Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
Phobus

3 WADs That Influenced You the Most

Recommended Posts

Inspired by the thread in EE, what are the three WADs that most influenced you? Not your favourites or the ones you consider the best, but the ones that actually changed what you make, do, play or how you see Doom.

The three for me, in no particular order, are:
ZDCMP#1, as it sort of put the theoretical (to me at the time) worth of ZDoom into practice, getting me into using it properly, as well as mapping again and joining the forums to seek advice, more maps using the port and to get my work out there. I suppose without this WAD (now pk3), I'd not be here.

Back to Basics, by Espi - I didn't actually enjoy playing this that much, but the design principals around things like switch placement relative to what they activate and having non-linear layouts with plenty of views of yet-to-be-accessed areas were exemplary. I took the lessons on board pretty much straight away and implemented them into Claws of the Wounded Beast and have kept them in mind ever since.

I'll say Community Chest 3 is my third one on the list, but not for the experience of playing it. Contributing to that opened me up to the idea of community projects as a great way to get my work seen and to be involved in something memorable. It also prompted me to try and get on this forum, which I remember being very difficult due to some quirk of my desktop at the time. Enjoying that and the positive responses at the time definitely ensured that I ended up being in a large number of further community projects since then.

So that's me - how about yours?

Share this post


Link to post

Suspended in Dusk - Espi's sheer mastery of vanilla was something that really stood out for me and is to this day something I try to emulate

Epic - The first Eternal wad I ever played. He has an excellent style that I absolutely love.

STRAIN - This one is more DeHackEd-oriented than map-oriented: my first forays into DeHackEd consisted of pasting STRAIN's patch into Notepad and fiddling with the numbers.

Share this post


Link to post

Lunatic
BTSX E1
Memfis's bunch of maps

Not only they impressed me, these particular wads made me realize what I enjoy about Doom's gameplay.

Share this post


Link to post

Okay, let's see...

Alien Vendetta - while Hell Revealed definitely altered my vision in regards to hardcore gameplay - it was AV that truly showed how beauty and the beast may form something outstanding together. I still think it's one of the most successful vanilla megawads ever made, in a multitude of aspects.

Scythe 2 - an astounding masterpiece, with great variety and generally pronounced mastery at Doom mapmaking forming a cohesive whole that never ceases to amaze and stays on the top positions for me even nowadays. There were things that came close, but nothing that'd really overthrow this monster of a megawad.

Combat Shock - this was probably the first work for me that really demonstrated how maps with overwhelmingly high monster counts can be really entertaining and don't necessarily drag around themselves for too long. While dannebubinga was surely influenced by Sunder, among other things - I think he was able to perceive the core essence of such gameplay type better that Insane_Gazebo himself, and very well-orchestrated combat scenarios, interesting setups and reasonable length/difficulty proportions have been demonstrating that ever since in his releases.

Share this post


Link to post

Difficult question - I haven't really played that much. Back in 2006, I made some Simplicity ripoffs (everyone was doing it, right?), but now, I feel that I have developed more of a unique style. And I still suck at mapping :D

  • Doom II In Name Only - there are some amazing maps in this one, some of which I have tried to learn a few things from. Some don't like it because several of the maps are just too big for a community project, but if you look past that, you've got a solid collection of quality here.
  • Stuff by Karthik Abhiram - this author has created some of my favorite maps, most of which run in vanilla Doom. His levels are colorful and fun to play.
  • Simplicity - I am not going to deny that I still draw some inspiration from this one. I fell in love with its clean visuals as soon as I played it for the first time. I feel that I've gotten far enough away from Simplicity's style to call my mapping style my own (in terms of visuals).

Share this post


Link to post

I am no mapper but the 3 wads that shaped my taste were Alien Vendetta, Speed of Doom and Plutonia 2. I replay those on a relatively frequent basis cause they are the definition of 'doom fun' for me.

Sunder is also frigging great, hope IG will reappear one day and finish this beast. This wad basically taught me how to play difficult slaughter maps and the first to actually make me think how to tackle certain encounters as opposed to just go in all guns blazing.

Share this post


Link to post

Doom 1 and Vrack series.

Doom 1 for non-linear elegant layouts and easy going gameplay.
Vrack for being first overdetailed wad I seen. I remember from that time I wanted to be even more detailed in my maps.
I dont have third major influence.

Then there are little things from a lot of maps from Community Chest, Epic 2, Hell Grounds, Deus Vult, Fort 4, Claustrophobia, Vela Pax, Sunlust (too much of them) ... sometimes I like this idea, or this combination of textures, or I like some custom texture and quickly must rip it off for myself ...

Share this post


Link to post

Only going to name PWADS.
GothicDM: Showed me how good Doom maps can look.
Jäger Mörder 1: Again amazing architecture and lighting.
Tie between Chris Lutz' Inferno and Crusades: Great atmosphere in both. Not hyper detailed but a great sense of immersion.

Share this post


Link to post

I'm not sure but I guess mine would be these...

Icarus
Super Sonic Doom
Invasion UAC

EDIT: I'd like to add heroes.wad as a tie with Invasion UAC o-or Super Sonic Doom.
Heck it may aswell be a fourth >.<

Share this post


Link to post

NOVA: The Birth was my debut for CP mapping so it holds high regard.
Whispers of Satan remains a favorite of mine, even though a lot of people hate the switch presses, it was a recurring theme.
tied between Alien Vendetta and Hell Revealed 2 for the last one.

Share this post


Link to post

Brutal DOOM - the wad that every nostalgic player loves "chuckle"
Action DOOM 2 , and Chillax, the chaotic Rooms where there's only 1 way to escape .

Share this post


Link to post

2002 A Doom Odyssey is pretty much my inspiration, I love Doom 1's level design and I feel this is just a megawad of great maps, like I enjoy every map on there. This was also what got me into the Doom community so, there's that.

Plutonia is the mood/feeling/aesthetic of levels I want to make. You know what I mean just like the viney base with hellish stuff in it. It looks great. I also very much like the difficulty level in Plutonia. Sorry if IWADS aren't allowed.

Alien Vendetta is a probably a lame answer, but yeah this one too. I just love the level design. It's so pretty.

Share this post


Link to post

I am sure I am dating myself, but here you go:

Dystopia 3: These were the levels that introduced me to things that were 'impossible' with Doom -- not only a bridge you can walk over and under, but a DOUBLE-BRIDGE OVER A RIVER! That was pretty freeing, particularly when brainstorming early in the level design process; a lot of what I would have never previously considered I at least didn't immediately dismiss. Even today I enjoy making things that look like they shouldn't be in the Doom world (e.g. the giant crane in level 3 of P:AR).

Eternal Doom: The whole package is incredible, and incredibly inspiring: large, beautiful levels with crazy height variations and lots of smart special effects, a lot of which I had never seen before and subsequently added to my mapping tool-kit. Plus, "Darkdome" is still one of my all-time favorite levels.

Strife: There are other examples, but I feel like Strife does an excellent job creating a "real world" in that the player is fighting in places that aren't just mini-arenas. Quite frankly, the IWAD Doom/Doom 2 levels don't make any sense -- they aren't real spaces that have been overrun with demons, they are interesting and fun arenas that have occasionally been named after real places. Strife (much like Half-Life games) gives the player the feeling that there was a world that existed before the player entered the conflict, and most of the time that is something I appreciate (with allowances for Hell and other fantastic settings).

Share this post


Link to post

Hexen:I like medieval themes, this game proved that melee combat could fit into the fps genre and it proved that, hadn't been for hexen, you wouldn't be seeing much fps games with focus on melee combat.
Strife:Pushed the Doom engine even further than Heretic and Hexen, overall the most technological advanced and graphic-wise of the various doom engine games, showcased that RPG elements could fit well with a Fps game, again proved so.
Heretic:The first game of the various modifed doom engine games, it introduced stronger variants of your weapons, by using a specific inventory item, plus showcases how Doom would look in magical setting, also challenging bosses and interesting weapons and enemies, although i feel it didn't deserve that much attention.

Share this post


Link to post

Scythe

Other than DZone!-likes I didn't really indulge in PWADs in the 90s. I never knew custom levels could be much more than crude imitations of the original levels, abstract versions of your own home or square cyb arenas. When I got back into Doom in 2003 it was Fava Beans, Classic Episode, 10 Sectors and Scythe that introduced me to what is possible and inspired me to make levels of my own. Of these I've selected Scythe as the most inspiring as the small, neat, tightly designed maps are exactly my cup of tea and Alm is an inspiration for one man megawads.

Doom II Unleashed

Not so much the PWAD itself but mapping for it. PCCP was the first community project I submitted to back when CPs weren't ten a penny and getting your map in one was a good way to become known as a mapper. It didn't quite work that way for me, my entry 'Piss Factory' made only the overflow ZDoom episode but the process gave me a different perspective on mapping at a time when I was mainly working isolation with limited player feedback.

Doom 2 the Way id Did

Another one I mapped for with limited success. Unlike PCCP.wad I really love the finished product too. Other people mapping for the TWID projects will tell you it was a rewarding exersise, not only in emulation and learning of other mapper's styles but also thinking from the perspective of a commercial designer, working within vanilla limits and economy in design. The product itself reminded me that, to my surprise, Doom II style gameplay is great fun and oddly seems to have gone by the wayside during the evolution of mapping

Share this post


Link to post

When I first started mapping, ultimate simplicity, ultimate torment and torture, and scythe 2 were major inspirations for me. Looking at them today as complete levels, rather than how the details and texture alignment look on the surface, they seem pretty amateur to me. Scythe 2 still holds up pretty well except that its a little to neatly conformed to the grid in many places.

Nowadays I'm looking at maps that hit all the check boxes. Short nonlinear layouts, puzzle solving with objectives clearly communicated, exciting traps and linedef actions that make the map come alive, height variation, angled line variation, lighting contrast, tasteful and unobtrusive detail, thing decoration accents, gameplay highs and lows -- meaning creeping suspense and explosive action in distinct areas of the map.

There's a lot of wads that do a few of these things really well but its rare to find one that does it all.

Share this post


Link to post

Sunder - Never cared for visuals in Doom before. It always seemed to fall short of what could be done elsewhere. At least in 2010, Sunder looked more inspiring than just about anything the professional industry churned out. It dawned on me how the limitations of 2.5d and low visual fidelity meant so much more room for beautiful settings, provided you embrace simplicity and abstraction.

Brutal Doom - At some level I had the illusion people liked Doom for some of the same reasons I do. Even flamewars about a community wad being overhyped or slaughtermaps being mindless straferunning seemed to have some root in a shared love for some ill-defined common core. Brutal Doom's popularity was a jolt back to reality, and my interest in participating earnestly in the community waned.

Stardate - To me, the perfect mapset. Despite personal nitpicks, as a contained experience it feels complete; music, aesthetics, balance, fight design, exploration, sense of progression, closure. UAC Ultra is a close second but didn't offer the same level of challenge (not as in "difficulty", but rather "innovative setups").

Share this post


Link to post

Doom.wad
Hadn't seen any other pwads when I first started mapping for Doom, so the first few maps had no other influence. Quickly, Doom2.wad.

Nukemine.wad
First episodic pwad of any quality I played. Strong sense of theme pripr to Memento Mori and nice resource adds, some of which we lifted for Eternal Doom. Wanted to get the author hired at Ion Storm, but his meager contact info to his uni yielded no reply.

dr sleep's Inferno wads.
New and tall bar set for aesthetics. Pleasant pace.

Crucified.wad
Haven't output many wads since this wad was released and awed at but its streamlined design is at the back of my mind when mapping these days. As long as it don't hinder SP gameplay...

Need to play more wads really, for more updated SP inspiration. So many worthy efforts, not as much available time. Have a few eagerly awaited experiences on my HD, which will likely help shape any future wads.

Learnt a thing or two during 5 Rooms Of Doom...

Share this post


Link to post

For mods:

Brutal Doom, mainly because of the varied deaths only. I could care less about the other features. This was my number 1 inspiration that made me create RDND (see sig) from some of its assets.

ScoreDoom, also because of its large variation of monster choices.

Complex Doom, because variation.

For maps:

Sunder, Alien Vendetta, Hell Revealed I/II because of high monster count.

Share this post


Link to post

Reverie - What got me into mapping for doom in the first place
BTSX E1 - What got me back into mapping after a 2 year break
DTWID - What inspired me to pursue a simpler gameplay-focused style

Share this post


Link to post

Scythe series - Got me to make doom wads because of the small map layout style I prefer to make (Even though my earlier maps were linear, symmetrical, and shit).

kuchitsu - Another set of short, simple and seemingly non linear maps which I enjoyed.

Vanguard - Really nice looking environments with good level of difficulty.

Share this post


Link to post

In chronological order.

Sunder - One of the first WAD's i stumbled upon in 2013. For someone who had mostly played IWAD maps back in the 90's this was sheer mindblowing in terms of architecture, gameplay is maybe a bit questionable though i still enjoy it most of the time.

Combat Shock - Same as above in terms of visuals but gameplay wise it offered a lot of improvements.

Stardate20x6 - I second Phml, Absolutely perfect and very coherant in terms of visuals, gameplay, music, theme, et cetera. Really well orchestrated encounters, to me it's simply a masterpiece.

Share this post


Link to post
tourniquet said:

In chronological order.

Sunder - One of the first WAD's i stumbled upon in 2013. For someone who had mostly played IWAD maps back in the 90's this was sheer mindblowing in terms of architecture, gameplay is maybe a bit questionable though i still enjoy it most of the time.


Gotta love platforming in precarious. ;)

Share this post


Link to post

I don't map, so my influences are all on how I play:

Vanguard: This is the one that immediately jumps to mind, as it was the first (and perhaps only) WAD I played where, by the time I had finished, I could feel that my playing ability had improved significantly, and I will always hold it in high esteem for this reason. (And also because it's just plain awesome.)

Alien Vendetta: This is one of the earliest PWADs I played, so it left a strong impression on me, but the standout point for me was MAP20: Misri Halek, which absolutely blew me away and showed me that a single map could be a long and exciting adventure all by itself. Deus Vult later took this idea and cranked it up to eleven, leaving an indelible mark.

Share this post


Link to post

Scythe II - and to a lesser extent Scythe X. Great flow, reuse/repopulation of areas, and generally allowing the player to have space to move are gameplay elements I've really focused on adapting to my maps, but even more importantly than that, I'm a big believer in the idea of breaking large mapsets up into smaller episodes with strong themes, as that kind of structure both gives the player a hint to take a break and allows more gameplay variety by forcing the player to gradually build up an arsenal again in continuous play. Easily the biggest influence on my maps, and also my two favorite mapsets to replay.

Doom2.wad - Mostly the Sandy and Romero maps. I love experimental stuff and have tried to incorporate more into Valiant and other things I'm working on, and I think Sandy is king in that department. Romero's tendency to build walkways and vantage points around damaging floors is another trope I can't seem to get away from, heh.

Ultimate Simplicity - pretty much the first wad I played that made me pay attention to visuals. Visually and gameplay-wise, it doesn't really hold up today, IMO, as it has that distinct mid-2000s corridor feel that many mappers (myself included) have since moved away from, but I would credit Ultimate Simplicity more than anything else for me actually trying to make my maps look clean and polished, rather than "detailed".

I think I'd also add that working on ZPack, Stronghold, and BTSX have been tremendously valuable experiences as far as picking up new ideas and influences go, but I don't think those are really answers to the question since it wasn't the wad itself that I found influential, but rather the process of collaboration in creating them.

Share this post


Link to post

Oh god, how do I pick just three? I'm choosing to be a massive cheater and choose three series of wads instead.

Scythe series: These wads were what made me start mapping and probably caused my love of small maps.

Skillsaw wads: I haven't really played Vanguard, but Lunatic and Valiant are simply excellent. Skillsaw is one of my biggest influences, heh.

BTSX series: E3 isn't out yet, but I already consider the BTSX sets to be my favourite mapsets of all time. Excellent visuals and gameplay, and they really helped me improve with making layouts and doing thing placement.

Share this post


Link to post

Resurgence -- It was playtesting this that convinced me to try my hand at mapping again, and anyone who cares to look can see its influence all over my maps. Zerk-fueled "scramble for a weapon" starts, densely interconnected layouts, the "evasion until you get a key thing and then turn the tide and fight back" rhythm my maps tend to have -- this is the source.

Deus Vult II -- The text document, in particular. Huy Pham's description of his approach to monster placement, with each monster deployed to threaten a particular piece of space on the battlefield using the properties of their movement and attacks, is the first time I had thought about placement in those terms, as opposed to my old unreleased maps where I thought in terms of "well, this monster is about this strong, so let's put him here" and "release some random trash for a 'surprise' ambush".

Sunder -- I've ripped sooooo many combat ideas from this wad. In particular, this wad was what made me really understand the Arch-Vile/Revenant synergy, the power of Mancubus snipers, and the true strength of Cacodemons as a way to bully players around the map.

There's runners up for sure (Alien Vendetta, Vanguard, and Scythe in particular), but if forced to name three, those are it.

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×