Apparently the megawad I made in 1994/95 (at 13/14 years old) has been on idgames since 2000.

[pampoo79]

On 12/4/2021 at 4:14 AM, ginc said:

To set the stage, my parents got me a 486 back in the early 90s, and someone gave me a pair of floppies with shareware DOOM on it. Only 12 years old at the time, I was hooked, and later asked my parents to get me the full game, a sound card and a modem (a blazing fast 14.4kbps). Not only could the modem be used for playing deathmatch with friends, it also opened up the world of BBSes and dial-up internet. Web sites didn't really exist yet, but FTP sites did, and many of them hosted editing tools and buttloads of WADs.

 

After playing a bunch of WADs and learning how editors worked, I started making my own stuff, mainly to mess around with friends. Over the course of 1994 and 1995, I put together a megawad of 20 singleplayer/coop levels and 10 deathmatch levels. "Development" started for DOOM but was converted to DOOM 2 at some point. But this wasn't just a collection of maps, I took the kitchen sink approach and added a bunch of crazy shit: replacement sounds (some recorded by friends in the early 90s on Sound Recorder in Windows 3.1), a DeHackED patch, some new graphics (mainly obnoxious branding), and some replacement music pulled from other WADs. If I knew how to do it, I added it. And of course, being 13/14 years old at the time, everything is of questionable taste. And above all, this is a VERY 1994 WAD and is loaded with early mapping tropes.

 

haha dude I can totally feel you because I did the same!! I cringe reading my old readme's and of course like you I used every tool in my arsenal. It's fucking amazing though the energy you have as a juvenile, learning some weird buggy DOS tools without any tutorial just by doing. Like you I crammed every asset I could find (I only had a CD-ROM with Doom stuff) into my maps, from Beavis and Butthead to Army the Dead to fart sounds. You really have no filters at that age. Just this week I released on old wad of mine for the first time, back then I did all that effort for noone to ever play the stuff, even made 2 pretty cool deathmatch maps that I will eventually release. I purged of all obnixious sounds though and put some extra hours in fixing balance issues (not very successfully, you gotta read the reviews, it's hilarious). But that was the last wad that I made, I dont know if I can muster the courage to post my "journeyman's piece" here, it's a collection of a handful of maps.

 

On 12/4/2021 at 4:15 AM, ginc said:

Most of the secrets in the WAD are hidden in the standard DOOM way, with a texture misalignment or something. The catch is that there are plenty of misaligned textures on regular walls all over the place! 

 

well to be fair texture alignment back then wasn't as easy as today with 3d preview and one button alignment, you had to actually align blindly and then compile the map which took actually quite some time for larger ones before you could see the results. It was also until I transitioned from DoomCad to EdMap that I could align textures at all which was just mind blowing then and I boasted in the readme that noone ever read (thankfully lol) with my perfect texture alignment

 

On 12/4/2021 at 4:15 AM, ginc said:

A wall texture in this alternate exit room tells you that you suck.

I've got a similar gem in my earliest map (and by the way it's actual danger because I used dehacked to make them throw exploding hand granades haha)

Edited December 5, 2021 by pampoo79

[Zilch]

On 12/4/2021 at 5:33 AM, ginc said:

So I mentioned the replacement sounds a few times, and maybe you want to hear what that sounds like. But I also insist that you don't download and play this WAD.

 

So here's a video of what it sounds like, with a start on MAP06. When Google Drive finishes processing it, you'll be able to listen to what a 14-year-old's 1994 WAD sounds like.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rvmDUVmaP164y-TQetBLrazcDJhgEutg/view?usp=sharing

 

"One time I ate my neighbor's shit"🤣🤣🤣

 

Sounds like a line from South Park!  Did you record yourself?  That's hilarious😎

[Kyle07]

Actually I would like to try out your MegaWAD. I played last week Xmas Doom from December 1994 and actually I enjoyed the level design there. So 90s level design is still able to be enjoyable.

[BigBoy91]

These sound effects though! Lmao

[ginc]

On 12/5/2021 at 4:04 PM, pampoo79 said:

haha dude I can totally feel you because I did the same!! I cringe reading my old readme's and of course like you I used every tool in my arsenal. It's fucking amazing though the energy you have as a juvenile, learning some weird buggy DOS tools without any tutorial just by doing. Like you I crammed every asset I could find (I only had a CD-ROM with Doom stuff) into my maps, from Beavis and Butthead to Army the Dead to fart sounds. You really have no filters at that age. Just this week I released on old wad of mine for the first time, back then I did all that effort for noone to ever play the stuff, even made 2 pretty cool deathmatch maps that I will eventually release. I purged of all obnixious sounds though and put some extra hours in fixing balance issues (not very successfully, you gotta read the reviews, it's hilarious). But that was the last wad that I made, I dont know if I can muster the courage to post my "journeyman's piece" here, it's a collection of a handful of maps.

 

Oh man, that pretty much sums it up. At that age you basically have no filter, lots of energy, and you may or may not care what other people think (that comes later in high school).

 

And oh god, I almost forgot about the Readme. So I mentioned in some follow-up posts about how the WAD itself really isn't that cringy or bad other than the sound effects (at least not by 1995 standards), but the Readme definitely has 14-year-old discovering the early 90s internet energy. Its not SomethingAwful JeffK bad, but its in the same vein.

 

13 hours ago, Zilch said:

"One time I ate my neighbor's shit"🤣🤣🤣

 

Sounds like a line from South Park!  Did you record yourself?  That's hilarious😎

 

That one is definitely not me, the Imp's sounds are "The Buffoon" from multiple tracks on Adam Sandler's wonderfully juvenile album "They're All Going to Laugh At You". I think this WAD was released like a year before South Park, or maybe at the same time. I definitely would have used Eric Cartman sounds if they were around at the time though!

Edited December 8, 2021 by ginc

[MemeMind]

Im a very recent mapper but this thread gives me flash backs to when i was first starting out.

 

I actually think my maps were some pretty good ideas and I go back to them after a while.

 

I think the fact that a wad that someone uploaded 25 years ago is still around shows that the Doom community is great with archival.  

[E.M.]

I played through this and it definitely has that 1994 stank. I wish it was balanced better, but I still had fun.

[ginc]

Here we are back again, with screenshots and comments on the rest of the maps! Sorry for the delay, I've been busy playing actual good Doom WADs. If you're looking for a mid-90s-esque vanilla-compatible cheesy experience but actually polished, slick and fun, I recommend Ray Mohawk 2 or Rowdy Rudy 2, by Doomkid and a host of talented guest mappers.

 

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MAP21 - Vacation

The latter half of this WAD is interesting and more ambitious than the first, but it also doesn't come together cleanly and many maps are marred by poor design choices. MAP21 is a good example. Look at that editor screenshot! Based on an oceanside condo complex, when designing this map I encountered the dreaded "visplane overflow" error for the first time - the bane of all vanilla DOOM mappers. Thing is, with little in the way of a mapping knowledge base at the time, I had no idea what the error meant. Eventually I did figure out that blocking the player's view made the error go away, so instead of revamping the layout to be more vanilla-friendly, I just stuck big walls in the middle of roads and parking lots. This made the look of the map rather inscrutable, but it didn't ruin the gameplay at least (and the swimming pool area is still kinda cool). The gameplay was instead ruined by probably the worst switch-and-key hunt in the WAD - the player has to visit every building in a set order to progress, and you'll probably kill 95% of the monsters before doing any of it. Unfortunate, because this map also has my favorite MIDI in the WAD - a rendition of NIN's "Head Like a Hole" that is still a banger today.

 

MAP22 - Cargo Ship

So this next stretch of maps aims to have kind of a crude sense of continuity and place, which places it in 1995 rather than 1994. On starting this map, you board a ship and are herded into a small room that lets you know that the boat is leaving. A door shuts and traps you inside for 30 seconds (I guess I couldn't figure out a cleaner way to do this lol), and when you step outside the land and pier are gone and you're on the open water. Cool concept, janky execution. The map is a cramped key hunt (as expected from being on a boat), but there is some Doomcute, and the action is kept somewhat fresh by teleporting in new monsters after every key grab. All in all, this map hits the mark for a 1995 map. The MIDI is a rendition of C&C Music Factory's delightfully cheesy "Everybody Dance Now", and now that song is stuck in your head. You're welcome.

 

MAP23 - Jungle

This map starts you on a dock next to what is supposed to be a jungle, but all the trees are those big dead ones from DOOM's third episode. Sprites do not block monster vision or hitscan attacks, so this map just feels unfun to play at times (although the monsters are drip-fed slowly enough that it doesn't feel difficult). The lack of any armor powerups is a baffling choice as well. The big ass visplane blockers from MAP21 return, and this time they help gameplay by adding some much-needed cover for both the player and the monsters. It plays straightforwardly enough, just be sure to grab the blue key before jumping down if you don't want to softlock the map! The map finishes with the player jumping inside a small volcano, which if I had to guess was meant to lead to a Hell-themed level at the time.

 

MAP24 - Marine Base

That volcano from the last map? Turns out it doesn't go anywhere, and you start the map coming right back out of it. I guess that I decided I didn't want to do Hell levels yet! The map does start with a pretty cool (for 1995) setpiece - you teleport aboard a submarine, hit a switch to descend (with water textures moving in the wrong direction) and end up on an underwater base. That's right, its THAT kind of "Marine Base". The rest of the map is a rather ho-hum 3-pronged key hunt, with some crude Doomcute, no armor powerups, and a light monster count. Beat the Archvile in the center room to return to the surface, but only briefly...

 

MAP25 - Mines

The third straight map with no armor powerups, I'm now convinced that I did this on purpose for some artificial difficulty. Not a good choice IMO. This map is also somewhat tight on ammo as well, with the chaingun given at the halfway point and the rocket launcher hidden in a secret room with no telltales. Whatever happened to the texture misalignments? Gripes aside, this map does do some neat environmental storytelling for 1995 - you start at a security checkpoint on the surface, go down a mineshaft into some abandoned caves, then fight your way to a second mineshaft that leads down to a VERY cramped, lava-filled area. Thankfully there are radsuits in plentiful supply, and at least half of the Pinkies are trapped in place. I guess I didn't know that monster hitboxes are square, and the map editors of the time (DEU and DoomEd) showed them as round. The music in this map is somewhat bizarre, and I suspect that it was meant to be used with a more hectic/chaotic map later on, but ended up on this one by mistake. Anyway, with all this downward travel, you can guess where we end up next...

 

MAP26 - Hellsiege

The return visit to Hell opens with a bang - a crude mini-slaughter setpiece that is quite easily sidestepped by just leaving the starting area (which is separated from the surrounding area by a very Hell Revealed-esque monster-blocking linedef). This encounter could have been really cool with a bit more care and subtlety, but that's too much to ask from a 14-year-old in 1995. In any event, after clearing the area and moving on you end up at a castle, with farty-rocket Mancubi patrolling the ramparts and a horde of Pinkies springing from the gates. Its a pretty cool sight, but you can just back up to defuse the situation. The map finishes with a pair of cramped fights that are uncharacteristically difficult. The first one traps you in a tiny room with 2 Cacos, 2 Lost Souls and a Pain Elemental... easy if you use your Plasma ammo, but doing so renders the second fight (a Baron, an Arch-Vile and 2 Blobs) almost impossible. Rather dickish and ends the map on a sour note.

 

MAP27 - Total Chaos

It is at this point that the WAD really starts running out of steam, shit gets weird and experimental but not in a good way. Since this WAD was originally conceived for DOOM 1 (with 24 regular maps and 3 optional secret maps), porting it to DOOM 2 meant that 6 more maps had to be crammed in somewhere. I can't remember if this was one of these "extra" maps or not, but it is reminiscent of MAP05 in that it was just weird ideas I threw into the editor. The map starts with a free invuln and a crowd of infighting demons to dispatch, a nice little encounter to blow off steam. The next section is a 3-pronged key hunt that takes you through sets of rooms colored and shaped like national flags, which may have been cool in another setting but are bizarrely out of place in a Hell level. Combat is straightforward until you reach the final throne room area, which is a tough (for 1995) but fair fight.

 

MAP28 - Finale?

This one was likely the final map in the DOOM 1 version, and its a short one. Run through some infighting Spidermamas, get another invuln to dispatch a crowd of infighting demons, and then use your plasmagun to take out a pair of Cyberdemons guarding the exit. The floor is nukage, but between the invuln and radsuit you have what you need to get through it. The map ends with a message that I think says "THIS ISN'T OVER"? I think this map was originally combined with MAP30, and splitting it in two really takes some of the drama out of it.

 

MAP29 - Bonus Level

Most bonus levels are experimental, but cool, good and fun. This map is none of these things - it is a very boring version of DOOM 2's MAP08 (Tricks and Traps) that likely was thrown in to pad out the map count, and as far as I can tell it's a DOOM 1 map that never made the cut for the original version. The gimmick is that you start in a 9-pronged hub room and each branch has a different kind of monster. But with DOOM 1's bestiary and a lack of weaponry (relying on the single shotty for most of the map), it is dreadfully boring now and probably was in 1995 too. For those that slog through it, the final encounter with the Cyberdemon is meant to be done by luring it closer, trapping it and crushing it - you don't have the ammo to kill it with guns. There's nothing in the environment to clue you into this.

 

MAP30 - Hellcore

A quick setpiece map with basically no combat, you run past some infighting boss monsters, shoot the "core" of hell, and escape down a hallway before hidden barrel explosions (with fart noises) kill you. Outrun the ceiling crusher to reach the elevator out of hell, which eventually puts you back on the surface, next to a streetlamp under a starry night sky. The Icon of Sin moans, and the map ends. Kind of a cool ending for a 1995 WAD, too bad the maps leading up to it were mostly not good.

 

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In conclusion... this was quite the nostalgia trip, and not as embarrassing as I thought it was going to be. I'm not going to emphatically insist that you don't play it, but it really hasn't aged well and you should only play it if you're curious about what megawad projects were like before DOOM mapping started getting good.

 

The WAD definitely has what one commenter called "1994 stank" in its aesthetics and tropes, and the sounds are just juvenile, but it is quite playable for the most part. There are flashes of brilliance, most of which are unfortunately negated by unforgivable sins. All in all, I'm glad that 14-year-old me went HARD on making a megawad, and the result was this unwieldy thing. Finding out that it was preserved by cursed internet magic and that it still existed 26 years later was quite a surreal experience.

 

To all those starting out in the realm of Doom mapping, go for it and let your freak flag fly! Unlike the mappers of 1994, you have loads of resources, knowledgebases, and excellent WADS available to use as inspiration. And if your crazy shit turns out badly... maybe you learned something that can go into the next round of crazy shit!

Edited December 11, 2021 by ginc

[Andromeda]

11 hours ago, ginc said:

MAP27 - Total Chaos

Cool flags! Wonder why the Swedish one is flipped though :P

[Thysamithan]

The imps still crack me up, even after 6 maps.
The first three maps are... ok, but past young you certainly knows this.
But then it starts to get kind of interesting.
It is good in its badness and I like the unrestrained experimental creativity.
If this pack would have gone much more out and crazy, it could send serious Mock 2 vibes.
Reminds me a little of my own old stuff. Except mine is really bad.

[grrfield]

I was curious and started playing. Now I am at map 25, and I have to say that I enjoyed it so far. With a creative mind like yours you should get involved in the 'new' mapping scene.

 

[princetontiger]

ginc, this wad was a ton of fun!

[Pure Hellspawn]

This thread reminds me of when I started programming and I made a little script boss back in 2006. Took me three days to make. I had all but forgotten about this old map of mine. Hard to believe it's been sixteen years since I made this; just when I graduated HS.

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/m-o/marboss

 

Good ol' memories.

Edited December 11, 2022 by Pure Hellspawn

[Nikku4211]

This whole megaWAD you made at 13 is still way better and way less annoying than the almost-megaWAD I made at 12, or even anything I made at 13-14 for that matter. That's even without taking into account your WAD was made back in 1994-5 while my almost-megaWAD was made in 2015.

 

Some of the sounds remind me of South Park, even though this WAD predates that show.

[OleBumma]

Hell, you convinced me.

I’ll be playing your wad real soon! :3

 

speakin of stuff we would put out back when we were young bucks on the scene, I got pretty surprised one night seeing players still using Quake 2 skin models I created 20 years ago.

Regardless to how much we feel embarrassed about that stuff it’s a pretty cool feeling to see others enjoy it.

Edited December 15, 2022 by OleBumma