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Alexagon

I don't like playing slaughterfest WADs. Which ones should I avoid?

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I really just like the standard amount of enemies and gameplay. I've played a couple of slaughterfest ones like Hell Revealed and Scythe and it's not really my style. I find it hard to tell which WADs are and which ones aren't though so I could use some help. 

 

I want to go through the top 100 of all time list but don't want any of the slaughter stuff. Which ones from the list (and ones in general) should I not bother with? 

 

Edit: Meant Scythe, not Memento. 

Edited by Alexagon

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18 minutes ago, rehelekretep said:

Memento Mori is nowhere near a 'slaughter' mapset - so im unsure what you didnt like about it that other wads would share.

I may be getting it mixed up with Scythe. It's been a while. 

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You might want to avoid wads like Plutonia, Hell Revealed, Alien Vendetta, Scythe, and the ilk, cause aside from being super-hard, they have their share of slaughter maps, though not to the same extent as Deus Vult, Sunder and Sunlust, which are all really ridiculous slaughterfests.

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1 minute ago, T-Rex said:

You might want to avoid wads like Plutonia, Hell Revealed, Alien Vendetta, Scythe, and the ilk, cause aside from being super-hard, they have their share of slaughter maps, though not to the same extent as Deus Vult, Sunder and Sunlust, which are all really ridiculous slaughterfests.

Which ones are its ilk? That's essentially what I'm looking for, is to avoid any of them like the ones you listed. 

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1 minute ago, Alexagon said:

Which ones are its ilk? That's essentially what I'm looking for, is to avoid any of them like the ones you listed. 

Kama Sutra, Speed of Doom, Plutonia 2, PRCP, and Scythe 2 are the ones that come to my mind aside from the ones I mentioned.

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4 minutes ago, T-Rex said:

Kama Sutra, Speed of Doom, Plutonia 2, PRCP, and Scythe 2 are the ones that come to my mind aside from the ones I mentioned.

Okie doke. If you think of any more please let me know. 

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Yeah, like relek said above the Memento Mori's are nowhere near slaughter style gameplay. But eh, if you don't like slaughter avoid these popular megawads:

 

Stardate 20x6 and its sequel 20x7, Alien Vendetta, Flotsam, Hell Revealed duology, Scythes, Ancient Aliens, Deus Vult duology, Speed of Doom, Sunder, Sunlust, Slaughterfests, SlaughterMAX, Toilet of the Gods, Combat Shock duology, Newgothic Movement duology, Rush (and probably more I'm not aware of).

 

Not all of them feature only slaughter maps, but there are such maps present nonetheless, hence their presence on my list.

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If Memento Mori was too much, the selection is pretty limited. That is essentially considered an average difficulty mapset these days. Fava Beans is a great wad for Doom1 that basically just feels like an alternate universe version of Knee Deep in the Dead, it’s very easy but still great for classic Doomers.

 

Im struggling to think of any episodes/megawads that are actually easier than Memento Mori, to be honest. Coffee Break implements difficulty settings, maybe try that one on the “I prefer tea” difficulty. My own wad called Rowdy Rudy’s Revenge is also very easy by modern standards on the “normal” difficulty.

 

If you come across any other easy episodes and wads, let me know. I’m now realising it will be worth while to have a list of easy wads on hand for next time someone asks!

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Valiant might also count. While a lot of these mods that got mentioned may not be outright slaughtermaps they still feature a gameplay style that often resembles slaughter game style, albeit somewhat restrained.

 

The Scythe WADs are a special case, though. Both Scythe 1 and 2 feature good normal gameplay for the first two thirds, it's only the last third where slaughter style takes over.

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I hate them all so I avoid them all. I'll actually read the players' comments of the game and will scan for the word "slaughter" before I even download. Hell Revealed I and II, Sunlust, Unholy Realms and Plutonia 2 immediately comes to mind. And there are dozens more.

 

I once started a post on why people enjoy them and boy, did the hate comments roll in!! LOL! The consensus was that players enjoy the satisfaction of beating an almost impossible game. I am just not into saving, playing till you get past where you died, saving immediately, playing some more, dying again, then repeat. There's no fun and no satisfaction in that at all. Buttttttt, that's just my opinion.

 

I can usually spot a slaughter WAD on the very first level. Hafta fight several Revenants immediately on very first Map with just a shotgun? Or a Mancubus? Get the Rocket Launcher or Plasma Rifle immediately? Yea, there's a good chance you're playing a slaugherwad. 

 

Unfortunately, for those of us that are Anti-Slaughter, some of the most beautifully designed Maps come from such WADS. Perfect examples are Sunlust and both Hell Revealed.

 

Final thought: I know the CPU speed was much slower back in 1995, but I often wonder if the original DooM was a slaughterfest, would it be as popular as it is today?

Edited by dylux

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1 hour ago, Doomkid said:

If Memento Mori was too much, the selection is pretty limited. That is essentially considered an average difficulty mapset these days. Fava Beans is a great wad for Doom1 that basically just feels like an alternate universe version of Knee Deep in the Dead, it’s very easy but still great for classic Doomers.

 

Im struggling to think of any episodes/megawads that are actually easier than Memento Mori, to be honest. Coffee Break implements difficulty settings, maybe try that one on the “I prefer tea” difficulty. My own wad called Rowdy Rudy’s Revenge is also very easy by modern standards on the “normal” difficulty.

 

If you come across any other easy episodes and wads, let me know. I’m now realising it will be worth while to have a list of easy wads on hand for next time someone asks!

I appreciate the lengthy reply. I actually meant to say Scythe instead of MM, I got the two mixed up since it's been so long since I played them. I don't think I've tried MM yet but it's on my list now. 

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All of them.

 

In more serious tone, skill settings exist for the reasons and most authors include those to not separate player base and provide fair experience for all. Also, neither Valiant or Alien Vendetta are slaughter, just hard, but managable with some patience. 

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So you should avoid pretty much all of them then... You'll know what they are when you see them i guess haha ;)

 

Also, I can see where your coming from. As someone who has NOT been playing Doom WAD's for over 20 or 25 yrs, if you're just starting out or haven't played in a long time, i can see how Memento Mori can be considered a fairly difficult mapset. Also, i too tend to like the older style of gameplay vs. the slaughterfest style that's really popular. 

 

A lot of the DW's top 100 WAD's aren't all that slaughter-ish, besides the obvious ones of course (like AV & Hell Revealed). If you're having difficulty playing some WAD's, there's no shame in adjusting the difficulty. That's why they are implemented.

 

It seems that some people still have to play on UV or else they don't consider themselves "real players". If you want to scum save your way through a map that's fine with me but don't say something is too hard just because you are playing on a difficulty level that is above your current skill level, and i'm not accusing you of this either btw. I was just saying in general :)

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15 minutes ago, dylux said:

I hate them all so I avoid them all. I'll actually read the players' comments of the game and will scan for the word "slaughter" before I even download. Hell Revealed I and II, Sunlust, Unholy Realms and Plutonia 2 immediately comes to mind. And there are dozens more.

 

 

Plutonia 2 isn't really slaughter-style gameplay - up until MAP19 the only thing qualifiying is the super secret map which is an hommage to the original Go2It. Sadly, like the Scythe megawads it degenerates into quasi-slaughter in the final third with several maps I consider genuine stinkers (unlike Scythe 2 where the maps themselves were great, but the gameplay needed toning down.) So for my own use I made myself a MAPINFO that skips the bad stuff that comes near the end and only plays the maps from that range that fare better

 

I'll have to be honest here - far too many recent megawads get ruined by trying to "do a little bit for everyone". I think this thread is a clear indicator that having a mod that in the middle completely switches its gameplay style will inevitably be shunned by those not appreciating the change.

 

8 minutes ago, CyberDreams said:

A lot of the DW's top 100 WAD's aren't all that slaughter-ish, besides the obvious ones of course (like AV & Hell Revealed). If you're having difficulty playing some WAD's, there's no shame in adjusting the difficulty. That's why they are implemented. 

  

It seems that some people still have to play on UV or else they don't consider themselves "real players". If you want to scum save your way through a map that's fine with me but don't say something is too hard just because you are playing on a difficulty level that is above your current skill level, and i'm not accusing you of this either btw. I was just saying in general :)


That, too. If a mod is too hard, lower the skill level! That has salvaged quite a few mods for me that I found a bit on the hard side.

Of course, some more recent mods are still too hard that way. Ancient Aliens really should have removed half the existing Arch Viles on ITYTD, for example. It's perfectly fine to have some hard-as-hell gameplay on UV, but several - even respected modders - seem to forget that the lower skill levels are not for people who want to want that kind of experience so the difficulty should be adjusted for that, but if mods only get tested by die-hard UV'ers it's not going to happen.

 

In that regard I have to praise BTSX. It got the 'easy' skill level quite right (except the later additions to the first episode, those two maps seem totally out of place, sadly, and don't feel even remotely as polished as the rest of it.)

 

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23 minutes ago, Misty said:

All of them.

 

In more serious tone, skill settings exist for the reasons and most authors include those to not separate player base and provide fair experience for all. Also, neither Valiant or Alien Vendetta are slaughter, just hard, but managable with some patience. 

 

Not true slaughterwads, but AA does have a few slaughter maps here and there, in the last episode iirc. Valiant yes, that one has none, just tough.

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20 minutes ago, CyberDreams said:

A lot of the DW's top 100 WAD's aren't all that slaughter-ish, besides the obvious ones of course (like AV & Hell Revealed). If you're having difficulty playing some WAD's, there's no shame in adjusting the difficulty. That's why they are implemented.

 

Good point!

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8 minutes ago, seed said:

 

Not true slaughterwads, but AA does have a few slaughter maps here and there, in the last episode iirc. Valiant yes, that one has none, just tough.

 

Well, Ancient Aliens on easy gives you plenty of resources to deal with stuff and seems things are a bit watered down(map01 for example puts mancubus on easy instead of cyberdemon in middle section). Even shrub like me survived hardest levels on easy skill, but I consider myself more lucky. 

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All this boils down to which slaughter maps have the worst monster placement if anything. I think the more nasty turret placements or teleport ambushes, the harder it is overall, but if you're going for the enemies on ground level they are usually manageable with good space and monster types

 

30 minutes ago, seed said:

Valiant yes, that one has none, just tough.

MAP31

 

Also having recently played HR2 my updated review shows which monster type actually ends up being the most annoying, and MAP29 seems to have some really nasty teleport ambushes of a particular monster that you just may hate.

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1 hour ago, dylux said:

I once started a post on why people enjoy them

 

Speaking of which, I'm just going to link that topic here in case the OP & others want to know what people like about them and what not, in hopes this topic won't turn into yet another shitstorm on that subject:

 

 

23 minutes ago, NuMetalManiak said:

MAP31

 

Mea culpa. 

 

I don't usually consider secret maps as "canon" to the rest of the package, so I forgot completely about them.

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There is a way to enjoy slaughter wads even if you lack skills: If you use (GZ)ZDoom, there is a mod called "Swift Slaughter" by Nevander (just google it) which makes weapons fire insanely fast and gives you infinite ammo.

 

If that isn't enough, you can activate "Buddha mode" which is a God mode in disguise since your health can never drop below 1% with it. 

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I actually made powergun.wad and superpowerguns.wad with slaughter in mind, basically an antidote for those who want to experience slaughter wads without the grind. 

 

 

What NightFright describes sounds almost just like the old suprwep8.deh which makes the weapons so powerful that no enemy is even a threat, which goes a bit overboard for me personally. Maybe Nevander’s version is a bit toned down though, I haven’t played that one specifically.

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I'm not sure I understand the purpose of this thread. Dude, if you end up downloading something you don't like playing, simply download the next thing and see if it is something you enjoy or not. Asking for a list of slaughtermaps to avoid is an exercise in futility, because not only do people misrepresent Valiant as slaughter or "hard", but there's also the big issue that there are quite a few maps out there, so any list that would try to be "complete" or "definitive" would be pretty extensive as a result. Also when you download stuff from the archives, there's "readmes" which usually state what you're about to get into in case you try a map/wad/megawad.

 

But for the sake of giving you something that at least loosely resembles a "filter", have a look at this thread:

 

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Some non-slaughter wads that I would recommend are:

- Eviternity (32 level Doom 2 megawad. I recommend playing this on Hurt me Plenty (skill 3) as some levels can get tough. Runs on MBF compatible ports like GZdoom, PrBoom+, Eternity, Zandronum etc.)

- DTWID (Doom 1 megawad. Levels are in the style of Doom 1)

- D2TWID (Doom 2 megawad. Levels are in the style of Doom 2)

- Deathless (Doom 1 megawad)

- No End in Sight (Doom 1 megawad)

- No Rest for the Living (10 level Doom 2 wad)

- Memento Mori 1 and 2 (Both are Doom 2 megawads)

- BTSX E1 and E2 (Both are Doom 2 megawads. I recommend playing this on Hurt me Plenty (skill 3) as some levels can be hard on UV difficulty)

- Base Ganymede (Doom 1 megawad)

- Valiant (Doom 2 megawad. I recommend playing this on HNTR (skill 2) as it is quite challenging on skill 3 onwards.. Runs on MBF compatible ports like GZdoom, PrBoom+, Eternity, Zandronum etc.)

- Ancient Aliens (Doom 2 megawad. I recommend playing this on HNTR (skill 2) as it is quite challenging on skill 3 onwards. Runs on Boom compatible ports like GZdoom, PrBoom+, Eternity, Zandronum etc.)

 

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^Some of those have at least a couple of Slaughter Maps in it (even though I don't think it's that hard).

 

50 Monsters could be a good WAD to try. Later levels can be challenging.

 

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1 minute ago, GarrettChan said:

^Some of those have at least a couple of Slaughter Maps in it (even though I don't think it's that hard).

 

I know. But have added recommended difficulty for the ones that have anything resembling slaughter maps (like Valiant and Ancient Aliens recommended on HNTR).

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Perhaps Mutiny is a good choice. It's a 16-map WAD, and there's only one single slaughtermap (the final map), and said map is honestly really easy. The rest of the levels are nicely designed, and have what you might call "non-slaughter" gameplay.

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5 hours ago, Alexagon said:

Hell Revealed and Scythe

That's some great examples of slaughter wads you got there.

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12 minutes ago, ReaperAA said:

 

I know. But have added recommended difficulty for the ones that have anything resembling slaughter maps (like Valiant and Ancient Aliens recommended on HNTR).

It seems OP doesn't like slaughter maps in general, not those maps being too hard? I can't really tell though...

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