The DWmegawad Club plays: The Rebirth

dobu gabu maru · June 1, 2023

What is the DWmegawad Club?

This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

Can I join?

Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

What levels am I allowed to post about?

Whatever day of the month it is, is the upper limit for the map you can post on. So if it’s the 6th, you may discuss up to MAP06.

Do I have to post an entry every day?

Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

When do we vote on the next month’s megawad?

Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example:

+++ Ultimate Doom

Note that you can vote for up to three separate nominations in a single month, and every wad must contain at least three maps each. The winning nomination must receive at least four votes for a thread to be made. Ties will be decided by RNG.

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>>>DOWNLOAD THE REBIRTH HERE<<<

Ding ding! Vader’s debut, one-man-megawad The Rebirth by Vader is the next official Club stop! The maps here are short and punchy, promising a good time that won’t overstay its welcome. Also, remember to download the Rebirth MIDI Pack to add some awesome new tunes by some veeeery talented musicians!

Maplist:

MAP01 - “Operator”

MAP02 - “Outer Base”

MAP03 - “Paranoya”

MAP04 - “Sewage”

MAP05 - “The Complex”

MAP06 - “Colossus”

MAP07 - “Cremation”

MAP08 - “Pumping Station”

MAP09 - “The Depot”

MAP10 - “The Machine”

MAP11 - “Teleport Center”

MAP12 - “Home?!”

MAP13 - “Condemned Streets”

MAP14 - “The Undertown”

MAP15 - “Ugly Halls”

MAP31 - “Snowed-in Mansion”

MAP32 - “Zoo”

MAP16 - “The Musty Ones”

MAP17 - “Xenophob”

MAP18 - “Death Pit”

MAP19 - “House of Pain”

MAP20 - “The Gateway”

MAP21 - “River of Flames”

MAP22 - “Withered Fields”

MAP23 - “Dark Arena”

MAP24 - “Hall of Despair”

MAP25 - “The Tower”

MAP26 - “Burning Canals”

MAP27 - “Wired Hive”

MAP28 - “Netherworld”

MAP29 - “The Abyss”

MAP30 - “Hell’s Innards”

BONUS CONTENT

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OLD THREADS

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The DWmegawad Club Metathread

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2023

RHhe82 · June 1, 2023

Oomph, I think I promised not to join this month… but coincidentally I started Rebirth a few weeks ago and left it hanging at MAP05 because of priority wads. I suppose it wouldn’t be too much a hassle and keep on clubbing this month as well :P

LoatharMDPhD · June 1, 2023

HMP 2:20 100% finished with 50 HP and a pocket full of shells. No Deaths. // Little too short a map but it is only 01... Paddock Midi is nice and punchy...

Edited June 1, 2023 by LoatharMDPhD

Capellan · June 1, 2023

MAP01

HMP continuous no music, as always.

Feels more like a showcase of the new zombie graphics and amped up pistol than a real level, as the actual map is just a few boxy rooms. It's functional enough stuff, though. I expect there will be more ambition later, but for the early maps at least I'll probably record a few at a time, going forward..

Devalaous · June 1, 2023

Oh hey, I was about to make a integrated widescreen+midipack patch for this tomorrow. What timing!

Pechudin · June 1, 2023

Might actually join for this one, but not with a video unless the level really merits it.

Walter confetti · June 1, 2023

Wait.... Aren't was played already this megawad in the club?

dobu gabu maru · June 1, 2023

15 minutes ago, Walter confetti said:

Wait.... Aren't was played already this megawad in the club?

It wasn't, believe it or not! Perhaps you're thinking of Revolution? Revilution? Reloaded? Resurgence? Requiem? Reverie?

Catpho · June 1, 2023

Have fun playing this. It's a collection of short, sharp blasts, and while the sophistication of later-day Vader isn't too present, it makes it up with immediacy. Do heed the heads up from kmx about playing continuously if ammo starts becoming an issue on UV, lest you deal with some really peculiar pistol starts.

RHhe82 · June 1, 2023

2 hours ago, Catpho said:

Have fun playing this. It's a collection of short, sharp blasts, and while the sophistication of later-day Vader isn't too present, it makes it up with immediacy. Do heed the heads up from kmx about playing continuously if ammo starts becoming an issue on UV, lest you deal with some really peculiar pistol starts.

This doesn’t so inviting - old wads seem to be often designed for continuous. Or perhaps this is a good time to try continuous for a change, having been so accustomed to pistol starts.

Edited June 1, 2023 by RHhe82
Typo D:

Al-Faris M · June 1, 2023

MAP01 - Operator

^{UV - Pistol start - Crispy Doom - Played with The Rebirth Midi Pack}

Operator is an OK starting level, it introduces you to the new zombieman sprites. The secret areas are easy "find the suspicious wall" type. There's a little bit of a challenge when you encounter the first 2 shotgunners, but other than that, it's a mediocre and not-so-special starting map.

Edited June 1, 2023 by Al-Faris M

DJVCardMaster · June 1, 2023

Sadly, no Claustrophobia 1024 this month, but maybe the next one. Luckly, we still have short maps to give a go, with The Rebirth, which is nothing more than a set of maps in a pretty classic style, made by an author that has been long gone in the mapping scene, and did not deliver in quantity, but surely in quality.

Rebirth1.wad - The Rebirth - Björn "Vader" Ostmann (Credited as Bobjet):

Here we give a mapset of short maps in an oldschool style, that will totally feel like an expansion pack for Doom II made by American McGee and others, your classic Doom II's gameplay and stuff, squarey rooms, simple layouts, simple encounters. Simple, just like the old days. I would have loved playing this while younger, as at that time, I did not care about over-detailing, cool tricks, conveyor-belt sequences, and the urge to give a map a Cacoward, a dunce-cap, or its 30-seconds of fame on Tik Tok or cringy social media.
Vader teases his megawad as a "total" conversion of Doom II, but it is not total, as there are some few new graphics, and one or two replaced sprites and sounds. Not gonna lie, just changing the sound of the pistol and chaingun makes me feel 10 times more overpowered. That's why chaingunners feel so lethal. Try replacing their sounds with the player's chaingun sound and you will see how lame they will feel.
We are up to a fun month as these set of maps will not take you longer than 10 minutes to play and review. At least for the first bunch I've played.

MAP01 - Operator (100%K/100%I/0%S):

Your basic starter map, squarey, totally Doom II, nothing new in any department apart from the funny zombiemen without heads, now it has a little bit more sense that they are totally braindead and can't aim you a single bullet. Everything is basic, aswell as the secrets, which are just "suspicious" walls here and there you will need to hump. This is not implying that's easier to find though, as I like to play in ports with bad resolution, and the lowest gamma possible and without my glasses, as I'm a poor guy that always breaks them. So you can imagine me being a mole, trying to escape these maps.
There are two rooms that are nearly identical, and that is something that we are going to see a lot, in the future: repeating rooms.
Innofensive, leaves you the desire to play more than one map, and that's what I did, but let's talk about that tomorrow.

(UV Playthrough - Crispy Doom)

Book Lord · June 1, 2023

MAP 01 – Operator

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continuous, blind run w/saves

I was not following the Doom PWAD scene in 2003, but with ground-breaking efforts like Alien Vendetta released to the community, I would have thought twice before using Operator as the first map of The Rebirth. It was clearly a beginner’s work, consisting of three squared rooms with a few closet ambushes, good to get acquainted with the headless Former Humans, still able to groan and scream as usual, and the exaggerated sound of the pistol, replaced by the loud shotgun blast without the pump action. I can see where Vader was getting at with the replacement, and my dislike for the Doom pistol sound is so profound that I welcome this small change.

Spoiler

1004343843_Rebirth1MAP01.jpg.1b89c3969b7b430d3a4b48012aa63bc4.jpg

The map contained three secrets, offering a useless Light Amplification Visor, a box of ammo, and a chainsaw for continuous players. Operator was probably kept because it held sentimental value to the author, maybe it was the first map he ever created. I cannot see another reason to have it as an opener for a 32-map megaWAD, as it did not show anything the mapper was capable of. At least, it did not last more than two minutes.

Edited June 1, 2023 by Book Lord

RHhe82 · June 1, 2023

Okay, okay, I think this is my third month in a row, but it's only one map, and I know for a fact that at least the first handful are short. Apparently pistol starts are not necessarily advised, but I'll go with it anyway. I understand in late 90s / early 00s continuous plays were very much more the assumed and intended way of playing than it is nowadays, but hopefully the challenge is not as tuned up as per modern standards. We'll see.

MAP01: Operator. Played on DSDA v0.26.0, UV, PS. 29/29 K, 3/3 S, 9/9 I. Comp. time 2:13

First of all: I'm using the midipack, and the first track is a standout piece of music. Also bittersweet: I had used in my WIP miniwad when my laptop crashed and I had no backups. This music seems to beg me to get back to mapping.

Unfortunately the map is short, so I don't get to listen to it too much :-D 'Operator' is very Doom 2 -like (or perhaps even TNT-like) first map: brown techbase with small grey rock outside area. The design is 90s type of rectangular, but I don't mind, because the map itself is perfectly capable oldsk00l MAP01. The pistol sound switch is very disorienting, I'm very afraid of the headless pistol zombies, because the sound more dangerous than they actually are. I had played the first five maps a few weeks ago, and I clearly remember not getting over the sound effect.

Decent map, elevated by the midipack.

Celestin · June 1, 2023

Woof!, -cl2, pistol-start with saves, blind

I mostly recognise Björn "Vader" Ostmann from his work in the Back to Saturn X series, specifically The Theory of Broken Circles, an interlocking, non-linear epic that happens to be one of my favourite maps of Episode 2. Visiting his debut work, a full 32-map megawad called The Rebirth, might be an interesting insight into his evolution as a mapper.

I'm also using a community-made MIDI pack, as it seems The Rebirth uses mostly stock soundtrack.

MAP01: Operator

Spoiler

woof0000.png.fe86e98dcb29a547ef6128d1aa164ac7.png

The Rebirth starts in a compact techbase. It's very dark, but you can find an easy secret with a light amp visor - it's up to you whether you prefer looks or visibility. Lighting (or the lack of thereof) aside, this is a pretty basic map, populated by imps and hitscanners. Aside from a headless zombiemen, there is little of note here.

I wouldn't be surprised it this was the very first map Vader made. Everyone have to start somewhere, so I won't be harsh. In the end, Operator is short and inoffensive. From here on, you can only improve.

Goody · June 1, 2023

Yes!!! I've been meaning to play this for a while and now that I have some free time this summer I can participate!

EDIT:

Ran through the first level real quick. Because it is real quick. I am playing with the MIDI pack. I'm using DSDA Doom and playing continuously on UV. Right now I'm on a kick of replaying the IWADs and early megaWADs, so this being from 2003 fits the bill pretty well. I thought I had played this before, but I think I got it confused with another WAD. The headless zombie and new pistol sound were definitely something I hadn't seen before. I'm really looking forward to playing a lot more of this.

Edited June 1, 2023 by Goody

Anarkzie · June 1, 2023

MAP01 - “Operator

I've seen many things in Doom but these headless zombies are up there with the creepiest. Not much of a level but those zombies freaked me out.

Roofi · June 1, 2023

I'm back ! Rebirth is a wad I never played and I can't wait discovering it !

Here's how I play :

- I play on DOSBOX

- Ultra-violence but no max. I will try to find the most secrets possible though.

- I play on pistol-start after discovering the levels on continuous (except for map 01)

- I play without running as much as possible except if it gets too incomfortable.

So,

Map 01 : Operator

A tiny introduction map and I'm sure "Entryway" from Doom II is at least twice bigger in size. The visuals are elementary here but I enjoyed the small traps which each gives a small dose of dopamine, accompanying the upbeat music from the pack.

Fun map.

PS : The headless zombies are a nice touch but I'm especially a fan of the pistol sound's replaced by the shotgun one. It makes the weapon more satisfying to use.

Grade : B- (12/20)

Edited June 1, 2023 by Roofi

cannonball · June 1, 2023

MAP01 - “Operator”

A rather uneventful first map, just a few rooms connected by corridors with very few landmarks that make the likes of Entryway and System Control much better opening maps. Nothing offensive but this has little to offer except for the surprising new look of the Zombiemen.

DJVCardMaster · June 1, 2023

I've already played up to level 12. Breezed through the first third. At least maps are short, But you kind of get bored by the samey-ness.

TJG1289 · June 1, 2023

I wasn't going to participate this month due to me not being sure if I'd have time to do daily levels in the middle of the month, but if these maps are short, then I'll give it a try. I'm still planning on going on vacation for 4 days 2/3 of the way through the month (assuming my friend finally booked the place), so I'll be gone for a little bit, and that week before will be an annoying one at work, so it may sap my energy.

I know absolutely nothing about this WAD. It came out shortly before I started playing custom WADs, but it didn't win a Cacoward so I didn't know about it. Short levels are good for me this month as mentioned above. I don't know much about Vader outside of the BTSX maps.

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map01: Operator

100% kills and secrets

Time: 1:48

Yup, this was short. I don't have much to say about it. The headless zombies are a nice change, but I don't know why the pistol sound was changed to share the shotgun's. The wall that opens to reveal imps in the toxic waste room looked like a secret to me, so I had to do some precarious platforming over to it to find out it wasn't one. The actual secrets were nice, but the light amp seems pointless. This is Vader's first release, so it makes sense that this map would be the work of a beginner. It's fine, but not memorable. I really like this new intermission screen illustration tho!

Devalaous · June 1, 2023

Rebirth quality of life patch

Adds widescreen graphics by @Quill, integrates the midipack, has custom obituaries and cast call stuff for the three custom monsters, and the option to restore the original MAP30 midi by Vader

continuum.mid · June 1, 2023

The Rebirth, eh? I was personally hoping Claustrophobia 1024 would win, because I love the concept of 1024 maps and I'm already over halfway through Congestion 1024.

Nonetheless, this seems interesting; if nothing else, I'm happy for an excuse to listen to more JimMIDIs.

MAP01: Operator

Crispy Doom 5.12.0 (Debian 12), Doom II, Ultra-Violence, blind, continuous

100% kills, 88% items, 0 saves, 1:24

This is a surprisingly short and non-indicative opener even by the standards of the IWAD openers. It's a basic techbase, easily beatable in a minute, and it's sparsely populated with headless zombies (a cool new sprite), alongside shotgunners and imps whose heads are intact. It's also rather square in layout and presents no challenges to navigate. The music's great, and it pretty much carries the map by itself, but I'm not sure how consistent the quality will be through the rest of the MIDI pack - the intermission music definitely isn't as good. Hopefully the maps improve, though.

Edit: I ended up playing through this three times. The first was on Chocolate Doom (but then I realized that I wanted the DeHackEd patch for things like map titles), the second on Crispy but I forgot to save in MAP02 and realized I probably wanted to play continuous. My stats reflect the third playthrough, but I never died or had to save once in MAP01.

Edited June 1, 2023 by continuum.mid

DFF · June 2, 2023

Map01: Operator
K: 100 | I: 100 |S: 100
Gzdoom | Mods: Rebirth midi pack, Trailblazer 1.5, Corruption cards 5.0
Cards: No monster infighting, double former humans, some monsters get vegetation

Rebirth is another WAD I played way back and was an early inspirational WAD for me, so its nice to get the excuse to play through this one again aswell. This time around I figured i'd spice the playthough up with some mod since i haven't done that in quite a while. For Corruption Cards, I'm playing veteran and with all cards, so each is permanent for the whole run. Considering the first map showcases a sprite alteration for the former human, i figured doubling them would be natural for map01.

As far as a map01 goes, this WAD starts of rather standard and unassuming. Biggest issue with this map is that it goes for the "short and small" opener but doesn't have any specific geometry or locations that cement it as 'short but iconic'. The simple layout features a key you can get instantly and only a couple switch locked doors, otherwise the halls are rather generic. The headless zombies are definitely memorable for being a 'Rebirth' staple, but the map does not utilize them in any special way aside from what would be considered standard inclusion for a map01. Ironically on UV I think there are more sergeants than zombiemen, maybe even with double from the CCs. Either way an unremarkable opener that was over faster than it took me to download all the mods.

Rankings:

Spoiler

Map01 (duh)

Cards:

Spoiler

double former humans (double duh)

LoatharMDPhD · June 2, 2023

map02... nice little underhalls'esque romp. supershotgun revel needs a bit more umph... midi is, like sonic hedgehog on a gamegear kind of sound...

Book Lord · June 2, 2023

MAP 02 – Outer Base

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continuous, blind run w/saves

The more detailed Outer Base had a rough pistol start with a dangerous hitscanner crossfire, only a chainsaw in sight, and escape paths through the sludge tunnels blocked by Spectres. The encounter might be facilitated by the secret Partial Invisibility nearby. Vader apparently was not fully aware of movement boosting tricks, because not only the moat is too narrow and a player can easily strafe run to the other side, but it is also possible to skip the entire BK encounter by running across the terraces with Shotgunners, finding the YK earlier than intended.

Spoiler

1478198702_Rebirth1MAP02.jpg.2017353c3c463e2b240f019a951dd903.jpg

Following the standard progression did not waste much time though, since this was another interlocutory level between the ultra-basic MAP01 and more substantial propositions. I liked the fact that you need to find a secret to acquire the chaingun early on (heh, it makes the same badass sound as the Commando weapon!), even though the SSG was granted liberally just to dispatch a pair of Cacodemons and Pinkies. The exit courtyard looked like a nice deathmatch arena, but the fake exit switches were not a good idea. The author must still learn the ropes of mapping, and he will catch up very soon.

DJVCardMaster · June 2, 2023

MAP02 - Outer Base (100%K/I/S):

Considerably better than the previous one, still not shocks, this one was a little bit better, it has an underhalls reference/inspiration here and there. I could easily skip to the yellow keycard room by jumping from window to window without even strafe-running, so that's a big oversight. At the end there were some fake exits that revealed pinkies, dumb idea, considering nowadays ports mark you the exit linedef with another color, and also considering that I need 100% kills. As with the previous map, there are some copy-pasted areas.

Order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP02
MAP01

Walter confetti · June 2, 2023

On 6/1/2023 at 10:05 AM, dobu gabu maru said:

It wasn't, believe it or not! Perhaps you're thinking of Revolution? Revilution? Reloaded? Resurgence? Requiem? Reverie?

No, no, i was thinking of this megawad!

RHhe82 · June 2, 2023

MAP02: Outer Base. Played on DSDA v0.26.0, UV, PS. 69/69 K, 2/2 S, 27/27 I. Comp. time 6:03

Another compact map that somehow reminds me of Underhalls, but I guess it's only by the couple of brown water tunnels that use same kind of textures. It's a bit hard to think of anything to say about this, though; The secrets (just like in MAP01) are of the classic "funny wall texture" variety. Again, perfectly capable map, but nothing special, I suppose?

Music reminds me a bit of Going Down, but only a bit, and unlike GD soundtrack, this one doesn't stick to memory.

Celestin · June 2, 2023

MAP02: Outer Base

Spoiler

woof0001.png.fdc8f82ab883156721d3c63e89f3d42b.png

A somewhat better map than Operator by the virtue of having more to do. MAP02 tasks the player with assaulting the titular complex. The combat is hitscanner-heavy and the map withholds an armour for the most of its run, making up-close zombies and shotgunners surprisingly threatening. A secret partial invisibility would have helped, but I only found it after the fact.

Super shotgun debuts here and oh, how I missed you and your power to kill pinkies with a single shot. The map ends in a cross-shaped room with three switches: one is an exit, the remaining two open closets with a pair of demons. It's an odd choice, the monsters here pose no threat, so they only serve to irritate UV-maxers.

I think Outer Base is a passable map, nothing spectacular, but improves over the previous one and pushes the wad along.

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