Best Megawad Map 30's

[Spectre01]

So a lot of great PWAD's, especially the older ones, end with a crappy IoS map 30 but which maps do y'all think make for a great and memorable finale? My top 3 would probably be Sunlust's God Machine, Scythe 2's Haunting Dreams and Valiant's Electric Nightmare.

[Walter confetti]

1994 tune-up is really epic (even if pretty hard for me...)

This isn't (half) self-advertising, no no.

[Budoka]

I'm just going to link my own thread on this topic as the opening post is pretty much my answer to your question, not to mention it will give you a few more answers:

https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/85325-most-satisfying-final-maps-and-bosses-youve-seen-in-pwadswith-some-prerequisites/

My criteria were a little more restrictive though, so there's that.

[Nevander]

Would you consider a MAP30 that ends in IoS battle but has plenty of stuff going on before the final battle as a crappy IoS map?

I'm planning my MAP30 of my own megawad to be an IoS fight but it's going to be a) much more complex and b) require more than 3 or 4 rockets. I don't think I am interested in making a whole new boss enemy to fight but would rather improve upon the existing boss premise.

Be thinking Serious Sam TSE's final level or even BFE's. Huge army to fight leading up to the boss.

[scifista42]

Of all megawad MAP30s I've ever played, I honestly haven't found a single one truly great. I'm not condemning them out of principle, but I have yet to see a MAP30 as fun and exciting as the best of non-MAP30 maps. I believe it's possible.

[Graf Zahl]

The best MAP30 (IoS map) is something like Doom 2's with a port supporting freelook. Just take aim and blast a few rockets into that godforsaken hole. Game over. End of story.

I've yet to see ANY game that does boss maps well. They are nearly always the same: Enter arena, discover some ridiculously overpowered enemy, then blast off until it's dead or you run out of patience.

[Pencil of Doom]

The only one i can think of is the BDSPHellonEarth's map30, which has that giant IoS can spit fireballs and explosives at you, even though it's a GZdoom/Zandronum megawad.

[HavoX]

Graf Zahl said:

The best MAP30 (IoS map) is something like Doom 2's with a port supporting freelook. Just take aim and blast a few rockets into that godforsaken hole. Game over. End of story.

cheater :P

Anyway, my personal favorite has got to be Last Call from TNT: Evilution. The idea of having to fight your way to the IoS is genius. Sure, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's an experience I will never forget and will possibly give me some inspiration.

[Pirx]

well there's a difference if by map30 you mean a classic IoS setup, or a boss fight.

if it's icon of sin, then kama sutra's eh... demon spawner.

if it's a boss fight, i liked valiant's super-vile, obviously, or a epic gzdoom map i can't remember its name right now where the final boss and 2 guards use the effect from terminator when they appear.

mark IV's icon boss would be something in between in guess.

[Tristan]

Sunlust.

[Dime]

Plutonia 2, It feels like you've actually descended to the very depths of hell with the look/music. And you're in for a hell of a fight.

[j4rio]

Behold, the best IoS fight.

[june gloom]

Graf Zahl said:

I've yet to see ANY game that does boss maps well. They are nearly always the same: Enter arena, discover some ridiculously overpowered enemy, then blast off until it's dead or you run out of patience.

How would you do a boss map well, though?

[dobu gabu maru]

D2INO and Unholy Realms both have spectacular IoS fights IMO.

[gaspe]

Dime said:

Plutonia 2

The music, the visual effect of the apparition of the boss and the fact that it's quite short to beat make this the best IoS level for me.
And Eternal Doom Excalibur. Most people will probaly hate it for its puzzles, but it's a really stunning level.

[Varis Alpha]

gaspe said:

And Eternal Doom Excalibur. Most people will probaly hate it for its puzzles, but it's a really stunning level.

stunning in how asinine the progression is, maybe. you have to go through a wall, activate lifts that looks like ordinary walls, press switches that look like ordinary walls, press switches covered by textures, get onto ledges you have to really pay attention to see what they do, press switches and guess what they do, just walk in a direction to activate a trigger, and of course you need all the 6 keys to beat this vanilla level.

maybe it's the most Eternal Doom way to end a mapset, but i doubt anyone would have the patience to beat it without looking up how to do it at the wiki. seriously.

[Da Werecat]

Doomhuntress said:

maybe it's the most Eternal Doom way to end a mapset, but i doubt anyone would have the patience to beat it without looking up how to do it at the wiki.

I'll tell you a secret: people were looking it up on wiki even before wiki existed. That's how bad that level is!!

[Budoka]

Pirx said:

well there's a difference if by map30 you mean a classic IoS setup, or a boss fight.

As I implied in my own thread, nothing stops you from casting a judgment on the very notion of having an IOS map in the first place. The concept doesn't have to be held to an exceptional standard just because it happens to be what the guys at Id decided to do. I say it's completely fair to compare an IoS map to a final map that doesn't use that particular design, and in light of that I say that the vast majority of IoS map simply weren't worth it.

[valkiriforce]

Last Call, Viper and Excalibur.