Recommend me some WADS

[ryaxnb]

So I've gotten back into doom. I downloaded many wads, but i want some non-stars. I've downloaded all the interesting looking wads from the Cacowards and 10years of doom, are there any other good levels.

Here are some levels I've liked:

Earth
Suspended in Dusk
Memento mori 2
KDiZD.
Deus Vult II.
TVR
Phobos
Community chest series
Cheogosh.

So some interesting Wads would be nice, in the same vein as those above. Single maps are fine, as are megawads or episode wads, or even mod wads.
Some non-obvious choices would be nice, i've skimmed the surface, but of doom's thousands of wads, i only have about 15.

I like "pretty" wads, Small wads, simple wads, and Risen3d/EDGE/Eternity Wads. I can use any major source port except doomsday, which seems to lockup on my computer. I own DOOM2 and Ultimate Doom (and final doom.)

[esselfortium]

If you enjoyed the design style in some of KDiZD's later maps (particularly z1m6), you will love Vader's two-map set Thunderpeak. You might also enjoy his older vanilla megawad Rebirth.

If you enjoyed Suspended in Dusk, you will probably also like Espi's vanilla e2 replacement Back to Basics, as well as his MAP27 from the Eternal Doom 4: Return From Oblivion demo.

Since you listed some vanilla megawads, you might like Alien Vendetta and the recent, professionally-polished Plutonia 2.

Erik Alm's limit-removing/Boom megawads Scythe and its epic sequel Scythe 2 are also beloved favorites.

Since you listed some ZDoom wads, I can't go without mentioning the amazing, atmospheric survival-on-an-abandoned-spaceship wad, RTC-3057 Hub 1. You'll need to either run it in an old ZDoom version or edit the DECORATE lump to change "Pistol" to "Pistol1", but it's worth the 30 seconds of work. It's nearly 5 years old now, but still stands up as more impressive (both visually and otherwise) than the vast majority of modern ZDoom wads.

Those should keep you busy for a while :)

[Hitherto]

Alright, we got white pussy, black pussy, spanish pussy, yellow pussy. We got hot pussy, cold pussy. We got wet pussy. We got smelly pussy. We got hairy pussy, bloody pussy. We got snapping pussy. We got silk pussy, velvet pussy, naugahyde pussy. We even got horse pussy, dog pussy, chicken pussy.

[Deeforce]

@Hitherto: LoL. I like this movie, too!
@ryaxnb: You may want to try out some of my favorites! I made 2 threads about it: 1. thread, 2. thread.

[Brandon D. Lade]

Okay, let's get back on track here. Here are my suggestions (based on the ones you listed above):

If you liked Suspended In Dusk, other good maps by Espi iclude e2m1er, Laitos, Ruma, and Back To Basics. He also did Map27 in Eternal Doom IV as well as a map or two in Flashback Demos 1 and 2.

If you liked Memento Mori 2, then Requiem is also a must. Memento Mori is also recommended, though it's build quality is a bit lower and it is also HEAVILY coopmitized.

If you liked KDiZD, one of the authors who contributed to KDiZD created Rebirth, Castle Nevermore, and Thunderpeak. All 3 of those wads are highly recommended.

If you liked DVII, which contains tons of monsters and some epic maps, you should certainly be sure to check out the first Deus Vult as well. You should also certainly try Alien Vendetta. If you are a fan of good, big wads with lots of monsters, also be sure to check out Slayer, Hell Revealed 1 and 2 as well as the recent Plutonia 2. If Plutonia 2 interested you, be sure to also check out Kama Sutra; one of the mappers prominent in the map making of PL2 was prominent in this wad as well, plus it is just another very good megawad (and yes, some maps have lots of monsters to boot).

If you liked TVR because it had maps that were good, simple, and to the point, you should consider looking at Demonfear, Congestion 1024, and Scythe. While on the topic of Scythe, it note that Scythe 2 is also VERY highly recommended. If you are looking for some REALLY short maps, you might want to check out two recent wads: Elegy and Congestion 384.

If you liked the Community Chest wads, be sure to also check out the Newdoom Community Project.

If you enjoyed Cheogsh, then check out Kobal and Inflation Bay by the same author.

[Brandon D. Lade]

Over the past day few weeks, I had already been skimming /idgames to find all the good wads available for Doom. I have completed looking in all the folders, and since I believe here is an appropriate place to share what I've found, here is a list I came up with of NUMEROUS episodes and megawads (at least 4 maps), in addition to the ones mentioned above, that I would recommend taking a look at:

Dystopia 3
Trooper's Playground
BF_Thud!
Chris Kyle Maps for Doom I (Note: if playing BF_THUD!, stop after E1M5; all maps thereafter are used in that wad)
RAGE Doom
Icarus
Slaughter Until Death
The Evil Unleashed
Fava Beans
Eternal Doom
Talosian Incident
Strain
Mordeth Episode 1 (unless you want to wait the rest of your life for the project to be finished)
Dawn of the Dead
Phouse: House of Portals
Army of Darkness
Farewell to Doom
The Darkening Episodes 1 and 2
Crusades
Batman Doom
Herian 2
10 Sectors
Classic Episode 1 and 2
Hell Factory
Obituary
Trust
Darkest Hour and its prequel
Equinox
2002 A Doom Odyssey
Vengeance
Caverns of Darkness
Inferno
Realm of Shades (also try Demonized from same author; it's even better, but only two maps)
Dark7 and Mission Pack 1
Project: Slipgate
Southern Cross
Nimrod
CH Retro Episode (if you like this, also look at Rip it, Tear it, Smash it! as well as High/Low 1, 2, and 3 by the same author; these ones have less than 4 maps a piece but they are also in the style of Classic Doom episodes)
007: License To Spell Doom
Phobos: Anomaly Reborn
Brotherhood of Ruin
Adventures of MassMouth 1 and 2 (also check out Massmouthas; 3 level expansion pack)
Action DooM 1 and 2
RTC3057 Hub 1
Super Sonic Doom
No Hope For Life Episode 1
Subversion
Phobos Revisited
Simply Phobos
Simplicity
Hi-Tech Hell 2
Crimson Canyon
Azagthoth
Vae Victus 1 and 2
Zen Dynamics
Phobia: The Age
Epic
Remain 1 Chapter 1
Remain 3
DSV Episodes 4 and 5 (episodes 1-3 aren't so great)
Ultimate Torment & Torture
Hatoma Battles the Yomi Demons
Demons of Problematique
Cold as Hell
BGPA Missions: Liberation
Titan 1 and 2
Sillouhettes of Phobos
Da Will
Tribute
Death Tormention 1, 2, and 3
Twilight Zone 1 and 2
Redemption
Doom Mercenaries Demo
BloodRust
Garrulo (for those VERY annoying SS guys, grab a patch here)
Phobos - Relive The Nightmar
Flay The Obscene
Fracture
Hacx
Parallel Dimension
The Lost Seraphin
Claustrophobia
Biowar
Number One Kill The Next Generation
Cyberdreams
Scientist 2
Vile Flesh
32 Inch Nails
Real World 1 and 2
Needs More Detail 1 and 2
Nilla
Return To Purgatory
City of Doom
Legions of Hell 2
Chosen
Pleaides
Prometheus Experiment
Italian Doom Episode 1
Temple of the Ancients
Selfish Episode
End Game
Biovite Project
Data Center
Debut
The Beginning of the End
Invasion
Extremal Doom
Cleimos 2 - Part B
One Bloody Night
Cygnus IV
Dark Covenant
Assault on Tei Tenga
Captain Mancubus
Hell Assault
The Dusk
Enigma Episode
Fort 3, 4, and 5
Map Set 1
Kill Zone 2 (KZ1 is not as good)
My First Attempts (They're better than most)
Odyssey
Osiris
Perdition's Gate (by Alex Mayberry)
Post The Mini Episode
Real
Realm of Evil (Skip the first map though)
RJG Blast
Slugfest
Space 2096
1024 Seized Megawad
Wonderfull Doom

So here you go. This is the full list (combined with wads listed in above posts) of ALL wads for Doom I and II with 4 levels or more that I feel are worth playing. They also all are currently rated at 4 stars or higher on /idgames. It is the result of an effort I made to look all across /idgames and find what's good. Of course, some of these are quite old school and basic, some are much more modern, and some clearly look and/or play better than others. But, as said above, I think they are all worth a look at the very least - and they all are rated at least pretty good on /idgames. I think this is one of the most, if not THE most complete list of worthwhile episodes/megawads ever made. It also, as you may see, contains some wads that I believe are rarely mentioned and are overlooked, and therefore, there may even be some episodes in this list many of you are not at all familiar with, yet are worth playing. I hope you (all) appreciate my efforts!

EDIT: If I find a wad's rating has dropped below 4 stars, I will remove it from this list. I just did that with Doom Resurrection. However, it will be returned to the list if its rating returns to 4 stars of better.

That said, please do NOT intentionally try to knock a wad right on the lower edge of 4 stars down to 3.5 or lower for no reason other than to see if it makes the wad disapper from this thread when/if I see. Such a move/moves would be HIGHLY unappreciated. Thank you.

[Brandon D. Lade]

Wow, I do all that all work and then the thread dies. Where'd you go, ryaxnb?

[Cupboard]

Uh, it's not dead. The thread just started yesterday.

[Brandon D. Lade]

TheCupboard said:

Uh, it's not dead. The thread just started yesterday.

I understand that in the true sense of the word it is not (yet) an old thread, but for posting such a complete list as a response to someone who asked for good wads - a list that probably contains some that are not mentioned very often - I would expect to get some attention. Sort of just suffering from an attention drought. I sent a PM to the guy who started this thread to try to stimulate some attention. Hopefully that will help.

[Brandon D. Lade]

I'd just like to make note that the list I have been working on above for a couple of days is now complete. It now contains ALL good episodes or megawads I was able to find for Doom throughout my painstaking /idgames search. I hope it is one of the most complete such listings available on the web. See above for details; hope you all enjoy!

[WH-Wilou84]

Brandon D. Lade said:

I would expect to get some attention. Sort of just suffering from an attention drought. I sent a PM to the guy who started this thread to try to stimulate some attention. Hopefully that will help.

Hey Brandon, maybe this guy can't spend as much time as you do on those forums, for various reasons :)
Gime him some time, like a day or two, and I'm sure he'll appreciate your work.
Advertising it too much and craving for attention, on another side, can lead to unwanted effects ( see this for instance ).

[Kyka]

I find I virtually never just randomly download a level from the archives directly. I don't really have the time to sift through piles of wads, I only really play wads if they come recommended. So yeah, Cacowards are pretty useful for that.

And threads like this are pretty good for that too. I can just look at a thread like this, and go "Hey, this sounds good"

Thanks for the recommendations guys. And nice work Brandon for such an impressive list. There is enough wads there to keep me going for like the next 18 months.

[GreyGhost]

[WH]-Wilou84 said:
Advertising it too much and craving for attention, on another side, can lead to unwanted effects ( see this for instance ).

And who can forget the shitstorm the project release thread provoked with it's attention whoring.

[myk]

Brandon D. Lade said:
This is the full list (combined with wads listed in above posts) of ALL wads for Doom I and II with 4 levels or more that I feel are worth playing.

No it isn't a "full list". The list varies per person, as we all have distinct tastes on what makes a good WAD. Naturally, I'd say some things are missing there and some could be eliminated.

While other people's lists may sometimes point to good stuff to try, one has to be pretty insecure about one's own tastes to make such an effort to build a list from what others think. It might have some use, but it's also lame, especially as it doesn't say anything (being basically based on what the masses and other lists have said).

[Shaikoten]

<selfpimp>
Diet 32in24 if you like the oldschool theme of real-world set fights in malls, etc., infested by demons, with newschool style high quality detailing. It's quirky, 16 maps long, varying gameplay styles, a compilation of many authors. Quality fluctuates, but it doesn't really feel like more of the same, and has a decent humor element. It's from a speedmapping project, where all of the layouts were created in 24 hours. Check it out, I like it. I'm biased, since I contributed heavily, but you might like it.
</selfpimp>

[Brandon D. Lade]

myk said:

No it isn't a "full list". The list varies per person, as we all have distinct tastes on what makes a good WAD. Naturally, I'd say some things are missing there and some could be eliminated.

While other people's lists may sometimes point to good stuff to try, one has to be pretty insecure about one's own tastes to make such an effort to build a list from what others think. It might have some use, but it's also lame, especially as it doesn't say anything (being basically based on what the masses and other lists have said).

I posted this to a) help the one who started this thread, b) try and slow down the posting of those repetitious "what are some good wads?" threads, and c)have a list both others and me can easily look at when they are looking for wads to play. Regarding your "full list" remark, yes there are of course other wads that someone in this world, or even on these forums, thinks is just awesome. There are probably other sets of 4 levels or more that I think are just awesome, yet are not rated at 4/5 or better. But can you find (very many) wads not on this list that have at least 4 maps, are rated with an AVERAGE of at least 4 stars on /idgames, AND you think there is at least a case for them to solidly deserve that rating? I'd bet there aren't that many. Finally, regarding your "it is lame" remark, it wasn't meant to provide details. It was to give a helpful list people could look at and to even bring attention to some more obscure (rarely mentioned) wads that still deserve a play.

[myk]

Brandon D. Lade said:
But can you find (very many) wads not on this list that have at least 4 maps, are rated with an AVERAGE of at least 4 stars on /idgames, AND you think there is at least a case for them to solidly deserve that rating?

I don't think you can ask me that. Didn't I just say "screw the ratings"? Besides, I already said such a list may have some use, although since it's not genuinely personal, without some some additional info or backing it's just a cheap list. More so when it's pompously presented as a "complete list" and then pimped with the creation of another thread which has the sole purpose of pointing to it.

[Use]

Hey Nilla is on there, neat.

[Brandon D. Lade]

Use3D said:

Hey Nilla is on there, neat.

It was rated well on /idgames and I personally think it is a very good effort as well. So thanks for complimenting on its inclusion.

[Brandon D. Lade]

Just an update to point out that I've decided to include two more oldschool mapsets: Chris Kyle for Doom I and RAGE Doom. That's all.

[Pirx]

whatever. it's a very comprehensive list, essential perhaps. i spent about an hour checking my collection with this. thanks.

[Brandon D. Lade]

Decided to add a few more wads to the list: Phouse - House of Portals, Army of Darkness, and Farewell to Doom. Phouse and AOD I missed because they were in /themes, and Farewell doesn't look that great at some points but plays quite well.

[40oz]

myk said:

No it isn't a "full list". The list varies per person, as we all have distinct tastes on what makes a good WAD. Naturally, I'd say some things are missing there and some could be eliminated.

Brandon D. Lade said:

So here you go. This is the full list (combined with wads listed in above posts) of ALL wads for Doom I and II with 4 levels or more that I feel are worth playing.

How can his opinion not be full?

[myk]

That's a rhetorical and insubstantial reply. We're talking about the list, not his opinion. And his opinion is full of... what? The whole point of what I was saying is that if it's full of anything, it's the superficial effects of other people's opinions. Brandon's procedure is more or less the opposite of having (or providing) a personal opinion on the WADs. To rely mainly on external opinions, but to not even transmit them. Compare this to making a list with good WADs giving consistent and personal opinions on each. You can give some of the reasons why you think WADs are good and, even if you don't, at least the list is primarily based on what you think about them.

Instead of trying to provide a complete list of the best WADs using various external means (attempting to act as a proxy to general opinion), one provides one's own opinions, letting others fill in the gaps corresponding to their (different) points of view.

[Brandon D. Lade]

myk said:

That's a rhetorical and insubstantial reply. We're talking about the list, not his opinion. And his opinion is full of... what? The whole point of what I was saying is that if it's full of anything, it's the superficial effects of other people's opinions. Brandon's procedure is more or less the opposite of having (or providing) a personal opinion on the WADs. To rely mainly on external opinions, but to not even transmit them. Compare this to making a list with good WADs giving consistent and personal opinions on each. You can give some of the reasons why you think WADs are good and, even if you don't, at least the list is primarily based on what you think about them.

Instead of trying to provide a complete list of the best WADs using various external means (attempting to act as a proxy to general opinion), one provides one's own opinions, letting others fill in the gaps corresponding to their (different) points of view.

My personal opinion of each of these wads IS good, or at least OK. However, if there are other wads that I have a good opinion of, yet they have less than 4 stars (for an example, remember Serenity, Eternity, Infinity in the other thread you saw), they do not get posted on this list no matter how much I like them. But if I flat out dislike them, they don't make this list no matter what rating they get on /idgames.

Actually, I don't play or deal with wads rated less than 4 stars on /idgames, no matter what I may think of them. In other words, just the fact that a wad has less than 4 stars on /idgames is enough alone to stop me from thinking that it is a good wad in my opinion.

[40oz]

myk said:

That's a rhetorical and insubstantial reply. We're talking about the list, not his opinion. And his opinion is full of... what? The whole point of what I was saying is that if it's full of anything, it's the superficial effects of other people's opinions. Brandon's procedure is more or less the opposite of having (or providing) a personal opinion on the WADs. To rely mainly on external opinions, but to not even transmit them. Compare this to making a list with good WADs giving consistent and personal opinions on each. You can give some of the reasons why you think WADs are good and, even if you don't, at least the list is primarily based on what you think about them.

Instead of trying to provide a complete list of the best WADs using various external means (attempting to act as a proxy to general opinion), one provides one's own opinions, letting others fill in the gaps corresponding to their (different) points of view.

I think you're just splitting hairs. I'm fairly certain he didn't analyze the word "full" nearly as much as you are before he typed it. I don't really see what you are trying to achieve here by criticizing it so much either. Personally I'm in favor of the wads he listed, and I'm glad he did. There's some gold in there that I managed to overlook.

[myk]

JohnnyRancid said:
I think you're just splitting hairs.

To be frank, I think you are a thick teenager with a need to provoke authorities. Be careful, as you know from experience where this can lead you, and I already feel a bit tempted.

I'm fairly certain he didn't analyze the word "full" nearly as much as you are before he typed it.

I don't think he could, which is why I act in a somewhat instructive manner.

I don't really see what you are trying to achieve here by criticizing it so much either.

It's called generosity. I prefer to explain things, even from different angles, rather than simply sweep away what I see as stupid or non-constructive to the forums. That doesn't mean the people I'm talking to will understand, but as least I can be content I tried, before taking any other steps.

I'm not interested in prolonging this discussion, as I don't see you fit to do it maturely. Keep in mind we are not exactly equals here. With that, I lock the thread, which has become centered on this issue. Take care.