Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #032

[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 two 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 whatever you play. There’s no required pacing, but most of us post a review once every 1-2 days.
3. Always provide the name of the WAD, the name of the author, and a link to the file.
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. Please take screenshots or video of your adventures.
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. Proxyon Sector KGx/57 Mini Episode
2. Blood Red

3. Gamarra's story: Part 7 1/2 "Gamarra is bad"

4. Water City v1.0 (Heretic map)

5. Build

6. TekBase

 

Spoiler

The Top 15 (out of 25):

 

1. @Roofi | 3875
2. @Sena | 1790
3. @Walter confetti | 940
4. @LadyMistDragon | 865
5. @ICID | 540
6. @Endless | 450
7. @smeghammer | 315
8. @LUISDooM | 235
9. @Biodegradable | 185
10. @Maribo | 145
11. @Clippy | 135
12. @thiccyosh | 100
13. @Rujasu | 85
14. @Teo Slayer | 80
15. @leodoom85 | 60

 

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

[Clippy]

hey look I'm first

 

So I played this

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/p-r/pandora

 

it was terrible lol

 

seriously - doom 1 - and a legitimately incomplete or unfinishable map -- it started promising with cool visuals out the window then right through generic hallways that turns into a seizure inducing nightclub - hitscanners in the dark wtf - shotgunning everything to the worst degree

 

AND THERE IS NO YELLOW KEY IN THE MAP

 

I had to check in the editor and yup - had to cheat a key

 

and then check the editor again and the teleport is missing a destination, even worse it leads to a closed door that shares a trigger with something else. the exit button itself is in a random spot with no real way to get to like

 

how?

 

How do you claim you can beat this in 13 min when you clearly did not test it. It surprises me what ends up on ID games sometimes lol - a legitimately broken map and it baffles me how the author could play through in any capacity without realizing it is 100% non-functional and impossible to play

 

Also @sandwedge was here to add extra commentary for the most broken map I have found during this series haha

 

 

[Walter confetti]

Proxyon Sector KGx/57 mini Episode by Scott McNutt - Vanilla Doom 2, 1995, played with Doom 2 original exe (1.9) on DosBox

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A small mapset made of 3 different maps into one package that i have in my maps folder from quite some time, time to give it a play!

Played MAP01 and a bit of MAP02 tonight, a small review of MAP01 for starters.

MAP01: I have played already this map as a slighty modified version of this map for Heretic, called... eh, i don't remember now, anyway something that have to do with tombs or city in the title. It was something i've played for a previous Er/IWA too, but i can't find it...

Level is pretty basic but fun, the puzzle sections are sometimes kind of cryptic to understand what to do and where to go, also why the toxic water? The new sky texture is freaking awesome as well as the new doomguy face on god mode with the blue, empty eyes looks creepy. Overall, a good and solid starter.

[Sena]

Day 1: Schooldm https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/schule

 

Just another school shooting WAD. They give you all the weapons off the bat, and a couple megaspheres, which happen to be the only points of health in the entire 750 enemy map, and to be honest I just cheated to give myself the only one I needed because I really could not be asked to go the entire way to the beginning to replenish myself. I suppose this is meant to be the point where I'm meant to say how I'm appalled I am, but really, I'm still fighting demons (zombiemen, shotgunners and the SS, to be exact, nothing else), any of the ones in classrooms are stuck in place and can't move or attack. If I was a misanthropic teenager and I wanted to play a game to simulate the feeling of exacting revenge on my classmates, Doom would probably be one of my last picks. This came out in 2014, by then we had Hotline Miami, a game which demands an extreme level of brutality from the player, and to walk through and see the carnage you've created at the end of each level, and Red Orchestra 2, a game whose detail in its dismemberment and emotive voice acting can at times be genuinely uncomfortable to see. But back to Doom, it's just a cartoony little game with some random zombies walking around (although this WAD does actually have some improved weapon sounds), this WAD feels like an actual school shooting about as much as id's medieval libraries and apartment blocks made entirely out of wood feel like city levels. So, despite all that pointless rambling, all you have left is the level, which isn't very interesting, there's an array of copy-pasted rooms, fighting zombiemen even in huge groups is completely insignificant when you have every weapon in the game, and also the level has no exit. Some people, including most those on the archive, are hung up on this level being set in a school, but really, if this is a level that intended to offend me through its display of an uncomfortable topic, then they have completely failed, all they have left is a level, and not a very good one. 3/10.

[brick]

Proxyon Sector KGx/57 mini Episode by Scott McNutt - GZDoom, Truecolor, HNTR, blind (mostly). Total time 45 minutes, 100% kills.

I wanted to play on HMP or UV but the abundance of hitscanners made me dial it down.

This is apparently a compilation of 3 previously released wads, so there's no real coherent thematic progression, though McNutt does have his own idiosyncrasies in mapping and the little common touches can be seen, the most obvious being a heavy propensity towards symmetrical layouts. The music is quite fun, with some recognizable pieces, it's nice not have to listen to the stock music yet again.

 

MAP01 "Military Base"

The map made a bad impression early on with a badly-tagged door sector that forced me to cheat. I prepared myself for yet another shovelware experience, especially after last week's plays, but this is actually good stuff! I quite like the visuals, partly because the sky looks very nice and fits well with the silver-grey textures that are abundantly used. I think it's also the best of the 3 maps, there's a nice sense of progression, the secrets are fun to find and the architecture is quite good. There are lots of nice little touches too, like the reflection of one of the pillars on the shiny floor (some HOM hack? I'm not sure how this was even supposed to work in vanilla), or the dark corridor with some great lighting tricks. Really fun map overall.

Spoiler

 

MAP02 "Control Station"

This one's a bit more random. Once again there a re lots of hitscanners. Progression is weird and will frequently require you to find unofficial secrets (though most are well indicated if you pay attention to lighting and textures). The secrets themselves are a bit baffling, teleporting you to a room with these, erm, posters, which then teleports you to the secret room proper. The worst part is getting the blue key, which requires somehow guessing that completely nondescript lower parts of some of the platforms can be used as lifts to uncover hidden passages; not helping is the 4-way symmetry which makes clearing out each side very repetitive. The final area is very creative though, with a spoof of the good ol' Intel Inside - and, sure enough, there's a switch that reveals the Doom Inside. In case you're wondering, yes, the exit switches in all maps are the author's signature. I don't like this one as much as the first, but the final room was almost enough to redeem it, the whimsical design and the music make this really fun to play despite the flaws.

Spoiler

 

MAP03 "Attack Station"

I do feel unfortunately that the wad goes down in quality with each map. We're now in proper shovelware territory, there's a pit you can get softlock stuck into if you go down too early, locked doors have no marking whatsoever for the required key, lots and lots and LOTS of wallhumping required to find all of the unofficial secret doors necessary for progression (the map has no official secrets in fact), none of which is marked in any way. The "3D maze" is quite cool, as is the teleporter room beyond it, though trying to actually explore all of them could get pretty tiresome. The final showdown is alright, I guess perhaps more exciting if you go in unprepared and have to gather resources as you evade fire. It's my least favourite of the 3 maps but decent I guess. It's a shame the quality goes down, but the first couple of maps are absolutely worth it, especially the first.

Spoiler

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Backhome.wad (1996) by Tim Butler (Eternity)

 

A surprisingly cool, if simplistic deathmatch map. House actually shows some attempt at realistic detailing and those trees outside must have taken hours. This is a waste of time to the solo player though - the damaging grass outside is stupid and kind of limits your options. For small-scale deathmatch, you can certainly do worst, though perhaps not much worst. At least you don't have to deal with an invisible Icon of Sin though. But I think that if you're going to put two distinct areas of a deathmatch map down that you should make more of an effort to connect them 4/10

 

Spoiler

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The Best WAD Ever (2004)  by @hobomaster22 and some other guys no one cares about, aren't around (Eternity)

 

Basically, a joke deathmatch wad, containing all sorts of infuriating design decisions, such as starting on damaging floors, ceilings which will start to crush you almost the instant you start, weapons placed in inescapable damage pits. and the name of the set ugliy floating in the void. Ok, some things were actually funny, but there were also far too many square rooms with weak gimmicks and solitary weapons. One chainsaw on top of a dirt mound? What's the point in that? And strangely enough, there are truly few that are as godawful as ones I've played by Daniel Chard. But anything with platforming and boring rectangular walls in it is guaranteed to be stupid. Which makes the last two maps a true example of shocking competence in a so-called jokewad. It's a testament to competent design that the jokes don't completely ruin what are by-and-large simplistic maps, though the whole rectangular hall thing gets old. 5/10 I suppose.

 

Spoiler

 

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[LadyMistDragon]

Only Chainsaw (1996) by can you read kanji? ok, Veb00215 (Eternity

 

You know, I really wish the far east put a little more effort into their maps starting out. Uploaded in 2004, this consists of a single outdoor rectangular area with a blood-red overhang and a chainsaw located at either end. Incredibly banal, I can't even. And I don't even know where the other maps in the file mentioned are, though they seem to have existed at some point 2/10

 

Spoiler

 

 

Chiquito (1996) by Alfonso Muñoz-Pomer Fuentes/Cæsar Gómez-Mora López (Eternity)

 

A sound-effects replacement wad that replaces many enemy sounds and a couple of weapon noises with some of the funnier routines of an apparently famous Spanish comedian. Honestly, it's probably not the worst idea ever, but the high-pitched squeal along with the idiotic howl you hear every time you fire a rocket launcher get really old. It also seems too much like a novelty product. I don't think it's too much worst than playing Simpsons Doom for what that's worth though. A lot of other sound wads get more annoying than this 5/10

 

 

[Walter confetti]

Proxyon Sector KGx/57 mini Episode by Scott McNutt - Vanilla Doom 2, 1995, played with Doom 2 original exe (1.9) on DosBox

 

Spoiler

 

Final part of my review of this little mapset. A thing i forgot to mention is the music used for this is all taken from 70s rock and... they almost all reminds me of another songs, like MAP01 music make me think of Godzilla by Blue Oyster Club and the one from MAP02 makes me think of Sweet Home Alabama at the starting guitar riffs... but instead a complete different songs!

 

MAP02 - A much more square-ish indoor techbase with the same scheme and gray and blue textures, with some COMPTALL textured rooms in the mix for giving more variety. It also have unmarked yellow doors, almost unreachable important rooms that can be technically reached only via jumping between room ledges but in reality i have to noclip to get in them, cute intel inside graphic joke for one of the yellow keys, another map sections can be reached via noclip cheating and a pointless secret room with the Budweiser girls poster and nothing else happens not neither shooting at it, why?

 

MAP03 - A big, brown and boring techbase that uses the bad mapping decisions catalogue all in one map: inescapable pit, tedious maze with lifts and hidden doors, cryptic progression, unaligned textures (but what i was expecting for a 1995 map and their primitive editors like DEU or DCK?) and a overall not really fun experience.

The only thing that kinda saves the map from being completely trash are the music and the final battle before the exit, that are cool! Also, i just witnessed a weird bug where pain elemental doesn't spawn lost souls, what happens here? Lowest point of the mapset, unluckily.

 

Overall, a pretty ok-ish mapset with a really great looking sky texture! Too bad the remaining parts aren't at that level.

[brick]

Blood Red by James "Phobus" Cresswell - GZDoom, Truecolor, HNTR, blind

Now there's a name I recognize! It's funny when the random search picks up a household name. Phobus has a long and prolific career doing pretty much any kind of map you can think of. This one is a deathmatch arena with a sky and texture choice that emphasizes the titular theme. It has quite a few enemies (including some nasties on UV) to use as shields or to sic on other players, but there's also a progression (minor as it is) that makes the map playable in SP. I didn't play as intended so I don't have much to comment, getting the red key then using the switches progressively unlocks more enemies, a lot of them imps and cacos. I couldn't figure out how to get the soulsphere (which I'm sure is also the only secret). I do like the look of the map.

Spoiler

Gamarra's story: Part 7 1/2 "Gamarra is bad" by xbolt [sic] - GZDoom

I wasn't involved with the community during the Gamarra times so I thankfully missed out on all the memes and assorted shenanigans. The map is just a joke, whether it's a funny one or not I'll leave up to you.

Spoiler

 

[smeghammer]

Back with another IDGames random map!

 

It is House for Doom 2

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/g-i/house2

 

I played with GZDoom, freelook no jump/crouch, UV.

 

yeahhhhh.. no.

 

A very mediocre WAD from 1996. 

 

It is all one elevation, with minimal light variation. However he texture work is competent and quite well themed. There is also some nice usage of themically placedmonsters (imps on brown stone platforms, quite a nice computer room near the end with shotgun guys). It did end rather abruptly though and I missed  bunch of stuff.

 

Probably not worth replaying.

 

My playthrough:

 

 

[Walter confetti]

Since i've already played Blood Red long time ago (is a pretty neat map for a speedmap), i've decided to get my chance with a completely random wad and i've got...

 

COOLWAD1 by Delphin, Serpent Rider - Vanilla Doom 2, 1995, played with Zandronum 3.1 and bots

Spoiler

 

These are 5 really low quality maps intended for DM but also playable on SP, but in both gameplay modes are a pretty awful experience, unluckily. The levels are almost all look all the same: TEKGREN labs submerged by darkness or sometimes from blinking lights and fullbright areas showing how much this place is raw in the layout department, the only modifications in the theme are in the final maps are the fortress in the dark (MAP04) and the "Mall" in MAP05 (that is actually the best map in the bunch, but is the best like saying what is the best between dog and cat poo) that have a much more sense of a place of sorts instead being a raw nightmare of green bland techbases.

The layout is made of square bland rooms with many hidden doors and even hidden exit in form of a unmarked wall that looks like the same wall in all the maps (expect MAP05) and MAP03 is a freaking maze, OH JOY! Gameplay in SP is sadistic and almost impossible to complete and in DM is just plain stupid.

Also includes new sounds taken from every TV show and movie quotes at the loudest volume possible and the usual suspects of movie midis, especially Star Wars one. MAP05, being the beautiful outcast that is, have a complete different music as well using... Ace of Base, i think?

Really, the worst experience so far in the random adventures of Er\IWA, not fun or enjoyable mapset! The only salvation is for MAP05 but that's a bitter salvation...

[Sena]

Day 2: infested base https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/g-i/infesbas

 

Maybe that recent thread on negative feedback makes a valid point, I may in fact be liable to jumping to conclusions too early and being too harsh in my assessment. Anyway, when you play this level, it is immediately obvious that it is absolutely fucking horrendous. I have in the past alluded to 'thou shalt nots' of map design, but the problem with making that allusion here is that the 10 commandments were designed as rules for people who wished to live a peaceable and moral life. But before I elaborate on my interpretations of the content in this level, it would be good to actually describe it. You get one BFG and 1 rocket launcher, but you might as well not because that's not enough to even begin to deal with the wall of spider masterminds you come across 2 rooms into it, which is also multiple crushers, and I don't even know how the physics of that works, because the floor doesn't move, but the edges of the walls do, and that damages you even though you're not anywhere close to the edges, but after that point it's going through a toxic floor in a room without walls, activating doors placed in the most random of spots, and it just goes on and on, and that's all without me mentioning how profoundly ugly the whole ordeal is, it might work in expressionist painting to make an entire room out of doors, but it sure doesn't fucking work here. And that brings me back to the start of it, how I interpret this culmination of the worst possible design decisions one could conceive - when I played it, I was not sure if this level was the product of a misguided attempt at humour, or just outright incompetence, but I think it is something else entirely, just outright malignance. The only reason this exists is because someone out there enjoyed the prospect of making someone waste their time and experience any emotion ranging from hatred to disgust as they played through this abomination of a level. 0/10.

 

[Roofi]

Thanks for the new thread again !

 

Month 9 Day 27

 

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

 

[1] Trick Or Treat? by Federico Milesi (aka @MrFroz)(2016)

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Quote

This was supposed to be part of a sort of compilation WAD called Trilogy, which was conceived after I finished my third level for vanilla Doom made from the scratch. Then I wanted to rework those three levels on ZDoom, while also taking advantage of some of ZDoom functionalities, and then I decided to throw them into a single WAD, thus spawning a trilogy.

As I said, the project was conceived when I released Trick Or Treat?, my third level, on 2011 (you get to guess the date). Then I worked on it on and off during 2012, and this year my last year of school took over and I stopped working on it. Now that I have succesfully finished school, I decided to come back and finish these levels, whilst releasing them separatedly.

Don't bother choosing the "A Marine's Dream" and "Blaze" episodes, they're empty.

 

A little difficult Doom 2 map populated with a bit more than 100 enemies but the author incorporated  harmful liquids which deal -20 damage too (nukage and slime). The progression mainly consists to cross various tests which are jumping on a  series of platforms over lava for instance.

 

As the author indicated, there are gzdoom features which have both an aesthetic and practical purpose. A lot of liquid pools prove to be swimmable. Theorically speaking, it's fun but take in account that they slow down your movements and deal a lot of damage in most of the cases. Fortunately, Federico built a healing machine in the Hub room which may helps you a bit if you're badly injured.

Maybe I'm wrong but jumping looks necessary in this level, especially in the platforming area where you obtain the red key. You can of course go down by only running but how to get back up without the jump?

 

Secondarily, you can see particles effects or hear ambiant sounds near the functional teleporters.

 

I honestly don't think the gzdoom features were necessary considering it was primarly designed as a vanilla map. They may, even worse, be quite frustrating in some passages. I almost died in lava because I didn't expect being able to swim in. However, I like how the author effectively used the monsters. Also, I didn't grab the SSG because the static chaingunners scared me.

 

Grade : B-

 

[2] Jason 1 by Tom Sedlack (1996)

 

Spoiler

 

 

Quote

You start out on a dock and must head deep (and I mean REALLY deep) underground, kill the baddies, grab the keys, and head back upstairs to your awaiting submarine. I tried to make things look as realistic as possible because, to me, that's the most fun.

You are dropped off at a dock of an underground toxic waste treatment plant/marine training ground. You must find all three keys in order to exit the level. You don't really need to go every place on the map to win. I threw a lot in for some good D.M. play.

 

Your name is Jason and you start on a dock , staring the mysterious remote sector boat. You turn around and take the boring long elevator in order to reach the underground base.

 

How do you know your name is Jason? Because, zombies will not stop whispering "Jason..." until you kill them. I want to say , despite how goofy those custom sounds are, the whispers you can listen through walls make the level oddly creepy.

Also, the author used Doom E2M7's music, which represents one of the most disturbing track in the iwad. Toss the suspenseful track with the mazy layout and you have a rather uncanny level.

 

Gameplay-wise, it feels like an Ultimate Doom map since you will fight mainly zombies and especially, a lot of shotgunners by means of your restricted weaponry. You will obtain a SSG very late in this map.

 

I don't think this map will please everybody because you have to find you way in many featureless corridors. However, some rooms are more interesting : the crate room for instance, or the huge square room with its pit at the middle. I like the light contrasts in this map.

 

I think it's a shame the author didn't exploit more the dock theme. Ther beginning which is also the very end of the map, is the only place where you will see water and a boat.

 

Grade : B

 

I died in Cold as Hell after my weapons stopped working for unknown reasons.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Doomworld Speedmapping Compliation #21 (2009) by various including @The Green Herring @Hellbent  @ArmouredBloodand @Solarn

 

Before the Abyssal Speedmapping Sessions became a literal Doomworld institutions, various other scattered sessions had been held since the late 90s. This apparently was the first speedmapping session held under the Doomworld Speedmapping aegis in many years.

 

And honestly the overall quality is considerably higher than the last speedmapping compliation I played for Random adventures that was made in 2002. Part of that may be that partipants had a total of 40 more minutes to make a map than the ones in that collection, but credit should probably be also be given to the rise of Doom Builder, which made the editing process far much less of a hassle.

 

One other thing noticeable is that default music was replaced for some and not all maps. Considering all the defaults were replaced in the Eagle Speedmapping Session #5 I played some time back, it's another mark of the time.

 

Anyways, let's just say a few words on each of the map's. The opener is by community member Super Jamie. It's a linear, rocky, and sedate but features some suprisingly decent architecture, including a spot in a cave I can only assume is a pillbox.

 

Map 02 is by someone named Jodwin (it seems like he made a well-received set called Jade Earth not long after) and it's easily probably the 2nd best of the set. Starting out with some surprisingly modern speedmapping combat, it then proceeds to end with a claustrophobic from some closets, while some spider fires at you whilst guarding the exit.

 

Map 03 by Hellbent is a somewhat curious map in that it seems like Hellbent may have been struggling for idea at first. You fight off some Spectres in a dark room near the beginning, but it's all pretty humdrum until you reach a drop-off with some brackish water facing two revenants and a Spider Mastermind on the other side. From this point, it's a matter of some slightly spicy corridor combat circling around when you try to kill them.

 

Map 04 is Eric Baker's (Green Herring's map). I'm vaguely aware he's not really a natural map designer, which I guess is the reason he decided to go with something more simplistic. It's still fun in a dumb way. The ending with the Caco mob was cool. Kind of a guilty pleasure map.

 

Map 05: This map features a heavy tech theme and some surprisingly effective use of slime. Almost right off the bat, you're attacked by Revenants and when you head down the opening hallway, a bit behind the start opens up revealing Mancubi. And that's the map''s progression: hitting switches and revealing more massive monster mobs. Plenty of opportunities for infighting that only grow as you proceed. However, it plays a bit like a slaughter map that doesn't realize it's a slaughter map. It would matter less if there was just a bit more room to move

 

Map 06: An even more tech-y map by Armoured Blood, this actually might be the best of the set. Starting out near a computer station homage, you then engage in some thrilling corridor combat and some truly spicy Arch-vile encounters

 

Map 07: A circular Dead Simple clone that reverses the positions of the Arachnotrons and Mancubi and adds a slightly more complicated structure. Sorry, I'm just annoyed how many people thought the Map 07 slot is just an excuse to make a square, plop down the requisite enemies and call it good. At least MM2 had the decency to relegate their Dead Simple clone to the secret slot.

 

Map 08: by Jodwin again. Another enjoyable map largely, although the prevalence of square rooms and the amount of time you spend shotgunning pinkies is not exactlymy definition of a good time. The last ambush is probably better than the last ambush in Map 02, ngl. After that though is a grand total of TWO Arch-viles you have to shotgun and just to be cheeky a Cyberdemon in the exit. Honestly, I think you might be expected to carry over ammo here, because there's little rockets or espeically cells in this map.

 

So this one definitely has some enjoyable maps, but combat's largely not polished up to modern standards, and it's fair to say in the visual sense too that this doesn't really hold a candle to Eagle $05. There was definitely 2 or 3 maps I'd rather not play again 6.5/10

 

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[Walter confetti]

Gamarra's story: Part 7 1/2 "Gamarra is bad" by xbolt - Legacy or Zdoom, Doom 2, 2006, played with eternity "forseti" 4.0.2 and Gzdoom 4.7.1

Spoiler

 

A short troll jokewad that tries to mock up the Gamarra series maps by Giulio Galassi without making fun or ruining the image of Gamarra maps, just a square WOOD3 room with a sector art with the writing GAMARRA IS BAD, wooo! A very forgettable map.

 

Wasted 2: The Crusher by Nick Baker - Limit removing, Doom 2, 2003, played with eternity "forseti" 4.0.2

Spoiler

 

 

Another small map by the legendary Nick Baker, host of Community Chest series and author of all the big parts of texture packs you have seen or used for your projects. This map is way better than the previous entry, square-ish and fun. The new textures are pretty neat and the gameplay is challenging, loved as well the detailing works.

Edited May 8, 2022 by Walter confetti

[Sena]

Day 3: Schizophrenia https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/schiz

 

This one has some great music, some alright custom textures, and some passable level design. It's pretty short, so I'll keep my discussion short, but despite its short length, it is very stringent on ammo, and contains far too much backtracking for its own good, although the actual gameplay is still generally solid. Like so many maps on the archive, it is characteristic of a simple map of someone still learning the basics of mapping, and whose author would probably go on to do great things if they chose to, but they didn't, and so all we have is what they left us, and it's not much. Apart from an adherence to very tight corridors, the level isn't really bad at all, but it does not do anything interesting enough to justify spending any amount of time playing it. 5/10.

[brick]

Water City by J.C. Bengtson (SailorScout)

I actually played this one a few months ago. It's part of a lose series of elemental-themed maps (2 water, 2 fire) by SailorScout. It's a pretty fun map and it tries to emulate the look and feel of a map reasonably well within vanilla limits and stock assets. The cathedral is probably the most impressive architecturally and has the best fight. I think SailorScout's later fire maps are better, but this one's still fun.

 

Build by picklehammer

One big flat square room with a bunch of high level enemies (including multiple archviles), a handful of weapons and no extra ammo, and a Romero head in the centre, which you have to destroy (no exit otherwise). That's it. As a serious map this one's just plain awful. As a jokemap, it's still not funny. Pretty good music though.

 

After Build I wasn't too excited about Tekbase, especially since it's a full 12 maps, but it does seem to be at least decent so far so I might give it a proper play and post more detailed impressions next week.

[Roofi]

Month 9 Day 28

 

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

 

[1] Urotsuki: Inferno Road by @Lainos (2014)

 

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1 pretty short map in style inspired by anime Urotsukidoji and Giger pictures.

 

Urotsuki : Inferno Road takes place in a corrupted city. You start in a large arena made of tech wires , and odd trees where flesh replaced the leaves. A lot of demonic pyramids surround the partially destroyed town.

For a "short map" made in 2 days, I found the result really impressive. Lainos, took the time to create a real adventure where you wander among small residences in order reach the core of the town with its massive and menacing buildings. The city part reminds me a lot of the legendary map "Doxylamine Moon", except the gameplay tend to be a lot more combat-oriented and the progression proves to be a lot more linear.

 

About aesthetics choices, I like how the deep cloudy grey sky generates a surrealistic yet desolate atmosphere. Also, the "realistic" architecture points out that you're the last remaining human on earth. The lifeless buildings, the empty benches and the inoperative tanks will make you feel alone.

 

Despite how serious the ambiance is, the difficulty remains accessible. The last boss fight just consists to a duel against a lone cyberdemon. Your worst enemies will be the few arch-viles you will encounter on your way. However , they easily can be cheesed with a bit of patience. I have to admit that the gameplay starts to be really exciting once you obtain the SSG. Killing monsters with the shotgun and chaingun quickly become grindy.

 

Anyway, the breezy fights which allow you to play slowly and carefully contrasts with the high-tempered odd aztec-techno soundtrack (you can hear disturbing gluttural singing). I liked the music, it definitely contributes to create a parallel universe.

 

Lainos did a really good job to create an unique apocalyptic level.

 

Grade : A-

 

[2] Void Space by Lee "DooMAD" Wallis @DooMAD(2002)

 

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The idgames' comments didn't lie, Void Space really takes place in a giant bathroom in the middle of space. Indeed, you will see white and tiled wall and floors textures throughout the whole level.

 

More seriously , you will explore an underlit tech base with a rectilinear layout. Most of the combats are simplisticly designed but fun. However, the author sometimes overused darkness and it becomes a bit annoying. Also, despite the effort put to add various carpets (blue, red...) in order to make each area more remarkable, the overall tends to be a bit too monotextured.

 

Anyway, I really like the theme despite the "bathroom" look. Also, the use of Hexen's Hub music is an interesting choice. It brings a quiet atmosphere.

 

Grade : B+

 

[3] DieTIME by Allen Freeman (1996)

 

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Deathmatch level with some bad dudes.

 

An abstract and ugly hellish DM map colonized by few low-tiers monsters you can easily chew up thanks to the numerous invulnerability spheres. The main area looks decent despite the ugliness. There are plenty space, health, ammo, weapons and lifts to activate. 

 

However, if you attempt to get the RL or PG located next to the central pillar, you will be teleported without warning in the grotesque corridor filled with harmless lava surrounding the whole arena. The corridor has also some teleporters which either lead to the main area or to a succession of futile rooms which one of them feature a BFG you can't obtain because of the teleportations lines neighboring it. Also, the author placed several BFG in the map so you don't need to perform all of those tasks.

 

[4] French Doom translation by Simon Howard @fraggle (2010)

 

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This is a recreation of the official French translation of Doom II, in the form of a PWAD file and dehacked patch. I have created these by comparison of the English and French versions of doom2.exe and doom2.wad (the French version is named doom2f.wad).

The translation was done by a company called "Art of Words". I have heard that the translations are rather poor, but I don't know French well enough to comment myself.

 

Cette modification de Doom vous permettra de jouer à Doom en français ! C'est superbe !

 

I've not a lot to say about this, it's a good translation mod. Some levels are terribly translated but it doesn't come from the mod . For instance, Dead simple is now "L'herbe de la Mort" which means "Grass of death", or Barrels of fun became "La Grande Fête" which mean "The Great Party"

 

I also have to say the translated words sometimes doesn't have the same font, it's blatant on the intermission screen for instance (see the word "Temps" and "Total" on the last screen)

 

I got litterally destroyed once I entered in No-Match 2 [Doom 2 'DeathMatch' Add-on] From The iNSANE Levels Take 7

 

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[Walter confetti]

Water City v1.0 by SailorScout - Vanilla Heretic, 1999, played with GZDoom 4.1.7

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This is a really good map made by SailorScout, a really well known name during the late 90s and early 2000s, sets in a little citadel with a graveyard, a small house, a church with a malotaur and in general clean and good design in the layout, with many interconnections between the map areas and a pretty fun and adventorous gameplay. Very good map, overall. I tought to have played this map before but i didn't find any track in my reviews section so far...

 

GODOFWAR for DOOM ][ by Edward Puskaric - Vanilla Doom 2, 1995, played with Zandronum 3.1 and bots

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This is a pretty neat map thematically sets in a twisted hellish \ techbase arena with many unique sections trough the map, making this map fun to explore and see what new things the author. Sounds replacement are pretty... early years of mapping \ shovelware stuff, with sounds taken from movies and other sources (also the author misspelled Predator with Preditor twice in the text file for some reason), it's somehow fun especially the "Payback time" line when you get the gun, i imagine the marine fucking around by roliing the guns like Schwarz or Bruce Campbell showing that's not time to screw around now, WOOO! The plasma sounds are too loud for my tastes. Unluckily from a good theme variations doesn't come together with a good gameplay, especially DM where it appears to be pretty uneventful, at least with bots. Bad thing when your map is DM oriented!

Edited May 6, 2022 by Walter confetti

[LadyMistDragon]

Draco (1994) by Erik (Eternity)

 

Ok, the text-file is inexcusable low-level garbage, and starting you out in a dark blue cube can never create a good first impression. However, this map greatly improves from there on out. It was conceived as a deathmatch map and it certainly shows, (particularly the teleports leading to some strange locations) but single-player combat is surprisingly realize and while monster placement isn't necessarily so though out (it's easy to bumble into a certain room with Spectres that will ambush and kill you if you're not aware) and it's kind of unremarkable. However, there are a shocking amount of cool visual landmarks, usually red shapes of various sorts on the floor in the centers of room. The room with the red lava pit containing a chainsaw is shockingly well-realize for a '94 map/ I really like the look of the plasma rifle room. There isn't tons to say, but I've certainly played worst maps than this 6/10

 

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[Roofi]

Month 9 Day 29

 

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

 

[1] STARWAR6.WAD by jms (1995)

 

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This is merely a copy of the Star Wars level WAD: STARWAR5.ZIP. The new addition is the inter-level map which displays the appropriate graphics for the levels.

The levels (E1M1-E1M4) are within the Rebel Blockade Runner & the Imperial Death Star.

i did not make the levels, and claim no authorship.

 

STARWAR6 is a compilation of 4 Star wars-themed 1994 Ultimate Doom maps. I know E1M3 and E1M4 were made by Matt Falk because I already reviewed them during Month 5 Day 6 from the wad "The Death Star". As jms said, he only uploaded the levels.

 

The four maps take place in spaceships which don't remind specifically Star Wars , except the circular Rooms in the last 2 levels maybe?

 

The first 2 maps play like a traditional school map. You explore ton of rooms separated by flat corridors but instead of exploring classrooms, you visit dormitories, control rooms and meeting rooms. The author or (authors?) created elevators thanks to teleporters. It's an easy way to fake overlayed floors. The layout remains pretty standard but the ammount of details and the matching textures make the levels eye-appealing for their time.

 

The 3rd and last map, which I already played before, are just a piece of art. Especially the third level "The Death Star" has one of the most impressive layouts I've ever seen from 1994. I wonder how hard it was to create so much non-orthogonal rooms 30 years ago. Moreoever, the height of the circular rooms make the level look a lot more gigantic and therefore gorgeous.

 

Gameplay-wise, I think STARWAR6 includes more controversial choices considering the difficulty of the maps relies a lot on health or ammo starvation and even both in the last map. Despite the fact you almost exclusively confront low-tiers monsters as zombies, imps or demons, the mapper was most of the time cruel with health. Among the first two maps, I advice you to play slowly because how scarce the medkits are (until you get the key which unlocks the armoury containing all the weapons, ammo and health you need).  Moreover, the monsters can freely move in the map once you woke them up. I almost died several times.

 

The third map not only has the best architecture and aesthetics, but also have the most balanced items placements. Indeed, you can find various caches, which offer the resources you need. Matt Falk was a lot more indulgent.

 

About the last map, I liked it but it may be extremly frustrating for novice players. I had myself to make some enemies infighting and punch some imps while being low-hp in order to save some precious shotgun shells. 

I will not say these maps are hard but they tend to be tougher than the average 1994 map. On one hand, it enhances the survival aspect and I appreciate this. On the other hand, perpetually running out of ammo and health can get really frustrating. Anyway, this wad compiles one the best starships made in 1994 and especially map 03. it definitely deserves to take a look.

Grade : A+

 

[2] OPEN.WAD by Chris Carollo (1994)

 

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I've tried many a deathmatch level, and for the most part, I've been dissatisfied. Many of the levels I've seen seem too much like 'novelty' levels, not of the quality or style of id's original maps.

When I set out to make this level, I tried to keep in mind the levels from id, especially E1M1 and E1M5, which are my favorites for deathmatch. I also tried to keep the level very small and open, while always leaving at least two ways out of any area. The frags should be quick, but not necessarily 'cheap', because you can normally get out of any situation in which you may find yourself.

Some rather kick-ass frags to attempt: - Shoot a rocket up the open lift from the courtyard and hit your opponent. My personal favorite. :) - Set the lift into the off from the stone room, but don't fall in. Then drop down after the lift has fully lowered, and shoot your opponent. - Shoot your opponent in mid-air as he jumps off the hallway into the courtyard.

 

A small Episode 1 themed Deathmatch level. You can cross a tiny red cavern which seems totally out-of-place compared to the rest of the level. Also , it has nothing remarkable since you only can find a shotgun inside.

 

[3] Tombstone after dark by Phillip Edwards  (1995)

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A Deathmatch only wad for Doom2. holes for each player to start in. Each person gets I don't know who wrote the original tombstone, but it is one of the most well known wads, and most well done also... 'Dusk' setting, use your ears, and hunt by the light of your chaingun... Also, don't waste your ammo.

 

A DM map taking place in a darkened village where odd ominous lights glow from the doors and windows of the wooden houses. Every house looks lifeless because empty of any decoration or funiture. This is one of the few cases where I prefer no monsters, otherwise it would have been annoying.

 

[4] 3D First Person Themes for DOOM 2 by @CeeJay (1999)

 

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Weapons and Enemies taken from diffrent 3d Action Games. sounds ARE included.

 

I could describe this mod as the ancestor of Samsara. It's of course more limited because it can run on classic ports like prboom.

 

So, the Doom's arsenal and bestiary has been renewed by weapons and enemies from famous Doom-likes. Doomguy now uses the shotgun from Duke 3D, the tommy gun from Blood, the Shadow Warrior's grenade launcher or even the axe from Quake I. The tommy gun fires faster than the poor chaingun, that's a good thing. However the grenade launcher is a nerf gun compared to the RL because the grenade lands just in front of you due to the gravity , and even freelook can't make the weapon more practical ! You can only carry 80 grenades instead of 100 but considering how bad the weapon is, it's not the most major issue.

 

Apart from that, most of the modifications are cosmetic and the SSG has not been replaced (Impossible to replace perfection afterall)

 

About the monsters, most of them have the same characteristics as the original bestiary. However, the fire gargoyle represents an advanced version of the imp since it can shoot fireball and fly at the same time. The hell knight became Golems from the same game which now only have a melee attack. The other modifications, like the weapons, are purely aesthetic. Many monsters are left as they are: mancubus, arachnotron and even the SM and cyberdemon! 

 

The mod had a great potential , but the changes are too minimal to make it interesting.

 

I got nastily ambushed in The Seventh 07 - Final Portal

 

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[Sena]

Day 4: Zapp'd https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/v-z/zappdrgr

 

I'll be quick to the point, this is a solid techbase map. Kaiser_Wilhelm seems to be a relatively unknown mapper, with only map to his name on the wiki (and not an independent release for that matter), but despite that, there is a clear air of professionalism here, especially with the architecture, this is one of the best looking vanilla maps I've seen in a while. The same can be said for the gameplay, as it's a Doom 1 map, but not just for the sake of it, as the pinkies make for the most prominent threat, and the absence of a close range one-hit kill weapon makes them a much bigger threat than we're probably all used to them being. Had a bit of trouble in getting the last key, but I'm going to blame myself for that, when the level design is generally solid, I can assume with relative safety that it was my fault. It's got a bare peak Doomkid midi, some great visual variety, and while not that hard even on UV, its challenge came from having to manage large groups of pinkies instead of the three demon types everyone always chooses, you know who they are. It's a fairly short experience, but it's wired tight, can't go wrong with this one. 7/10.

[Roofi]

Month 9 Day 30

 

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

 

[1] (A Lost Soul?) by (Quineotio) @Quineotio (2020)

 

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(Seek and ye will find)

 

"A lost soul?" is a gzdoom-compatible map taking place in a large tech base devoid of any life form, or rather almost. You press "TAB" and you see only one monster resides in that place. What is it? A terry trap? A cyberdemon? Also music disappeared and each noise produces a disturbing echo in order to make you feel even more lonely.

 

"Seek and ye will find" You have to find the right path to take. Considering how complex the tech base is, you're likely to get lost. However, you can savor all the efforts brought by the author on the aesthetics. Each area worths to be visited :  the underground cavern filled with lava or the strange "tree" room. Moreover, Quineotio built areas you can see but not access in order to favour immersion.

I loved the way Quineotio created the elevators too. Instead of lifts you can press with a simple button, he created sequence of actions. Moreover, the metallic sounds produced by the arachnotron and the Mastermind have been ingeniously reused  to simulate a large elevator that lands on the ground or malfunctions for instance. All those details contribute to a satisfying feeling of progress.

 

This map represents for me an unique experience. Each time you manage to go further in the base, the suspenses grow. I wouldn't qualify this wad as an horror-game because you can't see disgusting elements such as blood or corpses and you have absolute no risk to die (except if you fall in the lava or drown in the water maybe.) However the emptiness made me feel both relaxed and uncomfortable. The sentence you read at the very beginning ""Seek and ye will find" " haunted me.

 

Now, let's talk about the end I will put in spoiler.

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After crossing the strange tree room, you stumble on a disturbing flooded area with an abstract structure which reminds me of nothing else but modern art. Swim in the blood in order to access a secret location. You will meet a christ cross with a trail of blood. Punch it until your death.

 

I don't think this idea is really authentic but it's devilishly effective in creating a brooding and mysterious atmosphere. This map is a hidden gem.

 

Grade : A+

 

I stop here for today.

[LadyMistDragon]

The Pharin Agends Part 1 - Castle Luna (1995) by John Lllwellyn (Eternity)

 

I'm definitely glad I decided to listen to the Plutonia Midi Pack here, because it actually fits the mood quite well in that the general and marching sense of loneliness goes well with the tromping around what's a fairly large space.

 

What you're greeted with upon starting is quite a sight: a modified Phobos skybox and a castle-like structure. Naturally, there's water but it's not water you'll want to be in for long - it has become corrupted with chemicals that don't actually turn it green so you'll mostly want to stay out, especially as there are few rad suits.

 

The map is stuffed with secrets, though they are mostly of the 'hit misaligned wall' variety. One of these secrets is a claustrophobic maze containing a switch that does god knows what, along with walls that enemies can shoot through. Yeah, we all know mazes suck it's fine. I think the BFG secret might be broken due to the position of a shootable switch revealed after hitting another switch somewhere but it's fine.

 

Architecturally, it's a mixed bag. There's a decent sense of scale and some tech-y rooms where the best action takes place, but especially in the east, there are many large rooms containing a rather scattered monster population and boring gray walls. At the same time, you'll see columns and other such landmarks that indicate a museum. Also, a darkened cave in the southeast is a nice change of pace, although there's more poison water, not to mention Spectres so perhaps not.

 

Fighting isn't too bad for the most part. There are some large enemy hordes you're probably meant to blow to bits along the outside. I say 'probably' because ammo is quite sparingly and John has no natural instinct for plopping it down as it turns out. You might find some in secrets but it's not even enough to feel a modicum of comfort. As a rule, it's all quite rude, especially the teleporting sniping chaingunners you shouldn't try to shoot for the most part due to your initially meager stores of bullets. At the very end, you face a Cyberdemon with almost no ammo in front of a throne with Revenants.

 

Ok map then. There are a few good ideas here, but Chaingunners suck and so is ammo starvation, that is all 6/10

 

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[Sena]

Day 5: Is this just a dream? https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/d-f/dmcpm1

 

A '94 techbase with some slight nonsense texturing, and one room had enemies who turned invisible for no reason. And it commits pretty much every sin you can expect from a '94 techbase, keys locked inside of walls, enemies stuck inside the floor, floors that hurt for no reason, a confusing layout, pretty much the lot. However, this WAD does actually have one saving grace, in that it has funny sound effects. The level is pretty bad, and I do not think I could point to one part of it that I enjoyed or could recommend to anyone, but the replacement sounds for all the demons are funny, so that makes it better than most stuff of its era. 4/10.

[Walter confetti]

Xmas 2004 by Gemini - GlBoom, Doom 2, 2004, played with eternity "forseti" 4.0.2

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Now, this is a neat beta for a TC that i hope the author did a complete release!

But for what we have is a good but unfortunately unfinished small episode (7 maps) sets in a cartoony world heavily inspired by Batman Doom, borrowing lots of textures and sprites from it. The main story is that you are some sort of sociopath vigilante that goes on a rampage in a crime filled town where even the bank is named "rob this bank" just for giving criminals less troubles, i guess, in a dark christmas night. Santa's got in knowledge of this and he wants to kick your ass once for and all, but you've got his same idea before, so prepare to massacre santa elves (that are shotgunners midgets lol), zombie reindeers and Santa Klaus himself in his village!

Layout and detailing are pretty impressive, even if there's some sections like a glitchy sector in MAP02 and a missing key (at least i didn't find it) in MAP06.

The maps are fun to watch and to play, somehow also slightly easy to complete with some challenging parts in MAP06, but shows all it's unfinished nature full force, unluckily. Too bad this project doesn't got a final release at least officially on idgames, one of those maps that i like to know more about the backstory about why there's not a final release, because it really shows a lot of potential!

[Clippy]

Hey guys, got together with @Biodegradable for episode 20 of my amazing series:

 

First off we found GRRFY.WAD by Greg B. https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/g-i/grrfy11

 

Not much to say, young highschool kid map - big and empty and nothing at all to write home about so

 

rolled the dice again and got

 

The Tower by Jim Flynn https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/s-u/tower

 

This was a very interesting experience, and the first main event in my video to not properly finish. The map was convoluted and bursting with creative insanity. I got educated on Jim Flynn, TNT crew and historical mapper - this one was from 1994 - sad to hear he passed away. Tried to give it a fair shake but the progression was just puzzling and off the rails - interesting fractal textures and wacky stuff - memorable stuff but I feel like you would have to study the map for years with a team of scientists to make heads or tales of it.

 

Watch us try to make sense of the chaos here:

 

 

[Clippy]

Episode 21

 

This is my last episode before I get teeth ripped out of my fave

 

@sandwedge & @Pistoolkip joined me today and we drew

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/j-l/ks3

 

KS4.zip by Cory Banket (not blanket) - this guy is pretty metal and made a really cool jail map. Jail maps are so fucking cool to me - and this one despite being longer than I wanted, was pretty fun - despite convoluted progression - which I both liked and disliked but I appreciated the theme:

 

breaking out of jail

 

Progression was intentionally secretive and involved shooting random walls or subtle places to find hidden switches, secret lowering walls to progress etc  - I wish this map had a proper name and cool music then it would be the complete package. Anyway super interesting and memorable jail map - that well executed it's premise and kept me curious although somethings frustratingly lost and wanting to move on - but overall good times - also fun triple commentary made for a fun experience, I may still be in jail without em

 

 

I never watched prison break

[Sena]

Day 6: Latchhatch https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/j-l/latchhch

 

This level's a lot easier than it lets on. Only about 30 enemies, and you can through the lot of them, push a bunch of switches, and it's over as soon as it begins, really. It's got these huge open spaces that seem to actively discourage the notion of having to stop and kill anything, which is fine, because I don't really feel like doing it to begin with, and cyberdemons aren't nearly as threatening when you've got so much time to dodge their attacks it's like a boss from Punch Out. An entirely flat level, mostly the same textures, it's just a matter of holding W for long enough, and then it's over, and if it seems like I'm not really describing it in much detail, it's because I was half asleep when I played it. 4/10.

[LadyMistDragon]

Pinnacle of Darkness (2015) by @hobomaster22 (GZDoom)

 

Looks like it's the second time I've received a Nick Laurent map! This one actually received a runner-up Cacoward in 2015, and trust me, he deserves it! I think I actually prefer Trevor Primmett if we're going to be discussing mappers of a similar generation, but this is a hobmaster map, not an iori map, so let's get to it!

 

What we have here is a large gothic fortress, interwoven with caves and rivers of lava and featuring an incredibly medieval Primeval track you can't find the name of because I guess Doomwiki contributors aren't exactly experts on music. Anyways, it's not really too difficult with the emphasis being more in exploration. However, there's not much health sitting around, so you'll have to explore around find some secrets which I didn't because I was feeling lazy.
 

The custom enemy packs a punch however. It's called a tortured soul and it shoots a gas cloud that kind of zigzags around for a second or two before dissipating. They're definitely not someone you'll want to mess with.

 

There are some cooly cinematic moments. For instance, when you use the red key switch to open the gate to another fortress, little volcanoes erupt and Cacodemons will come roaring out. I didn't think they were like creatures of fire, but sure. The boss spitter is located behind a non-descipt computer and while not too hard to figure out, looks mildy impressive.

 

And GZDoom effects are not neglected whatsoever. Lots of uses of dynamic lighting in certain locations and an elevator that actually functions as a teleporter, along with some advanced uses of geometry that aren't possible in other source ports, they're used without seeming gimmicky.

 

This was a fairly fun map. A really good example of a map pushing the limits of GZDoom to do some cool stuff. 9/10

 

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Edited May 9, 2022 by LadyMistDragon