Getting Back To Doom-Ing (Or Recommend Some WADs)

[PsyDOOMer]

So, it's been a good couple of months now since I properly played Classic Doom, and now I'm interested to really get back into it. To be specific, I'm looking for more medium or small-sized romps—difficulty-wise, I'm always trying to attempt to get better, so more medium or hard WADs are all welcome (not insane slaughters, though, but some slaughter-lite is fine as long as it isn't extremely punishing).

 

Examples of what I'm looking for: Fava Beans, Plutonia MAP32 (I would say the ramp up of Plutonia is perfect for me), Scythe 2 (I don't remember how far I got, maybe up to the tech base episode?). I also have some vague memories of trying Newgothic 1 MAP01 at some point and really enjoying it.

 

If there's any questions, let me know, because it has been a while since I've been on DW.

[kalensar]

Hellbound and Sunlust sound about right for you.

[General Rainbow Bacon]

Before Sunlust I'd play Speed of Doom (SOD.wad) though.  Sunlust is probably more punishing than you're ready for right now.

[Steveb1000]

I'd say finish scythe 2. The final third is not just a big jump in difficulty to around the level you want but a big jump in quality. It's much, much better.

 

Play from Whispering Winds onwards and you have a great mini megawad to get through.

Edited August 31, 2023 by Steveb1000
Typo

[PsyDOOMer]

On 8/31/2023 at 6:09 PM, Steveb1000 said:

I'd say finish scythe 2. The final third is not just a big jump in difficulty to around the level you want but a big jump in quality. It's much, much better.

 

Play from Whispering Winds onwards and you have a great mini megawad to get through.

 

I decided to start from UAC Base X, and now got to MAP31 and Jesus the timer for MAP32's exit is stingy. It almost feels like a roll of the dice whether or not the evil marines will behave and let you through, or block you and fill your mouth with primo plasma.

 

In any case, I'm gonna continue to MAP16 and try the secret maps later.

 

On 8/28/2023 at 11:40 PM, kalensar said:

Hellbound and Sunlust sound about right for you.

 

As General Bacon said, I think Sunlust is probably a bit too much for me, but I'll add Hellbound to the list alongside Speed Of Doom. I'm actually curious to know what others think of Hellbound before I get into it-Doomwiki has this to say about the WAD:

 

Quote

It was praised for its aesthetic quality, but criticised for its gameplay, which many found to be mostly uninteresting.

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by PsyDOOMer

[Andromeda]

6 hours ago, PsyDOOMer said:

I'm actually curious to know what others think of Hellbound before I get into it

If you play Doom solely for the gameplay, avoid it. I think it's worth playing, the nice visuals and strong exploration aspect easily counterbalance the tepid combat.

[Naarok0fkor]

https://www.moddb.com/mods/gzdoom-launcher/downloads/naarok0fkors-walpurgis-frag-2023

[kalensar]

On 8/28/2023 at 11:26 AM, PsyDOOMer said:

So, it's been a good couple of months now since I properly played Classic Doom, and now I'm interested to really get back into it. To be specific, I'm looking for more medium or small-sized romps—difficulty-wise, I'm always trying to attempt to get better, so more medium or hard WADs are all welcome (not insane slaughters, though, but some slaughter-lite is fine as long as it isn't extremely punishing).

 

Examples of what I'm looking for: Fava Beans, Plutonia MAP32 (I would say the ramp up of Plutonia is perfect for me), Scythe 2 (I don't remember how far I got, maybe up to the tech base episode?). I also have some vague memories of trying Newgothic 1 MAP01 at some point and really enjoying it.

 

If there's any questions, let me know, because it has been a while since I've been on DW.

 

If you like good slaughter then you'll enjoy Sunlust on the lower difficulties. Its very well balanced despite it's reputation. Back before I "got gud" at slaughter I rated Sunlust a 3/10. I changed my ratiing to far higher since then because I just learned the flow better.

As for Hellbound. I think the first 20 maps are Chef Kiss good for playing on HMP. After that it gets pretty slaughter style, but still fun. Its also balanced very well too.

You dont need to play everything on UV in order to consider a wad good. The high rated wads are all usually very well difficulty balanced so that casual or less good players can enjoy them as well.

Edited September 12, 2023 by kalensar

[PsyDOOMer]

On 9/12/2023 at 3:25 AM, kalensar said:

You dont need to play everything on UV in order to consider a wad good. The high rated wads are all usually very well difficulty balanced so that casual or less good players can enjoy them as well.

Well, it's more of a personal feeling than anything in regards to me sticking to UV. It is what it is.

 

Speaking of UV, Scythe 2's Whispering Winds' really testing me in that regards: it's almost suffocating in certain moments, like picking up the BFG or the barrage of enemies on the blue skull, and the general suppressing fire across the map. I'm well aware that it will get harder past it and the Jungle Earth episode in general, so it is likely that I might end up either grinding it away, or shifting to another WAD to improve my skills—most likely candidate is either Hellbound or Alien Vendetta. (I have about 16GBs of WADs archived in zip files across all the id Tech 1 games, so one way or another I'll find something to my tastes.)

[PsyDOOMer]

Update report: Scythe 2's being left behind at Gaia's Temple (I have no earthly clue how to get past the first barrage of enemies) for the time being, and Alien Vendetta is starting up!

 

My immediate first impressions is that the combat so far, finishing my first session on MAP09: Castle Gardens, is extremely tight and more than fair while not pulling back punches of revenants or arch-viles. Visuals, as brown-and-grey as they are in this first episode, are quite well used across the levels, especially for Hillside Siege and Crimson Tide. To note, I'm using Devalous' QoL patch for the Compet-n version, alongside the AV MIDI Pack.

 

I can definitely tell where Scythe 2 improved on the formula, and how both it and AV affected the modding scene as a whole in level and combat design, even this early on AV. I'm very curious to see how things go on from here!

[General Rainbow Bacon]

If you are having trouble with Scythe 2's "Gaia's Temple" you're going to run into a similar road block at the end of AV.  That map isn't one that Erik considered "hard" so I'd either lower the difficulty or select a wad a little bit less punishing to play.  Rush.wad or the first scythe would be good choices.

[volleyvalley]

Generally speaking, some of E1 replacements: (CH Retro, No Sleep For The Dead, and Fava Beans, which you already mentioned) would be a pretty good place to start, but if you want to play some Doom II .WAD's, then I'd suggest Demonfear, Scythe, and Speed Of Doom.

 

Also, I urge you to finish Scythe II, it's a real treat, especially in the end stretch!

 

 

[PsyDOOMer]

After a couple of days, this weekend finishes with a small break after saving in Alien Vendetta's MAP25: Demonic Hordes. Almost being at the end of it, I'm very happy to say that AV has left me very much satisfied in its aggressiveness in combat and eye for details and looks, with MAP20: Mišri Halek obviously taking the cake in looks and atmosphere on a desecrated pyramid of wonders and underground caverns under a starry night, alongside Chris Laverdure's Fight The Logic If You Can, which is just the icing on the cake for that map. However, if I had a negative towards AV, it's perhaps that some levels feel lesser compared to the usual and constant quality in AV, although I couldn't say which one is the absolute worst for me: MAP14: Overwhelming Odds and MAP22: Rubicon definitely feel like the lowest points for me.

 

I'm very much looking forward to finish off the WAD in the next few days and let its memories simmer in my head as I look forward to some new adventures—for Final DOOM, that is! TNT: Revilution is going to be my next PWAD to play, alongside some of the DOOM E1 replacement WAD to see how D1 holds up for me.

[PsyDOOMer]

And with the roar of the Icon of Sin, Alien Vendetta has been completed! Starting off strong and continuing on that flow, speed and damage, I find AV as a very pleasant challenge that rises up accordingly (which is code talk for "MAP25-28 completely beat my ass utterly and I'm pretty sure that I still need to get good, or as the AV difficulty says, become a #DoomGod), even if I find some later levels perhaps a bit too hard for my tastes, but hey, that's what Doom is for—experimenting, getting better, and learning more.

 

As I've said in my previous post, I'm now going to go through TNT: Revilution, since I've seen and heard that, unlike the original TNT (which I find has good style but mediocre combat unless it's a Cassali map), its combat is properly calibrated to the more modern standards of WADs.

 

Oh, and for fun:

 

• Favorite Maps: MAP06 (Hillside Siege), MAP23 (Blood Sacrifice), MAP24 (Clandestine Complex), MAP25 (Demonic Hordes), MAP20 (Mišri Halek), MAP10 (Toxic Touch)
• Disliked Maps: MAP08 (Beast Island), MAP09 (Castle Gardens), MAP22 (Rubicon)
• Hardest Maps: MAP26 (Dark Dome), MAP27 (Stench Of Evil)