BEST Offical level?

[ᒐack102]

Yes, this was made because of the forum @DemonCake made¹. Anyways, yes, best official levels. This means Doom I and II, TNT, Plutonia, and I guess the master levels, but good luck finding one.

 

For me, hoo boy. Warrens². This level. Man. So good.

So, if you haven't played it³, Warrens is a recreation of the first map in Episode 3, Hell Keep, and is an exact replica for a little bit. It's like they just sent back to first level, but changed the music. But baby, oh baaaaaaaaaaaaby. When you get to the end, clench you cheeks, and get runnin'. You step over the teleporter that turns out to be fake, only to take down the walls and reveal a Cyber-Demon. You don't have to fight him, but if you want that 100% kills, you gotta. You can just run over and get the blue key and other supplies. Then you go back into the room into the exit, oh look! two Cacodemons. You kill them, just to reveal in the next room, a baron, and whole new room. This pattern keeps on going for the whole level, prior rooms being bigger with new rooms, weapons, and enemies that weren't originally in Hell Keep⁴. 

 

Warrens is just an amazing stage with an amazing idea.

 

1: 

2: Otherwise known as E3M9, the secret level, which is acsessed from E3M6, Mt. Erebus.

3: You should

4: In fact, every weapon that is in the game is in this level. And the same goes for the enemies, with two exceptions⁵.

5: Those two are the Spider-Mastermind, and the Zombieman wierdly enough.

[Fireseth]

I think I had the most fun playing MAP 32: Go 2 It from the Plutonia Experiment. Originally, the map was inspired off of Dario Casali's Punisher PWAD which was built off of MAP01 from DOOM II.

 

Go 2 It was my first experience with a slaughter map, albeit an early concept of it, but I enjoyed it. I remember spending hours trying to complete it on Ultra-Violence without using the BFG-9000 and achieving 100% completion for all kills, secrets and items and I remember having a blast doing so. I really like the fact that Milo Casali really gave it his all on creating the hardest map he could make at the time, which happened to be in 1996.

 

EDIT: Since other people are including favorites from games, let me include mine.

 

DOOM: E2M5 - Command Center

THY FLESH CONSUMED: E4M2 - Perfect Hatred

SIGIL: E5M3 - Cages of the Damned

SIGIL 2: Not yet played

 

DOOM 2: MAP18 - The Courtyard

MASTER LEVELS: MAP07 - Bloodsea Keep

NO REST FOR THE LIVING: MAP03 - Canyon of the Dead

 

TNT EVILUTION: MAP31 - Pharaoh

PLUTONIA: MAP32 - Go 2 It

Edited April 6 by Fireseth

[Plerb]

Probably E2M7. E2 in general is my favorite episode of Doom 1 by far.

 

For Doom 2, MAP10 probably, just because it was mostly made by Tom Hall :P Can't remember specific favorites from TNT and Plutonia off the top of my head.

Edited April 3 by Plerb

[jmac]

This is apparently an unpopular opinion, but The Pit is my favourite official map. Something about the weird progression (especially when played with pistol start) is just really fun and memorable to me.

 

BTW, No Rest For The Living is also an official mapset. There's no mention of it in the OP.

[ALilGrayBoi]

doom 1: E1M1

 

Doom 2: Most of Romero’s maps

 

Plutonia: go 2 it

 

never played the master levels

 

TNT is boring

[wumbo]

Definitely Phobos Anomaly. Best OG Doom track ever made.

[Cutman 999]

E1M3, E1M7, Doom 2 map16, Doom 2 map24, Plutonia map05, Plutonia map32

[Sensitive-Sky]

From Doom 2, I really like The Courtyard, fun level

[june gloom]

I had a lot of fun with the back half of No Rest for the Living. Arya Iwakura is one of the unsung greats of official mappers. If I had to pick one I'd say Vivisection. Crazy map.

Edited April 3 by june gloom

[Xaser]

This is frankly a pretty tricky question to answer, especially if I try and put my own personal biases aside (i.e. try and answer "best" instead of just "favorite"). To make it semi-easier, I'll do it per-iwad and list both, plus a chaotic Underdog Pick(tm) that more or less represents "probably going to show up on various people's Best and Worst lists ;)"

 

OK LETS DO THIS

• Doom 1:
  • Best: E1M7: Computer Station -- Romero at his Doom 1 Best, large interconnected base with a great sense of place, universally beloved.
  • Favorite: E3M6: Mt. Erebus -- The platonic Sandybox, fun as hell to explore and bold enough to move the key placement per difficulty.
  • Underdog: E2M2: Containment Area -- Who doesn't love a good crate maze? The best of E2, and is Doomworld's favorite map by at least one measure ;)
• Doom 2:
  • Best: MAP29: The Living End -- Romero at his Doom 2 Best ;) -- extremely memorable layout, more of a grand spectacle than a challenge but it makes for a a fantastic penultimate map (even if the boss that follows doesn't quite live up to it ;)
  • Favorite: MAP29: The Living End -- one of the rare instances where my weird quirky tastes can be trusted on this topic, I think. :P
  • Underdog: MAP24: The Chasm -- yup, I said it. Either you Despise this map because of the narrow walkways, or you're a weirdo and like the walkways and discover that it's a delightfully strange map with a ton of secrets to uncover. It represents Doom 2's "Weird but Good" side best, I think.
• TNT:
  • Best: MAP04: Wormhole -- The map is indeed one big gimmick, but it's a very very good, very well executed gimmick, far enough to qualify it as "best" by style points alone ;)
  • Favorite: MAP15: Dead Zone -- A nonlinear, non-orthogonal central structure with a circle in the middle? Yeah, this ticks all the boxes for me. Not biased at all here. :P
  • Underdog: MAP16: Deepest Reaches -- For some reason this map often appears in people's "most hated" lists, I guess because the theming & execution is a bit primitive for its time, but try playing it at 320x200 and the visuals totally work ;) -- if you get over that, it's easily one of TNT's best, just a treat to explore.
• Plutonia:
  • Best: MAP32: Go 2 It -- Is it really any contest? ;) -- that said, if it weren't for the legendary status of its hardest map, I'd probably have tossed MAP29: Odyssey of Noises and MAP12: Speed into the ring; they can duke it out for runner-up status maybe ;)
  • Favorite: MAP23: Tombstone -- No idea why, I guess I have a thing for nonlinearity :P -- Honorable mention to MAP18: Neurosphere, something about its curvy take on Inmost Dens has always appealed to me. Insert further innuendo here, if you like.
  • Underdog: MAP11: Hunted -- Oh yeah, you know you hate this one. Or love it entirely. Probably. Maybe. Whatever, it's the freaking Archvile Maze Map, it's gonna be on one of your lists. ;P
• NRFTL:
  • Best: MAP05: Vivisection -- Frantic as hell, this is when the set goes full "oh shit!" mode on the player. Tops the list of most folks' favorite Nerve maps, for good reason.
  • Favorite: MAP07: Baron's Banquet -- The "spiral tower" centerpiece of the map and the way the layout unfolds around it is just plain joyful. Honorable mention to MAP04: Hell Mountain for having maybe my favorite "outdoor" setpiece in an official set.
  • No Underdog for this one since NRFTL is so solid; I doubt any map is divisive enough to land on anyone's "worst" list -- it's Good Shit(tm) all around.

 

Reading these back, there's still probably a lot of Opinion(tm) driving these picks, especially for sets like Plut that are just chock-full of great maps, it feels weird just picking out one or two as standouts when the real thing you need to do is play them all. ;)

Edited April 3 by Xaser
ok i finished the list this time before pressing enter

[PeterMoro]

E1M7. This is everything Doom should be.

[Doom-X-Machina]

E1M7: Computer Station
E3M6: Mt. Erebus
E4M2: Perfect Hatred
MAP29: The Living End
 

[Orchid87]

31 minutes ago, Xaser said:

MAP24: The Chasm

[Doom-X-Machina]

56 minutes ago, Orchid87 said:

Lol you crazy people...

 

1 hour ago, Xaser said:

• • Underdog: MAP24: The Chasm -- yup, I said it. Either you Despise this map because of the narrow walkways, or you're a weirdo and like the walkways and discover that it's a delightfully strange map with a ton of secrets to uncover. It represents Doom 2's "Weird but Good" side best, I think. 

Nah, it's not that... not because of the narrow walkways (at least for me)... you could make those walkways 128mpu wide and it wouldn't change anything. It's just all-round ugly, bland and uninspired to me. The narrow walkways just make themselves an easy target for the hate even though they account for very little of the overall map.

But that's just me I guess...

I reiterate... you crazy people lol

[yakfak]

nrftl map 3 i really love but can't remember the name of the map

gotcha, central processing, steelworks and trouble on titan are my other core faves

 

calling the chasm ugly suggests wilted aesthetic sense. it's striking and insane. did you want them to hang up curtains or what???????

[Catpho]

Copying Xaser's template. Don't feel like doing the other IWAD stuff besides the first two today:

• Doom 1
  • Best: Can't really trust my taste here, as I'm rather indifferent to the first IWAD nowadays, importance and all. Still, I'm going to go with Sandy's E2M6: Foundry. It's got a well-realized theme that gives a sense of representation despite being wholly abstract, with lava being a successful motif. The even better part is that it is, er, melded into the gameplay concept, involving a diegetic obstacle course with a real sense of environment. The best meeting of Sandy's off-kiter sensibility meets real gameplay concepts in the megawad.
  • Favorite: It doubles as my favorite, but here's a runner up: E2M7: Ore Processing. It's actually kinda slack to play, but as an environment it's rather top tier, seeing one of the rare instances of Sandy going for architecture and scale-based atmosphere. The myriad of spooky caves and large, enigmatic machinery framing the affair, combined with a good use of software darkness gives it a one of a kind contemplative mood. Can't say that about too many IWAD levels, especially Sandy going off meds in the sequel.
  • Underdog: I'm such a poser, but I don't really have anything in here that i'd defend with my heart. That, and there's nothing in here really that infamous anyway.
• Doom 2
  • Best: It's weird to say this, but this game's best (in the popular sense) are actually tucked away in the secret MAP31 & MAP32 slots! It's so good that we live in a timeline where id didn't just phone it in and throw in a couple of sprite replacements and winking map layouts, instead what we got might as well be a tech demo for a truly engaging 3D Keen game. Tons of memorable level hooks, tons of cool locals: an adventure within an adventure. Makes up for the slightly clunky and dull porting of Keen's "combat", but it's very, very much forgivable.
  • Favorite: If there's one map that fully encapsulates what makes Sandy engaging, it's MAP28: Abyss. A fairly divisive map, but one earned by taking the boldest swings. Here, we've got one of the oppressive settings he's ever cooked up: towering darkness made out of those black city blocks, a true meeting between cosmic horror and mind-melting surrealism. It's got teeth to back up the bark, as one of the nastiest of Sandy's trademark kill openers is followed by a game of treacherous resource management and navigational terror, going proto-Plutonia at points. Not the easiest map to get into for some people, but it truly does represent the pinnacle of Doom 2's highly vertical design and Sandy's freewheeling style. On some days, it's on the shortlist of my fav Doom engine maps. Not bad for 1994.
  • Underdog: Abyss might be one, but let's go for fresher open wounds: MAP24: Crushed Spirits. A nightmare theme park of abstraction, with not so much of a glance towards grounding the level with any sort of beauty: it's ugly as sin, but charismatically so, trading off polish with wild, bold strokes.  It's the troll map, the Sandy Wants You Dead map, with "encounter design" revolving around a series of elaborate rug pulls, but choreographed with the chaotic grace of a fine slapstick comedy. Like Abyss but pure id: a certain elegance is lost, but the unhinged nature is captivating on its own.

By the way, am I having a stroke or do our level titles don't match?

[NuMetalManiak]

I am in a minority of people who actually like E3M7 Limbo and MAP19 The Citadel.

[ᒐack102]

9 hours ago, jmac said:

This is apparently an unpopular opinion, but The Pit is my favourite official map. Something about the weird progression (especially when played with pistol start) is just really fun and memorable to me.

 

BTW, No Rest For The Living is also an official mapset. There's no mention of it in the OP.

No I knew, I just didn't mention it. There are a few official Doom games I don't treally know, like all of the Unity ports. I guess I should have specified the unity port mods count technically.

[plums]

12 minutes ago, NuMetalManiak said:

I am in a minority of people who actually like E3M7 Limbo and MAP19 The Citadel.

I like Limbo. Citadel is OK but not among my favourites.

[MEMEAIDS]

Fucking WORMHOLE.

It embodies everything I loved about TNT.
Good custom music, incredible atmosphere, aesthetics, and a standout setpiece.
It doesn't bother me that a good literal half of the level is completely optional.

[The BMFG]

Map05 of No Rest For The Living 

[jmac]

38 minutes ago, ᒐack102 said:

No I knew, I just didn't mention it. There are a few official Doom games I don't treally know, like all of the Unity ports. I guess I should have specified the unity port mods count technically.

The unity add-ons aren't really official mapsets, and would change most people's answers if they were included. No Rest For The Living was monetized by ID on its release, long before the unity port. It's just as official as plutonia or tnt.

Edited April 3 by jmac

[aRottenKomquat]

For Doom 1 E1, I really like E1M7, and E1M4 would be a runner-up. For E2, E2M2 followed by E2M7. For E3, E3M6 followed by E3M3. E4 is a tough call because I don't really care for that episode, but the two Romero levels (E4M2 and E4M6) are okay.

 

Doom2: Map11 and Map29. 

Plutonia: Map32 Go To It.

TNT: Prison and Storage Facility always stand out in my memory.

 

(If you can't tell, I like Doom 1 maps way better than the rest...)

[Akagi666]

Speed and Odyssey of Noises are the first two that come to mind.

[Pancrasio]

Map22 Habitat

Edited April 3 by Pancrasio

[maxmanium]

MAP10 Refueling Base is incredibly underrated.

[netcurse2000]

Doom: 

Best: E2M6 Halls of the Damned

Favorite: E2M2 Containment Area

Underdog: E2M1 Deimos Anomaly

 

Doom II:

Best: map01 Entryway

Favorite: map15 Industrial Zone 

Underdog: map09 The Pit

 

TNT Evilution:

Best: map13 Nukage Processing

Favorite: map06 Open Season

Underdogs: map03 Power Control, map05 Hanger, map09 Stronghold, map16 Deepest Reaches.

[Logamuffin]

I'm gonna follow netcurse2000's template (kinda) because I think it's good:

 

Doom

Favorite: E3M2 Slough of Despair

2nd Favorite: E3M6 Mt Erebus

Underdog: E1M8 Phobos Anomaly (I would put Slough of Despair since everyone seems to hate it but it's already my fav from Ultimate Doom so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

 

Doom II

Favorite: MAP16 Suburbs

2nd Favorite: MAP02 Underhalls

Underdog: MAP08 Tricks and Traps

 

TNT: Evilution (ugh do I really have to pick these)

Favorite: Map07 Prison

2nd Favorite: Map05 Hanger

Underdog: Map15 Dead Zone

 

The Plutonia Experiment

Favorite: Map01 Congo

2nd Favorite: Map15 Twilight

Underdog: Map26 Bunker

[yuakuru]

Honestly all of Plutonia just blows everything else out of the water

Aztec/Caged/Ghost Town in particular

Edited April 3 by yuakuru
Complete revision

[MugMow]

Top 3 for me are: E1M7, E2M7 and Map18