasty and annoying by Richard (1997)

Spoiler

Quote

A quite difficult wad file full of annoying things and lots of monsters to blast

While playing this map , I can tell 2 absolutely true facts : Richard loved chaingunners and had a low self-esteem. I expected playing an annoying map but I had a lot of fun eventually. This level contains some brutal traps involving chaingunners but the author gave you enough item to survive. You can also easily a secret megasphere !

About the layout , this one is kinda great with some height variation and advanced interconnectivity. Aesthetically , it looks like a decent Doom 2 map without being extraordinary. For some reasons , it reminds me of Doom 2 map 06 without the memorable crusher.

A good little find for Plutonia maniacs.

File 4) The Gallery by Mike Seltenright (2005)

Spoiler

Quote

Named for the two large galleries on either side of the main chamber. This .wad is exciting and challenging in both deathmatch or single play. Good luck and good hunting. Mike

According to the text file, this wad was firstly released in octobre 1994 , just after Doom 2 came out ! Beside that, it definitely looks like more a DM map than a singleplayer one because of the symetry , the lack of real challenge or linearity. It doesn't look good for DM too however. The map consists to a simple basic flat marble complex where the most "dangerous" monsters are located behind a fake wall.

It was quite fun because it's always exciting to blow up monsters while being invulnerable but it's still not worthy to be played.

The next wad is The Adventures of MassMouth but I want to stop here for today.

ICID · August 23, 2021

5 hours ago, Biodegradable said:

Oooh, I like the logo. :^)

I neglected to say this in the original post, but the spiffy new ER/iWA logo is courtesy of the great @4MaTC!

Sena · August 24, 2021

Day 1: Reclamation https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/heretic/Ports/reclaim

I should probably start by saying that I never played Heretic, as I was told it involved excessive switch hunting and medieval fantasy, two things that I hated, so some people would probably say that I'm the real heretic here, but I had a hard time enjoying myself, and I'm not sure I could really evaluate how much of that is the map's fault, and how much of it is my fault for not knowing how the game works. Still, in my first (and most likely last) experience with Heretic, I found that what I was told about it was in fact correct - there's too much switch hunting, and I've got no idea where to go. Matter of fact, it seems that a large number of switches are completely useless, there were a couple times where I'd push 3 switches in a row, and none of them would do anything, or at the very least, not get rid of the big pillars blocking my immediate path, and I think a classic mark of a map that's too confusing for its own good is one where you end up finding multiple secrets in a row when you're just trying to move forwards. Which is an issue that's compounded by the severe lack of weapons, got to about 50% kills before quitting, during which point I never saw a shotgun, and with insufficient pistol ammunition, most my time was spent with the chainsaw, and while the electricity hands or whatever it was did look cooler than the chainsaw I'm used to, it's still the chainsaw I'm used to, that chainsaw that lacks the rate of fire to effectively stunlock enemies meaning you're just opening yourself up to enemy hits. No shotgun, but I did get a bunch of potions, I don't know what they did, as far as I'm aware they did nothing at all, don't know if I have to press a key to activate them or what, I'm not here to read a manual to figure out what to do, that's why I'm still playing this game I've been playing for years so I never have to go through the difficult stage of learning anything new, which may be a contributing factor, but I did not particularly enjoy this map. 5/10, but I'm sure Heretic fans who love switch hunting will view it more positively, especially when they're not exactly spoiled for choice like the rest of us.

Edited August 24, 2021 by Sena

Roofi · August 24, 2021

Month 4 Day 10

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

KA3.WAD by Jussi Tuononen (1996)

Spoiler

Quote

Small Town

A dark brown level taking place in a small town surrounded by ramparts. You start out of the city and you have to take one of the teleporters which each of them lead you to an underground square section with an extremly. repetitive design. Once you beat the sewers parts, you take an another teleporter which teleport you at the heart of the small town populated by some heavy monsters.

At first sight , I thought it will be a tough map with little ammo but it's not the case at all ! Indeed , the mapper provide you ton of useful items like soulsphere , box of shells or cell charges for your plasma gun for instance. The map stays pretty challenge to the fact that the city is densely packed with mid-tiers monsters.

Aesthetically-wise I really enjoyed the ominous atmosphere and the textures chosen. Also , texture alignement is very decent for a 1996 wad and the light gradients at some parts improve everything.

However , the weirdest aspect resides in its progression where you can find locked doors requiring blue and red key but none of them are needed to reach the exit ! It feels like the city part was a bit designed like a DM map where you can climb on a lot of sectors.

Pretty good map afterall.

And , I died in the first map of the speedmapping megawad Imperfect Hatred (Forgot to take screenshot)

Edited August 24, 2021 by Roofi

Sena · August 25, 2021

Day 2: Gauntlet https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/g-i/gauntlet

No, not really. A gauntlet is difficult, and this is anything but, I'm pretty sure with this amount of ammo and medkits it's the amount the author was planning on sharing amongst 16 co-op players, I couldn't run out of either if I tried. And, to a certain extent, I did try, in one particular room I had to push a switch, which would lower a wall, which housed 4 or 5 shotgunners, who I'd then proceed to kill, and I had to do that about 5 times. In most maps, knowing it was coming, I'd stay behind cover and try and take them out before they could notice me, in other words, play cautiously, but I didn't have to do that here, I just stood right next to them as it lowered, usually taking a hit, but it's not like I had any reason to care, I had plenty of medkits to spare despite my recklessness. Secondarily, that is probably one of the most significant fights of the WAD, 'push the button as monsters come in' is nothing extraordinary, I see it all the time, but it almost felt deceptive how they didn't actually do anything to trick me, there are some serious questions that will forever go unanswered, and this added one to that list: What is the meaning of life? Was TNT actually good? Do you know who ate all the doughnuts? Did this bloke really just create the same exact lowering wall of 5 shotgunners and 2 cacos that many times in a row with no variation? And that's probably the fight that stuck with me the most, and it probably typifies this map, it's fine, still Doom, you're still blasting demons, but few, if any of the encounters have any noteworthy features. Granted, when you're not blasting demons, it's not fun, and in the second half there's a bunch of navigating through dark tunnels to open switches, push 5 of them, and then you can pass through, which I'm sure is a lot more fun if you have a greater brain capacity than me and don't get lost on everything, I still get lost on E1M7 no matter how many times I play it but that's besides the point. Maybe I'm going on too many tangents, but it's not my fault, there is nothing tangible about this map, there's nothing offensive about it, it looks a bit ugly in places, got a couple times where they use 3 and a half doors in a corner in place of a wall, but I can't recall anything worse than that, and the combat is so plain that I'm sure a bot could probably make it through without ever dropping below 80% health. It's got a maze area and the navigation's kind of bad at times, but it's 1996, so was everything else, just a 5/10, I must have played this WAD in a dream, because despite having completed it so recently, I have no recollection of anything significant that happened in it.

Edited August 25, 2021 by Sena

ICID · August 25, 2021

Gauntlet (1996) by John Parr

^{Play Settings}

^{Source port: k8vavoom}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

Had high hopes for this based on its intriguing text file and premise – a gauntlet of challenges forcing you to collect 6 keys in order to escape Hell. The start was promising enough, letting you mow down hordes of imps, lost souls, and hitscanners with the SSG and explosive barrels. Pretty fun despite the flat, square design of all the rooms.

But then the yellow keycard opens a room with lots of chaingunners and no cover, and you realize what kind of a slog you’re in for. I gave up after traversing a long, incredibly repetitive series of mazes in green slime (non-hurting, thank goodness for small favors) and finding myself seemingly trapped in an endless teleport puzzle loop – I’m sure there’s a way out, but why bother?

It’s better than most 90s maps (I’m legally required to say this of any 90s map that gives you a weapon above the basic shotgun, sadly) but still ultimately a dull series of flat rooms and samey mazes, and after 6 Endless Random Adventures I’ve probably played enough of those for a lifetime.

Grade: 4/10

TL;DR: There’s the promise of something interesting here but it’s never delivered on.

PS: I’m still playing with K8Vavoom, in case you were wondering why my screenshots for this 90s WAD look so…non-vanilla. It’s probably cheating, since the cool lighting gives these ugly old maps way more character than they deserve.

Roofi · August 25, 2021

Month 4 Day 11

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

File 1) Quake by Gene Spinks (1996)

Spoiler

Quote

This is a pretty simple level made for Doom2. The only thing about Quake is the start room resembles the picture we've all seen on the internet.

Unless If I'm wrong, the author talk about the first screens of Quake released in august 1995. I don't know which screenshot the first area refers to but you can see an arch and a blood fountain at the middle.

Beside that, it's indeed a very classic Doom 2 level but a pretty nice one , with decent aesthetics and architecture and an easy relaxing gameplay where you have very few risk to die. About the theme , it looks like it take place in a kind of a city where you can find a movie theather with a large glowing flesh texture scrolling horizontally and gray armchairs as well as a large area with a weird use of pipe textures. Your objective is to collect three keys in a determined order , in three distinct parts separated by a kind of a hub room where you can see three doors requiring each a different key.

I think the weak point of this map is its lack of challenge which negatively affect its replayability. You obtain a non-secret megasphere whereas most of the enemies are low-tiers. Still a good map afterall.

File 2) Low Guard by Matt Cibulas (A.k.a @RottKing) (2004)

Spoiler

Quote

The Low Guard from Rise of The Triad.

The description is self-explaining enough. It's a skin gzdoom which will make your multiplayer sessions funnier. I like this one , mainly because the skin is taller than the marine's one and therefore some monsters like the zombies or the imps.

I would enjoy to see players using that skin in TNS for instance.

File 3) Guacamole by @AnotherMansGuacamole (2020)

Spoiler

Quote

Baby's first published wad, 3 run-of-the-mill standard Doom maps. Looking for feedback.

Yeah a first baby wad. I was expecting for mediocre but creative map , as many old 90's wads. I'm pretty disappointed , because those three maps are really great ! The first map consists to a myhouse.wad , the second one , a large tech-base with large outdoors and eventually a underground colosseum with a big final battle.

Firstly, the maps have nevertheless a "baby first map" look mainly because they contain only stock textures which are often quite misaligned. However , contrary than many first maps , each map has a lot of details and also a lot of doomcuteness with tons of furnitures , a basketball court and even an empty swimmingpool. The first map has no zdoom effect but the two last ones contain some extended scripts and many slopes. I really enjoyed when you destroy some silos filled with nukage in order to flood an entire room at the beginning of map 02 or how you trigger the last fight in colosseum in map 03.

The wad is not really difficult , but the levels have some elaborated traps , like a collapsing building revealing a Mastermind in map 02. I think , more generally map 02 is my favourite map in the set , notably due to its exploration-focused gameplay and elaborator outdoors areas.

Very promising and solid first attempt.

File 4) MegaGuns (version 2) by Matthew Toews (2000)

Spoiler

Quote

What this upgrade does:

CHAINSAW: Nothing

PISTOL: The pistol shoots twice as fast.
       The clips have 40 rounds.
       The boxes have 200 round.
       The maximum ammo is 500.

SHOTGUN: Fully automatic.
       The 4-packs contain 30 shells.
       The boxes contain 150 shells.
       The maximum ammo is 500.

CHAINGUN: Shoots twice as fast and 2 at a time.
       (I can chew through 500 round in ~27 sec).
       The clips have 40 rounds.
       The boxes have 200 round.
       The maximum ammo is 500.
       New graphics -> Magnetic Accelerator.

ROCKET LAUNCHER: Shoots a tiny bit faster.
       5 times more powerful (BFG league).
       3/4s as fast.
       The rockets give 25 shots.
       The boxes have 125 shots.
       The maximum ammo is 500.
       New graphics -> Sonic Wave Launcher.
       New graphics -> Sonic Wave Ammo.

PLASMA RIFLE: Shots go 5 times faster.
       5 times more powerful.
       The cells contain 40 rounds.
       The energy packs contain 200 rounds.
       New graphics -> Shoulder cannon.
       New graphics -> Cobalt sphere ammo.

BFG9000: Shots do not move (mines).
       There is no ammo (unlimited).

OTHERS: The status bar now says sonic instead of rockets
           and ions instead of cells.
       The imps are changed to possesed marines. They have
           rocket packs so that they can fly and are armed
           with shoulder cannons. This is to ensure that your
           battles are not too easy and one should not
           underestimate their long-range accuracy. No they do
           not drop any ammo. (Try E3M1! What a Slaughter!)
       The barrels are lighter so that you can shoot them and
           they fly away fom you. This helps in aiming.
       You are also now heavier. Tis makes it easier to maneuver
           on ledges when being pelted with ammo.
       Your death scream is recorded from a movie that you should
           know very well.

Of the silly mods which greatly upgrade your guns. I really love this one for some reasons :

- The sprite replacements made by the author which look pretty childish, especially the chaingun which more like a kind of plasmagun. However , they make the weapons a lot funnier to use. I have a favourite for the new plasmagun which also has a greatly increased firepower.

- Your absurdely huge new backpack which can carry 1000 ammo of each type. Also , items give you a lot more ammo. Cool.

- The possessed marine which are extremely weak contrary to the scythe 2's ones. They use a plasmagun but their attack is as powerful as an imp's fireball.

...

Pretty fun silly mod.

I stop here for today.

smeghammer · August 25, 2021

Well - fuckin' 'ell! An unexpected slaughter. I'm not so good at these, so died horribly...

Looked like a really nicely designed level though.

IC1Room (AKA Go!) by Ian Cunnings

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/g-i/ic1room

My playthrough, FWIW:

Sena · August 26, 2021

Day 3: Alien Hideout https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/a-c/ahide

If a WAD is pre-2000, and people are still giving it 0 stars, (not counting the obvious sockpuppet account) you know it's bad. Normally, when I criticise maps for being so basic they could've been made in Wolf3D, it's on a purely technical level, they just use basic square rooms with doors, and nothing else to make the environment or combat encounters interesting. While that's certainly true of this map, it really goes the extra mile with being such a basic map that the whole thing looks the same, it feels about as involved as a clicker game, the only point that I could remotely consider noteworthy is the fact they put 3 barons in the map despite not giving you any weapons to deal with them. However, they made the critical misjudgement of forgetting to actually make a map in which the barons are actually capable of hitting the player, which goes for pretty much the whole thing, hitscanners up the arse, but with their low health you can take them down easily, and you can just run past everything else. Which on its own isn't automatically a bad thing, there are some maps in the default game in which you can avoid killing a large number of enemies without even thinking about it, but this one just encourages it, it encourages you to just run to the exit as soon as possible, just so it can be over as soon as possible. Despite all this simplicity, my run was over when in map 3, for no reason I'm teleported into a room with a cyberdemon, spider mastermind, and probably damaging floors, and die immediately, I think I'd rather experience have an imp claw my scrotum than play this for any longer. 2/10.

Roofi · August 26, 2021

Month 4 Day 12

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

File 1) The Fireworks Factory by Eric @The Green Herring Baker (2009)

Spoiler

Quote

It was just like last year's Fourth of July celebration. You were tagging along with your friends and fellow Americans, watching the fireworks go off in the distance, and downing enough bottles of beer to drown out your own blood. Suddenly, however, the sparks started to look... different. They glowed a dark red, and began falling to the Earth instead of dissipating. People began to panic as the sparks landed upon them and set them fully ablaze in an instant. You, however, stayed resolute. You knew who was responsible for this: The Legions of Hell! With your trusty pistol at your side, you make your way to the nearest fireworks factory -- where your keen senses tell you the demons reside.

You will not let a bunch of hellspawn ruin the Fourth of July.

* * * * * *

This is a level I designed in less than 24 hours on the Fourth of July, 2009. After playing Qingshuo Wang's Rocketeer (ROKETEER.WAD), I was inspired to make a rockets-only level, and felt that it would be appropriate to do so on this particular day. The level uses mainly red, white, and blue textures, and I even turned the yellow keys into white keys! I implemented skill levels on this map, so if you find Ultra-Violence too hard -- and you just might -- try Hurt Me Plenty or lower. Your patriotic carnage is set to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner," and when you win the level, you are treated to Emanuel Leutze's famous painting, "Washington Crossing the Delaware." You can even find it in the level itself if you're eagle-eyed enough. All in all, I hope you have fun on this level, and if you're from the United States, have a happy Fourth of July!

Oh, yeah, and the level does not realistically or accurately represent an actual fireworks factory. The title is just something I felt was appropriate given the idea behind this level.

A simple but so damn fun gimmicky map where you fight homogeneous hordes of monsters with your RL with the American Anthem in the background ! The map itself consists to a grey tech-base with rectangular rooms. The gameplay is not hard at all but there is only one armor which become accessible only if you reach the final area where the cyber is. In the absence of the latter, you must remain very vigilant with your rocket launcher by avoiding to explode the rockets against a door which opens and closes...

Also , I like how the yellow key was replaced by a white one , so you get the blue , red and white key which are the colors of the USA flag.

Very fun patriotic RL-oriented map.

File 2) INSANE!.WAD by Marcus Wu (1996)

Spoiler

Quote

No story, no plot... I just thought this level layout would be cool for deathmatch... =)

Well , this map is not as insane as the author described. It's one of the generic DM maps with items randomly everywhere. He placed some enemies at least, so the exploration is less boring. Actually, I appreciate , the circular courtyards thanks to their large scale and their numerous interconnections. However , the rest consist just to some ugly monotextured corridors with pointed unreal walls.

I've seen worse DM maps , but a lot better too.

The next wad is Mystery 1, a slaughterwad I played years ago. Each map is really long so and I don't have the time , so it's all for today.

Sena · August 27, 2021

Day 4: LOST SOULSPHERE: Gold Edition https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/j-l/lslsp_gd

10 maps, some of which are funny, some of which aren't. A few maps centre on the joke of "wouldn't it be funny if I reskinned lost souls to look like soulspheres", to which I say not particularly, but that's nonetheless the schwerpunkt of multiple maps, making it a central theme, other reskins include the megasphere being something else I forgot, the pain elementals are now the baron projectile, making them far too small to shoot reliably, the shotgun is now an arse with which you shit on people, and the plasma rifle is now Smarties, with a reduced range. Writing jokewads is a tall order, and I think my own image of a good one comes directly from IOGW - have a bunch of varied maps, vaguely connected by a central plot, with humour that's a tinge metafictional. Comparatively, Mock 2, which I think is the popular jokewad instead just thinks if you make the level design egregiously bad enough, accompanied by music that sounds like a depressed Yoshi trying to perform opera, then that's all you need to do, and I'd say Lost Soulsphere leans towards the latter category. A large amount of gameplay just boils down to "go over there and collect stuff and kill things", or I should say "gew uvar vere nd kollect stuf nd ckill fings", for they insist on spelling everything wrong, I'm aware that's nothing new, but it does feel very forced, less like a parody of overenthusiastic authors with less than perfect spelling skills, and more like they're just doing it because they feel obligated to. Other than that, there's not a huge amount to say, map 7 features a mountain so huge that the map performs about as well on LZdoom as nuts.wad, but at the end of the day, it's got the stupid level design and gameplay decisions you've come to expect from a jokewad, and while I'd like to be lenient, overall the humour was kind of lacking. 5/10.

Screenshot_Doom_20210826_171809.png.e0ff650e349c7aeb0239c603a077819a.png Screenshot_Doom_20210826_171154.png.82860e1146e16057dc6266a1c142fd6e.png

Edited August 27, 2021 by Sena

ICID · August 27, 2021

Alien Hideout (1997) by Kicker55

^{Play Settings}

^{Source port: k8vavoom}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, pistol starts}

Really, really, really, really, really, really bad. I suppose we should start with the fact that the text file for Alien Hideout claims it’s a replacement for “E1M1-E1M9” but the file itself only contains three levels. And by “levels”, I mean connected series of flat, dark boxes packed with the exact same monsters, and that’s it. There is literally only a single room in the entire WAD that features non-90-degree angles.

Beyond that, there’s nothing really to write home about here, other than some profoundly incompetent texturing. It’s not difficult, really, but the samey rooms and reliance on the default shotgun means it’ll be a real test of patience – about a quarter of the way into map02 I decided to stop killing things and just try to run to the end of the levels as quickly as possible, and even that was tedious.

I generally save the one out of 10 score for maps that made me truly angry in some way, and this didn’t, so it gets the two. It’s just too utterly incompetent to earn more than a disinterested eyeroll. Nothing more than a stapled-together collection of baby’s first maps, destined to be forgotten the second you finish playing it.

Grade: 2/10

TL;DR: One of those WADs that fails to improve on the experience of staring at a blank computer screen.

Roofi · August 27, 2021

Month 4 Day 13

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

File 1) ZDoom version 1.16 by Randy Heit (1998)

Quote

an enhanced port of Doom for Windows 95/NT

One of the first versions of one of the most popular ports today. Cool file for old farts but a bit outdated for regular doomers which prefer playing with latest updates.

File 2) bmine.zip (1994)

Quote

This is a dehacked file that will turn pink demons into red plasma balls and spectres into green plasma balls that float and explode upon dieing or attack.

I tried to play Doom's E2M1 with it and it doesn't work for me. Demons are still demons and spectres are still spectre. The idea looked fun though but I'm not a dehacked expert.

Sorry.

File 3) Lep2.wad by Terry Vessels (1998)

Quote

small, simple wad for dm and practice added a shotgun at each dm start point to end the camping at the center.

Well, I just played this wad three weeks ago (Month 4 Day 2). I gave it a second go but I went pretty fast. As I said , in my first review, the exit is located just next to the beginning in LEP2 and LEPCO1, so I beat each map in under 2 minutes just because I had to kill all the monsters guarding the exit.

LEPCO2 was more designed like a singleplayer level , but a lot of parts can be skipped actually.

I had fun but not as much when I played it for the first time.

File 4) Judas32 by @Ismaele (Alberto Sposito (2008)

Spoiler

Quote

This is a DM level designed for 1-on-1 duels, inspired by Judas23. WARNING: The new background music is a .MIDI file, so you'll listen to it only if you use a port that can play it, such as ZDoom-based ports (ZDoom, GZDoom, ZDaemon...).

A small compact dark tech-base replacing map 32 where all items are set on "Multiplayer Only" mode , which lead into a totally empty map on singleplayer mode. Architecture is great with some pronounced height variation with stairs and a lift where you can easily get stuck in... Also , the midi worked for me on crispy-doom which was a good thing.

Definitely a duel map. I think this map would be too small even for 3 players.

And I accidentally fell in a deadly slime pit in corridor 81 after getting through a middle texture....

Spoiler

Sena · August 27, 2021

On account of the fact SlaughterMAX contains a total of 32 maps, which contain anywhere between 250 and 2500 enemies each, for this ER/IWA I'll have to be playing out of order, doing the one-map WADs today and tomorrow, and then SlaughterMAX and Doomworld Mega Project "when I'm done", as Carmack would say.

With that aside, this is Day 5: The Landing Pad, DOOM ][ https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/j-l/land

This map released in 1995 by someone who never appeared to go on to do anything else important as far as Doom is concerned, and from that opening alone, you're probably expecting it to be a forgettable load of tosh with nonsensical level design. Still, there's an exception to every rule, and it looks like I've found it.

To get its major shortcoming out of the way, the map does look a bit plain, not quite ugly, but atmospheric is the very last word I'd use to describe it, it's not got anything that sticks out like a sore thumb, but it's also not got anything that looks impressive, and if they did bother to include the titular landing pad, I certainly never saw it, although I have to say that they did include a decent number of secrets, or at least, a decent number that even I was able to find, and it goes without saying that when I have as much trouble as I do just figuring out how to finish a level, I'm not the best when it comes to finding secrets.

Ignoring the fact it looks a bit ugly, which in their defense so did everything else from 1995 and prior, I would struggle to find any objections with the level design. The levels are easy to navigate through, while still having plenty of enemies to keep you busy, and a good variety of them to make sure that the experience doesn't grow stale (i.e. not just deploying chaingunners and barons up the arse). I suppose when it comes down to it, there isn't a huge amount that this WAD does that you haven't seen before, it's classic Doom in every sense of the word, I guess the rooms are a bit blocky, and the locations themselves are a bit forgettable, the enemies placed within is what makes them stand out, no visually striking areas a la Sigil, but at this point I'm just padding out time for no reason, in short, it's a good map, and that's all ye need. 7/10.

Roofi · August 28, 2021

Month 4 Day 14

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

File 1) Hell Junior High- Where the meals are free if you're a cannibal(which reminds me, I forgot to put in by Joseph McDavid (2011)

Spoiler

Quote

(Skip this) ==============HELL JHS============= This is the most violent school you'll ever see! Includes a gun store across the street. ==============Story================ Single player:You were walking to school one day, when suddenly your friends start dissapearing around you! You look at your hands to see them fading away. When you arrive at school, your whole body has been transported to another dimension. One of your friends lies dead in front of you. You pick up a pistol he must have found and notice the guys who killed him. Better pick up the shotgun he dropped fast... Multiplayer Co-op:Looking behind you,you see some of your friends are still alive, and they found pistols, too. Multiplayer Deathmatch:After discovering you were in (with -nomonsters) Hell, you decided to kill everything you saw. Strangly, everyone was calling you "the new kid." But you and your buddies have overtaken this hellish school now, and the teachers and students of Hell J.H.S. are all dead. You were about to leave when you realized the truth: You're dead, and you can't leave. Since you're all already dead you see no harm in killing each other to pass the time. =========================== ===DON'T SKIP THIS!!!!!!=== =========================== Here's a list of what certain things represent.

Trooper: Just an average student

Sargeant: An above average student Chaingun Sargeant: Owns the gun store Imp: A guidance counsler Lost Souls: Cheerleaders SS Nazi: Security guards Demon: A "nice" teacher Spectre: A hall monitor

Baron of Hell: One of the principals

Cacodemon: A very mean teacher

Cyberdemon:The Head Principal Spiderdemon: The Principal's Pet Spider Arachnotron: The Principal's Spider's Child Mancubus: A rather fat teacher Hell Knight: Another very mean teacher Revenant: Yet another very mean teacher Archvile: The Nurse Pain Elemental: Leader of the Cheerleading Squad

Blue Doors: Storage rooms Yellow Doors: Lockers Red Door: The Principal's Office By the way, some students and cheerleaders got locked in their lockers as punishment. One of the lockers holds a forbidden device which, if you see it, will cause the authorities to come looking for you. If you shoot it, all doors open. NOTE: The "authorities" are a large group of hell-spawn with infinite reserves. The "-nomonsters" option has no effect on them. This can easily ruin a deathmatch or co-op. Don't open the weird-looking locker!!!

Yay another school shooting wad !

Let's see... We have a crappy looking level with stupid sound effects, author using his real name, a very controversial subject... This wad was definitely not created in 2011. According to the idgames comments, it was rather released during the 90'.

I like how the mapper describe what the monsters correspond to just to remind you that you are killing real people. Afterall, Joseph McDavid maybe hated school with a passion but he definitely loved Doom so we can't blame him.

Besides that, the school should be called "Temple of ugliness" instead because of all those empty and dark rooms. However , I smiled when I woke up an IOS by opening the "weird-looking locker". Gameplay-wise , you win once you unlock the rooms with all the goodies.

The new sounds are pretty weird. The reverbs make me think the mapper recorded all his sounds in his bathroom. Anyway , most of the monsters will perpetually say "DIE" just to show how evil they are.

Another crappy school map.

File 2) M Y S T I C 3 by ANDY MCKIE aka mystic and JEAN YVES DELPECH aka JIVE (2001)

Spoiler

Quote

Designed for Deathmatch real 3D floors. Trippy sci-fi looking level

An unique DM map which highlights the potential of the 3D floors which can be created on modern ports like zdoom. The layout consists to an arena with two translucent upper floors.You can reach them by using teleporters located at the ground floor. The RGB colors fit extremly well with the starry sky and absoluty bring a trippy atmosphere.

I remember I already played a map from the MYSTIC series. I can say , there is still the weird blood texture for the teleporter which look out of place imo.

I'm not a a zdoom addict but those 3D floors look rad.

File 3) Nomen Luni - Part 6 of the Frag Fest series! by Matthew Mauger (1995)

Spoiler

Quote

I was promising something special for Frag Fest 6, and here you have it. Not quite what it started out as, but after playing GIGAKIL2 by Stealth (respect due, some amazing levels...) I was duely inpired by his ISLEKEEP level, and created this, totally unlike it, except for the sea-side idea.

I created the central area with the stairs leading down, and then as ideas and inspiration flowed I just joined pieces onto here and there, until this is what I came up with.

It's had some serious playtesting, as always, and one of the most important things that came out was the need for the circle back from the secret bit in the library area...

Anyway, play it, and as always, give me feed back...

A simple square brown fortress designed for DM. I like how the author created a texture of the England flag by assembling two stock textures. Aesthetically , the level is very decent on that point. Gameplay-wise , you can kill few monsters but there is no exit anyway.

File 4) Not So Simple by Mr. Chris @Armaetus (2009)

Spoiler

Quote

A much larger, spacious arena for the Dead Simple slot for Doom 2.

Not so simple.... but even simpler than the original Dead simple !

As the author explained, this remake mainly consists to a much larger and spacious arena , which mean that all the projectiles are a lot easier to dodge , even if there are more mancubus. In the original map 07, dodging the projectiles was a lot tougher because of the cramped layout and the fact that mancubus's projectiles can easily go through pillars. Also, in Dead simple , it was necessary to lower the platforms one by one, which implied to find the good switch in order to obtain the megasphere as well as the other powerful weapons (PG and RL) In the remake, you just have to press one switch in order to lower all the platforms and you don't even have to lower them in order to get all the useful weapons.

However, this map has at least better aesthetics. I had never been fan of Dead simple , so I think the remake is a simple and enjoyable map. It could easily be a filler in a classic megawad.

I stop here for today.

Sena · August 29, 2021

Day 6: Petersen Station https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/v-z/wase2

An E2M9 replacement by Walter, which failed to make the cut for Doom the Way id Did, suppose he'll have to tell us exactly why that was, since it's an all around solid map, and one that was only made in a month.

To start off with, for a map that is meant to emulate the style of the original Doom, it's got surprisingly good pacing, without much in the way of backtracking, and the pacing is kept quick by the fact there's a baron you meet fairly early on, who I never bothered to kill, maybe I should just get over myself and spend 5 whole seconds shotgunning the bastard, but when I see one, my thought process is to avoid it and wait until I get to the point of the map with the firepower to deal with it more efficiently. And I suppose if I have to give a singular complaint, it's a lack of weapon variety, nothing but a shotgun, and a chaingun you get so late on that it's hardly worth mentioning, albeit that's not the first time I've seen that. But overall, it's a quality map, probably harder than E2 was, but people are also better at Doom now, I suppose it's not a map that has any extremely memorable moments, but it's good nonetheless, and if you asked me which of the official Doom levels I had a distinctive memory of, I think I'd all remember them for the wrong reasons; The Chasm is a lot more memorable as an example of what not to do than Central Processing is as an example of what to do. Ultimately, it's a simple map, which emulates the better classic Doom levels, it's simple to navigate, doesn't piss about, and unlike a fair number of Petersen's levels, it's actually fun. 7/10.

Roofi · August 29, 2021

Month 4 Day 15

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

File 1) funsnd.zip by Steve Huskisson (1994)

Quote

I have added, what I think, are some Hilarious sound effects. There is some Beattle Juice, Dan Akroyd, old woman, Jurassic Park, etc.

One of the old cheesy 90's wads. This one contain few new sounds because most of the monsters's grunts had not been replaced , which is not really a bad thing to be honest.

Whatever, there is zero interest to download it.

File 2) Deployment Base by Scott Sutherland (2012)

Spoiler

Quote

You've been set down inside an alien base used for housing monster troops before deployment to arenas of combat on Earth. You immediately face an onslaught from Hell, but the worst is yet to come! Your mission is to wreck havoc inside the base, thus depleting the alien menace's ability to wage war. Oh yeah-- you must also escape ALIVE!

A 1996 map uploaded in 2012. To be honest, it looks even too bland for a 1996 map. Indeed, don't really expect an Alien Base but an empty underground marble complex. The boxy layout combined with the monotexturing results to a totally forgettable map , unfortunately. Also , this level contains a ton of hidden doors but the author granted you a computer map in order to find them easily.

Despite being extremly easy due to the surplus of items and the misuse of monsters, I had some fun killing the monsters and making them infighting.

Uninteresting map.

File 3) The Warrens by @Pope Guilty (2009)

Spoiler

Quote

After the bizarre ruins were found beneath a UAC excavation site, your team was sent down to investigate. Left behind to watch their backs, you heard them die... and worse. Investigate the warrens!

Another level taking place in a subterrean marbled labyrinth but I enjoyed this one. In addition, the complex hides a tiny tech-base housing the yellow key. Despite using massively the marble brick textures, the layout proves to be extremly organic as if you explore a cavern. The ambient darkness tends to make the level rather monotonous but the author created numerous light effects in order to make the areas more memorable.

Gameplay-wise , it's extremely cramped , which can be a bit annoying at times , especially when you want to kill barons with your RL. However, you have enough ammo to deal against monsters. About the progression, it can be confusing if you don't care about the automap. Indeed, you have to do a lot of backtracks but it remains quite intuitive because the automap indicates you which walls will open at some point.

Pretty cool map.

File 4) Dream House by Sean Bernard (2002)

Spoiler

Quote

The year is 1979. You have been hired by an architect to clean out mutants that have infested

A very unusual and pretty good quality Myhouse.wad. First, there are few wads which exploits the 70's era. Indeed, you see a lot of futuristic , medieval , aztec or hellish maps but not a lot using the 70's design. Also, this house is separated into several maps. Knowing it's impossible to superpose floors on vanilla doom , except by creating teleports which kill a lot the immersion imo, the author decided to divide everything in 4 maps : the first is for the outdoors , the second for the first floor , the third for the second and eventually the last for the third floor and the basement.

I like how you can see the building you're going to explore before entering it. The level mostly uses stock textures , but some custom ones , especially in order to create colorful furnitures. I think the last floor (map 04) is my favourite part in the wad because there is a room with a lot of posters of famous movies (Star Wars) and bands (Pink Floyd , Black Sabbath). You can also turn on your Atari 2600 to see an animated texture. Besides that, you can find some loudspeakers and other very 70's related furnitures.

The rest looks not bad , but is a lot more generic with a laundry , kitchen (blue furnitures are rad though!) , toilets... I also have a favourite for the swimming pool at the first floor but this one doesn't look particularly beautiful.

A good find for myhouse.wad enthousiasts.

File 5) metal.zip by Jim (1999)

Quote

This is a wad file(for doom2 only) with NEW! Metal Music For the first 5 levels.

The description is lying because the file replaces the midis for the first 7 levels (and not 5!) and the intermission screen. However , it's still not worth downloading because you will find METAL music that everyone knows (Enter Sandman by Metallica...). Moreover, the map 02 contains a music entirely composed on piano.

File 6) Heptagram Arena by Robert Eckhardt (1997)

Spoiler

Quote

This is my first ewad I ever created. I had this ewad (ex- ternal wadfile) for nearly a year before I decided to submit it to cdrom.com. It is a simple, arena-like level shaped in a seven pointed star. In deathmatch you start on one of seven platforms in the outer arms with all weapons there, so you do not have to go around searching for them, except the chain- saw, which is in the middle arena area, and the BFG900, which is on a platform in the center. The platform has one-sided type walls all around, which makes it a perfect spot for snipers, but also can be shot at from every direction. There is one and only one monster, the dreaded cyberdemon, which is on the center platform guarding the BFG9000.

The description provided by the author is self-explaining enough, I don't have to paraphrase. However I have to say that classical music in doom wads is a criminally underrated selection. I really like the midi version of Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata (3rd Movement).

I got killed in the very strange Ultimate Doom map Bumborass! >~<.

Spoiler

Walter confetti · August 29, 2021

8 hours ago, Sena said:

An E2M9 replacement by Walter, which failed to make the cut for Doom the Way id Did, suppose he'll have to tell us exactly why that was, since it's an all around solid map, and one that was only made in a month.

Iirc it was because some of the map parts are too similar to the original IWAD maps... Glad that you liked it!

Also seems that it is one of my common mistakes not adding other guns than the shotgun/SSG and adding the powerful guns when it's too late for using them... Got same issue reported in another map i made recently lol

Edited August 29, 2021 by Walter confetti

ICID · August 29, 2021

LOST SOULSPHERE: Gold Edition (2004) by Xaser

^{Play Settings}

^{Source port: k8vavoom}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, cheating a lot}

Yeesh. The first Xaser map we’ve played since I became Keeper of the ER/iWA and it’s…this?

If you’ve been reading my reviews here, you should know that I’m always willing to give jokewads a chance – I gave a pretty glowing level-by-level review to Weirdo Bizarre and spoke in the last adventure about my love for the revenant quadrilogy.

Here’s the thing: a good jokewad, like any good joke, needs to have an actual perspective. Setup, then punchline. Mock2 is a parody of bad mapping tropes. Weirdo Bizarre is Doom II, but warped beyond recognition because the player is tripping on acid. Revenant Bus is a Desert Bus parody, a 24-hour endurance test of extreme boredom presented like an arthouse game.

Lost Soulsphere: Gold Edition (a remake of an earlier Xaser wad named, sigh, “LOST SOULSPHERE!!!!!!11oneone”) belongs to that school of post-Mock2 jokewads that thought that they could just be really bad, and that that would be funny in and of itself. There’s a loose thread here of powerups turning into monsters, which isn’t really a funny premise on its own, and from there it’s just an excuse to force the player through hideous architecture, miserable gameplay, and several weapon replacements including a gun that shoots eggs and a butt that shoots poop and…yeesh, it’s depressing to even describe, let alone play.

I assume I don’t need to do an authorship corner on Xaser, a pillar of the community who has contributed in some form or another to a ridiculous number of great WADs over his 18 years of modding. It’s almost easier to list the major works he hasn’t been a part of, but the stuff he has includes No End In Sight, both Adventures of Square, both BTSXs, Eviternity, all the DTWIDs, Heartland, Syringe, Reelism, and probably a few dozen community projects. He also made dead.air, which is one of my absolute favorite Doom maps ever, bar none.

It’s funny to think that this genius best known for extensive non-vanilla work – zDoom scripting, weapon replacements, contributing to the Eternity Engine, etc. – first learned that stuff in order to make garbage like this, one of over a dozen terrible jokewads Xaser released in 2004. In fact, that’s the only funny thing about this WAD.

Grade: 2/10

TL;DR: There’s a poop gun. Enough said.

Endless · August 29, 2021

I've returned.

Untitled | Jonathan "Jon" Rimmer | 2003 | Played on GZDoom 4.5.0 | Ultra-Violence

Created in 2003, Untitled is a strange and dreamlike abstract work with a very interesting design, which combines some elements of realism with the classic illogical design of many WADs from the early years of Doom. Visually, it is quite appreciable. The unique style of its gothic design, plus a cool infernal skybox that combines technological elements, gives it a strange feeling of surrealism that feels quite good. The architecture is solid and the texture work is more than decent, giving it a good overall consistency of quality while managing to recreate a unique visual theme, extroverted, almost. Unfortunately it falls a bit low on gameplay. Not that it has a boring gameplay, but it can be quite tedious. 80% of the map is a shootgun-fest, where we have very little ammo and face enemies that are too tough. Pair by pair of Barons or Hellknights, and a few tanks like Mancubus or even an Archvile. The map feels unfair at times because of this, but it's still beatable, even if a bit unfortunate at times. It's worth checking out for its cool style alone.

Dada | Scientist | 2006 | Played on GZDoom 4.5.0 | Ultra-Violence

A very strange deathmatch WAD, indeed. Dada is a monochrome-styled WAD. White and grey is all you will see, plus the blood of your enemies and the plasma balls flying everywhere. What makes this map special is, practically, only its visual theme. The style and almost no use of colors, but with a stylized design and animated stripers, make it slightly attractive as a kind of niche for players who like this kind of extravagant maps. Unfortunately, I, with my enormous DM expertise (sarcasm), can say that the layout is somewhat disappointing and doesn't offer much depth for balanced, or fun, encounters. Still, I imagine a game with a few friends could be fun, if only for the novelty it presents.

Containment Area v1.1 | J.C. Bengtson (SailorScout) | 1999 | Played on GZDoom 4.5.0 | Ultra-Violence

Quote

Consider this a tribute to the original Doom's E2M2.
                          I always liked that level for some unexplainable
                          reason, and thus felt it neccessary to emulate the
                          style in this map. Even if you disliked that map
                          I trust you'll have different feelings about this
                          one!

Well, he nailed it! This map created in 1999 appears to have been created at least as far back as 2004. It is full of details, has an expansive and adventurous way of progressing and feels like a huge battle arena full of different encounters, enemies and more than enough variety, creating a dynamic and cool combat atmosphere. The map is, as the author says, a tribute to our favorite crates-filled map. It is full of the famous crates, but also combines different visual styles and has a high variety of rooms connected by different paths, as well as multiple optional areas that we can explore if we like. With over 500 enemies, this is a big map, especially big for the 90s, but despite that, at no point does it feel like some sort of giant, boring arena. The map is tight, with low ceilings and a lot of columns of boxes, which creates a feeling that we are playing a much smaller map than it looks. The combination of the typical warehouse style is combined with a classic gothic inferno, reminiscent of E4 thanks to the use of marble, and its high difficulty. Despite that, the map is not unfair and maintains a good balance between enemies and items given to the player. This is a great map, without a doubt a fantastic jewel that I'm sure many will like. I find it incredible that it came out in 1999, it has an amount of polish and overall quality that is fascinating in almost every aspect.

The Mansion | Samuel Villarreal, Midway INC. | 2002 | Played on Doom Retro | Ultra-Violence

A recreation of PSXDoom's MAP58, created by the legendary Samuel Villareal, aka Kaiser. This map, although I have not played it in its original form, I can say that it has a solid quality throughout its conception. Thanks to its theatrical design and fantastic use of textures, it has a terrifying atmosphere that transmits a gothic and dark air. Fantastic in the visuals department, each area feels unique and heavy, dripping with good use of textures and accompanied by enough detail to create a good piece of work. The music in particular evokes a dreaful atmosphere, which vaguely reminds me of Castlevania. The gameplay is simple for the most part, but remains stable and well played thanks to a good balance that never stops, always offering different challenges with a nice touch that synergizes with the map. The variety of rooms and the dynamic progress make it feel quite fun, even if the puzzles can be a bit cryptic at times, the map plays wonderfully well.

Sena · August 30, 2021

Day 7: Doomworld Mega Project 2016 https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/dmp2016

Screenshot_Doom_20210829_155155.png.23d88e488d4cad1e78acbea581e42722.png

A huge WAD, containing a grand total of 50 maps including the hub world, through which you can jump through any of the maps, Mario 64 style. Each of the maps has a unique author, and it's got a couple big names including Dobu Gabu Maru, Walter, Scotty, Li'l Devil, Getsu Fune, Obsidian, to name just a few. As for the maps themselves, they don't really share any qualities with each other, the only thing that is consistent between them is that nothing is consistent between them, the monster count can be as low as 1, as high as 1120, no Dehacked or custom textures, but apart from that, people can do just about anything they want, for which reason it's not exactly easy to talk about it as a uniform entity, but I guess I'll see where doing that takes me. But as a disclaimer, I should probably mention that I only actually completed in their entirety probably about half the levels. Owing to the time constraint I was a lot less patient than usual, there were plenty of them where I got to about 100 kills and got lost for two minutes before deciding "nah this sucks", so maybe one day I could actually go through and complete all of these maps properly, thought for a long time about becoming some second-rate Dean of Doom and uploading reviews in video format, so I guess I'll just throw actually reviewing this properly onto the pile of "things that I keep telling myself would be a good thing to do but never actually do", anyway, time to get on with it.

If you look at the below images, I think it becomes quite apparent why it's so hard to talk about this WAD, because in some parts, it looks brilliant, other times it looks like something straight out of 1993. But, to speak generally, I will say that it's vaguely difficult, on account of the competence of the authors, people who clearly are seasoned mappers and know how to make good combat encounters, although because there was evidently no consideration in how these maps were arranged, that's not necessarily consistent. In the worst case of this, Dobu Gabu Maru's map 9 involves being chased by a cyberdemon, the map's only enemy, as you have to figure out how to keep outrunning it in order to survive, at least, that's how it works if you're on a pistol start, but since I had a BFG and enough ammo for it I just killed it immediately and due to that fact my experience was just walking around pushing buttons in an empty map, which is about as fun as it sounds, and for which reason I'd suggest pistol starting all the levels, probably the first and only time I'm going to say that, but many of these maps just are not designed for it, and present the same issue as map 9 - killing everything immediately, and leading to you spending more time just walking through the map to get to the next area than you'll spend doing anything interesting.

Of the maps, I'd say that map 7 is the absolute best of the bunch, thankfully, there's no Dead Simple/Icon of Sin in this WAD, and map 7 features some outstanding hell architecture and combat encounters, and the absolute worst without any doubt is map 38, which features no weapons, and 100 rooms, each with a single cyberdemon in it. The map requires you to go into a room, open a door, and leave, and then do that a grand total of 100 times, which may have posed a challenge if not for the fact the cyberdemon cannot shoot you fast enough to be an actual threat. Arguably, it took inspiration from The Revenant Problem and is using the Schopenhauerian belief of the Wille Zum Leben to demonstrate how so many people in their personal lives strive to continually move forwards and avoid their problems which continually pile up behind them and... nah it's just bollocks.

Screenshot_Doom_20210827_051837.png.9e6419a1be36d4edc361e1c59b01c005.png Screenshot_Doom_20210827_053215.png.1c09e7ed815f3ae79d48c2701f2e19ca.png

Screenshot_Doom_20210828_074402.png.18e92585aaea1bbef633f22c7cf6e9b6.png Screenshot_Doom_20210828_072129.png.e8435a8cf41eb385dbdaca5c878baab6.png

I've probably said it too many times now, but a WAD like this is kind of hard to describe, much less rate, when everything is so varied, giving a uniform number is kind of meaningless, but a 6/10 seems about right to me. I'd say that map 7, and maybe a handful of others, are as high as an 8, but so many of them just kind of fall short, a lot of them end up implementing ideas that just don't work, such as Getsu Fume's map which looks like a forest, something I've not seen in Doom before, but it also all looks the same which makes it a pain to navigate through, much less fight in, it's like Wolfenstein without doors. I guess this is thematically a return to those shovelware CDs from the 90s, where you'd get a bunch of normal levels, but also Batman Doom and some bloke recreating his hometown in Nowhere, Ohio. There's some good stuff in here, and also some bad stuff, you've just got sift through it to find it, and there's probably at least something you'll like, they put a puzzle level in here, and just seeing the words 'puzzle level' are enough to make me nauseous, but clearly there's a market for that stuff or else people wouldn't make them.

As for miscellanea, one of the levels I chose to skip was Scotty's Sons of Liberty, as I noticed that by some very odd coincidence it also appears in SlaughterMAX, it's not a perfect 1:1 copy, but I played both for about a minute before noticing that the opening room at least is very similar, so not sure what that's about, could ask him but it turns out he got banned recently. Walter's level (featuring this cheeky face) was pretty alright, probably also a 6/10, was actually quite the opposite of map 38, featuring a cyberdemon who I keep chasing but who keeps teleporting away, and even featured a real philosophical question, asking me if I want to "get real" or "get stupid". And @Li'l devil says hi, so hi, that map was peak as well.

Screenshot_Doom_20210828_125600.png.cf947e319e119e7fdf0ae5f462291764.png Screenshot_Doom_20210828_131712.png.77bf27db5e0f7f97f33f918fe8dc6adf.png

Edited August 30, 2021 by Sena

ICID · August 31, 2021

SlaughterMAX (2020) by Various Authors

^{Play Settings}

^{Source ports: k8vavoom, prboom+}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

I’m not going to put a grade on this one, because to be honest, I didn’t play most of it. That’s not due to a lack of interest so much as lack of time – I’d be hard-pressed to play 32 slaughtermaps in any two-week stretch, let alone one where I have to play six other WADs. Plus, slaughter’s the sort of thing I have to be in the right mindset to really enjoy, and having recently finished UV-Maxing Sunder I’m a bit burnt out on the genre. So I IDCLEVed to all 32 levels in this WAD, stopping to play through the levels that caught my interest, cheating through the rest to get enough of a sense of them to review.

Having said that…I think I would really like this WAD, and I’ve added it to my list to give a proper playthrough in the future when I can give it its due. SlaughterMAX is an all-comers community project from last year using vanilla Doom II textures whose only real constraint was that authors had to submit a demo completing the map on UV proving it could be done.

The obvious comparison here would be to say SlaughterMAX is like a less polished version of this year’s Micro Slaughter Project. But while the steady hand of Bauul ensured that project maintained a high level of quality throughout, it also maintains a high level of consistency – like many modern WADs, it lacks the ability to truly surprise you.

On the other hand, SlaughterMAX is truly demented. Maps have anywhere between 31 and 31,000 monsters (not an exaggeration – that’s MAP07 and MAP28 respectively), take inspiration from everything from Sunder to Nuts to Wolfenstein, and just generally feel like a true explosion of creativity, good and bad. Some maps have starts so hot as to be seemingly impossible, some maps give you some time to prepare for your doom, and some maps are just a big circular room with 32,000 imps and a rocket launcher.

There’s a Wolfenstein map, there’s maps that would put Dimensions’ arch-vile counts to shame, there’s Antares031 dropping yet another stone-cold masterpiece into the MAP28 slot, there’s a pair of secret levels that seem like they would require a profound level of masochism to even attempt, and the whole thing caps off with a breathtakingly infuriating Icon of Sin (or should I say: Icons of Sins) fight so fucking rude that I can’t help but respect it.

Oh, and this set ended my run of playing every WAD in this ER/iWA with K8Vavoom, because even with my beefy gaming desktop many of the maps here are literally unplayable outside of prboom (though oddly not the map called “Literally Unplayable”.)

I feel insane even just describing this stuff, and I love it. This is the kind of stuff that always wins me over. By turns beautiful, infuriating, and bizarre, SlaughterMAX is a true explosion of Doom creativity – matched only by the explosion of your corpse as you get gibbed 118,000,000 times.

TL;DR: Only got to preview most maps, but it seems like wicked - if wildly inconsistent - fun.

Roofi · August 31, 2021

Month 4 Day 16

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

File 1) CRUSADE3.WAD.." The Crusader Vaults---Pt.3 " by Mort (1996)

Spoiler

Quote

Lot's of rooms and passageways -but take it easy,First Aid Stations are few and far between. The third in the "Crusader Trilogy" (the other two parts are around somewhere). The inspiration came from the many Crusader castles I've visited in Israel..Bel Voir in the Jordan Valley,Kaalat Nimrod in the Golan Heights,but mostly the underground Crusader city in Akko. These guys were amazing,they knew how to make wads--real ,lifesize wads--they were the original Doomers and all of 900 years ago.

Additional Credits to :Tsachi--for doing the test runs. id,without whom...

An underground map where a network of corridors surrounds a huge hub-style room. You have to find 3 keys in an undetermined order to unlock the pathway located at the nothern part of the map.

The beginning of the map was quite tough because I didn't know where were located the most important weapons like the SSG and I encountered an arch-vile while I hadn't the ammo to kill him yet. After progressing more among the corridors, the level became a lot easier despite the crushers area hiding the blue key requiring you a lot of carefulness.

Just by looking the layout of the map , you can guess it's far from being a masterpiece. It reminds me a lot of a TNT map and especially map 04 "Worm Hole" which I personally enjoy. Exploring the tight corridors in CRUSADE3 was a fun experience for me and the texture choices is neat for a 1996 map. However , the last part annoyed me quite a lot because you have three different small paths in order to reach the exit , but you get teleported in the big main room if you take the wrong one. It was a bit a waste of time.

Anyway, pretty enjoyable map. Also , Akko's crusader city looks like this IRL :

Spoiler

israel-akko-old-city-the-crusader-city-t

File 2) QuakeGuy Skin by @Massao (2016)

Spoiler

Quote

Ranger is back after killing shub-niggurath and armagon and the dragon, Ranger gets teleported to the arena eternal and etc, After fragging since 1999 Vadrigar sends Ranger back to his home, But something is wrong looks like monsters have invaded again.

***Ending*** Ranger kills the monsters but he is then invited to Quake Champions by Tim. Take a look at Quake Champions if u have the guts! and of course the required requiremens (I have bad notebook)

I did this skin because the others quakeguy skins don't have his sounds, Feel free to use! check S_SKINQG in the wad for correct credits.

Massao brings you the best gift if you both are a Doom multiplayer-addict and Quake Fanboy ! An another zdoom skin to add in your folder.

I stop here for today.

Roofi · September 1, 2021

Month 4 Day 17

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

File 1) Heretic and Hexen engine source code by Raven Software (Upload by Jonathan Dowland) (2015)

Quote

This is the source code of Heretic and Hexen by Raven Software, originally released in January 1999 under a restrictive EULA, and eventually re-released under the GNU Public Licence (GPL) version 2 in 2008.

The original Raven site for the source code has gone away. The re-licensed software was uploaded to Source- Forge which is at risk of disappearing. This upload is to ensure the ongoing preservation of this historically important release, on a mirrored source, the accepted home of Doom/Heretic/Hexen-related stuff.

The description is self-explaining enough. Very useful for coders and modders.

File 2) carnal.zip (1995)

Spoiler

Quote

My very first wad so excuse me if there are some rough edges!

Well, I accidentally exited the level while randomly humping some walls. I found it not bad for a first baby map. i can say that the author definitely liked shotgunners and hidden doors. The first door you open reveals you a room full of shotgunners. I had fun killing them.

Aesthetically , I have nothing to say , it's so random. I've seen better "my first maps" but also a lot worse !

File 3) LUCIUS LAND (1996)

Spoiler

Quote

A FUCKING GOOD TIME

A pretty good looking DM map with wide areas and a surreal blue starry sky. However, I think that the whole is too bright so that the aesthetics could have been prettier. Gameplay-wise , the map contains many interconnections which is a good thing for a DM map I think. However, if you try to teleport yourself to the BFG , you get stuck in a small sector located on a pillar which is according to me , a very weird idea. Why trying to get the BFG if you can't move anymore? It looks more like a trap than anything else because other players can easily kill you.

File 4) UNOFFICIALHECTEBUS CONCEPT by @TheDarkArchon (2004)

Quote

An unofficial concept version of the Hectebus, soon to be in Skulltag

A small test file I already played in Month 3 Day 3.

I don't have a lot to say than my first review. The HECTEBUS look incredibly easy to kill if you have some walls to protect yourself.

I got shot to death in a level full of zombies and switchs in the jokemegawad Moderator's Nightmare: Two-Sectored Trash

Spoiler

ICID · September 2, 2021

Peterson Station (2011) by @Walter confetti

^{Play Settings}

^{Source ports: k8vavoom}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

(As in past adventures, I don’t give scores to WADs by members of the Wadazine/ERiWA community.)

Naming your map after Sandy Peterson is instantly going to invoke some strong emotions, good and bad. Through a combination of his own personal preferences, aggressive overwork forced upon him by the rest of iD, and a lack of any real guardrails on what constituted “good” or “bad” shooter design at the time, Peterson’s maps are downright weird. Atmosphere-and-visual-first experiences often based around gimmicks that are sometimes great (Refueling Base), sometimes awful (Unholy Cathedral), frequently polarizing (Halls of the Damned), and always memorable.

Pretty big shoes to fill, if you ask me. Peterson’s work has always been my favorite – and The Shores of Hell is the Ultimate Doom episode I return to the most, sandwiched as it is between the too-consistent-for-its-own-good E1 and the just-plain-awful E3.

I say all this to point out that I had awful high standards for this map going in, and well, it’s probably not its fault that it fell short of them. Peterson Station is very well-made and well-lit, with solid combat and exploratory gameplay that never veers into frustration. It’s full of references to the episode surrounding it, from electrified blue floors to that silly “no entry” texture that only appears once in the original game.

But referencing Peterson isn’t the same as capturing his style, probably the most elusive of the original iD designers’. If Romero’s consistent, challenging work was succeeded by the likes of Skillsaw and the BTSX projects, Peterson’s best successors are probably mappers like BPRD and sets like A.L.T. Not because they feel like things he would have made, but because by following their own whims and bizarre modes of expression they evoke the feel of his maps – surprising, narratively interesting, sometimes profoundly frustrating. “Peterson Station” is fun, but it’s not any of those things, and you come out the other end without having gotten any of it on you.

Oh, and sorry Walter, but if I complain about being forced to kill cacos and barons with the default shotgun everywhere else I have to point it out here too. E2M6 puts a rocket launcher in the first room. Just saying.

TL;DR: I’m definitely thinking way too hard about this one. It’s good!

Sena · September 3, 2021

Day 8: SlaughterMAX https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/smax

I had every intention of playing this to completion, or at least as close to completion as I could get after 2 weeks, but I ended up having to stop after 10 maps, because it stopped being fun. And if it's not fun, why bother?

At least, it didn't start off that way, the first handful of maps are actually quite good, Map 5 specifically has music from Street Fighter 2 so I'm biased here, but sure, it's some good old fashioned slaughter, emphasis on good, which still retains a classic feeling. If there's one trick they enjoy, it's deploying entire battalions of archviles in line formation who you can't possibly kill before they resurrect half the enemy count. Granted, these are slaughtermaps, so there's not much else to talk about, they usually look alright, but the gameplay is as basic as it can get, go into a big square room and kill everything inside and repeat ad infintium like an overworked gladiator. And that's the problem, it is exhausting, it's not fun, it feels like work. One might be inclined to believe that I only feel that way because I'm suffering from burnout after playing so much in such a short span of time, but I don't experience burnout, only boredom, I beat all of Bourgeois Deathmatch's 30 maps in barely 2 days, because I was enjoying the maps to such an extent that I had no objection to playing it for several hours at a time (not something I do often because most stuff isn't that good), whereas these maps just feel like a slog to get through, perhaps because they all feel the same. Somewhat ironically, this dip in quality comes immediately after map 7, which is the one map that doesn't feel the same, containing 28 enemies, who aren't a problem in the slightest, just waiting very slowly for them to spawn in so I can be done with it.

Anecdote time. In Team Fortress 2, a mod popular among competitive players is MGE, which basically creates these 1v1 arenas for them to practice their aim and movement skills. But aim and movement skills is not the whole game, as GI Joe said, knowing is half the battle, or put more applicably to TF2's case, there are tons of other factors that a player should be considering in battle, health kits, counting ubercharges, strategic positioning, overextending, or just generally playing around your team and having backup to help out in a fight, it isn't called Team Fortress 2 for nothing (I mean if you look at my team in pub matches it probably is), but MGE doesn't account for that, MGE just says aim and dodging is all you need to win every time, which is not true. So what's all this meaningless tripe got to do with Doom? The same way that MGE condenses TF2 into a smaller version of itself that isn't really what the game is about, SlaughterMAX, and indeed many slaughtermaps in general, condense Doom into something that isn't really what the game is about. Doom requires the mastery of many skills, including ammo management, knowing what weapons are effective against which enemy types, infighting, using cover, and, even if I probably don't want to admit it, figuring out where to go without getting lost. But none of these skills apply to this WAD, here's a wall of revenants in a rectangular room with no cover or height variation, just spam the BFG, it's not like anything else is worth using, that's why they don't even bother giving you shotgun ammo until map 5, and I'm pretty sure they just did that as a symbolic gesture, just because it looked a bit neater in the HUD having max ammo for all my weapons. This issue is exemplified by the fact the difficulty just feels like a pisstake, you can only deploy entire columns of the same enemy type so many times before it becomes really fucking boring. Speaking of, here's a joke. What's worse than an entire hallway that consists entirely of 200 zombiemen in line formation? 8 hallways in immediate succession that consist entirely of 200 zombiemen in line formation.

I suppose I should be glad that I played this, it was an educational experience, I had some more in depth things to say about the level design but naturally I've forgotten half of it, as is often the case whenever I have in depth thoughts, and some of the early levels legitimately aren't bad, but it just gets worse and worse, 4/10 seems about right, I think as a good adage, if your map is characteristic of Nuts, and it's not a jokewad or deliberate homage, then the map probably isn't very good.

Screenshot_Doom_20210903_012602.png.23b4e41dd600762582e1f0f6d14fd5e0.png Screenshot_Doom_20210831_195639.png.7a333c97958e63877b055724c0544416.png

Screenshot_Doom_20210903_010427.png.e717b007c47efc03ac248cb1fd0251fe.png Screenshot_Doom_20210903_010507.png.5bae50e001c3e47751753f940fd3d4f5.png

Edited September 3, 2021 by Sena

Sign In

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #014

Recommended Posts

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Join the conversation