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whybmonotacrab

Best Short Wads?

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I'm finding I tend to enjoy shorter WADs, like Vanguard, Lunatic, Violence, Crumpets, etc. They're not as tiring or bloated as some megawads can be, they're generally more consistent, and I just like being able to blast through them in an afternoon. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. I typically prefer more run and gun fair with short to medium length maps, but I am open to anything if it's good. 

 

 Alternatively, if this thread has been made a million times and I've just missed them, feel free to call me a buffoon and just link those.

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Glaive and Glaive 2 have only 9 maps and 7 maps respectively and are more Scythe like so are not very long levels might be your speed.

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1 minute ago, JuanchoES said:

Scythe 1

I've finished it, but it's a full 32 map megawad. I'm more looking for 4-12ish map projects.

 

30 minutes ago, Eric Claus said:

Glaive and Glaive 2 have only 9 maps and 7 maps respectively and are more Scythe like so are not very long levels might be your speed.

I have these downloaded but haven't tried them yet. Will definitely give them a go.

 

18 minutes ago, dmslr said:

Definitely DBP series.

I've played a few of these and have enjoyed the few I have.

 

 Thanks for the recommendations though!

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How about Bauhaus? 4 maps, inspired by bauhaus-art. A great atmosphere with some of the best realistic architecture around!

Edited by YestoDooM

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I can confirm that all of the episodes are very solid Doom romps that shouldn't take too long to complete:

 

Fava Beans - 1995

Hellrun - 1996

Osiris - 1996

Area 51 - 1997
Far Side of Phobos - 1998

Bermuda Triangle - 1999

Operation BioWar - 1999

Coffee Break - 2012

Rowdy Rudy's Revenge - 2018

Mini Doom - 2019

Ray Mohawk's Manic Monday - 2019

Blood Foundry - 2020

Pathogen - 2020

Cool Skies - 2020

UAC Pacific Northwest - 2020
 

These are all shortish/easyish episodes, or longish single-maps. I know I'm forgetting a bunch, especially the 2000-2010 range.. Maybe someone else can help fill in the blanks! All should be easy to complete in one or two afternoons.

 

Hope you enjoy!

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2 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

I can confirm that all of the episodes are very solid Doom romps that shouldn't take too long to complete:

 

Fava Beans - 1995

Hellrun - 1996

Osiris - 1996

Area 51 - 1997
Far Side of Phobos - 1998

Bermuda Triangle - 1999

Operation BioWar - 1999

Coffee Break - 2012

Rowdy Rudy's Revenge - 2018

Mini Doom - 2019

Ray Mohawk's Manic Monday - 2019

Blood Foundry - 2020

Pathogen - 2020

Cool Skies - 2020

UAC Pacific Northwest - 2020
 

These are all shortish/easyish episodes, or longish single-maps. I know I'm forgetting a bunch, especially the 2000-2010 range.. Maybe someone else can help fill in the blanks! All should be easy to complete in one or two afternoons.

 

Hope you enjoy!

I've played Pathogen and I absolutely adored it, and I also quite enjoyed Ray Mohawk's Manic Monday, so I'll definitely check out the rest!

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My quick list of favourite episodic sets:

1. Bloody rust 1, 2 and 3
2.Syringe

3.Cold Front

4.Ol' No Name

5.Crusades (for Ultimate Doom)

6.Coffee Break 

7.Alienated

8.Intergalactic Xenology

9.Darkening 1 and 2

 

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I've got a number of recommendations for Ultimate Doom:

 

Doom: The Lost Episode by @Xaser et al

A bizarre yet ingenious Zternity-compatible 5th episode, consisting of various alpha, console or PSX-Doom maps ported to ZDoom, xaserfied beyond recognition and cobbled together into a surprisingly-cohesive acid trip of a wad. Mind-bending puzzles, eccentric texturing, often vicious combat and a eclectic assortment of Bobby Prince midis await thee. Also, don't listen to the negative reviews on idgames. They are all wrong. This wad is brilliant.

 

Double Impact by @RottKing and @Ralphis

A very high-quality and slightly evil limit-removing E1 replacement. Tight combat, strong visuals and flowing layouts make this a joy to play. Exploration and attention to detail are rewarded by the wad's many well-placed secrets. This wad is probably also the hardest on the list (on UV anyway), due to the sheer attrition-factor of the later maps. I recommend HMP for first runs.

 

Nihility: Infinite Teeth by @years

A fantastic vanilla-compatible E2 replacement, with extensive DeHackEd work and an extremely moody atmosphere. Seems to take extensive influence from the Doom alphas, making use of various unreleased sprites and textures to expand or overhaul Doom 1's paltry palette, arsenal and bestiary. Unusual in that it lacks music, instead opting for ZDoom-style ambient sounds.

 

No Sleep for the Dead by Jan Van Der Veken

A highly-refined vanilla-compatible E1 replacement from the master of E1 replacements himself. This wad is short, sweet and to the point. E1 has never been this refined. If you like this wad, consider checking out the author's extensive body of work for more E1-inspired goodness.

 

Phobos: Anomaly Reborn by Chris Lutz

A pseudo-realistic Boom-compatible E1 replacement, probably among the most impressive Doom 1 wads for its extravagant detailing and absolute commitment to theme. While a bit wonky in places (Doom platforming sucks balls), you are unlikely to find many maps this immersive. A grand adventure, and a must play for anyone who likes immersive environments.

 

Return to Hadron E1 by @cannonball

A combat-focused limit-removing E1 replacement, probably the most similar experience to Lunatic or Vanguard on the Doom 1 market. Outrageously fun combat, fluid, fast and satisfying, with clean, refined visuals and a selection of blood-pumping midis. The best part is that there are two more episodes if you enjoyed the first.

 

Ultimate Doom The Way id Did by various

A fittingly-brutal vanilla-compatible E4 replacement, courtesy of the DTWiD crew. Very high-quality and interesting maps, with brutal combat, devious traps and ingenious secrets. A must pay for E4 fans.

 

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Deathless is another good choice as the maps are not overly long and since it is Ultimate Doom you can just do an episode at a time.

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Try REVOLUTION!, it's a 32-map megawad, but all maps can literally blown trough in 5-10 minutes, some much shorter. Maps regularly have about 50 monsters. Very easy, even on UV, but storytelling is nice.

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Syringe, Return to Hadron, Legacy of Heroes, and another vote for the DBPs and Deathless from me.

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Well, Foursite.wad is a thing. It's basically a dude who imagined four levels and combined them into one singular experience. I mean, it's really long for being just one level, technically, but I got through most of it (haven't completed it yet) in about 20 minutes. So I'd recommend to at least check it out. ^^

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Some not-to-difficult recommendations. The bottom two wads are are probably my personal favourites of this short list. Counterattack features fairly large maps but they are too impressive to disregard.

 

Suspended in Dusk

UAC Ultra

Violence

Crusades

Scythe X

Coffee Break

Mayan Mishap

Counterattack

 

--------------------

 

If you enjoyed Crumpets then definitely check out Stardate 20x6 and 20x7, although i'd recommend HMP and HNTR respectively for these wads on a first playthough.

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44 minutes ago, Scotty said:

Counterattack

Given how long the levels take to complete (more than an hour each for me), this one may be more time-consuming and tiring than many full megawads.

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One I'm particularly fond of due to it being the first PWAD I downloaded from idgames, is Data Center. It's just six short vanilla maps, but there's some pretty clever and creative stuff in there.

 

(Note: it says it's vanilla compatible but it's only been tested in ZDoom, which means it has a few bugs in vanilla-faithful ports)

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I recently played demon fear

 

I was able to record the entire thing in one session so it would probably be right up your alley

 

 

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On 11/17/2020 at 10:36 PM, Omniarch said:

Return to Hadron E1 by @cannonball

A combat-focused limit-removing E1 replacement, probably the most similar experience to Lunatic or Vanguard on the Doom 1 market. Outrageously fun combat, fluid, fast and satisfying, with clean, refined visuals and a selection of blood-pumping midis. The best part is that there are two more episodes if you enjoyed the first.

 Just finished E1. Absolutely loved it. On UV it felt like exactly the right challenge for me. It was fast, frantic, and fun; sharing a lot of the qualities I like in Alm/Skillsaw maps. I definitely need to play more Canonball stuff. Thanks so much for recommending it.

 

 And thanks everyone else for the recommendations. I look forward to trying those too!

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7 hours ago, smeghammer said:

Definitely small maps, but gets quite challenging:

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/1024

 

It's 32 maps, but they are all - er - 1024 units square.

 

I have had similar experiences with other "limitation" projects like this like 50Monstr and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head.  Usually digging through those can be a fun way to pass some time and find some maps you like.

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Stardate 20x7 only has 11 maps. And dimensions only has 5. Lol but in all seriousness you will like sigil which is the episode5 for ultimate doom

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There's this little wad i found called Tyrant and i find it very cleverly designed, atmospheric and consistent, it's just 5 pretty short maps but they're all just a joy to play and I thought it would fit here, it surely deserves more attention.

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