Best PrBoom+ megawads?

[GlebyGlobster]

i like gzdoom. but sometimes i want to have a more pure experience, so i use prboom+. but i'm having trouble finding any megawads that aren't for gzdoom. any ideas?

[s4f3s3x]

Pardon me, but I believe the actual majority of megawads in existance are not specifically designed for GZDoom.

Edited July 13, 2023 by s4f3s3x

[SilverMiner]

Hellground by Eternal

[philcul]

Yeah, that's surprising to read. Most of the popular wads are either limit-removing or boom-compatible or mbf. Why don't you try some Ancient Aliens, Going Down, Lost Civilization or Arrival?

[GlebyGlobster]

2 minutes ago, s4f3s3x said:

Pardon me, but I believe the actual majority of megawads in existance are not specifically designed for GZDoom.

i'm aware, but i'm having trouble finding them. i'm looking for suggestions.

[s4f3s3x]

Eviternity, then. And SIGIL

[GlebyGlobster]

Just now, AdNauseam said:

Yeah, that's surprising to read. Most of the popular wads are either limit-removing or boom-compatible or mbf. Why don't you try some Ancient Aliens, Going Down, Lost Civilization or Arrival?

i thought 3 of those were gzdoom? idk. it's just so damn hard to tell, it's not like there's a gzdoom or prboom+ section on the idgames archive.

[philcul]

Just now, GlebyGlobster said:

i thought 3 of those were gzdoom? idk. it's just so damn hard to tell, it's not like there's a gzdoom or prboom+ section on the idgames archive.

 

GZ-Doom is just a source port that can play all kind of map packs. You can always tell by taking a look at the doomwiki pages, for example:

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Ancient_Aliens

On the right side, below the title pic, there is a section called "Port" which tells you the map format or you can just read the first sentence, as this also contains the necessary info most of the time.

[GlebyGlobster]

1 minute ago, AdNauseam said:

 

GZ-Doom is just a source port that can play all kind of map packs. You can always tell by taking a look at the doomwiki pages, for example:

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Ancient_Aliens

On the right side, below the title pic, there is a section called "Port" which tells you the map format or you can just read the first sentence, as this also contains the necessary info most of the time.

huh.

[Redneckerz]

 

8 minutes ago, GlebyGlobster said:

i'm aware, but i'm having trouble finding them. i'm looking for suggestions.

Just look for Boom-compatible and Boom-compatible WAD's and you have most of what you want.

 

2 minutes ago, GlebyGlobster said:

huh.

It says Boom-compatible underneath the pic and it also says this in the very first sentence of the Wiki article.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Redneckerz

[GlebyGlobster]

4 minutes ago, Redneckerz said:

 

Just look for Boom-compatible and Boom-compatible WAD's and you have most of what you want.

much appreciated. feel free to suggest some good ones anyways.

[Lucius Wooding]

If the WAD is on Idgames it will have a readme file listing the format. You want Vanilla, Boom, MBF or Limit Removing (and not ZDoom).

 

If it's posted on the forums, everyone will badger the creator to detail the format in their post. But basically 75% of cacoward winners and other stuff people tend to hype up will be PRBoom compatible. With such a nonspecific category, I'm not sure what you're expecting to get recommended that isn't in the first page of every other similar thread.

 

https://www.doomworld.com/search/?q=wad recommendations

 

Why not give us some details about what you actually like, and then maybe this thread will be better suited to your preferences? Saying you need it to be PRBoom compatible is basically not narrowing anything down at all. You may as well just skim any of those threads and see if anything sticks. You'd only need to put in a slight effort to check if things are ZDoom when you download them, and even if some of them are, you may as well hold onto them for a rainy day.

[GlebyGlobster]

2 minutes ago, Lucius Wooding said:

If the WAD is on Idgames it will have a readme file listing the format. You want Vanilla, Boom, MBF or Limit Removing (and not ZDoom).

 

If it's posted on the forums, everyone will badger the creator to detail the format in their post. But basically 75% of cacoward winners and other stuff people tend to hype up will be PRBoom compatible. With such a nonspecific category, I'm not sure what you're expecting to get recommended that isn't in the first page of every other similar thread.

 

https://www.doomworld.com/search/?q=wad recommendations

 

Why not give us some details about what you actually like, and then maybe this thread will be better suited to your preferences? Saying you need it to be PRBoom compatible is basically not narrowing anything down at all. You may as well just skim any of those threads and see if anything sticks. You'd only need to put in a slight effort to check if things are ZDoom when you download them, and even if some of them are, you may as well hold onto them for a rainy day.

thank you. i like wads to have a difficulty scaling. i hate maze wads, i like ones that don't take 20 minutes to find a single switch. i also like wads that are outdoors with plenty of room to run and dodge projectiles, like the level with the cyberdemon in doom 1's shores of hell. i do like themed wads, but only if it's done well.

[Lucius Wooding]

None of these recommendations are going to be too obscure but it's always good to play the well known stuff. At least if you know a few popular WADs you love then people will have an easier time recommending stuff like it.

 

I'd say Scythe and Scythe 2, personally I prefer the first but they tend to have clear difficulty curves and get much tougher near the end. Scythe 1 is primarily a set of maps built around speedrunning, so mostly short and not too mazelike. Both WADs will have somewhat slaughtery maps near the end that are more populated, but they're far from the most extreme. At least you should like around half the maps in each if not more. Also both are pretty influential and hold up well. These two are by far the oldest out of the rest.

 

Valiant is probably my favorite WAD, very action packed and generally not too mazelike. It has several episodes with different themes, all done very well and distinctively. Some of the levels are tough as nails but generally if you fight hard you can get through it ok. Map 10 is mean as hell though, it's a difficulty spike IMO even compared to many of the later maps. If you like this one then Ancient Aliens is also highly regarded and by the same author. Personally I find it a bit harder but the visuals are iconic and it has the same hard hitting style.

 

BTSX E1 is mostly pretty streamlined and fun, a good WAD to mess around with for sure. E2 the sequel megawad has more gigantic and tough maps although it's very high quality. I'd say E1 is definitely worth playing since most of the maps aren't that long and you should be able to adjust difficulty to suit your needs. 

 

Finally I'd say Overboard, which came out last year. It's a bit shorter, by the same author as Going Down but IMO a bit easier. Both WADs are great but Going Down is extremely mean at times. They're both incredibly creative and worth playing just for the storytelling, but the combat is also very well done.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Lucius Wooding

[GlebyGlobster]

6 minutes ago, Lucius Wooding said:

None of these recommendations are going to be too obscure but it's always good to play the well known stuff. At least if you know a few popular WADs you love then people will have an easier time recommending stuff like it.

 

I'd say Scythe and Scythe 2, personally I prefer the first but they tend to have clear difficulty curves and get much tougher near the end. Scythe 1 is primarily a set of maps built around speedrunning, so mostly short and not too mazelike. Both WADs will have somewhat slaughtery maps near the end that are more populated, but they're far from the most extreme. At least you should like around half the maps in each if not more. Also both are pretty influential and hold up well. These two are by far the oldest out of the rest.

 

Valiant is probably my favorite WAD, very action packed and generally not too mazelike. It has several episodes with different themes, all done very well and distinctively. Some of the levels are tough as nails but generally if you fight hard you can get through it ok. Map 10 is mean as hell though, it's a difficulty spike IMO even compared to many of the later maps. If you like this one then Ancient Aliens is also highly regarded and by the same author. Personally I find it a bit harder but the visuals are iconic and it has the same hard hitting style.

 

BTSX E1 is mostly pretty streamlined and fun, a good WAD to mess around with for sure. E2 the sequel megawad has more gigantic and tough maps although it's very high quality. I'd say E1 is definitely worth playing since most of the maps aren't that long and you should be able to adjust difficulty to suit your needs. 

 

Finally I'd say Overboard, which came out last year. It's a bit shorter, by the same author as Going Down but IMO a bit easier. Both maps are great but Going Down is extremely mean at times. They're both incredibly creative and worth playing just for the storytelling, but the combat is also very well done.

Booted up back to saturn with doom 2 in prboom+. Any idea on what went wrong?

[Andromeda]

2 minutes ago, GlebyGlobster said:

Booted up back to saturn with doom 2 in prboom+. Any idea on what went wrong?

You need to load both wad files.

[GlebyGlobster]

1 minute ago, Andromeda said:

You need to load both wad files.

i can't. it's one or the other. my mod loader doesn't let me load both.

[Redneckerz]

3 minutes ago, GlebyGlobster said:

Booted up back to saturn with doom 2 in prboom+. Any idea on what went wrong?

• Why are using PrBoom (And if so, which version?) Use DSDA.
• Back to Saturn X has a DEH and two wad files. It needs both.
• Read the readmes. These literally (usually!) tell you to do these things to avoid these things from happening.

[GlebyGlobster]

1 minute ago, Redneckerz said:

• Why are using PrBoom (And if so, which version?) Use DSDA.
• Back to Saturn X has a DEH and two wad files. It needs both.
• Read the readmes. These literally (usually!) tell you to do these things to avoid these things from happening.

i can't load both wad files. my mod loader doesn't allow it. is there an alternative to this? https://www.moddb.com/mods/doom-mod-loader

[Shepardus]

7 minutes ago, GlebyGlobster said:

i can't load both wad files. my mod loader doesn't allow it. is there an alternative to this? https://www.moddb.com/mods/doom-mod-loader

https://zdoom.org/wiki/ZDL

 

Also, that launcher you linked clearly shows multiple files being selected in the screenshot.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Shepardus

[Red Recluse]

Optimal DSDA-Doom cool hud setting Fractured Worlds Light Pack Abandon wads.

[GlebyGlobster]

18 minutes ago, Shepardus said:

https://zdoom.org/wiki/ZDL

 

Also, that launcher you linked clearly shows multiple files being selected in the screenshot.

it doesn't work for me.

[Shepardus]

9 minutes ago, GlebyGlobster said:

it doesn't work for me.

ZDL, or Doom Mod Loader?

[GlebyGlobster]

1 minute ago, Shepardus said:

ZDL, or Doom Mod Loader?

zdl works and is now my go to mod loader, much better than dml. doom mod loader didn't let you load multiple wads, at least as far as i could see. thank you.

Edited July 13, 2023 by GlebyGlobster

[ludicrous_peridot]

Sunlust and you only need to load one WAD with it, so it's an easy one.

Also 2022 Doom Odyssey if you like lengthier WAD-s or Doom (as in not Doom II) WAD-s.

[Gregor]

Doom Mod Loader is buggy and only has partially PRBoom+ support anyways. DSDA isn't supported at all. It's really only for ZDoom-based ports and even then ZDL is better.

 

Also, I recommend checking out the Doomwiki overview page for the Cacowards if you're looking for inspiration on what to play as well as the actual Cacoward pages here on Doomworld. Among those you find most of the major releases in Doom history (except for those that aren't mentioned, duh), and links to their individual download pages.

[Nate42]

Use command line to load mods, it aint that hard. You can make .bat files for mods you play alot so you don't have to retype. Also windows command prompt lets you recall your previous command with the up arrow, so if you leave a prompt window open you can just use the up arrow to relaunch the same mod you played last time.

 

[GlebyGlobster]

after doing some exploring, I've found a good one, 2002 a doom odyssey. https://doomwiki.org/wiki/2002_A_Doom_Odyssey

[Treehouseminis]

On 7/13/2023 at 2:45 PM, GlebyGlobster said:

it doesn't work for me.

I'm too lazy to install a launcher, do what I do and just drag the wad files together into the .exe 

[GlebyGlobster]

On 7/18/2023 at 12:49 PM, Treehouseminis said:

I'm too lazy to install a launcher, do what I do and just drag the wad files together into the .exe 

never thought of that, i'll try that later.