ICID Posted May 1, 2023 (logo by @4MaTC) ICID, what the hell is this now? Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures is a small project of exploration, 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. So, what do we do here? 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. Post a review of whatever you play. Always provide the name of the WAD, the name of the author, and a link to the file. 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. 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. What kind of WADs are we looking for? 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 Please take screenshots or video of your adventures. Commenting the source port and difficulty level is not required, but provides helpful context to your review. Try to stick to no more than 1 WAD per day to avoid burnout, but this part’s all up to you, champ! Reviews of all formats are valid. Both longform and shortform are good as long as you write with integrity. Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures of this event: The Definitive T_DUNNxx.WAD Series Vermilion WOP Hall of Monsters The Crusader Vaults --- Part 1 PIGEYE v3.0 Spoiler The Top 10 (out of 62): 1. @Roofi | 6445 2. @LadyMistDragon | 3205 3. @Sena | 2460 4. @Walter confetti | 2045 5. @ICID | 1005 6. @brick | 985 7. @Endless | 935 8. @Thelokk | 725 9. @Clippy | 535 10. @smeghammer | 425 Join the Doom Master Wadazine community for more events like this! » https://discord.gg/Q2RKn4J 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
Endless Posted May 1, 2023 The Hunger | David & Kathy Bruni | 2002 Not exactly good, but not exactly that bad. The visual and level design itself is... fine? I guess. It's pretty rudimentary, without any glare of real beauty to it, but it still pretty basic and doesn't fall into an abyss of fireblue or startan repetition. My actual problem with it is the way the gameplay is designed as a shot them up galore without the actual shoot part of it, falling short in giving you the proper arsenal at the right moment. And, of course, the flow of the map is terrible. It overstays its welcome and feels tedious by the time you reach five minutes, and it's a pain in the ass trying to find out where to go. I do think it's cute that this map seems to have been made by a couple, or at least some friends together. And from the .txt: Quote It's hard to believe Doom is 9 years old and so many people are still playing it and making levels and utilities for it. Well, then I think you'd be happy to know that Doom is going 30 years old, and the community is still kicking pretty hard! 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
brick Posted May 1, 2023 Brick | 1 wad | 7 maps The Definitive T_DUNNxx.WAD Series - For Doom (1997) by Travers Dunne & Alister Dunne. 7 maps (6 SP + 1 DM) for vanilla Doom IWAD. Played with GZDoom HNTR. In 1997, very early in his mapping career, @traversd simultaneously released The Adjective T_DUNNxx.WAD Series, 3 sets of maps, one for each IWAD, all in collaboration with a relative (sibling?). This one contains I think his earliest maps (in his words, "my work that ive done since i bought Doom in 94"). There are obvious references to doom.wad but each map has little relation to the slot it occupies (maybe Travers just likes the music tracks?). The detailing is pretty bare and there aren't many memorable sights, but the abstract layout is very interesting in places and uniformly well done. Subtle cues direct you to what a switch might've done, there's a good mixture of backtracking and shortcuts back, the maps are all very small anyway so there's no real possibility of getting lost or trekking across vast distances back to that locked door. Don't be fooled by the compact layout, maps are small and quick-playing but they don't have to be easy. Some of them pack a LOT of enemies on UV (I saw 200+ in some) and it will get claustrophobic. Travers is kind enough to balance very well for the easier difficulties. I think in both cases the shotgun will be the major weapon, and that's a lot of shotgunning (maybe a little bit too much). Many of the maps use damaging floors (20% of course), HNTR has a good supply of radsuits in most, but I admit E2M5 annoyed me, the radsuits are tucked away in hard to find corners, and running around looking for one has a high likelihood of leaving you dead. Those of you used to the modern sensibility for secrets will find the wad infuriating: some are required, one (of 11...) in E1M3 is in a large hallway that you'll have to recross several times on the required path. I like many of the secrets though, they're not hard to find but many still felt fun to figure out, there's particularly good one in E1M3 that requires both timing and understanding how the walkover linedefs nearby work. At least on HNTR I'm left with an overall feeling of fairness, despite the abundance of ambushes and hitscans (and both) nothing ever felt truly mean (E2M5 slime notwithstanding). I don't remember the Doom II wad anymore, but I think this one is better than Indispensable for Heretic. If you like the idea of small, compact and deadly maps in Travers's style and don't mind the beginner-mapper rough edges there's a lot of fun to be had here. Spoiler 5 Quote Share this post Link to post
Roofi Posted May 2, 2023 Year 2 Month 03 Day 26 I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped. [1] Ten Thousand V 1.0 by Slasher (2008) Spoiler Quote This is a Zdoom project of the dice game "Ten Thousand". It can be used in single player, but it's best to be played in multiplayer, up to 8 players supported. A sober recreation of the dice game on ZDoom. Unless this mod is playable online, it's way more convivial to buy real dices and play on a real table with your friends. And I'm 100% sure that online games already exist for this. Anyway, congratulations for this little feat. I stop here for today. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted May 2, 2023 The New Breed: Return to Earth (1998) by Richard A. Clark (From Doom With Love) NewBreed was a partial conversion developed by a HACX designer Mark Pullen that seems kind of popular. Probably why someone actually went out and made a fan map for it! Not like it's exactly a good one - Richard's midi has a mournful if basic feel to it - but the lighting effects are really weird and are a poorly-aged attempt at emulating Duke 3D is some of the sound effects are any indication. The last area I did looked like some weird lab from TekWar and unfortunately, it seems to be broken in modern Doom since the switches behind the pillars in each colored room can't be accessed. Add in a cramped layout and dull monster placement and we have an easily skippable map 3/10 Spoiler 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
brick Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) Brick | 1 wad | 8 maps Adventure| 2 wads | 15 maps Stardate 20X6 (2013) by Ribbiks. 8 SP maps for Boom, Doom II IWAD. Played with GZDoom ITYTD+. (if you're wondering, ITYTD+ is what I call a custom difficulty where I removed the ammo doubling. I like to keep the regular ammo balance but still take advantage of the damage reduction) Now that I think of it, trying to play a Ribbiks slaughter while afflicted with Covid was not the best idea. Maybe I should've just rerolled and left this for when I felt better. I went back and forth a few times while playing this. Initially I felt a bit disapointed; I had high expectations, partly because of everything I've read about it, and partly because of my own experience with Wormwood (especially the first one, which I liked most). The palette certainly has purples but the predominant colour is just brown. With a nice contrasting purple (well, more magenta?) sometimes, but still everything looks overwhelmingly brown brown brown. Early maps are not too hard but there are some weird difficulty spikes. My biggest problem with the fight setups (well, aside from not being a fan of this type of combat in the first place) is that a lot of them follow an almost identical pattern. Enter arena, push switch, waves of enemies teleport in, I can tell almost exactly at what point the revenant horde will appear, followed by the nobles, then with everything dead go find where some random new switch has appeared, push it, wait a minute for the bars to lower so you can leave (I know I've complained so many times about this particular mechanic, but it's just so bloody boring). Some of the fights try to break the mold, but then you get something like MAP03's Pain Elemental arena. Being on GZDoom I just turned on the Lost Soul limit, but I feel for those on an actual Boom port with proper complevel. Despite the misgiving, I realized I was having a lot of fun with the wad. It took me some time to get over the browness, but when I did I started appreciating the purples, some vistas look great, and the further I got along the more the visuals started standing out, as if Ribbiks was getting more comfortable with creative use of the palette. Eventually I started enjoying the fights, Ribbiks takes pity on people like me and provides helpful invulnerabilities here and there to survive some of the toughter ones. Best of all the plaforming was infrequent and very forgiving, definitely a departure from the Ribbiks that I know. This lasted until some way into MAP06. Suddenly we're dealing with 700 enemies, including several arenas with multiple cyberdemons. There's more variety in the combats, but they're now far above my skill. Platforming is in and it is incredibly tricky. That northernmost room frustrated me so much until I gave up and just used the fly cheat, but the worst is getting to the blue door. Unless I missed it and there's a completely different way to get there, I think you're supposed to do an upward strafejump, but I can't begin to guess how it's supposed to work, and I got stuck a long time trying to find a way there before I gave up and cheated. The map has some beautiful architecture though, in a style that reminds me more of later-Ribbiks, and with some very nice use of the palette. MAP07 takes everything from the previous one and ramps it up to very difficult, the contrast between this and the first map is staggering. It is very very beautiful though. The bonus map is surprisingly (or maybe that's the point?) low key and frankly quite easy with the provided BFG. I'm not sure what's the point of the yellow key other than the extra challenge, but finding the "special" exit was satisfying. I liked the middle maps best. The first couple didn't feel very remarkable, and the last couple are typical modern slaughter by the book, I'm not sure Magnus would make my personal Most Memorable (great map sure, memorable sure, but most memorable?). That said, and looking at the release date, I wonder if Ribbiks wasn't actually writing the book with this wad... Reaching the end I can say it did meet my expectations after all, and I admit beating those early and middle maps gave me a bit of an ego boost about having gotten better at the game over the last couple of years (and then I got a good dose of humble from Vehelits). And some of those sights are stunning. Spoiler My next wad will probably put me at 1000 points.... I'm kind of excited. Edited May 3, 2023 by brick 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
Roofi Posted May 3, 2023 Year 2 Month 03 Day 27 I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped. [1] Nine DooM II Wads by Rob Graham & Brent Graham (Brent made 2BRENT.WAD, the eight other WADs are made by Rob) (2005) Spoiler Quote - River of Death (RIVER.WAD) by Rob Graham - Burdett 1 - 3 (BURDETT*.WAD) by Rob Graham - Plains of Death 1 (D2POD1.WAD) by Rob Graham - Above & Below (ABOVBELW.WAD) by Rob Graham - Pyramid (D2PYRMD*.WAD) by Rob Graham - 2Brent (2BRENT.WAD) by Brent Graham Yes, the title must be read litterally. There are 9 separated wad files with their dedicated text file in the zip. Actually, it's just 9 maps which could have been compiled in a single wad. Some are exclusively designed for DM while the other ones offer a versatile gameplay with monsters, keys to find and switches to press : BURDETT1.WAD, RIVER.WAD, D2PYMID 1 and 2. I don't want to spoil the surprise but none of them are really worth playing. While offering different themes , all of them feature oversized areas with utilitarian visuals and randomly placed monsters. The exploration aspect is extremly boring since it consists to find a serie of hidden switches. Anyway, those levels still didn't frustrate me but they clearly lack content so there's no reason I would recommand you to playtest them. Of all of them, I think RIVER.WAD was the "crown jewel" among all those maps but by a few margin. I'm not a multiplayer expert but the DM-exclusive maps look even worse. Those just are huge flat lazy labyrinths with absolutely no mecanism. Grade : D (6/20) - From a singleplayer perspective. [2] Kick an imp and he gets pissed! by Paul Noble (2007) Spoiler Quote This is a little level which I made soon after my first couple of deathmatches it originally was intended to mimic the mood and feel of the first doom2 level, but soon after putting half of it down on paper, I had a stunning idea, although it will hoepfully be good for deathmatch it also has a severe sting in the tail for single and coop play. I do not advise coop play as there is really only enough ammo for 1 player and 4 deathmatchers, even then the DMers may come up short. The Dehacked patch is essential for play as single play and coop. It's not so important for DM but it will be annoying for them if the patch isn't implimented. Paul Noble was unhappy to just create a brief map with no content so he decided to create an idiotic dehacked which make the or rather some the imps and zombies 10x more resistant so you have to shoot at least 10 times with your shotgun in order to defeat one imp. Hopefully, there is no BS moment which could make the level unfinishable and I had enough ammo to survive but why? I know mapping tastes are purely subjective but everything has a limit at some point. Also, it's another versatile map so I can't judge about its playability on DM. And this map was made in 1995 , not in 2007 but even time can't forgive this. Grade : F (3/20) - From a singleplayer perspective [3] Dens of Borsippa by Paul Corfiatis (Pcorf) @pcorf (2017) Spoiler Quote A fairly linear map with medium difficultly (not easy for me but easy for experts). All enemies, ammo health, etc have been calculated on the average amounts in MAP23 of Doom 2, D2twid, TNT Evilution, Plutonia and Icarus.wad. The theme is bricks and hellish, but not hellfire. Behind this unique map name hides a traditional mostly subterrean hell map which only use Doom 2's stock textures and the music from Doom 1's E1M8. A custom red sky add a small specific flavor at the end of the map. I don't want to describe myself as an expert but the beginning of this map can be still a bit spicy for unaware experimented players. The few revenants can be effective against a player with low ammo and weak weaponry but the level gradually gets easier as you obtain more potent weapons and find extremly rewarding secrets such as an invulnerability sphere. The cyberdemon which a bit explains the music choice, can be cheesed without difficulty and even without cheesing, dodging his rockets is within the reach of anyone Dens of Borsippa proves that Paul Corfiatis know how to make functional Doom 2-like maps but that's all. My biggest reproach I could do this map is that it didn't make me feel much. I enjoyed the combats with moderation and the visuals, while being quite sharp, are still old hat. Maybe this level lacks a bit memorable gimmick which could that have made it a tad more memorable. In any case, it's still a fine ordinary map. Grade : B- (12/20) I fell in an ugly inescapable pit using the sky as wall textures in JIMMY3.WAD Spoiler 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted May 3, 2023 Omega (1995) by Stone (Eternity) I only decided to download this in the end because it has monsters in single-player and um....you get such joys as being fired upon by a chaingunner in a pit containing a RSK necessary for progression, overly dark rooms with basically zero context or reason and other monsters that aren't too threatening. I suppose the Keen hanging next to the corpse in the yard is a detail, that exists, in this utterly generic fortress DM map, but there's nothing here to speak of. DAC20 (2006) by Erik Alm (From Doom With Love) Who knew that Erik Alm was up for an occasional speedmap after Scythe 2's completion? Not like this had to be a speedmap as according to @Dr. Zin, every participant had a couple of months to make a map. In any case, here is a map that proves sadistic enough to match up with anything from Scythe. What doesn't match up however are the visuals. The plain, brown look of the base is less Scythe and more something from around 2000 with how unpleasing visually it is. However, it also gives no quarter and asks for none. No, it doesn't spring Arch-viles and Pain Elementals at the beginning but it does have chaingunners in at least 3 corners that tore us to shreds the first time. In general, placement feels precise and neat, excepting the ledge below the exit that's very easy to miss with the Mancubus and Arachnotron, along with a cell pack placed ever so conveniently. It would probably be wise to head to the corner tower since it contains all sorts of supplies like a Supercharge, although Erik springs a trap of Revenants in incredibly cramped quarters so perhaps it may not matter much if you don't just SS them. But it only gets worst. Past the Mancubi that are an ammo drain but also effective is a narrow hallway with a Cacodemon and a Hell Knight. But soon as the Hell Knight teleports in, we should really run right back into the central room of the beginning and take out the Arch-vile here, though there's little room to hide as well as teleporting hitscanners to make your life miserable. With BK in hand, we push a switch we saw earlier, which raises some bars. Be very careful with the HKs here because once we enter, the closet in the bakc opens, revealing another Arch-vile in painfully close quarters, along with waves of teleporting Imps. You might find it's best to rocket the Imps once we get enough room because the Arch-vile demands aggressive play. After this, we return to the central room again, deal with a pair of Mancubi as well as a Pain Elemental and then, only carelessness will kill us at this point. A classic unknown Alm map, forget the ugly visuals. This is actually pretty fun! 7.5/10 Spoiler Video! 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
Roofi Posted May 4, 2023 Year 2 Month 03 Day 28 I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped. [1] Babylon 6 by Robin Andrews (2018) Spoiler Quote Babylon 6 is not just filled with tons of monsters. The installation itself wants to have you for breakfast. Crushing ceilings, platforms, and deceptive transporters attack you viciously, and trap you for imps to devour! This is a very challenging level, with a lot of secrets, and all of the weapons except the chainsaw. An old 1994 taking place in a green marbled keep with wooden floor and lot of traps. I remembered I died once because of a nasty surprise crusher and indeed, Babylon 6 has several of them. Your goal will be to find a lot of switches in order to unlock doors so you"ll find some keys which allow you to unlock more doors ! Babylon 6 features some content, I took 15 minutes to beat it but all the areas look samey unfortunately and the surprise crushers I mentioned above make the level unnecessary stressful. The happiest moment was when I pressed the exit switch because it's exhausting to always worry about BS crushers. I don't mind unpredictable designs but as many 1994 maps, it's way too random to be justified. It's not like the wad has an oppressive atmosphere. So in the end, which is better, maps where nothing happens or maps with totally random and irrelevant traps? I didn't like this map in any case. Grade : D+ (7/20) [2] The Martian Moon "Phobos" (2005) Quote DOOM Trivia! What the heck is a "Phobos" anyway? The Martian moon "Phobos" photographed by the Viking probe, July 20, 1976, and available on the Media Clips(tm) CD-ROM, (c)Copyright Aris Entertainment, Inc., 1991-1992. 640x480 JPG format image. Well it's just a picture of Phobos and I reproach to ID's team to make it more thrilling than it actually is. No demon, no tech-base, just a large stone floating at the middle of nowhere. Also, while the picture is dated from 1976, the PCX file inside the zip was lastly modified in 2076. I recommand you to google Phobos in order to have better quality pictures of it. [3] WICKED'S DEATHMATCH ARENA by Doug Frei (\/\/icked) (1996) Spoiler Quote No story, no rules, just kill !!! A simple, flat and square dumbell-shaped arena where its description could fit with 99% of doom wads. The green carpet and the wooden wall make the areas cozy. I think I prefer to relax in this place instead of killing. I have no one to kill afterall. [4] Maximum Carnage! by Doug Bora (1995) Spoiler A reimagination of Doom 2's map 01, both designed for singleplayer and DM. The brown textures are more present and more varied than in the original map but I still recognize the landmark sections such as the grassy outdoor area, the corridors leading to separated sections or the hidden RL's closet which can be opened after landing on a sector. It was enjoyable but way too short for a stand-alone release. I'm sure the original Entryway was a bit longer. Grade : C+ (10,5/20) - From a singleplayer perspective. I lost the duel against the cyber in WARHAVEN.WAD Spoiler 2 Quote Share this post Link to post
ICID Posted May 4, 2023 (edited) Pigeye 3.0 (1998) by Sparkle Tom Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2 This isn't the most clever map - it mostly takes place around a few large, jagged, not all that aesthetically pleasing arenas with monsters placed almost at random, and the really badly-arranged MIDI version of "Tuesday Afternoon" sets completely the wrong tone while also wearing on your patience. But this old map still packs a punch - proper routing is essential if you want to survive the hot start on UV and it took me multiple tries to find the best path. Pigeye makes you work for all of your weapons in a way I found satisfying without being frustrating, has well-balanced ammo and health pickups, and gives you over 400 monsters to overcome without ever feeling too slaughter-y (although I personally love slaughter.) Overall the combat is just leagues above most other WADs from the decade in both difficulty and satisfaction. A true hidden gem if you ask me. Good secret fight too. Grade: 7/10 WOP Hall of Monsters (1994) by Baluk Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2 Very dark, very brown, and very bad. I'm glad the author included a demo or I never would have figured out how to get out of the first room (spoiler: you have to press a brown slice of wall that looks exactly the same as every other brown slice of wall.) Even then I never found the plasma or rocket weapons that must exist considering how much ammo there is for them, but it doesn't matter because you can easily run through the entire level using the two invulns provided. The two spiders in the screenshot above spawn paralyzed inside each others' boundary boxes, and that was probably the most interesting part of the whole level. The "WOP" in the title appears to refer not to the slur but to a group made up of this Baluk fellow, someone named Bob, someone named Cortex, and someone named Miq. I think it's an acronym for something but I couldn't find what. Grade: 2/10 Edited May 4, 2023 by ICID forgot the link to the second wad 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
brick Posted May 4, 2023 Brick | 1 wad | 32 maps Adventure| 3 wads | 47 maps 32in24 IV: CAPTURE THE FAG (2007) by The 32in24 team. 32 CTF Boom-compatible maps for Doom II. Toured with Zandronum. All I could think of when I saw the title was that this is not what I wanted to roll for a landmark post. Once I started looking around the maps I could ignore the juvenile tone, there's some genuinely great level design in there. I initially started playing with GZDoom but it didn't recognize the CTF-specific things, so I switched to the latest Zandronum to get rid of the question marks and get nicer screenshots. As to be expected the map quality is variable, but even running through all 32 maps back to back each one still felt fresh, the sheer variety is impressive. Some maps are small and would immediately pit the 2 sides against each other in probably non-stop fighting. Others are more expansive, with potentially multiple approaches to each base to keep defenders on their toes (everything is completely symmetrical though, I don't think one side ever has a layout advantage). Some get very creative with the ways to get in and out of bases, including switches to open doors or lower lifts way too far to allow the user to reach, so you'd have to time your presses with a teammate all the while doing the usual coordination and shooting. The contrasting blue/red that comes with CTF makes for some great visuals in maps (I tried taking pictures of each equally but I guess my bias for the more vibrant red came out in spite of my efforts). The level of detailing in some of the maps impressed me for something done in such a short time, especially since the wad was released almost immediately following the mapping session - no extra weeks or even days to polish the layout. The soundtrack is the usual grab bag of tracks from other games, a few of Prince's own Doom tracks moved around, and MIDI renditions of classic rock or pop songs (I admit the targeted use of Britney's Toxic got a chuckle). Every time I roll a multiplayer wad I know I'm not giving it its due since I'm not playing it as intended, but as with here I'm often glad to go through in tourist mode and admire the craft on display. Spoiler 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
Walter confetti Posted May 4, 2023 WOP Hall of Monsters by Baluk/WOP - Vanilla Doom 2, SP, 1995, played with Eternity "forseti" 4.0.2 Spoiler Oh fancy, a map by some... racist people against Italians, i guess? While the Wop adjective make think about this, i don't get the Baluk nick... A fast search on google gives a town in Afghanistan and a regional theatrical piece from Trentino Alto-Adige where the people living acts like stupid for a curse on their village, named Baluk. But i don't think is this the case, and if this is the case, how this guy knows about a regional theatre play? Eh, i don't even started to talk about the map itself and i found something weird to write about... Anyway, the map itself is not completely bad, have some nice design choices that make me think of original Doom 2 hell maps but it's been ruined for being probably broken due that a door doesn't open for some reasons, a mostly monothematic and kinda boring texturing. Also this map is very, VERY easy due to the large amount of megaspheres, soul spheres and a pair of invuln spheres against 28 enemies including a spider mastermind at the map end in HMP. Overall, a ok map made by some probably despicable people. (Also, i tough more of the WOP WOP thing Psy do in Gangnam Style at first lol) The Crusader Vaults Pt.1 by Mort - Vanilla Doom 2, SP, 1996, played with Eternity "forseti" 4.0.2 Spoiler Another anonymous brown stone place similar to the previous entry, with some nice design choices like small decorations and the main room design is neat, i don't like the teleports and the damaging floor everywhere gimmick, a pretty mirrored layout, some cool puzzle segments in theory but practically are pretty boring, quite more monsters than the previous map (98 monsters in HMP) but most part of the enemy rooster are annoying specters. Weird that nobody have ever cared to give a small review to this in legacy \idgames, expect a nameless 0 vote. Another pretty generic map. Vermilion by Robby DeCandia aka: @r_rr - Zdoom compatible, Doom 2, SP, 2007, played with GZDoom 4.10 Spoiler 3 short maps sets in hell, looks amateurish in design but have lots of zdoom effects, MAP02 is the best looking of the 3, the start reminds me of consoles version of Hell Keep. The levels are kinda easy but slighty dull to play, the layout fells pretty 1994-ish with some nice stuff in it. All levels uses a sector square skybox for sky... weird. New sounds are added, including a pretty 90s (i think to hear this clip used in Dwango or some other 90s compilation wad) sound clip, while taking a gun a voice says "Fucking A!". Random. Also, is the gate in the title screen a mock-up of the Auschwitz gates with the famous divine comedy quote instead of the "work will make you free" infamous motto? 3edgy5me MAP01: The longest of the 3, includes the introduction to our story where the Doomguy and another marine are opening another portal, as usual. And as usual, this opens up to hell, yee. Also, you must be in budget version of Hangar, as you can see by the screenshot and the marine working with you must be trained at the correspondence training camp for lazy marines, since he didn't even move away from a corpses wave that kills him while shouting "bro shut it down!". This is glorious. After this, you enter in the hellish dimension that is actually well crafted despite the raw design. Lots of small cutscenes, little zdoom tricks but very few ammo at the second half of the map. Descent into DIs and reach the next hell circle. MAP02: You entered in the arid, creepy place of the Garden of Tears, where you face some semi-invisible arachnotrons, a baron plus some imps and a spider mastermind. Defeat mommy spider and you can progress until facing... the icon of sin with echo-like modified voice effect? Already? The icon of sin fight feels pretty clunky in the small arena without a yellow skull key (at least, i didn't find it) to progress, i had to noclip and shoot at [surprise item] to complete this. A pretty fast and straightforward map. MAP03: The final map start at the exposed remains of the previously defeated icon of sin (pretty Devilution-like scenario, iirc that megawad was in the works from even that years) where the trashed demonic wall reveals a series of bright textured cavern that leads to a boring looking arena with nukage at the top of it where you'll been annilathed by... something. It's pretty much unknown understand what the hell is this fuzzy thing, the ghost of the dumbest marine ever at the start of your adventure? A stickman figure? Whatever is ithis thing, do your real best to stay away from this guy: your life will be drained in matter of seconds, no matter where you go. If you can beat him, a small cutscene reveals that there will be not a sequel to Vermilion (gg, k, thanks) and that the author has been scared to life because he really saw the Vermilion flame... 4spooks6me Overall, it's another series of acceptable maps with some pretty good usage of scripting and cutscenes despite the amateurish approach and some nice design here and there. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted May 4, 2023 (edited) Hell Run - Another Release from Run Like Hell (1996) Hellrun is a 1996 E2 replacement that never won any awards but has a not-entirely infamous reputation. It's author Jonathan Jordan was also part of a team that did a partial conversion called Run Like Hell, which he seems to have been piggybacking off if. Anyway, this really isn't a half-bad episode at all, barring the first map that was probably made at least a year before this episode's release since it's a) has the layout of a string and b)suffers from typical mid-90s mapping jitters not worth relating here. What is worth relating is that Jordan actually has a pretty good command of detailing. I really like how he uses bright red and COMPBLUE together to create some striking locations. Level layout as a result tends to be fairly complex, and you'll probably get lost spend a fair bit of time in most of the maps here. It's all good though. While certainly more difficult then the original E2 with a more unfriendly layout especially in the second to last map, it's not exactly at the scale of Thy Flesh Consumed. Many Doom wads have disappointing secret maps, and while it's debatable if this one it's fun, it does have a seriously unique and trippy mechanic of raising and lowering flesh walls in one paticular area, along with several accessible closets. Not exactly fun to move around in, but a secret map this most certainly is. Stuff does start to slacken off near the end, and design starts feeling a little bit lazier. Still, this is solid classic DOOM action 7.5/10 Labyrinth of reckless thoughts (1995) by Gereon P.J. Meuser (Zandronum, Eternity) It's not a bad paint-logo'd TITLEPIC. At the same time, it's boring and dull both visually and design-wise. Wolf 3D bricks suck, don't use them. It's probably marginally better for deathmatch but is claustrophobic enough, things would not be fun for long. Carbon Dioxide (2020) by @jacnowak (From Doom With Love) A kind of ugly and...older-styled map that's still kind of fun. There are plenty of supplies, along with some perimeter facilities around what appear to be a town. Too bad we didn't feel like finding the red key after missing it whoknowswhere. Action at least remains constant until then though. More Revenants than you can bottle up, quite a few Arch-viles as well if well-placed, and I was lucky to find a rocket launcher early on....unlike the SS as it happens. I have no more to say, mainly because I'm out, but there is a nice little trap with Revenants and a Baron near the far south end. Spoiler 7.5/10 vid Edited May 4, 2023 by LadyMistDragon 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
ICID Posted May 5, 2023 The Crusader Vaults --- Part 1 (1996) by Mort Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2 An infuriating little headache of a map that reminded me of Xbox Doom's infamous "Betray"...but it might actually be even worse? Perfect for anyone who loves mandatory hurtfloors, teleporter puzzles, identical brown boxy rooms, ammo starvation, confusing progression, killing pain elementals with the basic shotgun, and spectres. SO many spectres, bumping you into the hurtfloors and teleporters, eating what precious little ammo you've been given. Did not finish. Life's too short. Grade: 1/10 The Octagon (1996) by Al Howe Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2 Technically the full title of this map is "of Level 1 The Octagon Copyright @1996 by Al Howe" but no way was I writing that out. This level is indeed a big, seemingly Dead-Simple-inspired octagon absolutely crammed with monsters, which despite the text file's promise of a challenge can be beaten oddly quickly - run to one end to get a red key (and the map's sole secret), then run to the other end and use it to exit; takes less than a minute. I guess it's because the map was supposedly designed for deathmatch first - I doubt it would be much fun for that, considering it's just an empty circle with a couple lifts. Surprisingly, the level also has two other maps not mentioned on /idgame. "The Living Level" promises an experience you have to "play to believe" with incredible aesthetics, but just looks like any other cramped techbase. First time I played through I thought it didn't have any monsters - turns out it does, but they're all hidden in teleport closets that never trigger (or which I was able to line skip?) It's not good either, is what I'm saying - and it's way too cramped and convoluted with way too many key doors for Deathmatch. Certainly not helped by the Yakkety Sax MIDI that never has been and never will be funny. The untitled MAP03 is probably my favorite of the three - it's a Doomcute spaceship with a really tinny MIDI of the Star Wars theme. Not good either, but I'm a sucker for space themes and at least the combat isn't brutally unfair or literally nonexistent - just chaingun down a couple zombies and revenants, no big deal. I also don't think it would be much good for Deathmatch, but that seems to be the theme of this self-proclaimed set of "Great Deathmatch Levels". Grade: 2/10 All Resurrecting Archvile mod (2014) by scifista42 Play Settings Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 4 An absolutely terrifying vanilla-compatible mod that lets Arch-Viles resurrect Lost Souls, Pain Elementals, Cyberdemons, Masterminds, Keens, and other Arch-Viles. I took it through a little bit of Plutonia (of course) to make sure it works. I'm glad this exists - seems like the kind of thing somebody ought to have made - but it goes without saying that this will absolutely break the balance of most WADs. Would be cool to see someone make some maps specifically designed for this kind of Super Arch-Vile - imagine the horror players would experience the first time they encountered one. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
Hazel-Rah Posted May 5, 2023 Computer Base | cbase.wad released in 2009 by Pex - Plutonia IWAD, played on GZDoom on Hurt Me Plenty difficulty A short but nice enough map. According to the txt file this is inspired by Entryway and is supposed to be the first level of a megawad. Unfortunately this megawad does not seem to have materialized. Hopefully the author is still creating Doom maps because this is a fairly solid opening map. You mostly fight zombiemen and imps, as to be expected. This map has some really nice user-created textures for switches and such which gives off a Doomcute vibe to me, and I always appreciate that. The layout is sadly a bit confusing (to me, anyways. I could probably just easily have missed a door or secret wall, hah.) so I was unable to get all secrets and kills, but still had a fun time going through it. Rating - 3/5 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted May 6, 2023 (edited) Custom Glock18 (2005) by Luis "DuduCrazy" Eduardo A little weapon mod created for the unofficial ZDoom port of one Graf Zahl. The sprite doesn't seem to change in newer versions though so this was nearly a complete waste of time, besides speeding up the chaingun. Would've been nice in the next wad though. Temple of Blood (2001) by John Wantland (Crispy Doom) This map does show lots of promise early on. However, despite the impressive use of hell visuals amidst a former 10 Sectors map, it quickly generates into ammo-starved repetition that grows all the worst once we enter the flesh wing, which eventually leaves to a darkened cave wing. Which I didn't get very far in because that's where ammo got too tight, thanks to the presence of a mixed spectre/pinkie pack, with any chainsaw/berserk being hidden away in a secret. This one gets 1/10, near total trash. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Video here! (I had to restart twice btw) Edited May 6, 2023 by LadyMistDragon 2 Quote Share this post Link to post
brick Posted May 6, 2023 Brick | 4 wads | 2 maps Adventure| 7 wads | 49 maps MAYhem 17: The Lost Levels Resources (2020) by Forli. 1 SP map, Boom-compatible for Doom II. Played with GZDoom As you can guess from the screenshots, MAYhem 17 was the one with the Super Mario theme. Apparently the authors or organizers had planned an addon pack with additional resources and new maps to make use of these. At least one demo map was made by @Forli to showcase all the cool stuff. I guess at some point the project got cancelled, but one of the authors (unclear who) didn't want the work to go to waste, so they repackaged all of the assets from the original project and the addon, threw in Forli's map, and uploaded this pack to idgames. I haven't played the main release, and I admit I'm not likely to. I had the same problem with this as with MAYhem 2018 (the only one I played): I found the combat too hard. It's not slaughter, but you still need to get a cyberdemon to infight with some nobles on a tiny platform where eating a rocket means falling means certain death. MAYhem 17, or least this map, does wear the Mario theme much better than 2018 did the Pokemon one (honestly, that one barely tried). The palette and the new textures look very cool. I was disappointed that the main bestiary is unchanged but there are subtle changes like the imp fireballs, and all the item replacements are very fitting. There is one new enemy, a Bowser boss, who has a lot of health and kicked my ass because once he locks on you his mancubus fireballs come out non-stop (the archviles running around don't help, though getting Bowser to kill everyone for you is easy and very satisfying). My favourite change, and one the map uses ingeniously, is the lMario flower used as a spring to actually make you jump from platform to platform, I love it when Dehacked gets creative like this. Between the combat and the of course ubiquitous platforming I'm not sure I want a whole megawad like this, but playing just the one map was delightful. Spoiler Doom face -> Man version 2.1 (2005) by Simon Howard "Fraggle". Once in a while I roll something and I really wonder, "but why". This is exactly what it says, it changes the face on the status bar into the Doomguy sprite that you only see in multiplayer (or in the Doom II endgame cast call). It's supposedly meant more for multiplayer, because then it shows you in whatever colour you actually are, but I don't see how this is ever useful. The real problem is that this removes functionality, there's no deterioration with low health, which is the reason I always liked the Doom status bar: it's a visual cue at the edge of my field of vision that it's time to prioritize finding health. Losing this and gaining nothing in return makes the whole mod pretty pointless. Spoiler Greatwad (2014) by Memfis. 1 SP map for Doom II vanilla. Played with GZDoom I keep rolling small @Memfis maps, and looking at how many he released in 2014 alone it's maybe not surprising. This one is very short and very simple, maybe too much so. The only enemies are zombies, imps and a couple of demons, almost all of them dispatched with the shotgun. There's no SSG, there's a secret RL but it's frankly not very usable. But the map is good-looking, and more importantly the architecture and the layout are very well done, with a great sense of verticality. It's almost a shame combat doesn't make use of it, but I like to see it positively: as a short and easy map this one's great, a perfect 5-minute break when that's all you want or have time for. Spoiler hvoices (1995) by Penalty Shot Somehow all this time I missed that D'Sparil and the Disciples speak English recorded backwards, just like the Icon. Way way back someone made inverted recordings and uploaded them to idgames, and here it is. And of course the phrases are already transcribed on the wiki and I just never noticed them there either. There are only 2 sound clips for each, and I doubt this'll be very exciting for most of you, but I admit I was happy to finally hear what they really say. Yes, I'm easily entertained. 5 Quote Share this post Link to post
thelamp Posted May 6, 2023 decided to play some of the event rolls: WOP Hall Of Monsters by Baluk/WOP | Doom II, 1994 and The Crusader Vaults---Pt.1 by Mort | Doom II, 1996 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
Roofi Posted May 6, 2023 Year 2 Month 03 Day 29 I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped. [1] Man Trap Ver. #2 All bugs fixed by Chris Espinosa (1996) Spoiler Quote Watch where you step...it may be your last. You find yourself in a training facility where all good soldiers go...to die? To escape, you will need your wits and strength (plus good shooting) to live to tell about it. There are teleporters, secret passages and plenty to kill. Just watch your ammo. The secret to escape lies in the bones. Find it and you just might survive to another day. Don't...and you'll just be S.O.L. This Ultimate Doom map with 1994-ish visuals is supposed to be a training facility. Why not afterall !In any case, Man Trap turns out to be a fun shooting gallery with lot of weak foes to kill and goodies to pick up. The author put the emphasis on close-quarter combats since most of the layout is made of crampy rooms and corridors. It could be a reproach but I like how the monster density remains pretty high so I never felt bored in this map, except after obtain the red key , when you have to find the well-hidden blue key. The aesthetics look garbage compared to today standards and even 1996's one but I like the intricate layout with many areas to explores in a rather condensated layout. So, Man Trap didn't amaze me but the author knew how to make entertaining combats with the restricited UD's bestiary. Grade : B- (11,5/20) I stop here for today. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted May 6, 2023 Ebola.wad (1995) by John Jankowski (Crispy Doom) Progression is garbage, texturing is ugly and switches themes with zero rhyme or reason, or the Cyberdemon trap in the slime-flooded fortress wis entirely unfair and getting past him is too much a matter of luck. Also, the plasma rifle in the same corridor is pointless, the Arch-vile is basically bereft of any sort of threat and the red key is entirely pointless unless we want a shitty secret and nearly-as-worthless BFG. John says this map can also be played in multiplayer, but really, why wpould anyoe bother? 1/10 Spoiler Spoiler Video here! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post
ICID Posted May 6, 2023 The Definitive T_DUNNxx.WAD Series - For Doom (1997) by Travers and Alister Dunne Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, pistol starts Source Port: Crispy Doom Few Doomers can boast the resume of Travers "Hobbes" Dunne, a more-than-25-year veteran of the mapping scene who's almost guaranteed to have contributed to at least one thing you love. This set includes everything he made between 1994 and 1997 for Doom 1 that he felt was release-worthy, and was released the same time as two other sets for Doom 2 and Heretic. Props to him for waiting until the maps were actually release-ready before putting them out instead of just dumping them on /idgames like so many other first time mappers. As for the WAD itself, it's pretty good! I was quite worried when I started the first map and saw endless generic STARTAN, and it's true that aesthetically these have a long way to go, but combat-wise they're a decent slice of what we now call The Way Id Did-style mapping. Combat is well balanced and throws loads of juicy hitscanners and imps into your shotgun, sometimes hidden above or behind walls to give the Doom 1 bestiary more of a fighting chance. E2M5 is the clear standout in my mind - a huge complex where you must smartly ration radsuits as you find keys and weapons. I was also amused by the novelty of E2M9 - a monster-free secret level with the full complement of weapons and ammo, less a true level than a reward for players who find it (and probably a decent Deathmatch map as well.) Sometimes when I see a 90s WAD with great promise I'm like "I wish this author had stuck around to develop their style further." I'm happy that, in this case, we actually got to see that happen. Grade: 7/10 Vermilion (2007) by Robby "r_rr" DeCandia Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, continuous Source Port: GZDoom An early Zdoom WAD that plays all the hits - cutscenes, particle effects, weird sound replacements, invisible monsters, swimming, typo-ridden chat messages, the works. I have a certain nostalgic fondness for this era of mapping because it's when I really started getting into the WAD community but this is not a great example of it - combat swings wildly between extremely frustrating and totally ignorable and the occasionally effective spooky atmosphere is undercut by silly sound effects, like Doomguy saying "fuckin' A" in an Australian accent whenever you pick up a new gun. The worst part is definitely the final boss, a superpowered spectre called "The Darkness" that kills you with a touch and moves too fast to outrun. Its speed seems to be an error - you're supposed to walk into the boss arena and trigger a spooky message from The Darkness before it starts chasing you, but it runs so fast that you'll have to fight it in the hallway if you're going legit. I cheated, because screw that, and got a final cutscene where the author's ghost says he committed suicide after gazing into the vermilion flame. You know what to do, Doomworld - I expect an inane 30-page spoiler-filled thread about whether or not this guy actually killed himself on my desk by morning. Grade: 4/10 SOCKHEAD (2016) by (sigh) COCKINTOYOURPUSSY! Play Settings Difficulty: N/A Source Port: GZDoom I think Roofi and I are the only people who actually play Terrywads when they come up in the random file feature - maybe it's due to a misguided sense of honesty, or maybe I actually get kind of a perverse enjoyment out of playing them now that the ones that actively break your computer have been removed from the archive. Either way I was spared this time, because SOCKHEAD.WAD (which was given the fake name "Planet of Hell" to trick people into downloading it) is too poorly coded to function properly with modern GZdoom, as seen above. Maybe it would work if I pulled an old version of Skulltag, which is apparently what it's designed for, but I'm obviously not going out of my way to do that. RESCUE1 (1994) by Thomas Austin III Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: Crispy Doom "I made this game to introduce a new way of thinking about mutliplayer games," the textfile boasts. "They should not just start together but have that 'Rambo III' feel so that you just aren't clearing levels together but achieving an interactive goal that is set before you." A noble goal, albeit one that doesn't have much to do with my recollection of Rambo III. The map itself doesn't quite live up to these ideals - it's a short, very easy straight line. I like a lot of the aesthetic choices, but the experience is held back by technical issues like misaligned textures and monsters that should be fighting you trapped helplessly behind soundproof lines. Also, there's one fewer monster in co-op than there is in singleplayer, which doesn't make much sense to me. Worst of all, this disguises doors as ordinary walls, so pull up your automap if you don't like wallhumping. Despite all that, I honestly had a pleasant time with RESCUE1 - it's too short and too good-looking to get mad about imo. The lengthy story in the textfile also mentions "Mars Marines Delta Squad" - did Doom 3 rip off some guy from North Carolina whose map wasn't even uploaded to /idgames until 2005? The mainstream media will say "obviously not", but I encourage you to do your own research. Grade: 6/10 Stairs3 (1998) by Ed Brown Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: Crispy Doom By far the best part of this WAD is the text file, in which the then-49-year-old Ed Brown shares his PC specs, talks about his kids, and thanks "the boys and girls at id" for making such a swell game. It reminded me of my own great-grandfather, an avid gamer who adored Doom well into old age. When he passed away, the only thing I asked for was his collection of game manuals and strategy guides, which included Duke Nukem 3D, Wolfenstein, Quake, and Blake Stone: Planet Strike! among others. As for the map itself, it's pretty forgettable 90s fare, although combat is nicely varied and Mr. Brown has the decency to give you the SSG early, instantly putting him ahead of most of his younger contemporaries. A broken teleporter in the dark room full of spectres makes the map unbeatable without cheats, and progression is very convoluted, especially since more than half the level doesn't appear on the automap. So I can't really say it's "good". But I enjoyed being reminded of my Great-Grandpa. Wherever Ed is, I hope he's doing well. Grade: 5/10 5 Quote Share this post Link to post
Walter confetti Posted May 6, 2023 (edited) The Definitive T_DUNNxx.WAD series by Travers Dunne - Vanilla Doom, 1994 but compiled and uploaded in 1997, SP, played with Eternity "forseti" 4.0.2 Spoiler A Doom episode made by @traversd, a pretty well known mapper in this times for 1994 tune-up and switcheroom projects as well as many others i don't remember now, this is a compilation of his previously maps for Doom from 1994 until 1997, the general design is strongly reminiscent of Knee-Deep in the Dead and contains a pretty neat use of monsters and puzzles, you really need to be careful to explore every corner of these maps or you'll have the chance to miss something important to the map progression. Lots of verticality is present in this level, making it more varied to look despite the limited textures used. Fells like some Phobos bases been transplanted in Deimos without many demonic interferences due to the pristine, almost clean looks of the maps. E1M3: Neat map that mash-up E1M3 and E1M9, kinda DTWID like, expect for a pair things like the fake exit. Layout is pretty fluid but the secret part in the sewer area is pretty hard to reach and makes it boring for my taste. lots of monsters in lethal hordes roaming trough the cramped hallways of the map. Overall, a fun and neat map. E2M2: Visually not the most beautiful map in the set (especially the start), but have a pretty neat gameplay thanks to the hard map nature map of this level, the secret courtyard is pretty hard to reach, not at the level of E1M3 secret but you have to run for get it. Also, what are matter of that "secret" soulsphere trolling at you in the same place? How can i reach it without noclipping? Also the exit room height is pretty screwed up for some mysterious reason, what happened here? E2M3: Despite the introductory area, this is a episode 1 styled map sets in episode 2, with most inspiration taken from E1M4 and E1M9 mostly, it's the most interconnected map so far, pretty charming but pretty cruel with the sea of nukage surrounding big part of the station. Also be very careful to not miss any zones that reveals when you hit a switch, if you take the wrong path you are pretty much blocked just like me and having no red key. Also, why no marked doors for locked doors? E2M4: A map that fells like a introductory map but sets in E2M4 slot, why? This is a very short, compact and cramped map kinda similar to the previous map, lots of nukage here as well, but the level is more faster and frantic to play. Neat map, but why this wasn't put in E2M1 is beyond me. E2M5: A map with a charming vista to a wide, complex structure flooded by nukage, where bridges rises from the toxic sea and the level is pretty interconnected between the various sections. Unluckily some areas are locked, resulting in escapeless death pits and some mandatory secret items like the red key platform and the exit room, completely unmarked and hide in a "secret" sewer tunnel, why? E2M7: This level is the one that mostly looks like a legit episode 2 map, i imagine this as E2M3 in original Doom. There's a way to reach the secret court at the start of the map? Short and sweet as well, pretty well interconnected. Overall, a pretty neat and fun map. E2M9: A octagonal arena without any monsters made especially for DeathMatch. Nothing to say about this one, it's cool and do it's job. Maybe too ammo for DM play but it's ok. At first, i tought it uses lost souls as monsters, due to boom/eternity don't see lost souls as monsters for some reasons. In conclusion, a pretty neat mapset that feels something that comes out from the original game, have a sort of Fava beans/Dawn of the Dead (the doom episode, not the movie) vibe to it. It feels also pretty inspiring! Worth a play or more! CLIMB_ON.WAD by BTK - Vanilla Doom 2, 1996, SP, played with Eternity "forseti" 4.0.2 Spoiler This is surprisingly a fun map, despite the raw design of it. The level premise is that you have to climb this brown, imposing mountain (that could have used TANROCK that BROWN144 for make it look more natural) until you reach the peak that reveals it's terrifying secret... a web of hell caves joined by human made lifts that descends lower and lower in the hellish pits of the mountain, random prisons locked by rusty metal bars are present as well, what are they try to imprisoning in these caves? The mistery thickens... Different paths are present, both in the mountain (that gives you juicy power-ups and guns) and in the cavern. Now talking of the cavern section, is the most rushed part of the map, despite having large part of the enemies in the map, with a one-way switch that raises you back to the main route and a sector bleeding in one of the column at the first part of the cave, as well as not having many lighting variations. But overall, is a fun map with a interesting gimmick, worth a play! Escape from Phobos Demo by The TLSDM Team (Gothy, Jackass, and Chrono) - Zdoom compatible ports, Doom 2, 2003, SP, played with GZDoom 4.10 Spoiler A really ambitious demo set for a (never released?) Doom 2 episode that will been a prelude to the Doom events in Phobos, the map remakes are pretty good, instead of being just a mere copy of the original maps with new effects added in it, it's something more similar in spirit to the Doom Tribute Project by @alando1, where sections of the original maps are been used as inspiration for a almost original work, the demo itself feels pretty interesting to play and follow, despite few factors of boredom like the un-skippable cutscenes and the grindy starts of Military base remake in that STARTAN hallways, it's a pretty good remake, i really hope that in a way or the other this project was released, it feels like a old time version of Knee-Deep in ZDoom, i pretty enjoyed the cinematic feel of these maps. Edited May 6, 2023 by Walter confetti 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
Roofi Posted May 7, 2023 Year 2 Month 03 Day 30 I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped. [1] Quick And Dirty DeathMatch WAD by Andrew "Dman" Orman (1998) Spoiler Quote This fabulous deathmatch WAD of classic design will suit any family of up to 8 deathmatchers. With hot and cold running nukage and easy access to transport through teleporters, players will find it a joy to live (and die) in. Comes complete with fixtures including weapons and ammunition. Monsters are optional, depending on skill level and taste. A single DM map in a fortified village. As the author indicated, there are optional monsters, but those make the map quite spicy on singleplayer-map. You notably have to kill a roaming cyberdemon and several chaingunners located on the ramparts which have a high shooting range. My strategy to survive was to take the teleporter leading to the four green buildings and camp inside them. It was a pretty entertaining short action scene but I will not give a grade because the author specified it was not designed for singleplayer. I like the old-school visuals as well, which the adjective "dirty" seems a bit too rude. Got instantly burnt by dozen of arch-viles in the troll map Doom monsters: the last fight Spoiler 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted May 7, 2023 fastlane250 vs the roblox administrators (2013) by chesse20 (GZDoom) First off, anyone with a crappy user name like "fastlane250" is one just not bothering with. Second, Roblox drama is something I'm ignorant on, but if it's really as childish as all this, that'll explain why. The square-room layout with ASHWALL borders and some annoying idiots that fire an SS but actually aren't so hard to dodge fail to add anything of substance here. 1/10, because it's actually finishable. Spoiler Destroyer (1995) by Brian Hess (Eternity) DM map on board a frigate, but this was before Goldeneye so don't get any ideas! It's quite snug and probably best for 2 or 3 players, but on the other hand, every weapon is available, probably to show off all the goofy and brute-force sound effects. Curiously, the RL is still the default sound, probably that would top some satirization meter or something. Anyways, kinda fun! Spoiler 2 Quote Share this post Link to post
ICID Posted May 7, 2023 Cooldude (1996) by Guillaume Manders and Dermott Shanahan Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: Crispy Doom Three big flat monotextured rooms with 18 total monsters, including a totally pointless Wolfenstein SS - stick with the ER/iWA long enough and you'll play a thousand maps just like this. Usually they're made by kids, and sure enough Guillaume and Dermott's text file says they were 12 at the time - and also goes well out of its way to let everyone know that they were NOT gay. The 90s were a very special time. Grade: 2/10 Plutocracy (2015) by franckFRAG Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: Crispy Doom This is a very well-made map that just wasn't made for me. I've mentioned before that I don't really like Plutonia, which is a bit odd because I absolutely love the combat puzzle-y slaughter maps it came to inspire. Plutonia has just always struck me as mean-spirited, locking you in small, red n' brown hallways with chaingunners and revenants and pummeling you into submission. This is basically more of that - once you've survived the RNG-based start and figured out where you're supposed to go, you'll be crawling through corridors picking off skeletons under heavy sniper fire as you slowly gain enough weapons to turn the tide. The most obvious Plutonia reference is the upgraded version of MAP16's pillar fight pictured above but you'll feel the inspiration throughout - in every chaingunner bullet, every revenant missile, every brutally unfair arch-vile placement. Franck is a Cacoward winner and a staple of the French mapping community who has contributed to several other Plutonia projects as well, so you can tell he loves this stuff. If you also love this stuff, this map will be a great fit for you - a nasty little slice of Doom The Way The Casalis Did with clever combat puzzles that make you earn every inch of progression. If your tastes are more like mine, though, you might find it more frustrating than not. Grade: 7/10 Fury's Ambush (2005) by Ioan "Ebon" Chera Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: Crispy Doom Quite awful. An E3M8 replacement mostly consisting of an ugly, jagged circle that does not play nice with Doom's collision detection wherein you must slowly poke hitscanners and cacos. Get through that and it's time to fight all three of the Doom bosses with no cover and insufficient plasma. I know most people think Dis is too easy but there's a difference between difficulty and stupidity. Grade: 2/10 Four Corners (1997) by Vine Lupo Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: Crispy Doom This is a big dumb 90s slaughtermap made of square rooms packed with BFG cells and ivulnerability spheres, along with a large number of invisible crushers. Nothing all that interesting or memorable. One thing I find odd: despite loading you up with every other weapon imaginable and cramming what must have seemed at the time like huge numbers of high-tier demons into every room, it still does the common, annoying 90s map thing where it never gives you the super-shotgun, and it still only has one arch-vile. Was the SSG seen as OP? Was the idea of facing more than one Arch-Vile at once too terrifying for anyone other than the Final Doom guys to contemplate? I couldn't tell you what was going through Lupo's head at the time, but I can tell you this: the map is not good. Grade: 3/10 ZOA2 (1994) by CJetSki Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: Crispy Doom Apparently the author's second attempt to build the Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center, codenamed "ZOA", in Doom (the first is no longer on the archives.) I looked up a picture of the building online and I don't see the resemblance at all, but maybe it looked different in the 90s. Leaving that aside, this thing is absolutely choked with hitscanners and impressively incompetent, with misaligned textures, trapped monsters, disconnected walls, and broken doors all over the place. Also I'm pretty sure I sequence broke when one of the many chaingunners let me into a blue key door prematurely. Grade: 3/10 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
Walter confetti Posted May 7, 2023 4 minutes ago, ICID said: Cooldude (1996) by Guillaume Manders and Dermott Shanahan I remember to have played this one as a kid! It was a guilty pleasure type of map, especially for using "Getting too tense", one of the best Doom music track IMO. Doom 2 meets Zdoom by @Unholypimpin - Zdoom compatible ports, Doom 2, 2012, SP, played with GZDoom 4.10 Spoiler A modernized remake of the first 11 Doom 2 maps including lots of detailing and doomcute, zdoom effects like scripting, deep water, DECORATE monsters and many other features, more increased areas as nell as completely new stuff, some remakes are good (like MAP04) and some other not (like MAP02 and it's extensive usage of dark blue deep water areas), but overall it looks like a pretty neat remake. Includes as well a KDiZD-like intermission cutscene. Played until MAP05 start before dropping. funsnd.zip by Steve Huskisson - Vanilla Doom, 1994, Sound replacement mod, played with Eternity "forseti" 4.0.2 A supposedly hilarious sound replacement that actually have nothing of fun in it for my tastes. The only good thing is the dramatic music and the guy saying "IT'S SHOWTIME" it's cool, i must say. Over that is the typical clip used in sound replacement wads from shovelware/early years of mapping. Nothing too groundbreaking. Some sounds are also badly compressed? DEMISE by Nathan Pagliaro - Limit removing ports, Doom, 2016, SP, played with Eternity "forseti" 4.0.2 Spoiler Got a entire megawad that i decided to give a spin until i die in each episode, thing happening fast in this session. And, also if i would have survived more, i will really regret it. This is not a fun level to play, trust me. Every map is sets in boxy rooms like it's coming out as something straight out the 90s, a unfunny feeling while playing and nothing interesting in gameplay or map progression, feels something way too cliche and overseen in all these years. Also, includes weirdly compressed pictures for TITLEPIC, M_DOOM and Doomguy mugshot (must use PNG format instead of being converted in the Doom palette, a thing that takes few seconds in Slade3). Guys, when you make a map remember to test your stuff with something else over than Zdoom (or Zandronum in this case)! Use limit removing (like Crispy Doom) or Boom compatible (like Woof) ports together with your ports of choice, this will really helps you! Anyway, on the maps I've played. E1M1: Actually, this is the one that i liked the most, with it's more orthogonal design in rooms, interconnected areas and good looking areas, it's also a fun map to play! Gameplay it's good. E1M2: This map starts to become more square-ish in layout design and larger in size, but despite this is not really that fun to play. Died by imp fireball. E2M1: A pretty generic map with a slightly interesting starting area, more square layout in a large, almost empty station, a E1M4 room tribute, a nice FIREBLU pentagram (i think) and then i died by a demon chew. E3M1: Great, the starting switch doesn't even want to work, nor by pushing or shooting. Fantastic. Anyway, a easier map from E2M1 sets in a hell temple with slighty interesting design in layout (despite the squareness of it) and gameplay too. Found two stuck zombieman in the starting hall of the temple structure. Died by a pesky lost soul. Overall, a wad that feels too rushed up for having a great thing that in the end revealed to be a wasted opportunity, unluckily, because some ideas are good! 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
ICID Posted May 7, 2023 1 hour ago, Walter confetti said: "Getting too tense", one of the best Doom music track IMO. Hard agree. The MIDI definitely makes it better. Forgot to mention that in my review. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post
brick Posted May 8, 2023 Brick | 1 wad | 6 maps Adventure| 8 wads | 55 maps The Community is Falling 2 (2005) by Kaiser. 6 SP maps for ZDoom, Doom II iwad. Played with GZDoom I wasn't particularly impressed with the first CIF, but this sequel from one year later manages to be even worse. At least the first seemed like it had some work put into it even if everything was plain, bland and boring, but CIF2 leans heavily into the "intentionally bad" design, but I don't see how this can do anything other than emphasize just how bad the wad is. MAP01 is a copy/paste from CIF1 against a dozen of the same pinkie replacements, except they have an HL2 logo on them now. MAP02 is just a cutscene, though it's also the only one that looks like it took more than 5 minutes to make in the editor. It even gave me the impression that there might be something good about the wad, at least until the cutscene kicked in with the I'm sure "intentionally bad" spelling and the usual jokewad string of random slurs and insults. Spoiler MAP03 is an eye-searing gauntlet against a couple hundred super-fast pinkies in a monotextured bunch of wide corridors with nothing of interest. This should come with an epilepsy warning, I'm sure the constant flashing lights will cause trouble to some people. Spoiler MAP04 is more of the same but worse, much much more, and much much worse. It's a bare circular arena, as basic as it can be, with a BFG, more than enough cell ammo, and three thousand of the pinkie sprite replacements. I'm sure some slaughter mappers could take this concept and make something interesting with it, but as done here it's just 10 minutes of utter boredom. Spoiler MAP05 is a boss battle against Gabe, I think the sprites are lifted as-is from Rise of the Triad's Sebastian Kirst. Gabe has one hitscan attack and a ton of health, and the fight is in a small square room with a pillar in the centre. Spoiler MAP06 is just an ending cutscene. Maybe there's a chuckle to be had if you're really into 20-year-old community drama, but I didn't smile once throughout this supposed jokewad. And outside of the humour everything is uniformly awful. My next roll was the Doom 2 Unleashed CP led by Pcorf. I'd love to play it, but I'm not sure I want to sink the time to go through a whopping 40 maps. I'll decided by my next posting. On 5/6/2023 at 5:49 PM, ICID said: I think Roofi and I are the only people who actually play Terrywads when they come up in the random file feature Yeah, sorry. I'll play DM maps, I'll try out mods or cosmetic replacements, I'll read FAQs or specs, I'll test out utilities, but ever since I played (well, tried to play) UAC Military Nightmare, terrywads have been an instant nope when I roll them (and it seems to happen often...). Jokewads are the closest I'm allowing myself, and even with these I think I've regretted every one. I commend you for your patience, but I'm glad those script errors saved you from whatever horrors Sockhead had in store. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
ICID Posted May 8, 2023 Makes perfect sense! To be clear, the line about Terrywads was intended to be a joke at my own expense. Our official rules specifically say you're allowed to skip everything that isn't a functioning singleplayer mapset for the source port and game of your choice. Heck, when I'm not choosing things for the official thread I myself often skip multi-map WADs just in the interest of playing a wider variety of things in the limited time I have for Doom. Of course most people are going to want to skip the very worst WADs that exist, especially when they come with deeply offensive content and a potential risk to your computer. I just personally think playing Terrywads is funny / interesting :) I believe the only person here who actually runs every single thing the random file feature puts in front of them is Roofi, and let's face it: these adventures are Roofi's world, we're just living in it. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
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