Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #025

[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. D’Spirali Hideout

2. Living Quarters

3. Female Doom (Warning: NSFW)

4. Pain Hill

5. ROMAN.WAD

6. Hellhole

 

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The top 10 (out of 33):

 

1. @Roofi | 2940
2. @Sena | 1370
3. @Walter confetti | 750
4. @ICID | 515
5. @LadyMistDragon | 480
6. @Endless | 405
7. @smeghammer | 285
8. @LUISDooM | 235
9. @Maribo | 145
10. @Biodegradable | 105

 

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

[Endless]

Congratulations to all the player for playing so far! We've reached a nice total of 25 adventures! Almost a year of random WADs since the very first event and you guys are still going like true explorers of this gigantic world.

 

Also big thanks to @ICID for being the keeper of the project for so long and helping me out so much! Thanks a lot man.

 

And congratulations to the top 5 players for never missing an event and playing like there's no tomorrow. You guys rock!

 

[Roofi]

What is my gift for the 3000 points I will get soon ?? :P

 

Thanks a lot for the new thread again !

[ICID]

D’Spirali Hideout (2019) by Foxysen

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Source Port: Gzdoom}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, Pistol Starts}

 

Heretic PWADs are so rare that the only ones we hear about tend to be passion projects by talented mappers looking to flex their muscles in a new mapping style. DSPIRALIHIDE.WAD, which I can only read in a way that rhymes with “Formaldehyde”, is a perhaps needed reminder that even Heretic maps can be average, stuffed as it is largely with long, brown and grey corridors over a 40-60 minute estimated runtime I absolutely did not make it to the end of.

 

The interesting idea here – more interesting in theory than in practice, if I’m being honest – is that ammo is incredibly scarce, while timebombs and exploding barrels (“pods” in the parlance of Heretic) are plentiful. So at least in the early stages, you’ll be rationing ammo like a doomsday prepper while ending high-tier monsters with careful detonations. Again this is cooler in theory than in practice, because Doom engine games work best when they’re focused on fast-paced fun, and work worst when they force you to be careful or deliberate.

 

My only remaining comment about this clever but ultimately forgettable map is that it is, in fact, “D’Sparil”, not “D’Spiral.” This is ultimately a useless and pedantic thing to point out but hey, that’s what I’m here for.

 

Grade: 4/10
TL;DR: If you like firing your starting weapon at evil brussels sprouts, this is the map for you.

 

 

 

[Sena]

Day 1: Living Quarters https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/a-c/base01

 

Would've done D’Spirali Hideout, but it's a Heretic map with 1000 enemies, and seemingly no ammo, and I've not played Heretic so the melee seemingly doesn't actually work, which is all I have to say about it, which I don't really think constitutes a full review, so the first actual review is for this one, a '95 map that's just a bit tosh.

The mapper seems to have been largely ignorant of the fact you're allowed to make rooms with any degree of width greater than that of the player, and it harkens back to brutalist.wad through its outright refusal to use textures that aren't a drab grey, which definitely is not helpful when it comes to making the map look interesting. You walk through a bunch of hallways that look the same, grab a bunch of keys, and leave, and a description like that is usually an overly simplistic summary, but there's really nothing else to do in this one, barring one or two large rooms which involve having to dodge a projectile, although the rooms are so big the only way they could make it easier would be if a tutorial pop-up paused the game to tell you to get out the way. Quite literally, the map is too constrictive to do anything even remotely interesting, I liked the part of Half Life where you crawl through a vent, but I wouldn't have liked it if that was the whole fucking game. 2/10.

 

 

[ICID]

Living Quarters (1995) by Jonathan Masseo

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

 

I can confirm that this flat maze where you fight monsters one at a time in FULLBRIGHT, monotextured rooms with glitches, unmarked secrets, and zero height variation meets the legal and technical definition of a Doom WAD.

 

Grade: 1/10

 

[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 17

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop.

 

[1] LUCKOUT.WAD by MICHAEL GILES (DWARF) (2004)

 

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If you suck at Doom don't play this level, it's not worth your time. Erase it now. Or, if you don't have Super DooM Guns, wait till you do. Otherwise, read on.

Well, just like the last, this level is made for those who think they are badass players. Run through it on UV, and that should be enough to make you swear! I did make HMP level lower the monsters, you also loose some weapons, but it is easier, for those of you who were wrong about being a badass. If you beat this level, hey, GOOD JOB, otherwise, play it again, SAM! If you think it is impossible, well, you're a wimp, it has been beaten by people other than me.

If you find that you like the challenge, and the re-occuring themes (teleports) and want some more challenges, get a hold of the other levels in the LUCK series. You can get them at my BBS (listed below) or the one you got this one at.

 

Luckout is a kind of slaughtermap released in 1994 where quite large groups of monsters teleport into some rooms. Those ones are mostly hidden behind walls that end up rising as long as you progress in the map.

 

Honestly, for a 1994 wad, the gameplay was particularly brutal. I didn't almost die because the soulsphere and the armor largely managed to protect me but some hordes, especially the cacodemons, take up a lot of space and the author also placed invisible teleportation lines that tend to bring us back in the middle of the fight without our consent and if you are unfortunate enough to run out of ammunition, the monsters can kill you in no time. The only chainsaw will not be enough to prevent the cacodemons biting you !

 

Aesthetically, the grey brick fort doesn't contain any details nor height variations. I had a lot of fun though.

 

 

 

I shot a barrel, it exploded and teleported just in front of me in The Lost Mines

 

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[Sena]

Day 2: Female Doom https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/female

 

I played this one all the way back in the 7th ER/IWA, and, well, it's not gotten any better in the couple months since then. The levels feel like they were randomly generated, the enemies are bullet sponges, and the weapons are an absolute joke, more of a joke than the scenario of having to kill naked women. Either that was an attempt at humour or Daniel, who made multiple WADs just like this one, just hated women, it has the same effect either way, bad gameplay without any redeeming qualities. 3/10.

 

 

[Rujasu]

Mothership by Albatross 05/02/18

IWAD: Doom 2

Source Port: Eternity Engine

 

I do try to actually play the first playable thing that comes my way, but sometimes I just can't summon myself to write about the completely mundane stuff that it tends to be. Then there's stuff like Mothership.

 

The first thing you'll notice, aside from Stuart Rynn's "Space Train" playing in the background, is the map author's confident control over AA-tex. The spaceship interior is joyously colourful as you'd expect from Ancient Aliens assets. The next is why the Eternity Engine was required for the map: Smaller UFOs circle the mothership, which itself is seamlessly multileveled. Then you'll probably notice that you're dead, because there's a lot of enemies in there, especially hitscanners in the starting area. Archvile placement in the final fight was a bit much for me on UV, so I ended up cheating, but I had a great time regardless.

 

It was a little heavy on the frames, though I suppose that's to be expected. I should play Heartland one of these days.

 

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[ICID]

Female Doom (2004) by Daniel Lemos

 

^{Play Settings}

^{Source Port: Gzdoom}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, Pistol Starts}

 

The great EGM writer Sean Reiley – a connoisseur of terrible games if ever there was one - once memorably wrote that “In a world with an endless appetite for tits and entertainment, erotic games were never anything more than unwanted garbage for unapprehended sex criminals.”

 

Doing absolutely nothing to refute this premise is Female Doom – a WAD in which you, sigh, play as the last man on earth as you kill, sigh, “lesbians and feminist women…the same thing!” as represented by, sigh, the same borrowed and recycled sprite of a fully naked women with different demon pieces attached to her. It’s too hateful to be erotic and too erotic to be hateful, but the primary adjective you would use to describe Female Doom is, of course, “fucking stupid”.

 

Reviewing this thing like an actual WAD demeans us both, but let’s do it anyway. Somehow Female Doom has the full 18 levels required to officially designate it a “MegaWAD”, and all but two of them start the same way: with you assaulting (bad choice of words?) a fortress or compound or castle or big rectangle with weapon replacements that are defined primarily by being incredibly slow to fire and secondarily by having loud sound effects which, combined with the sex noises that are being constantly emitted by the, er, lesbians(??) is guaranteed to give you a splitting headache faster than you can say “incel”. In addition to looking nearly identical to each other, the new enemies overuse hitscan attacks and are surprisingly durable considering what they’re wearing, making combat a repetitive slog. I suppose this is what happens when you try to make maps one-handed.

 

It all culminates in a battle with a giant pornographic image with two Romero Heads behind it. You know where. You fucking know where.

 

Taken aback by the obviously negative response his obvious waste of time and titty received (outside of some of the most unhinged idgames comments I’ve ever seen in my life), Lemos would touch up and re-release the maps from this set as New World 2, which by sheer virtue of having the original monsters, weapons, and sound effects is a million times better and less migraine-inducing.

 

Needlessly difficult, confused, and dull as ditchwater in every sense of the word, this impotent (get it?) scream of rage against an uncaring world represents some of the absolute worst the Doom community has to offer. I can guarantee this is the last time I’ll ever say this, but you should just play HDoom instead.

 

Grade: 0/10

TL;DR: As good an argument for misandry as any you’ll find.

 

The screenshots below are NSFW - proceed at your own risk.

 

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[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Participating in this event for the first time :) I selected a random file from idgames (actually I got a map on my third attempt, first hit was a demo, second hit was a resource pack or something like that).

 

alsdm2.wad by Al Howe
https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/a-c/alsdm2

Source port: Crispy Doom
Difficulty: Ultra-violence (but difficulty settings aren't implemented), played each map from pistol start

 

This WAD has been uploaded in 2005 but text file says it has been made in 1996. It contains 3 maps, according to the readme file they were designed mostly with deatchmatch in mind (but accodring to that same readme they should be "fun and challenging" for single-player too). This is very visible - there is hardly any progression in the levels, you just spawn in an arena full of monsters and weapons and here you go. I still had fun, though. You can see progress in the skills of the mapper in these levels - map1 is very basic in terms of architecture, map2 lies somewhere in the middle and map3 is a really good looking spaceship.

 

Map1, despite looking bland and having very simple layout actually did provide some fun and challenge. There was a fair bit of verticality and a varied mix of monsters firing at you from every direction. You run around, collect ammo, health (there is plenty of it), shoot at things and try not to get shot :)

 

Map2 is the weakest part of this set in my opinion. Its quite mazey and it has too many teleporters and switches so most of the time I didn't really know what I'm doing. Worst part - there are no monsters until you collect all 3 keys - at that point monsters spawn all over the map. I think there are a bit too many tough monsters that you need to fight in close quaters. I died a few times and ended up running away in random directions, hitting random switches and eventually I reached the exit switch :) I didn't have the desire to go back and max the map.

 

Map3 looks very nice actually, particularly for 1996, there is no doubt you are on a spaceship, the map does convey the sense of place and it's a pleasure to look at. In terms of gameplay it's the easiest of all three and a large portion of the map is optional.

 

All in all, I think for 1996 this mapset is slightly above average, I had some fun, but I wouldn't particularly recommend it.

 

Some screenies:

[Sena]

Day 3: Pain Hill https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/p-r/painhill

 

If there is one word that describes this WAD, it is mediocre. It lacks the abysmal quality, that makes you question if it was due to incompetence or downright malevolence like in Living Quarters, but I also can't really think of anything good to say about it that doesn't start with "well at least it's not..." It's got about 40 enemies, who are, to its credit fairly well spread out, with the whole map taking me about 3 minutes, and you can probably cut that down to just over 2, under the assumption that anyone else who plays this won't get lost. It's got some fairly decent enemy variety, and is willing to give you all the weapons up to the chaingun (and possibly an RL, I played it today and can't actually remember, which sure drives home how forgettable it was), but you really don't need to worry about a good portion of them. In the starting areas in particular, you actually have to deal with the enemies they throw at you, but once you enter the wider courtyards, you can pretty much ignore everything they throw at you, including the grand finale involving 3 or 4 arachnotrons, who come out really slowly, I get the feeling that I'll run for the exit and avoid killing the last enemy more than most people do, but they come out so slowly, unless you insist on killing everything for some philosophical reason, you'd probably just run past them, the alternative just makes more work for yourself. And that exemplifies how playing through this map feels, its combat encounters just feel like they get in your way, they don't enhance the experience, they slow it down, and there's really nothing in this map that would make anyone want to take it slowly. 4/10.

[Clippy]

Episode 6 on my personal journey to see if I can one find the golden map

 

This wasn't it

 

The progression was so convoluted I had to run it through an editor while playing - I never tabbed out of a recording before and I see the recording gets paused when I do it lol

 

But yeah - press a button to open a portal on the other side of the map for no reason - random as hell - to go on top of a platform with soulsphere in the button room - why make the player look for a random teleport in some totally random place to send you in the same room with the button1!?!? Oh I wish he was here right now lol

 

Anywho super easy map and confusing but custom textures and some cool things

 

like the church in thumbnail that cool

 

Anyway vid - link in vid to map

 

 

[adamastor]

13 minutes ago, Clippy said:

The progression was so convoluted I had to run it through an editor while playing

Classic... Good times, Clip!

[Rujasu]

Dawning by Gary Gosson 05/27/98

IWAD: Doom 2

Source Port: PrBoom+

 

Dawning is a convoluted mess of a map that's no fun to play. Haphazard enemy placement, physical traps that seem mostly designed to frustrate, and a key hunt for all six of the damn things that are scattered all over. I admit that even with cheats I didn't bother going the distance.

 

That said, we should take it for what it is: A Boom test map by TNT. There's conveyor belts, deep water, player pushes simulating a current in said water, differentiation between normal and skull keys, silent teleporters for looping conveyor belts and elevator illusions. While it's all stuff that's been done to death in modern WADs, they don't really flaunt it like this one does. Bad map, cool historical artifact.

 

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[Sena]

Day 4: ROMAN.WAD https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/p-r/roman

 

The most interesting part of this WAD is probably the part of the readme that talks about how if your child plays this WAD and they go commit a school shooting then that's your fault for being a bad parent and not his, which comes across an extremely bizarre non-sequitur, especially for something pre-1999. At least he's able to take the issue with a sense of humour, he clearly had fun writing that, which is good for him, because I sure didn't have fun playing the level that the readme was attached to. You get a plasma rifle with 300 bullets off the bat, and from there on it's a straight (and usually very narrow) line to the end, they'll throw up one enemy, but that doesn't really matter because you have a plasma rifle so you can stunlock and obliterate them before they can even turn around. It is exceedingly monotonous, it almost feels like playing that one castle in Super Mario Bros that repeats itself unless you take the right route, they might throw in some random enemies, they might throw in a teleport trap, but none of it can hide the fact you're going in a straight line, with nothing remotely challenging your way, and it gets even more boring the more you play it. 1/10, at least it's true to its namesake and accurately represents the pain of being stabbed repeatedly. 

[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 18

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop.

 

|1] Sins of the Flesh by @zrrion the insect (2016)

 

Spoiler

 

 

Quote

a loose sequel to The Blood Of Virgins, mostly in general aesthetic

 

A gzdoom map taking place in a kind of dark infernal castle dominated by a deep blue stormy sky. It uses gzdoom effects to enhance the visuals, including 3D floors to create bridges that can be crossed under. The gameplay remains quite traditional with exploration as well as monsters to kill without any specific gimmick.

 

The strong point of Sins of the Flesh lies in the atmosphere created which was quite unique. The theme itself stays stantard because of its marble, flesh and blood textures. However, as mentioned before, the author has created storms that make the dark blue sky more threatening! In addition, some textures and sprites add novelty. I think especially of the statues.

 

The author did a great job about the architecture thanks to the twisted and interconnected rooms in different ways. You can feel the attention to detail at many places. For exemple, the exit's teleporter looks broken. Nevertheless I have to admit that the ambient darkness really spoils the whole for the simple reason that you can't see much, except when lightning bolts decide to light up the surroundings a bit. The author should have added some light sources to make the spaces less homogeneously dark.

 

As far as the gameplay is concerned, I had moderate fun. First of all, there is just enough ammunition to fight the monsters. Then most of the combats feel monotonous because of the lack of real or larger fights. I liked how the cyber acts as a sniper at first and then becomes a monster on the loose. Nevertheless, I didn't have enough ammo to defeat him  it's  still easy to skip him in order to reach the exit anyway.

 

I died in Gatchaman Doom:Version 2.1 - a TC for ULTIMATE DOOM after touching an explosive robot. (I didn't have the time to take a screen)

 

Edited January 29, 2022 by Roofi

[LadyMistDragon]

STARSHIP (1995) by Alex Mayberry (Eternity)

 

Alex Mayberry is not someone especially known to the Doom community, but he made a few maps for Eternal Doom and ever since, has risen in the industry, starting as a design lead at Xatrix when they were developing Redneck Rampage and Quake II: The Reckoning, and is now currently an executive producer at Warner Bros Interactive (try bugging him about Blood sometime!).

 

This map here is undoubtedly a relic of its time. Alex said this was his second released map, and it really shows with some of the shockingly available items such as one of the BFGs and a Supercharge. However, he did an impressive job emulating a starship of the United Federation of Planets. Monster placements in some cases are quite humorous and invite captions("Report to sickbay" or "the captain will go down with the ship". The teleporters at the beginning might be the most impressive. The small crew ship with the Baron guardians is a close second though.

 

Unfortunately, gameplay is distinctly average. Also, this is intended as a deathmatch map, so don't get upset that it's lacking an exit. Combat is exciting in spots (the square room with two Arch-viles and a rocket launcher int he corner for instance but is average otherwise. 6/10

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Edited January 29, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[Walter confetti]

Barfight.WAD by @Lizardcommando - Limit Removing port, Doom 2, 2003, played with zandronum 3.1 and bots

Spoiler

 

First effort map for Deathmatch by LizardCommando, a mapper mostly known back in the 00 decade and for make some maps for 32 in 24 2 and A megawad in two weeks, as well for the cartoonish graphic replacement lizardwar. The level itself is not really bad, maybe the outdoors are too dark and the furniture are too big, but includes some nice room construction and there's some primitive doomcute, is not that bad.

 

I found a map by me, daimon dojo.

It's what i've wrote on the description, just a square arena sets in a japanese-like dojo with new textures, inspired by this fight scene in Matrix. Unluckily the map doesn't shows things and textures properly since this map used Skulltag original stuff, but the music i choose for this map sounds badass.

 

Josh's Deathmatch #02 by Josh Phillips - Vanilla exe, Doom 2, 1996, played with zandronum 3.1 and bots

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A Deathmatch maze map (oh boy) with lots of rockets, somehow a fun gameplay in DM but corridors are too narrow to be enjoyable, new cute status bar face for doomguy giving him a more nerdy feel, it looks cool even with that Hitler's moustaches! Actually, the only good thing from this map. Also, the author lies at us with saying that the map is et on MAP01 slot, the map is on MAP20 for some reason!

 

Lava Arena 3 by Bloodskull - Skulltag, Doom 2, 2004, played with zandronum 3.1 and bots

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A much better arena from the previous entry and a Skulltag map that uses only stock Doom 2 resources. Cool layout, fun gameplay. Overall a pretty neat experience, liked this one. Music is pretty good here, too! Nothing else to say, it's a good DM map for me. Already heard of this author, don't recall where and how. Did he worked on some more famous mapsets?

 

The Worst Death Match Map Ever! by Josh Travis - Skulltag/Zandronum, Doom 2, 2014, played with zandronum 3.1 and bots

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A low effort troll map for (Team) Deathmatch and a ballsy title that claims this to be the worst deathmatch map ever, whoa! I saw worst maps in the final slots of 32 in 24 series, actually. This is just a rectangle that uses F_SKY1 as wall, but the gameplay is kinda acceptable for me. I've expected much worse, felt a little disappointed.

Edited February 3, 2022 by Walter confetti

[Sena]

Day 5: Hellhole.wad (for Doom 2) https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/deathmatch/g-i/hellhole

 

Primarily a deathmatch map, but one that still has monsters in it, which means I can still talk about it. Most of the level involves walking around various doors, most of which don't work, until you find the one door that does work, which can send you to teleporters on the titular hellhole, and while telefragging is definitely cool, going through 4 or 5 of them to find that reaching the top doesn't really give you anything that helps you move forwards through the level is comparatively less cool. And then it's back to another 5 minutes of going through random walls, trying to find out if any of them do anything, and most of them don't. And that characterises most of this level, it's got some passable gameplay, but the main crux of its user experience is spamming spacebar until you get to a room that actually has something, then move through it and it's back to the same old. Can't imagine it's any better for deathmatch, hope you don't mind dying because you misremembered which teleport door had the actual good weapons. 3/10.

 

[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 19

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop.

 

|1] Dark Medieval Times - EP1: I am the Black Wizard by Azany (2021)

 

Spoiler

 

 

Quote

ou are a member of the Black Wizards. They are 
mainly interested about black magic. The fellowship has been tolerated by 
the outside world for years. But one day disaster struck. The world began 
to sink into darkness, and was subsequently infested by hordes of strange 
creatures. Then you found out what was behind it all. It was Black wizard's, 
that brought destruction to the world. It played with things, that were 
supposed to stay hidden. You researched the castle library, where you 
found real intentions. Black wizard's want to open the portal to 
the Hell dimension in the main fortress. It needs to be stopped.
You pick up a magic wand and set on a journey.
Path that will lead through the corpses of monster.

 

A Heretic episode in gzdoom format that doesn't hide its ambition: a new intermission map, big and adventurous levels, a gameplay a bit different from the original game...

 

"I am the Black Wizard" is an episode that stands out first of all by its particularly realistic architecture, or at least by its tendency to create something credible and not just abstract layouts. You have to venture into different places that are clearly distinct: catacombs, a village, a monastery, coastal shores... The realistic aspect is especially reflected in the progression, which could be considered simplistic by today's standards. Indeed, most of the maps follow the "room-door-room-door" pattern with its share of corridors. Of course, the wad contains a lot of really good open areas like the market place in E1M4, the shoreline with the stranded ships in E1M6, the monastery courtyards in E1M5...

 

In any case, I must say that the attempt to create "real" places really allows to feel carried away in an adventure and the custom intermission map  created by the author helps a lot to examine our progress as well. Then, each map was a pleasure to explore because Azany also put a lot of effort in creating furniture and other elements to decorate the interiors. New sprites like beer mugs and food (which can be eaten too) add their part of novelty and immersion too.

 

Above all, I must mention the ingenious and regular use of slopes in this wad. Traditionally, the author has used this effect to create arches, but also a guillotine blade, sharp rocks, Tudor style house roofs, stair railings... I appreciate how these are used sparingly but still greatly enhance the visuals.

 

In terms of gameplay, there are some small changes. In most levels, it is possible to destroy food barrels where it is clearly marked "FOOD". Beside the vials to regenerate health, the player can eat foods that give back a significant amount of health points. Funny thing is that each different food will have its own sentence when you pick it up. Our hero tends to prefer meat to lettuce (who could say otherwise?). It is also possible to pick up silver and golden apples which have their own particularities that I will let you discover.

 

As far as the bestiary is concerned, the author added monsters that were not in Heretic, like the skeletons armed with a sword and a shield and even monsters from Doom that act as a kind of cameo! However, some of the enemies that were in the original game were not there like the minotaurs (unless there are some in the secret level?)

In general, I don't think that the fights are the strong point of the game. Intercations are still pretty basic and sometimes the lack of ammo forces you to create infighting in case you play it in pistol start. I hated the beginning of E1M6 because it took me a while to find a decent weapon. The exploration and the low difficulty make this wad enjoyable though.

 

Finally, the soundtrack is made up exclusively of metal music and particularly black metal from Mayhem, Cradle of Filth or Emperor. I appreciate the music itself and the brutal atmosphere, even if in the end it became repetitive for my taste.

 

A very good recent and rather obscure wad for Heretic that I can only recommend. I honestly think it's one of the best I've ever played!

 

 

I stop here for today.

Edited January 29, 2022 by Roofi

[Rujasu]

NAZI SUPPLY STATION by ANDREW BURCHILL 04/25/99

IWAD: Doom 2

Source Port: PrBoom+

 

A fairly standard level, this one, except that most enemies are SS. The narrow corridors and square rooms can be forgiven because the author has clearly spent some effort in decorating the place. Most 90s levels tend to be just... nothing, but here's there's clearly computer terminals and crate rooms and stuff. Bonus points for the jail area that contained the pinky and imp. There was also a wide open area with all the SSG and chaingun ammo you could ever need, and like eight cacodemons, which was a bit strange.

 

Oh, and over half of the enemies are imps sitting in a giant clump outside sector bounds. Don't know what's up with that.

 

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[Sena]

Day 6: CoolMapForContext https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/a-c/cmfc

 

2 maps made for Vargskelethor Joel's Doom Mapping Contest back in 2017, which is a bit of a peculiarity, as this is the part where I'd link Joel playing it and giving his own thoughts, but 2017 seems to be completely missing from his Youtube library - he's got ones from 2016, and ones from 2018, and the mystery only grows more sinister when the 2018 is titled "part 2" which brings into question where the 2016 streams came from. Not that it matters.

 

The first point that becomes obvious is that some parts of this WAD look very ugly, although I'm not sure if that's LZdoom (or perhaps my specific graphics settings) messing it up, or if it always looks like that, but if you can look past the weird fog machines (ignoring the fact that you actually can't look past them since they act as camouflage), you'll find some gameplay that's rather disappointing. It came out in 2017, but you'd think it was actually 1994, made by someone who had a $100 computer and could only fit 3 enemies onscreen at once without the game lagging, and obviously nobody in 2017 was thinking about that, but I can't think of any other reason that makes sense. During the first level especially, these combat encounters are astoundingly flat, it feels like playing a tutorial, there's really nothing of note with either their combat encounters, or the level design. The rooms don't really merge together to create a cohesive experience, it's more like a bunch of rooms that were just taken from a bunch of different levels and thrown together. The second level isn't much better, which gives you two invulnerabilities, which I would normally say you don't need, but I kind of did need them, not because it would have been hard otherwise, but because in their absence I would have had to actually play the game properly and not just stand still as I let the plasma rifle do all the work, and while they do throw in more enemies, they never do so in a manner that actually produces difficulty - replacing 3 imps in an empty room with 3 barons doesn't make it harder, it just makes it take longer, although they do at least give you appropriate weapons to compensate. The level ends with a cyberdemon fight which immediately and abruptly ends the level on the first frame of his death animation. All in all, just a kind of mediocre mapset, they are at least competently made, but they are also boring. 5/10.

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Jeem I (2017) by Mechazawa (GZ Doom)

 

This is a 3-map set, made by someone who was admittedly a beginner. It's clearly meant to have a slaughter bent, but it's clear lots of work went into the detail - though no part really feels like a real place, they are at least interesting spaces for the most part, possible exception being the series of slime pits leading to a Supercharge in Map 02, but it's still pretty to look at!

 

The gameplay on the other hand....you spend far too much time gunning down zombiemen in the beginning and enemy variety could definitely use some work in spots. Map 02 specfically is quite a tedious affair as you're forced to gun down Revenants and Mancubi with nothing but a chaingun/shotgun at several points. And the staged fight in the computer bank room can go die in a fire. It's the complete opposite of what I want for arena fights. It makes an otherwise wonerful slime cavern quite painful to navigate. On the plus side, there are some genuinely well-staged ambushes, such as the final fight where you fight off several waves while waiting for the teleporter to hell to charge up, a staged teleporter fight near the beginning of the 3rd map where you're forced to fight for your long-awaited Super Shotgun in a far less tedious matter than the goddamn chaingun (I used to DESPISE using it if we're going to be honest). And again, there's some cool detail and many of the structures and caves show lots of work went into them.

 

Final verdict 6.5/10

 

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[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 20

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop.

 

[1] hextest.WAD by Peter Rodriguez A.K.A. @VileSlay (2002)

 

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THE STORY SO FAR :

You are currently stationed at UAC's proving grounds, where experimental weapons, chemical, and vehicles are tested before being sold to the military. You don't like this post, but who said you have to.

You have a bad feeling about the big hush-hush project being tested today. It's called the High Energy Tranfer system, or H.E.X. for short. The H.E.X. breaks an object down in to sub-atomic particles, sends them to another location, where they are them reassembled in perfect order. At least thats the goal.

As the hour for the first human test approaches, you recall the rumors that you heard about the success and failures of the animal tests. Some of them just weren't pretty. The only thing you can do is feel sorry for the poor slob that has to step in to that lab.

The test begins. You can hear the hum of the huge generators that power the H.E.X. A funny feeling comes over you, like the one you had when your squad was ambushed three years ago. The lab alarm goeas off and you know it's bad. Grab your shotgun and rush towards the lab complex. Thats when the monsters start to appear.

You and your comrades are taken aback by the green flashes of energy and the monsters they leave behind. Some hurl balls of fire, others are are content to gorge themselves on human flesh. You are being overwhelmed. Your freinds fall around you. You lose your shotgun to a fireball.

The lab is near. You don't have much of a choice. You look back at the carnage when you reach the door. You watch in horror as the dead that aren't being eaten rise and start taking shots at you. The corpse of your best friend shambles toward you. With regret you frag him, then enter the complex.

"I'm the last one," you think as the door closes and locks behind you. All is earily quiet. Maybe you can find a better weapon in here. Maybe there are survivors. maybe, just maybe, you can fire up the H.E.X. and use it to ge out of this hell-hole. You just have to get to it first and hope it doesn't reduce you to a pile of gibs.

 

Hextest features a lengthy story for a level that ends in 5 minutes. 

 

The author proposes an underground adventure in a greyish base sparsely populated with monsters. The level is not very interesting, the corridors and rooms are mostly empty or at best a bit furnished. Nevertheless I liked the mysterious atmosphere that emerges. The length of the corridors also creates a certain deepness.

 

 

I fell in a deadly water pit after getting the plasma gun in Ktulu Calls Zaphod (BIG mistake)

 

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Edited January 31, 2022 by Roofi

[Walter confetti]

17 hours ago, Roofi said:

Dark Medieval Times - EP1: I am the Black Wizard by Azany (2021)

This mapset looks really amazing!

[Sena]

Day 7: Risen https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/p-r/risen 

 

Hard to believe this map was from the 2010s, because something about its design really encapsulates the early modding feel, of people not really knowing what worked and what didn't. Get a level editor, make a big ass box, and you don't need to concern yourself with much else. And, sure, there really isn't much else I could say myself, you clear the perimeter, you go through the 8 different doors only to realise all of them are keyed and you have to jump through the windows, clear out the rooms, with enemies packed in extremely tightly, and that's pretty much all there is to say. It's not very hard because you have a chaingun which kills everything with ease, and it's also got way too much ammo, but that doesn't really detract from the experience. It's not a particularly interesting level by any account, but at least you can breeze through it, and it doesn't overstay its welcome. 5/10.

[LadyMistDragon]

Evermore (2008) by Ruba (Eternity)

 

Ruba seems to be a mapper with a rather infamous reputation for uploading dreck as reflected by the /idgames reviews. And seeing the amount of files he's uploaded, I feel like plenty of other people who like the hit the random button will recognize. Anyway, the map itself is nothing more than a series of long and twisting corridors with very spare amounts of shotgun shells and Hell Knights, along with switches that open various paths. That's it. Oh, and you fight a Baron at what seems to be the very end. But fear not, the surprise at the end is..wait for it....a Wolfenstein castle with a Cyberdemon, ridiculous Hitler portraits, and enough BFG ammo to make you wonder why Ruba was so stingy with shots earlier! Oh, and there's a Romero head at the end because of course. The only positive aspect is the pink skybox Ruba used, which gives the map some very slight mysteriousness. It's such a shame that Thailand's only contribution to Doom has to be someone who's so utterly lazy 1/10

 

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[Sena]

Day 8: Recurring Nightmare https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/p-r/recnite

 

A speedmap from 2017 by @an_mutt, and despite my general distaste for speedmaps, I had a good time with this one, due in part to its usage of the music from Hollywood Holocaust, and with how things usually go on the ER/IWA, I can be thankful for anything that isn't D_RUNNIN. The WAD starts off surprisingly fierce for such a subdued track, which helps to set the tone for most of the level, as at only around 50 enemies, they've put in a surprisingly high amount of tough encounters, ones that require some good thought and usage of your surroundings to get out of, not to mention, the level makes a good use of space, it uses a combination of both short and long range engagements, and demands that you know how to deal with them accordingly. That's not a hard requirement obviously, if you just want to run in there, then that's certainly an option that is available to you, although one that is discouraged due to the level's heavy usage of revenants, who probably make up close to half the enemy count. Normally this is the part where I'd complain about that number being too many, but for some reason or another, I didn't have an issue, maybe it's because the level's fairly compact for the most part, maybe it's because they're usually deployed alongside at least one other enemy type to instigate infighting with, but while I had no issue with the revenants, I did have an issue with the archviles, of which there were probably no more than 5. To be exact, my issue lied with the last minute or so of the map, wherein most of them were thrown out in rapid succession, which, in contrast to the intelligently designed and thoughtful encounters of the rest of the map, just felt like a last minute attempt to make the level harder right as it's ending, and not in a way that feels either climatic or rewarding, and, while minor, I felt like the exit switch lacked prominence, and was something that some players might miss, just putting an extra sign pointing towards it would've probably helped. But despite those minor complaints, it's got some great level design, a solid level of difficulty, and the whole experience has a good sense of tension and flow. 8/10, one of the better speedmaps I've seen.

 

[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 21

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop.

 

[1] strgate2.wad by Sweep, the bad ass of Dwango Houston (so sez Kylex) (1995)

 

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Sup! This is the sequel to a wad called stargate and it borrows many of the characteristics.It took me a while to make so distribute freely and enjoy.

 

 

A DM map that doesn't remind me of STARGATE, but rather of map 27 from Doom 2 because of the omnipresence of the STUCCO texture.

 

What can you expect when playing this wad? Nothing too shiny: randomly placed dead pits, huge hidden lifts and a few monsters for those who would get bored in singeplayer. The map has no exit.

 

Also according to winrar , the file was lastly modified in 1980.

 

[2] Death to the Phuct  by PhucK (2005)

 

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Made this .wad this morning, i was bored, it's fairly quick but cool, cyberdemon fun.

 

The wad was released in 2005 but figures among the few levels of Doom 2 created in 1994, and it shows visually...

 

It's a small gimmicky infernal map with a wolfenstein-like progression featuring  flat rooms separated by small doors. The author was very nice to place you next to a Romero head.

 

If you are too lazy to go through this level, use the chainsaw against the Romero or, if you can't get rid of the cyberdemon stupidly placed just after the YK door. I ran out of shells and I didn't want to take the risk of getting shell boxes located in the same room guarded by the cybie

 

In short, even speedmaps were not better before.

 

[3] PERD DeathMatch 04 by Anthony Czerwonka (1997)

 

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1 Level, 8 DM Starts, Small 'Arena' type level. That's all you need for some Non-Stop Action...

 

A simple deathmatch map I already visited during Month 2 Day 28. Nothing special to add by I really like the blue-gray-orange combination , it looks relaxing. It also reminds me recent screenshots Velvetic posted.

 

 

 

I blew up myself with my RL while fighting some imps in Nostalgy: Trip down my memory lane

 

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