More happenings in newstuff then, as the new year gets moving. 24 wads with 15 maps await this week including a bunch of skins, patches and those increasingly popular weapons mods. The maps are mostly classic, so fans of source ports won't be interested much by this week's offerings.
- Day in Hell by Jimi
1800kb - JDoom - SP -
A map which was missed by me last time round, and somehow ended up coming back to me after two consecutive reviewers missed it. Basically a small city set in hell, this map is dark, sinister and has the looks, atmosphere and an ambient tune to back it up. Unfortunately once again the issue of playability has been missed - it's virtually pitch red outside, and the missing sky texture makes it unplayable anyway (ah, the wonders of crappy 3D cards and/or whatever causes this strange bug on my system). The only source of weapons/ammo/health is a building on the far side, if you fail to find this first then don't even bother trying to fight. And the final battle is reliant on a powerup, which could easily be grabbed by accident in the battle that lies just before it. If you play it right it will be ok, if not then you'll hate it.
- 3dsonic skin by Cutmanmike
114kb - skin port - n/a -
It looks like Cutmanmike has gone skin crazy, as here's a bunch of 4 from him. This first one is a Sonic one, and isn't too bad (although the status bar face looks familiar).
- Cactuar skin by Cutmanmike
26kb - skin port - n/a -
This one turns you into a running cactus, but doesn't have many frames so it's not as detailed as the other skins. Still, it could be quite funny in deathmatch games.
- Cutmanmike skin by Cutmanmike
26kb - skin port - n/a -
ZDoom forumers will be familiar with his avatar, so here's a skin version complete with the rest of the body. It's not bad actually.
- Racist skin by Cutmanmike
184kb - skin port - n/a -
Not sure about the title, but this is a camouflaged soldier with a white cone on his head. Weird.
- The Revenge of BoomDoom by Cutmanmike
701kb - dehacked port - n/a -
This is a dehacked patch that replaces all bullet puffs with explosions. Good for a bit of volatile fun, but watch out for the zombies.
- Caverns of Darkness patch for ZDoom by Christoph Oelckers (Graf Zahl)
859kb - ZDoom - SP -
This is a patch that makes the aforementioned wad playable in ZDoom, for the XP users among us.
- DooM II - downgrade from v. 1.9 to v. 1.666 by FunDuke
2200kb - doom2.exe - n/a -
This is the patch to downgrade from version 1.9 to 1.666. If you've got antique demos lying around or use soundblaster tunes and like 1.666's better than 1.9's (or if you collect stuff like this) then grab it.
- Secure Uranus by John A Warren
68kb - doom.exe - SP -
This week's classic round-up starts with a small/medium base-style map. The layout has a lot of rooms and passages which aren't compulsory to visit, unless you want the 100% of course. It's not that hard, but watch the health if you play on fast monsters. Not bad, although it will probably appeal to classic fans only.
- Impzone by John A Warren
34kb - doom.exe - SP -
Another base-ish map but split into two parts. Some of the necessary doors are hidden (no-no) but the layout isn't too bad apart from that. The gameplay is a bit better too, with a better density of monsters and a big trap to boot. Not bad.
- Impzone 2 by John A Warren
72kb - doom.exe - SP -
A similar-styled map, but one with flaws. The start is broken (the hidden doors on the east and west sides of the sludge area should open), the layout is a little confusing and you might run short on ammo. Still it's got a good warehouse, and aside from potential ammo trouble the gameplay isn't bad either (particularly the imp flood).
- Vengeance by John A Warren
61kb - doom.exe - SP -
A larger map revolving around a central area. The obscurity count goes up a bit more, with hidden necessary doors, obscure secrets and things that don't seem to work. There's a few mazy bits too, which will put some of you off. There's also a lot of different styles used, which doesn't really work in the same map imo.
- FRED_DM.WAD for MAP01 DOOM2 by Robert Wilson
39kb - doom2.exe - DM -
A couple of old deathmatch maps now, starting with a big tall symmetrical affair. Most of the weapons are up top, there's a very powerful bfg secret down the bottom, and if you're playing with less than 12 people you're gonna find frags a bit far apart. In other words, it doesn't really work.
- TRISA.WAD for MAP01 DOOM2 by Robert Wilson
53kb - doom2.exe - DM -
And neither does this one, thanks to an awkward layout that seems more single-player-like, spread out weapons and lots of tight areas. Meaning another long drawn out FFA match unless you've got 16 players.
- GJ_E1M2.WAD by George Jewell
60kb - doom.exe - SP -
A Phobos-esque base with added teleporters. This one feels reasonably good, and the battles are a bit better than the other classic wads of this week. However there's still some trouble working out where to go next (especially to get the red key) and the teleporters can be a little confusing at times. Still, not a bad map anyway.
- DRDEATH1.WAD by Dr. Death of The X Organization (XoRg)
73kb - doom.exe - SP -
It's largeness next, both in size and population as we enter....a base map. This one actually looks quite good by classic standards, and has one or two areas of note as well. There's an excess of ammo, but this map isn't about surviving on low ammo, it's about killing 351 monsters with possible health problems later on, given the distribution of it. The layout is a simple follow-the-way thing, and is mostly bright grey. Definitely worth a look.
- ESCAPE by Sebastian Kirke
60kb - doom.exe - SP -
We round off the classic section with a neat little map set in some kind of small gothic fortress-type thing. It has machines, dining tables and panoramic views of the outside forest area. Detail is quite nice, and the author seems to have taken advantage of the small spaces to make it so. Gameplay is quite good too, with a tight ammo/health balance and variety of monsters. Definitely the best of the classic wads, despite the fact it's the smallest.
- Gravity Gun by Andrew Stine (Linguica)
53kb - ZDoom - SP -
Back to the future now, with a rendition of the gravity gun from Half-Life 2. If youhave a pc that isn't the best thing aroundhaven't got HL2, it allows you to pick stuff up and throw it at monsters. It is quite amusing actually, and of course the scripting is first-rate, however it is map-bound and consequently of more limited use than a general weapon mod.
- A crappy weapon mod thats basically a skin with no special dehacked work! by Chronoteeth
196kb - source port - n/a -
The title is no deceiver, as that's just what it is. Basically a rehash of the countless weapon mods out there (ie. ripped graphics) with a few funky sounds added.
- Hell on Cheese by Hobomaster22
185kb - doom2.exe - SP -
A small-ish brick/sewer map that is pretty good looking and dark in places, too. However on skill 4 there is simply not the health or the ammo to survive, so play with god mode or break F9 (even if you chainsaw you won't make it, as all of the problem monsters are un-chainsawable). The second map is the original version of the first, and is a bit more playable, however there's still no health until after you need it.
- Under Neith by Owen Lloyd (SargeBaldy)
685kb - source port - SP -
We finish this week with a large E1M2 map that uses one of the Nightmare texture sets. A big underground base with various rocky bits, tech bits and many a dark passage. There's plenty of nice detail, both in lighting and in realism, and the texturing changes many times to keep things interesting. Gameplay is interesting despite the limited monsters, and you'll have to punch and saw to keep things going. Without a doubt the map of the week.
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