Jimmy

Kind of quivered in excitement in my seat while he was speaking about The Farmlands. When I wrote this post the other day for some reason I was wondering if I was remembering Lost Civilization correctly, and if The Farmlands was indeed the map that absolutely defined the set for me. This review very safely cemented that idea for me. What a magical experience this megawad is. Thanks @Jaska for giving us something that can provide such a sublime level of comfort and homeliness through the medium of Doom.

@Wadmodder Shalton Appreciate the effort but those textures are not gonna tile horizontally at all, especially the bottom one with all those trees in the bottom-right corner. The only ones that will really look close to good in-game are the second one and maybe the third one - but even those look like you'll have to do some extensive pixel editing first.

My list is as follows - higher ranked sets are those that: (a) display incredible technical fortitude; (b) have had the greatest replay value for me personally; (c) are the most visually striking; (d) remain the most significant/talked about within the community. 1. Heartland - Skillsaw's unique craftsmanship shines radiantly in this Eternity-exclusive episode, making full use of the little-loved portal technology capable in this engine to create some of the most intensely dynamic maps you'll find today. And what a soundtrack - Stewboy absolutely crushed it. 2. Elementalism - What can I say? If you aren't at least a little impressed by what these 19 maps pull off with our humble Doom engine, go get checked out, seriously. Bauul's team of linedef warriors worked tirelessly for many years to bring us this jam-packed experience that ushers in new standards for not just level design, but encounter design, boss design, and original music. Going to be a while before anyone topples this giant. 3. Eviternity - Dragonfly and his team really did outdo themselves here, and what a showcase of ukiro's OTEX this became. That this was pieced together in 9 months is a staggering feat, and it's certainly become regarded as a modern classic, with many heralding it as a quality benchmark of difficulty scaling, visual flair and theme progression. Surely a Scythe 2 for the modern Doomer. 4. Lullaby - Danlex's dream-like netherworld setting here is spellbinding. Unique assets including spinning holographic star platforms, meteoric starfall effects in the skybox, curvaceous bookshelf fixtures and further otherworldly things make this one of the most visually striking maps I've played in a while. 5. SIGIL - John Romero's excoriating official-unofficial 5th episode for Ultimate Doom is an absolute blast to play and creates some seriously striking setpieces with just Vanilla assets, including inky-black voids full of hell-lightning, and a cyberdemon labyrinth that would make Theseus cry. This seminal set has a style and approach all of its own that few can truly hope to imitate. 6. Arrival - Pavera's solo mini-episode may have a single-digit roster but make no mistake: the proving grounds contained herein will run a less experienced player through the meat grinder. Great yawning chasms, sprawling techbases, and mountaintop strongholds make for some of the most intensive combat you'll find in a decidedly non-slaughter set. Huge fun. Also shoutout to AD_79 for delivering some of the most kickass MIDIs you'll find in a mapset today. 7. Syringe - Team NEIS2's six-map adventure proves delightfully consistent despite the wide assortment of influences and themes on show throughout - and indeed, how distantly the six individual offerings are connected. More like this, please! Dedicated team projects need to be much more prevalent in our community. 8. Heretic: Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls - CaptainToenail's immersive Heretic hub episode is an awesome showcase of using GZDoom engine features and scripting somewhat sparingly throughout the course of an otherwise classic-feeling experience. The maps are gorgeous in appearance enough that even if you do get lost trying to navigate the different locations, you're at least stuck looking at the sights. Speaking of sights to behold, that hub map though. 9. Lost Civilisation - Jaska has such a keen eye for the nitty-gritty details that make a space believable, from Doomcute details to macroscopic natural architecture. His adventurous megawad goes to so many different locales, all of which seem like they could have been yanked directly from real life. Few mappers can create spaces I genuinely feel like I could live within. The farmland map remains probably my favorite of all these. 10. 1000 Lines 3 - Led by Liberation, this megawad doesn't miss, which is fantastic news for an open community effort. The celebration surrounding this set's release is completely justified, as the work put into it definitely shows, and the levels themselves, being bitesize but highly satisfying offerings, go to great pains to provide a buttery-smooth and immersive experience. The Tudor theme in particular is one I hope to see more of in the future. 11. Tarnsman's Projectile Hell - Tarnsman's magnum opus, a 32-level adventure where the locations include The Sun, Lunar Asia, and The Super Future, has you chasing an undead Bulgarian actor who has stolen Liam Neeson. If the Tarnsmanian plot alone doesn't do it for you, maybe you'll be taken by this megawad's rather unique approach to combat, which is to say it bolsters not just the player arsenal but that of the enemies too, making almost every map (especially on the higher difficulties) a do-or-die affair for master dodgers only. 12. Cydonia - AD_79 and Scotty's plutonium opus provides a good many adrenaline-shot encounters that take the Casali approach to combat and significantly sharpen the knife. On top of the gameplay being refined and exhilarating punishment, the maps themselves, particularly in terms of layout and shapage, look like they could've easily come directly from the mind palace of either Casali brother. 13. The Wayfarer - Not Jabba's ability to make Heretic an odyssean and magnificent adventure shines brilliantly here. Combat is specially refined, new items introduced, and enemies ported from Hexen and elsewhere to make this leviathan set of maps an incredible journey from start to finish. 14. Hell-Forged - Amuscaria's magnum opus straddles the line between partial conversion and full game here by showcasing his artistic talent in spades. Brand new enemies, weapons, textures and unique level decorations are sprited lovingly, introduced carefully, and balanced with extreme fineness. Ask me to point to a Doom mod that can be called a "work of art" and I'll point you to this. 15. Judgment - Rayziik's labor of love takes you on a wild journey through seemingly every circle of Hell ever written about. MBF21/DSDeHacked features are sprinkled in liberally to bolster the experience and lift it beyond the average fare for a Boom-compatible set. Custom enemies galore, helper dogs you can release from little cages, and more delightful surprises await in this 32-level megawad's runtime. And the closing act - hoo boy. 16. Technicolor Antichrist Box - MajorArlene's grand palace of slaughter is famed - quite rightly - for its lovingly crafted visuals, crushing difficulty, and bisexual lighting. UV is not for the lackadaisical Doom player, or indeed, for Arlene herself apparently! 17. Dimension of the Boomed - Urthar pushes the Boom engine and format to their breaking point by throwing every remotely feasible feature of a 3D engine that Quake introduced under their noses and demanding he has everything on his desk by Monday. What an experience it is to revisit the sights and sounds of Quake in all its glory but within a 2.5D engine. Arguably the best Quake conversion we've ever had for Doom. 18. Infection - As young as this release is, how can I not include an Exl set on this list? His pedigree is second-to-none and he understands how to meld classic gameplay with just a few extra spit-and-polish touches provided by GZDoom's featureset. Doomers from both the classic and modern camps (or caught between, indeed) will enjoy this one, no doubt. 19. Hexen: Realms of Cronos - While this Hexen community set isn't notable for a consistently high-quality experience like 1k3, for example, there are two outstanding (and behemoth) maps contained in this set that are absolute must-plays. The winding leviathan of Felstoy Abbey and the jaw-dropping visual treat that is Path of Hei'an are essential experiences for any Hexen fan. 20. Running Late 2 - A2Rob's tongue-in-cheek solo episode is full of delightful humorous details to set a scene that is ultimately quite cartoonish, while the overall levels with their skillsaw-esque design and Scythe-esque combat, remain robust and astute. Few and far between are mapsets that can take you on an adventure and give you a jolly good laugh while doing so.

Final version of "Undercroft" - got it to a good length. Undercroft (6:56) If you wanted to include this piece in the map itself, Lutz, that's more than fine. :)

Hey Lutz, wrote a MIDI directly inspired by this. May expand upon it later. Undercroft (3:48) This was lovely to play. I'll play it again and write up my thoughts on it a bit later!

@jerrysheppy Exit is at the far north of the map. A switch in the techrune room opens it up. @Biodegradable You were so close to finding the inventory keys in the menu, lol. At that moment I literally facepalmed. Lol. Glad you enjoyed the map! @UndeadRyker I think you might be the first person I've ever encountered to say the Hell Warrior is too easy of an enemy, haha - shield enemies are so often hated for how they prolong combat. I think I did tweak its shield-up time a little so you can use the SSG on it without hassle, but I don't think it's any different from the base monster otherwise. Its health pool of 400 HP feels about right to me as well. Thanks for the write-up!

No one at Gloombase exactly wanted to be stationed there - nor could they have predicted what was about to befall them. A distress signal was sent, but received all too late. Now you're going in to clean up the mess... --- "Gloombase" is a love letter to early 2000s ZDoom mapping, employing linear, objective-based gameplay, and abundant use of ZDoom features such as slopes, stark colored lighting, ambient sounds, lightning and weather effects, and a LOT of scripted sequences including interactable NPCs and menus. It is also a teaser for something bigger still to come. Stay tuned! :) Download "Gloombase" (21.5MB): GZDoom 4.7.1+ required. Only tested in this port/version. /idgames Mirror Powerhouse Mirror Software renderer is supported and recommended. Name: Gloombase Game: Doom 2 Ports Tested: GZDoom 4.7.1 Map: MAP01 Music: "Grand Design" by Simon Judd Gameplay: Single play only Difficulty Settings: Yes Multiplayer Placement: No Build Time: Quite a while Requirements: Jumping/crouching/freelook all permitted. Credits: Dark textures by David Gevert Demon Eclipse textures by Amuscaria E5 textures by NiGHTMARE Erratic textures by Jonathan Rimmer Koultex by RottKing Mortres by NiGHTMARE NM1, NM2, recolored textures/flats, silver textures and useful flats by NiGHTMARE Sliding BIGDOORs by Vader Number monitors by Tormentor667 Spinning UAC logo by horselessheadsman Code assistance w/ dialogue system by Remmirath PDA system by Gutawer, code/graphic edits by Jimmy ZScript weather system by Gutawer, sound edits by Jimmy Thanks to Dragonfly for a paper sketch on which this map's layout is loosely based Special thanks to Vader for Thunderpeak, which served as inspiration. Screenshots:

Aaaand we're live. 1000 followers special stream! HYPE 🔥🔥🔥 https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

@Bri sick use of Jimmytex!

+1 for Exl's Infection

What the heck, some mapping. Coming back down to Earth...less! https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

E L E M E N T A L I S M -- the final part! It's getting hot in here... https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

E L E M E N T A L I S M -- part 2! Let's get moist in the water episode 💦💦💦 https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

Playtesting your Doom stuff! https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

E L E M E N T A L I S M. https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

We're playing a little special something by DMPhobos tonight. Let's Doom! https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

some type of stream idk https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

Continuing where we left off last night with MAP25, then may move on! https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

Earthless mappening! https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

Making up for a couple lost Doom streams this week. Playtesting, maybe mapping? https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

Earthless mapping continues! https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

Doom playtesting Sunday! https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared

Yet more Earthless mapping! https://twitch.tv/jimmysquared