John Romero releases first new Doom II map to support UN/Red Cross relief in Ukraine

[PasokonDeacon]

Complevel 2 Doom II single map.

You can pay to download the WAD here. All proceeds go to the Red Cross and UN CERF programs to help Ukrainians displaced during the current conflict.

 

 

...Well, this is going to make some headlines.

Edited March 3, 2022 by PasokonDeacon

[Revenant100]

But what's the complevel for the map?

 

Edit: The readme states it's limit-removing, complevel 2. The WAD has an embedded MAPINFO lump and BEX patch (not plain DeHackEd) that only sets the map name and par time. The given "Map Name" in the readme provides a clear hint as to the origin of the level.

 

Also,

Spoiler

there are, sadly, no Revenants.

 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Revenant100

[PasokonDeacon]

2 minutes ago, Revenant100 said:

But what's the complevel for the map?

It's complevel 2, looking at the text file (just paid).

[Fabricator]

Bought.

Absolute king shit right here! Probably the most noble map release we'll ever see. :)

 

What's it been, like 28-ish years since his last DOOM 2 map?

 

Spoiler

Had a small sesh with this map over an arvo coffee, very fun, very dickish hahaha, very Romero! I dig it. :)
Played on UV, missed 7 kills and 3 secrets on my first playthru, took me 5 attempts to beat. Keen to dive back in and go for the full clear.

 

The hell knight / chaingunner hot-start, the optional archie-plasma trap and the invuln baron slaughter were my favourite parts. If this is any indication of what we can expect from SIGIL 2, I'm super keen for that project to see the light of day!

 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Fabricator : Tiny map review in spoiler. :)

[Captain POLAND]

Remind me to cover this for my WAD index by monster count thread.

 

 

[Murdoch]

Nice one. I shall be donating and downloading.

[Rudolph]

An early teaser for SIGIL II?

 

In any case, a cool gesture from Mr. Romero, although the irony of using a game about killing to fundraise humanitarian aid is not lost on me...

[Biodegradable]

I bought a copy. I hate how powerless I've felt watching this stuff happening in my newsfeed and unable to make some kind of significant donation to Ukraine. I appreciate the hell out of Romero for doing this and I'm very happy to buy the WAD and be part of a what will hopefully be a significant donation to the cause that all us Doomers can contribute to. 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Biodegradable

[Murdoch]

13 minutes ago, Rudolph said:

An early teaser for SIGIL II?

 

In any case, a cool gesture from Mr. Romero, although the irony of using a game about killing to fundraise humanitarian aid is not lost on me...

 

It's about a hero fighting evil. I fail to see the irony. 

[UndeadRyker]

This is interesting to see Romero finally release a level for Doom II! The fact that it also provides an easy way for people to donate to help out the displaced Ukrainians is really nice as well. Good stuff!

29 minutes ago, Fabricator said:

What's it been, like 28-ish years since his last DOOM 2 map?

Yeah it's been quite a while! I'm interested more so of the fact that Romero didn't map too much for Doom II either. He only made six maps where the other maps were a Sandy Petersen-fest :p

[Grimosaur]

If this level was made specifically for this occasion then I suppose that would make the development time for it a little less than a week? Maybe that's a little insensitive to say but I suppose that would make this something of a speedmap more than being super polished like the levels from SIGIL. Only saying because people might judge this to be what we might expect to come from SIGIL 2... though maybe I should actually play the map for myself before saying something like that.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Grimosaur : Yea sorry, I was just making my own little speculations from looking at nothing but the screenshots, this map is fantastic!

[Murdoch]

1 minute ago, Grimosaur said:

though maybe I should actually play the map for myself before saying something like that.

 

Ya think?

[dew]

5 minutes ago, Grimosaur said:

If this level was made specifically for this occasion then I suppose that would make the development time for it a little less than a week?

It's not a speedmap, and yes it's a Sigil 2 map. Not gonna go into the exact age of the map, but unpolished details and missed bugs should be attributed to the "last 1%" of dev effort that usually takes the longest being rushed because of, well, the war happening.

[BigMetalhead]

Based Icon of Sin

 

Thank you, John Romero :)

[Rudolph]

23 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

It's about a hero fighting evil. I fail to see the irony. 

The Red Cross does not go around ripping and tearing every thing that moves...

 

Anyway, pagb666 has already uploaded their playthrough:

 

 

[Stupid Bunny]

Absolute king shit indeed.

 

The map itself is a fun, tight little map, nicely combines John Romero's still-razor-sharp eye for architecture and interconnectivity with his penchant for occasional dickishness.  Maps like this remind me why he had such a role in making Doom awesome.  The story behind this reminds me why John Romero himself is awesome.  There is of course nothing about it that points to either the noble purpose behind it or the war itself, but I suppose that's not the point. 

 

20 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

It's about a hero fighting evil. I fail to see the irony. 

 

Exactly this

[Komenja]

Awesome. Map's pretty fun, too. John still loves his eyeball switches.

[Fireseth]

I love it.

[NoahRules]

Thanks John

[OpenRift]

1 hour ago, Revenant100 said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

there are, sadly, no Revenants.

 

This is a Romero level, not a Casali level.

[OpenRift]

Played through it as soon as I got it. Short, but very fun and challenging. Definitely worth the $5. Plus it supports a universally based cause.

[head_cannon]

That was short, but pretty fun. Mean traps, powerful secrets, and the expected darkness & claustrophobia applied to a Doom 2 earth base setting. I could've waited for the Sigil 2 release, but hey, it was for a good cause. Glad I played the level early.

[esselfortium]

Thanks John for doing this. Map is fun and extremely mean, I'm really looking forward to Sigil 2.

[PasokonDeacon]

I must have messed something up since my UV FDA file ended prematurely, but mastering the map was quite rewarding. This will make a great middle map in Sigil 2, no doubt about that. It feels suitably like a toned-down successor to Romero's UDoom works, Sigil, and a bit of Tech Gone Bad. Some pretty cool new and engaging usage of the bestiary & SSG vs. the 1994 maps, too. It's a very fun sneak peek at what he's been cooking up, all for an important cause.

 

Edited March 3, 2022 by PasokonDeacon

[Doomkid]

Good excuse to donate funds to a good cause. Romero knew people would be interested in his first public Doom2 map in years (looks awesome). Very smart use of his Doom community fame!

[Mr. Freeze]

3 hours ago, Revenant100 said:

there are, sadly, no Revenants.

 

Cuz Revenants are a war crime and it would devalue the WAD

[Captain Ventris]

And bought. Can’t wait to play it. What an awesome thing to do, Romero.

[Wavy]

@Romero is an actual lad. I've considering on donating to some kind of agency or fundraiser for Ukraine, so I guess this'll gives me no reason into holding it off.

 

Will buy this ASAP and record a playthrough of it.

[Xymph]

Wiki coverage: https://doomwiki.org/wiki/One_Humanity
Thanks to Matador and Endless.

 

[cannonball]

A nice gesture, and another Romero map added to my list to play. What isn't there to like.