The DWmegawad Club plays: Nostalgia

dobu gabu maru · March 1

What is the DWmegawad Club?

This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

Can I join?

Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

What levels am I allowed to post about?

Whatever day of the month it is, is the upper limit for the map you can post on. So if it’s the 6th, you may discuss up to MAP06.

Do I have to post an entry every day?

Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

When do we vote on the next month’s megawad?

Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example:

+++ Ultimate Doom

Note that you can vote for up to three separate nominations in a single month, and every wad must contain at least three maps each. The winning nomination must receive at least four votes for a thread to be made. Ties will be decided by RNG.

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>>>DOWNLOAD NOSTALGIA HERE<<<

Do you ever miss the way old maps look, rather than how they play? Then perhaps this month is for you! Nostalgia is a one man megawad by myolden, and will take us through the golden age of Doom without its trademark switch hunts and BS secrets.

Maplist for Nostalgia:

MAP01 - “Dragonaut”

MAP02 - “Under the Surface”

MAP03 - “Illuminatus”

MAP04 - “Pull the Plug”

MAP05 - “Poison Godmachine”

MAP06 - “Spirit Crusher”

MAP07 - “A Fine Day To Die”

MAP08 - “Neurotica”

MAP09 - “Bleed Me an Ocean”

MAP10 - “Creeping Death”

MAP11 - “Rapture”

MAP12 - “The Lion’s Den”

MAP13 - “Sludge Factory”

MAP14 - “Beneath”

MAP15 - “The Lotus Eaters”

MAP31 - “Powerslave”

MAP32 - “Retrovertigo”

MAP16 - “Fear of the Dark”

MAP17 - “Ars Moriendi”

MAP18 - “The Fault of the Flesh”

MAP19 - “Times of Grace”

MAP20 - “Hell Awaits”

MAP21 - “South of Heaven”

MAP22 - “Absolute Hatred”

MAP23 - “Blood Red”

MAP24 - “Flesh and the Power It Holds”

MAP25 - “DDevil”

MAP26 - “Sepulchural Slaughter”

MAP27 - “Whatgoul”

MAP28 - “Seasons in the Abyss”

MAP29 - “Chambers of Dis”

MAP30 - “Nostalgia”

BONUS CONTENT

Doomwiki

DSDA

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Celestin · March 1

Woof!, -cl2, pistol-start with saves, blind

Nostalgia has been appearing on the ballot for a while, so there seems to be some interest behind it. All I know going in is what is written on Doomwiki: small, relatively easy maps with "environmental storytelling". I enjoyed myolden's maps in whatever community project they appeared, they tend to be somewhat challenging, so I'm curious about his more casual side.

MAP01: Dragonaut

A quick and simple map, set in a metal techbase. Nothing crazy here, it's imps, zombies and pinkies to fight, no threat with an early shotgun. I have to say, I like the new sky, deep blue combines well with brown walls. Also, is the armor on top of a flight of stairs a Hangar reference?

I have nothing to add, it's an opening map. It works, but is otherwise uneventful.

Cutman 999 · March 1

So, now is a good time to be replaying this. I've played this around august of 2023, and quickly I became enamored with it, with myolden's sort of open ended level layouts, short but substancious content and easy going but sometimes demanding difficulty. I'll be playing this saveless now on woof, complevel2, since I've already did a saveless playthrough and this wad is nothing too crazy except for some sections in the later levels, but nothing i cannot manage.

MAP01 - “Dragonaut” (Pistol started, saveless, 100%K/S)

Like celestin said, uneventful. Just 23 enemies, a shotgun and a switch are in your way to finish this map, 1 minute at least to clear. The other 2 are gonna be spent in discovering 3 secrets, which are very close to eachother. Just remember to do the classic 90's stuff of pressing use in weird walls and you are over with it.

Considering how this mapset had in mind trying to replicate iwad/memento mori vibe, makes sense the opening map feeling like it is an entryway copycat in terms of difficulty, but it could have been at least a bit more, nostalgia 2 actually had a better opening with some other stuff to do. At least myolden improved that in the sequel, we can say.

7/10

MAP02 - “Under the Surface” (Pistol started, saveless, 100%K/I/S)

I have more to say about the midi than the level itself. How just adding extra percussion can make such a boring song like healer stalks into one of the most relaxing doom midis I've heard in recent memory?

Sewer level, now midtiers just join the fray. Myolden introduces one of his favorite tropes. that being just putting a blocky arena with a platform and make ambushes around the walls lowering, he did it 2 times in here. If you find that soulsphere in that non-switch in the wall, you won the map. Secret hunting again is going to make most of your time in this map, and luckily the automap tells you about the fake wall in the room with cascades, the other 2 you just need to be psyquic pressing walls with some not so common textures.

Solid map overall.

7/10

Logamuffin · March 1

Oh, Nostalgia. First played this one about a year and a half ago and it’s now my go-to comfort wad because it’s easy and fast. I have lots of good memories of playing it in class keyboard only (because the mouse makes too much noise) while only half paying attention. Good times. I think it may make my “Top 10 wads list” but I’m not sure.

MAP01: Dragonaut
It’s a Map01 in a classic style megawad? Like everyone said, it’s short and pretty nothing. The thing that is most memorable about this map, at least to me are the 3 secrets, one of which has a backpack in it (in Map01!) which is very fun for me since I’m almost always a continuous player. That being said, it’s aight.

cannonball · March 1

MAP01 - “Dragonaut”

Short, simple and frankly rather forgettable, this is probably not to disimilar to many other efforts of making a classic Map01. There really isn't too much to talk about and frankly it would be entirely hypocritical to have many complaints here because I along with many others have made maps like these.

MAP02 - “Under the Surface”

Another easy map, though I suspect the acquisition of the SSG lifts the flow of the map to something that was fun to blast through. The only difficult point was that darn hellknight in the exit room, I was not jumping off that ledge so ate a couple of shots, and then I jumped off to find the rest of the secrets. This was far more fun than Map01.

Raith138 · March 1

Map 01: Dragonaut

Not much to say here, pretty solid starter map with no real difficulty, solid start!

(I liked the sky)

Celestin · March 1

MAP02: Under the Surface

While I won't call this map hard, there's something more to do than shooting basic monsters. I might be looking too deep into this, but I see some similiarities with Underhalls: the name starting with "Under", sewer theme, super shotgun in a side room. It has more bite than it's Doom 2 counterpart. The switch that opens a way to the exit reveals two hell knights, followed by a combo of pinkies and cacodemons - if Underhalls was an SSG power fantasy, Under the Surface presents you with opposition worthy of both barrels.

That hell knight that blocks an exit when your only way to dodge his attacks is to jump down and go all the way back to the exit is a low blow, though.

Raith138 · March 2

Map 02: Under the Surface

A lot more here then the first map. Still relatively tame and while I love the SSG I don't think this map needed it because it made the whole thing really easy. I expect it to get harder but so far these first 2 maps have set some good standards and I am having fun so far.

Spectre01 · March 2

I haven't played Nostalgia, or the sequel, but I'm expecting classic gameplay with more polished visuals and less obtuse layouts. DSDA-Doom and Pistol Starts.

map01: Dragonaut

I have grown to like simple early maps with only basic enemies and weapons. Especially in a full megawad where you expect an escalation of difficulty. Visuals are nice and clean and all three secrets were intuitive to find.

map02: Under the Surface

Inspired by Underhalls but with mid-tier enemies and less Shotgunners. No real risk of dying, especially when you're at 200/200 from the secrets.

Edited March 2 by Spectre01

NecrumWarrior · March 2

Let's go! This is on my list to play so might as well now.

MAP01

CrispyDoom Demo

This map is so tiny and cute! I liked the little Hanger homage. All in all there's not a lot to say on this one. A solid first map.

BluePineapple72 · March 2

Man, this wad's logo looks pretty nice

Novaseer · March 2

(dsda-doom, complevel 2, UV pistol start)

MAP01 "Dragonaut" (100% K/I/S, 3:23)

It's a MAP01, alright. Nothing too crazy. Took me a while to get back into the Doom 2 secrets mindset, but other than that they weren't that hard to find.

MAP02 "Under The Surface" (100% K/S, 95% I, 5:07)
I'm starting to notice a theme regarding the secrets - the automap really likes to give them up. Combat in this map was a bit more engaging than MAP01's, at least until I found the secret soulsphere and megaarmour - at that point I could just go to town. Even without grabbing the SSG for most of the map, nothing could touch me. But hell, it's a classic-styled MAP02, it's not exactly meant to be Sunlust.

Edited March 3 by Novaseer
i realised i didn't actually mention the difficulty I play on

Insaneprophet · March 2

Nostalgia by MyOlden

I have already played this, when it first came out and again when Nostalgia 2 released. MyOlden is a highly proliphic mapper and Im sure most players active in the community have run across something of his be it one of his many many contributions to various "team" projects or one of his solo works. I cant recall anything Ive seen of his that wasnt defined easily with the word quality. For shits and giggles I will be replaying this month along with the rest of the club but may not be commenting on every map, every day, just when I feel I have something interesting or useful to contribute to the conversation. These maps are indeed fairly easy, very enjoyable and are aimed at bringing back a simpler more straight forward approach to layout and combat that contain just the slightest hint of a nod to the originals that any of us older members can remember fondly.

DJVCardMaster · March 2

Yes, I can play this one.

Nostalgia.wad - Nostalgia - Alex "Myolden" Decker:

Another new mapset of short, simple, classic maps, something that is always refreshing to play for guys like me, that likes simple stuff more than highly overwhelming wads, that require a longer time to play through. Myolden takes his effort to make a full 32-MAP set with classic layouts, combined with modern challenges that are already usual for today standards. The idea, as the name of the wad implies, is to give you a nice throwback to those 90's days, it may be more of the same, something that is not risky to make, but for me, it is always effective.

MAP01 - Dragonaut - (100%K/I/S):

A short, entryway map that felt a bit reminiscent to the first map of my WIP mapset, Trial To Hell (I'll finish it someday, I swear). Because of the setup and some of its layout, but with less variants. Short, simple, and good looking. Hit this switch, get the key, exit. This is why I choose to play this month, I don't expect so many long maps.

Also I LOVE blue sky textures.

MAP02 - Under the Surface - (100%K/95%I/50%S):

The usage of textures here, I have to give it to Myolden, is really nice. It has a great choice of brown, but not boring, set of textures here, that naturally packs together not to make it feel like we are playing through D2ISO again, and thanks a lot for that.

Another simple map, that luckly makes me feel that I should play more of this. Naturally, MAP02 becomes more complex than the first one, with a less clear goal than MAP01, but still simple enough. Difficulty here raises a bit, but thanks to that secret soulsphere I passed through this one with no hurry. Likeable map.

(UV - Playthrough/Crispy Doom)

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

MAP02
MAP01

After Eviternity II and 10x10, I needed this.

Antkibo · March 2

MAP01: Dragonaut & MAP02: Under the Surface

Overall not much to say, liked 'em for being simple wooden techbases--wood being one of my favorite aesthetics. Space is kept to the minimum and reused where possible. Could appear on an article about zen and/or minimalism in Doom.

The E1M1 tribute with the green armor being on a high pedestal reacheable by steps to the left was cool.

LadyMistDragon · March 2

UV, pistol start, played with Crispy Doom for now until I feel like modding it up.

Map 01: Dragonaut

The opening map with a midi that very much in contrast to the title midi is pretty energetic. Being the utterly modest person I am, I'll just assume the title's some oblique reference to one of the folks I've met in the process of being part of the Doom community:P But no, we have a solid E1M1 reference in the form of stairs leading to some green armor, though the surrounding hallway looks much better. Some annoying pistoling is followed by a somewhat respectable, if certainly, small amount of Imps. There's 3 secrets here, but I had no guesses there was a third one (the outdoors below the green armor perhaps?). The pillar with the shotgun shells in the corner was somewhat tricky, but it was as simple as hitting an unlike panel near our starting location.

Map 02: Under the Surface

Here's a very cute remix of "The Healer Stalks" and a layout which kinds of twists around itself but is still quite short. About the only place where numbers show up wold be the hallway leading to the Super Shotgun. The Berserk pack is easy enough to locate, though things get claustrphobic enough, perhaps the shotgun works better for the numerous pinkies, to say nothing of the Hell Knights that I lacked a shotgun for. The Megarmor was the hardest secret to find, but the way to access it is thankfully intuited quite easily. Near the end, Cacodemons and pinkies ambush us and even without the few rockets available for the secret rocket launcher, it's just like shooting fish in a barrel. Though there is the issue of the Hell Knight inside the tiny exit room, which we chaingunned.

Good start.

Edited March 2 by LadyMistDragon

Spectre01 · March 2

map03: Illuminatus

Bait the Imps to kill the starting Shotgunners and you're good to go. The initial area is the most engaging as you're pursued by two Cacos while surrounded by other enemies. I don't think the SSG is necessary since you get an RL first for the mid-tiers. Nice to have but some extra rockets would have the same effect.

Edited March 2 by Spectre01

Raith138 · March 3

Map 03: Illuminatus

Took me a couple of tries to get past the hot start but the asthetic was cool and the combat was fun. No complaints here, probably my favorite level yet.

The rocket launcher did feel a little unnecessary though.

Celestin · March 3

MAP03: Illuminatus

The start here is energetic, with a small courtyard, numerous imps and two cacodemons to occupy your attention. If you clear this out and find a rocket launcher, the map turns into an entertaining shootout. I especially like the red key trap, opening monster closets next to you. It seems the map feels tighter, with bigger groups of enemies, but it's still on an easy side.

Magnusblitz · March 3

Short maps huh... might be able to partake again this month.

GZdoom 4.5, mouselook, UV, pistol starts

MAP01: Dragonaut

100% kills, 2/3 secrets

Man, when they said short maps, they meant short. Fun name for a map that's basically over before you realize it, with the lightest of oppositions. Only notable feature is the E1M1 homage in the west side (not only the staircase with the green armor, but the room leading into it with the four columns and lowered carpet area). Looks nice enough though.

MAP02: Under the Surface

100% kills, 3/4 secrets

This one amps up the combat a bit by adding in some more mid-tier stuff (chaingunner, cacos, hell knights, SSG) but still very easy - seeing all the stimpacks littering the floor almost feels embarrassing after the chronic resource shortages in Sigil II last month. This one obviously invokes Underhalls quite a bit with the watery floors, SSG hallway and music choice. Again, the looks are nice in a technical sort of way, though nothing memorable.

MAP03: Illuminatus

100% kills, 3/3 secrets

Alright, now things are getting good. Things get a bit spicier here, with some multi-directional combat in spots. Didn't notice any blatant IWAD homages this time, but the architecture still feels very much in theme with the proceeding maps, and I like building the little bridge to the blue key. Things did peter out a bit at the end... if I had been making this map I probably would've moved the red door a bit further away from the key and maybe unleashed a Vile or something to resurrect some of the monsters on the way back for the finale.

I'll be curious to see if things continue to ramp up or if the WAD will sorta sit at this level of being a relaxing, relatively easy WAD to unwind with.

Hebonky · March 3

I have played through all of Nostalgia before, as a matter of fact ti was one of the first megawads I've ever beaten!

Map 01

100% Kills

100% Items

100% Secrets

The most mediocre map in the set because it's the opener. Doom 2 had more enemies in map 01! The most interesting encounter was the pinkie chainsaw room, mostly because of the blockmap!

I've thought it over more and have decided to give the map a 6/10 not great not terrible

Video here:

Spoiler

Current Rankings:

Spoiler

1. Map01- Dragonaut

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Hebonky · March 3

Map 02

100% Kills

100% Items

100% Secrets

Another day, another... eh! This map has more than 2 weapons available to the player (3 if you counted the chainsaw) Chaingun, a completely unnecessary Rocket Launcher, and a completely Unnecessary SSG!

I give this map a 7/10 because it is more interesting combat wise, however deducted points for introducing the lowering wall traps that will be present throughout this ENTIRE WAD!

Enjoy the top seat while you have it!

Video Here:

Spoiler

Current Rankings:

Spoiler

1. Map02- Under the Surface

2. Map01- Dragonaut

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

NecrumWarrior · March 3

MAP02

Crispy Doom Demo

Enjoying the chill while it lasts. I've played other Myolden maps and know how sadistic this could be. I ran out of ammo for a bit because I suck at finding secrets. Fun map, looking forward to more!

Novaseer · March 3

MAP03 "Illuminatus" (100% K/I/S, 4:35)

Definitely a step up combat-wise from the first two maps, especially at the start, which is fairly hectic with the space-taking cacos and pinkies blocking you from reaching the rocket - although once you have it it cools down quite a bit. Fun layout, secrets weren't too tough to find. I overall prefer it to maps 1 and 2 for sure.

Bonus points for being the first map whose name I recognise.

Cutman 999 · March 3

MAP03 - “Illuminatus” (Pistol started, saveless, 100%K/I/S)

Myolden started cooking. Start is somewhat intense for a map 3, 19 enemies just surrounding you in a arena, is only piss easy once you find the chaingun in a random wall. After getting the rocket launcher, the map gets even more dynamic, killing midtiers and fodder with rockets will never be unfun! the only "complaint" is that the map just ends without much fanfare, but 3 minutes of fun are still 3 minutes of fun.

And again, secrets can be found if you are psyquic and find some texture oddities, I like the line raising a lift to a switch, tho.

8/10

Edited March 3 by Cutman 999

DJVCardMaster · March 3

MAP03 - Illuminatus - (100%K/100%I/66%S):

Eventually, the mapset will give you setups that are more open, and will make the difficulty raise a little bit. Playing this one continiuously with goodies from the previous maps will make this one a tad easier. Still I think it is not a great challenge, and it's quite doable for the average player. Another nice setup, we needed a bit of "courtyard" so we can see the fancy skybox and breathe some air, isn't it?

This one resembles TNT:R for a reason, is it me?

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

MAP03
MAP02
MAP01

Hebonky · March 3

Map 03

100% Kills

100% Items

100% Secrets

Feel some burn! The first map to actually get my heart bumping, Illuminatus is pure fun to totally annihilate! It's open season for bulls and tomatoes!

8/10

Video here:

Spoiler

Current Rankings

Spoiler

1. Map03- Illuminatus

2. Map02- Under The Surface

3. Map01- Dragonaut

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

cannonball · March 3

MAP03 - “Illuminatus”

The first 30 seconds are definite a jolt of energy, sadly the map kind of peters out after this hot start. Now I guess I should take some blame for not really utilising the rockets I had, but honestly I was expecting more than what actually came. Instead we have quite a few hellknights that are more of a chore to kill than being any threat (You might as well have had imps or hitscan), the red key trap isn't too hard to dismantle either.

Overall this was okay and clearly plays better once you know what is coming and take a more aggressive playing style.

LadyMistDragon · March 3

You know what, this would actually be great to play with a mod. Not Corruption Cards because I hate it though, the latest version of the monster HoD mod Legion by Brohnesorge which I wouldn't do normally but this wad is extremely vanilla in layout if not visual design necessarily.

Map 03: Illuminatus

I continued from a previous continual playthrough because believe it or not, Legion isn't really a mod you should be pistol starting with. Anyways, this is a neat little courtyard we start at one corner of and that's quite an energetic midi too! Hitscanners are enough of a threat that pistol starters will be greatly relieved to find the hidden chaingun sitting a little ways to the right of the entrance. But for us, there was a massive Frost Cacodemon that caused us no end of trouble, along with a motley assortment of Imps leading inside the hallway with the red key at the end. Hint: I love Cyber Imps! Then cute black baby pinkies were part of the pair of monster closet traps opened when we lower the red key. We located the other two secrets after this was dealt with, although the Supercharge was perhaps a touch oblique since we literally end up backtracking to the Supercharge after hitting the switch accessed by hitting a random section of pillar that's blander than it's brother on the other side of the structure. Computer banks continue to be utilized at key locations throughout, like the Supercharge console. That's it.

Goody · March 4

Ooh, perfect. I haven't played Doom in a bit and I've been wanting to check this one out.

I'm playing continuously on DSDA on UV. Playing pretty casually because that's how I do.

The last few WADs I have played before this were The Rebirth, Demonfear, and Realm of Chaos, so this feels like a really appropriate follow up. Went ahead and played the first three levels and felt, whaddaya know, nostalgic!

The starter was nice and simple. Thank goodness for the early game backpack. I feel naked without one. Otherwise, nothing too much of note here. Appreciated the early chainsaw for those Pinkies too. Knocked it out in like a minute.

I somehow managed to get lost on the second level? It may be because it's Sunday night and I'm tired. I also skipped the Super Shotgun until after the two Hell Knights, which was a pain and made me feel dumb. Speaking of feeling dumb, I missed the Berserk until the end when I was getting the last secret before exiting. This level made me feel dumb but that's on me.

And the third! Started with a bang, ended with a whimper. I'm glad I had saved some rockets for the red key area because it was really cathartic gibbing all those zombies before the exit.

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