Cacowards 2022 Mentionations Thread [mention projects / contributions that aren't levels too]

[Not Jabba]

8 minutes ago, Redneckerz said:

If this isn't nominated, i will literally bribe NotJabba with a copy of the real Hissy doll and 2 shotgun shells to get it on the page.

 

Your gift would be cherished, but please keep in mind that I have no control over what gets awards currently.

[Redneckerz]

1 minute ago, Not Jabba said:

 

Your gift would be cherished, but please keep in mind that I have no control over what gets awards currently.

I know, i know. This is why i made the not-so-subtle threat of bribing you, either for this year's Cacoward or the next one :P

 

I suspect that in the event it is too close to the finish line that it atleast gets a hefty mention.*

 

Spoiler

*And if that doesn't work you can set my tag to Essel-Shill for a full year. Heck ill write that mention myself if i have to, haha

 

[Kinsie]

On 11/16/2022 at 9:16 AM, Redneckerz said:

This is why i made the not-so-subtle threat of bribing you, either for this year's Cacoward or the next one :P

You should probably try bribing someone who's actually on the judging panel.

[Redneckerz]

4 hours ago, Kinsie said:

You should probably try bribing someone who's actually on the judging panel.

I bribe people with influence ;)

[LuciferSam86]

Is the ACE Engine and its version 2.0 good for Awards 2022?

If yes: +1 for ACE Engine

[Redneckerz]

Helion (By @hobomaster22 and Water)

 

If ACE Engine does something unusual with Vanilla, how about a engine that:

• has Vanilla/DeHacked/Boom/ZDoom-like support
• Runs all the current rig-crushin' WADS at high speeds (Planisphere 2 at 60 fps!)
• Does not use the Doom renderer, but is instead the result of years of painstakingly re-create Doom's behavior

Then there is Helion. It gets too little fanfare in my eyes. It seeks to resolve a few problems inherent to Doom and tries to mimic its behavior exactly. No more CPU limits (reasonably) here. In that light, Helion is as impressive as ACE Engine, stringing a bridge between a source port and a proper Nu-Oldskool Doom.

 

 

@Doomkid approves this work.

[Not Jabba]

Ok, well, let it not be said that I didn't try.

 

:waves fingers magically in the air:

 

You are feeling a strong urge to give Knee-Deep in KDiZD a Cacoward...You are feeling a veeerrry strong urge to give Knee-Deep in KDiZD a Cacowaaardddd...

 

[UnknDoomer]

In case of technical related things. Voxel Doom & RXVOX. DW thread is here.

[UnknDoomer]

The legend tells that centuries ago, in a time of darkness and conspiracy, @Not Jabba and demons sign an agreement. Latest will be open to exchange some goodies time to time if Cacowards might include at least one good SLOTTER wad into it in a random period of time. So. You know what they said:

 

 

100 Line Massacre & 200 Line Massacre is a good combination of extreme limited scope and interesting gameplay mechanics. If you still have doubts, I recommend watching this fragment:

 

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by UnknDoomer

[Master O]

On 11/17/2022 at 2:10 PM, Redneckerz said:

Helion (By @hobomaster22 and Water)

 

If ACE Engine does something unusual with Vanilla, how about a engine that:

• has Vanilla/DeHacked/Boom/ZDoom-like support
• Runs all the current rig-crushin' WADS at high speeds (Planisphere 2 at 60 fps!)
• Does not use the Doom renderer, but is instead the result of years of painstakingly re-create Doom's behavior

Then there is Helion. It gets too little fanfare in my eyes. It seeks to resolve a few problems inherent to Doom and tries to mimic its behavior exactly. No more CPU limits (reasonably) here. In that light, Helion is as impressive as ACE Engine, stringing a bridge between a source port and a proper Nu-Oldskool Doom.

 

 

@Doomkid approves this work.

 

I second this nomination.

[LuciferSam86]

+1 for Helion sourceport

[The_SloVinator]

+1 for 2022 A Doom Odyssey by pcorf, Kristian Aro & Chris Hansen.

 

The most fun I've had in an Ultimate Doom wad in a while. Tough but fair & nicely balanced. The levels never felt like a drag or a frustrating experience.

Some unique visuals here & there & I'm also a sucker for Sigil inspired episodes. :P
 

 

[Master O]

1 minute ago, The_SloVinator said:

+1 for 2022 A Doom Odyssey by pcorf, Kristian Aro & Chris Hansen.

 

The most fun I've had in an Ultimate Doom wad in a while. Tough but fair & nicely balanced. The levels never felt like a drag or a frustrating experience.

Some unique visuals here & there & I'm also a sucker for Sigil inspired episodes. :P
 

 

 

Also, the secrets are not super obtuse, so that always helps.

[Turin Turambar]

+1 for Helion, last update was amazing.

[m39]

I swear, if Cyriak's Overboard will not win one of the Cacowards, I'll go insane.

[Azure_Horror]

1) Doom -1 | Negative One: Beyond the experiment (huge community project)

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/128549-doom-1-negative-one-beyond-the-experiment-release-thread/

 

Doom -1: A Doomworld Experiment was released in 2020. It was a unique community project, where anyone could edit any part of the WAD. This approach led to many interesting and memorable maps, but also to a lot of bugs and rough edges. A group of dedicated mappers took it upon themselves to polish the pWAD up to modern quality standards.

In 2022 they released Doom -1: Beyond the experiment. And it is a very unique Boom project, where you never know what exactly you should expect, yet somehow the whole experience is coherent and consitent. It felt like playing Evilution for the first time again!

My personal highlights:

- Shooting down a revenant-piloted sector plane in map 05. (It is done with pure Boom! No fancy scripts!)

- Assaulting heavy fortified demon defense line in map 29.

- Exploring the forest in map 19. Those trees are the best doom-cute trees I have seen.

- Being ambushed by an Icon of Sin, of all things!

 

Some other cool/notable things:

- Maps tend to include lots of exploration. Many of them are quite big!

- Extensive sprite rework. Is it better, than normal Doom assets? That's a matter of personal taste. Personally, I like it, but some people may consider them pointless. Some of sprite decisions are really awesome, like BFG replacement or Undead Wolfenstein enemies.

- Casual use of archvile groups, which somehow do not feel oppressive! Big, complex, rooms allow you to skirmish against 3-4 archviles easily. This is a great power fantasy. Typically, Vile squads of such size are extremely deadly, and appear in high-challenge encounters only. But not in Doom -1.

- Great final boss. Baphomet is much less over-engineered monster than Valinat or Eviternity final bosses. To me, this final boss felt the most faithful to Doom 2 designs. And the final fight itself is also awesome: it combines a straightforward boss monster duel with pretty simple, but effective minor threats, like monster snipers and lava pools.

 

I really wish Doom -1: Beyond the experiment to get mentioned in the cacowards. It is a labor of love with many cool and unusual design decisions.

 

2) @Deadwing's (and guest mappers') Ozonia.

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/103371-ozonia-boom-megawad-1103-on-idgames/

 

Ozonia feels special in so many ways

- Great music and texture choice. They are both fantastic in their own right, but they also create a pretty unique feel to the whole megaWAD.

- Gameplay philosophy, which can be described as "Best parts of Plutonia Experiment and Eviternity combined". Combat is organically interwoven with exploration, encounters feel diverse and tense. Lots of set ups where "every single monster counts", but also some notable maps which go in the opposite direction.

- Fresh take on monster composition, with heavy emphasis on arachnotrons. Quite a few difficult maps without revenants at all. Very unique trait for a WAD remeniscent of Plutonia Experiment!

- Lots of interesting zoning decisions: arachnotrons and other similar projectile lobbers, platforms connected with narrow ledges, monster teleporters. Many fights are designed around open combat spaces and making those spaces dangerous without claustrophobic monster crowds.

- Ozonia has an actual plot. It is over the top and a bit silly, of course, but it is not a humorous joke, unlike in Ancient Aliens or Going Down. Neither it is a story of yet another ultimate showdown between Doom Marine and Forces of Heck. The central plot point of Ozonia presents an unique take on existence of demons and humans in the same universe. Very limited -complevel 9 methods were used to their full potential. Deadwing created an impressive Dark Souls-like narrative structure, where the player is invited to connect the dots and make sense of events on their own.

 

All in all, Ozonia feels like a great WAD, with destinct takes on at least two Doom pWAD legacies: Plutonia-likes (Plutonia 1 and 2, Plutonia revisited, Cydonia, and others) and Scythe 2-likes (Scythe 2, Valiant, Eviternity, Uprising, Struggle and many more).

Edited November 26, 2022 by Azure_Horror

[akolai]

i'm throwing this one into the ring, the fights are all brutal but really creative, maps 4-6 have fantastic atmospheres, and map 3 beats out sunder's heavyweights in terms of scale.

[Roofi]

I want to mention @jpsplat's crazy maze and I'm not even joking. I've been on this map for 2-3 hours and I find the formula simple but so addictive.

[taufan99]

+1 for Ethereal Breakdown.

Note: played with the D64 EX+ version.

Spoiler

 

DOOM 64 has been around for 25 years as of now, and there's no other D64 mapset more fitting as an anniversary mapset than this one.

Diverse map styles ranging from classic D64-influenced ones to the more avant-garde ones that may cater to different types of players, brilliant use of macro scripts to create various advanced experiences of sort, custom MIDI songs exhibiting the D64 sound system done right by the experienced hands, what's not to recommend from this mapset?

In short, Ethereal Breakdown lets everyone, even those already seasoned with classic D64, experience the Absolution like a new, fresh one ever again. You owe yourself this one, if you've got your hands on the 2020 remaster of D64.

 

 

[Beed28]

+1 for Knee-Deep in KDiZD

[BerserkerNoir]

Not sure if its been mentioned before but the amount of effort put in this mod speaks for itself, pretty good.

 

[Zaratul]

+1 for Knee Deep in KDIZD. Such a great revamp of the flawed original wad.

[ebrl]

+1 for Altars of Madness
+1 for Pocket Slaughter
+1 for Overboard

[brendondle]

+1 for Dance on the Water

+1 for 10x10

[Electro Rage]

+1 for Capybara by Various People
+1 for Overboard by Cyriak
+1 for Dance On The Water by El Inferno

[Woolie Wool]

+1 for Knee-Deep in KDiZD

+1 for Ozonia

+1 for Nostalgia

+1 for 2022: A Doom Odyssey

[Daytime Waitress]

Is there a cut-off date for nominations?

[LadyMistDragon]

10 minutes ago, Daytime Waitress said:

Is there a cut-off date for nominations?

I think, through the end of november

[Pegleg]

5 hours ago, Daytime Waitress said:

Is there a cut-off date for nominations?

 

5 hours ago, LadyMistDragon said:

I think, through the end of november

 

The cut-off is around the middle of November, according to members of the cacowards committee (that's what I call them, not necessarily what they call themselves) that were asked about it in last year's mentionation thread. Everything released after that cut-off date would be eligible for consideration for a cacoward the following year. For example, if something was released around November 20, 2022, it would be eligible for consideration for the 2023 Cacowards. From what I have gathered from current and former members of the committee, they are working on the cacoward selections up into December, so the soft cut-off is necessarily to give them a chance to thoroughly discuss and judge the selections, without being overwhelmed by having to include new projects that come in as their discussions are underway.

 

With regards to this thread being for nominations, it's not really for that purpose, per se, as Not Jabba addressed last year. This thread is to make sure that the members of the cacowards committee are aware of projects that are good (or projects that someone thinks are good). Given that the committee members all play dozens (if not hundreds) of maps and mapsets each year, it's likely that they will see all the major projects, but this thread exists to try to make sure something doesn't slip under the radar. The awards are not a popularity contest. Something could never be mentioned here and still win a cacoward; and something could be mentioned 100 times and it wouldn't necessarily win.

[Cammy]

Just want to say good luck to the Cacoward team these next few days, and I'm looking forward to reading through it all! I'm hopeful that Ozonia will win something. :)