Favorite Map Theme.

13 hours ago, Doomkid said:

I do like Hell maps, Gothic maps, and Temple maps, but moreso for SP. I don't exactly know why, but in Deathmatch I can play something with a classic Doom1/2 texture set almost endlessly, but fatigue sets in with every other theme. I guess because I find unfamiliar settings kinds of distracting or something? I dunno.

I'm inclined to agree with the exception of Gothic99 and EXEC.WAD. I could play those map sets over and over and never tire of them.

Come to think of it, has anyone ever made a single player version of either of these wads? I actually haven't had the chance to play Bourgeois Deathmatch with friends yet, so I've been playing it in single player. Really cool wad. Might be a cool project to make a single player EXEC.WAD map set. 

2 hours ago, pcorf said:

Bricks and metal.

Like Scythe map 01? I don't know too many wads that look like that. Any recommendations?

Maps settled in ancient civilization ruins, there not enough for them to play. I also love build natural areas, a bit less techbase stuff. Or even ancient techbase set in old civilization ruins, surrounded by nature which slowly claims place piece by piece. 

Ep. 4 then any fantasy/castle/dungeon like setting 

I like maps set in a void a lot.

There's so much that I love, and I'm indecisive, so I'll say gritty gothic maps, stuff like Bloodstain, which uses a lot of Quake's gothtastic textures, then tying that with living flesh hell maps (something else Bloodstain did very well).

Cities, Towns

Arctic, Snowy

Hell

Castles

Graveyards

Forest, Swamp

Beach

Surreal

Temples

Floating islands or Temples

Not mentioned, but sewer-themed maps. A lot of it goes back to Map10 in Alien Vendetta (one of my favorite maps in the set), but I really like the BRICK10 texture and it goes well with the SLIME01-SLIME04 flats.

Also, mansion-themed maps (especially with PANCASE textures) as an honorable mention.

I do not exactly have a favorite per se, while Lovecraftian/Eldritch are from my most liked, any theme can be awesome if done well and you break their standards, or cliches, like a water map being mostly underwater when you could alternate between underwater facilities and surface islands/beaches, for example.

Thy Flesh Consumed is my favourite episode of Doom so I'll go with that. Basically Gothic and Hellish.

I have said it before and I'll say it again: I can never get enough of green marble. Combine that with an orange skybox and wood/metal and I'll love it, even if the map itself isn't great. For some reason beyond me I go weak at the knee's for that aesthetic.

It's not all dark though, I also like city maps and natural outside environments like caves, ruins and forests. Sci-fi type maps are fairly high on the list like space stations or the Valiant Moon/Rocket base theme, etc. 

To be honest I'm struggling to find one I don't like. There's one or two I'm not crazy on but nothing that I won't tolerate. Uninspired answer I know, but it is the truth.

Oppressive, Sunder-ish architecture (Sunder 19, Sunlust 30), color-coded Ribbiks stuff (orange and yellow are best). Can't get enough of it.

Gothic as in the 1st episode of Eviternity.

Winter themes as in the 3rd episode of Eviternity. A mix of Doom and quiet reflective melancholy is intoxicating.

As little Doom 1 textures as possible (I'm so bored with them).

Techbases only if they look extra cool/atmospheric (BTSX, Skillsaw, Mucus Flow).

I like a lot of themes but one I haven't seen given a shoutout it purely abstract stuff. Where there might be a texture theme but its really hard to nail down what the map is meant to even vaguely portray. e.g. from Doom2: the gantlet, dead simple, tricks and traps, the pit, circle of death, the living end. The closest you could say is they're 'earth locations overrun by hell' or part of a large starport complex (as per the 'story') but we only think that because we're told that in the text. On their own they don't really look like any place.

When a map pulls that off I like it.

I voted Demonic Techbase as I assume that refers to the design used in the Shores of Hell. Of the original episodes Knee Deep in the Dead with its Tech Base design was usually my least favourite - I like some of the levels and ideas but I found maps like E1M4, E1M6 and E1M9 a bit meh aesthetically. I like the variety featured in Shores of Hell and very much prefer the nice red with rocky mountain sky aesthetic over the white sky of Ep 1. Ep 2 still provides certain amounts of straightforward tech stuff (not just ruined or overgrown areas) and it doesnt overstay its welcome. Having grown up I appreciate just how well the flow from human tech to hells influence flows, where as a kid I never really thought about it; i just liked the design and environments of many of the maps in general.

I mostly liked natural environments or temple themes, got sick of tech bases and demonic very quickly because that was most of Doom's custom WAD history.

I really like it when themes are mixed though, to the player's surprise. Like you're going through a level that's very obviously a temple but then you see a computer screen in the wall halfway through the map and wonder if your eyes are right.

I think the underwater domes in Heretic are sort of like that, Heretic is mostly straight fantasy but that part of the game was a break in a different direction.

Hellish levels like the ones from Scythe have been always my favourite ones

I can't really give a name but I have a certain interest in semi-realistic maps using stock textures and where thearchitecture and the mysterious sky contribute to give a dreamlike otherworldy atmosphere. TimeOfDeath is in my opinion the master in this field. The last screen is my Ultimate Doom map "Ventôse".

If I could give a name to this theme, it would be: "The dream made of stock textures".

My favorites are just jungles and forests of any kind (especially if combined with techbases or just brutalist structures), plutonia-esque or more lush, i love them all just as much and i feel like there's not enough of these out there...

4 hours ago, BeefGee said:

I like a lot of themes but one I haven't seen given a shoutout it purely abstract stuff. Where there might be a texture theme but its really hard to nail down what the map is meant to even vaguely portray. e.g. from Doom2: the gantlet, dead simple, tricks and traps, the pit, circle of death, the living end. The closest you could say is they're 'earth locations overrun by hell' or part of a large starport complex (as per the 'story') but we only think that because we're told that in the text. On their own they don't really look like any place.

 

When a map pulls that off I like it.

Weirdly enough, the only wads that I've found like that are Doom 2 and the earlier maps of Scythe. I would like some more wads like that for sure. Come to think of it the Serenity trilogy for Ultimate Doom comes close.

1 hour ago, DarkScythe13 said:

I voted Demonic Techbase as I assume that refers to the design used in the Shores of Hell. Of the original episodes Knee Deep in the Dead with its Tech Base design was usually my least favourite - I like some of the levels and ideas but I found maps like E1M4, E1M6 and E1M9 a bit meh aesthetically. I like the variety featured in Shores of Hell and very much prefer the nice red with rocky mountain sky aesthetic over the white sky of Ep 1. Ep 2 still provides certain amounts of straightforward tech stuff (not just ruined or overgrown areas) and it doesnt overstay its welcome. Having grown up I appreciate just how well the flow from human tech to hells influence flows, where as a kid I never really thought about it; i just liked the design and environments of many of the maps in general.

 

 

Sandy Peterson is the GOAT. Him and Tom Hall made great levels for Episode Two. 

Hard to choose but I voted for Abandoned Techbase as I love ruins and have made quite a few ruins myself. The they don't have to be techbase tho..

49 minutes ago, Dusty_Rhodes said:

Weirdly enough, the only wads that I've found like that are Doom 2 and the earlier maps of Scythe. I would like some more wads like that for sure. Come to think of it the Serenity trilogy for Ultimate Doom comes close.

Doom 2 The Way ID did also does it (by design of course). But there's also Nicholas Monti's stuff, e.g. erkatanne. Although that's REALLY abstract. I'd also say some other older wads, like Memento Mori, do it sometimes as well. Doom Zero does it as well. Basically a lot of vanilla compatible wads which are trying to capture the ID feel have maps in them like that.

1 hour ago, MattFright said:

i feel like there's not enough of these out there...

 

I think part of the reason is that there is no texture resource pack that collects all the nice trees and grasses together; anyone trying to make a jungle or forest has to do a lot of work pulling textures together 

1 minute ago, RDETalus said:

I think part of the reason is that there is no texture resource pack that collects all the nice trees and grasses together; anyone trying to make a jungle or forest has to do a lot of work pulling textures together 

Is that a challenge??

Seriously though, now that you point that out, i might just do it myself once i'm done with my current project.

17 hours ago, Dusty_Rhodes said:

Like Scythe map 01? I don't know too many wads that look like that. Any recommendations?

Dr Sleep-like maps.

But of course I like to vary my themes.

2 hours ago, BeefGee said:

 

Doom 2 The Way ID did also does it (by design of course). But there's also Nicholas Monti's stuff, e.g. erkatanne. Although that's REALLY abstract. I'd also say some other older wads, like Memento Mori, do it sometimes as well. Doom Zero does it as well. Basically a lot of vanilla compatible wads which are trying to capture the ID feel have maps in them like that.

Definitely agree on DtWID but I think older wads like Memento Mori have their own special feel. Hard to describe as it's not a tangible reason I feel that way. Dunno how I forgot DtWID though lol.

1 hour ago, pcorf said:

 

Dr Sleep-like maps.

 

But of course I like to vary my themes.

Oh yeah the Dr. Sleep Master Levels really fit the bill.

A dark, Demonic Techbase is still my fave, followed by E4 Gothic Hell, then Classic KDiTD techbase, and anything with jungles, ancient temples, ruins and so on. I also very much like purely abstract maps, but it's hard to pin down a "theme" since they can vary so much.

I like the Hippy Unique style of Ancient Aliens, especially the techbase episode, what I liked about the Ancient Aliens levels are the color contrast, the cyan purple mix up, with sometimes adding yellow or red or dark colors.. it's my favorite level style..