Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #075

[LadyMistDragon]

Prison Heck (2021) by @Dwimepon (From Doom with Love)

 

 

Quote

My take on a castle-themed, Boom-compatible map, made in about one month for funsies. I like how it turned out! Features custom textures from Hexen 2, a few custom sounds and a simple dehacked patch to change the level name. Enjoy!

Shoot the walls marked white to lower them, though the levels make it obvious.

 

Here's a map I played around the time it was first released and actually quit around the end because of the idiot monster spitter. Thankfully, I'm a little better at spotting subtly unusual features than I was in the beginning of 2021 and said features aren't so hard to spot.

 

Anyways, we start in a dungeon while a JRPG-esque midi by James Paddock plays in the background. I really like these creeky wood door-opening sounds here. Combat is undemanding, which is ok at first, but then the overall size of rooms grows larger and it just feels a little strange to play. Banquet halls with a mysterious misaligned door that doesn't seem to open, even though it just contains a computer map. Eventually though, we ascend some stairs to the ramparts and then the JRPG aesthetic is reinforced by a setting straight out of some 8-bit Dragon Quest game, a blue skybox in the background. Fighting off the Arachnotrons/Mancubi here is kind of tough, but then, two portals in respective towers will take us to different parts of the castle: one with a conveyor belt that's annoying to navigate and the other, a massive hall. All three keys will bring us to another basement room with a flesh portal for some reason, taking us to the central courtyard with a monster spitter for whatever reason. Just remember what was said in the file about the white walls and this shouldn't be too much trouble. You don't even have to blow up a head!

 

This is kind of a cool map with some cool visual signs added as a sort of icing to this castle map but the pacing is just odd and could certainly have been improved 6/10

 

 

 

 

 

The Panels of Peril (2006) by @Martin Howe "The Crazy Cat"

 

 

Quote

This is yet more stuff that arose during the design of The Butchery but was mostly not used for it. It is a set of BMP files containing 32x64 or 64x64 panels that cross-product various DOOM texture designs across other backgrounds in DOOM than the ones they were designed for.

For example, the pipework in TEKGREN4 and METAL4 doesn't have a COMP variant, so I made one. I then split it into top and bottom sections so that several variations were possible, in particular I could have created 128 or 256-wide textures or wall patches in various combinations.

Here appears to be different sort of combination of different vanilla Doom textures, possibly given a cleaner look and in any case, will arrange the subtle details of the COMP textures for instance into something else. It's also kind of why it'd be hard to get into Doom mapping because having to work with stuff that's a little too boring for me might be hard to work in. I can appreciate the effort involved in compiling this, though, and while some of the recolorings are a little strange, I can imagine this was an invaluable resource for a bit.

 

 

Marble Citadel (2007) by @Zalewa (GZ Doom)

 

Quote

This wad was meant to be part of ZDaemon Coop Community Megawad. The project died and I was left with this map. After two years I decided it might be a good idea to release it as single map. Have fun!

 

 

A castoff a sorts from what seems to have been one of the first attempts at a ZDoom specfic megawad, this really plays pretty well! There's three keys naturally, but they can be collected in any order. It does seems as if I picked the ideal one, Dropping down the bloodfall proved kind of challenging because there was a Mastermind and a Cacodemon or two that prevent us from targeting them right away. The large open courtyard contained a healthy amount of flyers and kept us from picking off the Arachnotrons. It did feel like it was kind of lacking a few things though. More importantly, I groaned inwardly at the Dead Simple-esque room toward the end, but no, this isn't one of those areas, never fear! The maze with the Mancubi, Arachnotrons and Arch-viles was quite bland, but then, it's off to picking off some Revenants in a library, then using a Invunerbility to plow through the packs of enemies  with barely any cells and not too much health either, which was bad because we had to fight off a Revenant murder at the far end. But as a reward, we get a "Thanks for playing!" message on the floor when we return to the library and punch out some stragglers. It ain't over though. Press a switch in the central room to reveal a Cyberdemon that didn't actually kill us and the bars surrounding the exit lower! Pretty good effort, although kind of by the numbers 6.5/10

 

 

Edited January 6 by LadyMistDragon

[brick]

Brick | 1 wad | 9 maps

Adventure | 7 wads | 27 maps

 

Doom Redemption (2003) by SlayeR. 9 SP maps for Doom in ZDoom.

Yes, it's @sirjuddington of SLADE fame, and I always forget that he used to make his own solo wads back then. Despite being for ZDoom (albeit in its early form) there's no scripting (well, unless you count the opening message with the map name), stealth monsters, slopes, or any of the more advanced features, my understanding is that SlayeR just wanted to use the Doom-in-Hexen mapping format. It's a single episode replacement, but tries to cram in the various styles and themes of the original Doom IWAD. I think the compression is quite successful, the evolution from clean Phobos techbase to corrupted Deimos techbase to Hell is very visible, even though the episode uses the E2/E3 enemies quite early on. As far as the level design goes my first impressions were a bit lukewarm, I didn't find the first couple of maps particularly interesting or memorable, but they were still well done and I was already enjoying myself. But as the episode progressed I started finding myself more and more engrossed and impressed, the architecture may not be stunning but it's very high quality and by the halfway point I was really getting into it. Puzzles and switch hunts aren't complicated but they're very logically laid out and fun to solve, combat is interesting despite the first game's limited variety, and the maps generally tread well the line between inspiration from the IWAD without falling into blatant copying, the characters is often recognizable, the nods are obvious, but they never feel like a retread or copy. The music is all remixes of Bobby's tracks, mostly E1's, they're great fun to listen to and complement well the wad's familiar-but-different approach to mapping. It's a perfect example of a wad that doesn't reinvent the game, but where everything is so well done that I didn't mind, and it's really a lot of fun to play through.

Spoiler

 

[LadyMistDragon]

cross.WAD (1997) by Kuranes (Crispy Doom)

 

A deathmatch wad I was almost ready to write off before discovering not especially obvious switches which will take one to various and disparate wings of this petal-shaped map. Perhaps it's a little bit large for effective deathmatch but this seems designed for something like 8+ players so maybe it's not quite as bad as all that. The cross in the center would've been a decent idea though.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

ROCKETS2.WAD (1995) by Franco Ielapi (Crispy Doom)

 

I think I can remember playing a weirder but probably far crappier version of this concept. Basically, there are some square platforms that one lowers to get all the crap on it, then some Cyberdemons in the outer arena that serve as monsters for single-players. But it's ugly and grey and really worth no one's time. Like why no BFG???? Real warriors will gladly.....well, you get the picture 2/10

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Qrumpi Old Men (2008) by Ruba (Crispy Doom)

 

Surprisingly, this is only the second Ruba wad I've gotten, although maybe that's not the most terribly surprising thing in the world. Anyways, this is a set of three maps, all featuring goofy music as is Ruba's wont The first one actually contains some strong and not entirely uninspired design! Ruba probably thought putting 2 shotgunners next to us was a great gag, but better yet is this opening courtyard with a slime pool and a collection of crates, one of the most quintessentially Doom tropes there is. Then combat actually is kind of strong, if a little uninspired. Then we have an outdoor area containing a strong sense of visual poetry. The flesh pillars complement the lava and the angry red sky quite well. The only real weakness besides the rather slapdash monster placement (the exit doesn't make any sense) would be the vast quantities of unnneeded Megaspheres. Even the SS rooms aren't really that offensive, beyond being tricked into thinking one might need more than 1 key.

 

The second map, on the other hand, is just the gunning down of Four Arch-viles one at a time, inside a small white cross-shaped room, while the third goes Hell Revealed on your ass and plays "You Suck" while Imps and Cyberdemons infight outside the cage you're stuck in. Ok, it's funny, but it's even worst than the Siege. Unfortunately, this'll have to get a 4/10

 

 

 

[brick]

Brick | 1 wad | 2 maps

Adventure | 8 wads | 29 maps

 

Escape From Natas (1997) by Chris Christenson. 2 SP maps for vanilla Doom II.

If you're wondering about the title, yes, this is indeed a John Carpenter and Doom crossover. This is the third and final wad in a trilogy where Snake Plissken from Escape from New York and LA goes to Phobos, then Deimos, then Natas, killing demons in an attempt to escape with John Carmack. The backstory in the text file is detailed but very pulpy, and unfortunately once the wad starts there's nothing to link this to Snake, a bit of a missed opportunity; even adding the eyepatch to the status bar mug would've been a fun touch. The meat of the wad is in MAP01, which has some hellish trappings (reminded me more of E4 though, with all the marble). I admit the first part was not very promising, it's all running around through a couple of small labyrinths that look alike and are very dark, very underwhelming and boring. Things do improve after this, the open areas are more interesting, and even within the maze I was impressed with the little visual and lighting tricks, the attempts at creating natural-looking lighting with just sectors was always a thing in Doom but it's done really well here. The map is well balanced, it leans into exploration and puzzle-solving, but each key is guarded by a small combat setpiece. It did give me the feel it was unfinished though, the final room is set up as if it's supposed to be a survival gauntlet until the way out opens, but in reality nothing happens and you just wait for a minute. MAP02 has a bit of a cinematic feel, there's a monster spawner that can't be killed, so you have to just rush through and push a series of switches to be able to escape. Despite not really connecting to the premise it's a fun and quick-playing wad.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

[Walter confetti]

Tunnel Corporation by JS - Vanilla Doom 2, DM, 1 map, 2009, played with Zandronum 3.1 and bots

Spoiler

 

A basic arena for deathmatch sets in a pretty bright hellish castle with a bizarre woman photoshopped picture that make me think of the vaporwave artist Telepath, over this the gameplay is basic but somewhat fun. I have really nothing much else to say about this map.

 

Dark City Oblivion by Kim Vidal - Limit Removing(?), Doom 2, SP, 1 map, 2003 but uploaded in 2004, played with Zandronum 3.1

Spoiler

A last map for this evening, is a... pretty strange void city sort of hard maps with lots of cybers and mancubi, kinda like Fortress of Mistery but more rocket-centric, take some arrows to navigate trough the various sections of destroyed city and exit by hitting a "@" shaped sector in the middle of the map, also this map shares with the previous map a weird fascination with strange pictures with girls... what a creepy coincidence. Overall, just a ok map visually, less by fun factor.

[LadyMistDragon]

 

Project Uber (2016) by @Darsycho (GZ Doom)

 

Here is one of those slick-ass GZ Doom gameplay mods that adds lots of custom monsters and adds in some rather heavy modifications to create an arcade-like experience, probably sharing a little more in common with Contra but also borrowing Rise of the Triad like circled-ankhs that basically help to increase one's score. This is reinforced by the vast amount of dual-wielding weapons. They aren't fired at once unless you hold both fire buttons down. It's kind of necessary to take out the ridiculous Lard Lord enemy at one point though. There are several humorous messages that appear when one picks up items, just remarks like "more bullets! I don't see why not". The cartoonish font here is a curious choice, but it adds more a sense of fun if anything else. 8/10, strongly recommended for those who like to blast through things, although perhaps a lower difficulty is in order to reduce frustration. And also, it doesn't seem like one can continue to the next map (there's 6 iirc) if finished in newer versions of GZ Doom. I think it's balanced for pistol start at least.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 7 by LadyMistDragon

[brick]

Brick | 1 wad | 9 maps

Adventure | 9 wads | 38 maps

 

Doom: The Lost Episode (2009) by Xaser et al. 9 SP maps for The Ultimate Doom in ZDoom.

 

This has an interesting premise: take the console-exclusive maps from Playstation Doom, get a couple of the alpha maps, and make a full fifth episode of semi-official maps. The result is a mixed bag, but is further brought down by some strange design decisions. The wad is an Ultimate Doom episode, but it introduces pretty much every single addition from Doom II, which begs the question why it wasn't simply designed for the sequel since it practically plays like it (and how it got accepted on the archives; aside from the Archvile, enemy sprites are lifted wholesale from the Doom II IWAD). Despite throwing the Doom II enemies in large amounts from the get-go, the SSG doesn't make an appearance until halfway through (and in a secret to boot); until then there'll be numerous knights and mancubi to bring down with the shotgun or the chaingun, which isn't particularly fun. The first map has 2 keys just sitting there in the starting room (just why), and those midtextures with circles that allow enemies to shoot at you when you can't see them are baffling. Detailing is very nice in parts but sits side by side with amateurish design like spamming the same decoration dozens of times in the same room. The new aesthetic is certainly striking, but it clashes with the original assets and makes the text file's claims of preserving the original look of the maps and of sitting side by side with the other episodes a little dubious. Music is all Bobby Prince, most of it from the Dooms including a couple of unused tracks, some from other games he scored, all very fitting considering the premise, this aspect is definitely successful.

 

Owing to different origins the maps vary a lot in quality. The alpha maps are large and exploration focused, but both have irritating aspects. E5M1 has a really cool idea with all the optional secrets and the multiple paths, but the execution is frustrating because there are so many walls that are removed by walkover linedefs without ever knowing what happened. E5M4 is probably the best-looking map with some great detailing (the trains and the spiral stairs) but the progression is chaotic and it's so easy to fall into a pit that is only inescapable because of invisible impassable lines. I found E5M3 the most baffling, it takes console Spawning Vats, which is missing almost half the map, but then adds new rooms and makes the map more linear (again, why). The other console maps are mostly left intact, though again the additions feel a bit pointless (such as the opening of PC Hell Keep tagged onto the console one). I think The Mansion, Twilight Descends and Threshold of Pain come out best, probably because they are sourced from the best of the exclusive maps, but even these have problems; Mansion's teleport maze is still there and still frustratingly trial and error, and Threshold of Pain's final fight is much more obnoxious now with the added Cyberdemon. E5M8 tries to turn the Playstation finale map Redemption Denied into something more interesting and involved and mostly succeeds, though it overdoes it with barons and archviles resurrecting barons, that's a lot of health sponges to go through.

 

Ultimately I found the changes superfluous or frustrating in some maps, and others that could've benefited from a facelift are left unchanged. I'd like to end on a positive note by mentioning my appreciation for the new intermission screen, it looks like insanity but it does start making sense if looked at carefully (which fits with the wad's minimal story). In general I liked the visual style, it's unusual and I'm not sure how much it fits but the textures are very well done, as is the new sky, and its use allows for some clever optical illusions, my favourite being an almost non-Euclidean hallway that seems to disappear behind (in front of?) the sky.

 

Spoiler

 

Edited January 8 by brick

[ICID]

Thanks for playing, everyone - especially to newcomer @Johantux! I hope we'll see you again :)

 

Here is the new thread, technically the first of 2024: