Doom Wadarcheology - To dig, rediscover and enjoy the classics.

[ducon]

DSV3-War

2000

 

By Samuel A. Villarreal, also known as Kaiser

Played on prboom

 

 

This megawad (32 levels) uses heavily assets from Blood, Unreal, Quake 2… a tough red demon and friendly monsters.

The friends are always under glass (you must shoot it in order to free the pet(s)). The pet won’t attack you by itself but will shoot you back if you shoot it. It is tougher than its enemy version, follows you and attacks enemies with a correct intelligence.

It’s the main thing that makes me play this PWAD because the levels are hard (even with the pets) and quite good for 2000, but not that original. The textures add a special atmosphere but, sometimes, it’s too weird for Doom.

I must confess that I stopped playing when I met the first Icon of Sin at about MAP12.

To play it, you need to import war_3.wad, stealfka.wad, warallies.wad and warscript.deh. The screenshots were taken in 2003 with prboom but I tried it again a week ago with prboom-plus and it worked like a charm.

[Arrowhead]

1 hour ago, ducon said:

 

The custom assets in this look quite cool - I was always a fan of the look of the Quake 2 single-shotgun, not so much the sound! Very interesting to read about the friendly monsters - I don't think I've encountered that in a WAD.

[Arrowhead]

Pat's 1st WAD - 10/09/1994 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

This is an early large level assembled by Patrick Farabee. The map is quite expansive, w/ many meandering corridors and passageways - the map, however, is not mazelike - it seems like the author took proper care to keep backtracking and wandering to a minimum. This is essentially because you know immediately where two of the three locked doors are. This makes it easy to know where to come back to, upon gaining further keys.

 

The map has around 320 enemies, and makes for a fairly long experience. I spent about 15-20 minutes on this one. The combat can be so frenetic at points, that you'll find yourself holding the mouse1 button down for what seems like minutes at a time. There are two 'twin' 6-door rooms that contain two of the best fights in this map. Many shotgunners are released, as well as pinkies to further limit you in an already cramped place. These two fights are very anxiety inducing, as it is quite easy to get cornered by pinkies. Most of the enemies you'll encounter in this map are standard low-tier Doom mobs. Expect to see lots of shotgunners - meaning you have essentially limitless shotgun ammo in this map - this doesn't make the map too easy though, as there are a few devious traps and decent enemy placement.

 

All of this level is in some kind of an underground base. You barely see the sky at all in this map, most of it is subterranean. Architecture is rudimentary, with flats misalignments galore. There are a lot of wall textures that are misaligned too. This is a map that you play predominately for the gameplay. It is far from the most unattractive map I've played, but it is still very '1994'.

 

Secrets are fun to hunt - although, I think some of them are maybe hidden a bit too well. I searched for quite a while after I had killed all visible monsters, but I only found 2 / 8.

 

The only complaint I have for this map really, is that the blue key and red key trap are essentially identical. Differing these encounters could have resulted in a more dynamic map.

 

Regardless of any small aesthetic complaints, this map really ended up being an enjoyable time. Recommended to anybody who likes more combat focused WADs over more 'exploratory' ones... :)

 

Spoiler

 

Download link: https://bit.ly/3hh8lhn

[Arrowhead]

Claustrophobia - 05/16/1995 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

Claustrophobia is an intentionally cramped map by William Sullivan. This is perhaps one of the earliest precursors to the whole '1024' WAD genre - the map is larger than 1024x1024 - but it doesn't feel this way. Most of the map takes place inside of a suffocatingly tight base complex, w/ the exit being situated outside of the base. Your goal, essentially - is to find the red key somewhere in the map, and escape. This is easier said than done. On your claustrophobic journey, you will encounter more archviles than you would think - there are also a ton of shotgunners. The shotgunners are less effective than in other maps, as they have far less distance to hit you from - most of the action in this map takes place right in your face.

 

Architecture is surprisingly good for the time, as well as the texturing. The outside facade of the building you escape from is truly a nice sight to behold - and I have included a screenshot of it below. Much of the map is dark, but not so dark that you cannot see. Unfortunately, there is one small bug in this map that really is an eyesore. There is a certain section that contains 4 short platforms that are untextured on all sides. I think this is because these sectors raise out of the ground, and the author forgot to texture them. Normally, I wouldn't recommend a map that has multiple HOMs, but I chose to still review this, because the rest of the level is so much fun.

 

This map is not very large, but is still a riot to explore - if exploring is your kind of 'thing'. Much of the maps progression is hidden behind concealed doors. This might sound like it would be super annoying - but the progression is actually pretty intuitive. Usually doors are at the end of suspicious dead-ends, or other obvious tells. This makes the map feel a little bit 'Indiana Jones-y' - w/ each successful discovery yielding further discoveries.

 

Another thing to keep in mind playing this map, is that the ammo can be tight on occasion. I recommend using the Berserk pack to the best of your ability, and save the SSG ammo for the archviles. This map is not quite a 'Tyson' map, but it can definitely be played as such - the tiny hallways in this map make it far more effective to get close and punch hitscanners.

 

This is a great map - with extreme attention to detail - many many line actions as well for a map from '95... Has about 130+ monsters, w/ 4 secrets - took me about 10-12 minutes to beat, but might take longer for others depending on how quickly the hidden passages are found.

 

I strongly recommend this map to fans of the '1024' genre of mapmaking - you won't regret it! :)

 

Spoiler

 

Download link: https://bit.ly/3nfOLWw

[Endless]

WATER.WAD

¹⁹⁹⁶

^{By Bob Ferguson}

 

Found this one thanks to the legend @Roofi. This is a 1996 WAD set in what appears to be a kind of mansion and its subway. The map has a distinctive quality in its progression. It keeps the narrative stable and as we move, the map moves as well, evolving the visual themes and showing us that the author of the map had a clear idea in mind. I also find the concept appealing and it reminds me a bit of Daggerfall: You start in a kind of dungeon/labyrinth (in this case flooded) and gradually explore until you get to the surface. Once outside, we find a sort of mansion full of sweet detail and Doomcute. The mansion has a great variety of detail and different rooms, which gives it a realistic but at the same time attractive air. It doesn't stop there, and once we leave the mansion we find a nice and fun outdoor courtyard, where the combat intensifies even more and we finally manage to find the exit after going through a small maze of acid. This is a more entertaining map than I thought at the time. The layout is complex, and a bit lost at times, but it remains stable thanks to a good progression, which advances in good relation to the difficulty. It's worth playing and enjoying in full pixelated glory.

 

quikisg2.WAD

¹⁹⁹⁶

^{By Malcolm Sailor}

 

Quick is good, indeed! This is a sequel to Quick is Good (which I haven't played) and seems to have been created speedmapping style, with only 3 hours of design time. This is pretty amazing, especially for the 90s, and especially because the visual quality that map possesses is simply incredible considering all the factors on the table. Speedmapping, to this day, doesn't usually look this good and with this much detail. Directly inspired by the aesthetics of Thy Flesh Consumed, this is a gothic wonder with marble, wood and lots of demons. The map is small but well designed, with a compact style that tries to have 3 dimensions of combat at all times; it has depth, it has height and it has horizontal combat at all times. What do I mean by this? There are enemies everywhere and you will always find a way to move across the map. Add to that an excellent taste for textures, attention to detail and the ability to create depth of perspective (something rare in the 90s) and we have a map that not only looks great, but plays great and is surprisingly complex despite its simple design time limitations. Fantastic! It's even better if you're a Thy Flesh Consumed fan, like me. :D

[Arrowhead]

E1M1SAS.wad - 05/28/1994 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

'E1M1SAS' is a WAD created by Scott A. Smith. I found this WAD while searching shovelware discs for edits of original id levels. This is a definite hidden gem. There are none of the standard 1994 errors in this map - everything is really carefully textured - doors are marked properly - pits are escapeable - it truly is a nice surprise for a map that appeared within the first two months of WAD editing.

 

You initially start off in a prison cell, but the map quickly turns abstract after that. Room design is great with very little boxy, or orthogonal rooms in the map. The secrets in this map are meticulously constructed. There are often cool features like crushers moving, or monsters involved - something quite rare for a map this early. There is a cool section where you're required to do a really precise running strafe to get the blue key in the centre of a pedestal - I included a screenie of the area. Other sites to see include a subterranean demonic temple of some kind, and a large expansive cavern. Combat in this WAD is fun, but not overly complex. Often, monsters are simply guarding important items, and traps are quite rare. You'll pick up a key sometimes, and not get punished for it - would have been nice to see some more dynamic traps, as a lot of what's here is incidental type encounters.

 

There are about 160 enemies in this map, as well as 7 inventive secrets. Definitely recommended for fans of Doom1.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Download link: https://bit.ly/3npMAzC

Edited September 12, 2021 by Arrowhead

[Arrowhead]

2 minutes ago, Endless said:

 

Can't believe we posted at the same time, lol

[LadyMistDragon]

Lost Home (Lost.WAD) - 08/08/96 - Henry Vettraino - played with Eternity - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FjaVlwJb2iBb4YSZADiSuGAglkn037tI/view?usp=sharing (look under WADS/LOSTHOME)

 

One of those early maps that's really worth playing less because of any entertaining factor but because of the way the author's personality shines through. A Map 01 replacement that also makes some annoying sound effect replacements, this is notable mainly because of it's strong sense of place. Invisible doors are sometimes required for progression because of course, but the map's structure is fairly simple, so it's not so bad. Though perhaps two simple in spots because there's at least one room that felt almost like a literal shooting gallery. It's kind of nifty how the blue key is behind a window constantly going up and down. I really liked how you could see through the library shelves in the library, not to mention that you can actually see some crappy outside textures if you examine the windows in this room closely. Not to mention a couple of other touches you can see in the photos below.

 

The only real issue is that it's possible to softlock your self inside the red-brick room where the yellow key can be found, which inexplicably also has a push-floor activated secret room with nothing inside. The occasional severe out-of-place textures are also quite weird. I still find it quite fascinating that Vettraino made a secret room behind one invisible walls containing lots of backpacks but no rocket boxes(the 2 Megaspheres is just typical newbie author overindulgence). Some strong shades of Wolfenstein 3D here, though there don't seem to be any secrets inside here.

 

The final fight is a fairly modest affair inside a fully-hellish area, with caged Manicubi, Revenants, and Arcahnotrons you can easily rocket to pieces, but you can't really complain in a map like this, and it's actually a remotely decent ending. I was expecting a Cyberdemon at some point, but let's be serious, do we always need one? This is an interesting curio that you might want to look into if you're remotely into early maps. It could be more visually appealing I guess, but it plays decently enough. None of the enemy placements seemed especially egregious so I can't really complain there.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[Dusty_Rhodes]

2 hours ago, LadyMistDragon said:

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I love the idea of a room with a water flat on the ceiling. I have no idea what is drawing me to this image so much, but I have to expand on this some how. It's strangely somber.

[Teo Slayer]

Still, pretty much fun WADs

[Kokoro Hane]

I love this idea of digging for old wads! Plus this thread will be a gold mine, as I have been wanting to play some old wads and might even find some I vaguely remember playing from years ago (I vaguely remember my dad downloading some pwads, not sure where he found them on the net, they were pretty neat). You know I might have to do some digging myself, maybe some of the ones in my head I have vague imagery of might fit the criteria here (but first I will observe the museum if any of them have been dug up already). 

[Arrowhead]

The Bastard Guru (BSTGRU16.wad) - 10/25/1998 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

'The Bastard Guru', (weirdest name I've seen yet in this project...) is a first map by Jim Oldland.

 

This is an interesting WAD - there is both a fight w/ a Cyberdemon and a spidermomma, as well as a somewhat surprising amount of archviles. Traps are quite abundant in this map - you will often find that new areas have opened up upon visiting an old area - this keeps you nervous at all times, as often it is an archvile that is released from these new cubbyholes.

 

Combat in this map is a little tougher on average for a map from this time period. The author likes to throw many medium class enemies at you, whenever he can. That's not to say there aren't hitscanners - chaingunners appear quite abundantly - and can often surprise you.

 

Curiously, the author gives many of the weapons in the game to the player quite quickly. All weapons are present in this map, but you won't see the BFG until around the third third of this level. Another thing to mention is the large amounts of power-ups in the map. This makes many a fight quite trivial - but that's not to say it isn't fun to have a slight bit of a power-fantasy.

 

Texturing is haphazard at best in this map, w/ the texturing being misaligned in many places - this map looks visually older than its actual age. There aren't any particular architectural effects that blew me away in this map - it is very utilitarian in the aesthetics arena. The map comes w/ an upbeat custom MIDI - I don't know if it fits this map that well - it doesn't sound bad by any means, it just seems a tad 'happy' for Doom...

 

I'm not sure where the odd name comes from - one /idgames reviewer posited that it may come from "Tricks of the Doom Programming Gurus" - they mention this, as there is apparently some recognizable architecture visible from that book.

 

Pretty fun map, lots of abstract room design, its quite large, traps are decent, enemy placement is good - give it a shot! :)

 

Spoiler

 

Download link:https://bit.ly/3nwjFdk

[Walter confetti]

I suggest you guys to check out all of the Bob Ferguson maps, they are pretty great...

[Endless]

Medieval Castle

^{By Travers Dunne & Alister Dunne}

¹⁹⁹⁷

 

 

Oh yes, more castles for me! One of my favorite themes and certainly one I enjoy even in bad iterations, but luckily, this is a pretty decent one. This is a magnificently large map, and somewhat boxy, but well designed architecturally without going too far. It maintains a great consistency in its style and doesn't overdo itself, always having a modest, gentle and enjoyable quality. The difficulty is surprisingly high for a 1997 WAD, but it doesn't reach slaughter levels (except for the ending), yet it offers more than enough opportunities to play through the combat without feeling unfair. From the beginning we realize this, since it puts us in a curious position against two arachnatrons, and without weapons, but with a little exploration we realize that the tactic is to flee and find the weapons, and then take just revenge. The map teases you at first in that way, but gradually opens up your arsenal and throws you straight into intense combat that is quite entertaining, well buttoned up and with a bit of black ink to give it that gothic style, yes sir. It reminds me of D&D so that's a plus for me. On the other hand, the layout leaves something to be desired. The map is big, oh yes, if you move carefully and know where to go it will take you about 20 minutes to finish it, but, unfortunately, it has a confusing layout, classic 90s quirk, that can make us feel very confused at times. Other than that, it's beatable, and I've seen worse WADs of the year that are a thousand times more confusing, so; you like gothic castles? This map is one worth a try for all retro lovers.

[thestarrover]

Just a curiosity about  WATER.WAD by Bob Ferguson.

I played the wad downloaded from the archive (timestamp 09/25/1996) and after I played the wad I have on my hard drive and downloaded sometime ago from the Bob Ferguson's site (timestamp 10/01/1996) and I noticed that in the "idgames version" the red door is unmarked.

 

Also disco.zip and stable.zip on the Ferguson's site have a different timestamp from the ones in the archive (palace.zip and harbor2.zip instead are identical) .Maybe they are updated versions but I am not sure, since I recently played both version of disco.zip but I didn't noticed any differences.

 

 

Anyway if you wish to take a look this is the site

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by thestarrover

[Teo Slayer]

12 hours ago, Endless said:

Medieval Castle

^{By Travers Dunne & Alister Dunne}

¹⁹⁹⁷

 

 

Oh yes, more castles for me! One of my favorite themes and certainly one I enjoy even in bad iterations, but luckily, this is a pretty decent one. This is a magnificently large map, and somewhat boxy, but well designed architecturally without going too far. It maintains a great consistency in its style and doesn't overdo itself, always having a modest, gentle and enjoyable quality. The difficulty is surprisingly high for a 1997 WAD, but it doesn't reach slaughter levels (except for the ending), yet it offers more than enough opportunities to play through the combat without feeling unfair. From the beginning we realize this, since it puts us in a curious position against two arachnatrons, and without weapons, but with a little exploration we realize that the tactic is to flee and find the weapons, and then take just revenge. The map teases you at first in that way, but gradually opens up your arsenal and throws you straight into intense combat that is quite entertaining, well buttoned up and with a bit of black ink to give it that gothic style, yes sir. It reminds me of D&D so that's a plus for me. On the other hand, the layout leaves something to be desired. The map is big, oh yes, if you move carefully and know where to go it will take you about 20 minutes to finish it, but, unfortunately, it has a confusing layout, classic 90s quirk, that can make us feel very confused at times. Other than that, it's beatable, and I've seen worse WADs of the year that are a thousand times more confusing, so; you like gothic castles? This map is one worth a try for all retro lovers.

I love castle levels in DOOM too. The hellish and castle levels are my favourite ones, especially having them combined

[Arrowhead]

massive.wad - 12/31/1996 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

'Massive.wad' is a WAD I found today in an old OS/2 html archive. I've tried to search every common place for this WAD, or for more information on this WAD, but I haven't been able to find anything - not even a readme. That means that this is currently by an unknown author. I think its possible that this WAD could be known under a different name, and that this may be the old version. The map name for this WAD does not fit it. The map isn't tiny, but it certainly isn't 'massive'.

 

The map consists of a small square courtyard in the centre of the map, w/ a raised hallway on all sides around it. The first half of the map's action takes place in the tight corridors of the courtyard's exterior ring - the second half takes place in the middle of the courtyard, where you will encounter a particularly oppressive hitscanner teleport ambush. This final fight probably contains half the monsters in this map.

 

Oddly, there are two blue keys in this map. One is hidden in a secret, and I think it is there as a failsafe, in case the player fails to grab the 'original' blue key in the nukage pit included as a screenshot. I like the hot start in this map, you are immediately thrust into the action. Everything about this map is quick - the combat, the flow, the dodging in and out of corners to nab hitscanners... all of it is fun.

 

I'd like to know if anybody recognizes this map - as I found it in a very odd place. If this is by a well-known author I apologize, I had no way to know! Regardless, stellar map w/ some fun combat situations. Not too hard, not too easy, just right. :)

 

Takes about 5 minutes to beat!

 

Spoiler

 

 

EDIT:

 

Download link: HAD TO REMOVE DOWNLOAD LINK - there is a copy of TNT Evilution's map01 in map slot 2 of this WAD. I will rip the first level out, via Slade, and re-upload the download link. The consequences of WADArchaeology sometimes! :)

 

NEW LINK: https://bit.ly/3Cm9uMu

Edited September 17, 2021 by Arrowhead

[Dusty_Rhodes]

1 hour ago, Arrowhead said:

massive.wad - 12/31/1996 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

'Massive.wad' is a WAD I found today in an old OS/2 html archive. I've tried to search every common place for this WAD, or for more information on this WAD, but I haven't been able to find anything - not even a readme. That means that this is currently by an unknown author. I think its possible that this WAD could be known under a different name, and that this may be the old version. The map name for this WAD does not fit it. The map isn't tiny, but it certainly isn't 'massive'.

 

The map consists of a small square courtyard in the centre of the map, w/ a raised hallway on all sides around it. The first half of the map's action takes place in the tight corridors of the courtyard's exterior ring - the second half takes place in the middle of the courtyard, where you will encounter a particularly oppressive hitscanner teleport ambush. This final fight probably contains half the monsters in this map.

 

Oddly, there are two blue keys in this map. One is hidden in a secret, and I think it is there as a failsafe, in case the player fails to grab the 'original' blue key in the nukage pit included as a screenshot. I like the hot start in this map, you are immediately thrust into the action. Everything about this map is quick - the combat, the flow, the dodging in and out of corners to nab hitscanners... all of it is fun.

 

I'd like to know if anybody recognizes this map - as I found it in a very odd place. If this is by a well-known author I apologize, I had no way to know! Regardless, stellar map w/ some fun combat situations. Not too hard, not too easy, just right. :)

 

Takes about 5 minutes to beat!

 

  Hide contents

 

 

EDIT:

 

Download link: HAD TO REMOVE DOWNLOAD LINK - there is a copy of TNT Evilution's map01 in map slot 2 of this WAD. I will rip the first level out, via Slade, and re-upload the download link. The consequences of WADArchaeology sometimes! :)

 

NEW LINK: https://bit.ly/3Cm9uMu

No idea about the author, but it certainly looks nice for a 1996 wad. I'll have to give this one a spin.

[thestarrover]

@Arrowhead  can I ask you something?

 

Did you find the massive. wad zipped together with a series of wads titled as the names of the months?

November.wad, June.wad, October.wad.... They are eight in total.

 

Two years ago I downloaded a zip file called doomwads.zip from archive.org and together with the massive.wad there are  also these wads. Since no text file is provided in the zip I don't know what are they. I tried to find some information on the net  but I was only able to find something about november.wad and it seems to be a wad created with slige.

Does someone know these wads or has information about them?

Thanks! :)

[Arrowhead]

1 hour ago, thestarrover said:

@Arrowhead  can I ask you something?

 

Did you find the massive. wad zipped together with a series of wads titled as the names of the months?

November.wad, June.wad, October.wad.... They are eight in total.

 

Two years ago I downloaded a zip file called doomwads.zip from archive.org and together with the massive.wad there are  also these wads. Since no text file is provided in the zip I don't know what are they. I tried to find some information on the net  but I was only able to find something about november.wad and it seems to be a wad created with slige.

Does someone know these wads or has information about them?

Thanks! :)

Hello, yes I found it as 'doomwads.zip' on a site called 'Hobbes OS2 Archive' - I couldn't find 'massive' on idgames, but there were a couple wads like 'August' that I recognized, (it is a very popular deathmatch map) as well as a few others. I wasn't able to find 'xmassongs.wad', or 'p.wad'  anywhere else, either. Unfotunately, that's all I know right now :P

[thestarrover]

10 minutes ago, Arrowhead said:

Hello, yes I found it as 'doomwads.zip' on a site called 'Hobbes OS2 Archive' - I couldn't find 'massive' on idgames, but there were a couple wads like 'August' that I recognized, (it is a very popular deathmatch map) as well as a few others. I wasn't able to find 'xmassongs.wad', or 'p.wad'  anywhere else, either. Unfotunately, that's all I know right now :P

Thanks a lot @Arrowhead!

Massive.wad seems to be a very particular and strange wad. it's a pity that there is no text file.

Anyway I found doomwads.zip on Archive.org.

In the "Games" directory there are also two wads by TeamTNT: tntblood.wad and tntgrvnc.wad (tntwads.zip), again without text files :)

[Arrowhead]

12 minutes ago, thestarrover said:

Thanks a lot @Arrowhead!

Massive.wad seems to be a very particular and strange wad. it's a pity that there is no text file.

Anyway I found doomwads.zip on Archive.org.

In the "Games" directory there are also two wads by TeamTNT: tntblood.wad and tntgrvnc.wad (tntwads.zip), again without text files :)

Yeah, I had seen those 2 wads on the site too, I think they're just the normal versions of TNT: Bloodlands, and TNT: Grievance. They could possibly be older versions than the ones on /idgames, I haven't actually checked yet. I wasn't able to find any more Doom WADs on that site, (Hobbes OS2) but there were a couple of OS/2 specific Doom utilities that I've never heard of before. I just find the 30 or so WADs they selected is really weird... Its mostly deathmatch w/ a couple single-player levels thrown in. Also, it seems like the 30 pack was uploaded in 1997 - which means the readmes were lost even by that time. I still think most of these levels are elsewhere, and just known under different names - especially the 'month' WADs...

[thestarrover]

I agree. It's not a good collection, but it seems to be the only one available for OS/2. 

 

On this site you can find some doom stuff for OS/2 , in particular two wads: THIS and THIS :)

[Arrowhead]

mancubus.wad - 08/12/2000 - played via GZDOOM 4.1.2

 

Mancubus.wad is a 4 level map pack for Doom 2 created by Turdburglar aka Shitbag. I found this WAD on DoomWADStation - it does not appear to be on /idgames, or any of the usual archives. This is a competent 4 map minisode w/ some odd gameplay twists, and tight aggressive combat. Combat feels modern in this WAD - it does not feel like this WAD is 21 years old. This map set features perhaps the most hectic custom titlepic I've ever seen - I included a screenshot of it.

 

Texturing in this map is great, w/ no major misalignments - there are also a ton of custom textures in this WAD - many of which I have seen before. These custom textures really do add a lot to the maps - especially the new midtextures. There is one midtexture that looks like 'missing bricks in a wall', I think this was used to cool effect. Maps are lushly detailed w/ missing floor tiles, wood planks, and bricks all making an appearance.

 

There are threats around every single corner in these maps. The entire set feels boobytrapped to the gills. Tread very carefully on your first run-throughs of these maps, as not everything is as it seems. You may want to save whenever you encounter voodoo dolls, *hint hint*. Trickery is the name of the game in this WAD, I don't want to spoil too much, but expect to face some especially devious traps. I was impressed by a lot in this WAD - I'm surprised its not better known.

 

Map01 is bar far the easiest of the four, but is still a fair challenge on UV. I recommend playing this set continuously, but it seems like the author, even this early, made considerations for pistol starters, as most of the maps have most of the weapons in them. Map01 has a very cool secret inside of what I can only describe as a 'maintenance area'. Secrets in general in these maps are great - and quite well hidden. There are even a handful of unmarked secrets in the maps, which adds to the exploration and sense of discovery greatly.

 

Map02 has an especially mean archvile + hitscanners fight. I really enjoyed it though, was cool to see such careful monster consideration in a WAD 2 decades old. There is also what I call a '3 choices' section in this map - I won't spoil the 3 choices, but make sure you save in this area. The map ends uniquely by crushing a Romero head.

 

Map03 is fun, but has a mean start - this is due to the large amount of medium class monsters in tight places. Once you clear this out though, the map softens up a little bit. Map03 has a very small bug right at the end of the map - that will allow you to exit slightly earlier than you are supposed to. The exit switch can be pressed on the left side without lowering the blocking wall first. Like I said though, this is at the very end of the map - so it didn't bother me too much. You skip maybe 3-5% of the map by doing this - no big deal.

Map04 has 250+ enemies, and only 1 secret. There is a cool series of switches that give you weapons / power-ups. Once again, though - save whenever you see something suspicious. ;) Map04 also has a neat Cybie fight, where you essentially have to race the clock to access a teleporter. There is a large wall that lowers very slowly in front of said teleporter. This means you have to fight the Cybie until the teleporter is accessible - its hard to describe this situation to others - its best to be played! You'll see what I mean! Map04 has large outdoors areas - and this helps to balance the more tight confined spaces of the earlier levels. Map04 ends in an E1M8 type fashion.

 

These maps took me about 35 minutes to beat in total, although I think someone would be able to get an hour+ out of this if they focused on UVMAX'ing. Fun WAD pack, I was unclear on if the author produced anything else, as when I search the name, Shitbag, I get 'Ray "Shitbag" Schmitz' on /idgames, but this WAD is 3+ years older than Schmitz's first published WAD - so I don't think they're the same person. Plus, I couldn't find the name 'Turdburglar' as an author anywhere on /idgames, or even anywhere in a textfile. I think there are two doomers that went by the alias 'Shitbag' around the same time - this author, (who also went by Turdburglar) and Ray "Shitbag" Schmitz... certainly is confusing. If anyone else knows any other WADs by Turdburglar, please let me know -  their style is very endearing and experimental. I'd like to play more from them, as this seems too competent for a first WAD - I'm sure there are other works by this author floating around the internet.

 

Anyways, play it, you won't regret it!!  :)

 

Spoiler

 

 

Download link: https://bit.ly/2VUnFZQ

Edited September 18, 2021 by Arrowhead

[thestarrover]

10 hours ago, Arrowhead said:

Fun WAD pack, I was unclear on if the author produced anything else, as when I search the name, Shitbag, I get 'Ray "Shitbag" Schmitz' on /idgames, but this WAD is 3+ years older than Schmitz's first published WAD - so I don't think they're the same person. Plus, I couldn't find the name 'Turdburglar' as an author anywhere on /idgames, or even anywhere in a textfile. I think there are two doomers that went by the alias 'Shitbag' around the same time - this author, (who also went by Turdburglar) and Ray "Shitbag" Schmitz... certainly is confusing. If anyone else knows any other WADs by Turdburglar, please let me know -  their style is very endearing and experimental. I'd like to play more from them, as this seems too competent for a first WAD - I'm sure there are other works by this author floating around the internet.

 

You can find Turdburglar/ Shitbag / Ray " Shitbag" Schmitz / Raymond Schmitz's  wads on this (official?) site : Shitbag's Craptacular Doom Place.* Different names but, according to the wads descriptions and the text files in the zips, the author seems to be the same. A bunch of wads are not in the idgames archive

The Turdburglar's wads on the site are: hltrsklt.zip, cf.zip, ratcage.zip, magnetic.zip (see EDIT )

 

Some Wads in the idgames archive

Shitbag wads: circus666.zip, circus2.zip (Shitbag aka Ray)

Ray Schmitz wads: yestrday.zip, stigmata.zip ( in the text files are listed the other wads by this author)

Raymond Schmitz wad: future.zip, chaos.zip, testsite.zip, hellhall.zip

Ray "Shitbag" Schmitz wad: lowblow.zip

 

Doomwadstation

Shitbag wad : BBUSTER.ZIP, jungle.zip

 

EDIT: MAGNETIC.ZIP by Turdburglar (Doomwadstation.net)

* I found the link sometime ago on one of these sites, https://doomshack.org/olddoomsites.html,  but I don't remeber which one. 

 

:) 

Edited September 18, 2021 by thestarrover : 9

[ducon]

THEDOOMWORLDBLACKLISTISREAL

[thestarrover]

4 minutes ago, ducon said:

THEDOOMWORLDBLACKLISTISREAL

???

 

[Teo Slayer]

5 minutes ago, ducon said:

THEDOOMWORLDBLACKLISTISREAL

Doomworld has a black list? I didn't know :P

[FEDEX]

44 minutes ago, thestarrover said:

 

jungle.wad (mentioned in a text file) seems not  to be in the archive.

 

EDIT: the magnetic.zip download link on the site is broken.

 

I think we can try a shot in the 'Trying to Find a Specific WAD' thread  :)

[thestarrover]

4 minutes ago, FEDEX said:

I think we can try a shot in the 'Trying to Find a Specific WAD' thread  :)

magnetic.zip found! :)