Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #023

[ICID]

^{(logo by @4MaTC)}

 

ICID, what the hell is this now?

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures is a small project of exploration, interaction, entertainment and reviews where we meet once every 2 weeks to select random WADs in search of hidden treasures, lost promises, or our worst nightmares! We use the /idgames archive’s special feature that lets us search for random files. Of course, sometimes the results are resources or unplayable stuff, so we focus on looking for WADs.

 

So, what do we do here?

1. Play at least one random WAD in a two-week period of time. WADs are selected using the Random File feature on /idgames or from the list below.
2. Post a review of each WAD. There’s no required pacing, but most of us post a review once every 1-2 days.
3. Please take screenshots or video of your adventures.
4. Play however you want, on any skill level, and with any source port, as long as you play the WAD as intended/in working shape.
5. Be respectful. Good rule of thumb: making fun of a map is okay, making fun of the mapper is not.

 

What kind of WADs are we looking for?

Any file on /idgames is fair game, but most of us choose to stick to singleplayer Doom or Heretic WADs that work in our sourceport(s) of choice. I also pull at least 5 random WADs for the event and add them here. Feel free to play them with me if you wish, or look for your own! The point of the event is to encourage you to explore this vast, random world. 

 

Recommendations for reviewing:

Spoiler

1. Always provide the name of the WAD, the name of the author, and a link to the file.
2. Commenting the source port and skill-level is not required, but provides helpful context to your review.
3. Try to stick to no more than 1 WAD per day to avoid burnout, but this part’s all up to you, champ!
4. As mentioned above, screenshots or videos are awesome.
5. Reviews of all formats are valid. Both longform and shortform are good as long as you write with integrity. 

 

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures of this event:

1. Doom Mars Base

2. CRASH

3. Map a Day

4. Wheel of Time Doom

5. Fort 5: Navrat na pevnost

 

Spoiler

The Top 10 (out of 30) 

 

1. @Roofi | 2705
2. @Sena | 1255
3. @Walter confetti | 675
4. @ICID | 505
5. @Endless | 390
6. @LadyMistDragon | 345
7. @smeghammer | 275
8. @LUISDooM | 235
9. @Maribo | 145
10. @Biodegradable | 105

 

Join the Doom Master Wadazine community for more events like this! » https://discord.gg/Q2RKn4J

[Teo Slayer]

1st WAD: Doom Mars Base | Ramsey Hanafi | 05/19/05 | Grade: 3/5

 

IWAD: The Ultimate DOOM

Source Port: LZDoom

Skill: HMP

Screenies:

Spoiler

A very good map for '94. I like those hellish-red rooms and the toxic maze was also good. The last area has two teleporters, one which leads straight to the exit and one to a room with Imps and Shotgun Zombies and I always like to see that you can choose two paths in Doom maps, the easy path and the hard path. One room I really hated from that map was the dark maze and some other areas are big and empty. Not bad, this map deserves one cookie

 

 

2nd WAD: High School | Steve Katz | 01/12/99 | Grade: 3/5

 

IWAD: DOOM II

Source Port: LZDoom

Skill: HMP

Screenies:

Spoiler

You can understand from the title what this WAD is about, you just go to school. But you don't go to study, instead you go to kill every student and teacher that is inside the building.  I love the idea of this map, I always wanted to go to school with guns and start killing everyone. It's like a dream is coming true. A thing that I'm questioning is why there's a room with dead hunging corpses? I dunno but I hecking like it. Some issues that it has is too many large or small empty rooms. Otherwise, damn I really like this

 

3rd WAD: ODESSA 3 ("Fade to Gray") | Bob Evans | 02/01/14 | Grade: 5/5

 

IWAD: DOOM II

Source Port: LZDoom

Skill: HMP

Screenies:

Spoiler

Kept the best for the last. An amazing replacement of Map03 for DOOM II, I liked the little effort the mapper gave. The rooms are sick and the one with the crushing ceilings is being my favourite one and the addition for the flag at the outside area (it's where you start) is a nice one. Good job to the mapper and his gang who helped him, I don't know what other to say

 

 

Hey, I'm back

[Sena]

Day 1: Doom Mars Base https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/d-f/dmredp

 

With 300 enemies, and some overall good atmosphere and visual design, by 1994 standards, this was ahead of the curve. It looks decent, almost on par with an id software map in parts, which puts it in the top 5% of maps from the period, but its level design and gameplay do not hold up to the same standard. This feels very much like a map wherein the person just said "I'm going to build a bunch of rooms and see what happens", because there is no cohesion between them, not even an attempt to actually direct the player in the correct manner, as at least half the rooms are just complete dead ends, no switches that need to be activated to move you forward elsewhere, just complete empty rooms with nothing to do, and no purpose towards the actual progression of the map. Additionally, you've got plenty of other things that just don't work clearly, like triggers that only trigger when they feel like it, secrets not being marked, and random walls being doors for no discernable reason. All of which contributes to just making a level that is simply not fun to play, didn't get far enough to get anything beyond a shotgun, but I didn't enjoy any of what I did get to experience, just a lackluster compilation of random shite that could only conceivably make sense because you built it and memorised the order of it. 2/10.

[Teo Slayer]

WAD: Nowhere to Hide | Rob Berkowitz | 01/14/99 | Grade: 5/5

 

IWAD: DOOM II

Source Port: LZDoom

Skill: UV

Screenies:

Spoiler

This is one of those maps which throw you into a big arena with waves of monsters hidden behind the walls like Dead Simple (I think). You start in a pillar with two teleporters in each side and a Imp infront of you. The one teleporter takes you to a room that has medkits, a mega armor, a soulphere and invisibility and the other teleporter to a room with ammo. There are 69 total monsters (it's 79 in the screenshot because Pain Elementals are there) to kill in this map, so you'll need to stack up good first and let the monsters infight in one point. After you're done with the first arena, you get to the round arena which includes two Cyberdemons, one Spider Mastermind and a couple of Imps. It also has the BFG 9000 so pick it up to one shot the Mastermind if you want. Finally, I enjoyed this map. I like short maps which put the player into a big room with monsters awaiting for him and the design of the exit looks cool. Give it a shot, won't ya ;)

[Walter confetti]

On 12/27/2021 at 2:08 PM, ICID said:

Wheel of Time Doom

Mh... I kinda recall something about the version in idgames having some kind of bug that i don't remember now but broke the wad in some way...

[Teo Slayer]

WAD: Computer Station | Use3d | 02/15/19 | Grade: 5/5

 

IWAD: DOOM II

Source Port: LZDoom

Skill: HMP

Screenies:

Spoiler

A very nice replacement for DOOM II's Map04. I enjoyed the map myself. It is a good attempt on turning a computer station into a Doom map. It's well made, no big empty rooms, no enemy spam, clean secrets and good placement of health and ammo. Some rooms are pretty cool, for example there's a nice room with two teleporters, a computer room (there's a reason why it's called Computer Station) and the red key room looks cool. In a small room, there's a switch that if you active it, a trap with Imps opens. I found a secret which has an other switch that just turns on a crusher which kills those Imps, so if you find that secret you won't have to deal with those Imps. To close it, I recommend this map to kill some time and I believe it would fit as an official Doom 2 map

[Roofi]

Thanks for the new thread !

 

Month 7 Day 01 

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

 

[1] A FISTFUL OF DOOM by Gali editor for 'The WadFactory' (1997)

 

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"A Fistful of Doom" is a complete Western conversion, featuring a full western town high-street. Every effort has been made to make this the ultimate Western Wad - this is the UK's answer to Boothill! Let's hear from a happy customer...

"This wad is probably the best I've played yet! it is origional, fun and challenging! you guys are awesome and I'd like to commend you on your good work! Your site is now one of my favorites and is bookmarked, Keep it up!!!"

 

I start with a legendary wad that I have never played before: A Fistful of Doom. It is obviously a western themed wad based on the movie "A Fistful of Dollars" where Clint Eastwood appears as the main actor. The work done on the graphics was phenomenal: a new statbar, new skins for the enemies, new textures and even some really good ambient sounds like the great bell in the second level.

 

Unfortunately this wad contains only two levels and strangely no new music has been added. To tell the truth, even in the 1990's, finding midi western music doesn't seem to be out of reach unless I'm wrong...

 

The first map takes place in a typical western town near the Nevada desert. You can walk around wherever you want despite the three keys to be collected in an established order. The aesthetics remain particularly standard and some effects are not very well done (you can literally walk through the double doors like a ghost). However, we have the pleasure to explore a bar, a bank, a shop or a toilet.

 

The second, consisting of a Mexican village was a real visual slap. The work done with the shadows, the arches made of middle-textures, and the architecture in a more global way make me say that this map represents one of the most beautiful works from the 1990's. Like the first level, we face mainly cowboys (hitscanners). You may easily die if you move too fast or don't find the not-so-prolific health items. It shoots from all sides, the western atmosphere is really well transcribed. The last level also adds a particularly memorable passage when you enter the cemetery located near the church.

 

A very good TC that would have deserved a whole episode instead of 2 levels in my opinion .

 

 

I died at the start of vivaldi.WAD (forgot to take screen).

[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 02

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

 

[1] Altier 6 & Insanity by Keith Hickman (1997)

 

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Quote

Built for Doom2 v1.9 A Co-Op ONLY wad pack.

 

Although designed only for Co-OP according to the description, I didn't have too much trouble to finish the two maps in pistol start and I even had a lot of fun! These levels were included in the megawad SQUADRON, respectively map 10 and 32. I can indeed recognize the STATBAR and the sky used.

 

In general, I have a hard time understanding why you have to play these two maps in co-op. Of course, I have no doubt that those were a quite challenging at the time. However, I find that even some of the maps in Doom 2 are more difficult than these ones. Indeed, Keith Hickman gives you a lot of ammunition and health bonuses and especially a lot of room to dodge projectiles, especially in the first level. The Co-op aspect would reside in the small groups of mid-tier monsters that we sometimes meet as well as the rare bosses that present little threat though.

 

Altier 6 takes place in a city reminding me a lot of "DOOM CITY" by Shamus Young but in a more desolated version. The dramatic music, which origin escapes me for years, used in particular in the map 13 of Sunder contributes to this feeling of desolation. There are a lot of places to explore and the size of the places makes it pleasant to navigate. Very good map.

 

For Insanity, my opinion is mixed. It probably feels like a big spaceship because of the tech textures used in abundance and the presence of computers that could look like control panels. The difficulty has been increased compared to Altier, especially because of its much more conceptual fights. At the end, we face an Icon of Sin which remains much less annoying than in the original IWAD.

 

 

I stop here for today.

 

[Obsidian]

On 12/28/2021 at 9:12 AM, Teo Slayer said:

I love the idea of this map, I always wanted to go to school with guns and start killing everyone. It's like a dream is coming true.

 

That is a heck of a thing to say on a public forum. You maybe wanna reconsider your choice of words?

[Roofi]

University / High-school maps in a nutshell

 

[Sena]

Day 2: CRASH https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/a-c/crash

 

Not a good conclusion to the year with some stupid ass vaccine having me bedridden for 3 days and messing up my workflow (work being playing doom levels), but no bother, I live again.

For the time, this is actually a quite competent episode, with a consistent quality to the levels, and they even went through the effort of changing the intermission map, and while some people these days might think it looks kind of bad, I can at least say that they tried, which is more than I usually get to say. To further the notion of them actually putting effort in, I'd like to focus your attention to this particular morgue, or at least some place that's evidently being used as a makeshift place to store corpses , and what's notable about this particular area is just that it's there. To look at it in an objective manner, it is not particularly special, building a table and then putting some corpses on top of it, with some gibbed ones to the side, is not particularly noteworthy, but it was in 1997. Which is true of it in general, in most places it doesn't look that great, but there is a clear attempt to make the area look detailed, which is a major point in this WAD's favour, and certainly more than I can say about most levels. To a certain extent, we've probably been spoiled by mappers like Jimmy and Ribbiks who put enough minute details that you could probably still have a good time just looking at it, but on the contrary I think it's also completely reasonable to expect mappers to try harder than STARTAN rectangular boxes, as some like to do. And in general this is the approach to the visual design throughout, it's not great, but it definitely looks good, and assuredly ahead of its time. I would say it also has a very classic feel to it, which is a feeling and despite several years of therapy I'm not any good at talking about my feelings, but it's just got that certain mid 90s-2000s style to it, a human element, an attempt to express creativity with the limited tools they had back then, and a feeling like that can't be replicated easily, and all things considered, it's a whole lot better than me having to say "it's from the 90s so you know it's shit" like I normally do.

Still, I would say its gameplay is somewhat lacking. I've always praised Castlevania's level design, because its enemy placement is particular, the enemies are placed in such a way that the absolute worst way to play through the levels is to rush through it and ignore everything, because that means you have to actually engage with it and see the quality level design that they put forth. Comparatively, this WAD's entire episode feels like the opposite, I was almost entirely playing it pacifist, just because that's how it was designed, there was absolutely no incentive to deal with enemies in any scenario, you were instead encouraged to run through and ignore everything, which I'm going to guess wasn't actually the intended way to play, so this was over pretty quick (many maps also seemed to end a lot sooner than you get the impression they would), although with how the combat encounters were formulated, I can imagine that I'd get bored of trying to 100% the levels rather quickly, especially with their propensity to throw in a lot of cyberdemons, sometimes multiple at once, but not giving you a BFG for quite some time, although peculiarly enough, the closing map has probably at least 2000 cells, which you need to kill 1 cyberdemon, as if it's a contingency for you accidentally missing 20 shots in a row. 

 

In actuality, I had a surprisingly good time with this one, breezing through a mapset is certainly a lot more fun than having to slog through it like I'm on a search and destroy mission. However, surprisingly good is not the same as being just good through and through, it was better than what I expected, but despite being detailed and having decent flow, it did have some lackluster gameplay. 6/10, above average for the era, but it'd need some more well thought out enemy design to really elevate itself.

[LadyMistDragon]

I wish I could play Wheel of Time Doom. I love Wheel of Time, but everything I've heard is that it's a basic 90s sets with maybe a few interesting touches here and there in the later maps. Playing sets of multiple maps isn't something I'll go out of my way to do.

 

Aftershock (2018) by SuperDoomer

 

Set of 4 maps the author claimed would work on any engine with the issue being that they were all made with Hexen format, so they'll only work in ZDoom-derived ports. They consist of clearly amateurish, largely simple layouts that somehow feel cumbersome to traverse at times, due to keys located much too far from their respective doors. There were a couple of spots I had to noclip out of because SuperDoomer must not have figured you might have to backtrack from said spors. The numerous custom enemies seem thrown in because they look cool more than anything else but they don't detract to any degree, despite being very much interchangable. The monster closet traps mostly come across as weak and undercooked. However, I love the cheesy, B-movie sound effects your foes make when they spot you and die. It sort of takes the B-movie angle of Doom's premise to its logical conclusion. I also greatly enjoy its use of Quake II MP3s, being that they're basically as high quality of MP3s as you could expect for Doom.

 

Another positive factor is its scattered use of detailing. Lots of rooms with computer desks, little locker room, security stations and quartermasters' offices and jail cell-esque placed in a visually basic but pleasing format. Cool custom skybox too, though I dunno why you'd bother when 100 percent of the maps are entirely INDOORS.

 

Ok, it's bland, but the music is cool, and the action ain't half-bad. 6/10.

 

 

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Edited January 1, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[LadyMistDragon]

Reactor 2 - Scott F. Crank - 1994 (Eternity)

 

Replaces E1M1. Apprently, this was a reworking of a map that didn't turn out how Scott would like because of the editor he was using done just a couple of weels after releasing the original version. It was only in 2005 that this was uploaded however.

 

In every way though, it's just another '94 map. While not overly mazy, hallways are incredibly box-like and bland, with occasional signs of creativity, like the massive fireblu pillar near the end. And the computer bank maze is kind of nice as well. I'm not sure if you were intended to use a pinky to grab the Megaarmour here but it does seem impossible any other way. I also like how secret walls are marked with light in a way not commonly seen in Doom.

 

However, the fact remains that there are certain minor issues, such as a certain sludge fall critical for progression not being especially visible, having to grab one key solely so you can press a switch to access another key, a few overly large rooms all '94 maps seemingly had, and a completely useless passage that opens up on the start added nothing and made no sense. 4/10

 

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[Sena]

Day 3: Map A Day https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/mpady

 

Here's a short analysis of this 23-map WAD, based on the first 5 levels, the only ones I played:

MAP01: No weapons
MAP02: No weapons
MAP03: No weapons (feat. bonus track "the level softlocks if you activate the secret")
MAP04: Only weapon is a chainsaw
MAP05: Only weapon is a chainsaw (a second one) and a berserk

 

Doesn't take much to see what's wrong with this one from a design standpoint. You can't have a racing game without cars, you can't have a platform game without platformers, and you can't have a first-person shooter without anything to shoot with, and before you tell me that you still have the pistol, when you come up against a singular hell knight, it's probably quicker to close the game, open doom builder, delete him from the map and then come back than it is to kill him with that pisstake of a starter weapon. For 2017, you'd think this is something that people would have figured out, and I really cannot understand the rationalisation. Yesterday's WAD (and plenty of other good ones) have proven that you can make pacifist maps that are good, but this one seems downright hostile to the idea, it does not at all feel like it was built around the idea of you having to kill nothing, it feels like they completely forgot to put in weapons of any sort. Despite the complete absence of any weaponry, you're still expected to negotiate around them teleporting in 5 revenants directly in your face, teleporting in pinkies directly in your face in areas too narrow to go around them, and hell knights blocking the only escape in a room too narrow to go around. And in an act of sadism, when they finally give you a berserk, or in other words the first actual weapon, it's against pain elementals, positioned in such a way that you're never in punching range, so hope you enjoy spending half a minute having to deal with that shite as well, not even accounting for the lost souls. Some people might like the increased challenge that comes from having to hone in your movement skills as you have nothing else to rely on, however, I like being able to actually kill things, as that is by and large the point of the fucking game. 2/10.

[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 03

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

 

[1] M Y S T I C 2 by ANDY MCKIE aka mystic (2001)

 

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Designed for Deathmatch real 3D floors. Trippy sci-fi looking level

 

The M Y S T I C series is not unknown to me as a series of Deathmatch maps. I remember its futuristic atmosphere, its gzdoom effects consisting mainly of translucent 3D Floors and the weird teleporters marked by a stock texture with dripping blood.

The layout is different in M Y S T I C with a megasphere located in the center of the map surrounded by 4 towers each of which contains a weapon. The few monsters kept me busy for a few minutes.

 

A nice map.

 

[2] 2DEFWADS, and i mean REALLY DEF D/MATCH WADS by Ryan Feltrin (2005)

 

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These are my ABSOLUTE favourite DeathMatch Levels ever played! There are 2 levels contained in this 1 wad file, they replace MAP1 & MAP2 in DOOM ][. The first is titled "MadMax2", sort of from the movie, but it's like a big Arena and theres already tonnes of levels called Arena something, so this is MadMax2. Its small but very fast and intense. I like the sprites and stuff used, it gives a real sense of being locked up for BATTLE! The second is titled "TheEscape". Dont know why but its all i can think of right now. It's very big, but as theres not that many nodes, its still very fast through the Modem. This one is my favourite, trust me, i have played it for hours and I still cant get enough of it! Theres a nice little bonus room if you can figure out how to get in there, and who knows, you may even be lucky enough to start in there! Anyway, your probably not reading anymore so i'd better get down to the next section..

 

Two rather mediocre maps designed for Deathmatch in 1994 but released 11 years later. The first one takes place in an extremely dark circular arena, if we exclude the possibility to get light goggles just before, in a small room probably acting as a hub where the floor hurts the player in such a way to force him to move.

 

The second one looks more like a singleplayer map because of its much more linear progression. For this one, we are in a strange underground base with huge empty rooms. There are however some nice effects made with lights. This map reminds me of "Monster Condo" on several aspects. You can find megaspheres and spheres of invulnerability gathered together which make the enemies totally useless.

 

In conclusion, nothing really worthy.

 

 

 [3] The Underground Temple by @Matthew (2013)

 

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You are trapped in a temple, surrounded by monsters of some sort, what do you do?!

 

Hmm, this wad is classified as a vanilla wad requiring DOOM2 but it's actually an Ultimate Doom map designed for Zdoom. This map uses textures from GOTHICDM but it wasn't enough to convince me.

 

The level was not extremely bad, it has the merit of being playable and even a bit fun. However, the whole thing feels too simple and not immersive. I didn't feel like I was venturing into a temple but rather a tech-base that would have been retextured later with gothic textures. On the other hand, you can actually see stock tech textures but it just doesn't match so well. The author used the music of E1M6 which does not help to strengthen the atmosphere.

 

Concerning the gameplay, there are only 47 enemies, the majority of which are zombies and there are no secrets. The official Ultimate Doom maps already offered a more complex and even more frightening adventure at some points.

 

[4]  dethstar.zip by Jackson Harvey (1994)

 

Spoiler

 

 

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It is completely new, not a hack of an existing level. This is my first Doom level, but I think it is very good. There are some tricky parts, and if you are ever tempted to think it is unfinishable, you can watch the demo I have provided.

 

A 1994 map that doesn't show anything special except the first star-shaped room with a teleporter at each branch. At first sight, you could legitimately think of a hub that will allow you to teleport to different places. In reality, the different teleporters lead to the same place or to another pedestal in the room, which is totally useless.

 

Apart from that, DETHSTAR just consists of large rectangular rooms with no consistency in theme or texturing. I appreciate the few puzzles done with teleporters, especially the one where you have to pass to the right or left of red pillars. On the other hand, progressing in this map is not extremely complicated if you are used to old maps in this genre but I would like to warn you that you have to open some hidden doors and shoot at a wall to hope to reach the exit. Fortunately, the sector to activate are quite huge but you still have to think about it.

 

 

 

I stupidly died in PAROXYSM (forgot to take screenshot)

[Sena]

Day 4: Wheel of Time Doom (version 3) https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/v-z/wotdoom3

 

Based on the titular novel series which I've not read, this is just a bit of a weird experience. You move way too fast, shoot faster, but to compensate the enemies are some insane bullet sponges like something you'd see in a F2P game, and the environments only make up barely 10% of your actual vision. I can't really tell what part of it is idiosyncratic design, and what part of it is just me using LZDoom resulting in glitches, but either way, I wouldn't really recommend this one. Just a whole lot of running through confusing places that look the same, and running twice as fast as normal doesn't lessen the blow of it as much as it sounds like it might. 3/10.

[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 04

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

 

[1] Cutmanmike skin by @Cutmanmike (2005)

 

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Cutmanmike from scratch. Classic base by capcom.

 

Two cute skins of Cutman from the Megaman Series. You can choose either a rather simple skin as if it was made via MSPAINT or a more detailed one that looks like it was taken from an SNES game. Otherwise, nothing special. Nice for multiplayer and people who like to play in third person I guess.

 

 

I lose a fight against Hitler after running out of ammo in Nazi Attack

 

Spoiler

[LadyMistDragon]

Oh my god....too much screesnhots and crap, anyway....

 

No Future Hope(2021) by Impeller (Eternity)

 

Replacing E4M1. Hey, didn't  I just play you for the last issue's newstuff? No matter, I'll make an actual effort this time, to the great displeasure of my time I suppose, though the map's quite short. Imagine someone did a reworking of the concept of the infamous American McGee map "Hell Beneath" from Thy Flesh Consumed, and you'll have a pretty good picture of what this map's about. Small brick area, tight movement area, Barons teleporting to wherever you are when you perform any major action (including picking up some additional shells in a secret!) and general ammo starvation are the order of the day here. Shotgunners can take you out very quickly, yet the area leading to the red key may necessitate some infighting. The yellow key room is the most dangerous, as there are shotgunners down the side corridors and it's very easy for a Baron to box you in. Cool sigil reference with the shootable switch that opens the aformentioned secret I guess. And no, I didn't kill the pinkies. They just seem like bait. Not really the hugest fan of this aesthetic, but I'll still give it a 7/10

 

 

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Edited January 4, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[Sena]

Day 5: Fort 5: Navrat na pevnost https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/d-f/fort5

 

A mixed bag. This episode's got a very strong opener, with some legitimately impressive visuals, showcasing a clear level of atmosphere despite the basic texturework within, and the visuals are a constant, but the gameplay is very inconsistent. To start off with, most of these levels are way too short, some of them take barely 20 seconds to beat, and one of them contained exactly one enemy, and there was at least 2 or 3 with single-digit enemy counts. When it comes to enemy design, the worst offender is probably the closing map, which gives you a BFG and probably as much ammo for it as Go 2 It, but, ignoring the meatballs that aren't a threat to you, you barely get anyone to use it on, a single box of cells would've been pushing it really, in this day and age, I am largely used to seeing an archvile at the very end of the map as a low-effort trick which doesn't do much at the best of times, treating it like an end-game boss is just bizarre to me, you can always make the claim that times change and people weren't as good at the game in 2005 as they are now, but through basic observation anyone knows an archvile dies in 1 shot from a BFG, or 2 if you are unlucky, not 80, which is how many they were priming me for. 

 

There's actually some decent stuff to be found here, its gameplay is largely a misnomer, putting my beloved Doom on the same level as a walking simulator where they never have anything in the way of challenging or noteworthy events, but it's got some good visuals, and some surprisingly good exploration and interconnectivity between its levels, with you often having to explore things from multiple angles, helping to make the areas feel more expansive. Decent levels, and they look nice, but beyond that I wouldn't really bother playing this a second time, and if I ever find myself scrolling through my WAD folder, I doubt I'll be able to remember it from its name alone. 5/10.

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Christmas Doom (1997) by Yukio Ide (Eternity)

 

Replaces E1M1. Wasn't this in another edition of Random Wad Adventures? From a overenthusiastic Japanese player that's not quite so quirky as you'd expect  The music replacement is objectively awesome with the map being somewhat less so. What seems like a typical deathmatch map turns into what seems to be a boring and linear series of corridors with far, far more power-ups than really makes any sense. It might be ok for deathmatch, but this makes no sense for single-player. Though the Invulnerbility might be useful for the Cyberdemon in the caged slime at the end since there's zero room to dodge his rockets, it's otherwise a little nonsensical for single-player. Still, we could use more midified J-Pop in Doom wads! 4/10

 

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[Sena]

Day 6: Hell Gate With Lift https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/j-l/lift

 

Basic 'my first map', with some clear signs of it, like the titular lift taking 3 times longer than it needs to because clearly the mapper was still trying to get comfortable with the concept of using one. Apart from that, not really anything to say about it, it's a bit claustrophobic in places, but it's got some surprisingly good combat encounters, with some well thought-out scenarios that can catch you off guard, although most of it is just the standard "get in, kill, get keys, get out" affair we're all used to. It's simple in its design, but it is short, which works to its advantage, as it's got enough decent ideas spread throughout to keep the player engaged. 6/10.

[Endless]

Roofi and Sena are truly explorers of the unknown. I must step up my game!

[LadyMistDragon]

Sentinel (2014)  by Memfis (PrBoom+)

 

Oh look, it's a Memfis map! I guess you might call him something of a B-tier mapper because while not really winning lots of Cacowards, the vast majority of his maps have some sort of hook or another. In 2014, he released a massive collection of maps while still an active speedrunner (he hasn't submitted any demos in 3 years from the looks of things). This is just one of them, though I can't really speak to its obscurity as such. I just know he's not a Xasr and skillsaw so make of that what you will.

 

Anyway this map posits that you're dumped into a gladitorial arena and forced to fight off some pinkies before some steps raise and hitscanners/Imps come down to attack you along with some Revenants later. Grab a weapon from a dead hitscanner and get the hell out of the mud as soon as you can since it seems to contain acid that slowly poisons you. And don't forget the rocket launcher sitting on a ledge!

 

Once you hit the switch on the Hell Knight's throne, head behind the transparent wall, get your bearings, and pick up what little health you can. You will soon emerge into a mini-arena that opens up as soon as you hit te switch. Once again, the floor will poison you, so don't dawdle. Kill the Cacodemon/Imp combo first so you can hit the switch which raises some stairs out of your location. Then focus your fire on the Arch-vile and their Revenant bodyguard before cleaning up the stragglers in the pit and grabbing the red key. Then head back the arena, push the switch which opens the arena door and amusingly kill a group of zombies before you exit.

 

This is quite spare, but beyond the initial roughness becomes much more playable and is partitioned nice in terms of area. 8/10

 

 

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Edited January 5, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 05

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

 

[1] Doom Juice by Endo (1994)

 

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Having trouble with Doom? Are you finding those Imps just a little too feisty, do you run out of ammo, long before your finger releases the trigger even with the IDKFA cheat?, in essence, Do you wish you had a bigger backpack? Doom Juice can give you this and more.

 

To be honest, I don't really know what this very old executable is for. It looks like an ancestor of Dehacked. I could be wrong.

 

 

 

I got killed by a baron after running out of precious ammo in Dark7: Mission Pack (The Special Edition) (I don't think it was designed for pistol start.)

 

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[Sena]

Day 7: Violence https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/v-z/violence

A nice little 4-level mapset by @AD_79 from back in 2015, which makes it shorter than an episode, and by extension, its levels are also a fair bit shorter than what one might expect, with about 100-150 enemies on average, and you can breeze through most of them without much issue, which isn't a complaint in any regard, but its short length is something you do kind of notice - when I was playing it, I found a bunch of rooms with a bunch of exit signs, which I went into thinking I would be teleported into the second area wherein the level would actually end, but despite my expectations it just ended, which I suppose if anything is just a commentary on how so many maps these days seem to be so similarly paced. Still, despite its short length, they do actually wait quite a while before giving you an SSG, and the whole thing is almost over by the time you receive a backpack, which works in its favour probably, having less general damage output/ammo to spam with means they had to focus the combat encounters more tightly, although to a certain extent I felt like the WAD was designed specifically with pistol starts in mind, considering just how many rockets I was given. Also they have a lot of purple, just a neat detail they decided to put in there.

Beyond that, one part of this WAD that helps give it a more distinct identity is its choice of music, some 80s synthwave or something I still don't know shit about music, and in the final map, there's actually some vocals, which is something you really don't see much, I can think of two games, and zero Doom WADs that have chosen to implement vocals in their soundtracks. Immediately, the point that probably comes to mind (assuming your mind works like mine which all things considered it most likely does not) is that having vocals in a song that loops continuously is likely to make it feel repetitive, and bring you on a quick route to just wanting to stop hearing the song and having it be done already. But, despite the closing level being 4x longer than the rest of them purely in terms of enemy count, I didn't find that to be the case, although I did find that I was able to identify what the start of the song sounded like, and thereby that it had been another 3-4 minutes and that I should probably hurry up already.

Still, despite their short length, one issue I did find with the maps was I found that I nonetheless still had issues getting around, of which map 2 was by far the worst culprit, and while I undoubtedly thoroughly enjoyed all the maps, I would say that in general, map 2 was my least favourite of the bunch, probably because it felt antithetical to the general philosophy of the whole WAD, as it forces the player into rather narrow areas while having to dodge multiple projectiles from multiple angles, and it's one of those places where inevitably, there's always someone behind you that you forgot to kill earlier, and it demands a lot of the player, got to keep vigilant for everything within a large frame of places to be attacked from, and a small area in which you yourself can maneuver. It's not a bad level, but it did feel a bit out of place for this WAD, having to focus fire onto hitscanners while dodging 5 different fireballs at once is something most of us are probably used to by now, but the rest of this WAD seemed interested in going for something else.

All things considered, I may not have particularly enjoyed one specific map greatly, but it did not distract from the fact this is a thoroughly quality WAD, and if the worst thing I can say about a level is "it's not actually bad but it felt out of place", then, considering the shite I normally encounter on the archive, then that goes a long way to show how much better this is than nearly everything else there. All of its levels have a clear knowledge of how to make combat encounters interesting and still challenging without having to obliterate your testicles in the process, and also they've got a credits level, always like that, probably more than most mappers would realise. 8/10.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Sena

[ICID]

Wow, Violence looks awesome! I'll have to add it to the to-play list when I have time for Doom again.

[LadyMistDragon]

Tien(2004) - by Dennis "Exl" Meuwissen (GZDoom)

 

Hey, I recognize you from New Doom Community Project! Consider yourself a three-eyed man no one remembers, eh? Though only the last map he did in the map order was particularly memorable and this one is no exception. As a decent map that uses only 10 sectors, it's not bad but there's zero visual elements you can point to that stand out in any way. A non-threatening Arch-vile near the beginning was quite strange, as well as the Invulnerbility behind the demon wall texture. Fighting the revenants is somewhat fun with the main issue being that you have few rockets. The exit is a little obscure, a normal-looking wall that's behind a transparent door for no reason at all reveals some ill-placed enemies. Not bad at allut basically forgettable 5.5/10

 

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[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 06

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I die/stop

 

[1] Ice Floes by Martin Bazley (2014)

 

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After the intricate detail of Demon Base, I decided to go for the grand scale this time. Marvel at the views from the top of the enormous ice shelves! Actually, don't, because you'll die. It's not that easy.

 

A vanilla map for Ultimate Doom that I already played during my Month 3 Day 29 session. I used the gzdoom port this time. The first time I played this level, I said that some elements made me strongly suspect that it was a map from 1994. By opening the zip file, I saw the files were lastly modified in 2008.

 

This map is a bit more pleasant to play with the freelook knowing that a lot of uneffective monsters are perched. It helped me to kill them faster. Apart from that, I almost died because of a stupid random fast crusher !

 

Also, the snow landscapes remind of Whitemare 1 and 2 without the fancy textures of course.

 

[2] Fork And Knife In the Road (version 1.2) by Aaron Nemoyten (2017)

 

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Fork And Knife In the Road is a single level for Doom 2. It's my first released level, and I really hope you enjoy it. I've only tested it in GZDoom, but I haven't used any fancy stuff so it should work fine in other engines. There MAY be vizplane overflows in vanilla, so let me know if that's an issue. This is an updated version. Most of the changes are cosmetic (completely retextured a few rooms!) but a few have big effects on gameplay. I've made the level harder, but also more fun... I hope.

 

A limit-removing hellish themed map which keeps a classic gameplay faithful to the original iwad. Indeed, only thanks to the stock textures, the author shows us various places separated by a kind of hub where the exit is positioned. We have to venture into a marbled temple, a library, a cave, a bright red cave made in a particularly chaotic style like the maps of Doom 2. Some areas actually look detailed enough to generate VPOs, but the author has moderately detailed the different areas. It's not ugly though, thanks to some clever textures choices.

 

The difficulty remains particularly moderate, but the author tends to design traps that can be particularly effective at times. I almost died in a fight where some chaingunners placed on different sides managed to attack me no matter where I was. I miraculously survived by taking cover behind other monsters. Besides that, I can mention another fight where you have to defeat mobile mid-tiers monsters while dodging attacks from an arch-vile perched at the middle of the room. Not really hard but quite dangerous.

 

The objective in all of this consisted to find different switches scattered among the areas which allow you to lower the red barriers protecting the exit. This is a simple and effective way to create exploration. In addition, to access one of the areas, you must find a blue and yellow key located in two others. The level also contains a lot of secrets that I did not find all.

 

[3] Marbles by Sophie Kirschner @meapineapple (2014)

 

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A marbled temple, which is a theme I've seen many times during my adventures. However, this map stands out thanks to the care given to the aesthetics. To break the monotony linked to the massive use of green marble, the author has worked on the details of the ceilings in order to create light wells. However an extremely surreal element adds a unique aspect to this map: the lava texture is widely used to create luminous ceilings. It doesn't make sense but I think it's classy. It reminds me of some Ultimate Doom maps (E3M4 for example with its water ceiling).

In general, the spacious layout and the way the rooms interconnect really remind me of modern wads like BTSX. The level is still quite short but I liked the slight variations in the theme. In some places, you can find flesh and blood. In another, I could find electric lights and metallic textures. The marble allows to keep a general coherence.

 

A good short easy level.

 

[4] Tunnels of Hell by Scott J. Sealey (1996)

 

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This is my first attempt at a DOOM 2 level. I am quite pleased with the way this level turned out. I put alot of extra time into making sure the textures and conture of the walls lined up. I hope you enjoy it.

 

Tunnels of Hell is an old level that I enjoyed more than I should  because it lives up to its name. The level consists mainly of extremely narrow corridors, very often 64 pixels wide. The modern mappers would cry,  but I think the author still managed to bring some variety, both in gameplay and aesthetics. The yellow key requires for example to walk on a very thin ledge, you have to face successively small groups of monsters in the only outdoors area, or even killing an extremely weirdly placed cyberdemon with the BFG.

 

Aesthetically, the level uses maybe too many different textures but I have to admit that there is a certain rigor that I can see with the slightly rounded walls for example allowing to make the whole rendering smoother. 

The crampedness of the locations which is one of the main gimmicks of the level is also the main flaw. Most of the fights are not very exciting although they are not really complicated. 

 

A strange map that I enjoyed anyway.

 

[5] Be Quick or Be Dead by Steve Faille (2005)

 

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No story to this WAD. I put the emphasis on traps and hidden rooms. You need to beware when backtracking, but its necessary to go back through some rooms. You must have the red key to exit but it will not be easy to get. If you are quick and can hide, you can get it. Please let me know if too easy.

 

A map released in 2005 but made in 1994. I'm not unfamiliar with this one because I got crushed the first time I played it a few weeks ago (Month 6 Day 25).

Be Quick or Be Dead has both a good and bad name. Both good because we are much more likely to die because of the environment than by the monsters.

 

There is a sequence a la Indiane Jones where you have to run before being killed by crushers (where I died). There is also another place where you have to cross an area filled with slime and you have to escape before the effect of the radsuit fades away, while facing several monsters.

 

Apart from these few passages, you have to play slowly in order not to die because the author has scattered barrels in many places. It would be stupid to rush into the crowd because an enemy might blow up a barrel that is located right next to you. The best strategy is to destroy the barrels slowly but surely. The rest mainly consists to standard monsters encounters and I have the tendency to play carefully. So for me this map was mostly "Be Slow or Be Dead".

 

You can face a cyberdemon in the same way as Tower of Babel where big pillars  protect you from the rockets, but the author has given us too many cells for it to be a challenge at all.

 

 

The next wad is Paranoid , a 8 maps episode , but it's enough for today. So , I stop here.

[Endless]

I think you got quite lucky there @Roofi! Some cool-looking WADs. I'm personally interested in Marbles and Ice Floes.

[LadyMistDragon]

Crash (1997) by GoldenHog (Eternity)

 

Replaces E2(except for E2M9). Hey, I think I remember this one on a previous outing! (turns out its actually this one, lol. I swear I stumbled upon it!) A collection with a surprising sense of place and some strong manifestations of Doomcute detail (and even a crudely-drawn MS Paint intermission map!) along with some JRPG and some other music, the presentation exists to create locations that are worth exploring. Interestingly, there are people in the reviews saying this is behind the times visually speaking and they have a point, however the attempt at making spaces with things like offices and computer banks wasn't exactly ubiquitous at the time.

 

Unfortunately, this suffers from the typical flaws of early Doom maps: too many empty spaces and secrets hidden behind completely anonymous walls. Worst is that the combat is completely free of any sort of engagement factor. The one thing I can give it is that GoldenHog doesn't stuff tons of strong enemies right behind doors but the presence of Cyberdemons with practically little ammo to contain them clearly shows a mindset of someone who probably wanted to deemphasize the necessity of garnering 100 percent kills. All I know is I largely skipped past the Barons when I could and throwing mobs of hitscanners in on one occasion don't change the basic facts. A review on /idgames mentioned that they largely ran past most of the enemies and it's very easy to understand why. It's like GoldenHog has no understanding of how combat can be engaging. The last map was considerably stronger in that department than the others though.

 

Damn shame though. I don't know why your computer is shot through or why you have to walk through slime to get anywhere, but I really like the fact of the realized places,  such as  the slaughterhouse map later on.

 

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Edited January 7, 2022 by LadyMistDragon