WADs/Mods far away from the Doom/FPS formula

[erzboesewicht]

This thread aims to find wads where the developers went far outside the "doom formula". I have already read about wads that implement platform games (some are clones like one from Sonic, others are independent developments), and pure puzzle games like The Given or Moonlight. Then there are wads with quite exotic variations of the FPS formula - yesterday I discovered Superdoom, which implements the formula of Superhot (a puzzle-shooter from 2016 where time stands still when you're not moving nor shooting) with the (GZ)Doom engine - this inspired this thread.

 

The goal is to create a list of these mods, just like in this thread about standalone Doom games. I would limit the list to the following mods/wads:

 

• Those completely outside the FPS genre (e.g. side-scrolling platformers, fighting games and pure puzzle games)
• FPS far outside the "doom formula", like those with exotic mechanisms (like Superdoom) or role-playing/action-adventure game elements like an elaborated inventory system.
• It doesn't matter if it uses Doom assets or is a partial or total conversion.

 

I would exclude the "Wolfenstein"- and "Heretic/Hexen"-type mods as there are far too many and they're pretty standard FPSses, and also regular FPS doom wads with some puzzles (like FCFF or Eternal Doom) because they're also pretty common and even the IWADs had some puzzles.

 

Of course if there's already such a (updated) list please point me to it and I'll close this thread.

 

A short list (WIP!) of some I already found:

 

Platformers:

• Sonic Robo Blast (standalone)
• The Forestale (standalone)
• Operation Echo
• The Golden Souls series: part 1 and part 2

 

Puzzle:

• Moonlight (cryptographic/math puzzle)
• The Given (wad with puzzles in a medieval-inspired "city")
• ROOM ("pacifist" puzzle game with Doom assets where you only can harm yourself, not to be confused with a standalone FPS of the same name)
• RainbowRubik (Rubik Cube)
• Unknown (puzzle map)
• Cyberdreams (puzzle maps to kill cyberdemons, vanilla-compatible)

 

Fighting/Beat'em up:

• Doom Fighters (fighting mod)
• RetroNinjaCyberAssassin (standalone)
• Mortal Kombat Doom (fighting)
• Doom Shinobi (ninja-style gameplay mod)
• Doom: Eternal Slayer (Hack'n'slash mod)
• GMOTA (beat'em'up)
• Action Doom 2 (beat'em up)

 

RPG/Action-adventure/Metroidvania/Horror:

• Castlevania: Simon's destiny (standalone, action-adventure)
• RE4 Mercenaries in Doom (horror/action-adventure)
• Phobian Odyssey - Episode 1 (JRPG)
• Strife (FPS-RPG hybrid)
• Ghoul's Forest series (horror)
• Foreverhood (action-adventure)
• Abysm series (RPG/action-adventure): Dawn of Innocence (pt. 1), Infernal Contract (pt. 2),  Expansion pack for pt. 2
• Ascension (RPG)
• Total Chaos (standalone total conversion, survival horror, inventory and stamina system)

 

FPS with exotic mechanisms or concepts very far away from Doom's formula:

• Superdoom (partial conversion, time stands still when you don't move)
• Cybershield (arcade shooter)
• Virus (standalone, spaceship shooter in the vein of Descent)
• A Boy and his Barrel (you must protect a barrel)
• Hideous Destructor ("realistic" shooter, gameplay mod)
• Delaweare (FPS with music/audio-based mechanisms)
• Barbie Girl (you must protect a demon and solve puzzles)

 

Simulation:

• Mr. Friendly (pacifist "social simulation", gameplay mod)
• Kill'em with kindness (nonviolent wad without deaths, still seemingly employing some FPS mechanics)
• Doom Mower (hybrid of mowing simulation and shooter)
• Fury's Sky (flight simulator)

 

Racing:

• Bike Time Trial (motorcycle racing)
• SRB2 Kart (kart racing)

 

Other sports:

• Romero Death Skittles (bowling)

 

Mini games:

• List of ACS mini games (from Pong to Tetris clones)
• ZPong (Pong clone)

 

Doom-specific platforming and movement puzzles (e.g. rocket/AV jumps):

• Fun with platforming (sliw.wad) (rocket jump and other special platforming skills)

 

Survival/Invasion:

• Objective: Survive

 

Other:

• Doomguy Sensually Loads, Unloads, and Reloads his SSG (ASMR mod)

• Typist (typing exercises)

• Idle Doom (idle game)

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by erzboesewicht

[Biodegradable]

I've got one you can add to the puzzle section: The very clever Danlex made a giant, functioning Rubik's Cube in GZDoom.

[Dexiaz]

Mortal Kombat Doom

 

RE4 Mercenaries in Doom

 

Eternal Slayer (Devil May Cry clone)

 

Doom Shinobi (Ninja Gaiden styled mod)

 

A pack of ACS mini games

[Alaxzandarz]

Another pretty good map by Danlex, pretty similar to the Given.

Edited May 5, 2022 by Alaxzandarz

[Alaxzandarz]

Also, would stuff like rocket jump maps or archvile jump maps qualify?

[Drywtler]

10 minutes ago, Alaxzandarz said:

Also, would stuff like rocket jump maps or archvile jump maps qualify?

You can't rocket jump in vanilla doom, only in ZDoom and its derivatives.

Edited May 5, 2022 by Drywtler

[Alaxzandarz]

Rocket jumps in vanilla only give horizontal boost, but there are vanilla rocket jump wads like Sliw. (Vanilla as in not ZDoom)

 

 

But that doesn't really matter as this topic wasn't limited to vanilla wads.

Edited May 5, 2022 by Alaxzandarz

[erzboesewicht]

42 minutes ago, Alaxzandarz said:

Also, would stuff like rocket jump maps or archvile jump maps qualify?

In theory yes if there's no shooter gameplay. However these kinds of maps are relatively doom-specific (above all AVJs) gameplay styles and I think there are also pretty many of them, so I'm still undecided.

 

Edit: I've added a category for "Doom-specific platforming", which can contain rocket jump and other "movement puzzles" wads, as long as these puzzles are the main focus of the wad and not only an addition to shooter gameplay. I'll add suggestions from you folks here but will not actively search myself for this category (they weren't the primary reason for this thread, even if I like some of these maps).

 

Thank y'all already for the fast response, I'm adding your proposals progressively to the list :)

Edited May 5, 2022 by erzboesewicht

[Sena]

GMOTA

ZPong 

CyberShield (PWAD Version)

 

Also would survival/wave defense qualify? Because there's probably a lot there, but it probably wouldn't fall under 'exotic' since it's pretty standard these days.

[Noiser]

Virus, a Descent-like standalone made for ZDoom in 2009

Operation Echo, a very impressive side-scrolling\platformer for GZDoom

[Scypek2]

3 hours ago, Drywtler said:

You can't rocket jump in vanilla doom, only in ZDoom and its derivatives.

 

A ZDoom map would belong in this thread just fine, but you totally can rocket jump in vanilla anyway - horizontally. That's how you're meant to get to one of the secret levels in the original game, so you could say it's even more of a vanilla gameplay mechanic than straferunning.

[m8f]

Mr. Friendly:

Quote

A cozy Doom mod that radically repurposes any Doom level into an Animal Crossing-like nonviolent social space where each monster has a name and something to say.

 

A Boy And His Barrel has an exotic mechanic of protecting and moving a beloved barrel:

Quote

You've befriended (and apparently married) a barrel full of blueberry sauce named Violet, but the demons don't understand your love and will attack the two of you without hesitation.

 

Obligatory mention of Hideous Destructor, which changes gameplay formula quite dramatically by adding generous amounts of realism:

Quote

 

A gameplay mod that:

Slows the player down to more anatomically plausible speeds;

Adds and modifies weapons and adds numerous options to better emulate the behaviour of real-life counterparts; and

Beefs up various monsters and items for verisimilitude and difficulty.

 

 

Edit: also, Cyberdreams:

Quote

It is well known for featuring puzzles involving cyberdemons in each level, which the player is forced to solve without the use of weapons.

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by m8f

[Dexiaz]

7 hours ago, Drywtler said:

You can't rocket jump in vanilla doom, only in ZDoom and its derivatives.

The first videogame rocket jump happened in DOS Doom, not even in Quake. If you're talking about mouse aiming at your legs - it's slighty a different thing, actually.

[Drywtler]

16 minutes ago, Dexiaz said:

If you're talking about mouse aiming at your legs - it's slighty a different thing, actually.

I was referring to that one yeah

[erzboesewicht]

10 hours ago, Sena said:

Also would survival/wave defense qualify? Because there's probably a lot there, but it probably wouldn't fall under 'exotic' since it's pretty standard these days.

I don't really know this genre :) Maybe you could post some examples. I think it could qualify as it doesn't seem to be close to the "Doom formula", at least not closer than the hack'n'slash/melee-oriented gameplay mods.

 

8 hours ago, Scypek2 said:

 

A ZDoom map would belong in this thread just fine

Of course ... in the OP I already listed some (G)ZDoom-only mods/wads.

Edited May 6, 2022 by erzboesewicht

[LadyMistDragon]

32 minutes ago, erzboesewicht said:

I don't really know this genre :) Maybe you could post some examples. I think it could qualify as it doesn't seem to be close to the "Doom formula", at least not closer than the hack'n'slash/melee-oriented gameplay mods.

 

 

There was something like this that was released last year....it's called Objective: Survive.

[erzboesewicht]

30 minutes ago, LadyMistDragon said:

There was something like this that was released last year....it's called Objective: Survive.

Thanks! I think it qualifies, as long as there is no exit/Romero head you can kill. The exit is a key component of the Doom formula, I think :)

[m8f]

Delaweare is still a FPS, however the focus is different:

Quote

The aim of the game is to explore its strange world to collect all music tracks.

 

Bike Time Trial:

Quote

the mod is simple, go trough the track asap and get the shortest time

 

Phobian Odyssey:

Quote

I wanted to do something a bit different and experiment to see if I could get a dungeon crawler style movement engine working in GZDoom. Then it snowballed until I'd accidentally written a whole JRPG style game in it.

 

(fiiiine, I'll do it myself) Typist.pk3:

Quote

Typist.pk3 is a mod for Doom engine games that turns them into typing exercises.

 

[Nikku4211]

Uh... does Strife count?

 

It's an RPG FPS hybrid from 1996 that uses a heavily modified Doom engine and in it, you're not supposed to kill everyone that moves, as there are NPCs and allies all around. You can walk around towns and even talk to some NPCs. You can get money to buy many things and you can train to level up certain skills.

It is definitely an RPG, but also definitely an FPS.

 

It might play completely different from Doom, but it still uses the Doom engine, even using (and building on) the Doom map format. It still uses IWADs and PWADs, so I guess you could say that Strife1.WAD is a WAD far away from the standard Doom FPS formula due to its adding of several RPG elements like a level system, currency, and NPCs you're not supposed to kill.

[Noiser]

Other classics from the 00's: Ghoul's Forest 3 (horror), Action Doom 2 (beat n' up) and Foreverhood (adventure)

Edited May 6, 2022 by Noiser

[tom3kb]

Maybe for RPG mods from Abysm series:

Part 1: Abysm: Down of Innocence

Part 2 with two expansions: Abysm 2: Infernal Contract, expansion one: Pharaoh's Judgement, 2nd expansion: Spirit Falcon.

 

Also for RPG Ascension.

 

For platformers: The Golden Souls and The Golden Souls 2.

[m8f]

More:

 

Kill 'Em With Kindness:

Quote

an intimate experience full of tiny interactions and surprises. It is a fully hand-drawn, wholesome environment in which the player waters flowers, pets their dog, and wanders around in nature.

 

Doom Mower:

Quote

It's been a decade since Hell's invasion, and you've settled down with a nice little patch of suburban land. Your perfect lawn, cut with military precision, is the envy of your neighbours and the apple of your eye. The Super Mower 9500, a retirement gift from the UAC, makes maintaining that pristine lawn a pleasure.

 

[ASMR] Doomguy Sensually Loads, Unloads, and Reloads his SSG:

Quote

Removes all (default) monsters and items, silences several sounds, makes the player immune to damage, gives them a Super Shotgun that does nothing but unload and reload.

 

[LadyMistDragon]

20 hours ago, Nikku4211 said:

Uh... does Strife count?

 

It's an RPG FPS hybrid from 1996 that uses a heavily modified Doom engine and in it, you're not supposed to kill everyone that moves, as there are NPCs and allies all around. You can walk around towns and even talk to some NPCs. You can get money to buy many things and you can train to level up certain skills.

It is definitely an RPG, but also definitely an FPS.

 

It might play completely different from Doom, but it still uses the Doom engine, even using (and building on) the Doom map format. It still uses IWADs and PWADs, so I guess you could say that Strife1.WAD is a WAD far away from the standard Doom FPS formula due to its adding of several RPG elements like a level system, currency, and NPCs you're not supposed to kill.

I don't really think I agree with the 'play completely from Doom' sentiment. I actually find the fights to occasionally reach for some of the same compelling heights, but Strife obviously has far more mechanics.

[Nikku4211]

2 hours ago, LadyMistDragon said:

I don't really think I agree with the 'play completely from Doom' sentiment. I actually find the fights to occasionally reach for some of the same compelling heights, but Strife obviously has far more mechanics.

I think a core part of '90s Doom is its relative simplicity.

 

Even if something seems to have Doom-ish elements in its gameplay, if it has much more in addition like what Strife as, as far as I'm concerned, it's still completely different simply because of the added complexity.

[LadyMistDragon]

13 hours ago, Nikku4211 said:

I think a core part of '90s Doom is its relative simplicity.

 

Even if something seems to have Doom-ish elements in its gameplay, if it has much more in addition like what Strife as, as far as I'm concerned, it's still completely different simply because of the added complexity.

I think that's a matter of perspective. Although even compared to Doom, I don't think Strife is exactly "System Shock with better shooting mechanics", it just adds a few more things and changes the progression. If Strife added stats and such, I would be more in agreement with that opinion.

[Scypek2]

Strife added the exact minimum amount of "stats" to refer to them as such - one less, and it'd just be "a stat". I really like Strife, but I really wish I could play Strife with more strategy, more talk, more RPG.

[nrofl]

Surprised Romero Death Skittles hasn’t been mentioned. Idle Doom is pretty far away from normal too.

[An00bus]

Thanks for including my total conversion on the list! If you're curious, another I'd probably classify as simulation would be Fury's Sky.

[Shepardus]

Sonic Robo Blast 2 (already listed) is great. There's also a kart racer known as SRB2Kart based on SRB2.

[erzboesewicht]

Thanks for all contributions, it's becoming a nice list! I've had only time to try out some few but there are some awesome concepts to be found.

 

I'll not be too strict including wads, as long as there is some very distinctive concept it can be listed, so Strife was included, although it for sure is a "borderline" case. Another borderline case is Barbie Girl which looks quite doom-y as it uses mostly vanilla assets but is similar in concept to A Boy and its Barrel so I included it.