Cacowards 2023 Mentionation Thread: You Don't Need To Post Myhouse Again

[whybmonotacrab]

So it's not finished yet and I don't know if it will be before the award window ends, but regardless this is a wad more people should be aware of. It feels like a modern merging of Going Down and Karma Sutra. It's chaotic, stuffed with inventive level themes - and tons of doom cute - and the combat is delightfully devilish in all the right ways. @AshtralFiend is definitely a mapper to watch going forward.

Edited October 25, 2023 by whybmonotacrab

[SiMpLeToNiUm]

Godless Night by Tango, et. al:

 

[Cdijk21]

+1 to abiscission.wad

 

[Firedust]

+++ Hardfest 2
 

Gorgeous set of Doom levels with VERY tough combat. All killer no filler.

[Master O]

23 hours ago, natashanightmare said:

 

 

Rainbow Road a la Doom 2.  I'll nominate Firerainbow as well.

Edited October 25, 2023 by Master O

[Velvetic]

 

[Kaapeli47]

+1 for Lover's Quarrel. A Valentine's Day themed mapset built primarily for deathmatch, but is also playable and a lot of fun in singleplayer and co-op. @Peccatum Mihzamiz and the rest of the involved PUSS members did an outstanding job with this one!

 

+1 for Foxy Deathmatch. @Major Arlene made some absolutely beautiful modern deathmatch layouts detailed with @Foxhead's FoxTex texture pack. Every single session we've played on these maps in the Hellforge and Euroboros has been a ton of fun!

 

+1 for GZChaos. @kevansevans, with his stellar ZScript wizardry, brings the utter randomness of various chaos mods, made for all sorts of games, to Doom. The mod is purely to have fun with and not for a serious playthrough. Just boot it up in GZDoom and let the mutators roll!

 

[Xaser]

I wanna give a shout-out to @DoomGappy and recommend him for the "most promising newcomer" feature. His account's technically from 2017 but he's only been posting regularly since August, and in less than two months he's released a texture pack, is running multiple community projects, is making some cool maps, has written an excellent beginner's guide on mapping, and is doing a damn good job at all of it. That's an absurd amount of output in such a short time, and he's been regularly contributing to community discussions in a universally positive manner ever since joining (or coming back, I suppose ;). Definitely worth a spotlight.

[netcurse2000]

 

[DoomGappy]

6 hours ago, Xaser said:

I wanna give a shout-out to @DoomGappy and recommend him for the "most promising newcomer" feature. His account's technically from 2017 but he's only been posting regularly since August, and in less than two months he's released a texture pack, is running multiple community projects, is making some cool maps, has written an excellent beginner's guide on mapping, and is doing a damn good job at all of it. That's an absurd amount of output in such a short time, and he's been regularly contributing to community discussions in a universally positive manner ever since joining (or coming back, I suppose ;). Definitely worth a spotlight.

Holy damn, I was not expecting to start the day like this. I feel honored for the mention. I joined Doomworld back in 2017 but never felt like I had anything to contribute. This year I finally took the plunge and started posting and interacting with the community, and it has been amazing. I made a very good friend with whom I'm collabing on a project, met many other cool people and have been doing cool stuff that others can enjoy. I think, for me, the Doom community is one that is based around many things that I believe in: sharing and helping each other and trying to elevate them to a higher level. I'm a teacher in real life and that's what I try to do every day. I hope I can help many beginners have a smooth learning experience, and also have fun in the process. Thank you very much for the shoutout, Xaser!

[apichatpong]

-

 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by apichatpong

[The Royal We]

12 hours ago, Xaser said:

I wanna give a shout-out to @DoomGappy and recommend him for the "most promising newcomer" feature. His account's technically from 2017 but he's only been posting regularly since August, and in less than two months he's released a texture pack, is running multiple community projects, is making some cool maps, has written an excellent beginner's guide on mapping, and is doing a damn good job at all of it. That's an absurd amount of output in such a short time, and he's been regularly contributing to community discussions in a universally positive manner ever since joining (or coming back, I suppose ;). Definitely worth a spotlight.

I couldn't agree more!

[wolfmcbeard]

 

 

[apichatpong]

Well... sorry, this time I won't edit my post, to the hell with overthinking.

Yeah, Uroboros deserves another mention since it's a wonderful, yet hardcore, one.

I like to split and, right now, play parallel Uroboros with Torment of screams : while the second is real fun with its claimed old-school philosophy, the first is a modern jewel !

Re-tried it this afternoon, discovered the nice map 2, got better at map 8... took a peek at map 3*... every map is an adventure.

 

Great wad !

 

* more than a peek, in fact... with a "little bit" of exaggeration, took me as many tries to do the opening platforming as a pro to UVmax Dimensions map 3...  but you know what, not really good at it but : I like platforming (and I know that you can avoid this opening with a teleporter ;-))

 

Edited October 29, 2023 by apichatpong

[Roofi]

On 10/28/2023 at 6:32 AM, netcurse2000 said:

 

 

And it will be another mention of Warrior for me.

 

I don't know the background of IlyaPashchenko but as a hardcore shovelware fan, this is surely one of the most fascinating "classic" megawads I've come across. It's straight back to 1995, with lots of creative ideas and bizarre challenges.

 

That wad contains a lot of vanilla-compatible polarizing wild stuff and I love it.

 

[Master O]

Definitely nominating Warrior:

 

 

[NiGHTS108]

 

I’d like to nominate Hell Revealations by Arsinikk and co. for a cacoward, and Tonytheparrot, Monsieur. E and Synami for promising newcomers

Edited October 31, 2023 by NiGHTS108

[Gregor]

Shout-out to Fallen Leaves by @Bri! Probably came out a bit too late last year to make the Cacowards 2022 (late Nov), but it's an excellent set with great gameplay balance and beautiful, distinct visuals that deserves a mention. And yes, I just watched MtPain's review, which is what reminded me in the first place (I played it when it came out last year). So shout-out to @MtPain27 for reminding me to remind you not to forget to consider this excellent set!

 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Gregor

[Ravendesk]

Wormwood 5 is one of the best releases I played this year.

 

It's fascinating how this wad creates non-linear layouts that make you play them differently on subsequent playthroughs, it's very creative and it's such an unique experience in doom. Sharing too much detail may spoil it for those who haven't played it yet, so I will stop at that. Really worth checking out.

 

 

[Master O]

I'm also nominating Venturous:

 

https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?t=78218

[Master O]

 

[brick]

I'm only about halfway into it (playing with the DWMC) but I would like to mention Ichinichi by @TheMightyWhoosh. I played KINDa a couple of years ago and liked some things about it, but Ichinichi is on another level. They're short maps, but despite being speedmapped each one has a distinct personality and they're all memorable. There are so many little tricks but they're rarely recycled so the maps keep feeling fresh. It's not a difficult wad, it manages to look beautiful despite some very unconventional texture choices, and it's just so incredibly fun.

 

 

[omnibot]

Here are some WADs I enjoyed and some thoughts about why I enjoyed them.

 

+ Sepia // One of the most visually memorable WADs I've played this year. I suppose YMMV when it comes to the *very* limited palate, but I saw it as a meaningful design choice that gelled really nicely with all its other elements. 

 

Map design leans on location-based settings and sometimes has a dungeon-crawl feel that is further beefed-up by the color and texture choices in both mood and in gameplay. Like, I had to slightly recalibrate my approach to secret hunting to compensate for the lack of some usual cues. (That's a tiny example, for sure, but something that I held onto which clearly tickled my brain in the right way.) The maps flow in a (wild, but) logical progression that develops meaningful narrative elements in just the right way -- where a lingering atmosphere builds across individual maps providing something not quite like continuity (though in some cases we do see some legit architectural continuity from map to map, if I'm remembering correctly) but tenuous enough to bind the individual maps into a satisfying whole.

 

Combat is mostly spicy vanilla but with some neat little innovations here and there. I recall a couple of moments early on playing with height differential in a cool way. Oh, and watch out for the minefields.

 

+Abandon // Not really much of a hard sell here. The names attached should give you a good idea of what you're in for. All I can really say is that the architecture, amazingly, exceeds expectations. People like me who find particular menace in superstructures -- both their imposing stature and the idea of creeping around in its guts -- will find plenty to worry about. In a good way, of course. I typically like combat-puzzle-y fights anyway, but there are some really, really cool concepts that are worth a look even if that kind of thing isn't your bag. The Hell Knight and Baron flood with the platforming cell pickups in MAP 10 comes to mind as a dope set piece, mostly because I'm watching Brainfreezzzzz max this in the background -- go check it out!

 

+Junkfood 2 // Did you like the original? Well, this one is MORE!!! The Junkfood series asks mappers an important question:  How do you keep combat challenging when the tracers never stop flying and the megaspheres are mega-plentiful? The latest installment gives you 69 more answers to that question, and the results are surprisingly varied. Junkfood 2 reminds me of NoSp3 in that its full-throttle power-fantasy encouraged me, a usually reserved player, to act more boldly and decisively, and ultimately take risks I wouldn’t have otherwise. 

 

The most interesting aspect of the series, for me, has to be the difficulty settings, specifically the “Oop, All Imps!” mode where all the map’s monsters are set to either imps, lost souls, or cybers. You’d think something like this would just be a meme mode, but it creates some surprising scenarios that make you re-think your combat big time. The loss of major infighting, for example, can sometimes really ramp up the challenge and completely how you approach a room. Of course, it’s also just satisfying to run around and Saladmaster thousands and thousands of imps, and sometimes I’m a man of simple pleasures. 

 

+Hell Revelations // I’m one of those people who legitimately loves Hell Revealed and the sequel. Hell Revealed MAP22 started one of the most badass mapping traditions in all of Doom. Hell Revelations pays worthy tribute to HR and HR2. It feels more like an homage to the styles and designs of the OG mappers more than a true “successor,” but that’s not really a criticism. I actually dig that angle, as it makes me feel like the mappers truly understand what made HR and HR2 memorable and aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel (or… grindstone? Anyone??). If you’re not a fan of the HR-style combat to begin with, Hell Revelations might not sway you. If you cut your teeth on the originals like I did, this WAD feels downright comfy & I can’t recommend it enough. 

 

+Warrior // From the depths of Shovelware Hell comes a brand new challenger for WTF WAD of the year.

 

It’s just so… weird. Warrior oddly reminds me of Old Still Life in its dedication to being unconventional and downright obtuse. Which is not really to say those two WADS are alike in any meaningful way. I honestly don’t know how to describe this one. It feels ironically amateurish in its design and texturing sometimes, but then that is clearly misdirection. These maps were made by someone who, I think at least, deeply understands Doom and has a singular vision of its systems. RIYL Benjogami stuff maybe. It’s a head-scratcher, for sure, but I think I kinda love it. 

 

+DIY // Does this one count for the ‘23 cycle? Either way, you all should play it. After everything I’ve booted up since last November – including a bunch of higher profile stuff that I didn’t mention here since they got more attention already – DIY stands out as hands-down the most fun I had playing Doom all year. The wild color palette, the insane mix of adventure, arena shooting, platforming, the hard-as-fuck soundtrack… this one has it all. 

 

There are so many bangers, but I have to shout out MAP06, Chookum’s “Not Very Cash Money,” as especially kick-ass. I’ve returned to this one a bunch of times, and it never fails to make me smile. The design is just so fluid in its chaos – you’re flying around like a ball on the roulette wheel. If you missed DIY at the end of 2022, don’t let it get by you in 2023. 

 

 

 

[Somniac]

 

Nocturnal maps ftw, these are great!

[natashanightmare]

 

[Master O]

@Quill

Edited November 13, 2023 by Master O

[Azure_Horror]

I) + Beed's Attempt at a Cool Arsenal. BAaaCA is a MBF-21 weapon pack from November of 2022 (so it technically qualifies for 2023 Cacowards). Like Vesper, BAaaCA uses countless MBF-21 features. And, arguably, BAaaCA goes further then Vesper in its weapon concepts. BAaaCA SSG works as a chaingun replacement in a pinch. BAaaCA plasma rifle is a nightmarish railgun with a respectable rate of fie, but painfully slow projectile. BAaaCA BFG comes straight from Doom 2016. And BAaaCA chaingun is a hybrid between of Doom 1-2 plasma rifle and Nu-Doom micro-missile launchers. Such unusual weapons make for very zany gameplay on many of the classic Doom maps. And those funny guns have a tendency to transform old-school WADs into Valiant-like gameplay experiences, thanks to their increased firepower and reliability.

 

II) + Austrian Avian Association. Three things: 1) Central-European Folklore Vibes. 2) Perfectly Re-created spirit of those 30-years old videogames co-exists with modern Doom gameplay. 3) Absolutely Insane de-hacked work. Quad-shotgun? Dino-mancubi? Player character and the enemies both throw axes? Portable Heavy Machinegun, which matches the lethality of Ray Mohawk 2 blaster? Revenants-who-are-pain-elemntals-and-also-explode? Giant Berserk-able Scissors instead of the chainsaw? Yes, yes and yes, and yes once more! And all of the above is organically combined inside one Boom-compatible episode! Magnificient!

 

III) + Doomkid_Wad. Tarnsman created a magnificent MIDI-tribute WAD. It has one hell of the palette. It has cool levels, specifically matched to Doomkid's MIDIs. It also has huge battles against terrifying demon hordes. And it also has Valiant Chaingun. A really great wad, which seems to fly under radar currently.
 

 

 

IV) + Ad Mortem. Spooktober - the megaWAD. New enemies, new palette, new weapon skins, and an absolutely insane amount of different textures. The array of the enemies is really great:

- there are Super Revenants with explosive homing missiles, who create really unusual fight situations.

- there are very mobile Satyrs - a rare breed of mid-tier demon, which makes one to go for cchaingun instead of the SSG.

- and there are the funniest kamikaze monsters the world have ever seen!

And the level variety is also quite decent. Of course, the level quality is not uniform - this is a community project, after all. But some contributions are really insane in quality ( Take the big expnasive LunchLunch levels, for example).

 

V) + Valorant. April Fools' Day Valiant homage by Gen. RoasterRock, Valorant takes many things we remember from Valiant, and exaggerates them to insane degree. You most likely know about the super-chaingun. But do you know about the Super-Superest Pistol? It shoots all the bullets at once! The Valorant interpretation of kamikaze bombers cannot be adequately described by words - those kamikazes must be seen in action! And there is also the rapid-fire cybruiser variant. Truly a champion of any slaughter fight (See map 31 for details). Despite the sheer ridiculousness, Valorant does offer a compelling gameplay loop. The Valorant gameplay is quite cruel at times, being a kamikaze-infested April-Fools joke, but it does offer some new ideas to expand the good old Valiant-Sunlust-AAliens formulas in new, unexpected directions.

 

VI) + Corruption. It is grand project. I cannot write the long enough description right now. So I'll say three things:

1) Corruption uses MBF21 deHacked magic like few other WADs do. DeHacked-coded ghost monsters are a thing now!

2) The WAD is inspired by both Hell Revealed and Back to SaturnX series. An intriguing combo, isn't it?

3) By the ammount of work put into resource modifications and level creation, Corruption looks like a 2023 answer to Valiant or Eviternity. And its gameplay variety and quality can match those famed WADs. While the gameplay is notably more cruel then Valiant/Eviternity (the Hell Revealed legacy is a thing indeed), but it still includes countless interesting episodes.

Edited November 13, 2023 by Azure_Horror

[brick]

I'm going to add my vote to Ad Mortem now that it's finally complete. It has doomcute overload with all of the Halloween decorations and the pumpkin sector art. It was apparently the first MBF21 community project and makes fantastic use of its features, whether for the expanded bestiary (as Azure pointed out above, they're really great!) or some special effects in the maps themselves. As with all CPs map quality is variable, but on average I found it extremely high with streaks of great maps, but also a lot of variety between long adventures, compact combat challenges, gimmicky maps, and everything in-between.

 

 

[Mr. Meanor]

+1 myhouse.wad

+1 PUSS XXIV: Lover's Quarrell

+1 Corruption

+1 What Lies Beneath

+1 PUSS XXV: Lunacy

+1 Return To Hadron E4

+1 Nostalgia 2

+1 Sepia

Those are my votes for this year's cacoward

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Mr. Meanor
forgot a wad

[Azure_Horror]

On 11/13/2023 at 6:44 PM, Azure_Horror said:

I) + Beed's Attempt at a Cool Arsenal.

II) + Austrian Avian Association.

III) + Doomkid_Wad.

IV) + Ad Mortem.

V) + Valorant.

VI) + Corruption.

 

I forgot about two more projects:

VII) + Limit Buffet. It has short maps like Scythe 1. It has slightly expanded monster roster like Eviternity or 180 Minutes pour Vivre. It has re-adjusted weapons like Valiant or Orange Mayhem 2018. And finally it has twisted and neo-ninties maps like Down the Drain has. Limit Buffet is a set of very diverse and unexpected maps (including tricks with monster vision mechanics, or 0-enemy levels). I think that almost any doom player would be able to find a map to their liking in Limit Buffet.

 

VIII) + Deadliets Dem(o(li)ti)on. What if Ray Mohawk 2 was made fully by @Scypek2, weapons and plot included ? I suspect, it would be something akin to Deadliets Dem(o(li)ti)on. The plot is too good to not mention: you are former cyberdemon, who got demoted into a possessed human form for his failure to defeat Doomguy. But former human is too minor of a role in Hell's armies! Rocket-armed Mr.X-type enemy sounds much better, don't you think ? But hell is a cruel and violent place, you must literally fight to reach your dreams... And fight you will. You'll need to face Plasma barons, Rocketeer Paladins, Micro-archviles, Former Human tanks, Backapack carriying soldiers. But fear not! Your arsenal is also improved. Instead of a puny human fist, you has an empty rocket launcher to hit enemies with. And instead of puny pistol, you get a fully functional rocket launcher! And that's just a start!

Imho, this WAD is must play for anyone, who does not fear episodes of twisted progression and loves over the top Doom adjustments.

Edited November 16, 2023 by Azure_Horror