The /newstuff Chronicles #309

After that whirlwind /newstuff session last time, you'd think it just keep on going in the sheer volume of stuff to review. Unfortunately, that is not to be! After taking out all of the old crap and re-releases, I'm left with a rather small amount of WADs to go through compared to last time, eleven zips I don't even know anymore but let's guess and say sixteen. Still, it has been worse in the past so I can't complain too much!

• 32in24 III: DUEL CORE - 32in24 team, see individual maps
  Boom - DM - 913kb - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Note by deathz0r: Just like last time, I asked AlexMax to do this review due to my involvement in this WAD and he kept pestering me on IRC to get around to doing this /newstuff. Thanks dickbag! This time I did the screenshots myself so there's nobody to thank for those.
  
  Being the second 32in24 mapset I've reviewed, my expectations for the mapset were a little higher. Thankfully, thanks to excellent maps such as map04 and map07, my expectations were largely exceeded. There are many fewer throwaway maps on this mapset than there were in the previous one (though some still existed, see map05's lack of effort and the exit doesn't even work), however I am sort of disappointed that most authors simply took the easy way out and figured "Let's just make a FFA map, but half the size" without showing any of the true creativity that can figure into a 1on1 map, as shown by...say...dweller2. And there are a couple of maps which, although they look cute, wouldn't work out in a competitive setting (map18 in particular). Still, those complaints are relatively minor, and for the most part, the resulting maps are quite playable, and the mappers clearly have a sense of humor, as evidenced by some of the music selections and the title/intermission screens. Give it a download.
  
  
• 32in24 IV: CAPTURE THE FAG - The 32in24 team!
  Boom - CTF - 1919kb - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Note by deathz0r: Again I couldn't review this, so I asked Alvis to review this time because I didn't want Alex to do it again. Unfortunately the review he sent me initially had cut off a good portion of the review, so I asked Humanbones to make a review while I waited for Alvis to resend me his review. Enjoy both reviews, I'll start off with Alvis' one.
  
  Up until this point I've mostly stayed away from speedmapping projects, primarily because in theory the quality of the maps is heavily limited by time constraints that prevent the mapper from fully realizing what he or she wants to do with a concept. However, there is some really impressive work here, even if few of the maps can handle a four-person deathmatch, let alone a 3-on-3 game of CTF on any of the ports it's compatible with, which are ZDaemon, Skulltag, and Odamex, according to the text file. From a short public playtest in Skulltag through the mappack, I can say that none of the maps are lacking in gameplay, even the ones that were made with visibly less effort than the others. As the map names and some of the designs abound with tomfoolery and self-deprecation, though, it's clear that the focus of the compilation is the enjoyment factor, and the quality doesn't suffer much for it at all, especially given the time allotted for them. Even the worst-looking maps are a lot of fun in this release.
  
  And here is Bones' review, it's friggin huge since he decided to review each map!
  
  Since Dean is a lazy asshole, I'll be taking time away from sleep to do this for him. Lazy. Asshole. Also, you'll see I'm really picky when it comes to maps.
  
  map01 - certainly one of the better maps of the pack. Great layout, nice mix of colors, and from what I've seen runs great with 10 people!
  map02 - make a larger map, please. I dare you. This map bores the hell out of me every time I look at it, especially since it takes around 30 minutes to get from each base.
  map03 - The idea was a good one. Maybe if more than 2 people could fit, it'd be better.
  map04 - This map only works when you have about 10 people and they are all in the middle. Other than that, forget it.
  map05 - Pretty good map. Nice gameplay, and I like all the lifts.
  map06 - Decent map. The weapon placement isn't the greatest, but if you pay attention you'll see that the author obviously knew what he was doing. Unlike that of map04!
  map07 - This map caught my eye, not only because of the layout, but because of the megasphere in the middle. Obviously the author's way of torturing you against someone slightly faster!
  map08 - Stellar map. I rank this up there with map01. Everything flows really smoothly.
  map09 - Another good map, but I think it could do without the pole + fence right outside the front entrance.
  map10 - Nothing special. Just another large map with a wide open middle.
  map11 - Really went creative here, huh? NOT.
  map12 - Nicely made, and with more than 1 entrance!
  map13 - Pretty big, but not as boring as that other one that sucks really bad. Plays nicely in MP.
  map14 - Awesome map. I wouldn't suggest playing with less than 6 people, though.
  map15 - Annoying.
  map16 - Really good one here, very competitive.
  map17 - I thought this was the most creative map in the pack. It's one of those that you'd never get tired of. Best map IMO.
  map18 - Too many stairs. Yeah, I'm picky.
  map19 - A nice, open map. The walls did it for me, though.
  map20 - I thought the layout was really annoying and that it could have been made better.
  map21 - All right I guess. The single door entrances to the bases were pretty...gay. The middle is nice though.
  map22 - Great layout, and not confusing like a lot of the others.
  map23 - Nothing wrong with this one! Hooray!
  map24 - Different, and the signs are great for those of us who are colorblind!
  map25 - Really, really, really, really, really big. Too big.
  map26 - This one is kind of large too, but its fun to play.
  map27 - Uncreative, but not bad.
  map28 - Nothing major wrong with this one, everything could have been spread out a bit more though.
  map29 - Really awesome for a quick, fast-paced game.
  map30 - Boring and pretty straight-forward. I'd skip.
  map31 - Another great one.
  map32 - Great way to end. A nice, medium sized map with a really great layout!
  
  
• ACS Arcade - Isle
  ZDoom - SP - 635kb - (img)
  Seriously, words cannot describe how cool this is. The initial effect of being surprised by what this WAD pulls off does kinda die off after a while though since it doesn't offer much new stuff, as Doom Racer and Super Turbo Turkey Puncher 3 were already released ages ago.
  
  
• Azure Agony's Unmaker - Azure Agony
  GZDoom - N/A - 1,240kb
  Excellent, the Doom 64 Unmaker which has been turned into an unremarkable projectile weapon! I'll definitely keep this on my HDD.
  
  
• Berenice - Oshylaqua
  doom2.exe - DM - 182kb
  Shit.
  
  
• Counterstrike - Texture Pack - Xaver
  N/A - N/A - 3.6mb
  * Copyright / Permissions *IF YOU USE TEXTURES FROM THIS WAD IN YOUR OWN, PLEASE GIVECREDIT TO ME (Xaver)
  ahahahahaha fuck off
  
  
• Dead Zone - Daniel Ferro
  doom.exe - SP - 179kb - (img) (img) (img)
  Here we have an E2 replacement that aims for the retro 1995-style mapping. I don't know if that will exactly sell you on downloading it as it is quite easy to beat, but it's definitely worth playing through at least once. The detail is quite basic but it gets the job done.
  
  
• Doom Incarnate: E1M1 and E1M2 - EANB
  Boom - SP - 164kb - (img) (img) (img)
  I know it's probably wrong to review this first before E1 The Test which is directly below this one, but I sort my stuff in alphabetical order and I don't give a damn about the whole chronological order crap! Get it outta my face!
  
  Before I deviate away too far from the topic on hand, this is sort of like KDiZD in idea as it remakes E1M1 and E1M2 into one map, but the execution is something that is about roughly half the detail and twenty times less tedious. Check it out!
  
  
• E1 The Test - EANB
  Limit Removing - SP - 51kb - (img) (img)
  This map is basically the inspiration for EANB to create Doom Incarnate: E1M1 and E1M2 (see above you dope) and it definitely shows. There's a very strong E1 feel here, and the map is a blast to play through! The slightly non-linear layout of the map means there are better paths to choose first before you complete the rest of the map, and I like that a lot.
  
  
• Fxdms-3 - Siliconwolf (Aka. Mophonix) + 3Dfx
  Skulltag - DM - 3.8mb - (img) (img) (img) (img)
  This has to be the first time I've ever came across a text file with ASCII art in it. Neato! Editor's note: you've never seen Doom Jr.'s text file?
  
  But that's totally irrelevant to the WAD itself, which is a set of eighteen maps for Skulltag, twelve of which being FFA romps and the remaining six being suited to 1-on-1 action. The maps are very solid but there's nothing revolutionary or about them. They're certainly worthy of a dedicated server though!
  
  
• Gamarra's soul story: Mission 4 "The Trolls" - Giulio Galassi aka Glassyman
  ZDoom - SP - 1,147kb
  Why won't this end? Please put me out of my misery now, TIA
  
  
• Hatomo Battles The Yomi Demons - Tobias Münch - Pablo Dictter
  ZDoom - SP - 1,583kb - (img) (img) (img) (img)
  This is the first thing I played way back at the start of September and it was a very interesting map set/episode which adds ten maps which have a strong Doom 2 inspiration to it.
  
  
• Insomnia - Robby DeCandia, aka r_rr.
  ZDoom - SP - 158kb - (img)
  Shit. Please put more effort into your maps before you upload something new.
  
  
• Jebus Duel - Tom "Siliconwolf" Lelli
  Boom - DM - 18kb - (img)
  A very solid 1-on-1 map that plays quite well. Could be better suited if it was part of a mappack though.
  
  
• Kohe 31 - Ruba
  doom2.exe - SP - 25kb - (img)
  Oh no, not more Ruba! This map has a weird layout, and it's typical Ruba quality.
  
  
• Kohe 32 - Ruba
  doom2.exe - SP - 16kb - (img)
  The real epic conclusion to the Kohe series, I hope.
  
  
• Lemmings Doom - Ben Wagner
  N/A - N/A - 696kb - (img)
  A graphics replacement which turns several monsters into Lemmings! Oh no! There's also a few weapon graphic edits too but I recall one of them still retaining the Doom guy hands.
  
  
• MancerXX v1.0 - C. Savage
  Limit Removing - DM - 747kb - (img) (img) (img)
  The original MancerX series was released way back in 1996, back when people were still actually playing Doom DM and Quake was several months away. What great times they were! Brings a tear to my eye. C. Savage, the original author of MancerX goes back to those really neat maps and UPDATES THEM to 2007 detail standards as well as adding a new map. They look like hot sex and fortunately still play as smoothly as the original series! If you haven't played MancerX yet, you might be interested in looking at MancerXX.
  
  
• Project: Doom - Jay Reichard
  N/A - N/A - 102kb
  Now this is a pretty rad idea! Jay Reichard decided to remix all of the Doom 1/2 MIDIs (except for a select few, such as D_VICTOR, D_ULTIMA and D_BUNNY for reasons unknown) into kickin rad arcade-style bliss! Some of my personal favourites are D_BETWEE and D_E1M6, but I couldn't catch the vibe of D_TENSE, no matter how hard I tried.
  
  
• Remain 1 (Chapter 1) - Alexander "Eternal" S. (aka Deadall)
  doom2.exe - SP - 828kb - (img) (img) (img) (img)
  This re-imagining of MAP01-MAP11 wins. The maps are excellent and are quite fun to play, not to mention they follow the theme of their parent maps quite strongly. WAD of the Week.
  
  
• Resident Evil 4 - Texture Pack - Tom "Siliconwolf" Lelli
  N/A - N/A - 6.2mb
  * Copyright / Permissions *IF YOU USE TEXTURES FROM THIS WAD IN YOUR OWN, PLEASE GIVECREDIT TO ME (SILICONWOLF) AND CAPCOM.
  At least this dude mentioned Capcom, but this is still fucking ridiculous.
  
  
• Shinobi.cl Free-For-All map pack - Wladimir Flores
  ZDaemon - DM - 7.8mb
  NO PLAYER 1 STARTS, WILL NOT REVIEW
  
  
• Special squad cobra 11 - Walter "Daimon" Confalonieri
  Boom - SP - 488kb - (img)
  I'll only be reviewing the first map since the other maps are just stuff Daimon has already released before. The new map features a hell/base theme that works extremely well and looks beautiful to boot, but my main gripe is that it's too short and too easy! Oh well, if you've already played the other maps featured in this WAD, you probably don't want to re-download this again unless you prefer having them in one neat package.
  
  
• the ghost episode - The secret alliance for the freedom of sentai and tokuhatsu series all over the civiliezed world
  ZDoom - SP - 86kb
  Shit.
  
  
• The Imp's Keep - Impboy4
  Boom - SP - 55kb - (img) (img)
  I'm a reserved person when it comes to remakes to Doom maps, but this was a fairly straight-through remake of E3M1 that gives it a modern style of Doom mapping. It was quite fine.
  
  
• The Ultimate Torment & Torture - Daniel "Tormentor667" Gimmer
  ZDoom - SP - 66mb(!) - (img) (img)
  Welp, here it is Doomworld; Another showdown between Jesus of ZDoomerath and some asshole that everyone flames whenever he comes across said WADs by Jesus of ZDoomerath because he speaks blasphemous heresy or something like that. There's only one way that this review can end in, and I know you guys already know what to expect because you guys can somehow read my mind like Uri Geller or Dr. Phil. Anyway, here's what I thought so go start a six-page flamewar on it:
  
  I liked it.
  
  I'm not referring to the stuff that has already been released, because I think it's completely pointless in reviewing the same thing twice. I'm mainly talking about the new episode which I've forgotten what it's called as I played this two weeks ago and I can't be bothered opening up ZDoom again while I'm on a roll with actually finishing this damn edition of T/nC. I'm sure you Torm nuthuggers can tell me what it's called because I'm such a horrible reviewer and oh God I should be fired—
  
  Deviating too far from the topic again, aren't I? Anyway, the new episode starts off with a map which I'm 100% positive that I've already played before so I'm not going to go into detail with that one, so I'll mostly be focusing on the second part of the episode, which is a single hugeass level that takes a good thirty minutes or so to complete, and it's quite fun from start to finish.
  
  Yeah, the recolours and edits of existing Doom monsters really adds variety to the mostly brown and dark gray environment of this fine series and made me keep attention long enough to play this from mostly start to finish. When I say "mostly", I mean I found the secret to the Director's Cut to the end of the fourth episode and when I got to the end to fight those Cycloids from Duke Nukem 3D and having absolutely no clue on how to actually finish the Director's Cut ending, I was hoping to go back to an autosave from the main level and try to finish, but alas, it was not to be and I didn't want to waste another thirty minutes because it was quite late and I wanted to sleep. The level is somewhat non-linear and there's a few interesting puzzles you come across such as looking for a missing switch plate and backtracking through a good portion of the map just to progress further. Ammo and health are quite tight and I resorted to fists about twice, but that's ok since I rarely had a problem during those times when I was low on ammo. There's a lot of really cool features like meteor showers and camera effects on teleporters that really impressed me as well. It was a very solid map.
  
  Still, finishing off a review on a Torm WAD without finding a flaw that pissed me off is basically a no-go for me, and there was one thing that really stood out that really annoyed me:
  
  The stupid "LOW ON HEALTH" indicator that was covering up at least a third of the screen on 640x400
  
  That's all I had to say, now flame away!
  
  
• Town Of Witchcraft - Samuel Villarreal (svkaiser@gmail.com)
  ZDoom - SP - 364kb - (img) (img) (img)
  This is the best Heretic WAD I've ever played, but considering I've only played about three or four Heretic WADs, that's kind of an unfair conclusion. That said, it's all kinds of awesome and I don't even know why I should go on any further because you should play this if you knew what was good for ya, sonny.
  
  

lol omg fp gdstf deat

Wheres my map at... WTF?

Joe said:

lol omg fp gdstf deat

Pffffft, I read and commented it before it was even posted >:|

And hey, wasn't Town of Witchcraft part of the Treasure Chest? Either way, deathy's right, it's one of the best Heretic WADs ever, and I've played hundreds.

OMGZ holy shit newstuffs! This will keep me busy for a while. TUT&T needed more epic. Skipped to the new map, was enjoyably palatable.

Stealthy Ivan said:

Wheres my map at... WTF?

When did you upload it? I had a cutoff date at 20th September, so everything uploaded after that was not reviewed.

deathz0r said:

When did you upload it? I had a cutoff date at 20th September, so everything uploaded after that was not reviewed.

I uploaded it a while ago (early sept I think), I'll just re-upload it cause I want to change the txt anyways. BTW there are some really nice maps in this newstuff!!! :)

In b4 flamewars

32in24 kicks ass!

Also, there is an awesome easter egg in ACS arcade. You'll know when you find it.

My first officially-released map is "Really awesome for a quick, fast-paced game."
:D

deathz0r said:

I liked it.

You're fired.

That's 2 newstuffs in a row that my map was ignored!

KennyJC said:
That's 2 newstuffs in a row that my map was ignored!

So it was missed. I doubt it'll get reviewed as it's only getting older now. Might as well provide a link to it on this thread so people can check it out (and perhaps comment) if they missed it.

No, I don't think I'll bother anymore.

hooray, a brand new /newstuff!!!

but i don't see this wad here....

That's all I had to say, now flame away!

your gay and your a faggot and you shouldnt be reviewing cause your a fucking fag and i hate you

deathz0r said:

I liked it.[/b]
[/list]

Yeah, finally I pleased deathz0r, now I can die.

Tormentor667 said:

Yeah, finally I pleased deathz0r, now I can die.

I'm sure Deathz0r will be happy to help you with that.

Flamers will be flamers (flaming gay) if you do not like some ones work then do not be a dick about it, there is a mature manner to go about this... Shit, grow up...
KennyJC said: That's 2 newstuffs in a row that my map was ignored!
Heh, it happens...
I will re-send my map one last time, BTW I'm loosing hope here on DW's New stuff, but that does not matter, I have my own group of friends who map and will enjoy this stuff, plus if peeps want to play it they can e-mail me. I will always try and keep doom alive no matter what.
KennyJC, sent me your map, I'll check it out.

Shinobi.cl Free-For-All map pack - Wladimir Flores
ZDaemon - DM - 7.8mb
NO PLAYER 1 STARTS, WILL NOT REVIEW

Oh my!... Player 1 Starts on a DM wad.... ???

Well, no big deal anyway, but for the next time find a better reason for not review it ;)

I´m not mad or anything like that.. But a little dissapointed..

Anyway, lets turn the page.

shinobi.cl said:

Well, no big deal anyway, but for the next time find a better reason for not review it ;)

It's a pretty damn good reason considering I'm permbanned from ZDaemon and I should not need to put in effort for reviewing a WAD. There's a damn good reason why there should be player 1 starts in DM WADs, but I'm not going to waste my time even explaining why.

KennyJC said:

That's 2 newstuffs in a row that my map was ignored!

And this is the first time you've ever mentioned it, not to include the fact that I have no idea what WAD you're talking about! That really makes my life as a reviewer fun when I have to go backtracking with absolutely no reference whatsoever of what I'm looking for.

Hmm, good stuff. There are a few good wads this week like yomi and remain_1.

deathz0r said:

I liked it.

Sellout.

j/k I <3 you dean

deathz0r said:
There's a damn good reason why there should be player 1 starts in DM WADs, but I'm not going to waste my time even explaining why.

On a v1.9 compatible wad the lack of a standard start is indeed a major "you fail it" flaw, because the game will hang if they are missing, so I can understand that requirement for any such levels, but I'm not sure about wads for other engines, let alone DM/CTF specific ones for C/S engines.

Stealthy Ivan said:

I will re-send my map one last time, BTW I'm loosing hope here on DW's New stuff, but that does not matter, I have my own group of friends who map and will enjoy this stuff

Hell yeah, considering the quality of the screenshots you've posted and your response to criticism I'm sure that approach will help you develop your mapping skills.

Ivan is not alone, my WAD was also omitted in this issue.

Here's the link: http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/?id=15111
The WAD was uploaded on September 22nd.

Belial said:

Hell yeah, considering the quality of the screenshots you've posted and your response to criticism I'm sure that approach will help you develop your mapping skills.

Yes it will. I love to hear people opinions but also only want opinions that will help me, not take the wind out of my sails... If you would test one of my maps that would be cool, believe me my mapping skills are great, I'm just a bit old school and some new doomers seem to have issues with that because they want new flashy scripted shit. Well thats not my style (even though I know how :P) I choose the classic look only with better graphics and better game play thankx to ports.
I want to do new stuff also to help out!!!! I have asked this before! This way we can have new stuff updated more often. And my opinion is comming from an old school mapper so maybe people will take my reviews in a more positive way.

DarkJedi188 said:

Ivan is not alone, my WAD was also omitted in this issue.

Here's the link: http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/?id=15111
The WAD was uploaded on September 22nd.

The cutoff was September 20th. That's why. It'll be reviewed next time.

Project: Doom is great, it makes all the tracks sound like E1M4. The only downside is that E1M4 sounds pretty much the same, heh. Haven't had the chance to listen to all of them yet, but the ones I've heard so far are very impressive.

myk said:

On a v1.9 compatible wad the lack of a standard start is indeed a major "you fail it" flaw, because the game will hang if they are missing, so I can understand that requirement for any such levels, but I'm not sure about wads for other engines, let alone DM/CTF specific ones for C/S engines.

How about: Being able to examine a level without having to connect to a server or other nuisances?

Graf Zahl said:
Being able to examine a level without having to connect to a server or other nuisances?

Yeah, and the ZDaemon launcher itself has a "local" mode that lets you load a map by yourself in your chosen mode without connecting to anything.