What makes you decide to play or skip a WAD?

[Lucius Wooding]

Everyone has their own criteria that makes a wad look interesting to them, or perhaps a few specific dealbreakers. Let's open up about what grabs your attention in a new project, or else what's sure to make you pass on one and why. There's a ton of stuff to play out there, and it's no shame if we have some irrational reasons behind it; everyone needs some kind of filter. I figured it'd be an interesting discussion and maybe give mappers some insight on how to make their project appealing. There are no wrong answers and obviously not everything needs to be absolute.

 

-For starters, I'm usually more interested in shorter maps and wads in general. Committing multiple hours on a long mapset, especially if it's particularly hard, is a tough sell for me usually. Plus I like to give detailed criticism and bug testing so doing that for 32 maps is ridiculous.

 

-I like to try and check out threads with few responses and try to give them a bump as well as some detailed reactions. It's like putting the first few bills in the tip jar and of course no one likes to put work into something that nobody plays. With tempered expectations it's often very worth an hour or so. 

 

-I typically regard the word "slaughter" with some suspicion. It's not a guaranteed pass, but I generally don't enjoy them that much. However it can be a very loose term that applies to maps I do like. Any mention of TNT is usually a bad sign too.

 

-Requiring freelook, jumping and crouching is a dealbreaker. I have to stick to close to vanilla gameplay and I don't like messing with my settings.

 

-If there are cool looking screenshots and especially nice doomcute, I will generally give it a closer look. Usually you can tell to some extent whether the mapper put in any effort at all by the screenshots.

[StodgyAyatollah]

Some very subjective stuff for me but I think some of it is also fairly universal. 

Things that turn me away: I won't touch anything UDMF unless it's a full tc unrelated to Doom. Wish more people put the map format in their title, especially when it's something source port specific. Required freelook, jumping or crouching are also deal breakers for me. No info, screens of empty startan rooms or a wall of unfocused exposition will make me click away. Basically if the post itself comes across as sloppy, incoherent or rushed I will assume the map/maps are as well. I'm wary of "my first map" as a title. I like trying peoples first maps and I've seen some decent to really good ones but I don't recall ever seeing one with that title. I also generally avoid [insert iwad name] re-imagined type stuff. 

Things that get my attention: Having a map/wad name that's at least a little interesting or unique with the map format in the topics title will almost always get me to at least take a look. I'm a sucker for custom logos. It suggests effort which makes me more likely to try something. A concise to the point description, noting inspiration or intent is a massive plus. Projects that seem to have a clear vision or theme will stick out and I'm occasionally willing to try things that may fall outside my preferences when that's the case. Descriptors that would personally catch my eye are things like fast, punchy, bite sized or challenging.

[LadyMistDragon]

I play basically everything, save something that's dull and refuses to hand out weapons until its far too late (you know who you are.....). More than that, I just have to prioritize sometimes, because it's a little difficult for a Doom map to be unfun, even at its most awful.

[Wyrmwood]

I enjoy Doom because of the variety, I only got back into it a few years ago and basically started downloading based on 100 best, reviews from @Endless's amazing wadazine and the DBP back catalouge. I still haven't found anything I really disliked from any of that. Think I skipped one map from Community Chest cause I could not find how to make progress and stopped playing Fava Beans half way because it was boring (though the authors arrogant read me didn't help).

 

Maybe I've been lucky, maybe I'm not fussy but I seem to enjoy Doom in all its forms. Only stuff I stop playing right now is when it's a bit over my skill level but that's fine got to have something to work myself up to, I've already returned to initially impossible WADS to find their only hard now.

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Interesting screenshots that catch my eye are probably the biggest drive for me to download a WAD.

 

Things I avoid:
- slaughter, anything with extreme difficulty
- puzzle maps
- remakes of id levels

 

I equally like large maps that offer many areas to explore and small bite-sized maps.
I don't care at all what source port is required and what format the map is in. I equally enjoy vanilla and GZDoom/UDMF as long as gameplay is fun.

[Endless]

28 minutes ago, Wyrmwood said:

Think I skipped one map from Community Chest

I think we all can bet our left nut which map that was.

 

And thanks for reading the Wadazine :D

[baja blast rd.]

Just flipping through some things I've played lately and trying to remember my reasons. I normally don't overthink it because I will postpone/DNF if it fails to hook me for any reason, and I like to sample broadly. Actually playing a bit of something tells you a lot that screenshots, descriptions, reviews might not. 

 

really cool project concept

doesn't take itself overly seriously in a refreshing way

someone on Cacoward crew said it was cool / someone on the Cacoward crew is high on it / etc. etc. etc. (many times)

well formatted and concise effortposting OP with good screenshots 

Mouldy 

really cool project concept

this person makes fucking fun maps

we get to play as a Capybara?!? 

100 lines per map? must be fun

imp spam in screenshot? must be fun 

cool project concept

area in screenshot looks fun

area in screenshot looks fun

screenshots look like outsider art 

"slaughter, platforming" seems interesting

RJD

this will probably get Unity curated [I was right lol] 

neat project concept

someone linked amazing Doomcute of this somewhere

I play everything by these two authors

20 min play, designed for Eternity? alright lets give it a go

Maribo said it was cool 

this has been hyped for 3-4 straight years, so I will try it

I played this person's maps before and they are fun

a baron flushing the toilet? 

this team of people make good maps (many times)

 

Also a lot of "5-10 minute My First Map," which is one of my favorite genres 
 

[Ludi]

Any "my first map" threads I'll generally brush over, unless the screenies interest me.

 

My favorite kind of WAD is 5-15 maps and brutal. 

[Hisymak]

For me, the key factor is presence of customized music. If a megawad does not feature any, and just sticks only to the stock vanilla Doom/Doom2 (even ROTT, Duke3d, Heretic...) music tracks which I heard zillion times, it's a sign playing such megawad might bore me. Listening to some interesting, new, or at least non-overplayed music is half of the experience I want to have from playing a megawad. It does not need to be necessarily a completely original music composed specifically for the maps, it can be anything like a music from other game, MIDIfied version of a known song, or a music from other good megawad (MM, MM2, BTSX...) that fits perfectly the maps.

Other than music, of course if I find the maps dull and boring, I'll skip the megawad, but still, even the presence of customized music gives the very first clue about the quality of given megawad.

[MemeMind]

IDK if it looks cool.

 

 

I guess if the wad is fast or engaging, since I a low attention span.

[Wyrmwood]

Actually just thought, there is one reason I'll skip a WAD. I play Doom with a controller, I can use k+m but nerve damage in my left wrist makes it hurt. So I skip WADS that require strafe running as it's kinda of impossible.

[spineapple tea]

Boring and generic E1 tech bases turn me off so fast. How is this different than any of the tech base maps made in the last 30 years? I also don't care to play any GZDoom maps, even (or especially) if it's just a new mapper who uses like one or two minor features that immediately makes it incompatible with most ports.

[Lippeth]

This is a massive generality of what might catch my eye and doesn't always reflect the quality of the wad itself, and there are times where I'll download a wad that I'm usually inclined to skip, because it has something unique about it or the thread seems fun to participate in.

 

There are always exceptions of course, but generally I will download a wad if:

• Screenshots showcase good lighting contrast
• Decent color contrast (even if it's just the sky)
• Biospheres, or mixing stark industrial design with nature
• Cool looking caves
• Heretic or Hexen
• Unique gimmicks or high concepts
• Unapologetic ZDoomisms
• Vanilla compatible
• Interesting color palette
• Shorter sets, single maps to episode length

And I'm more likely to skip if:

• Themed around one color while otherwise being mostly dark
• Little lighting variation
• Massive screenshots that just keep loading more screenshots as you scroll down the page
• Architectural realism (really depends on how it looks)
• Remixes, Recreations from memory, etc.
• Restrictions on size, linedefs, monsters etc.
• Speedmaps
• Void maps
• Tropical islands
• Overly detailed or vast in scale

Edited September 2, 2022 by Lippeth

[LadyMistDragon]

Anything with tons of destructible barrels that has a high chance of damaging enemies automatically keeps me playing if I'm feeling a little meh

[Omniarch]

My selection process goes something like this:

 

1) Browse W&M, checking for interesting titles and any releases / previews by mappers that I like the work of. In the case of the former, clever, descriptive or evocative titles tend to sway me in favour of a wad, while silly, generic or misspelled ones tend have the opposite effect. This step is of course skipped if I discover the wad via other means, such as word-of-mouth or a picture thread or whatever.

 

2) Check port compatibility. If the wad is GZDoom-only, move on, unless something about the project really grabs my attention. While I have greatly enjoyed projects targeting the port in the past, my general distaste for most advanced features and unwillingness to tweak a thousand different settings to my liking mean that playing Geezy exclusives is rarely worth the effort for me.

 

3) Examine the opening post, taking into account screenshots along with the general quality of the post itself, which is determined first by information conveyed and second by aesthetic considerations (e.g well-made titlepics and inset headings and such). For older releases with no forum presence, try to acquire the relevant information via other means, such as idgames reviews, cacoward writeups, ONEMANDOOM posts and Doomwiki articles.

 

4) Taking all information contained within the OP into account, try to determine the meta characteristics of the wad (such as genre) and decide whether or not to download it based on the result. Certain genres, like retro-revisionist / retro-progressive works (the 'TWiD movement being an example of the former, and NEIS the latter) and modernist 'blockbuster' style content (e.g every skillsaw release since Lunatic, Eviternity etc) hold immense appeal to me, while others are either inaccessible due to difficulty (e.g Ribbiks-esque combat puzzles and most slaughter content) or are of lesser interest for other reasons (e.g most gimmick-oriented / newbie-heavy community projects). Sometimes I like to stray beyond my preferences of course, but in general I am a creature of habit and tend to stick within my comfort zone.

 

5) If the wad passes 4), download it and fire up the first map. There is no consistent approach here, since Doom wads can engage in many different ways and be judged along a range of axes. In the case of mapsets, if I am very impressed by the first map, I will play the rest map-to-map to preserve the surprise-factor of the rest of the set. If I am undecided by the first map, I will often idclev around a skim some of the other maps before deciding to continue. If the first map fails to grab me, I may skip ahead a couple of levels just to make sure the set isn't a dud before dropping it.

[Martin Howe]

Turn ons (OR):

 

One medium size map

Up to about 5 small maps

E1 style

Tech base

Lots of GZDoom special effects and scripting

Different worlds (e.g., cheogsh)

 

Turns offs (AND NOT):

 

Slaughter / Extreme difficulty

Puzzle/switch hunt

Doom 2 abstract style

Weird freaky stuff (void maps with walkways through space, etc)

Modern style graphics that looks as if they aren't doom at all

DM/CO-OP only

Tons of stock sounds overridden for no real reason

 

Meh (WELL, MAYBE):

 

New monsters (unless only 1 or 2)

New music (usually play with music off anyway)

Built-in new weapons pack

Total texture replacements

 

General remarks

 

I am a casual player with a very busy life and no time to practice and 'get good' for slaughter (plus I know how to kill barons and cacos, don't need to do it another 1000 times in 3 minutes, thanks) or wade through a level devoid of the monsters I killed trying to find the switch or door to get out. Also, turn offs take precedence; for example which is why I'll never play cheogsh 1 or 2 again (slaughter + puzzle/switch), despite the lovely architecture and cool special effects :(

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by Martin Howe

[Thelokk]

It takes a very, very, VERY sloppy presentation to turn me off (sorry but rofl @ some people's wall of text requirements), otherwise I'll try pretty much anything. 

 

I'd like people to give me a chance, it's only fair I give them one in return.

 

EDIT: I should point out I also play a lot of stuff from the random /idgames roulette: I suggest it to everyone, playing whatever comes is a very good practice in removing particularly well lodged sticks from one's nether regions. 

Edited September 1, 2022 by Thelokk

[TJG1289]

I think for me, it has changed a bit because I'm kind of looking for WADs that are a little different from what I usually looked for. I used to play almost nothing but full 32-level replacements, but nowadays, I like playing smaller sets, but still get hyped for full megaWADs. So here's a few things that can make me try a WAD:

 

• Screenshots look cool. If the screenshots look really, really cool, I'm most likely going to try it. Especially if I spot Ancient Aliens textures. But generally, if there's really cool textures or level geometry that looks unique, I'll try it out, as long as it's not super difficult.
• Mapper I like. Seeing a new Mouldy WAD pop up several weeks ago was all I needed to see to immediately want to play it, considering Going Down is one of my favorite WADs. Same with Heartland last year. All I needed to see was "new Skillsaw" and I was sold. The main reason I played Nostalgia lately is due to it being a full set by Myolden, who made some of my favorite levels for Skulltiverse. So if it's something from a mapper I like, I'll be more inclined to play it.
• Shorter sets. Like I said, I'm liking these a lot now as they're not as much of a time sink. Plus, there's a better chance of the WAD to be more overall quality, as they focus on a few maps and not a full campaign, allowing to really fine-tune the maps that are actually included. 

[Lucius Wooding]

3 minutes ago, Thelokk said:

It takes a very, very, VERY sloppy presentation to turn me off (sorry but rofl @ some people's wall of text requirements), otherwise I'll try pretty much anything. 

 

I'd like people to give me a chance, it's only fair I give them one in return.

 

To me, if something has a bad presentation I might still check it out, but the expectations are different. I don't always go in expecting stuff to be great or restrict myself to things that look like Cacoward winning potential. If I'm browsing DW I'm usually bored but not always in the mood to tackle the shiniest hottest stuff. Honestly highly recommended stuff is more disappointing to me when it falls short than something that seems to overdeliver. Plus stuff like that tends to get overplayed and get plenty of feedback so there's little value to the mapper or other players when I review it. People who are well known or well connected in the community, or who have their maps played by the same, tend to get way more attention.

 

There's so much stuff to play out there; the first page of that forum alone usually has a steady supply let alone going into all the award winning wads and thousands of hidden gems from the past. 

[Arsinikk]

I will mostly skip over a WAD if there are no screenshots. Screenshots are a great way to get an idea of either the gameplay or aesthetics/quality of the WAD. I think every person has their preferences on what kind of maps/mapsets they like, and screenshots are great indication for that.

 

It also really helps if the compatibility of the WAD is stated very clearly, with things like no jumping or no freelook, and what source port the WAD has been tested in / intended for.

[Maribo]

6 hours ago, baja blast rd. said:

Maribo said it was cool

I am glad to be of service. (pretend there's a gif of some guy bowing here, saves bandwidth and screen space)

 

Here's my own arbitrary list of reasons I played some things:

- Someone in the release thread wrote a thesis statement about it

- cool arbitrary limitation

- channeling Death-Destiny

- channeling Magnolia

- used Stardate 20x7 resources

- saw it on the DSDA twitch channel and it wasn't a boring ass box room wad from 1994

- myolden freed from the shackles of lock-in fights

- new squonk

- person only posts maps once in a blue moon, have to play it

- ironman / ironeagle

- rd wrote about it in Discuss Fights or similar threads

- someone told me this had good tyson map(s)

- color blue and mucus flow midi

- maps based on literal dreams? i have to experience this

- elmle loved it so much that he made his own patch wad for the broken maps

- scraping through cacowards for anything that looks interesting to me now but didn't before

- i like past <author> works, therefore i will play <new work>

[Hawk of The Crystals]

Anything that takes design cues from DOOM 2 post map 10 or anything that thinks that the player wants to slog through a shittier version of Plutonia, is definitely something I'll skip. Anything based off Ultimate DOOM too much as well. Maps that were made for comedic purposes will always be skipped by me--and in my opinion, should get someone banned for thinking that insulting someone's intelligence with that kind of drivel in map form is 'funny'. Another thing that will be skipped by yours truly, no screenshots, or no explanations on what sourceport it should be played on or what the map has in terms of content.

 

In terms of stuff that interests me into playing a map: something that obviously took time. Rushing through the map creation process just to get that dopamine rush from getting a couple good reviews on the forum will always end in disaster, so of course I'd like something that isn't shovelware in map form. Vanilla compatible maps are something that I enjoy a lot, so I like to play as many as I can before having to go back to my normal life.

 

If the map is meant to be played in gzdoom, it should at least use the sourceport's capabilities, rather than just being something that the map creator made in out of ignorance.

[John Rain]

Yes-yes:

-Shorter stuff, like episodes of 6-20 levels, or megawads with short maps, like 1000 line community project series. 

-Custom monsters and weapons

-Doomcute, OTEX

-City maps

-New projects by mappers I like

 

No-no:

-Shotgunning the baron(and having to fight mid and high tier enemies with low tier weapons in general)

-Maps where it is too easy to get lost

-Full-on slaughter wads(if wad isn't only slaughter, but has some big slaughtery fights it is fine)

-Wads that feel to grindy

-Projects that are simply to hard for me

Edited September 2, 2022 by John Rain

[maxmanium]

I don't really bother playing anything that's not a decent length (in terms of number of maps). Just don't have the energy I used to.

[Herr Dethnout]

I'm pretty open to everything even amateur "My first map" type of wads, but there are some things than can make me skip a wad.

Things that make me play a wad:

-Made for Ultimate Doom (Let's show it some love please :c)
-Shotgun start (The major reason why I'm a big fan of Dr. Sleep maps)
-Slaughter and Puzzle driven, love the creative use of keys.
-Good aesthetics
-Relies on infights and strafing
-Good use of the map geometry (eg pilars as shields)
-Vanilla or not too large maps

Things that make me skip wads:

-Giant ass maps (Don't you like when the fps drop to 7-10 because the mapper decided to make a full megawad into a single map?)
-GZDoom, I like use it for complex things or not doom related stuff (Simon's Destiny ou yeh), but not for normal limit-removing maps. Also, I love when a mapper make a map for GZDoom only even if doesn't use his features too much c:
-WADs without a clear direction, getting lost for 10 minutes is really fun!
-Freelook, crouching and Jumping, except if is a GZDoom TC. I prefer to stick with vanilla gamestyle im playing doom not quake
-Pitch dark maps and without nightvision, I like dark areas, but at least give me nightvision if you gonna make a "13 brightness sector" zone
-Bad hinted secrets.

Edited September 2, 2022 by Herr Dethnout

[heliumlamb]

yes:
if i'm getting "lost" frequently and spending 30 minutes or more in one run of a single map, either in a set or on its own, i will want to keep playing. exploring hopefully human-crafted realms in the first person is my all-time favorite use of computer processing. i'm happy with 50+ minutes and ~50% secrets showing up on the intermission screen.

possibly not:

"feeling like plutonia" isn't necessarily an absolute, nor is it something i inherently dislike. but that is a vibe check that runs a very high potential of eventually leading to faltering interest some arbitrary number of maps in, from my experiences. no shade to the casalis and yall plutonia fiends out there. what's fun to some might be excruciating to me, and what's fun to me might be mind-numbingly boring to many.

neutral, general:
a single episode/shorter mapset is more enticing, especially if it's for doom 1 (i could shotgun barons all day without significant complaint because i think they are cute). i tend to prefer vanilla-compatible or limit removing but i am far from exclusionary when it comes to formats or target ports. doom is doom and doom is good.

again, there are no absolutes. there is no finite way to know whether or not i'm going to like something without that first-hand experience. personal impressions through the impressions of others or through visual and/or textual information given by the author can establish some sort of notion of how it *might* play, and that very well could determine whether i try it. the mass of those impressions is frankly incomparable, and honestly inconsequential when compared to the experience of actually playing it and finding out for myself.

semi-related thought process/sage wisdom applicable to many aspects of life

Spoiler

 

 

[joepallai]

Well since I'm a filhy casual anymore my criteria has changed:

 

Screenshots look atmospheric, if not menacing in location.   Should have a good sense of place and make me want to explore the map.

Map Editor view is impressive to me in layout and monster placement (was always how I decided on what was worth my time)

I like and know the mapper's previous work

Mappers I like, know or respect have good things to say about a map or project (or new mapper in general)

A well written review elaborates on why the map should get your attention

My First Map screenshots impress me enough to want to play (My first maps always have something interesting about them when they're decent at least)

I'm bored and willing to try a random level that passes my second criteria

 

I'm starting to prefer easier levels, so the really hard stuff gets a pass anymore 

I'm still actively avoiding tech bases unless they are part of a larger level set (ironically I'm "working" on a tech base...)

Still prefer Vanilla or BOOM gameplay but will occassionally try something different

 

NO to:

 

Terrywads/Jokewads/most weapons mods (or mods in general since I really like Doom for Doom's sake)

Most slaughter maps (I'll zip around in the editor to look at the architecture but that's about it)

Most new community projects (they've been really grasping for decent new ideas lately, except for the nationaly/regionally made ones--those tend to be good)

 

[Xyzzу]

If given the free time:

Will most likely play it

---------------------------------

It's my own WAD

It has anything to do with hacking or engine trickery

It's a high-effort shitpost

It's by a mapper who influenced me

It's by a mapper whose work I enjoy

It requires Heretic, Hexen, or Strife

It requires Doom 64

I randomly found it:

• On /idgames
• On Doom Wiki
• On Twitch
• On Doomworld
• On Discord 
• On Twitter
• On YouTube

It's a "my first map"

It's a low-effort shitpost 

It needs an IWAD that isn't DOOM2.WAD

It can't run in DSDA-Doom

It's meant for multiplayer 

---------------------------------

Not likely to play it

Things higher up take precedence over things further down. Notice how a WAD's looks, such as through screenshots, don't actually factor into whether I will actually play something all that much; at most, I'll just react to a post with nice/cool-looking shots.

Edited September 2, 2022 by Xyzzy01

[fai1025]

I'll play any wad if i was bored

I will try to avoid some UDMF map that's not like using the feature, Slaughter maps, "LOOK GUYS MY FIRST MAP, IT'S AWESOME INNIT",

Square Room Followed By Square Room^TM, and some map thread with like 0 replies after 4 days

Edited September 2, 2022 by fai1025
grammatical mistake

[Decay]

Sometimes I get in that demo recording mood and just scroll dsda's pages and click random wads. The only time I'll pass on those is if I see pre-existing long run times. I hate Doom so I try to minimize the amount of time spent playing Doom to produce more Doom content.