The /newstuff Chronicles #205

Boo and welcome to a scary Halloween edition of The /newstuff Chronicles. Thisweek we are cursed with 11 blood-curdling WADs and a total of 34glow-in-the-dark levels. There is no real theme for this week's cacklinglynormal collection. We have a little bit everything, ranging from bat-ugly tocauldron colorful to disembowelingly unplayable. Try not to vomit violentlyduring this week's collection, because, well, this is Halloween and that's whattends to happen to people. Right? Oh, I'm not putting one over anyone with thistedious monologue. We all know that every week is Halloween on The /newstuffChronicles.

• Phobos by Matt Cibulas
  125kb - ZDoom, Skulltag, Legacy - Doom 2 - SP, Coop, DM
  We start with a very simple skin replacement. This looks just like the regular Doom marine, but the color scheme of his uniform is changed to a clashing green/orange ensemble. He also has some demon-like sounds.
  
  
• Tandl by Cecelia
  269kb - ZDoom - Doom 2 - SP, Coop, DM
  I don't mean to let anyone down, but this WAD will appeal to a very specific group of people. What group that is, I don't know. This WAD contains, among other things, a red sky texture and roughly two dozen versions of this red sky with lightning bolts. Essentially, you will occasionally see the sky flash and hear thunder rumble every once in a while. Lightning enthusiasts should be dressing down for this one.
  
  
• SargeBaldy Speedmapping Compilation #13 by Various Authors
  420kb - Doom 2 - SP - 14 maps - (img) - (img) - (img) -
  As the title clearly explains, we have a fairly large collection of single-player maps, all supposedly created in less than two hours. The theme of this WAD is essentially "dungeons and monster traps." Because it is made by 14 different people, it varies greatly in detail, balance, and size. The maps range from small to medium in size, easy to extremely difficult in difficulty, and from infrared to ultraviolet in color. Most of the maps are playable, and almost all of them are impressive for 100 minutes of construction time. This is another treat for anyone who loves to see map-makers suffer.
  
  
• The Smashing Deathmatch Wad by PumpkinSmasher
  197kb - Enhanced Port - Doom 2 - DM - 3 maps - (img) -
  These are three fairly normal, medium-sized deathmatch maps. There is no one identifiable theme to these maps, but they do have some common characteristics. They are all unrestricted, "doorless" maps. They also have a fairly high level in detail, but this is mostly in decoration. Also, they all lack BFGs, and use plasma rifles as the central weapon. One of the maps has a theme of "dark," where you can see the glow of the sky but hardly anything else. This would make for an interesting, if not frustrating deathmatch.
  
  
• Sure Shot by Lee Szymanski
  30kb - The Darkening Textures - Doom 2 - DM - 1 map - (img) -
  From a co-creator of The Darkening Episode 2 comes a small deathmatch map running on MAP25. Compared to what you might expect from a Darkening-style map, this is fairly normal. It is a slick, quickly-navigable map that is completely open; that is, there aren't any movement-constricting doors. It has a lot of height variations and is very "ledgy." The weapon of dominance is the plasma rifle. And just like any other map from The Darkening, it has a fairly high level of detail. Ideally, this map is suited for 2 to 6 players. Remember that this WAD depends on textures from The Darkening Episode 2 to display properly.
  
  
• Usp .45 Tactical by Luiz Eduardo
  33kb - Heretic
  A weapon from Counter-Strike is finally made available in Heretic. If you like pistols in Heretic, then you'll like this.
  
  
• The Marbelous Three by Jan Engelhardt
  292kb - Enhanced Port - Doom 2 - SP - 1 map - (img) -
  This is a medium-sized single-player map for Doom 2, MAP19. It is a combination of tech base and marble. The level is generally easy to medium in difficulty, with all skill levels implemented. The enemies are small to medium-large, and the medium-powered weapons are provided. This map stands out a bit in its amount of detail. Obviously a lot of work has been put into this, with the author estimating 300 hours of work. However, this seems a bit out of place for a map that takes maybe ten minutes to complete.
  
  
• Blackout by Coen Blazer
  291kb - Enhanced Port - Doom 2 - SP - 2 maps - (img) -
  They can be sparse at times, but they do trickle through. We have two more interesting single-player maps, and they're built around a facility theme. While the first map may not live up to its name that much, the second map is very dark. It's not so dark that you can't see anything, but it is consistently dark throughout the entire level. These two maps present an above-average challenge. Ammo and health can be quite hard to find, but there are some major-item secrets. In that sense, this may be a rare WAD that actually compels the player to look for secrets, because it's pretty hard to survive without them. Enemies vary from small to medium, and so do the weapons. The level of detail in these maps is enough to satisfy and immerse, but not so much that it's a waste of time. In addition, these maps contain music from Rise of the Triad.
  
  
• Candles On The Ceiling by CtrlAltDestroy
  221kb - Doom 2 - SP - 2 maps - (img) -
  I should mention that even though this WAD technically has two maps, its really two versions of the same map: One requires an enhanced DOOM port (MAP01) and the other is doom2.exe friendly (MAP02). This map is fairly large, very difficult, and it takes monster traps to the limit. There are lots of big monsters and big weapons, but it can be very hard to keep your health at an acceptable level. This level seems somewhat primitive, and it makes strange use of textures, but it makes sense in a demonic sort of way. The level itself is quite colorful, spans a great distance, and it also spans a great height. Even if it's not easy to survive, it's an interesting map that is different from the rest. One final note is that the editor Ade 2 was used in making this WAD, which implies that the author is some sort of masochist.
  
  
• Oh Noes by Lynxtor
  226kb - ZDoom - Doom 2 - SP, Coop - 10 maps - (img) - (img) -
  It seems that whenever a WAD is released this week, there is some sort of catch. Indeed, these are ten single-player levels for Doom 2. They are all small-medium in size, very squarish, very bright, and very cramped. Ammo and health are fairly balanced, although a player can run out of ammo if they warp to maps individually. The level of detail in these maps are quite low, and therefore it looks like something out of 1995. It looks like it, but it isn't. On the bright side, there are a handful of snappy music replacements, and the levels have very special names.
  
  
• No Imp Left Behind by Jan Engelhardt
  89kb - Enhanced Port - Doom 2 - SP - 1 map - (img) -
  We all feel a little small sometimes, just like this sugary little map. This small single-player level for Doom 2 is high in detail, with a pleasant artistic glow, and a medium challenge. The theme is nameless, but the map is quite colorful. It's just another hot little number to add to our collections.

fart

uh sure shot is purty

oh yeah where is cc2 >:(

Hmm.. looks like an interesting grouping of stuff this week. Uh, is that Hirogen's CC2 map I see?

Don't really like this week.

Absolutely ghoulish!! MUHAHAHAhaa...
ahem...

Laying it on thick are we? :P

Where's the infamous "Halloween Zdoom Project"? :/

Not uploaded, by the looks of it.

The halloween project is still being worked on , NMN.

Nasty Trick, no Treat. Was supposed to be released on Halloween.
Good to know it's still being worked on, but nonetheless, I am disapointed :(

Congrats to my buddy lynxtor though :P

no one else did, so i'm claiming FP. cheers you lot and the props comment too that i'm supposeed to make, whatever,... downloading

'No Imp left behind' is pretty nice, plays kinda like the requiem filler maps or dmonfear but looks better.

yay

Hunh, I cannot get out of the first room in Candles on the Ceiling. zDoom 2.0.64 should work fine right?

ZDoom 2.0.64 doesn't exist, so no.

NiGHTMARE said:

ZDoom 2.0.64 doesn't exist, so no.

My bad. Just .63a.

Abou said:

Hunh, I cannot get out of the first room in Candles on the Ceiling. zDoom 2.0.64 should work fine right?

Hint: Just go on an irrational mad insane shooting spree. You'll soon find your way out.

AndrewB said:

Hint: Just go on an irrational mad insane shooting spree. You'll soon find your way out.

Thanks!

Yeah, I tried that earlier witht he pistol but it didn't work so I shrugged it off. After I read your post I idkfa-ed and let loose with the chaingun. Go figure.

Haven't I played a candles on the ceiling before?

Abou said:

Thanks!

Yeah, I tried that earlier witht he pistol but it didn't work so I shrugged it off. After I read your post I idkfa-ed and let loose with the chaingun. Go figure.

Shoot one of the walls on either corner of the first room. They all lift up.

gargoylol said:

Congrats to my buddy lynxtor though :P

Damn straight, we co-oped through ohnoes.wad together. It wasn't exactly co-op friendly, but he was like "I'm working on something better". I don't doubt him really, since he told me he was just screwing around with ohnoes.

sargebaldy said:

Hmm.. looks like an interesting grouping of stuff this week. Uh, is that Hirogen's CC2 map I see?

Yeah, pretty lame.

Yeah, pretty lame.

Elaborate.

The No Imp Left Behind Map is pretty fun ,would be better if it were longer.

And when will the Halloween ZDoom project be released?

Hirogen2 said:

Elaborate.

I guess he feels that if you're making a map for a project, the map should remain exclusive to that project - at least until after the project has been released.

I chose a really lousely title for tekbrik, but anyway, it fits to some degree. "Use the berserk and remember, don't leave any imp behind"

Just give 'em tha ole stink finger!!!!!!