Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #083

[ICID]

^{(logo by @4MaTC)}

 

ICID, what the hell is this now?

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures is a small project of exploration, interaction, entertainment and reviews where we meet once every two weeks to select random WADs in search of hidden treasures, lost promises, or our worst nightmares! We use the /idgames archive’s special feature that lets us search for random files. Of course, sometimes the results are resources or unplayable stuff, so we focus on looking for WADs. 

 

So, what do we do here?

1. Play at least one random WAD in a two-week period of time. WADs are selected using the Random File feature on /idgames or from the list below.
2. Post a review of whatever you play.
3. Always provide the name of the WAD, the name of the author, and a link to the file.
4. Play however you want, on any skill level, and with any source port, as long as you play the WAD as intended/in working shape.
5. Be respectful. It's okay to criticize a map, but remember that many mappers read these review threads and behave accordingly. Also, please don't tag mappers into a negative review of their work. 

 

What kind of WADs are we looking for?

Any file on /idgames is fair game, but most of us choose to stick to singleplayer Doom or Heretic WADs that work in our sourceport(s) of choice. If you're worried about finding Terrywads or broken files, I also pull at least five random WADs for the event. Feel free to play them with me if you wish, or look for your own! The point of the event is to encourage you to explore this vast, random world.

 

Recommendations for reviewing:

Spoiler

1. Please take screenshots or video of your adventures.

2. Commenting the source port and difficulty level is not required, but provides helpful context to your review.

3. Try to stick to no more than 1 WAD per day to avoid burnout, but this part’s all up to you, champ!

4. Reviews of all formats are valid. Both longform and shortform are good as long as you write with integrity.

 

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures of this event:

 

1. Hell Cartel 2
2. Bliss
3. Chlorine
4. CHORD3
5. Pendulum

 

Spoiler

1. @Roofi | 8940

2. @LadyMistDragon | 5800

3. @Walter confetti | 2715

4. @Sena | 2680

5. @ICID | 2025

6. @brick | 1995

7. @Endless | 1260

8. @Thelokk | 725

9. @Clippy | 630

10. @smeghammer | 425

 

Join the Doom Master Wadazine community for more events like this! » https://discord.gg/Q2RKn4J

 

And check the Doom wiki for the full list of past adventures.

[Walter confetti]

Played already Bliss long ago, just a generic "MyHouse" style map, here's my review for It: Bliss

[LadyMistDragon]

Bridge Over Bloody Waters (2003) by Jason Slaon, aka Face UK (GZ Doom)

 

A deathmatch map with walls of gray basically everywhere with a central room featuring some narrow but carefully and neatly arranged pillars and just enough verticality and corridor bends that this should provide a solid amount of fun for 4 players at least for a little bit 5/10

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Atomic Tomb (2000) by Brad "Vorpal" Spencer (From Doom with Love)

 

A legendary contributor for his role in Alien Vendetta turns in this shockingly solid early effort, made for Doom 1 and containing an open-ended techbase setting. From all sides, you're surrounded almost from the jump by scattered but deadly hitscanners. Unlike the contemporary early maps of Andy Leaver, Brad seems determined not to deploy any more monsters than usual, with a greater portion of the challenge coming from the enemy compositions as opposed to the numbers. The placement of powerups like the berserk pack and rocket launcher are also really nice because there are threats nearby that should be perfectly suited for them. Although I did initially miss it in the case of the latter and wondered why I was needing a yellow key until realizing there was a switch that wasn't pressed. Elsewhere is a trash mob of zombies guarding a chaingun in a narrow hallway at one end, then finally, the map's centerpiece, a rectangular pillared room with a plasma rifle in the center and a teleport trap with something around a half dozen Barons, many weaker enemies, then finally, the Cyberdemon that was heard at the very beginning of the map. Was that a Boom trick? Not sure, but it's fine, this is an excellent little barn burner not unlike the recent efforts of mapping newcomer Quin with maps like Perimeter Scrum along with Brown, Black, and idunno 7.5/10

 

PS: This was a top 100 wad?? Ok, you know what, Brad totally earned it.

 

 

 

Edited April 17 by LadyMistDragon

[brick]

Congratulations @ICID wish you both all the best!

 

Hell Cartel 2 (2023) by Johnny Cruelty (leader), Clippy, Codename Delta, Icarus Of Daggers, R0rque, Killeratte, not shion, R. 9 maps for Doom II in GZDoom.
I'll be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the first one. The sequel does not start very promising, nothing but the shotgun against an army of revenants, cacos, nobles archviles... not the most fun. There's an SSG later on but it's in a secret, missing it means even more of the army before finally getting the chaingun. Later maps get more interesting, though not without some flaws. The most serious is that MAP05 is impossible to complete, a fix exists but the idgames release was never updated. There's some other sloppiness though nothing as serious, but a few maps have obvious missing textures in multiple spots. MAP06 is huge (too much for its own good) and has some great architecture, but I hate being bombarded by hundreds projectiles across distances so vast the enemies cannot even being seen. I hope jumping is allowed because I couldn't find any other way to get out of that map's starting square. The wad does have some charm, the custom textures are good and there's a lot more doomcute this time, some of it absolutely stellar and meshing very well with the architecture. There are some excellent uses of silent teleport, MAP09 uses them to simulate storming a building through a window or climbing up or down ladders. MAP08 has my favourite gimmick and decoration in the wad in the form of sector pizzas, made from nothing but IWAD assets, it was also my favourite map for being compact, lighthearted and with some very entertaining combat.

Spoiler

 

[Roofi]

Year 2 Month 11 Day 17

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

 

[1] MRDM2101.WAD by Michael Rapp (2005)

 

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None

 

A dirty bunker designed in 1994 featuring lot of small rooms to explore but above all, load of foes to blast. "MRDM2101.WAD" has a high monster density and manages to deliver constant action. Almost room is filled with small hordes of enemies and the layout is cramped enough to make them unskippable. However, the author added a plasma gun that you can find in an easy-to-find secret located at the middle of the map. This weapon isn't necessary to complete this map but contribute to the mess. Don't hesitate to use it because the author placed several cell packs.
 

I want to warn you this map has lot of hidden doors and I therefore recommand you to use your automap frequently in order to notice them. More unexperienced players are more likely to get stuck in this map.

 

A good, fun 1994 map, the visuals are nothing extraordinary but still tolerable so that I can easily compare the theme with the iwad's E2M5 map theme.

 

Grade : B- (12/20)

 

[2] Rage_12.WAD by David Rager (1997)

 

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This is the second level in a nine level episode currently under construction. Once all levels are complete all will be available in one wad file RageHell.wad including a complete story line. The final episode will actually replace e2m1-m9.

 

This replacement of E1M2 can be divided into two distinct parts : the spacious tech-base and the cramped marble stronghold. This map doesn't last long but exceeded my expectations in terms of difficulty. It's not a hard level but the author put few medkits so I wouldn't recommand you to rush, specifically inside the dark maze from the dungeon. Moreover, the first room of this map contains a green armor but you can't reach it as the sector holding it is raised too high. Lack of armor make the first shotgunners nastier.

 

About the aesthetics, I like the variety of places presented here and the vague influences of Episode 2 materialized by the coexistence between tech and marble  and E1M1 with the zig-zag bridge leading to the marble dungeon for instance. The author failed to enrich some areas as some of them tend to be as large as they are empty.

 

It's still decent overall, but I'd classify it as "low-budget doom".

 

Grade : C+ (11/20)

 

[3] Reactor 's room by EDWIN (1996)

 

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A big room with 5 cylinder who raise from the floor.

 

This stand-alone deathmatch map has the luxury to contain a custom (weird) titlepic and a midi I heard lot of times in other wads. Beside that, the gameplay seems mediocre as the layout just consists to huge platform and several catwalks. Some barons inhabit this map in singleplayer mode to occupy you for several minutes. The central tower holds a lot of power-ups but I have no idea how to reach it.

 

[4] Sin City 3 by Ed Cripps @Ed (2008)

 

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"It's been centuries.. Upon hearing the news of the next invasion, our people fled the planet, far into the reaches of our galaxy.. They listened to the distress calls fade into a sea of white noise from afar. The survival of the species was indeed their number one priority, but anyone who had lost their families had but one thing on their minds; Revenge. We've reformed our military forces and attacked the surface of our now alien planet. The battle continues on. As our forces take back the land that was stolen from us, we find relics of the last known survivors of Earth. A body of an un- known soldier has been recovered with something of interest.. a video, recorded in desperation, that we would someday find it. These are our findings..

 

"Sin City 3" doesnt take place in a city at all but figures as an elegant bridge connecting classicism and modernism. It takes place in a tech-base featuring the stock textures you've already seen in thousand other wads but since Ed's maps mean extensive usage of Zdoom's features, get prepared for an enhanced experience involving arches using slopes, flowing liquids, particles and of course an ogg soundtrack which helps immerse you in this forsaken base. Ed's also imported zombie's sounds from Resident Evil which contribute to make the whole atmosphere darker and edgier.

 

However, as a "classic" Doom map, "Sin City 3" keeps the fast-paced spirit of Doom with spacious rooms and way more ammo than needed so that you don't have to be really cautious to get out in one piece. Ed isn't known for punishing levels and I therefore anticipated conventional and fair combats. "Sin City 3" proves easy to digest, perhaps a little too much so. I would have liked something more anxiety-inducing. The map is far too easy compared with the horrific atmosphere created by the sounds and music.

 

My opinion of zdoom maps released in the 2000s is generally very mixed, but this map has paradoxically aged rather well. The sparing use of gzdoom effects avoids an overly kitschy look.

 

Grade : B+ (15/20)

 

[5] Satan's Altar by Patrick Fox (1996)

 

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Its a very open deathmatch arena.

 

Four large hellish zones which actually look decent regarding their. The big problem here resides in the poor interconnectiveness because these areas are just connected by a narrow corridor. To sum up very roughly, these 4 arenas could have been separated into 4 maps instead of being assembled in the laziest way possible.

 

[6] Guts #2 by Pete Deffendol (1995)

 

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The second in the series of Deathmatch levels. This one is a bit less of a hunting level, more of a blastfest level with lots of teleports. All the weapons are here, but have fun getting the BFG! There is a co-op exit.

 

A square grassy castle-themed courtyard accompanied by an entertaining rock midi. There is a BFG throning on the blood fountain at the centre of the arena and I didn't understand how to obtain it. However, attempting to catch it will teleport you on one of the pillars holding the weapons so you'll you'll always have something to kill your opponent with. Each corner has a circular building into which players can enter for shelter or just to get an elevated view of the arena. This DM map looks simple and refreshing.

 

I stop here for today.

[LadyMistDragon]

war2snd.wad (1996) by Brian Glines

 

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WarCraftII sounds in DOOM 2
HA! HA! HA! 'nuff said

Basically the mentality of this whole thing, another collection of noises that grow overlayed to all hell when there are multiple enemies around. The horn blast pickup sound for weapons is funny at least and the BFG and rocket launcher both have the sounds of weapons from Warcraft II. But the other sfx that are applied to the monsters are just a hot mess. No zug zug in sight.

 

 

Urban Twilight (2006) by Jacek "Illdo" Dobrzyniecki (GZ Doom)

 

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Your peaceful apartment is shaking as the hellspawn invades your town. You ponder the possible ways of escape. This is one of the maps entered to Newdoom's Realistic Map contest. It is also a first place winner.

 

A map that's basically free of annoyances other than the tight corners and corridors like something out of Iikka Kerenen. There's a random transparent monster and also a cutscene that plays when you find a radio, but otherwise, ZDoom effects aren't abused too badly. Although jumping and crouching will be required to finish the map. The various Doomcute radios and offices are ok, although there's also a hidden meat locker that just looks like every corpse room imaginable. While there's nothing especially striking, Jacek's tendencies toward neat arrangements manage to pay off. And unlike Downtown, it's difficult to become lost because progress is essentially linear and will wrap around when its time to go back. The sewer ending is really pretty flat and promises nothing. Not like the red building. Decent combat and strong attempts at realistic detail still leave this map greatly wanting for a little more substances 6/10

 

 

[ICID]

 

Bliss (1995) by Tony Roche

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

^{Source Port: PRBoom+via Delta Touch, complevel 2}

 

A 90s map loosely based on the author's two-story house. It's extremely janky with missing, misaligned, or just oddly-placed textures and a lot of the gameplay is hitting switches with no feedback and then running around to find what they do, but if you can look past that I actually had a good time with this. You get the SSG early on (provided you find a not-too-hard secret) and have a decent selection of monsters to use it on, and the environments are interesting enough to hold one's attention despite (or sometimes because of) how busted they are.

 

 

Chlorine wad for Doom ][ (1995) by Doug Ryerson

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

^{Source Port: PRBoom+via Delta Touch, complevel 2}

 

An ambitious 1995 map that feels inspired by Doom II's infamous city levels - and like those, it probably would have benefited from a big ol' arrow telling you where to go. Combat is pretty fun IF you go secret-hunting to find the necessary arsenal, but progression is often frustrating - requiring leaps of faith into pools of acid, wallhumping, switch hunting, and even the dreaded teleporter puzzle at the end (although that last is not too bad since there's an obvious trick to it.) Much like Bliss, Chlorine is heavily flawed but still a little more engaging than most of its 90s contemporaries.

[LadyMistDragon]

WAHWAH.WAD (1995) by Robert Dutton Esq. (Crispy Doom)

 

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A well laid out single / multiplayer level with extra attention paid to textures, alignment and other small details missed out in many other levels. A good time for triple 100% (UV) is about 15 minutes. P.S. Only been played max 2 player so far, please give your views on 3/4 player deathmatch.

 

 

This map is...probably pretty nice in deathmatch, but it might be better in single-player. Ok, the backtracking sucks and the new monsters who appear in the process don't really make it any better. At least the action is remotely decent behind the blue key door, which sends Lost Souls, Revenants, Imps, and Chaingunners filtering through a transparent wall. The group in the middle of a slime fall led by the Arch-vile toward the end seems fearsome, especially given the flyers on the sides, but in truth, all the enemies except for the far ones can be handled by cheesing at the door. It's fine though. Robert recognizes the rocket launcher is fun and as such, provides plenty of enemy combinations it's ideally suited for, including small groups of trash monsters and Revenants. And there's even kind of a backlog of them since there are some spaces that might prove to risky for its use. Overall, it's a 6.5/10

 

 

[ICID]

 

Hell Cartel 2 (2023) by Various

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, pistol starts}

^{Source Port: GZDoom}

 

This is the first I've heard of the Hell Cartel series and while I too didn't care for it much, I'm not going to be too mean since project runner Johnny Cruelty seems like a nice guy and the text file for the first one makes it clear that this is a rather personal project for him. The maps use a lot of custom textures and stuff imported from other games (I definitely noted a lot of Duke Nukem 3D) and tend towards tricky progression and a rather mean spirit, most typified by MAP01 forcing you to use the standard combat shotgun against armies of revenants and hell nobles and by MAP07, which is a tiny, cramped Dead Simple that starts by asking you to kill four mancubi with only the pistol if you're not playing continuous.

 

My personal favorites were MAP03, a city map that avoids the usual city map problem of confusing progression by cleverly only unlocking one building at a time, and MAP05, an absolutely gorgeous little key hunt which, as brick noted, does not have a functional exit. It looks and plays well enough that I don't mind, even finding a good use for the Wolfenstein textures (as opposed to MAP06's sniper-heavy eyesore heavily reliant on same.) MAP04 is also solid with some neat portal trickery that nearly justifies the hard GZDoom requirement. The other maps I mostly found frustrating and ammo-starved, with seemingly random texture placement. I like the Doomcute throughout though, and the original tracks from R0rque.

 

Chord3 (2000) by Malcolm Sailor

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

^{Source Port: Crispy Doom}

 

Jesus, this is a nasty little map for 2000. A hot, hot start packed with chaingunners and nobles forces you to pick one of two starting weapons, either of which spawns revenants. From there you'll battle back through cramped environments absolutely choked with monsters. I'm enough of a slaughter enjoyer I might have liked this more on a lower difficulty, but the visuals are a bit bland and there just isn't enough ammo on UV to deal with the threats on offer, making it kind of a slog. Maybe there's a route or a trick that would make it easier but I was too dumb to find it on round one. Impressive for its time but a little like smashing your skull against a wall.

 

 

Vrack (2000) by Fredrik Johansson

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

^{Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 9}

 

Decided I wanted to play one more map tonight and hit the fuckin jackpot - it's Vrack babyyy! I have played this map so many times that its major sequences are all imprinted on my brain forever. The shotgunner staircase that refills after you hit a switch! The blue key elevator! The first glimpse of space through an invisible wall! The exit trap! The slime platforming section that fucking sucks ass!

 

To me this is basically the platonic ideal of what a Doom WAD should strive for: long enough to feel like a grand journey without wasting the player's time, beautifully balanced, with clear aesthetic goals, cracking good combat, and a sick MIDI. My only real complaint (other than the aforementioned platforming section) is that being a Y2K WAD it doesn't reach the astonishing visual heights of Vracks 2 and 3, although it does have a certain simplicity those maps arguably lack, so it's hard for me to say which is my favorite (though gun to my head, it's probably 2.)

 

Still a certified banger and a great way to spend an evening.

[brick]

Brick | 2 wads | 2 maps
Adventure | 3 wads | 11 maps

 

Bliss (1995) by Tony Roche. 1 SP map for vanilla Doom II.
Another one of those old myhouse wads with the usual flaws. The first you'll notice is that it's incredibly ugly, the texture choices could be better but the alignment is really awful, with no attempt at getting it to make sense, so doors get cut off midway through or tile vertically all the way to the ceiling. There's almost no doomcute, about the closest is the table with chairs, all very crude. There is no sense of space, the house seems immense (I almost envy Tony if he grew up in such a mansion) but there's also a ground outdoors accessible from both floors, except they're both completely different and unconnected, and trying to make sense of this in Euclidean space is giving me a headache. There are some surprisingly good ideas to be found though, and the contrast is strange. The teleport that switches between the two floors is better set up than any I can remember from that era, with the library downstairs clearly visible from the top, if this was a Boom teleport I could've been fooled into thinking it was a UDMF portal. Switches and linedefs turn lights on or off, and open or close the windows, in both cases potentially giving a strategic advantage. Combat is more challenging than expected, there are a lot of enemies and several distinct set pieces, including the one around the Megasphere with a horde of enemies that teleport in while we're fumbling about in the dark. If I were to recommend the wad it'd be with reservations, but I agree with ICID's overall positive outlook and had more fun than I expected.

Spoiler

 

Chlorine (1995) by Doug Ryerson. 1 SP/coop map for vanilla Doom II.

This has an interesting gimmick with 9 secrets throughout, and a very clearly marked switch at the beginning that just opens them all up when you get fed up trying to find them. I managed to find 8 of them and only needed the switch for the Supercharge right past the blue door (I even knew it must be there, but couldn't figure out how to open it). I also have to admit that I'm rather proud of myself after reading ICID's review, as I didn't have much trouble with the progression, but then I think I'm pretty good at sniffing out switches and secrets and my big Doom weakness has always been the combat challenges. Despite the clear indication I still found that teleport puzzle frustrating, even trying to walk through the correct path I hit the line and was sent into an inescapable pit facing certain death. Despite the flaws I agree the map is still better than average, and I did like that gimmick switch.

Spoiler

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Rocky "Learned" Doom Builder (2022) by @RockyGaming4725 (From Doom with Love)

 

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I attempted to learn Ultimate Doom Builder with no help from outside sources, such as YouTube, the built-in guide, or people/forums, and this is the result. 17 maps of pure garbage. I did need some help with door textures, but that was it.

 

 

Quite literally, this is what it is. Although you do get a few little NoYe tributes (pressing switches right next to the starting locations, little AV jumps), probably in part because Rocky was only 13 at the time and likely saw those maps as being on the short and easy end of things. There are STARTAN boxes, STARTAN hallways and not a whole lot really worth talking about. "Titled Map" and "Kenny G Ain't Jazz Man" are probably the best ones for combat that more clearly reflects what Rocky was going for in the future. Although the latter will probably devolve largely to door-camping, it at least has a nice rocky ledge inside a barn for some reason. Map 06 is the one that's probably the best overall. Despite a seemingly unfair situation with a cyberdemon (there's an Invulnerbility behind an unmarked transparent wall) with barely enough shotgun shells to do away with him, the two Arch-viles and other assorted enemies at the end feel like a classic Rocky situation. It should be noted that he hadn't mastered the art of teleport traps at the time, so it's easy enough to cheese fights as they come. Rocky would go on to much bigger and better things, although idk if he's mapped at all since Hardfest 2, I sort of get the impression school and other things take up more of his time, but then, he might have just joined a community project or two. Taken for what it is, it doesn't totally suck. Even the HOM in the super-secret map can be excused 4/10

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

ZRAT (1994) by Dan Gannon, aka Maynard the Main Nerd (Crispy Doom)

 

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Designed especially for DEATHMATCH. Also good for single-player and cooperative play. Includes new graphics, made from scratch by the author, including animated "worm" walls and floors.

As reviews say, not too bad for '94, with the layout not being terribly symmetrical, though divided into 2 obvious halves. Although 'not too bad' doesn't mean good necessarily, as the cramped corridors and awkward lava floors indicate. The little bits of advertisement are hilarious and there's even a labrys floor symbol in one room. Looks good and doesn't really play too badly 5/10

 

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

OGRE Labs, version 2 (2006) by Russell Pearson (Crispy Doom)

 

Russell Pearson is the author of several maps which either made the top 100 wads of all time list or else like others of the time, experimented with the limits of Doom more generally. This map (seemingly his last original one), on the other hand, stinks of its time and it's not even ZDoom only!

 

As nice as the outdoor jungle looks, it's only a small portion of a profoundly repetitive and likely copy-pasted facility largely using nothing but vanilla textures that would probably make the Flange Peddler blush. In this period, there was a definite tendency toward making spaces not possible whatsoever under the original Doom engine. And while OGRE Labs may lack the overly busy detailing of other maps of the time, this just feels like one of those maps that people play when they just want to kill lots and lots of things with mods. To reiterate, this is a basically just an attempt to make a facility with largely vanilla textures that holds no real interest in the spatial sense, other than feeling like a real space. These days, constructing a real space in Doom is generally advised against with good reason.

 And indeed, other than the occasional Arch-vile maybe, that's literally all there is. Labeling of different base sections be damned, things just grow more annoying when the map starts to spring Imp ambushes behind you for what's basically no conceivable reason. Things finally start to show some deviation when we arrive at a portal (with a BFG in a nearby room required for the door-camping mess guarding it). Although first impressions of a vast and empty void do little, the screaming at the end with the faces really does not! I suppose one needs Boom to trigger the ending, but we all know what's coming anyways (death).

Despite some cool things this map attempts and it not entirely failing at combat, the repetition is just too much, it's probably around 4 rooms too long at least and there's really nothing here that would make anyone prefer this over more modern maps unless you really like the Tom Hall cliche of making "realistic" and plain spaces 4.5/10

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 20 by LadyMistDragon

[ICID]

 

Pendulum (2023) by Matthias (enkeli33)

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, continuous}

^{Source Port: PRBoom+ via Delta Touch, complevel 9}

 

A series of 11 gorgeous maps from the co-lead of my beloved Czechbox, boasting highly-detailed environments that take you from Egypt to Athens to an expansive Doomcute city to the inside of a giant demon. Unfortunately the scale of the maps is not really equalled by the combat - even on UV most maps have fewer than a hundred monsters, mostly little imps and zombies wandering around like ants lost in a skyscraper. Even vistas as incredible as these get a little dull when there's so little to do in them and I found my patience wearing thin well before the climax which, due to the WAD being unfinished, is just an unceremonious fight in a dreary cemetery. I wish I could have loved this, but it's still worth playing for the visuals alone.

 

 

Urotsuki 2: Cargo Cult (2016) by Lainos

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

^{Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2}

 

An excellent single map from Lainos, one of the all-time greats of Doom mapping. In 2014 and '15 he made a trilogy of horror-inspired maps called "Urotsuki" which I have not played; "Cargo Cult" was the first of what was planned to be a sequel trilogy, although maps two and three never materialized. A shame, because this first entry is absolutely terrific - rich with the creepy atmosphere Lainos brought to A.L.T., a haunting midi is your only companion through increasingly bizarre flesh n' tech visuals as you fight your way to a mysterious military base responsible for some kind of bizarre experiments (or are they rituals?) Combat starts easy enough with some chaingun-based hide and seek but escalates to what I would consider full-on slaughter as you penetrate the base. An excellent work I would call a true hidden gem - well, hidden from me at least.

[Walter confetti]

Secrets list for registered version of Heretic by Paul Falstad - FAQ Text file, Heretic, 1995, took a fast look with notepad

 

A pretty useful text wrote by Paul Falstad back in 1995 giving you a list of secrets for Heretic, plus a monsters and things list usage at the bottom of it, it gives you information about the game secret areas in detailed way. Nothing else to say.

 

Die, Nemesis, Die! by Cacodemon Leader - Limit Removing (?), graphic replacement (misplaced in levels\ports folder), 2001, played with DSDA-Doom 0.27.4

Spoiler

A little graphic replacement that replaces the Icon of Sin and Romero Head with a big picture of Nemesis, the infamous boss monster from Resident Evil 3 plus a surprise and a neat, energetic music replacing "Opening to Hell" with the theme from the game, even if for the italian meme I've expected this but it's a Italian meme so you guys never heard or care about this at all.

[brick]

Brick | 1 wad | 1 map
Adventure | 4 wads | 12 maps

 

CHORD3 (2000) by Malcolm Sailor. 1 map for Doom II in limit-removing port.
This was the last in what's probably Malcolm's most famous set of levels. Despite the name and map slot it's actually the fifth, but it doesn't really matter because they're all meant to be played from pistol-start, none have any story and really the only reason they're linked as a series is because Malcolm says so. They do share some design similarities, as with other Chords the beginning is a berserk-fuelled rage, but this one is almost much tighter on ammo even later on than I remember the others being. Getting the not-quite-secret SSG as soon as possible is practically required to even have a modicum of enjoyment, as there will be lots of archviles and barons to shotgun otherwise.Almost all the combat is very claustrophobic, including against a cyberdemon (thankfully I don't think it's possible to trigger it before getting the plasma rifle) and a finale in a small arena that unleashes one pack of nobles after the other. I actually had good fun with the map on HNTR, but I can see UV being incredibly frustrating not so much for the difficulty (which it probably is too) but more for the ammo starvation. I'm a little more positive than ICID and admire what the map accomplishes, I liked the aesthetics (the lighting as always for Malcolm is very beautiful) but I really recommend sticking to HMP even if you're very good, the UV ammo rationing is unlikely to be fun no matter your skill.

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[LadyMistDragon]

 

JUGERNAUT.DEH (1994) by Clayton Fiske and Chad Reindahl

 

A horrible idea with a misspelled word where shotgunners get replaced by a sprite that apparently has 1000 points of damage and will fly back when shot. However, I couldn't test it out because the deh would not load correctly in Crispy Doom. Shame!

 

SG DM in the Clouds (2001) by dimgeo (Crispy Doom)

 

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a SSG DM in the Clouds Two versions: - the new version - works with normal doom2 - the original - enhanced doom2 port required

Credits:id

Basically what it sounds like, with the addition of several shed-type buildings and a fence surrounding the whole thing. I guess it's fine if you like SSGing people but it's colorless 3.5/10

 

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Doom 64 Tech Bible (2011) by Kaiser

 

A truly authoritative description of all the technical aspects of Doom 64, including all the various little engine changes made as it was being developed. Some info will probably get a little too technical and dry to absorb correctly, but if you're completely obsessed with Doom 64, you should probably have this saved somewhere. As a compilation of Doom 64 information, you can't beat it anywhere.

 

 

 

octo.zip (1994) by HoltD (Crispy Doom)

 

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k, this may be a 'bit' overwhelming, and the mechanics may not be that great, but we all have to start somewhere! This .wad file is just basically an arena that IS doable if you keep running. Enjoy it.

 

Shouldn't it be more like 'underwhelming?' Tons of monsters but they're all on the other side and there's Invulnerbilities for all of them. Mostly, it's probably to alleviate the godawful darkness that greets us. Though there is flickering lighting, but the existence of that and one curving side corridor don't really change the fact that this shouldn't have been posted. Arena was similar but it least it had some charm, this is just junk not meant for broad public consumption 1/10

 

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Bastard (1996) by Jonathan Hopkinson (Crispy Doom)

 

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My second set of levels. Contains several traps and powerful monster as well as a MAZE of TORCHES, a couple of TREES, and a raise platform maze surrounded with poison. Most of the mazes are on the second level. The last level is the window level...It contains many windows so any monster can fire upon you. The first level just contains a pyramid exit. I recommend you play networked because one player mode is quite hard. Note: Some of the traps will make you think I am a bastard hence the name. None of the will kill you without a chance.

 

 

I'm not sure Jonathan received any feedback in his first set of maps that wasn't just from close friends because in most ways, these maps are quite bad. From some laughably chunky usage of textures such as crates and the E2 sky in certain locations for instance to the way they twist around in a most unhelpful and oftentimes still linear fashion, and of fucking course, powerups when they weren't asked for, nor required after a period where you're probably too-starved of health. Map 03 at least has a solid hot start in an arena room surrounded by caged windows, but the red key hallway with the boss monsters might just be a nadir of the set. This contrasts with a shockingly lovely vine-walled courtyard that doesn't appear either ridiculous or colorblind like a lot of the other nonsense here. The replacement sound effects for some monsters and weapon pickups are kind of funny in a way but mostly they're annoying. The best part unfortunately is the music, which seems culled from somewhere (one of them kind of sounds like something from Mega Man X) and isn't too different with its midi choices in any case. But this is better skipped  in the end 3/10

 

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Gardensnail (2004) by Pascal van Heiden (Crispy Doom)

 

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Medium size DM map, small building and its garden. BFG and Plasma are little harder to get. Play it oldskool, no jump, no aim, etc.

Believe me, I try to skip DM maps but they usually have something in their personality that keeps skipping from being justifiable. Anyways, here's this little effort by the creator of Doom Builder and to be honest, the opening rooms very much feel like demonstrations created in Doom Builder. Amusingly, Pascal seems to like marble because the majority of rooms have that disgusting pink green color. There's also monsters but they sort of feel like they have to be here. And the verticality in the exit room is just flat-out confusing 3/10

 

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Doom2 music band Wad (1998) by coyote6259

 

Basically, the music of different bands is split into different wads depending on the artists in particular. There's a couple of ska punk bands on there which is a genre I know nothing about. If nothing else, it's a good idea, despite it probably coming at the point where Doom mapping had become far more niche (read: preferring to not replace squat or use music from older wads than dare to touch poorly-mixed popular midis)

 

 

Sadhus time travel (2004) by BLAKE STONER (Crispy Doom)

 

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: This is a 12 new maps for doom 2. it replaces enemies, weapons, levels, music and sounds. it is realy really brutal. 2nd in Sadhus series: even tuffer than the last

 

 

I'm not sure about tough but one thing for sure is it being an obvious inheritor to the 'legacy' of The Sky May Be. Sprites are switched around literally everywhere, occasionally they're also replaced, textures and maps more generally are cobbled together in an intentionally poor fashion. Essentially, it's one of those "oooooh! SOOOOOO whacky, hahaa!!!" mods with some of the most ridiculous shit imaginable. Lost Souls are replaced with flying Goombas for god knows what reasons, giant-sized versions of the strippers from Duke Nukem can be seen prowling around, and the rocket launcher replacement looks like something from Hexen and makes a goofy chicken sound when it shoots its payload. I can't pretend it's very funny, but on the other hand, it's good at lampooning bad maps in a similar way that Mock2 does, all whilst showing some occasional marveling creativity. For the most part, it's another ugly wad, but it's quite impressive that this all works under vanilla. Except for Map 16, which I suspect would probably only work in DOSBOX or GZDoom due to the way most source ports reconcile broken linedefs.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 23 by LadyMistDragon

[brick]

Brick | 1 wad | 11 maps
Adventure | 5 wads | 23 maps

 

Pendulum (2023) by Matthias (AKA enkeli33). 11 SP maps for Doom II in Boom.
I mostly know @Matthias through his Heretic episode, which I remember liking quite a bit (I always think of it as that episode with the strange name but that's really good). The Raven influence is definitely here, this time mostly Hexen II, the textures and music are straight out of there, but also the general atmosphere and kinds of layouts that some of the maps go for. Visually the wad is beautiful with lots of detailing and Boom effects to enhance the atmosphere. Combat is a bit strange at first, the pistol is the only weapon until some time in the 2nd level but the opposition is balanced accordingly. It is not exactly the wad's strong suit but playing on HNTR I can't complain, the large spaces feel empty, the setpieces are not very challenging but they're well done and there are some fun surprises along the way. The visuals and the level design give a good feeling of exploration, the maps start short  despite the large distances, but they get longer by MAP08 (which I found irritating because of the hedge maze). MAP09 is a lengthy exploration with some bizarre detailing that must've taken an insane amount of time to make. MAP06 was another favourite with a very well designed multi-part and non-linear puzzle for the BSK. I had a very enjoyable time with the wad, even if you need more difficulty in your combat it's still worth going through at least to admire the sights.

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[LadyMistDragon]

Path to Hell (2015) by Michele Molducci (Zandronum)

 

I have no idea why anyone would just start making a single-player map in a multiplayer port and only then realize it wouldn't work properly in other ZDoom ports but anyways, despite a rather harsh review, this really plays pretty well, especially at the beginning when careful use of lighting and detail can be observed and you mown down large but rather unsturdy hordes. Occasionally, one will run across a room that appears to be empty for no particular reason but that's a rarer occurrence than certain reviews would indicate and anyways, that power tank room is really cool, despite that perhaps maybe one shouldn't kill everything before hitting the switch that lowers the red key. See, this map throws Baron quads at you on two occasions, once in this room, and once toward the very end where there's no choice but to kill them alll, due to scripting. And Baron placement elsewhere is such that I was internally joking about Baron shotgunning. And btw, the end cave is boring as hell and quite lacks the detailing of the rest. Makes the tiny little courtyard with the Mastermind seem like a better idea since there's little room to dodge her. But there's not whole lots else to complain about. Just don't ask about the secrets though, they're not really needed and talking about them would be a waste of time. 6.5/10

 

I did record a video, but Zandronum sucks and i don't wanna bother taking screenshots where I'm not sure where they'd go. Trust me though, it ain't bad.

 

[brick]

Brick | 1 wad | 1 map
Adventure | 6 wads | 24 maps

 

Stylin' 2 (2003) by John Wantland. 1 map for Doom II, maybe needs a port.
John has barely a handful of wads on idgames, one of them was a map "in the style of MAP01". It doesn't bear much resemblance to Entryway, the idea was to make an equivalent starter map (in an earlier version it was meant for Freedoom). This is a sequel, with again little similarity to Underhalls (though the watery tunnels bear a slight resemblance). It's not clear how the wad is meant to be played (these considerations were not very well communicated back then), I don't think there's any Boom or more advanced feature and the map looks like it should be fine under doom2.exe but even John isn't sure and says maybe it needs a port. By this he probably means any limit-removing port, all I can say is that it ran just fine under GZDoom with Doom compat. It looks like an improvement over the first, there's a bit more detailing, some of the architecture is very competently built. Combat is easy, as expected from something trying to be a MAP02 replacement, it's about on the level of the original Underhalls with mostly zombiemen and shotguns, with the occasional imp or demon. This will never top anyone's best of list but keeping in mind its stated goals it achieves them perfectly, it's small and short and easy, but all very well done.

Spoiler

 

[LadyMistDragon]

10 monsters (2021) by Ilya "joe-ilya" Lazarov (Crispy Doom)

 

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Only ten monsters per map, runs in vanilla, gets progressively harder. A semi-serious effort.

Joseph Robinette Ilya Jr. unfortunately has the reputation of a low-effort mapper who throws in a stupid gimmick or two into his maps more so than not. And these various maps (several which I presume were made for particular projects) don't do a whole lot to dispel that notion. Like you admittedly aren't going to be able to make a megawad-length series of 10 monster maps throughly, no matter how creative you may be. And well.....apart from these maps often lacking in substance, they'll hinge on some stupid gimmick, such as the Mancubi in Dead Crusher's need to be disposed of by a central crusher. The Arachnotrons that emerge than prove trivial due to the cover that's available. Still, there are 2 or 3 maps that are passable and there's actually two that are actually pretty good! Rocket Launcher features some intelligent monster placement and a healthy sense of challenge, while No Way Street has a layout likely inspired by Kama Sutra with the sort of furious combat of a Memfis map. Ammo Harvest, on the other hand, is a stupid gimmick, predicated on allowing first one Arch-vile, than at least another one to keep resurrecting chaingunners, so as to keep you supplied. And the fact remains this is a tedious and unfun process when the barrels in the center are so blatantly one and done. Or maybe it's best to wait to pick up most of the chainguns until the first Arch-vile is dead. It doesn't matter too much though. 2 fun maps don't make a good wad 5/10

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Mortal Kombat (1996) by Brian Smith (Crispy Doom)

 

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This is a Doom 2 Deathmatch WAD inspired by the Mortal Kombat movie and games. This is most evident in the automap once all the outdoors areas have been explored ;)

 

Alternatively, you could just stumble on the computer map and realize this is shaped like the Mortal Kombat logo. A missed opportunity for the Mortal Kombat theme though there might be a location or two that's Mortal Kombat-esque. As a deathmatch map though, there's a few too many weird curves but it's not weird by any means.

 

 

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Minigun from Zombie Doom (1999) by Dwight Ings aka Overkill 7777 (Crispy Doom)

 

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Due to the recent death of Zombie Doom, I've set out to create a series of weapons patches based on some of the weapons from the Zombie Doom beta. Al was cool enough to let me do this, so enjoy!

This patch changes the chaingun into a cool looking Terminator 2 style mini-gun.

 

 

I'm not sure whether it was too bad or not the mod in question had ceased development. I do know the gatling gun is a disappointment though. It just looks like someone took a sideways photo of the chaingun, then put it together with a hand sprite. Not exactly pushing Doom's limits.

 

 

Town (1996) by John Sparks (Crispy Doom)

 

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My brother and I have built over 50 levels to date. Five of our earlier levels, were released on the Book/CD ROM 'Tricks of the DOOM Programming Gurus' by SAMS Publishing. This wad file is meant to represent a small community over run by the hell spawn. I have taken time in the detail of the level wooden supports grassy spots small sidewalks pictures on the wall and fireplaces ect. The level is difficult but not impossible by any means, and also makes a great deathmatch level as it is not impossibly big. There are a few suprises but no anoying traps or puzzles to solve, I hate those.

 

 

Honestly, it's not really too bad. As much as I tend to hate these kinds of maps only using tan textures, it carries itself well in a way that's hard to explain, especially the buildings here are arguably rearranged versions of each other, and progression is a stupid switch-hunting game that doesn't do much but put more opposition in our way when backtracking. But some of the latter buildings have some neat details, skyboxes are used to represent paintings in a house or two, furniture becomes quite prolific, there's a red brick pool, and there's even a nice and snug little bedroom on the second floor of one building. On the downside, despite some fairly tight ammo, the combat ranges from not half-bad single-shotgunning of stronger enemies to.....shotgunning Barons, truly the most fun that you can have in Doom. Perhaps the empty outdoor courtyards with hardly any enemies are more of a drag. Put all that aside, it's not really too bad 5.5/10

 

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

DOY4.WAD (1996) by Doyoon Kim (Crispy Doom)

 

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This deathmatch wad is in a Roman like architecure setting. Everything is stony looking with pillars, pool baths, etc. I wanted to make it look as nice as possible.

Skill 4-5 is normal deathmatch with super shotguns and a couple rockets. Skill 3 is ALL rockets and is really a blast. Skill 1-2 is just plasma rifles and bloody murder.

Please e-mail me if you like this wad or have any comments.

 

 

That's really all you need to know about this shockingly lovely DM map. One other thing to note is that this is fairly small as well as entirely open and is rectangular-shaped. Not really a place with lots of sniper nests, but honestly not too bad for 4 players at all. And is that a well at the other end? 6/10

 

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Mineral Mine (1998) by Anime-Freak (Crispy Doom)

 

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Mineral Mine Is An Underground Adventure In A Mine In Peru. You Have Been Sent There To Investigate A Lost Contact With The Mine. Once You Get There, You Realize That Something Is Seriously Wrong.

 

 

Around the time anime had really started to gain mainstream acceptance for at least a year (I was still pretty young at the time, so idk when that was exactly). But that doesn't matter. These tunnels are so narrow, it's easy to trigger the blockmap bug for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, I'm fairly sure 95 percent of the population is shotgunners and while the large chasms at certain points are nice, the repetition is even more stifling than these narrow corridors if possible. Spicing up one bridge with an Arch-vile basically does nothing for any hook this map could have 3/10

 

 

 

 

POST11.WAD (1994) by Ray Trochim (Crispy Doom)

 

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*to play, just run the .bat file* Your outpost was over-run by monsters! You wait for the shuttle by the landing pad but a garbled messege hints to you that its going to be a no show. You must clear out the post yourself! You know that there are two yellow keys to the armory and the blue key is to get to the exit. The red key is to get into the command center.

 

This map is good for '94. Very good in fact. See, Ray seems to have struggled at this stage with making fine sector art like an actual helipad at the beginning and his subsequent attempts at Doomcute at various points are rather blocky, but at the same time, it's easy to identify things like computer vents in darkened tek hallways, a nearby monitoring station, barracks, and security stations at particular points. And all this is definitely appreciated. Also interesting Ray stuck to the script by placing zero zombiefied humans down.

 

But that's where the positives end. See, while the detailing is quite nice, there are too many hallways of minimal detailing that all blend into each other in a rather dull fashion. And while the combat is ok at certain points, it's often just as much a matter of stumbling into random rooms whilst likely underequipped. That stupid Lost Soul room that made me use all my rockets was the nadir of all this. Somewhat more bearable but not exactly great either were the closet traps which opened after practically every switch was pressed. At times, these ambushes felt laughably clumsy and overly predictable. I can only recommend this to people who are looking for maps with signs of different approaches beyond 'vanilla boxes.' 5.5/10

 

 

[brick]

Brick | 1 wad | 27 maps
Adventure | 7 wads | 51 maps

 

The Ultimate NMD (2009) by Fiend. 27 maps for vanilla Doom.
This came out at a time when highly detailed (and, quite frankly, overdetailed) maps were all the rage, hence the title and the humorous titlepic. That said the name is a little misleading, it might gives the impression of ugly maps with zero consideration for aesthetics but that's not quite true, it's just that the maps follow the same level of detailing as the IWAD's. The similarities to id's designs are obvious, each episode adheres rigidly to the original in texture choices, enemy and weapon selection, and map sizes are very similar. Levels occasionally borrow ideas from the original slot, but it's rarely in the form of overt homage or copied architecture, rather in more subtle ways like theme or choice of textures (though they're sometimes more obvious, such as E2M2's crate maze). This is reinforced by the level names, some of which hint at the original while others are completely unrelated. Combat is a little harder but not so much, though there are many early encounters with barons where shotgun is the only option and that's probably the wad's weak point. It's a fun set though, most maps are well designed and well laid out, low detailing is not so much of a flaw when it allows solid gameplay to be the main focus, and that's the case here.

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[Roofi]

Year 2 Month 11 Day 18

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

 

[1] Nice to See You by Jonathan Krainak (1995)

 

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This is my third wad, for deathmatch only. It actually turned out great, textures and alignment are good, but don't look too hard. All weapons present, BFG pretty well hidden. Many different sector heights and windows work great for deathmatch because you don't always know when your being watched (until someone swoops down and busts a cap in your ass.) Anyway, it's great deathmatch material nothing too tricky or "neat" but it just seems to work.

 

A quite experimental deathmatch map, centered around a large courtyard including lot of moats. Dont trust the author, the alignements of the textures isn't good and

the use of WOLF 3D textures don't really enhance the picture. No matter, The overall layout is mostly composed of square rooms and the interconnectivity between them remains more than basic. "Nice to see You" turns out to be a junction of random ideas like many DM maps from the 90's because I highly doubt of its playability.

 

I died in the slaughter part of My Little DOOM map

 

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[LadyMistDragon]

Damage01.wad (1996)  by Cole "MaNCeR" Savage (Crispy Doom)

 

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A great DM level, for 2 players it's very cool! For 3 players it starts to get pretty intense! For 4 players it's a complete frag fest!

 

 

 

 

Despite what this says, it's probably best for 1 v1. Not a whole lot stands out about it, other than Cole's adverts everywhere. A tan color scheme that one might compare to E4's Fear where atmosphere's concerned. Square 5/10

 

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Phobos: Relive the Nightmare (1996) by "Shams" Young (Crispy Doom)

 

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This is a nine-level WAD file with new graphics, music, and sound FX. The levels are very detailed, and are designed to mimic the "style" of the original shareware Doom. I have always thought that the best official Doom levels were the shareware levels. Even though they were too easy, and didn't have the same weapons/monsters variety that Doom 2 does, they LOOKED better than any of the other levels. I think this is because Doom is much better at simulating man-made structures than it is at simulating the "hell" type levels.

This is an attempt at bringing back the "classic", realistic look of the Doom 1 levels. The story is the same as Doom 1 - Knee Deep in the Dead. You must fight your way through the Phobos moon base to the anomaly that monsters are pouring through. Check out th

 

 

Why did Shamus misspell his own name like that? Well, no matter. This is the last release for the beloved creator of the top 100 wad Doom City. And since this one somehow failed to make it (probably because Ling wanted to put the project he'd done one map for '96 instead :P), I'm obligated to give it a look. Not as if that makes it any less of a tragedy it was ignored.

 

One of the easiest things to compare this to is the Doom 1 episode Fava Beans. But while that one was slavishly devoted to KDitD themes in a way that probably doesn't quite help it, Seamus instead has a genesis quo of his own. None of the Doomcute of Doom City is present here but on the other hand, it doesn't really need to be. Every map here has some awesome and solid interlinking. These also don't go on for very long either. As per E1 rules, secrets are stupidly easy to find, especially if they're being sought out. Amusingly enough, berserk packs are found easily and early in the first several maps, but in the last third, you'll have to spend far more effort and time to find the larger guns. 08 even allows you to collect the keys in any order! Although one could theoretically skip all of them if they make a tricky leap from the yellow key ledge to the exit door. I dunno if this was on purpose, but I can't complain.

 

Combat generally works quite well. Seamus seems to have a thing for Pain Elementals because they are found in reasonable numbers throughout the map. AV placement is a little bit more questionable. While one can be found on the second map on UV, their subsequent appearances tend to be quite scattered and it almost feels like something's being held back at times. Later on, hitscanners really start to pack the maps in question, while the set concludes with a sort of hellish adjacent circle-strafe slaughter in the void, entirely different from what has come before. 

 

The custom title screen and midis (composed by Shamus himself if Doom City is any indication) are quite solid and nice, bolstering a sort of electronic futuristic feel, a la an alternate and inferior Icarus OST. Yet, it's not quite a complete package in that regard. Perhaps because combat is ultimately quite straight-forward, despite some potential for unpredictable situations in later maps. Let's just say I can understand part of the reason that this didn't make the top 100.

 

It's still kind of a shame because it seems after this point, Shamus moved on from Doom to focus on writing and other games and oddly never looked back because he doesn't seem to have dropped off the face off the earth like Yonatan Donner and the Moeller Bros. Despite the fact that this does start to wear thin after some time, it's more engaging than Fava Beans at least and just can't be ranked too lowly 6.5/10

 

 

PS: That 20 damage floor in that later map with hardly any non-secret rad suits around is stupid/

 

 

Edited April 28 by LadyMistDragon

[Clippy]

I managed to get another adventure goin

 

 

 

 

This is Sprike2 by 

John Bishop

 

which sounds familiar

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/sprike2
John Bishop

There is lots of weird stuff and ideas in this map and sadly some boring stuff too - a very brown quake style map

 

With an acid maze area that serves NO purpose - literally none - I always hated that shit like in tricks and traps, preserving suits and exploring to get NO REWARD OR PROGRESSION AT ALL

 

Some of the fights were kinda repetitive too like the switch room where you press I think like 10 or more switches, send monsters, press more switches, switches coming out of the floor raising corpses lol all the get a red key

 

a red key hidden behing a damn near unrecognizable almost secret looking door

 

nope, thats progression

 

all this lead to a very slow burn that felt like a slog, lost and confused slow going

 

and worse of all the presence of ghost monsters, which I still think is the most annoying thing ever lol. Not knowing an enemy is present til they rip your face off? Literally unfair and frustrating gameplay presence that nboody enjoys, but thankfully it only happened a few times

 

despite some gameplay annoyances, there was come decent moments and the design had some intrigue, I think someone liked the arch texture

 

out of words bye

Edited April 28 by Clippy

[ICID]

 

AirRaid1 (2001) by Jimmy "AirRaid" MacLean

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, continuous}

^{Source Port: Crispy Doom}

 

The first map here is the angriest I've been at a WAD in some time. "The Chasm, but there's no escape, it's a maze where you have to hit five switches, it's fully in the dark, and at the end of it a cyberdemon rises up to take free potshots at you" is already the work of a heartless monster but that's only one of the many rooms designed to inspire frustration in the player. These also include a Barrels o' Fun run where you have to pray that the random number generator doesn't make a pinky block you (pictured above), an obvious Cyberden riff where the open field is also covered in shotgunners, a couple tricks and traps-y instakill rooms, numerous softlock pits, and the exit room. Good lord, that exit room. You're presented with eight switches, nothing differentiates them, seven of them kill you with a crusher. You saw this exact same dumb idea a lot in the 90s, but then you find the right switch and...the next room has seven. The next has six. And so on and so on until you get to the actual exit.

 

I don't mind difficulty in Doom; in fact, I welcome it. But this map tests your patience, not your skill.

 

The second map in the set is also bad, but in a more pedestrian way: it's a bloodfall maze where every room has the same texture and lighting, and you wander around poking enemies and hunting keys. It is much, much shorter than MAP01 and while it exhibits no creativity whatsoever, in this one instance that might be a good thing.

 

 

SR388 - Planet 3.4 BETA 1 (1996) by Lyndon Tremblay

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, pistol starts}

^{Source Port: Crispy Doom}

 

An ambitiously comprehensive series of DeHackEd patches that, unlike most such patches of its time, don't suck - the new sound effects are meaty and appropriate instead of just being random Monty Python quotes, the decor is used sparingly, and it mostly works to achieve the 5-map set's intent of making a continuous, atmospheric journey through a demon-overrun spaceport. Especially impressive for a 16-year-old in 1996. I'm not sure why the shotgun now looks like a red chaingun, but at least it still works like it should.

 

By the author's own admission, the maps here were unfinished and you can certainly tell: they're janky, seemingly missing sprites (or maybe every barrel, every key, and some elevators are supposed to be invisible on purpose?) They don't have enough monsters, aren't much fun and I couldn't figure out how to beat some of them without IDCLIP. But I can see what Tremblay was trying to do, a sort of early Equinox (even including similar hub areas in Maps 02 and 04) and I really wish he'd uploaded the finished version of the set, or indeed anything else, to /idgames.

 

 

The Dungeon of Aoxozoxoa (1994) by Geoffrey Oliver

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

^{Source Port: Crispy Doom}

 

A WAD based on a dungeon from a three-year AD&D campaign the author was a part of. As a longtime DM/GM myself the layout very much feels like a graph-paper D&D map and took me back to my days running 3e. As a Doom WAD there's not much to say - maze of big square rooms using mostly the same textures, with a decent monster count. The evil wizard Aoxozoxoa is represented by a Spider-Mastermind surrounded by a Caco swarm. Compared to the other two things I've played today I had a decent enough time with this; it's functional and nostalgic and lame.

 

 

Hellbolt (1995) by Bjornar Johansen

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

^{Source Port: Crispy Doom}

 

A map from a friend of Sverre André Kvernmo that feels shockingly modern in some regards. The main conceit here is a long hallway with a cyberdemon at the end and several branching paths - you take these paths to find keys, then come back to the spine and kill the cyberdemon. Good combat and nice-looking architecture for its time - I particularly like the all-blue area (though I couldn't get good screenshots of it due to the dim lighting). Had a devil of a time finding the red key, but this is otherwise a solid little hidden gem.

[ICID]

Thanks for playing, everyone - here's the new thread!