"Episode select" for Doom2/Final Doom? & What would the episodes be called?

While there isn't an episode select screen in Doom2/Final Doom, I can't help but wonder if a source port or mod has added that by now? It's pretty well known that there are 3 distinct "chapters" to each of the Doom2-based IWADs, divided up by story screens and unique sky textures. Before I put an ounce of effort into this, I just wanted to make sure it didn't already exist!

As a related question, what would you call the 3 distinct episodes of Doom2/the Final Dooms?

For Doom2, I like "The Starport" for 1-11, "Heart of the City" for 12-20 and "Hell on Earth" for 21-30. I chose these names based on the story text surrounding each episode.

In my veresion of Doom 2, all episodes are named after food and the difficulty setting replaces 4 with Some Like It Hot. 3 is Spicy, 2 is Lukewarm.

I've seen custom Doom 2 WADs which add an episode select screen (Eviternity comes to mind). It would be nice to have something like that for the regular Doom 2 maps.

Which makes me wonder, since the first Doom has four episodes, are there any candidates for a fourth Doom 2 episode, or are we stuck with just the three?

Episode 1: Deja Vu

Episode 2: Concrete Hell

Episode 3: The Descent

2 minutes ago, NoXion said:

I've seen custom Doom 2 WADs which add an episode select screen (Eviternity comes to mind). It would be nice to have something like that for the regular Doom 2 maps.

Which makes me wonder, since the first Doom has four episodes, are there any candidates for a fourth Doom 2 episode, or are we stuck with just the three?

The episode 4 slot would surely go to No Rest For the Living! I always felt like it was the (belated) Doom2 equivalent of Thy Flesh Consumed.

5 minutes ago, NoXion said:

are there any candidates for a fourth Doom 2 episode

No Rest for the Living comes to mind, and it is official. In fact, in the XBLA port is actually a second episode.

Episode 1 : New York Pizza

Episode 2: Dominos

Episode 3: Papa John's

At least, Doom 2 maps are easy to relate as the text screen helps to contextually place the player inside the carnage and the different skies also shows the progress. TNT is quite easy also, but Plutonia is somewhat difficult to tell as the maps don't have any kind of clue or detail about story progression, but hell if i like the look map12: Speed had to offer. Gorgeous indeed.
TNT chapter could be something like: The New Technology, Into Deep Darkness, and Voyage to Hell. First set of maps are in the experimental labs and the military base, the nighttime maps, for me are as we are aboard the hell ship, but this is somehow hard to tell as the maps names suggest some world maps (deepest reaches, crater, Dead Zone) and some ship maps (processing area, steel works, mill, shipping/respawning, central processing). The last episode is hell no less, but also some ship maps (administration center, habitat) some world maps (lunar mining project, quarry) and then hell (heck, ballystix, Mount Pain, baron's den, rever styx, last call). But as much as i love TNT: Evilution, the difficult to grasp narrative is a downer somehow.
The Plutonia Experiment chapter could be: Radiactive Earth, The Descent though Hell, Hive of Evil.
Plutonia maps are more easy to differentiate as they are only differentiated by their skies, as there almost no underline of story in it. Always wondered how can someone explain ''Odissey of Noises'', a city-like map, on Devil's Hive Sky. 
 

Quote

Old versions of SETUP.EXE give names for these episodes, though this was later removed.

Episode 1: "The Space Station"

Episode 2: "The City"

Episode 3: "Hell"

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Doom_II#Levels

Based on SETUP.EXE's level select, the closest thing we have to official episode names are "The Space Station", "The City" and "Hell".

e: lol, beaten

DooM II:

1. "Securing the Last Hope for Earth" 1-11
2. "Doomed Hometown" 12-20
3. "Heart of Darkness" 21-30

TNT Evilution:

1. "Infested Ionian Complex" 1-11
2. "Industrialized Nightmare" 12-20
3. "Descent Into Madness" 21-30

The Plutonia Experiment:

1. "Welcome to the Jungle" 1-11
2. "Wretched Hive" 12-20
3. "Quantum Underworld" 21-30

1.  UAC Starport
2.  City of Despair
3.  The Corrupted Lands

7 hours ago, Gez said:

"The Space Station", "The City" and "Hell".

Damn, I gotta say I'm "impressed" with myself for flat-out guessing and yet being so close to the official designations for each episode..

Doom 2

Episode 1 : Random Bases

Episode 2 : Hell on Earth

Episode 3 : Pablo Picasso

DooM 2

Ep1: Not so terrible levels

Ep2: Terrible levels

Ep3: Yeah, lets just get this over with

Ep4: No Rest For The Living

Episode 1: Deja Vu.

Episode 2: Heart of the City.

Episode 3: Redemption Denied.

Doom Tribute Project used the following names for its "episodes":

MAP01-06: The Return
MAP07-11: Hell on Earth
MAP12-20: Civilization Lost
MAP21-30: Final Fray

I'm quite partial to "Civilization Lost."

Plutonia is obviously:

E1: Welcome to Die!
E2: Still Playing? Let's Fix That
E3: CBT9000

1. Grand Return

2. Cleaning House

3. Hell’s Collide

If we say the message screens are the ends of a chapter, I'd go with this:

MAP01 - MAP06 = The infestation (Referencing the infested starport).

MAP07 - MAP11 = Outposts of Hell (Intermission screen 1 mentions about some outpost? (Also accidentally fitting name for chapter 2 of all parts XD)).

MA 12 - MAP20 = The Corrupted City (Intermission screen 2 + 3 mention about this).

MAP21 - MAP30 = Returning to Hell

MAP 31 + 32 = WOLFENSTEIN (Duh :P)

EDIT:

Oh and for Plutonia:

MAP01 - MAP06 = Just a scratch

MAP07 - MAP11 = Insanity

MAP12 - 20 = Hope you like misery!

MAP21 - MAP30 = Stop living already!!!

MAP31 + 32 = So I heard you liked Cyberdemons *kappa*

Doom 2: 

Episode 1: Dead Set

Episode 2: City of Flames

Episode 3: Damnation Descent

I’ve got mine setup to split into three episodes:

1. Hell on Earth

2. The City

3. The Living End

I do like Civilization Lost though. I may steal that.

3 hours ago, Doomkid said:

For Doom2, I like "The Starport" for 1-11, "Heart of the City" for 12-20 and "Hell on Earth" for 21-30. I chose these names based on the story text surrounding each episode.

I like this interpretation - that episode 3 is still somewhat on earth, but deeper on the hell infestion. Makes sense since Nirvana still have city-looking windows and maps like the Abandoned Mines and Monster Condo.

I think the book titles work well enough: Hell on Earth, Infernal Sky, and Endgame. @Gifty made some wads that incorporate his ideas for both Doom 2 and Final Doom, but I forget what they were.

E1. Gates of Delirium

E2. Cities on Flame

E3. In The Flesh

Doom II:

Episode 1: Breaching the Firewall (1-11)

Episode 2: Hell on Earth (12-20)

Episode 3: Into the Abyss (21-30)

TNT:

Episode 1: The Comeback (1-11)

Episode 2: Nightfall (12-20)

Episode 3: Roaring Machinery (21-30)

Plutonia:

Episode 1: Carnivorous Jungle (1-11)

Episode 2: The Corruption Spreads... (12-20)

Episode 3: The Devil's Hive (21-30)

Maps 01-11: A Mars A Day Helps You Work Rest And Play [Doom]
Maps 12-20: The Sheer AudaCity
Maps 21-30: All's Well That Ends Hell

I should be, like, a game designer or something.

4 hours ago, SiFi270 said:

I think the book titles work well enough: Hell on Earth, Infernal Sky, and Endgame. @Gifty made some wads that incorporate his ideas for both Doom 2 and Final Doom, but I forget what they were.

The chapter names I used in my "episodic Doom 2" wads were:

1. Starport Anomaly

2. Hell On Earth

3. Sin

And for TNT/Plutonia:

TNT1: Red Jupiter

TNT2: Night Ops

TNT3: Go To Hell

//

PLUT1: Welcome to the Jungle (please forgive me)

PLUT2: Hell Accelerator

PLUT3: The Seventh Gate

 I made a episode select "mod" for doom 2 a while back and I used these as episode names: 

I did a similar exercise a couple o' years back (oh no i'm OLD PEOPLE), arranging all the maps into 10-level episodes (in a "what if Doom 2 was laid out like Doom 1?" sorta way), and came up with this:

The directly relevant answer to the OP (i.e. episode names) was:

E1: The Infested Starport

E2: Last Man on Earth

E3: Corruption

I grabbed the names from various intermission storytexts -- in retrospect, "Corruption" isn't exactly inspired, and I'm tempted to follow one of the above examples and yoink "The Living End" as the episode title. Nice n' fitting n' catchy n' things n' words.