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Catching Up - Celestin's review thread (now playing: Plutonia 2)


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MAP08-MAP14

 

MAP08: Corruption Complex by Late Night Person

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MAP09: Electric Red by myolden

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MAP10: Terminal Decay by LordEntr0py

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MAP11: Cold Blood by ViolentBeetle

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MAP12: Ruins by Juza

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MAP13: Necropolis by myolden

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MAP14: Sanctuary of Horae by Shawny

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MAP15-MAP18

 

MAP15: A Crack in the Skull by El Inferno

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MAP31: Sanity Control by MAN_WITH_GUN

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MAP32: The Penthouse by Shawny

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MAP16: Hell or High Water by ViolentBeetle

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MAP17: Marble Madness by Weird Sandwich

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MAP18: Symmetry Bad by Nimiauredhel

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MAP19-MAP24

 

MAP19: The Crucible by LordEntr0py

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MAP20: Cybertemple of Cyberdoom by ViolentBeetle

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MAP21: Fallen Dimension by Shawny

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MAP22: Yuggoth by Rune

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MAP23: Scream Bloody Gore by myolden

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MAP24: Pustule by Moustachio

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MAP25-MAP30

 

MAP25: Feeder's Digest by LunchLunch

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MAP26: Beyond Life by DFF

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MAP27: Last Ruin by Muuni

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MAP28: Void Hydroproccessing II by Rivi the Warlock

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MAP29: World's End by 7Soul

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MAP30: An Eye for an Eye by ViolentBeetle

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Conclusions

 

Skulltiverse is a megawad that was on my backburner for a while, so I'm glad I finally got around to play it. I don't think I had this much fun playing Doom for a while, it is a very varied set, both in terms of visual and gameplay style. I mentioned there's a number of maps that rely on "let's lock the player in an arena and flood it with imps" trick, but at the same time, there's also room for grand slaugher, adventure maps and several gimmick levels to break the monotony. Ironic when the bulk of the maps boils down to getting the blue skull and returning to the start. Despite this, the wad displays a consistent quality, which I attribute to both the talent of individual contributors and project leader's vision.

 

I could nit-pick about individual maps (and I did that in my write-ups), but as for the wad as a whole, I don't see any obvious flaws with the project. It has a good difficulty curve, steadily escalating until you reach MAP28, which will test your skill (I don't know how it plays on lower difficulties, but on UV it's brutal). This is something I greatly appreciate, since I took a break from modern wads and wanted to acclimate back to their challenge level. Also, most maps are on the shorter end, with only a handful exceeding 20 minutes of in-game time. This, combined with diversity of map, pushes you forward, always curious what the next map is going to be. In the end, this is a great megawad and I strongly recommend it to any fan of community works. 

 

Top 5 maps (haven't brought it up for a while, but there are so many great levels in Skulltiverse that deserve recognition):

 

MAP15: A Crack in the Skull by El Inferno
MAP26: Beyond Life by DFF
MAP28: Void Hydroproccessing II by Rivi the Warlock
MAP14: Sanctuary of Horae by Shawny
MAP25: Feeder's Digest by LunchLunch

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Guess I'm not done with Christmas wads, here's Doomer Boards Project 19: A Doomer Boards Christmas Carol. This one seems larger and more ambitious than DBP7 and I'm especially curious how it compares to previous year's holiday special.

 

MAP01-MAP14

 

MAP01: Christmas Eve Pt. I by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP02: Hornaments by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP03: Christmas Eve Pt. II by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP04: Festive Neighbours by Phobus

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MAP05: Christmas Eve Pt. III by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP06: The Pilgrim and the Hermit by gaspe

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MAP07: Christmas Eve Pt. IV by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP08: Surprise! by glenzinho

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MAP09: Christmas Eve Pt. V by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP10: Winter Wonderland by Phobus

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MAP11: Christmas Eve Pt. VI by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP12: The Nut After November by SuperCupcakeTactics and glenzinho

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MAP13: Christmas Eve Pt. VII by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP14: Two Sizes Too Small by DooM_RO

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MAP15-MAP25

 

MAP15: Christmas Eve Pt. VIII by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP16: Christmas Tree Mountain by Scrangus McBrickdad and glenzinho

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MAP17: Christmas Eve pt. IX by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP18: Xmasphobia by thundercunt

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MAP19: Christmas Eve pt. X by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP20: Krampus Anomaly by dmdr

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MAP21: Christmas Eve pt. XI by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP22: Where Cyberneezer Hid Christmas by joe-ilya

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MAP23: Christmas Eve pt. XII by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP24: Realm of Christmas Time by Big Ol' Billy

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MAP25: Christmas Morning by Big Ol' Billy

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Conclusions

Not that long ago, I played DBP's first holiday special. It was a brisk, 5-map wad with uneven quality and one map that was broken and impossible to complete. A year later, Doomer Boards Project 19: A Doomer Boards Christmas Carol was released, a much improved iteration of the concept. The number of contributors was greatly increased, bringing more varied takes on mapping. There's more stuff to play, but the quality remains consistant. There are some underwhelming maps early on, sure, but the overall experience was positive. I also think the texture pack is much better this time, more detailed and lacking this blueish tinge.

 

Initially I discounted odd-numbered hub maps as filler, but I think it's an effective framing device, where Doomer Boards members motivate you, the player, to go on and fight. It's this little quirks that I've always enjoyed in DBP wads, this tongue-in-cheek nature that works well as a break between more serious stuff. In any case, I recommend this to anyone who still wants for more holiday vibe.

 

TOP 3 maps:

MAP20: Krampus Anomaly by dmdr
MAP10: Winter Wonderland by Phobus
MAP12: The Nut After November by SuperCupcakeTactics and glenzinho

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Once again I was looking for something shorter, so I've picked up Double Impact, a Doom 1 episode of maps jointly created by Ralphis and RottKing. I'm also using a community-made midi pack. 

 

E1M1: Maintenance Area

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E1M2: Central Computing

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E1M3: Research Complex

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E1M9: Operations

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E1M4: Hydroponic Facility

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E1M5: Engineering Station

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E1M6: Command Center

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E1M7: Waste Treatment

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E1M8: Launch Bay

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Conclusions

 

To describe Double Impact succinctly, I'd call it "Knee-deep in the Dead+". The gameplay is a natural evolution of E1 style, focusing on large groups of basic enemies. Crowds of zombies, imps and pinkies are the main threats, with cacodemons, lost souls and barons appearing sporadically. Same goes for the weapons choice, you'll be relying on shotgun and chaingun, with rockets being rare and plasma rifle relegated to secrets. The maps also evoke Doom's shareware episode, being large, complex techbases. The end result is a wad of very consistent identity and high quality of individual maps, but also one where they don't feel that memorable. I also think the midi pack does a good job mixing old-school action game vibe with more moody atmosphere later on.

 

I have been thinking about this a lot and realised those criticisms could apply to Knee-deep in the Dead as well - limited variety and lack of memorable elements. However, there are two things E1 does different compared to Double Impact. The maps are much shorter, but more importantly, they have this element of power trip, where you kick the door open and blast anything in your way. Those things absolve the issues I have with E1, because when you remove them, intercommected maps become confusing mazes, zombie crowds turn into a source of chip damage you might not be able to recover from and the once brisk experience gets repetitive around the mid-point.

 

I don't deny the talent of RottKing and Ralphis, I think they understand the core of Knee-deep in the Dead well and in smaller doses (which is also why I prefered its shorter levels, with E1M4 being my favourite), Double Impact can be an entertaining wad, just that the shortcomings of the original episode become apparent when expanded.

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For the new year, I want to have a certain theme running through some write-ups. See, there's a number of wads I've started playing but dropped afterwards, either because I got distracted with something else, or I wasn't good enough to complete it. So, the first of those unfinished wads I want to beat is Scythe by Erik Alm (with a guest map by Kim "Torn" Bach). I initially dropped it at MAP13, as I thought it was too easy of a wad. I only later learnt about the final couple of maps, where the difficulty hikes considerably. It should be fun once I get there. Also, the write-ups are going to be rather short, as most of the maps take less than 5 minutes to complete.

 

MAP01-MAP16

 

MAP01: Get Going

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MAP02: Punchline

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MAP03: Up and Around

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MAP04: Lost Warehouse

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MAP05: Slimy Tunnels

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MAP06: Pressure Point

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MAP07: Deadly

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MAP08: Garden Base

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MAP09: Computer Storage

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MAP10: The Lords

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MAP11: Sneak Peak

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MAP12: Walk in the Park

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MAP13: Subverted Base

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MAP14: Power Outage

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MAP15: Blood Bath

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MAP31: I Dunno Torn by Torn

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MAP32: Enoz Soahc

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MAP16: Burial Grounds

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I've been wondering about the regular items tagged as secrets as well. My weird theory is that it is actually intended as a side challenge: Screenshot 0% secrets on the results to show off that you've ignored the items.

Edited by MoiraHeart

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Can't wait to see how much you love some of the maps in the latter half.

 

I like Scythe, I've played it twice, but I'm convinced I never want to play it again, because first 20 maps are a bit on the easy side. Maps after that I do enjoy and might want to do single-level runs every now and then, especially from MAP21 up until...

 

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Except

 

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... it's such a special case amidst preceding special cases. Hated it first, but somehow grew to like it.

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MAP17-MAP23

 

MAP17: Book Lords

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MAP18: M/S Futura

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MAP19: 3000 AD

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MAP20: The Starport

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MAP21: Solitude

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MAP22: Despair

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MAP23: Anger

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MAP24-MAP30

 

MAP24: Hatred

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MAP25: Envy

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MAP26: Fear

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MAP27: Terror

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MAP28: Run From It

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MAP29: Hell on Earth

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MAP30: Fire and Ice

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Conclusions

 

I don't like to start with criticism, but what talking about Scythe, at one point you have to touch on its difficulty curve. I understand what Alm was going for - to gradually escalate, from simple maps to the ultimate challenge at the end. I don't think he succeeded. The end result is disjointed, feeling like three separate wads aimed at three different crowds of players. The first 20 maps are very easy and shouldn't be difficult to anyone who completed Doom 2. Maps 21-29 provided a healthy challenge to me, I enjoyed their compact nature and the ability to create vicious scenarios with minimal monster numbers, Fear's slaughter and even Hell on Earth, which I think I've softened up a bit after MAP30. Then there is Fire and Ice, a gigantic difficulty hike that comes out of nowhere and you really need to be an experience player to overcome this.

 

Speaking as someone who feels no nostalgic attachment to Scythe, I find it hard to enjoy in its full form. I like some of the later maps, but the first half was boring with short maps that ended before they started to heat up, while the finale left me tired. I appreciate the visual aspect, quality lighting and some nice places, yet in the end, Scythe is not a wad I want to return to. I've heard a lot about its sequel and how Alm improved as a mapper, but I know Scythe 2 is much harder, so I'll be leaving it for a far later time.

 

TOP 3 maps:

MAP26: Fear
MAP15: Blood Bath
MAP19: 3000 AD

 

I think I'll play something easier and more relaxing now.

Edited by Celestin

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Something older this time - Obituary, made by Thomas and Denis Möller, also known as The Innocent Crew, also known as "that other 90's brothers". It brings some DeHackEd alterations to the wad - which is the main reason I want to check it out, considering I find it difficult to appreciate early works.

 

MAP01-MAP07

 

MAP01: Entrance by Denis Möller

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MAP02: The Cataract by Thomas Möller

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MAP03: Chambers of Confusion by Thomas Möller

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MAP04: The Church by Denis Möller

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MAP05: The Hidden Below by Thomas Möller

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MAP06: Reactor by Thomas Möller

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MAP07: Slaughter Until Death by Denis Möller

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  On 1/4/2024 at 9:00 PM, Celestin said:

Conclusions

 

I don't like to start with criticism, but what talking about Scythe, at one point you have to touch on its difficulty curve.

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I'm glad I'm not the only one that felt this way after beating it. Your conclusions matched my own when I played it a while back.

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MAP08-MAP12

MAP08: Observation Station by Denis Möller

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MAP09: Nuclear Research Base by Thomas Möller

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MAP10: The Stand by Denis Möller

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MAP11: Incubator of Chaos by Thomas Möller

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MAP12: Biochemical Factory by Thomas Möller

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MAP13-MAP16

 

MAP13: Pandemonium II by Thomas Möller

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MAP14: Halls of the Requiem by Thomas Möller

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MAP15: Castle of Damnation by Thomas Möller

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MAP31: Divine Inferno by Thomas Möller

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MAP16: Conclusion by Denis Möller

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Conclusions

 

Obituary was released in 1995 and for its time, it was an ambitious project. Compared to the stuff that was released back then, 17 new maps, altered weapons and monsters, new textures - that's a lot. I especially enjoyed the added elements. Flamethrower is a unique take on a plasma rifle and I had so much fun running into crowds and spraying napalm. The bazooka man is an interesting way to test your reflexes and target prioritisation, but oftentimes he acts as a comic relief of sorts - when placed in a crowd and blowing it all up to pieces.

 

That being said, you might have a feeling my later write-ups felt phoned-in. In truth, a lot of maps in Obituary plays similiarly, with zombies and pinkies acting as the main opposition. Maps tend to get cramped and many of them has a rather tough starts, only to ease after the first fight. I also have an issue with the level's order, the latter half is made almost entirely of maps designed by Thomas and mixing them up with his brother's work could make the overall progression more interesting.

 

In the end, it was a trip through Doom's early history, rather than a challenge or seeking new and exciting stuff. Everything had humble beginings and mapping isn't different.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Eviternity II turned out to be much more involved than I initially thought, so the next round of write-ups took me a while. Especially since I started playing Community Chest 4. This is a blind playthrough, though I've heard that the maps here tend to be on the larger side. 

 

MAP01-MAP07

 

MAP01: Renewed Faith by William Huber (WH-Wilou86)

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MAP02: Slugfest by Skillsaw

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MAP03: There is a Charm by Phobus

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MAP04: Polluted Paths by Forty-Two (stewboy)

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MAP05: Installation Decrepit by Alice Jameson

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MAP06: Survival Instincts by Adam Windsor (Capellan)

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MAP07: Hoedown by Phobus

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Edited by Celestin

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  On 1/20/2024 at 1:06 PM, Celestin said:

I haven't found any mention of Alice Jameson on Doomwiki beside this one map, which always makes me curious.

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It's been theorised that the author is Grain of Salt, but I find that unlikely.

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Eviternity II ended up being a very involved megawad to play, so I had to put CC4 on hold for a bit. With that wad completed, I think I'll have more time to finish this one.

 

MAP08-MAP14

 

MAP08: Cold Reception by Mithran Denizen

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MAP09: Ochregerde by William Huber (WH-Wilou-86)

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MAP10: Inner Fear by Dutch Devil

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MAP11: The Grotto by Christoph and Joshy

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MAP12: Nectar of the Gods by The Green Herring

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MAP13: Viral Implant by Phobus

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MAP14: Downriver by ProcessingControl

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MAP15-MAP18

 

MAP15: Decomposition by Lord Z

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MAP31: Mortar Combat by Forty-Two (stewboy)

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MAP32: Mutare by Jeffrey Nordin

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MAP35: Midnight Tek Frenzy by Snakes

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MAP16: The Forgotten Base by Keeper of Jericho

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MAP17: Metastasize by Andy Leaver

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MAP18: Suburbia by Jimmy and Mechadon

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  • 3 weeks later...

MAP19-MAP24

 

MAP19: Technoprison by Joshy

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MAP20: Interstellar Sickness by lupinx-Kassman

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MAP21: Shaman's Device by lupinx-Kassman

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MAP22: Hell's Limits by C30N9

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MAP23: Melting Universe II by Walter Confalonieri 

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MAP24: Detachment by Shadow Dweller

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  On 1/20/2024 at 4:14 PM, Andromeda said:

It's been theorised that the author is Grain of Salt, but I find that unlikely.

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Heh, I got randomly curious and decided to check this, and yeah no, it's not Grain of Salt, it's some other person who was active on DW for only 1 year. ( @Alice Jameson )

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Edited by Li'l devil

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Maps by lupinx-Kassman? The person who made the very special map in Ancient Aliens? I've sometimes wondered (though never checked on it) why I haven't seen any other maps by that particular mapper, seeing Culture Shock was not an amateur effort in the slightest. I guess I gotta play CC4 someday...

 

(And actually, I have tried it, once... One of the very first wads I tried when I installed source ports and tried PC Dooming after decades. The first few maps kicked my ass so hard that I let it be. I guess I should be much better prepared now :P)

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  On 2/22/2024 at 6:05 PM, RHhe82 said:

Maps by lupinx-Kassman? The person who made the very special map in Ancient Aliens? I've sometimes wondered (though never checked on it) why I haven't seen any other maps by that particular mapper, seeing Culture Shock was not an amateur effort in the slightest. I guess I gotta play CC4 someday...

Expand  

Checking his Doomwiki page, it seems he mostly made multiplayer maps. Out of singleplayer releases, CC3, CC4 and Ancient Aliens are the only wads I recognise.

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  On 2/22/2024 at 7:27 PM, Celestin said:

Checking his Doomwiki page, it seems he mostly made multiplayer maps. Out of singleplayer releases, CC3, CC4 and Ancient Aliens are the only wads I recognise.

Expand  

I played some of the Nebula wads long ago but don't remember them in details, though I recall they were conceptually interesting (I don't remember how successful or fun though). I don't think it's mentioned on the wiki I'm pretty sure he also made MAP30 of TNT2: Devilution, which is an absolute marvel, doubly so for being vanilla-compatible. It's one of the most unique maps I've seen in Doom, and one of my favourites.

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MAP25-MAP30

 

MAP25: Nightmare Complex by Torn

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MAP26: Reaper's Digest by Kristian Aro

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MAP27: Vulcana II by Paul Corfiatis (pcorf)

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MAP28: Crucifix Held Close by William Huber (WH-Wilou86)

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MAP29: Spiritual Holocaust by darkreaver

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MAP30: Ragnarok by Josh Sealy (Joshy)

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Conclusions

 

Compared to the second installment, Community Chest 4 is a much more mature project. The two main issues I've had with CC2 - very inconsistent quality that ranged from The Mucus Flow to amateurish filler and bugs - are gone thanks to greater quality control and extensive testing. While I didn't enjoy every level, I don't think there's a single map that I see as bad. Even weaker maps has something going for them, be it the visual aspect or their nature as a breather.

 

One opinion I've heard a lot about CC4 is how it suffers from the dreaded "magnum opus syndrome". Frankly, I don't see it. True, the majority of maps reach 30 minutes of play time, some exceeding it considerably (which is why it took me this long to complete it). However, the only map where I was just hoping to get it over with quickly was Suburbia, but it's because I've spent too much time being lost due to its unclear progression. As for the rest, I've never felt bored, the variety of the set pushed me forward to see what the next map would be.

 

I have to mention the visual aspect, a lot of maps looks great and feature a ton of detailed geometry. The two maps by lupinx-Kassman, however, are a league of their own and worthy of recognition. Also, I am grateful of the texture set that was compiled for the project. I hold 2010's mapping in high regard and cc4-tex was used a lot back then. It's not a hyperbole to say it defined how that decade looked.

 

In the end, Community Chest 4 took me a while to complete, but it was worth it. It's a set of varied maps with great visuals, but also not as demanding with regard to difficulty as some wads I've played in recent months. I give it my recommendation with a caveat that its maps can get rather lenghty.

 

TOP 5 maps:
MAP20: Interstellar Sickness by lupinx-Kassman
MAP21: Shaman's Device by lupinx-Kassman
MAP29: Spiritual Holocaust by darkreaver
MAP24: Detachment by Shadow Dweller
MAP09: Ochregerde by WH-Wilou-84

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Continuing the theme of playing wads I've dropped, the next one is Super MAYhem 17, 6th installment of MAYhem community projects. This time, the mappers were using a texture set inspired by Mario series, with additional restrictions regarding size and things number. I've tried this one a couple of years back, but I gave up after reaching one winter maps with slippery floors (I don't remember which one it was exactly). I hope I'll get past it this time.

 

MAP01-MAP10

 

MAP01: Shroom Stronghold by Dragonfly

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MAP02: All Along the Bowser Tower by Fletcher` (as rf`)

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MAP03: Sillydust Sanctuary by Jaxxoon R

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MAP04: Marina Moonlight by Pinchy

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MAP05: Painfully and Elitely Rustled by NuMetalManiak

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MAP06: Airship of Doom by Gothic

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MAP07: Groovy Hills by Walter Confalonieri

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MAP08: The Oasis by Tristan Clark (as Eris Falling)

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MAP09: Curse of the Mummy's Sister's Something-Or-Other by Impie

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MAP10: Shifting Sands by Crunchynut44

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MAP11-MAP18

 

MAP11: Aztec Ruins by Killer5

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MAP12: Cool Cool Shotgun by A.Gamma

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MAP13: Koopa Anomaly by Fletcher` (as rf`)

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MAP14: Absolute Zero by Obsidian

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MAP15: Ziegenhaus by Xaser

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MAP31: Sinkysand Switchland by dobu gabu maru

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MAP32: Return to the Birabuto Kingdom by Death Egg

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MAP16: Skyward Vivarium by Pinchy

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MAP17: All the Monster's Teeth are Perfect by Angry Saint

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MAP18: C'mon Peach, You've Got What You Want, Now Give This Plumber Cake! by Walter Confalonieri

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Edited by Celestin

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I've always wished to make a thread like this, seems like a fun way to try all these Doom Wads. I'd probably lose motivation and stop 2 posts in though, shame.

 

Always enjoy seeing other people make them though, good stuff. I've wanted to play through Mayhem 17 for a while, it's a cool idea for a community project.

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MAP19-MAP27

 

MAP19: Your Princess is in Another Fort, Asshole by TheMionicDonut

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MAP20: Transformation Palace by Argentum (as Argent Agent)

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MAP21: Rainbow Road by Scotty

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MAP22: Chocolate Starfish Islands by Benjogami

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MAP23: Down the Wrong Pipe by TheMionicDonut

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MAP24: Bowser's Daddy Dungeon by Rottking

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MAP25: Bastille Bowser by Breezeep

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MAP26: Bowser in the Black Abyss by Marceak and rd (as rdwpa)

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MAP27: Congratulations! by leodoom85

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Conclusions

When I first played Super MAYhem 17, I was amazed by the visual acpect of the wad. My experiences with Mario series are somewhat limited, but the maps have this unique look that you don't find in other mapsets. Shortly after I dropped the playthrough, as underneath the cheerful textures hide challenges made by some of the best authors of its era and I just wasn't up to the task. Which shouldn't be this surprising, I mean, Mario is also a series known for its community making more and more difficult maps, but let me warn you MAYhem 17 isn't the best for a casual playthrough.

 

I feel satisfied raising up to the challenge, as this is one of the best community project I've played in a while and it deserves more recognition. The aesthetics is one thing (remember when I said the MAYhem series got better with more distinct visual themes? This is one example I was thinking about), but the varied and creative gameplay sells the wad to me. All maps feel distinct, merging certain aspects from the source material with the mappers' styles. As with many great community projects, the joy comes from loading a new level, going in blind and see what's next. This is helped with a compact nature of the majority of maps, though some can create vicious scenarios with small enemy numbers and limited space.

 

In the end, this is one wad I strongly recommend, especially if, like me, you love the more creative side of the community. Just be warned, Super MAYhem 17 can get tough in places, so don't be afraid to turn the difficulty down.

 

TOP 5 maps:

MAP15: Ziegenhaus by Xaser
MAP26: Bowser in the Black Abyss by Marceak and rd (as rdwpa)
MAP31: Sinkysand Switchland by dobu gabu maru
MAP21: Rainbow Road by Scotty
MAP10: Shifting Sands by Crunchynut44

Edited by Celestin

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