What's your least/most favourite IWAD level?

The Chasm (map24?)

edit: is my least favorite IWAD map. I think. Maybe.

DuckReconMajor said:

I thought the same thing too, it always felt like there was a BFG in E2.

I think refinery had the BFG in PSXdoom.

I like most: E1M5, E2M6, MAP09 (I can play the soundtrack on piano), Open Season, O of destruction.

I havent really looked through Plutonia Experiment so well

any one can play doom soundtracks on an instrument?

Least favorite, obvious ones:

MAP21 for being ugly, nonsensical and broken. The brick walls with windows in the beginning and the exit are especially confusing.

E3M1 is almost equally ridiculous. The infamous "paper bricks" error in the starting courtyard, unpegged doors and door-lifts everywhere, missing textures and having to kill a cacodemon with a pistol. (!?)

Most favorite:

MAP06 for the crazy crusher, METAL2 (?) everywhere and the kickass music.

MAP26 for the good music and the cool name having NOTHING to do with the episode or the map itself.

hervoheebo said:

door-lifts everywhere, missing textures and having to kill a cacodemon with a pistol. (!?)

Those two things are actually cool. It kinda drives the point home that you're in hell now and that things are different.

(I always "recruit" the imps to soften up the two cacos of the entrance first.)

40oz said:

I'm pretty sure the BFG appears earlier than that on Doom 1. Isn't there one on E2M3?

You confused it with 2002ADO. There IS a BFG on E2M3 (and also E1M9)

Now to keep to thread:
UD's Best levels:
E1M5 - the first real challenge in E1.
E2M3 - it used to be my real favourite in Vanilla DooM.
E2M4 - eerie. So mysterious. Playing first, I expected to find the secret exit on that level.
E4M6 - my personal favourite!

UD's Worst levels:
E1M9 - what a hassle! I had to do all that suffering to find the secret exit on E1M3, and... only this? o.O
E2M5 - quite boring, especially with having no keys
E2M9 - another bad example for a secret map
E3M1 - linear and has a lot of bugs
E3M5 - not a real challenge, but long level play - and music sucks
E3M9 - obvious. Has even more bugs, esp.: the building's appearance is cut off by skybox, can be seen at the exiting area. The biggest disappointment in entire Ultimate DooM.
E4M4 - short and pussy related to E4M1-E4M3
E4M8 - disappointing battle and music still sucks (Overused!)

And there's a question about a quite good one:
E4M7 - why the hell there are 3 keys when I just have to use the red one to finish the level?

II's best levels:
MAP06 - dark and creepy, really fits as the last level of the "starbase" ones
MAP10 - music is awesome, and, I'm fond of the basement style
MAP14 - this one is quite good in design, altough music sucks
MAP17 - diverse and exciting, only the ending is disappointing and the mixture of keycards and skullkeys, but overall, good stuff!
MAP26 - the same reasons as MAP17. Shooting through grates is a real challenge for me!

II's worst levels:
MAP07: disappointing despite being fuckin hard
MAP08: this kind of hub style sucks. Music STILL sucks. And I really don't know how brown slime fits with blood on the lowest of a pipe wall
MAP13: too huge, too irritating. A real town looks WAY better
MAP20, MAP24: acrophobia rulz!
MAP31, MAP32: that's because all Mappers would have at least one level referring to Wolf3D - and almost all of them such tedious ones. This mistake must have been killed in its root...

My all-time least-favorite Doom levels are the Wolfenstein secret maps in Doom II. I would have preferred that they put real Doom maps in their places.

My all-time favorite map is Deimos Anomaly because of the sudden change in atmosphere that lets you know you've gone to Hell now.

I feel almost obligated to pick something from Plutonia just to mold-break a bit, but I can't really think of one single map that stands out enough to name individually (since there are several mentionables, so that's a good thing).

Hmm, how about... The Cathedral. HERETIC.WAD is an IWAD. :P

Herculine said:

My all-time favorite map is Deimos Anomaly because of the sudden change in atmosphere that lets you know you've gone to Hell now.

Hmmm, a fine choice.

I recently played The Plutonia Experiment for mapping inspiration. For how much credit it receives for being such a great wad, I can't seriously be the only one to notice how extremely symmetrical almost ALL of the maps are. In many places, even the monster placement is symmetrical with the architecture.

Favorite: E1M3.

Least Favorite: Not sure.

Favorite: E1M2, awesome level, where I picked up the chainsaw for the first time oh so many years ago. :p Another awesome feature was the secret outdoor area with the machine gun.
Least favorite: E3M2, makes me depressed irl!

Edit: Typo

Chrome Bolt said:
Doom 2 weapon placement is god damned weird, you can get a plasma gun into 1/6 of game while it's nearly 1/3 into the game when you get it on Doom 1. Same for other weapons - BFG appears on level 8 and appears on E3M3 in Doom 1. Super shotgun could also have been pushed up a few levels.

With that placement, DOOM II is mostly harder and more intense than DOOM (excluding E4, at some moments, but that was added later), so I don't agree it's weird. They did that because the monsters are more dangerous, especially with the addition of the new ones, that have enhanced attack modes. If they had made the weapons appear later, the game would have, at best, been slower paced... which isn't really a good idea.

Yeah I agree, the chaingun guy at map03 would have been very scary to fight at first encounter if you didnt have anything greater than a shotgun.

Xaser said:

I feel almost obligated to pick something from Plutonia just to mold-break a bit, but I can't really think of one single map that stands out enough to name individually (since there are several mentionables, so that's a good thing).

Map 25 was my favorite, reminded me lot of UDoom's Spawning Vats but slightly more "converted" by the hellspawn.

I think the map Unruly Evil in Ultimate Doom really sucks, as due to the fact that there is a Invulnerability sphere in the map it is too easy when you start with weapons. Even with a pistol start it is quite easy. And the stuck Cacos do not help at all.

My favourite map ATM is map17 in TNT.

I recently played The Plutonia Experiment for mapping inspiration. For how much credit it receives for being such a great wad, I can't seriously be the only one to notice how extremely symmetrical almost ALL of the maps are. In many places, even the monster placement is symmetrical with the architecture.

Plutonia is a great example showing symmetry is just fine. As far as I'm concerned, "symmetry is bad" is just a fad much like "detail is bad". Too broad of a brush.

It's all about whether you're using it for effect or as a cheap way to double your mapping output. You can get away with the latter, but you're certainly not going to be praised for it.

I always liked Focus.

Quick version:

BEST
Ultimate Doom:
E1M3, E1M5, E2M6, E3M6, E4M6

Doom 2:
MAP01, MAP07, MAP11, MAP15, MAP29

TNT:
MAP01, MAP06, MAP13, MAP18, MAP28, MAP31

PLUTONIA:
Consistently good. Standouts: MAP04, MAP06, MAP12, MAP27, MAP31

WORST
Ultimate Doom:
E3M1, E3M8

Doom 2:
MAP09, MAP12, MAP21

TNT:
MAP08. Used to hate MAP17 because I got stuck in the nukage pit by the blue key the first time I played it.
Almost the entire last episode.

PLUTONIA:
MAP02, MAP25, MAP26

Best maps:
Doom - E1M7
Ultimate Doom - E4M6
Doom II - MAP29
Plutonia - It's hard to pick a standout for Plutonia, as many of them are of equal quality... maybe MAP21?
TNT - MAP13, MAP18 (tie)

Worst maps:
Doom - E2M5, E3M4 (tie)
Ultimate Doom - E4M7
Doom II - MAP10
Plutonia - MAP03
TNT - MAP05, MAP08, MAP21 (three way tie)

Best from doom1 and TNT would be ...
E1M5
Open Season ( dont remember map number )

BEST
doom: i dig E4M2 & E4M1 because they're really challenging. plus E1M7 is one of greatest maps & E1M5 has one of the most underrated songs ever, sad that it hasnt been used too much. I kinda like E3M9's insanity.
doom2: map26, map17 & map29 are genius. + I always loved map15 & map20.
plutonia: map24 I love the feeling of walking on a tall-narrow way whilst a cyber shoots you rockets from a long distance, like in map12. map10, map21, map15 are great; and map11 genius.
tnt: havent played for several years but I used to love central processing.
plutonia2: map11 & map15, particularly map11.

WORST
doom: easily E3M8 the most disappointing & I never liked E1M9.
doom2: map21 is ew & I hate map30.
plutonia: map08

Ultimate Doom:
E1 best: M5 - Doesn't look as nice as most of the other maps in the episode, but the gameplay is probably the episodes best. The dark room at the end is probably the most memorable moment in the episode.
E1 worst: M9 - Not terrible, but looks like crap compared to the other levels in the episode.
E2 best: M4 - Looks great and plays great. A good example of a Petersen level that works.
E2 worst: M9 - A good example of a Petersen level that fails.
E3 best: M2 - Unique cool looking design and varied gameplay. Nice Easter Egg when you look at the map.
E3 worst: M1 - One boring fight after another as you move through an ugly glitch filled building. The shotgun room was cool, though.
E4 best: Tie between M5,6,and 9. Map 5 has great layout, Map 6 looks great and has cleaver design, and Map 9 is a nice break from all the episodes dark hell levels.

Doom 2:
Map01-11 best: M05 - Dark creepy atmosphere.
Map01-11 worst: M08 - Boring gimmicky map, would really only work as a secret level.
Map12-20 best: M14 - Hard to say because of the mediocre nature of the levels, but this is the only map in the set that actually looks good.
Map12-20 worst: M20 - Having to run halfway across the level every time you fall into the lava isn't my idea of fun.
Map21-30 best: M28 - Great texture and monster placement. Looks great for a Petersen level.
Map21-30 worst: M24 - Annoying as hell.

Doom 1 Love: E4M1 is fucking awesome, I love the challenge and the look of the place, even though there is almost no health. It is also my favorite map to test things on, like new sounds, music or palettes. Also E4M2 is great but narrowly loses out to this one.

Doom 1 Hate: E2M3 is fucking ugly and retarded, plus it uses the intermission screen music. I hate it.

Doom 2 Love: MAP03 was always one of my favorites from the beginning of my Doom career up until now. The whole idea of the map is brilliant, all the way from the look, the liquid in the middle and the defensive demonic position.

Doom 2 Hate: Monster Condo is simply disgusting and the number one reason Sandy Petersen should be sanded to death.

Knee-Deep in the Dead
Best: It's hard to say but I'll go with E1M7. This map is very atmospheric and even if it's not the most nonlinear map in E1 it still uses the space marvelously.
Worst: Probably E1M6. The end is good but the boring maze part kind of kills it.

The Shores of Hell
Best: Probably E2M2. The music is awesome and the level just looks better than most of the other ones in the episode. I always enjoy playing this one.
Worst: E2M9. A boring disappointment of a secret level, with a totally superfluous computer map and a totally stupid joke of a key puzzle at the end.

Inferno
Best: I have to admit I have a bit of a soft spot for E3M3. The texturing can be a little dopey at parts but I like the tech-meets-hell look of a lot of it, along with the non-linear layout.
Worst: Either E3M1 or E3M7. Both maps are flat and boring, and where M1's foil is it's total fail as an introduction to Hell M7's failing is its total monotony.

Doom II MAP01-11
Best: MAP06. Dark, gritty, and atmospheric, this I think epitomizes what a good Doom II map is.
Worst: MAP08. Silly and gimmicky, and really too easy.

Doom II MAP12-20
Best: MAP14, probably. This map has grown on me a lot, and I think it deserves a mention simply for the number of homages to it that I've seen.
Worst: Probably MAP20. Again, the cyberdemon vs. spider mastermind thing is cool at first but really just too much of a gimmick, and the rest of the map is totally fugly. Plus the outdoor area is way too bright.

Doom II MAP21-30
Best: MAP26 is awesome. It doesn't really fit with all the maps around it, but frankly that's probably a good thing. Exemplary mine-themed map.
Worst: MAP21, almost without a doubt. What a fucking load this map is. Like E3M1, it is a pathetic introduction to Hell, but it looks even more ridiculous than E3M1 does and really fails at evoking Hell, or anything other than 7-year-old with map editor.

Let's have a crack at it then:

Knee-Deep in the Dead:
+ e1m5: The music makes it happen here, but I also like the slightly darker ambience. It really draws the line between the beginning and ending levels of the episode as well, both in difficulty and in mood.
- e1m6: I love the music, and the level itself isn't too bad either, it's just the one map that does the least for me. I guess I find it difficult to fault this episode at all.
Honourable mention (+) = e1m3: Non-linear dun rite. Seamless.
Dishonourable mention (-) = e1m2: Well structured, but meh.

The Shores of Hell:
+ e2m2: Yep, I just can't emphasise this enough. my sentiments go along side pretty much that of everyone elses in this thread regarding this level.
- e2m5: Guess what? I actually kinda liked e2m9. The execution was poor, sure, but the idea was there. This one on the other hand is just drab for me.
Honourable mention (+) = e2m6/e2m3: Love the progression and mood of these two.
Dishonourable mention (-) = e2m4: I do actually like this level, but it seemed to miss the mark in so many ways. If they'd shrunk it down a little bit toward the start and made it a bit more claustrophobic, it could have worked a little better.

Inferno:
+ e3m5: I just adore this level. It's almost perfect in every way. Gives the impression of being an unwanted guest in an unholy sanctuary.
- e3m1/e3m9: No. Horrible. e3m9 was sort of an improvement, though.
Honourable mention (+) = e3m2: Awesome. Genuinely difficulty from a pistol start too, which is close enough when progressing normally anyway thanks to the frugality of m1.
Dishonourable mention (-) = e3m7: Like many others here, I feel it just didn't gel together well enough, and was pretty monotonous.

Thy Flesh Consumed:
+ e4m6: Delicious. Genuine sense of location and purpose. Layout is fantastic, and it's difficult in places too.
- e4m3/e4m5: Just a bit too samey. Not particularly bad levels by themselves though.
Honourable mention (+) = e4m4: It's a little gem of a level. A bit small maybe for a centrepiece, but quite punchy. Great looking too! e4m9 and e4m1 need hugs here as well.
Dishonourable mention (-) = e4m8: Good level, but I'm looking at you Spidey. Why so serious?

Doom II:
+ map26: The music is complementary, and the concept is well executed. It's one of the only levels that matches well enough the title, too!
- map21: Kill me now.
Honourable mention (+) = map04, 05, 11, 14, 18, 22, 25, 29: The best of a generally bad bunch. map18 was fantastic though, as was 29 and 14.
Dishonourable mention (-) = map07, 12, 15, 16, 20, 24, 30: Nice one id.

Can't remember most of the Final Doom numbers so I'll leave those out for now.

My doom 1 favorite maps are:
E1M8- Finally they use a strong monster- the two barons and the last sector with the few imps&demons&shotgunners that kills even nubs with godmode was nice idea too.
E2M4- I loved the map design and the last part with the few barons&cacodemons and the imps.
E3M9- nice map looks the same as E3M1 and then when you think that you're done you see the cyberdemon :D
E4M2- The hardest map in doom 1- they used lots of barons&cacodemons here.

My doom 2 favorite map:
map28- The Spirit World: I love the music and the map design, except for the annoying arch viles i'm having fun while speedrunning this level and I love the part with the two spidermasterminds and the arachnotrons.

The maps that I have in doom 1:
E1M5- annoying map, I hate maps with dark rooms.
E2M2- Compared to the psx version, the original map's design is much more different and annoying than the psx version.
E3M7- Too much annoying teleporters, this map is nothing else than a big maze.
E4M3- I dunno y but I always hated this one.

Doom 2 Map 19- Annoying map, such a big maze with tons of spectres and in the first time I didn't know how to get out with the part with the demons :D