Who are some of the greatest mappers in dooms history?

[Betelgeuse]

I'll start by sharing my list.

 

Insane_Gazebo, A true legend. Since 2009, He had made so many amazing maps and wads, Most notably Sunder.

Sunder is a masterpiece and an excellent example of what someone can with the limitations of boom.

He has made a lot of memorable levels, And I also have a list of favorite levels that he had made for sunder.

Some of them include:

Map 6 : Grinder. This level is truly amazing, the midi rocks with the atmosphere and action of this level, Short, tight, and close up gameplay really makes this level something, I've heard people saying this level is "infamous" for being too tight. But to be honest, its really not that bad.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Map 15 : Babylon's Chimera. After almost a decade, Gazebo returned with a single screenshot to share his progress on a new map for sunder.

Everyone was so excited, this map is another prime example of gazebos ability to generate a masterpiece. Aside from the framerate problem,

This level is a true spectacle that satisfies the eyes just by looking at the architecture.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Map 31: House of Corrosion. Oh boy, where do I begin. This has to be my most favorite map of all time, The sky, The midi, The Atmosphere, The color, everything about this map is amazing, lets not forget that glassy stairway, The first time I saw this map, My mind was blown away. This level really has a special place in my heart.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keep in mind the list will be updated sooner or later, Just count on it.

[Patrick_Plays_Doom]

danne, ribbiks, erik alm (or atm i cant read the scythe main menu; very fancy font), skillsaw

EDIT: i know it might seem like a hot take saying these but these are some more classic mappers that had amazing taste that everyone knows about yet feel so right to post here

Edited November 24, 2023 by Patrick_Plays_Doom

[Betelgeuse]

6 hours ago, Patrick_Plays_Doom said:

danne, ribbiks, erik alm (or atm i cant read the scythe main menu; very fancy font), skillsaw

EDIT: i know it might seem like a hot take saying these but these are some more classic mappers that had amazing taste that everyone knows about yet feel so right to post here

Yeah, tbh erik alm is my favorite. Others are great too but scythe 2 has a special place in my heart.

[Sonikkumania]

Iikka Keränen!

[Hebonky]

PCorf's maps are consistently alright, however, he has mapped more than anybody here!

[LadyMistDragon]

Insane Gazebo and BPRD, along with Erik Alm, would easily top the list, due to their sheer influence. 

 

Otherwise.....I think I'd go with Dario Casali, Ribbiks, Skillsaw, and I suppose Iikka Keranen and Eternal as well!

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

The one and only Gelato Gestapo AKA Glassyman! Where's the love?

[Kwisior]

The ones who weren't mentioned yet but deserve a spot:

• esselfortium - I think that being eesponsible for possibly the greatest WAD series ever made is enough to put her in this category. Big fan of her maps as well.
• Tarnsman - I admit, from his catalogue I only played his BTSX stuff, D2ISO and his Syringe maps, so normally I make this statement based on that little experience (even If I did really enjoy it). However, I believe that versatility is one sign of great skill, and Tarnsman certainly delivers. I also admire him for using Spider Masterminds and damaging floors in an engaging way - it's a real rarity lol.
• Anders Johnsen - He was ahead of his time. Not only did he make some insane maps for 2001 standards (that haven't aged one bit), but influenced tons of mappers who came after him.
• Milo Casali - Possibly the best mapper of the 1990's. Dario in his Plutonia playthrough describes what makes his maps so good better than I can, so give it a watch.
• Kim André Malde - His catalog isn't very big, but it's certainly impressive, memorable and influential. I could make the same points about him as with Anders above.

Edited November 25, 2023 by Kwisior

[roadworx]

me.

 

 

...chadon. while hes not necessarily my favorite (though i do enjoy his work), his ability to make massive, non-linear maps that are able to not only constantly change geometery but are also easy to navigate is astonishing. he's gotta be one of the best designers of layouts out there.

[TasAcri]

I don't know names... But these are my favorite wads as far as level design goes:

 

- The Ultimate DOOM II (still wip though)

- KDIKDIZD (based on KDIZD, but still, nice cleanups/redesigns)

- Eviternity (multiple authors i assume)

- MyHouse.pk3 (do we know who did this?)

- Sunder (already mentioned)

 

 

[kdoom]

One of the first mappers I encountered back in the late 90s was Wouter van Oortmerssen. He didn't map much, he is a programmer. He did however make some ground breaking stuff for Doom. He was the first to show off what is now called the "fake bridge" in vanilla doom....way before the source ports came to be.

[Mordeth]

On 11/25/2023 at 5:01 PM, kdoom said:

"fake bridge" in vanilla doom

 

If you're talking about the midtexture-style bridges: those were invented and pioneered by Adelusion and Fingers and first showed up in Dystopia and later Requiem.

[kdoom]

The old dummy sector bridges. I could be wrong, definitely not the first time.

[pcorf]

On 11/25/2023 at 3:03 AM, Hebonky said:

PCorf's maps are consistently alright, however, he has mapped more than anybody here!

 

I've lost count on how many maps I have made but it was sure a lot of fun most of the time.

 

I have however made very few slaughtermaps. As you may know many mappers will introduce slaughtermaps later in their megawads. I recall only one map ever with over 1,000 monsters but it is just a huge map anyway. The only slughtermap I recall I have created was E5M10 Plasma from 2022ado.

 

Not sure if I have the patience to create a Sunder-style super slaughtermap.

 

My personal best 5

2022ado E2M4 (probably most proud with this one, love the layout and was the layout I was trying to achieve)

2022ado E5M4 (my best SIGIL-style map)

WOS MAP25 (hub style map but super hellish volcanic with lava galore, huge jumps and more)

Zone 400 MAP31 (it seems like a spooky forgotten town)

Doomed Space Wars MAP09 (huge space station map with a tough boss, then you must escape)

 

Five I'd rather forget about

WOS MAP06 (love the look of the map but it is way too overdone and boring to play)

Dark Barren Forest (was bored and lacking ideas)

Bad Jokewad (made during a time I was suffering badly from depression, this era gave me a bad reputation the community was suffering, same with me as well)

The New Adventure (That map later in the megawad where there the sky mentions the Sky is the limit)

WOOO 2 MAP12: Chugger (Clunk clunk clunk clunk. DO NOT! .... Go ..... Outside!)

Edited November 28, 2023 by pcorf

[Devalaous]

I think I played that 1000+ monster pcorf map not to long ago. Is it the one with a secret nazi base in the MAP99 slot?

[pcorf]

Lee Szymanski 

skillsaw

Mechadon

AD_79

mouldy

esselfortium

Jimmy

Tarnsman

Christian Hansen

Chris Lutz 

Insane_Gazebo

John Romero

Dr Sleep

Espi

Saska

Kristian Nebula

Iikka Keränen

 

And many more .....

Edited November 28, 2023 by pcorf

[pcorf]

5 hours ago, Devalaous said:

I think I played that 1000+ monster pcorf map not to long ago. Is it the one with a secret nazi base in the MAP99 slot?

 

Yep, The Great Urban Battle. My brother made half of the secret map.

Edited November 28, 2023 by pcorf

[Mordeth]

18 hours ago, kdoom said:

The old dummy sector bridges.

 

Ah, the one people have dubbed the "mordeth bridge" ..?

 

Tried searching for author's name on /idgames but came up empty. Would be interesting to look at earlier levels that featured this.

[kdoom]

 

2 hours ago, Mordeth said:

 

Ah, the one people have dubbed the "mordeth bridge" ..?

 

Tried searching for author's name on /idgames but came up empty. Would be interesting to look at earlier levels that featured this.

 

 

I tried to find Wouters old map too, but I didn't have any luck. As I recall, it was not a playable map, it just showed the bridge. I used that method in a few maps, but I'm not sure which maps.

[plums]

@Mordeth @kdoom Wouter van Oortmerssen used the name aardappel for his Doom releases. I don't think he discovered any fake bridge stuff though; nothing earlier than 1999 turns up on either his personal page or his doomwiki entry. However since you say it was a non-playable map maybe he released something earlier in an unfinished state.

Edited November 28, 2023 by plums

[Deadwing]

Aside from all the mentioned, also A2Rob and antares03

[Grain of Salt]

My personal favorites in no particular order:

 

Gusta

Erik Alm

Darkwave

Ribbiks (hi ribbiks)

Didy

Timeofdeath

Danne
Memfis

 

Honorable mentions:

 

Insane Gazebo

Mechadon

Eternal

Death-Destiny

Benjogami

Tourniquet

 

Bonus quake mappers:

 

Mazu

ijed

Riktoi

Smilecythe

Newhouse

Fairweather

Quasiotter

SR

[Mordeth]

12 hours ago, plums said:

Wouter van Oortmerssen used the name aardappel

 

Ah, I only knew him as Aardappel :)

[Mr795]

cant talk about best doom mappers without talking about romero himself.

[faceplant641]

Jaska (for Lost Civ) and ukiro (for Anagnorisis) go on my personal list too.  There's a lot of great, fun maps out there, but these works inspire that special Doom-flavored kind of wonder that I crave.

[Gifty]

Erik Alm, Tarnsman, Milo Casali and Jimmy are on my (non-Id) Doom mapping mount Rushmore.

[Hunting4r2d2]

Dragonfly and Skillsaw take the cake for my personal favorites. 

[Deleted User bye]

Skillsaw and B.R.P.D.

Absolutely amazing mappers. Hats off to them for making their maps, fun, memorable, fast-paced, and a fair challenge.

 

[yakfak]

just wanna add naturaltvventy

[OpiumSomniferum]

uderrated dobu gabu maru