Maps with hardly any monsters?

Ones that don't suck, I mean.

Cyberdreams averages 3 monsters per map - until you reach Map30.

GreyGhost said:

Cyberdreams averages 3 monsters per map - until you reach Map30.

Any where the goal/object of the game isn't changed (aside from the "kill everything" part)?

Last map of 1monster - no monsters at all but many deadly traps and you have a limited time to reach the exit. Not very fun imo.

No End in Sight e3m1 - atmospheric introduction map with some puzzles, monsters appear only at the end.

Lutz's Inferno e3m1 - another actionless opening map with nothing but stuck tortured lost souls. Quite elaborate, might take you some time to find the exit.

I'm trying to think of some very sparsely populated maps that are still fun and challenging but can't remember any.

some short deathmatch mapsets from the 90's tend to have a few monsters in them for some reason. I can't think of any off-hand but you might want to start with DWANGO or something.

Usually theres a few maps with about 10 or less monsters. A few imps, a hell knight, a chaingun guy, a mancubus here or there, etc.

Do Icon of Sin maps count?

I made a similar thread a while back that might help you. On a side note, there's quite a few slaughtermaps where I type in -Kill monsters and then go for a wander to look at the mechanics.

Aliens TC E2M1.

Zones of Fear MAP10: Test of Patience.

STRAIN MAP21 comes to mind. It's all puzzle-y and even has a "skip" button for the folks who get angered at that sort of thing. :P

Xaser said:

...has a "skip" button for the folks who get angered at that sort of thing. :P

That reminds me of MAP31: Metal Mansion, from valkiriforce's Reverie. I love that map.

EDIT: I almost forget it. There's an episode replacement (or maybe 9-10 maps for Doom II) in which the first map is a sort of space ship, and has only 1 monster, but I don't remember the name. I remember that on the second map you "landed" and immediately faced some demons. Also, MAP01: Terraforming Station from Mars War has only 7 monsters.

Zed said:

I almost forget it. There's an episode replacement (or maybe 9-10 maps for Doom II) in which the first map is a sort of space ship, and has only 1 monster, but I don't remember the name. I remember that on the second map you "landed" and immediately faced some demons.

Maybe Talosian Incident

Well, I think Speed of Doom map21 only has a couple monsters

It's quite hard though, especially if you're not used to the style of play it demands

Also, I suppose any 1024 map would count as well, personally I thought Congestion was the best set of these maps

Map 02 of 'Sacrament' by Clan B0S has almost no monsters on it initially--it's more of an exploratory affair. There's an optional 'sidequest' you can do that, when completed, eventually teleports more monsters all over the place, but they're still very sparsely distributed, given the size of the map.

That reminds me, MAP31 of NOVA might be a good one to look at: it's got monsters, but I think you only come across them if you look for the secret exit.

Obsidian said:

That reminds me, MAP31 of NOVA might be a good one to look at: it's got monsters, but I think you only come across them if you look for the secret exit.

MAP32 as well. (although it sucks :P)

Memfis said:

monsters appear only at the end.

You gave it away! ;)

D2TWID's secret levels are fairly light on monsters. Spoilers for those who haven't seen it yet:

How about maps that use exactly one of each type of monster?

^ Connex 2 :) - http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?id=15533 Very cool map, especially for speedrunning in various categories.

How about Epic 2 MAP21?

E1M1 from Inferno has a few lost souls.

In my grab bag (/idgames link) the Tiny Pack maps are all small and have low populations - TINY0 and TINY1 also meet the 1-monster-type requirement. Likewise MAP01 of Phobus Doom E1 is a 1-monster-type map and all 4 levels are quite small. If you fancy going even deeper into ZDoom stuff, Virus is mostly levels with under 100 monsters and the first level only features a single type of enemy.

I could recommend some of my other work that also fits these requirements, but that's enough self-promotion for now!

vdgg said:

Maybe Talosian Incident

Yes, that's the one.

Also, MAP01: The Deep End from Swim with the Whales by Ribbiks.