Looking for high quality but easy/medium WADs

Hi guys and gals

This has probably been asked around here a number of times but I wouldn't know what keywords to use to search for it.

I'm looking for map sets of sort of easy to medium difficulty where the focus is more on interesting gameplay, exploration and atmosphere than on survival. There are plenty of great new survivalist WADs around with a high difficulty such as Resurgence and Going Down, and they seem to be the most popular around especially amongst speed runners for good reason. I also don't want to switch to I'm too young to die since it would just feel strange playing a map designed for mass slaughter or nasty traps but with only a few monsters roaming around. I'd be fine playing a regular but still relatively easy going map on HMP if it comes down to that.

However I don't just want any easy old WAD, but only of high quality (great graphics/music/art, interesting layout/architecture, even interesting hacks, story, etc.). I guess what I want is immersion but in different and more relaxed kind of way. Preferably something other than vanilla though.

I don't mind playing in either PrBoom+ or GZDoom. Haven't yet tried Chocolate etc. so wouldn't be able to judge unless I try. I'm aware that there are a few nice creations for GZDoom around.

If you make some suggestions I'll make a list and update this post for those who want to check it out in the future.

Thanks!

Suggested WADs:

- Hell Ground
- Notebook
- most wads by Memfis
- wads by Nicolas Monti (other than Eviltech MAP12-32)
- DTWID, D2TWID, NMDU
- the recently released D2INO Russian variation, also search for other wads by the Russian community, a lot of them are impressive looking while mostly easy
- Didy's early stuff (Beluga, Sigma, Sine Die, Axiom, Bell Tolls)
- Jade Earth
- 5till L1 Complex
- Object 34: Sonar
- Doxylamine Moon: Overdose (the standalone rerelease)
- Sacrament megawad...which Doxylamine Moon was originally from
- The last level of Da Will
- The Rebirth by Vader
- Skillsaw's stuff (Lunatic, Valiant, Vanguard are the big three)
- Thomas van der Velden's Revolution!
- Zone 300
- Scimitar is like Scythe without the dramatic ramp-up in difficulty at the end, should be rather easy overall.
- Way Too Many Dead Guys
- Gooberman's Prime Directive
- Pirate Doom
- Junko
- Jenesis
- Crumpets (except that fucking last map)
- Most Eternal maps

Have you ever tried Hell Ground? It has a fair difficulty(for my own perspective) with extraordinary atmosphere and architecture. It only has 7 maps, but the gameplay is really enjoyable. Although I doubt you haven't played it since it's the winner of Cacoward in 2009.

Notebook has a nice unique visual style and relatively easy Doom 1 gameplay. Very cool oldschool midi selection too. I enjoyed it a lot, one of the best 2012 wads imo.

-wads by Memfis (except a few of them that are punishingly hard)
-wads by Nicolas Monti (other than Eviltech MAP12-32)
-DTWID, D2TWID, NMDU
-the recently released D2INO Russian variation, also search for other wads by the Russian community, a lot of them are impressive looking while mostly easy

Nice thanks guys, keep 'em coming. Updating the post as we go along.

Might have tried Hellground but certainly know about it yes. Played a bit of DTWID and I think one or two of Memfis' but not the others.

Didy's early stuff (Beluga, Sigma, Sine Die, Axiom, Bell Tolls) fits your criteria well, I think. So does Jade Earth, but surely you've played it already.

To elaborate on the earlier mention of Russian wads, some of the ones most likely to interest you are:

5till L1 Complex
Object 34: Sonar
Doxylamine Moon: Overdose (the standalone rerelease), as well as the Sacrament megawad in general (which Doxylamine Moon was originally from).
The last level of Da Will

The Rebirth by the talented Vader.

Before I got good at DooM I enjoyed the hell out of it, it's way too easy for me now, so I guess it'll fit perfectly into the quality but easy category. :P

My maps from Devile II. Should be fine.

Skillsaw's stuff (Lunatic, Valiant, Vanguard are the big three) is pretty fun. The encounters can look tough on paper, but there's usually a bunch of health and ammo around. So as long as you aren't killed, you won't die.

Gustavo6046 said:

My maps from Devile II. Should be fine.

Stop spamming your maps, please. If you notice, no one else in this thread has been promoting their own work.

esselfortium said:

Stop spamming your maps, please. If you notice, no one else in this thread has been promoting their own work.

+1. Was about to post this.

rdwpa said:

Skillsaw's stuff (Lunatic, Valiant, Vanguard are the big three) is pretty fun. The encounters can look tough on paper, but there's usually a bunch of health and ammo around. So as long as you aren't killed, you won't die.

I wouldn't exactly call Valiant easy. It has a few really difficult maps. 10, 31, and 27 come to mind. 31 is very long and grueling and the countdown area on 27 has had me stuck for a couple of days before I uv-max it(pistol start of course) and move on to 28.

Another recommendation is Zone 300. Not too difficult and I maxed all levels in two days recently. Fun megawad.

Thomas van der Velden's Revolution!

Ashstrodamus said:

...Another recommendation is Zone 300. Not too difficult and I maxed all levels in two days recently. Fun megawad.

Don't get me wrong, I do agree that Zone 300 has an interesting gameplay. But the atmosphere and architecture isn't that extraordinary. That's because of its own limitation; only 300 linedefs for each maps.

It is not "promoting" (wtf is that), it is recommending, as you boys are doing. I just perceived my maps are "fun but easy" so I decided to help this newbie too.

AD_79 said:

Thomas van der Velden's Revolution!

yes!
I wonder if I'm right in saying the first episode of that megawad is actually the most difficult? the town maps where you can get revenanted or downed by sheer hitscan attrition, the nuke plant level where you start on the nukage lift fighting a hell knight etc... I don't remember having much trouble in TVR! when the ball got rolling

Gustavo6046 said:

It is not "promoting" (wtf is that), it is recommending, as you boys are doing. I just perceived my maps are "fun but easy" so I decided to help this newbie too.

Recommending your own work is what we call "Promoting". See the other guy's recommendations. They're suggesting not their own works, but they're suggesting the other's works that were recognized as fine piece, masterpiece, by many people objectively. I know you're excited to create your own maps(just like me more than 10 years ago), but I can't stand that you call the others "newbie". So please, learn some etiquette and modesty before you spam posts about your work all around.

I'll be honest. I played your work, and it doesn't qualify the OP's requirements.

Scimitar is like Scythe without the dramatic ramp-up in difficulty at the end, should be rather easy overall.

Way Too Many Dead Guys should also be relatively easy to handle.

If you want exploration and atmosphere, you can also take a look at Gooberman's Prime Directive.

Pirate Doom would fit?

Yesterday i played a mapset called Junko and it could fit this category... i played few maps but i think is what this guy looking for...

Ashstrodamus said:

I wouldn't exactly call Valiant easy. It has a few really difficult maps. 10, 31, and 27 come to mind. 31 is very long and grueling and the countdown area on 27 has had me stuck for a couple of days before I uv-max it(pistol start of course) and move on to 28.

Yeah, would classify it as medium difficulty, which was part of the OP's query too. :p

I'd say Jenesis, Crumpets (except that fucking last map), or most Eternal maps.

antares031 said:

I'll be honest. I played your work, and it doesn't qualify the OP's requirements.

So, "what is wrong"? Isn't enough rippin' and tearin' for you?

Gustavo6046 said:

so I decided to help this newbie too.

I'm not a newbie, been around since 2011, but since I focus on speed running and have a busy life I don't get to play Doom casually very much. Speed running is already pretty tense, so that's why I'd like to take a break now and then playing excellent but more relaxed maps.

DeathevokatioN said:

The Rebirth by the talented Vader.

The Rebirth is a good set, actually this is my current UV-Fast project which will probably take another year or so to complete. The original idea was to do UV-Max but I switched to -fast for a greater challenge and just got stuck with it (and Skepticist released a nice demo pack for UV-Maxes anyway back then).

Not Jabba said:

So does Jade Earth, but surely you've played it already.

Actually never played Jade Earth.

Deadwing said:

Pirate Doom would fit?

I played Pirate Doom last December and it was fucking awesome. About easy to medium difficulty in my book, although the final boss was a little tricky (to be expected). The more important thing here is that it had plenty of character and humor as well as pretty interesting and fun redesign of weapons and monsters.

Getsu Fune said:

I'd say Jenesis...

Played Jenesis and also made a few UV-Maxes. Loved it.

I see... hmm have you played the star wars inspired mapset that was released some months ago? I don't know if they're easy to medium difficult though, since I still have to play them :P

I think Crumpets definitely shouldn't be here. Perhaps it's easy/medium "by Ribbiks standards" but not in general, unless you play it on 2nd skill or something (which is what Getsu Fune did I presume).

Ok so Memento Mori. It's the only one I've ever heard about if not my one.

But.. Momento Mori gets hard as balls at some particular areas!

I think both Coffee Break and Fava Beans (heh) suit what you're looking for rather well. Great mapping and never pisses on you with difficulty ramps. At least, not that I can recall.

:3 I suppose difficulty is relative to how much you know about the levels, and expresses itself in diferent ways... teh Memento Mori series isn't slaughtery but it does have a lot of old-school "fuck you, here's three chaingunners while you're reloading" moments which can be just as scathing.

frankly I still think of Plutonia as hard, lol, too many situations where if you don't play WELL you get minced in seconds. I wonder how the concept of difficulty could really be ranked so that it meant anything to a reader!

Requiem doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/requiem.zip
Demonfear http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/dmonfear
Darkening 2 http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/darken2