You must choose between all WADs before or after 2010.

[valkiriforce]

Pre-2010 seemed like the easy answer to me, but then I realized everything I've released is post-2010, so I'm going with that instead.

 

I love to revisit the classics - most often I can enjoy playing some new mapsets, but returning to something familiar like Eternal Doom, Memento Mori, Alien Vendetta and the like feels like getting back home from a vacation. The only thing that could rival it in my mind is the sentimental value I get from playing my own wads - be it old or new material, especially something like Oceanside. It's still a tough decision...but designing and creating maps for Doom has been a life-changing experience for me, and I had a lot of fun making them, so I find that hard to deny. Totally biased answer, I know...but that's not to say there hasn't been many amazing releases in recent years (and I still have a lot of catching up to do, so that gives me something to look forward to).

["JL" was too short]

After, and it isn't close.  There's just too much amazing stuff that's been released.  It does cut out a few classic releases that I remember fondly, but it doesn't even keep me from playing plenty of classic-feeling mapsets if I feel like it; so much of the best vanilla and limit-removing content that the community has ever seen has been released since 2010!

It's a similar question to whether you'd rather play only the classic games of the 80s and 90s for which you may have nostalgia, vs. being able to enjoy today's thriving indie game scene.  Again, it shouldn't be close—the fact that choosing modern games means you can't play literal, I don't know, Super Metroid is massively outshadowed by the wealth of modern games (including many retro-styled ones) with more coming out all the time.

[baja blast rd.]

After 2010 and it's not particularly close. The quantity and stylistic diversity of the last decade makes this very easy for me even without increased mapping ability being factored in. Recent years even beat the older years out when it comes to the number of good oldschool mapsets. (There's a chart I've seen passed around, but # of wads uploaded to idgames is not a good measure of quantity of maps.)

 

The "after" cutoff date I'd take is probably quite a bit after 2010, even if I have to leave some more all-time favorites behind. That's because "Do more of my all-time favorites come before Year or after Year?" isn't the real question. It's more like "Would I expect to find more wads on that level before Year or after Year?" which takes into account what we haven't played.

 

As another hypothetical, I'd also take the single year 2023 over all of 1994-2007.

[mcerjack]

If Iwads count, pre-2010, simply because of plutonia.

[HiMyNameIsChair]

Oooo...! tough choice.

 

Speed of Doom, Eviternity 1 & 2, Epic 2, Lost Civilization, Struggle - Antaresian Legacy, Going Down, Valiant, A.L.T. , Sacrament, Nostalgia, and all of Nova are 2010 or older.

 

ah... but Hell Ground, Alien Vendetta, Scythe 2, Grove, Gravity and Epic 1 are all pre-2010. hmmm.

 

I'd probably still pick everything made after 2010. There are just more releases, that i know i couldn't live with never getting to replay, Even if i love a ton of older WADS a lot.

 

Speed of Doom being 2010 is a big factor. i couldn't pick anything over it.

Edited January 16, 2024 by HiMyNameIsChair

[ReaperAA]

1 hour ago, baja blast rd. said:

After 2010 and it's not particularly close. The quantity and stylistic diversity of the last decade makes this very easy for me even without increased mapping ability being factored in. Recent years even beat the older years out when it comes to the number of good oldschool mapsets. (There's a chart I've seen passed around, but # of wads uploaded to idgames is not a good measure of quantity of maps.)

 

The "after" cutoff date I'd take is probably quite a bit after 2010, even if I have to leave some more all-time favorites behind. That's because "Do more of my all-time favorites come before Year or after Year?" isn't the real question. It's more like "Would I expect to find more wads on that level before Year or after Year?" which takes into account what we haven't played.

 

As another hypothetical, I'd also take the single year 2023 over all of 1994-2007.

 

Yeah. For me, 2021 was my favorite year and I would take it alone over 1994-2005. 2023 is not too far behind either.

 

For me, my personal cutoff where I prefer the older stuff would be... 2017 I guess, because that would cover Skillsaw's major stuff :p

 

[princetontiger]

This is easy. Pre-2010 for sure. All of the classics, all of the greats, were created before 2010. I have a feeling my view might change near the end of this decade. Some incredible pieces of art have been created in the past 5 years... I believe we might be in a Classic Doom renaissance when we look back at this period in 2030 or 2040.

[Geniraul]

• If we count the original IWADs, then it's clearly pre-2010 for me, already for the sole reason that without them everyhting else could simply not exist. Not to mention the fact that they bring the one and only classical Doom feel, not only visual-wise, but also in terms of gameplay. There are many custom vanilla-compatible WADs that I enjoy because they do some pretty good job in resembling the absolute premieres, but then I come back to Hangar and say, "Damn, this is how the actual Doom is supposed to be played!"

 

• However, if we don't count the original IWADs, then I'll ceratinly say, 'post-2010'. Most topnotch and almost impeccable visuals, newer gameplay elements and techniques (portals, breakable glass, jump pads, for example) have been developed during this era. Projects and maps like Doom Center, My House, Elementalism, Auger;Zenith, Doom Zero, The Golden Souls series, Lost Civilization seires, 12 Days of Doommmas. DIY, Erose Doom, Sunlust, Jumpwad, Sunder, Arch-Vile Jump, Darkstar, Antaresian Reliquary, Toilet of the Gods, Wormwood series, Intergalactic Xenology series, You Have 1 HP, Fast as Hell Flags and The Hotel : Lost Conctact is what makes me visit Doom more often.

[Andromeda]

Before 2010, obviously.

[uber]

After 2010. Even disregarding all the more innovative releases that don't have pre-2010 equivalents, I find the general level of quality has just gone up significantly in recent years - and since this is a matter of what I'd like to actually play, I'll gladly give up some of the classics in favor of newer wads that do a lot of the same things but better.

[Optimus]

Easily before 2010.

[Bobby :D]

Post 2010, without a doubt

I won't forget, the community has had a damn renaissance recently because of the incredible leg work of groups like TNT in the 90s and the innovations made by the high profile ZDoom teams and solo god mappers like Alm, B.P.R.D., Gusta, Espi, Eternal, etc. that was all over the 2000s. Still, the artistic and revolutionary merit of the new generation has proven itself with the ability to take the old and make something new and fresh, and for every Scythe 2, Equinox, Epic, Kama Sutra, Shrine, there's dozens of reinventions and some truly excelling works. You could boot up almost any somewhat prolific wad made within the past 5 or so years and they would be much more technical and riveting than most things you could possibly find from the 2000s (darn dark ages!), and may parallel in eccentricity of most 90's projects. Please people, play the new stuff, we should be beyond grateful to have this.

Edited January 19, 2024 by Bobby :D

[jazzmaster9]

No doubt post 2010

 

As much as i love and been influenced by wads in the early 2000s (Scythe 1-2, AV, Epic 2  etc) A lot of the maps from post 2010 still has DNA of those mapsets in them. Everyone in one way or the other has been influenced by those sets and now we have basically refined versions of those same influences.

 

Its hard to give up stuff like Ancient Aliens, BTSX, Eviternity, and Going Down.

Edited January 19, 2024 by jazzmaster9