Cacowards 2022 Mentionations Thread [mention projects / contributions that aren't levels too]

[nrofl]

While it is a WIP, The Magenta Spire is in my opinion worth some attention from it’s intentional deviation of sanity and being a fantastic demonstration of abstract level design

[tom3kb]

Pagodia very nice looking wad with 9 maps. 

[Gregor]

I don't know where else to put this. I noticed that on the Cacoward 2019 page 3, the picture of the review for Remnant is no longer displayed, instead it just shows a grey wall with the text, "The image you are requesting does not exist or is no longer available."

Just in case that hasn't been noticed yet.

 

https://www.doomworld.com/cacowards/2019/best3/

Edited May 3, 2022 by Gregor

[Maribo]

On 4/26/2022 at 10:50 AM, LadyMistDragon said:

A Lost World.

I've been enamored with this wad ever since I gave it a try on the first day it was up on idgames' latest files section. In particular: Maps 01, 02, 03, 08, 10 have been getting a lot of my attention... There's something about the way this wad is composed, I'm completely fine getting my back broken over and over by rude and brutal Archvile placement because they're almost meditative in their presentation. Things like putting ambient-ish midis, or at least midis that inspire a sense of foreboding dread, rather than being explicitly told you're about to get your teeth kicked in. Or that gorgeous green sky...

Here it is on idgames, for convenience.

[CherubCorps]

DBP #47: Dreamcatcher Apparatus. This is one of the most visually impressive map packs I've ever seen, think "Lullaby" lite. Combat is also very polished, it's challenging, but not overwhelming. I think it might be the best DBP so far.

 

https://www.mediafire.com/file/0vn588elrl4p8va/DBP_47.zip/file

[LuciferSam86]

+1 for DBP47, too

[tom3kb]

Hydrosphere great looking not to long wad with six maps.

[Breezeep]

Squenched Avacausage by @nova++

 

Very fun and creative mapset with some really memorable moments and just overall great use of Boom's features. This is something that you need to play yourself without spoilers. It's really worth it.

[tom3kb]

Another great short wad by @Bri Elysium's Curse Episode 1, very good looking maps with OTEX textures, 6 maps ~1hour of gamplay.

[Bri]

Ozonia. A lot of hard work has gone into this and it's brilliant right the way through.

 

Just A Mapset. Can't remember if this came out this year, but if it did it's worth a nomination because it's a really fun set.

 

Irkalla. Most recent one I played. Improves the old Doom in many ways with some exceptionally crafted modernisation. 

[GoneAway]

I'd like to nominate @fabian and @rfomin for the code award for their ongoing work on the woof port and in the wider community. This port combines the classical feeling of crispy with modern standards, including mbf21. The port also leads the pack for demo-compatible coop speedrunning - the work on coop recently has enabled a lot of runs that were previously ignored due to poor coop support in the demo-compatible landscape. Both authors routinely contribute to other source ports as well, including prboom+ and dsda-doom.

[baja blast rd.]

Putting together an Unofficial FAQ. 

[Bauul]

14 minutes ago, baja blast rd. said:

Putting together an Unofficial FAQ. 

 

Nice summary!  I especially think the part about the importance of other critical review outlets is crucial (e.g. MtPain, the Wadazine Awards (awards start on page 22, if anyone hasn't read them yet)).  The bigger variety of critical opinion the better, and I would personally love to see a portfolio of end-of-year summaries. 

 

Variety is the spice of life, and I wholeheartedly support anyone who spends the time thinking critically about Doom releases, regardless of the channel they use to communicate it.

[ReaperAA]

12 hours ago, baja blast rd. said:

Putting together an Unofficial FAQ. 

 

Very nicely put FAQ. Though another question I would like to see answered (this isn't my question, but a rewriting of a question I have recently read some people complain about) is:

 

If Cacowards are to honor each year's best Doom wads, then why does it also not have a separate column for the 10 most nominated/voted wads by members similar to how moddb has 2 columns, one for 10 best mods of editor's choice and one for 10 most voted mods?

 

They also said that the most nominated wads could just be a list of wads just mentioned on the sidebar without needing the judges to write review for them (to not burden the judges).

 

[Daytime Waitress]

10 minutes ago, ReaperAA said:

 

Very nicely put FAQ. Though another question I would like to see answered (this isn't my question, but a rewriting of a question I have recently read some people complain about) is:

 

If Cacowards are to honor each year's best Doom wads, then why does it also not have a separate column for the 10 most nominated/voted wads by members similar to how moddb has 2 columns, one for 10 best mods of editor's choice and one for 10 most voted mods?

 

They also said that the most nominated wads could just be a list of wads just mentioned on the sidebar without needing the judges to write review for them (to not burden the judges).

 

 

I don't want to speak for rd., but it sounds an awful lot like it's covered under "there is nothing ever stopping another group of people from doing anything you might want". Just a tally of the most nominations in this here thread? Fuck, I'll put my hand up for doing that.

[Not Jabba]

The practical reason there isn't a popular vote column in the Cacowards is that a single thread in a single forum isn't a large enough cross-section of the Doom community. You could tally up all the votes in the mentionation thread -- and that would be interesting and useful, as a partial view -- but there would be hundreds or thousands of people on discords or the ZDoom Forums or who only follow Doom mods through ModDB or who are even DW regulars but just don't post in this thread, who would then be surprised that a popular vote had been counted from a few dozen people in the mentionation thread.

 

In other words, the vote would be biased toward people who are active in one particular place, which, among other more basic problems, could also lead to groups of people attempting to deliberately leverage that bias.

Edited May 14, 2022 by Not Jabba

[LadyMistDragon]

On 5/13/2022 at 12:14 PM, baja blast rd. said:

Putting together an Unofficial FAQ. 

 

Excellent FAQ! Although I think the casual reader will probably just assume the Cacowards are more worth their time, if for no other reason, they only have time for so much. I salute your efforts to change that mentality though.

 

[Pistoolkip]

Pac-Man Doom has been amazing. I expected the gimmick to wear off, but there is a surprising amount of variety here. Maps are short, challenging, and fun, which makes the replay value really high
 

 

[Demion]

I want to mention Dreamcatcher Apparatus

Incredible work, the most consistent wad until now by the DBP Team, in terms of design and difficulty. Also, it looks gorgeous! Thank you so much to the mappers!

[Serathis]

I'd say it's worth a honorable mention with the sheer mindfukiness.

[Maribo]

Been ruminating on it a lot recently, Legion of the Balls of Steel (dw thread) makes an excellent case for how important it is to welcome direct remixing of existing work. Writing a love letter in the form of re-contextualizing some of your favorite experiences in Doom is just cool. Seeing an empty and charred piece of Dimensions, directly prior to being thrown into another clusterfuck, is perfect for instantly building an ominous feeling.

[Traysandor]

On 5/14/2022 at 11:07 AM, Not Jabba said:

In other words, the vote would be biased toward people who are active in one particular place, which, among other more basic problems, could also lead to groups of people attempting to deliberately leverage that bias.

 

There is that, yeah. Though there's usually at least one or two projects per year that most people would agree deserve the coveted award (Eviternity was a mapset that was nearly universally praised by those who played and won the year it was released).

 

Personally I think the format is mostly fine the way it has been in the last handful of years since it's now about ~30 individual mapset or mod projects get some sort of mention. Which gives anyone who stumbles upon it a good idea of what the best of the best was for that year. I've linked it more than a few times for people looking to get more mileage out of their Doom playing experiences.

 

This thread is a good place too, since with people not reviewing new maps any more, it falls on the community to point out which mapsets and mods are worth playing. I check in every week to two weeks or so to see if any new projects get mentioned.

[Catoptromancy]

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by Catoptromancy

[Firedust]

Irkalla: 

 

 

A gorgeous reimagining of the original Inferno episode. Superb gameplay and stunning visuals.

[Captain Keen]

I'd like to nominate SILENCE by @Wilster_Wonkels

 

Link:

 

[Obsidian]

Wholeheartedly nominating Jumpwad by Grain of Salt and Ribbiks: I haven't had a mapset awaken this kind of glee in me since Hocusdoom.

 

[Dusty_Rhodes]

On 4/30/2022 at 4:22 PM, nue said:

While it is a WIP, The Magenta Spire is in my opinion worth some attention from it’s intentional deviation of sanity and being a fantastic demonstration of abstract level design

+Magenta Spire. The most creative and interesting wad with "traditional" Doom gameplay that I've seen in a while. Really creative levels, great MBF dehacked work, interesting sprites and palette, etc. Definitely a winner imo.

[Maribo]

I think I'm overdue for posting a general shout towards the Squonker team, particularly for What Remains and Pagodia. Every time one of their wads drops, I pretty much feel compelled to play through it from start to finish in one sitting (if possible) because they just flow so nicely. It's much harder to suffer from "map fatigue" when you're given such high quality, episode length experiences.

 

Jumpwad is a defining work in unconventional Doom gameplay. I never imagined that a doom wad would elicit the same feelings in me that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games do.

[Ravendesk]

I'd like to nominate Altars of Madness.

 

This wad consists of 12 maps. It has it all: creative encounter design, resulting in challenging but fair fights, beautiful visuals with each map having its own color theme, cool secrets, great midi selection - and all of that leads to a great experience overall with certain educational value for those who want to practice micro-slaughterish crumped space encounters.

[unidenti7ied]

SILENCE.WAD (incl. S_MUSIC.WAD) by Wilster Wonkels.