Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #050!

[ICID]

^{(logo by @4MaTC)}

 

ICID, what the hell is this now?

The Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures are a project of interaction, entertainment and reviews where we meet once every two 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 the results are resources or unplayable stuff, so we focus on looking for WADs.

 

But this week is different?

Indeed! To celebrate 50 ER/iWA events (or 100 continuous weeks) we've got some special rules this time around, to wit:

• All WADs reviewed are now worth double points
• You get +10 extra points for every 5 maps played

So whether you've been waiting to jump in or you're an old head who's this close to making it into the top 5, there's never been a better time to jump in and rack up some big points. 

 

To help me keep score, please include the total number of wads and maps played during this special adventure in all comments. (e.g. "Endless | 6 wads | 14 maps"). 

 

That's great and all, but what are the actual rules of this event?

Spoiler

1. Play at least one random WAD in a two-week period of time. WADs are selected using the Random File feature on /idgames or from the list below.
2. Post a review of whatever you play.
3. Always provide the name of the WAD, the name of the author, and a link to the file.
4. Play however you want, on any skill level, and with any source port, as long as you play the WAD as intended/in working shape.
5. Be respectful. It's okay to criticize a map, but remember that many mappers read these review threads and behave accordingly. Also, please don't tag mappers into a negative review of their work.

 

Any file on /idgames is fair game, but most of us choose to stick to singleplayer Doom or Heretic WADs that work in our sourceport(s) of choice. If you're worried about finding Terrywads or broken files, I also pull at least five random WADs for the event. Feel free to play them with me if you wish, or look for your own! The point of the event is to encourage you to explore this vast, random world. 

 

Recommendations for reviewing:

Spoiler

1. Please take screenshots or video of your adventures.
2. Commenting the source port and difficulty level is not required, but provides helpful context to your review.
3. Try to stick to no more than 1 WAD per day to avoid burnout, but this part’s all up to you, champ!
4. Reviews of all formats are valid. Both longform and shortform are good as long as you write with integrity. 

 

ICID's Five Pre-Selected WADs:

Spoiler

1. 50 Shades of Graytall
2. Brian 50 Super Secret Level
3. Abyssal Speedmapping Session 50
4. 50 Monsters

 

Spoiler

1. @Roofi | 5605

2. @LadyMistDragon | 2445

3. @Sena | 2345

4. @Walter confetti | 1485

5. @ICID | 710

6. @Thelokk | 700

7. @Endless | 625

8. @Clippy | 440

9. @smeghammer | 410

10. @Biodegradable | 320

 

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

Edited January 9, 2023 by ICID
fixing formatting in score section

[Endless]

Celebrating 50 editions of random WAD addiction!

 

It is time to crank those rookie numbers up, people!

[Endless]

• Endless | 5 WADs | 5 total maps

 

Predator or Prey? | By Paul Benjamin (Predator) | 1996

 

 

We kick things off with... a dm map! And a kinda boring one but that at least is effective in layout and progression. No random mazes, no stupid ass secrets, and mostly open areas with a nice flow in a closed circuit. Pity it is empty in singleplayer, but it is well enough for DM, me thinks.

 

Habit T7 | By Ruba | 2007

 

 

A very short map with lots of SS soldiers and archies. It seems more conceptual than anything else. You start in a maze and have to find you way out into the red key. Once you do it, the map opens and a few archies start attacking you and resurrecting the soldiers. The idea is surprinsingly fun, but that's all there is. It took me more to write this review than it took me to finish it.

 

Levels - Final Release | By KUMA | 1996

 

 

Damn, another single-level deathmatch WAD. This one has an interesting concept based around floors/levels, yet it kinda fails at the execution. It is a cramped mess with repetitive texturing and terrible weapon placement. The only thing that's kinda cool is the new texture for the floor number.

 

The Mining Complex | By Shawn Watson | 1998

 

 

A nice surprise. A very well done map from 1998. It still has some issues, mostly regarding the gameplay due to some weird enemy positioning and a noticeable lack of ammo, but the visuals, design and expansive layout with a comprehensible pathing system makes up for it. A fun little adventure that reminds me a lot of Computer Station, in Doom II. Was a bit scared to play it since one of the /idgames reviews mentions complexity and large duration, yet it took me around 7 minutes to complete, and most of the progression is acceptable.

 

Clear Focus | Mr. Chris | 2011

 

 

A DTWID inspired level that shows its love for the classic E1 of Doom. It is a fun and fast paced map for the original with a lot of simplicity to it that works very well. Can't say much other than it was a fine trip down into the classic era of resurrected nostalgia. Would be a solid starter map for a new episode.

[ICID]

• ICID | 3 WADS | 3 TOTAL MAPS

 

Feelsafe (2010) by Rev.Heretic

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Source port: GZDoom}

Difficulty: UV

 

This is the sole /idgames contribution of "Rev.Heretic" aka "The Heretic" aka "Heretic" aka "Chris Demon" aka "Voxis" (to use only those names which appear in the readme) is a simple techbase most notable for its use of Beautiful Doom, an early Zdoom enhancement which, for the unfamiliar, is kind of like if Brutal Doom actually looked and played somewhat like the videogame Doom. Seeing Beautiful again was a nice blast from the past of Zdoom/Gzdoom modding and the map itself is a pretty tightly-plotted little adventure, albeit with some buggy lights and a non-looping music track (composed by the map author himself.) For a first map it shows a hell of a lot of promise, wish Heretic had kept it up.

 

Grade: 6/10

 

 

Why Did It Have To Be Snakes? (2005) by Lutrov71

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Source port: GZDoom}

Difficulty: UV

 

The top /idgames comment mentioned that this map was too full of errors to play on most ports and guess what - it's right! I couldn't find the specific texture pack the author suggested this be run with but even without that this is a big, empty room surrounded by instant-kill lava with a shotgun that's impossible to access and no clear progression. The author themself admits to making this in four days and not knowing what theme they were going for while doing so which begs the eternal question: why upload it?

 

Grade: 1/10

 

 

As The Silence Grows... (1998) by Rambutt

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Source port: dsda-doom, complevel 2}

Difficulty: UV

 

In the unlikely event you know Rambutt for anything, it's probably for his two contributions to the map pack DWANGOT1. He contributed a few files to /idgames over the years (including this amusing FAQ for using the pistol) but "As The Silence Grows..." was his final map and I have to say, I think we have a genuine hidden gem on our hands. While most of the 90s wads you'll encounter via the Random File feature have little to no height variation, horrible weapon and ammo balancing, and no sense of adventure, this one has some very clever traps (including a surprise chaingunner encounter) that would fit right into any modern map. It's well-paced, challenging, and interesting with a decent sense of atmosphere. I wish it had a bit more aesthetic flair and wasn't so reliant on the ugly green marble textures, but your mileage may vary on that point. Overall it's a really solid production from a forgotten early figure in Doom mapping.

 

Grade: 7/10

[brick]

Brick | 1 wad | 1 map

 

Happy 50th ER/IWA!

 

Brian 50 Super Secret Level (2005) by Evil Space Tomato. GZDoom HNTR.

The gimmick is that there are 50 secrets in a level that isn't that large, so most secrets are very small, some are chained, and a large chunk of the level is just those secrets. Some are tiny, some are empty, some give very useful items, and one opens up an entire section of the map with even more secrets. I admit I did not approach the wad with a very open mind, especially once I saw the not-very-pretty texturing and D_RUNNIN started blasting, but a few secrets in I really started getting into it. I ended up finding 46, which I have to say I am quite proud of! I know where a couple are but not how to reach them (I think one requires an AV jump), and at the one-hour mark on the map I decided to call it. Although many of the secrets just require wall-humping every inch, some are quite creative (the black square that switches direction was particularly cool), and there's a certain addictive quality to trying to find so many of them. There are certainly some nagging annoyances, like the abundance of damaging floors with very few radsuits (at least at first), and the sometimes very tight passages, but I had a lot of fun with the map. That final arena breaking up and getting partially flooded at the very end was really cool. Memorable gimmick for a memorable event!

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 hours ago, ICID said:

ICID's Five Pre-Selected WADs:

  Hide contents

1. 50 Shades of Graytall
2. Brian 50 Super Secret Level
3. Abyssal Speedmapping Session 50
4. 50 Monsters

 

There are only 4 pre-selected ones, is this on purpose, or did you not find a fifth with a theme of 50? If the latter, I can suggest 50 frags to keep with the theme.

 

I was also wondering, I played 50 Monsters for ER/IWA last month, am I allowed to use that previous playthrough? :P

[SuyaSSS]

SuyaSS | 1 wad | 1 map

 

Water Spirit By Manbou(burabojunior), 2017

Woof, HNTR

 

Map01 "Aquarius"

I have heard about this wad already through Dean of Doom and from that video I knew that this wad can be hard which is why I played this map on HNTR and saved endlessly. So let's get the obvious thing out of the way, This map looks GORGEOUS! Everything has so much detail put into it. But, I do think that there is a bit too much of the same rock texture which makes some of the middle areas look very samey. Even though I was playing in HNTR, this map has a lot of perched or out of sight enemies that you have to know that they are there, especially the hitscanners. I will say that the blue key fight was one of the most fun moments of any Random Idgames wad I played. Enemies teleporting from left and right in areas that you have even previously been and then you rushing to find the nearest medikit and the way back to the first room (where the switch for the blue key is) is exhilarating. Even though I died multiple times (no problem since I was saving a lot) I still love this moment.

 

On the other hand, the actual final fight was a joke. It was just 3 Barons and an Archvile. Even some of the early fights were harder than this. However, the biggest hurdle for me was finding the blue key. I had to watch a Youtube video to find it. It was hidden on a lift that had a Megasphere. I had to wait for the lift to go up but I can't wait and just thought it was gonna be not necessary. I didn't even think about going on the lift when I was hunting for the key. I still don't like that key finding that much.

 

So, I had fun and got 100% kills and I was also almost to tears and felt it as a achievement. However, there are some flaws which lowers it from A+. Rank: A

 

Screenshots:

Spoiler

 

Video:

[[Please Ignore the Newstuff #200 Tribute Map]]

 

 

[ICID]

7 hours ago, brick said:

There are only 4 pre-selected ones, is this on purpose, or did you not find a fifth with a theme of 50? If the latter, I can suggest 50 frags to keep with the theme.

 

I was also wondering, I played 50 Monsters for ER/IWA last month, am I allowed to use that previous playthrough? :P

 

Yeah, I couldn't find five singleplayer WADs that I was confident worked well with the number "50" in the title. 50 frags is a deathmatch WAD so not eligible for pre-selection (although still eligible for review.) Most people don't play the pre-selected WADs anyway so I thought I could get away with four, but if you really need a fifth, try 1500 AD.

Your review of 50 Monsters has already been counted for points as part of the previous adventure where it appeared so I'm afraid I can't count it again.

[LadyMistDragon]

Crossfired (2015) by @bartekmil (Eternity)

 

It's sort of suggested that first maps aren't uploaded to the public, though I don't think said principle is a hard and fast rule. I only bring it up here because of the simplistic layout and bland texturing on display here. Monster placement in the second hallway seems a little bland, but thankfully alleviated by the trap in the slime courtyard where you pick the SS up (hint: charging forward immediately is probably the wrong solution). The ending is a little stereotypical and not exactly Plutonian but still might make you think a little. The secret room behind the Hitler portrait which also unleashes a gaggle of SS was quite dumb and meme-y though. The other portraits you'll see occasionally are a little more indicative of character than some ancient meme. 5/10 for being a solid debut but not exactly something we'll want to revisit anytime soon.

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[Roofi]

Year 2 Month 02 Day 01

 

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

 

[1] Cerberus by Ariel C. Vera (1996)   [1 map]

 

Spoiler

 

Quote

This level is my first wad file. It turned out that the file ended up to be a little more difficult than I expected in Ultra Violent mode, but still can be done as the lmp will show. Due to level complexity and enemy population I would not recommend playing with anything less than a dx2/66 with a pentium recommended.

 

This ancient unorthodx E1M8 level attempted to kill me several times ! Indeed, it doesn't only feature barons, but also a cyberdemon, a spiderdemon... mandatory damaging floors, obscure progression and a very useful rocket launcher hidden in a secret. 

 

You have to find your way in an underground complex, among the tight rocky paths. The biggest challenge resides in knowing where to go, considering how much the author loves hidden doors. Most of them don't pose problem because they are marked on the automap but some doors open , only if you walk on a specific linedef, which gives the impression that the map is broken. The large toxic outdoors has a lot of radsuits but you're likely to die here if you don't notice the yellow key near the BFG, as I did.

 

I don't want to say that Cerberus has good combat design but the difficulty surprised me. The cyber's arena can quickly turn at your disavantage if you don't let some barons and cacos infighting each other before, and you have no choice than defeating the cyber with your poor chaingun and shotgun if you miss the hidden RL near the soulsphere's room.

 

The last SM doesn't represent a big challenge but you don't have a lot of cover to kill it so be careful in case you have not a lot of HP left.

 

I can appreciate this map for its unusual design but it didn't really convince me.

 

Grade : C

 

I got killed in a stupid but deadly shotgunner trap from Ep1.zip

 

Spoiler

 

 

[thelamp]

• thelamp | 1 wad | 2 maps

Ok idk if the map is broken or what but map05 I just could not finish. Map06 pretty cool tho!

 

 

[Walter confetti]

Walter|2 wads|9 maps

 

Foot Hills of Hell by David Ramos - Vanilla Doom 2, SP, 1995, played with Eternity "forseti" 4.0.2

Spoiler

The level uses the MAP07 slot and MAP08 for a stop map and looks like to be part of a larger series, with this being the 7th map for the project.

This is a pretty bizarre beast I've just downloaded randomly today. The level itself is not really bad, it have some intricate layout design as well as some interesting usage of the map space for such a old map, fun gameplay and even better gimmick of closets opening at your passage revealing goodies, monsters and new areas of the map. But things turns weird fast with the crazy weird sounds replacement that comes out straight from some jokewads (guys, i even think that i used some of these in my episode "Bleha 2" as well to have heard reused somewhere else, maybe Sadhust Chaffeur Trio or some other 2000s jokewad?) and the Bach piece used there makes me fell to be inside some sort of large shitposting delirium in form of Doom map, with the difference this map is good despite the conceptual that gives you. Also is pretty hard to navigate and understand where to go sometimes, but overall is... a unique experience, like some weird reject from Evilution (actually this reminds me of a larger, amateurish version of Human BBQ).

Also, 41 secrets? This is crazy!

 

Superfast Mapping: Deathmatch Edition by Combinebobnt, Argentum and guest mappers - Boom compatible, Doom 2, DM, 2014, played Zandronum 3.1 and bots

Spoiler

Played 7 maps of this pretty neat and "unknown" (at least for me) speedmapping megawad hosted in the zandronum forums back in 2013, the results are pretty good for a speedmapping project, don't known how much time has been given to the authors to make their map but again, looks good for such a project. The levels I've played takes all big inspiration from the classic of DM (Dwango and Greenwar are the first that comes in my mind), the arenas are all fun to traverse and play, making each map in this set a intense run each time.

MAP01: Pretty basic but fun gameplay, i really enjoyed the Mark Klem track usage here!

MAP02: A larger and better looking arena from the previous one, takes a lot from Memento Mori, very fun and lots of charming detailing.

MAP03: A pretty basic map, reminiscent of Dwango filler maps for me. The SSG gameplay makes it more fun, luckily. Also, why crushers, why?

MAP04: First guest map, it's a map by the user One_Two, a Greenwar style arena with a pyramid structure in the middle, fun stuff. I think it could be ven more funnier with lots of people fragging in this place!

MAP05: A sewer place with lots of verticality in it, uses the classic combo of nukage and green bricks became famous after the infamous Alien Vendetta map, it's a ok map. Fun map as well. Lots of detailing as well.

MAP06: A canyon themed map where white rocks and waterfalls surrounds everything, fast action and lots of fun.

MAP07: A fun map based upon a cute theme of bricks\gray wall textures, I've expected BRICK9 instead of the cleaner BRICK7 texture here but is still a fun and fast map.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Walter confetti
Added scores

[brick]

Brick | 2 wads | 2 maps

 

50 frags (2003) by Derrick A. Allen (GZDoom)

Sorry, but I couldn't resist!

It's a very small deathmatch-only map. I'm not sure how good it would be even for that, it's just so small, the whole map is just one rectangular hall with a small offshoot that leads to the exit switch. The only dynamic is that at one point of the rectangle there's a short one-way drop, but I don't think you can create that much strategy with just this. I thought it looks nice though, maybe just because I like this particular texture combination with the E4 sky.

Spoiler

 

 

1500AD (1995) by Jaime Landauer (GZDoom HNTR)

There's so much promise here, especially for something so old (it was uploaded to the archive in 2001 but everything points to it being from January 1995), but unfortunately there are also plenty of irritations. The premise involves being sent back into the past, and so the map begins in a futuristic hallway with a time portal. Taking that puts you in a small but atmospheric chapel (the music is from E1M5 and definitely helps), and "praying" puts you outside the main building proper. The chapel reappears much later and serves to put you back outside in the same way, which is a cool touch. Unfortunately there are no custom assets, and so the entire premise of the Inquisition and the time travel doesn't really work once you start the map proper. There are some weird things, such as the cage midtextures we're so used to sometimes don't block you, or the monsters, and sometimes block only the monsters. There's a red key inside a teleporter that I think requires SR50; I ended up using idclip because I got sick of trying, and because it's possible to softlock yourself if you try to get the red key before doing other things that should otherwise be completely optional. There are a lot of barons and for a while you only have the RL to deal with them in close quarters, which is not great. There's a Spider in a pit, though at this point you can get a BFG. In general the further I went into the map the poorer the detailing, the more obtuse the progression, and the more irritated I was getting, until that last big room with the cross in it, which eventually turns into a gigantic crushing ceiling with 2 cyberdemons trying to kill you. There's a nice touch at the end, where you go back to the present with the yellow key, and using it shuts down the time portal (which was the objective, because the demons were using it). There are some really cool ideas and I like the attempt at storytelling, but the gameplay doesn't really work.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FEDEX]

Hi @thelamp i think you forget to add the dl link, so here we go:

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/p-r/rsg

Edited January 11, 2023 by FEDEX

[Roofi]

Year 2 Month 02 Day 02

 

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

 

[1] Torches][ by Aaron Veenstra (1995)    [1 map]

 

Spoiler

 

Quote

This is the first WAD I've done with the always popular castle theme, so bear with me. This one has lots of torches (hence the name), marble all around and other castle-like features.

 

I initially thought I was suffering from a "Deja-vu" syndrome but nope, I already played this map whereas my computer doesn't tell that I already downloaded this file. I have trouble memories , but I think I suppose "torches.wad" which shared the same layout but was for Ultimate Doom instead.

 

If I could describe this map in two words, it would be : "Marble" and "Torches" since this level offers a quasi-inexistent difficulty and minimal texture variation. Most of the layout is boxy and undetailed so there is no risk to get an unfortunate VPO. Whereas Aaron designed this map for Doom 2, the Doom 2's monsters can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The powerful weaponry and the available soulspheres will help you bursting the helpless enemies.

 

The author took no risk at creating challenging scenarios, gimmicky level design or fancy aesthetics. It's an exploration map reduced to the bare essentials. I like it this kind of undemanding stuff after a tiring day of work. And I like Nine inch Nails too ! Thanks for the midi.

 

Grade : B-

 

 

[1] Degeneration I by Brian J. "Blazkowicz" Rowan, aka Brian J. Jacobs (2004)      [1 map]

Spoiler

 

 

An ultimate doom level uploaded in 2004 but made during the doom's prehistory. It replaces E2M1 and contains  all the bestiary from Episode 2 except the cyberdemon. You have to go through a dark forsaken base, remniscient of E2M4.

 

I don't want to qualify "Degeneration" as hard but it's definitely the kind of level which makes feel insecure during my first playthrough. First of all, the progression is completly linear and the author doesn't propose alternative paths in order to look for useful goodies. Secondly, the lack of armor greatly makes the game more anxiety-inducing. Don't forget that a shotgunner's shot can remove at least 30 health points ! And above all, the author tightly balanced health and ammo so the berserk pack doesn't only serve as a decoration and you have to advance with caution...

 

Without matching the quality of official maps, Degeneration feature smore than decent graphics, which are enough to provide an ejoyable classic experience. The difficulty is higher than in the iwad, and honestly the author has done a good job of offering something challenging without falling into the overdensity of monsters.

 

Grade : B

 

[3] BFG Trap v1.0 by Scott Balay (Vertigo) (1996)        [1 map]

Spoiler

 

Quote

Here is my very first level. Tested to be quite fun with 3 or more players in a deathmatch game. Features: teleports, long staircases, imbedded crushing ceilings, dark "sniper" positions, and a very interesting "one-way" wall, that lets you fire at someone who's going for the BFG. You can see through the wall from your side, but they can't see through theirs. I hope to make a version with all new sounds and graphics. Until then, play this one! Try it out, its not bad! The exit isn't clearly marked--it's a big skull switch.

 

I really feared dying in this map because of all the explosive barrels menacing me and the surprise crushers. Also, considering the map name, I wisely resisted to my greediness and decided to leave the BFG where it is. Anyway, it's a meaningless DM map.

 

I died in Phouse: "The great arena"'s map 08 after a small army of arachnotrons blocked me in one instant.

 

Spoiler

[thelamp]

• thelamp | 2 wads | 2 maps

Did some random wads!

Grove - alternate which I played until I died

The Clave which was really fun!

 

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by thelamp
listed stuff wrong for points

[Endless]

• Endless | 1 WAD | 1 Map

 

Kingpin's Lair | By Mike Slama | 1996

 

 

Ah! It is always such a great pleasure to find a little lost gem among the gigantic ocean of old-school WADs that there is. This little adventure is one of those that, obscured by the passing of time, are worth digging out once more. Created by Mike Slama, who would appear only once more on the /idgames archive, this medium-sized map is a lovely joy that combines classical Doom 2 brownish style with semirealistic background that develops across what seems to be the palace or mansion of a criminal mob boss, at least according to the title.

 

With a lovely set and a fantastical flow, this map has got some really nice tricks under it sleeve. The well-done facade at the start of the map already gives you a good taste of what's to come. When it comes to the visuals, this 90s map covers all the good boxes with a nice style that's both cute and respectable for the year. It has a diverse variety of areas, combining realistic rooms with hellish corruption in some areas, and giving you a great sense of abandonment thanks to the usage of vine textures. There's pools, roads, halls, rooms, etc. It is quite the joy to explore.

 

My only concern is the gameplay, which is a little too slow and, at times, feels rather rustic due to the fact that you won't get most of the weapons until half the map, but, other than that, highly recommend it to give it a try.

 

When I think of ''90s WADs'', this is the kind of stuff that springs to mind, like UAC Dead, Earth, or Memento Mori.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Endless

[brick]

Brick | 1 wad | 17 maps

(I assumed we're supposed to put the total numbers from the specific post; or should we add up all previous posts and put them as a total up to and including? which would be 4 wads | 20 maps in my case. Sorry, wasn't very clear what was meant in the OP)

 

Abyssal Speedmapping Session 50 (2021), lead by TheMionicDonut with many others mapping (GZDoom HNTR)

This is my first Abyssal wad (I had to retype this several times before something came out that didn't sound too wrong). In fact I don't usually play a lot of speedmap wads, though my appreciation for them went up significantly after playing 3 heures d'agonie 2 with the DWMC. As with most CPs there's a great deal of variability in just about everything, but the Abyssals seem to have a number of themes/gimmicks, sometimes quite specific, to tie the maps in one wad together. This one was fun because some of the themes, specifically scrolling floors, lots of barrels and poison floors, were often brought together into fun variations on barrels speeding across conveyors and creating havoc (in one case, combined with circular architecture to create scrolling floors going round in circles). The custom palette leads to an avalanche of juvenile map names and references, and I admit I found the toilet humour way overused and it stopped being funny rather early. The second half of the wad really leans into Plutonia-style combat with lots of chaingunners and lots and lots of revenants in very tight quarters. One early map has you running around building rooftops and even jumping from one to the other, which does look very cool, though the combat was a bit too arena mini-slaughter for my taste. There were also a couple of instances of ridiculously difficult scrolling floor platforming, and I cheated through several of them after running out of patience. The variety does mean that, although one map may have over 100 enemies, another will have a dozen or so. Some of the gimmicks are quite creative, and watching barrels zip by on conveyors never gets old. I think my favourite 2-parter was MAP07-08; MAP07 has you going around a lake and pushing a switch in the middle at the end, and it becomes obvious some time into MAP08 that this drained the lake as you continue going in, around and under it. The final map is a hilariously goofy IOS with Romero's head going by on a conveyor until it gets stuck on some barrels (which also provides an easy way to get rid of it). As expected the wad is ups and downs but I had fun most of the time.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Endless]

35 minutes ago, brick said:

(I assumed we're supposed to put the total numbers from the specific post; or should we add up all previous posts and put them as a total up to and including? which would be 4 wads | 20 maps in my case. Sorry, wasn't very clear what was meant in the OP)

You could do both:
 

17 maps this session | 20 maps in total

For example :)

[Sena]

• Sena | 1 WAD | 11 maps

 

Abyssal Speedmapping Sessions: Session 47 (2020)

 

 ASS hardly needs an introduction, maybe if this is what I rolled I should've just played the 50th one for the occasion, but it is what it is. And it's a pretty good WAD overall, even its shorter maps manage to be engaging and feel like a complete experience.

 

MAP01:

Its platforming section may demand a greater degree of precision than I feel comfortable with, but this is definitely a strong start. Good atmosphere, a wide open arena that still manages to force the player to think intelligently, and a custom .midi along with it, which only some of the levels have. My only complaint is the awkward platforming that occurs right at the end, as if I've killed everything, it is my firm ideological belief that the level should end right there (if they got rid of the one softlock at the end, that would be good too), and making me have to jump between 4 different platforms just to see the endscreen is not something I care much for.

 

MAP02:

One recurring theme through this WAD is that some of the levels don't have an actual floor texture, a theme which begins here, and one that I really don't appreciate. Perhaps like the "illuso-pit" from Wow, it's meant to evoke a sense of surreal or psychedelic imagery, but it's not an effect I seem able to get behind, and I do not think it would be too disagreeable to take the position that I would prefer my levels to have floors in them. Regardless , the arrangement of this one is simple, but it is effective, and while on the easier end, it still has a few surprises to keep the player from feeling too comfortable.

 

MAP03:

Another floorless level, heavy on claustrophobia, combat at awkward height differences, and some equally awkward platforming. This one's serviceable, its main combat is actually fairly decent, although the general architecture of the level was less than desirable.

 

MAP04:

To be cynical about it, this is a basic corridor shooter. Its layout is simple, consisting of only a few rooms, and with monster layout that means that half of them will kill each other, or 80% of them if you're lazy like me and spend more time baiting them into infighting than actually shooting. But it's nonetheless an enjoyable level, perhaps because of the attention to detail in its background, but this comes across as a classic example of how adhering to the KISS principle can produce great results.

 

MAP05:

Another good map, possibly one of the more difficult ones, in part because of its reliance on the rocket launcher which is a higher risk weapon for obvious, shrapnel-based reasons. It is more generally a lot more willing to put higher tier enemies than any other map hitherto, and as well as being a well-crafted map, also manages to ease the player into the much more hectic maps that will be coming later.

 

MAP06: 

This is certainly the most creative map of the lot, taking place across two separate pirate ships, with a great .midi to accompany it. Although I played through Pirate Doom in its entirety some years ago, I don't specifically remember a map that involved having to defend from other pirates as the ship is being boarded, which is an idea this level manages to get across very succinctly. 

 

MAP07:

Something has to take the title of the worst map, and this is it, the Dead Simple clone. Taking place in some city that would look post-apocalyptic, given how much rubble is around, if not for the fact that the whole thing takes place in the same outdoor area dotted with the same exact half-broken stone structures repeated over and over that just make it look like it has no cohesive theme. There are only two enemy types to fight here, and this architecture doesn't feel well suited to either of them, adding on to the issue of it being needlessly confusing trying to find ammo pickups, there being a lot of empty space that's not really used for anything, and in general this map just isn't much fun.

 

MAP08: 

Following on from the worst map, is the best map. MAP06 might be idiosyncratic, but this one feels like it has the strongest understanding of game flow, how to always keep the player engaged and moving from one area to another without letting up or growing tiresome. That game flow is also further accentuated by some great visuals and atmosphere, and probably the most consistent challenge across the WAD, this map is the most able of the lot to seamlessly flow a ton of different motifs and ideas together and have all of them work so well.

 

MAP09:

Another floorless map, and although its opener seems to give the impression that it's a level in which the only strategy is to just run through and avoid everything, if you manage to catch your bearings, it is actually a fairly conventional affair, all things considered. Inarguably chaotic, and probably the closest any of the maps get to 'kitchen sink' design, but it's hardly got any platforming, so it gets my approval.

 

MAP10:

If the previous map was conventional but manages to hide that fact with a particularly hectic opening, this one doesn't really make any attempt to hide it. Even though it's one of several maps that are in the 110-120 enemy range, this definitely feels like the longest map, perhaps because of how overbearing its architecture is. Decent map, although I found its core gameplay to be less interesting than some of the other offerings.

 

MAP11:

Almost a repeat of MAP07 in the manner it relies heavily on two specific monster types, in this case the arachnotron and pinky. Granted, this map does make use of this limited roster much better than the aforementioned, mostly through its level design which doesn't allow the player to just stand in one corner and kill everything. It takes the chaos of MAP09, but manages to follow through on it to maintain that feeling for a greater part of its overall experience.

 

[brick]

Brick | 2 wads | 1 map

Total so far: 6 wads | 21 maps

 

I wanted to continue with the 50 gimmick and play more of the pre-selected wads, but I went through 50 Monsters just last month, and 50 Shades not much earlier last year. I may still go through the latter, but it's a bit too fresh in my mind, and I'm not sure I'm ready to go back to some of the platforming so quickly after my last time. For now I think I'm going to do some random rolls myself.

 

ENDOOMER (1995) by Zink The Dink

Not sure if what's not technically a wad would still count, but even if it doesn't I enjoy coming across and talking about utilities and various other non-wads on the archive, they're often fun time capsules and there's often interesting history behind them.

This is a small utility from the early days (archived in 1995, but the files have a November 1994 timestamp) that was meant to help make ENDOOM lumps. It's actually quite good, there's a text editor if you want to type in characters (any ASCII) yourself, but also a graphic editor to draw whatever shapes or lines you want, a box editor to simplify that even more, a GUI to pick colours, ability to import from clipboard, or to load another ENDOOM and modify it... if I had discovered this back then I would've definitely used it for that megawad I was working on. The exe comes with a bunch of different examples from at-the-time known wads (I recognized a few, with that dawning horror that comes with realizing just how long ago that was) and a handy template if you want to make a modification of the original that includes information about your own maps (many many wads did something like this at the time). There's also a long text file with detailed instructions, the best part is that half of it is dedicated to a pretty interesting and in-depth explanation of how the ENDOOM lump is stored and how it works, and how ENDOOMER reads and edits it, that was a really fun and informative read. And then at the very end you get a sauwastika (the counterclockwise one) because... I have no idea, and I don't really want to think about it too much. Ah, the 90s internet.

Spoiler

Lethe (2007) by @hobomaster22 (GZDoom, HNTR)

This is a Plutonia-style map, if Plutonia maps were larger, more detailed, and had double the enemies even on HNTR. I'm not the biggest Plutonia fan, so did not always enjoy the chaingunner/revenant spam and archviles constantly reviving everyone. I really struggled early on, you have nothing but the shotgun and chaingun for almost half the map, against every kind of enemies up to barons. I have to admit though, once I got the SSG, I actually started enjoying myself more than I initially thought I would. The map is stingy with ammo all the way through (check my last screenshot, this is all I had left at the end, and only because I chainsaw/punched every demon and spectre...) but the combat pieces feel less mean once you have better firepower. Progression felt a bit convoluted in places but others were quite nifty; some of the secrets were very obvious (including that BFG one; I do like the kitty picture though) but others were a bit more clever. The map looks quite lovely, there's good and varied use of texturing, very nice lighting, and the detailing is quite tasteful without going overboard. There are things that look like 3D bridges but they're not really, you can't pass under them, though the fact you can see under them makes those sections look nicer. I ended up enjoying the map despite some frustrations early on, it's a good "Plutonian adventure" hybrid.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SuyaSSS]

SuyaSS | 1 wad | 6 maps

Total | 2 wads | 7 maps 

 

Once upon a time in Doom Universe By @Walter confetti, 2008

Woof, Webmaster

 

There are softlocks in Map02 and Map05.

 

Hey, I played through Deimos Shityard a few months ago on ER/iWA so finding a prequel to it again in ER/iWA is almost perfect. And it is triple the size of Deimos Shityard. I am very mixed about this mapset but I couldn't expect much from a speedmap set from 2008. 

 

There were sprite changes for the zombieman and a new death sprite for the imp which is more gorier. There were also some new custom enemies however, I did not like most of them. The Winged Baron felt especially cheap to me. He fires fireball at nightmare speeds, does tons of damage and has a good amount of health. The Serpent Imp was also annoying. Basically, I did not like the entirety of Map04. It was way too dark and had too little ammo. On the other hand, I liked the map preceding it.

 

By the way, the rankings are:-

1: 666 Sector - Mission Accomplished - C (Mostly Zombieman map)

2: Water Replacement - B- (This map has a softlock where you cannot enter the room for yellow key. Without counting the softlock it will be a B)

3: Blood - B+ (Fun little map to go through. It was super close to an A-)

4: Turn The Lights - D- (Toooooooooooooooooo Godddamn dark, had to use the brightness increase in Woof to even complete it)

5: Mama, I'm Coming Home - B (Does get a bit tiring to find where to go but this is a problem related to most city maps for Doom. Otherwise definitely the best looking map out of all of these. It would have been a B+ if the softlock didn't exist. The softlock is found in the lift before the final door)

6: The Last Clash - ICON OF SIN levels of disappointment

 

Also, @Walter confetti were the spectres actually in Nightmare speed or was I tripping.

 

Video:

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by SuyaSS

[Walter confetti]

All this shows only two things: "WHAT I WAS THINKING about the new monsters values -especially the turbo spectres, wtf?" and that this mapset was more of puerile flexing my (raw) speedmapping skills to the world than making a proper working mapset (the softlocks you find shows them egregiously, as well as other bugs i saw). Watching this made me physically in pain. And for me that's sad, because it truly shows some neat stuff from my old self (that tormentor667 style lighting effect is really good and some of the designs like some doomcute are a nice touch), i wonder what I can do in these days with such time limitations and more knowledge...

[FEDEX]

13 hours ago, Endless said:

 

 

I like this screenshot a lot ! I see a good use of shadows, very nice for 1996

[Thelokk]

1 wad / 1 map

 

Shotgun for Doom 2 by Dave Johnson (1995)

DSDA / UV / 100% kills / 100% secrets

 

A small, uninteresting Doom 2 map (though it uses only UD monsters and chaingunners) from 1995. It shoots for some sort of city aesthetics, but there is really no rhyme nor reason to the environment - bonus points for the wallpaper skies, they actually don't look so terrible but they're really janky. 

Gameplay is forgettable and plagued by bugs. Lots of assorted bags of enemies right in front of you, ready to be dispatched by your SSG - the only weapon provided. Some items are not accessible due to a hall of mirror-y lowered sector, and there is an inescapable pit that, for some reason, is yellow key trimmed; unlike the yellow door, which is not.

Another shovelwareish map from the mid 90s, and the kind of level I'm sorta getting tired of rolling. 

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by Thelokk

[Roofi]

Year 2 Month 02 Day 03

 

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

 

[1] CASTLE RUINS by David Wrong (1996)        [1 map]

 

Spoiler

 

Quote

This level was made for 2 to 4 player deathmatch. Three to four players are ideal whereas two players may find it difficult for frequently running into each other.

I originally designed this level to allow as much freedom of movement for all players as possible. Through playing many wad files, I noticed that there are five important criteria for a good death match level, namely:

i) Room to Move: wide openness needs to be there to allow better aiming skills to shine and freedom to runaway and be tracked. vertigo

ii) Height/Open-ness: to get a sense of unexpected fear from all directions and a sense of vertigo.

iii) Appropriate fighting area: a sufficient amount of room so that players will easily find each other when on the move, as well as allowing the ability to hide and watch the battle from the extreme sidlines.

iv) Must work for the Ammo/Health: players in order to maintain fighting superiority must also be skillful at replenishing their sustenance (in- cluding ammo)

v) Innovation: new elements added to the level to enhance it gameplay, atmosphere and theme.

I have tried to incorporate these in my CASTLE RUINS wad. It is the only open-wide wad file that I have come across that has an entire open ledge around the whole level! Four castle towers allow quick teleportation between each tower to rapidly place oneself at the map's extremes in milliseconds; figuring out the tower's teleporation pattern shouldn't be difficult and may come in useful when being chased. Each building is completely open to attacks from all sides within this fortress.

The buildings within the castle walls are as follows (in a spiral clockwise direction): the Guard Station, the Plasma Temple, the Meat Market, the Storage Facility, the Horn Building, Restoration Chambers, the Imps Mud Dwelling, The Penitentiary, Dual Crush- ing Compactor, the Sacrificial Altar, Green Acid Annex, Inn-of-the-Six-Weapons, the Watch Tower, the Sewers, and the Arena.

 

Despite being designed for Deathmatch, "Castle Ruins" acts as a solid open single player map where you're able to explore a wide variety of tall buildings. Indeed, It resembles more to a city map like Doom 2 map 13 than a castle-themed one.

 

The beginning of the map is a bit challenging. the weapons are pretty well hidden and some hitscanners and roaming enemies guard the surroundings. Fortunately, some helpful invulnerability spheres are perched on the ramparts.

 

Not all keys are needed to reach the exit : of the three colored keys, you only have to collect the blue one. 

 

"CASTLE RUINS" was a fine versatile map overall.

 

Grade : B

 

I died in the second map of  I can't see shit without my glasses

 

Spoiler

 

[LadyMistDragon]

So I actually decided to go with one of the pre-selected wads for once (I did play Golden Hog's E1 replacement but that was entirely an accident)! However, it's the only one that was a single map. Let's just say the other single map I rolled is one I suspect would also take a while.

 

Brian 50 Super Secret Level (2005) by Evil Space Tomato.

played on UV

 

It's a little bit on the maze-y and 90s side of things, but that's not so bad. I especially like the indoor grotto with the caged Cacodemons. The problem is that genericism is a rule throughout much of the map. More concerningly, the lift out of said room with apparently broken in DSDA and Eternity. PrBoom+ is probably just fine but I played this in GZDoom. One of those "5,000 moving parts" maps. At least there are plenty of things to kill though. All those monsters awakening after exiting the first room may seem scary, but remember, that's just more to kill! Arch-viles are plentiful, though largely in a non-slaughter sense. Speaking of that, the massive outdoor ambush is almost enough to make this map. Seriously, they just keep coming...and coming...and coming. It's almost enough to evoke those memories of playing Mill and Redemption from TNT! There are several Arch-viles among them, but you do get a Invulnerbility Sphere so aim well! But eventually, we press against the flesh pillar at the end and unleash a Spider Mastermind, trigger Boom actions that turn the side walls to slime and plunge sections of the floor, and also open the hallway to the exit. Head into the exit and a Cyberdemon emerges! We killed the Mastermind first however, so no infighting here.

 

 

The port fuckery really, really annoyed me, I can't lie. I will say that this does fulfill its promise of 50 secrets in slightly better form than you might expect! But there were too many cramped corridors to call this too fun 6.5/10

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[thelamp]

• thelamp | 1 wad | 1 map

^{this is the same wad as last time so idk if it gets counted twice or what? just thought I'd mention it}

 

Another great map from Reign of the Spider Gods!

 

 

[Walter confetti]

Walter|3 wads|8 maps

Total = 4 wads|17 maps

 

Superfast Mapping: Deathmatch Edition by Combinebobnt, Argentum and guest mappers - Boom compatible, Doom 2, DM, 2014, played Zandronum 3.1 and bots

Spoiler

 

Second and most probably last part to my previous play of this DM megawad. A thing i didn't mentioned in the previous reviews that didn't really liked me that much is the fact that all the maps in this project uses the SFMxx naming for slot and without using a new episode lump in MAPINFO, letting you play the maps only from manual selection on "offline skirmish" option, making it a little clunky to play. These are the maps I've played yesterday and today until i gave up on MAP16 start:

 

MAP08: A pretty good map despite it's cramped layout, heavily reminiscent of Brit series wads. I don't get the "pool" obstacle in the central part of the left section of the map, but it did it's work to save me from bots attack

MAP09: A square arena with a pyramid in the centre of it, similar to MAP04 but the gameplay is less chaotic and the layout have more detailing than the mentioned map. Another map that will be great fun with lots of players in it.

MAP10: Weird texture usage but it's a overall fun experience, heavily squared layout but well connected between every area of the map

MAP11: A very neat map based upon the classic mashup of MAP01 and E1M1, with the special guest of "Circle of Death" in the mix for the perfewct spicy recipe for a fun, engaging map!

MAP12: I don't really enjoyed this map despite having a pretty neat theme of a metal base with a red, ominous sky like Plutonia MAP15, the play felt boring imo and i didn't really liked the music chosen here.

MAP13: Another low point for this mapset, is a dull looking GSTONE1 filled level based upon "Limbo" from Doom, it wasn't a very funny experience for me. The layout is competent, however.

MAP14: Hey, wasn't a map from Scythe uses the same (or similar) title of this map, "Fire and Ice"? Anyway, this map have a pretty charming theme of twisting areas between hellish fiery valleys and a snowy outdoor world filled of toxic(?) water rivers, i really enjoyed this one! Gameplay is ok, maybe the layout is a little large for 6 players, but it was a cool experience (no pun intended)

MAP15: A really good map in Greenwar style that i'm pretty sure to have already played in another map pack, it's a pretty funny experience with frenetic fights that i didn't fully enjoyed at it's best due to DM play burnout.

 

Inuyasha Skin by Mike "Inuyasha" Kasten - Player skin replacement, zdoom compatible ports, Doom games, 2004, tested in Zandronum 3.1

Spoiler

 

(The room you see in the screenshots is a test room i made for the occasion of testing skins, idk if this can be taken as a map)

 

A graphic patch that replaces the space marine with the main character of the popolar 2000s anime/manga series Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahishi in multiplayer plays, even i've used this skin back in the days in 2004/5, this skin is cute looking but a little crushed looking, making it shows like a weird mishmash of pixels, but the character is kinda recognizable and it does it's job. No sounds are changed, unluckily. If you are a disgusting weeb like me, you will like this. Otherwise, stay sticky with the original one.

 

Got a not working dehacked patch called Player Change by Tom Smith in 1995. Too bad, i wanted to see monsters dying in a flame, as well as the new stuff for the player.

 

Pleiades by Roger Ritenour - Vanilla (?) Doom 2, SP, 1997, played on Eternity "forseti" 4.0.2

Spoiler

For the last map of the evening, we have a well known name from the 90s mapping scene, Roger Ritenour, author of Phobos and Earth. here with is it's first effort on mapping and it's pretty great looking, a small starship with lots of new textures that make it reminiscent of some 60s\70s sci-fi movie, including a (fake) 3D UFO ship, animated textures and even 3D engine reactors made of mid-textures magic, really neat trick! I don't get why there are german writings around the ship but it's a good starting point! Pretty simple in terms of monsters usage (only 36 on HMP) but it's more strongly based upon the exploration, thing that keep in his other levels as well.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Walter confetti
Added score and some info for Inuyasha wad

[ICID]

• ICID | 5 TOTAL WADS | 13 TOTAL MAPS

 

!FUBAR_1.WAD (1995) by Scot Ranney

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2}

^{Difficulty: UV}

 

Big ol' rooms absolutely stuffed with monsters and ammo. I guess it's not too bad as these things go - there's some texture and height variation and an attempt at adventurous progression and traps, and it's not completely impossible to beat like so many 90s WADs of its ilk - but I just couldn't be bothered to care. 200 shells and a half-dozen barons, what fun. Go take your Hugo-Martin-ass level design back to reddit.

 

Grade: 3/10

 

 

 

 

 

Southern Cross (2002) by Kevin "The Solution" Robinson and Bryant "Gunrock" Robinson

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2}

^{Difficulty: UV, pistol starts}

 

I absolutely would not have played through this whole WAD in a normal ER/iWA, but I wanted those sweet extra points - truly, this is a prison of my own making. Anyway, brothers Kevin and Bryant Robinson - otherwise known as Team Demise - are longtime mappers who were active even into 2020. Bryant is likely best known for Dark 7, described in the legendary Top 100 WADs Of All Time feature as "one of the best (if not the best) ZDoom mapsets ever made". High praise, and no doubt well-deserved, but this release from the same year shows none of that promise.

 

Southern Cross is supposedly inspired by E1 - hence the 9-map structure - but oddly set in Doom II and heavily reliant on Doom II monsters. Maybe "Doom 1 inspired" in this case just means "there's no SSG". There's a few explicit references to Knee-Deep (see below) but weirdly there's also bits of Evilution and Doom II maps thrown in as well, making this feel like an uncohesive hodgepodge of ideas. The actual setting of each map is a dull techbase that looks like the 2000 other techbases every ER/iWA player has seen at this point and even though I diligently took screenshots and tried my best to pay attention it was simply no use - there's no "there" there and most of the maps blend together into a brown-ish sludge. Combat consists of large groups of enemies, mostly imps and mancubi, in flat spaces; I'll admit I did myself no favors here by playing pistol starts in a mapset that clearly wasn't designed for it (call that Dean of Doom syndrome) but I suspect that even without that these featureless hordes would have been a slog.

 

Map 08 brings a little life to the proceedings with a neat teleporter trap and Map 09 is hilarious - it consists of two arch-viles, a single cyberdemon, and enough BFG ammo to render all three monsters meaningless, possibly a loving homage to the fact that Doom 1's various "M9"s are similarly crap. Other than that, I really couldn't tell you any identifiable features of Southern Cross, a mapset I will absolutely have forgotten by tomorrow.

 

Grade: 4/10

 

[brick]

Brick | 5 wads | 7 maps

Total so far: 11 wads | 28 maps

 

5 hours ago, Walter confetti said:

Pleiades by Roger Ritenour - Vanilla (?) Doom 2, SP, 1997, played on Eternity "forseti" 4.0.2

For the last map of the evening, we have a well known name from the 90s mapping scene, Roger Ritenour, author of Phobos and Earth. here with is it's first effort on mapping and it's pretty great looking, a small starship with lots of new textures that make it reminiscent of some 60s\70s sci-fi movie, including a (fake) 3D UFO ship, animated textures and even 3D engine reactors made of mid-textures magic, really neat trick! I don't get why there are german writings around the ship but it's a good starting point! Pretty simple in terms of monsters usage (only 36 on HMP) but it's more strongly based upon the exploration, thing that keep in his other levels as well.

I really like Roger Ritenour. He eventually compiled the Pleiades you just played, the 4 Phobos maps, a bunch of his other stand-alone wads, made a couple of new maps, and packaged them all as a new wad also called Pleiades, and I really like the story and the way he ordered the maps there.

 

As for me, lots of random rolls of various kinds tonight.

 

Enchanter (1999) by David Dibble (GZDoom, YRU)
I could've sworn I've played this one before, at least E1M1, most of the map was extremely familiar!
This is a 2-map wad for Heretic with some custom textures. The maps are quite different in style. E1M1 is very orthogonal and very green, though that may be a strong effect of two of the arenas being very rectangular. There are some cool bits, like the spiral staircase, lifts to create the impression of corridors going under each other, and the honeycomb dark maze at the end - bring a torch! There's also quite a large number of enemies there, including some surprise ambushes (and that Maulotaurs in the arena). E1M2 is much more naturalistic in architecture and with more variety in texturing, though that Maulotaur/Lich combo at the start is a rude surprise (though... if you're willing to eat 2 tornadoes, I think you can skip 90% of the level). There are some interesting looking bits, like the green key room, one of the grating textures used quite well as a portcullis, but there's also an inexplicable HOM (I think it's just a missing texture, but it's so obvious I don't know how it got missed). The maps are medium-sized and the wad took me just over an hour. It's not the best I've played, but it's not bad either.

Spoiler

Techblast (2022) by @EANB (GZDoom, HNTR)

Something much more recent! Another 2-map wad, this time for Doom II (well, Boom). In some ways it reminded me a bit of Lethe, the combat is also Plutonia on steroids, but the visuals are not as remarkable. Sorry about the dearth of screenshots but I was too busy running around trying to survive being shot at from all directions. MAP01 throws you to the wolves almost immediately, sending cacos and revenants early on when all you have is a shotgun and little ammo, and a berserk that springs a nasty trap. Once I got a bit more arsenal things started getting more manageable, but the map sure loves its revenants and chaingunner traps. MAP02 takes it up a notch almost immediately, with PEs and cacos in tight quarters, waves of revenants, and don't forget to say hi to the cyberdemon! Later on it turns into all-out mini-slaughter when you get the red key, though that part is actually quite easy because the large number of enemies keep tripping on each other and on the walls. It's really not my kind of gameplay but I've no doubt the wad's audience will like it, it's all done very competently.

Spoiler

Flash1 (1996) by Dave Clark "FLASHLIGHT"

A deathmatch-only MAP01 replacement. I think the layout would make for quite a fun fragfest, there's quite a good use of elevation, especially with those unbreakable glass windows that would allow you to see without being able to hit an opponent. I also chuckled at the obvious Entryway homage/parody (the corporations have taken over!), and at the suspiciously Doomguy-shaped holes in the wall. I'm not quite sure what's up with the voodoo dolls though, or with the sky texture being slapped onto that central column. There's also a funny corridor full of WR lines that change the light level, so as you run through it gives a pretty good light show. There are 2 "sequel" DM-only maps, sadly it doesn't seem like Dave Clark uploaded any other wads.

Spoiler

Hall of Faces (2009) by DarckRedd (GZDoom, HNTR)

This is the only wad by this author on the archives. I remember coming across it during one of my earliest ER/IWAs (I think it was one of ICID's five random selections), where I got completely stuck because of some door mistagging shenanigans. After rolling it myself this time I thought I'd give it another shot, and only write it up if I could finish it. Knowing a problem was coming up, I did manage to avoid it, but I'm not sure this has terribly improved my opinion of the map. The titular hall is mostly at the beginning, where everything looks strange and very dark while you're beset by hitscanners. Eventually (right after the point I previously got stuck) the weird face aesthetic opens up into a typical techbase look, then a large room where pressing the skull switch triggers an ambush with almost half the map's enemies (zombies and imps mostly). Outside of that odd and not particularly great looking texture choice it's a pretty poor and forgettable wad.

Spoiler

 

 

Feudal (1999) by Echo (GZDoom HNTR)

This one was actually a pleasant surprise! There's heavy use of the green marble patch from Doom 1, but there are a dozen modifications with various symbols, animals, gargoyles and so on drawn over, and they look good and their frequent use is quite evocative. The early part of the map is linear, but there's a really cool little bit where counterweights lower while a door raises open (very simple vanilla trick; it's just 2 W1 lines right after the other). The castle itself was pretty enjoyable to explore, with a great hall and throne room, dungeons and torture chambers below, stairs leading up to the battlements. The detailing is very low, but the abstraction is well done and everything feels the part even with the limited looks (I wish I could take a screenshot of the castle exterior, but the small size made it impossible to get a good view; I wonder if the author was also trying to avoid VPOs) . Progression is not immediately obvious but seems to make sense. Combat is pretty straightforward, mostly against hitscans; the trickiest part is initially getting right outside the castle, where many zombies will reliably whittle away at your health. With the RSK in hand you head back to the start, but I got a rude surprise in the form of a cyberdemon; you could just run past him I think. I'm not sure what it is about the wad, but the various bits just clicked well. I think many 90s maps often fail by trying to do too much within the framework of the engine and everything ends up feeling out of place and unrelated to the premise (1500AD suffered badly from this). I think Feudal actually succeeded in evoking a lot with very little, and that made it very enjoyable.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by brick