6 years of Doom sobriety.... what have I missed?

Hoy!

So today I've logged in DW for the 1st time in... 6 years, when I decided I should no longer play/map on Doom for my own sanity.

Fast forward 2021, using the same computer that can no longer run any decent games, I've decided it's time to try a good aul' little Doom, just to see how it feels... However I don't exactly fancy playing any of the original WADs.

I'm looking for some of the best WADs that were released in recent years, provided they are very true to the original Doom/Doom 2 in terms of atmosphere, graphics, game play (no extra fancy game mechanics and whatnot, just pure classic fun). Something with decent difficulty, no slaughtermaps or overly hardcore.

Advise me.

https://www.doomworld.com/cacowards/

Edit: also welcome back

Welcome back! Lots of people will have great suggestions, but for my money the biggest recent classic release (i.e. PRBoom+ compat) that falls into the "more accessible" spectrum is Eviternity.

3 minutes ago, Reelvonic said:

https://www.doomworld.com/cacowards/

 

Edit: also welcome back

Thank you. I should probably take the time to go over these pages but I'm a lazy f#cker...

One of my favorite megawads from recent years is 25 Years on Earth. It plays very much like the original Doom 2. 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/ph_25yoe

10 minutes ago, Bauul said:

Welcome back! Lots of people will have great suggestions, but for my money the biggest recent classic release (i.e. PRBoom+ compat) that falls into the "more accessible" spectrum is Eviternity.

PRBoom+.... hmm I think I've fallen behind, gonna have to catch up on compilers!

Also, I'd prefer no Megawad*, as I'm looking for something a bit more consistent and with a coherent atmosphere, if that makes sense (again, trying to tickle the nostalgia of the original games here).

Thanks for the suggestion though!

*EDIT: I've lost on the vocabulary too! I meant no compilation where every map is by a different mapper! So your suggestion is valid. Sorry about that

6 minutes ago, tomatoKetchup said:

Also, I'd prefer no Megawad, as I'm looking for something a bit more consistent and with a coherent atmosphere, if that makes sense (again, trying to tickle the nostalgia of the original games here).

There is an Ultimate Doom megawad that fulfills the latter two requirements perfectly, called No End In Sight. If you've played Doom The Way id Did, then think of NEIS as its bigger, badder cousin. Personally, I find it to be a perfect cocktail of brilliantly subverted UD nostalgia, modern mapping standards and bold originality.

Doom 32x Delta if you are feeling fancy.  Oh by the way, Romero released Episode 5 a couple of years ago. (Well, 2 years ago)

If you're looking for wads which are restricted to vanilla/limit removing Doom and Doom2 - which tends to make them feel a little more classic - this pack might be helpful, if a bit large:

Here are some specific wads from recent years that are very much in line with classically doomy sensibilities:

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/3iac

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/doom404

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

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/s-u/ure2020

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/d-f/dkmega1

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/a-c/betalabs

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/ggfast01

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/a-c/bre_stim

All of these were one (or two at most) person wads. There's honestly so much more but I don't wanna overwhelm you. I can confrim that all of these wads are clearly staying in that oldschool Doom vibe.

2 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

If you're looking for wads which are restricted to vanilla/limit removing Doom and Doom2 - which tends to make them feel a little more classic - this pack might be helpful, if a bit large:

 

Here are some specific wads from recent years that are very much in line with classically doomy sensibilities:

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/3iac

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/doom404

 

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

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/s-u/ure2020

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/d-f/dkmega1

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/a-c/betalabs

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/ggfast01

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/a-c/bre_stim

 

 

All of these were one (or two at most) person wads. There's honestly so much more but I don't wanna overwhelm you. I can confrim that all of these wads are clearly staying in that oldschool Doom vibe.

Lol why does Picard look disappointed in the embed pic, Vanilla is good!  :P

On topic, check this big-ass guide I did some time ago:

Reelvonic's link to the Cacowards, while a bit of a laconic reply, will probably be inclusive of almost everything that anyone could actually recommend here save for those 2021 releases that just haven't been eligible for a Cacoward yet. ;)  

That said, I'll namedrop Ancient Aliens, which I believe you would have missed by just under a year.

uhhhh, a shitload lol

• the community has grown in size quite a bit due to the new games
• a ridiculous amount of incredibly well-regarded wads have been released
• new things about the game have been discovered
• there's a new moderation team
• an official doom source port came out
• romero made new stuff
• people are doing even crazier shit in gzdoom than they were before
• zdoom is dead

etc etc etc

others will be more than happy to recommend you newer stuff, i'm behind on all of that myself lol. i just wanna catch you up

You should totally check this piece of art.

40 minutes ago, tomatoKetchup said:

 

Advise me.

play sunlust on UV, its fun.

Quote

I'm looking for some of the best WADs that were released in recent years, provided they are very true to the original Doom/Doom 2 in terms of atmosphere, graphics, game play (no extra fancy game mechanics and whatnot, just pure classic fun).

Looks like this almost fits everything.

1 hour ago, tomatoKetchup said:

PRBoom+.... hmm I think I've fallen behind, gonna have to catch up on compilers!

Well PRBoom+ originally came out in 2006, so it's not too much of a recent development!  There is a more modern version of it though: DSDA-Doom is the fork of the Boom/MBF source code-base that's received the most recent updates.  

2 hours ago, tomatoKetchup said:

 

Hey man welcome back. I hope you decide to stay and become more involved

1 hour ago, Endless said:

 

 

On topic, check this big-ass guide I did some time ago:

 

Holy shit. 

This post needs to be pinned on that sub-forum, this is like a perfect guide for newbies to custom WADs.

2 hours ago, tomatoKetchup said:

Advise me.

This would be my personal recommendation:

DDAMN10.wad - WadArchive

Its pristine MIDIs:

DDAMN10 MIDI MUSIC.wad - WadArchive

2 hours ago, jerrysheppy said:

Cacowards ... probably be inclusive of almost everything that anyone could actually recommend here

This part is not really possible since 2017 -- there is so much good Doom, and awards + runners-ups + literally every other mention (<- yeah you need all of those) still can't really cover everything someone might want to recommend. 

And part of the fun of people asking for recommendations is the threads differ somewhat every time, and people aren't being recommended just the same things from one person (or group of people).

URE2020, of course! ;-) try to believe that it is a pure vanilla.

There have been 36 Doomer Boards Projects you should definitely check out!

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Doomer_Boards_Projects

Doom 2 In Spain Only should suffice.

1 hour ago, rd. said:

This part is not really possible since 2017 -- there is so much good Doom, and awards + runners-ups + literally every other mention (<- yeah you need all of those) still can't really cover everything someone might want to recommend. 

 

And part of the fun of people asking for recommendations is the threads differ somewhat every time, and people aren't being recommended just the same things from one person (or group of people).

That's a  more than fair take.  I suppose my response would be that "what have I missed?" is a particular sort of request, especially with the elaboration of "I'm looking for some of the best WADs..."  I certainly might recommend random under-the-radar releases from over the years, in the sense of "oh yeah, that's a good'un, play it!" but I don't know if I'd say that someone away for five years has "missed" them in the relevant semantic sense.

Still, though.  It's not like additional recommendations are hurting anyone, so sorry if it seemed like I was pissing on the parade of the non-Cacoward-havers (among whom I am certainly counted).

If you're looking to scratch that Ultimate Doom itch, there have been some great (classic) style megawads released, including:

Also, I'm not sure if you were aware, but the legend himself John Romero released an "unofficial" 5th episode for Ultimate Doom, Sigil. Certainly worth a playthrough!

While I think a lot of the wads being recommended are fantastic, a lot of them are well off what the OP is asking for :P fella wants something that stays reasonably true to Doom1/2 in terms of atmosphere, difficulty and visuals - I’m seeing a lot of stuff way harder and just way.. different from the “classic style” here!

There’s a reason I didn’t point the man towards Eviternity, Pirate Doom, Refracted Reality, Rowdy Rudy 2 etc. I think @RonnieJamesDiner had hit the nail on the head, based on the OP’s wishes!

13 hours ago, Endless said:

Lol why does Picard look disappointed in the embed pic, Vanilla is good!  :P

For some reason, the forum software always embeds the first picture posted in a reply to the thread. Pictures posted in the OP are always ignored.

No, I don't know the logic either. But it means you can photobomb any thread that hasn't had a reply with a picture yet.

Wow... I see these forums are more active than ever before.

I wasn't expecting such a response. I may have enough recommendations here to binge-play until I die. Bitta overwhelming actually, don't know where to start.

Oh yes I do actually... Romero's Episode 5 is defo on the top of my list! I remember hearing from it after I quit playing, and thinking "well, I won't play it because I'll fall back into it again", but now may well be the right time.

On a side note, I was living in Galway, Ireland around 2016, and had just learned John had relocated in town. It's like the universe was telling me "don't stop playing Doom you s#cker!". :D

Anyway... a big thank to all of you, and I'll make sure to (eventually) have a look at every one of your recommendations!

10 minutes ago, tomatoKetchup said:

Oh yes I do actually... Romero's Episode 5 is defo on the top of my list! I remember hearing from it after I quit playing, and thinking "well, I won't play it because I'll fall back into it again", but now may well be the right time.

 

On a side note, I was living in Galway, Ireland around 2016, and had just learned John had relocated in town. It's like the universe was telling me "don't stop playing Doom you s#cker!". :D

You are "Doomed" to play Doom.

(I'll see myself out)

14 hours ago, Bauul said:

Welcome back! Lots of people will have great suggestions, but for my money the biggest recent classic release (i.e. PRBoom+ compat) that falls into the "more accessible" spectrum is Eviternity.

By the way, you can also run Eviternity on a fresh source port named Woof : https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Woof!

It's an updated WinMBF, more "old school" and lightweight than PrBoom+.