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Favorite Episode from Ultimate Doom

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Which episode is your favorite? Personally mine is Shores of Hell, Kicka#$ themes and some interesting level design and concepts! Don't forget one of the best bosses in videogame history!

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Knee Deep in the Dead is still the best introduction there is for first-time Doomers, although that's probably because not many would think to play WADs before the original.

 

I also like Thy Flesh Consumed; it's more consistent than episodes 2 and 3, and most of the levels still hold up today.

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Episode 4: Thy Flesh Consumed.

 

I have always considered it, along with episode 1, to be the best episode in Ultimate Doom.

 

Edit: I might as well throw in my favourite maps from that episode.

 

E4M1 (Hell Beneath)

E4M2 (Perfect Hatred)

E4M3 (Sever the Wicked)

E4M6 (Against Thee Wickedly)

E4M8 (Unto the Cruel)

 

It's more for the atmosphere and aesthetics that I fell in love with these maps. The only map in the entire episode that I dislike is E4M4 (Unruly Evil) and that's simply down to texture choice of painting brown on every wall. Nothing wrong with the layout.

 

Edited by Final Verdict

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5 hours ago, Final Verdict said:

Episode 4: Thy Flesh Consumed.

 

I have always considered it, along with episode 1, to be the best episode in Ultimate Doom.

 

Edit: I might as well throw in my favourite maps from that episode.

 

E4M1 (Hell Beneath)

E4M2 (Perfect Hatred)

E4M3 (Sever the Wicked)

E4M6 (Against Thee Wickedly)

E4M8 (Unto the Cruel)

 

It's more for the atmosphere and aesthetics that I fell in love with these maps. The only map in the entire episode that I dislike is E4M4 (Unruly Evil) and that's simply down to texture choice of painting brown on every wall. Nothing wrong with the layout.

 

You would have to be brave to admit you like Perfect Hatred, congratulations!

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Episode 2 for me.

 

Episode 1 is close but Episode 2 is much more unique with it's demonic tech-bases and arguably better levels. Maps like Containment Area, Halls of the Damned and Spawning Vats are great examples with their designs/aesthetics and have a slight horror vibe which I really dig. Especially Spawning Vats due to its size and layout which makes it my favourite map of the Doom franchise.

 

But Episode 3 was pretty meh TBH. Episode 4 is pretty cool. has a heavy Doom 2 vibe which I quite like.

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Thy Flesh Consumed followed by The Shores of Hell.

 

Thy Flesh Consumed: the sullen mood, warm but almost oppressive sky texture, minor tweaks to the mechanics like switches that require keys, and some of the most brutal fighting in OG Doom. Not to mention the killer green marble/wood/rock/metal and blood aesthetic and the awesome level names.

 

The Shores of Hell: really nails the sense that you're in a place where corruption is spreading, versus E1's relatively pristine appearance. Some great atmospheric music and abstract level design, and a Cyberdemon. Perfect. 

Edited by VisionThing

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12 minutes ago, Redoom said:

You would have to be brave to admit you like Perfect Hatred, congratulations!

 

Plenty of people love Perfect Hatred. I've seen quite a few people gush over it throughout the years. Who would have thought it took Romero just 6 hours to create it. Fantastic map.

 

5 minutes ago, Wavy said:

Episode 2 for me.

Containment Area, Halls of the Damned and (my personal favourite) Spawning Vats.

 

Good selection.

 

I am partial to E2M4 (Deimos Labs) myself, not sure why but I always liked that map. I'm probably in the minority with that one though.

 

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Just now, Final Verdict said:

 

I am partial to E2M4 (Deimos Labs) myself, not sure why but I always liked that map. I'm probably in the minority with that one though.

 

E2M4 was pretty cool. Map was nice and big and quite sp00ky with the infamous hall of faces.

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Episode 2 and 3. Episode 1 is awesome and all, but the abstract design of ep 3 and the overall look of e2 is more attractive to me. Personally I hadn't played e4 that much, I'm waiting for the midi pack (will be done soon?)

 

I know that Si6il doesn't count as an episode, but, we can't ignore the fact that is absolutely spectacular.

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Thy Flesh consumed. Episodes 2 and 3 have high quality inconsistency and episode 1 is pretty good but doesn’t really challenge you at all. At least thy flesh consumed has some challenge.

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My favorite is definitely Thy Flesh Consumed. The first two maps are absolutely fantastic and the rest play really well for the most part. Sometimes I load up the game just to play Hell Beneath and Perfect Hatred. Knee Deep in the Dead is a close second though.

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Honestly? None. I'll just load doom.wad for nostalgic reasons and a quick episode playthrough. I prefer Doom II way, way more ... Shooting barons with the shotgun is no fun to me.

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Thy Flesh Consumed is definitely my favorite. Hell Beneath, Perfect Hatred, Sever the Wicked and Against Thee Wickedly are some of my favorite maps among Ultimate Doom.

 

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2 hours ago, Redoom said:

You would have to be brave to admit you like Perfect Hatred, congratulations!

Nah, Perfect Hatred is the single best level in Ultimate Doom.

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Shores of Hell for me, its literally perfect Doom IMO, the corrupted bases and the ominous red sky while you are floating above hell itself. Ah its just perfect. E2M9 couldve been better though.

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Thy Flesh consumed. It's the most open/spacious one (makes it almost feel like doom 2), has the most interesting structures (big marble castle on rocky mountain, very tall wooden bridge in lava that goes onto dark caves, bloody maze carved in a cave, big fortress with acid/poison river, etc), a boss level that actually is a level, the most challenging encounters (ok except for maps 4, 5 and 9), and is the most consistent and better looking one visually.

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Knee Deep in the Dead. It's the perfect length with just the right amount of content (weapons and items) for introducing players to Doom. Although, the only thing I would possibly change is maybe add one more enemy type into E1. Maybe another zombie type or something like a slightly buffed up imp variant or a slightly weaker Demon variant.

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Episode 1 for me as it has the overall best progression/pacing. The maps are fun and fast to blast though and no cacos/barons mean that combat seldom grinds to a halt. Aesthetics are also the most consistent and pleasing in my opinion.

 

Episode 2 is also pretty good with fairly good maps for the most part (E2M9 is just lame though and E2M3 is not that great either). It also has the best boss map.

 

Episode 4 has some ups and downs in level design. Some great maps (E4M2 and E4M6) and some lame maps (like E4M4).

 

Episode 3 has the overall weakest maps in my opinion with E3M6 being the only true highlight. E3M8 is disappointing while E3M5 and E3M7 I don't like due to the teleports. Other maps are also just okay-ish at best.

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While Thy Flesh Consumed has my favorite Doom 1 levels, Knee Deep in the Dead is way more consistent and when trying to go fast I like the flow of Episode 1 maps.
Shores of hell is a very close second though.

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1 hour ago, HombreSal said:

Thy Flesh consumed. It's the most open/spacious one (makes it almost feel like doom 2), has the most interesting structures (big marble castle on rocky mountain, very tall wooden bridge in lava that goes onto dark caves, bloody maze carved in a cave, big fortress with acid/poison river, etc), a boss level that actually is a level, the most challenging encounters (ok except for maps 4, 5 and 9), and is the most consistent and better looking one visually.

 

Unto the Cruel is potentially the best level in all of Doom/Ultimate Doom IMO.

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Hmmm, that's a tough question. I suppose I'll just give each individual map an arbitrary score and tally up the results for each episode. Let's see where that gets us, shall we?

 

Here's what each score represents:

  • 5* I love it 
  • 4* I like it
  • 3* I respect/enjoy it
  • 2* I don't like it
  • 1* I hate it.

THE LIST

E1M1 [***]

E1M2 [***]

E1M3 [****]

E1M4 [**]

E1M5 [***]

E1M6 [*****]

E1M7 [****]

E1M8 [***]

E1M9 [***]

E1 TOTAL [29]

 

E2M1 [***]

E2M2 [*****]

E2M3 [**]

E2M4 [*****]

E2M5 [*****]

E2M6 [****]

E2M7 [****]

E2M8 [**]

E2M9 [*]

E2 TOTAL [31]

 

E3M1 [*]

E3M2 [***]

E3M3 [****]

E3M4 [****]

E3M5 [***]

E3M6 [****]

E3M7 [**]

E3M8 [*]

E3M9 [**]

E3 TOTAL [24]

 

E4M1 [*****]

E4M2 [*****]

E4M3 [**]

E4M4 [**]

E4M5 [**]

E4M6 [***]

E4M7 [***]

E4M8 [**]

E4M9 [**]

E4 TOTAL [26]

 

WINNER: E2

 

I think the moody atmosphere and sense of unreality are what make E2 really stand out to me. I also really appreciate the interplay between Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen's styles, which never fails to create an interesting experience.

 

I don't think its a surprise that E1 ended up coming second place, since it is, in objective terms, the best episode by a fair margin. What it lacks in atmosphere compared to E2/3 it more than makes up for in general competence, as far as I am concerned.

 

E4 is in an odd position, since I only really bother replaying the first two maps, which are both fantastic, with the rest either being impressive but irritating (E4M6) or just painfully average (E4M4-5).

 

I'm sad to see E3 place last, personally, since I adore E3M4, and just generally appreciate Petersen's depiction of hell. Unfortunately, the whole episode is dragged down by some truly atrocious maps.

 

While I have neither completed Sigil nor do I consider it a true fifth episode, it would probably end up replacing E1 in second place. Even though I think E1 is far more enjoyable and fair-minded, I adore Sigil's visuals and general vibe so much that I couldn't justify placing it anywhere else.

 

P.S if Xaser's Lost Episode was in the running, it'd win by a country mile, mostly just because of E5M4, which is a bloody masterpiece in my very humble opinion, and anyone who disagrees with me is objectively wrong :P

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I used to adamantly say E1, but lately I've gained more appreciation for E2 and E3. Also played E4 for the first time last year, it was good. Haven't played E5 yet though. (yeah yeah, I'm saving it for a rainy day)

Good talk everyone, let's do this again next year :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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