Well, here it is. Sorry it took so long, unavoidable stuff in real life that was more important, but here's a my little guest offering. Not all levels have screenshots, as I deem some levels are so small that it'd be pointless to take them, or they are so pointless that it gives them too much credit. There seem to be a couple of older wads in this bunch that aren't quite up to standards but there are plenty of better ones as well. My reviews are equally inconsistent, as well, so bear with me. I'll list them in alphabetical order of filename. Unless otherwise noted, I tested with Zdoom v. 2.0.98.
Note: This edition of the /newstuff Chronicles was written and compiled by lerner.
Area of 666 Sectors - Karoly (Charles) Horvath
Advanced Port - Solo Play - 320 kb -
Generally craptastic. The main part of the gameplay is annoying switch hunts and trying to avoid death long enough to finish the damn level. The architecture is fine but certainly could be more detailed, the texture choices are god awful, and the health/ammo placement could have been a billion times better. It keeps going like this for a good while, and the best weapon for about the first 1/5 of the level is the shotgun (while fighting numerous cacos and barons). While there are certainly worse levels out there, I believe this one shows that the author should just stop trying. If touching up his first level gives this, then maybe he should try alternative outlets for his creative passions. I recommend you pass this one up.
Canary Squardron - Chris Bourke
Limit Removing - Solo Play - 263 kb -
Unexpectedly difficult would be a nice summary of this wad. It looks fine, nothing special, and the layout is alright, but the thing that really makes it worth it is the thing placement. It's quite a bit frustrating, actually, as there are spectre imps to watch out for (those things are evil) as well as lots of cacos and a good number of big monsters. There's also a nice romero-head barrel teleport that leaves you with nothing to use but a chainsaw on level 4 (against a baron, no less). I would recommend this for a download, but keep at it when you get frustrated if you have trouble. It's a nice wad.
Canary Squadron (Fixed) - Chris Bourke
Limit Removing - Solo Play - 265 kb
Same as the above Canary Squadron, except fixed to work with ports besides Zdoom. Get this if you plan on using something else to play it.
Classic Episode 2 - Singularity Complex - Jan Van der Veken
Limit Removing - Solo Play - 978 kb -
One of the few newer Ultimate Doom episodes, Classic Episode 2 pulls off a feeling of fear all over again as trap after trap after monster horde after monster hoarde is sent after you in 9 base style maps. The "hub level" is a unique style of level ordering that I suspect will catch on with people who are looking to rip off styles from famous maps. I also like that it utilized the secret level slot for a regular level. The gameplay is quite excellent but has many traps and lots of bigger monsters (such as barons) strewn around. It's also a good looking mapset, at the same time feeling older. I very much suggest looking at this and name this my favorite wad out of all of them in this /newstuff.
Deadly Simplified - Derek McDonald aka Afterglow
Limit Removing - Deathmatch - 200 kb -
A nice, open DM level for limit-removing ports. I didn't get to play a match on it, but it looks pretty damn good. Big enough for a nice firefight. All weapons except BFG and chainsaw are available, but the plasma gun is a little too easy to get for my tastes. Still, it doesn't detract from what seems to be a nice deathmatch level.
Horizontal Spinning Fan in Doom - Derek McDonald aka Afterglow
doom2.exe - n/a - 17 kb
Interesting tech demo. I'm not sure how it works (I didn't bother to look inside the wad) but it makes a nice spinning fan that should work in all ports (it worked in Chocolate Doom, anyway). Take a look at it if it's your thing.
Fear is the Price of Sin - ReX Claussen
Limit Removing - Solo Play - 250 kb -
A very nice map that was quite worth the download. The detail is great and the gameplay is superb as well. It has a nice non-linear flow to it where you still have some idea of what to do, and the difficulty is at a nice medium where it's still challenging to me (and I wouldn't consider myself exactly skilled but I'm certainly not a bad player) and yet I can beat it without too much trouble. Recommended.
Flash of Death - Cyberdemon (Mike Watson)
doom.exe - Solo Play - 139 kb
Mediocre at best. The detail is pretty low, and there's far too much close quarters fighting with a large numbers of (the same) monsters for gameplay to be worth it at all. Don't bother downloading it.
ic2005 - Ian Cunnings
Boom Compatible - SP/Co-op - 1,521 kb
Sadly, in my franticness at trying to complete this edition of the /newstuff Chronicles, I left this gem out. I played through a bit and got stuck but haven't the time to play through the rest and give it a proper review. From what I've played, however, it looks pretty good, with lots of detail while still delivering solid gameplay. Try it and see if you like it.
Last Resort - Frank Polster
doom.exe - Solo Play - 56 kb
For the era which I will now assume the wad comes from (1994-5ish) this isn't that bad at all (besides the gunswitch which gives no attempt to alert you to the fact that it's a switch). The level seems to be some sort of base, with a nice little elevator ride at the beginning and a useless yellow keycard. The layout even is semi-realistic for the time period (though it could use a very nice slice of detail). Overall, however, this is something to stay away from.
Maxima - Jacob H. Orloff
ZDoom - Solo Play - 161 -
Though the start is rather irritating (2 pain elementals, a hell knight, and a horde of imps vs. you with a normal shotgun in a medium sized cavern) this wad picks up. 4 levels (really 3) of great fun. Aesthetics are fine, although level 3 had some jarring texture choices (but then again I suppose it's supposed to be crazy like the Doom 2 hell levels). Overall I would suggest this for its solid gameplay.
Operation Overlord - Enjay
GZDoom - Solo Play - 5,424 kb
I refuse to keep trying to play this. On the lowest difficulty setting, it's so choppy that I could NEVER even get close to trying to play it. This could be GZDoom, but personally I don't think you should just butt out anyone who just plain can't afford to have a better computer than the one he has now from ever playing your wads. Not to mention the mass of enemies in the first area make that area nearly unplayable in the first place. Hitscan + wide area + large amounts of enemies + only weapons are the horribly difficult to hit with railgun and a pistol = crappy design choices. If Enjay would like to make a version that my computer could possibly play, I'll try it later. For now, I don't think anyone without an actual video card should go near this. (Note: I wrote this review after being a little cranky at the wad, so don't take it seriously. It did look nice, I just couldn't play it at all.)
Nothing - Joe Winiarski
Skulltag - Deathmatch - 81 kb
This is what at first appears to be a nice ripoff of the concept of a good many Quake III maps, but doesn't hold up. There are floor alignment errors (when skulltag can do that perfectly fine) and a sort of see-through wall (not a hom, different). Then there's the ridiculous power up area. There is a place, quite easy to get to within the level, where you can get an assload of power ups (both BFGs, all the spheres, a rune, lots of ammo) and then just walk out like it was nothing. I would not recommend this level for playing on.
Quake 3 Tourney 6 - Joe Winiarski
Skulltag - Deathmatch - 31 kb
This is a pretty faithful copy of the Quake III map of the same name. It looks nice and (according to my memory) is pretty much exactly what Q3T6 was. This would probably be a lot of fun to DM on. Go ahead and try it.
Outer Rim - ravage
doom.exe - Solo Play - 173 kb -
Good level, nice level of detail, great gameplay (although it was a tad bit unclear what switch did what, but that's a side effect of being larger than most levels). Not a bad timewaster.
Rim - The Colony - Frank Polster
doom.exe - Solo Play - 55 kb
Not really what I'd call a good level. It's giant but filled with absolutely nothing, has bland architecture, and boring gameplay. On the plus side, it's got one of the most pathetic attempts at colored lighting I've ever seen in the Doom engine. Not recommended by any means.
Rim 2 - Cere - Frank Polster
doom.exe - Solo Play - 129 kb
More giant empty spaces, boring gameplay, and bland architecture. Luckily this one's architecture is a bit better (has a nice flag sitting up in one part of the level), but unluckily the gameplay is worse because key doors aren't labeled. Pass up.
Infected Telekom Stations v 1.2 - Karoly (Charles) Horvath
Limit Removing - Solo Play - 3,847 kb
Exactly 18 levels in this wad are pure shit. Sadly this is exactly the same as the number of levels. The music didn't really catch me either, although it's not quite so bad. Ridiculously oversized environments and pitiful gameplay are the things that link these together. Avoid.
And that's it. Thanks for giving me a chance, even though it was a very feeble effort on my part. Luckily I'm not planning to do this again.
