UnknDoomer's corner of ultra silence - Short WAD Reviews / Longplays / Hints

[UnknDoomer]

135. Mayhem Mansion (2013 / 2023).

https://darsycho.itch.io/mayhem-mansion

https://www.myabandonware.com/game/exploding-lips-dy9 (1999)

https://www.goddgames.com/downloads/explodinglips.html (presumably the official site where the updated build is sold)

 

The theme of total conversion during the existence of modding as such has taken on all sorts of forms. What is the port of Castlevania: Simon's Destiny (NES) or Hocus Pocus in 3D, with the preservation of the entire entourage, or the experimental port of Mortal Kombat II based on GzDoom. Somewhere nearby, simpler TCs always followed, interspersed with individual game elements in ordinary wads and so on. Today's instance in question stands apart from all the others. The short story is this. Once in the vastness of the network, the author stumbled upon a video about a little-known and forgotten category C shooter, of which, at the turn of the first half of the nineties, and somewhere later, enough were created. It was and remains so, gathering dust somewhere on the long-forgotten pages of the World Wide Web, if one detail is not remarkable - the overwhelming degree of surrealism of what is happening, which later served as inspiration for creating what is being discussed here.

 

In the latest build at the moment, presented by @Darsycho, 1.41, there are 6 extensive levels - it will take from an hour to an hour and a half to complete each one, but I limited myself to only the first. There is an arsenal, but, with the exception of a double-barreled shotgun, it is not very typical - where did you last see a boomerang as a starting weapon? Or what about the monkeys throwing exploding bananas?... The same can be said for the opponents - toothy French toasts with sunglasses, bipedal TVs showing static, flying lips and even more bizarre creatures. The amount of health and armor, as well as remaining at the level of opponents, if using GzDoom, is not displayed. A number of elements are clearly drawn from other games, notably Corridor 7: Alien Invasion (1994). The action begins in some strange mansion, where you have to consistently perform one task after another. Otherwise, the gameplay, adjusted for local features, is generally typical - collecting keys, moving through portals, exploring rooms. There is a store where you can buy ammo and other items for coins that drop from enemies.

 

 

Then one could write another paragraph or two, but, as they say, there is no point in looking for a deep idea where it does not exist, besides this, here is one of those cases where it is better to see / play once than to read and describe. In part, parallels could also be drawn here with Escape from Monster Manor (1993) with 3DO and Killing Time (1996), but, unlike them, I can only say that here the first impression of the unusual nature of what is happening passes quickly and literally after 30 minutes of gameplay begins to become very boring, exposing the root cause of the failure of such projects - the unusual style alone is not able to pull out all the other missing elements, such as balance, level architecture, etc.

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, Hard (UV) difficulty.

* ~ 1 hour and 20 minutes for the first level.

Edited June 7, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[UnknDoomer]

A minute of statistics, another new video will come a bit later.

 

1. 101 folks subsribed on the channel.

2. 660+ videos been uploaded.

3. In this case I remind about existance of a topic, where you can recommend something to look on and, probably, I will.

Edited June 9, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[Immorpher]

I see you already played quite a few Doom 64 WADs, but there's three more I can recommend!

Doom 64 Reloaded - https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/129988/
Ethereal Breakdown - https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/132113/

Dreamblood (only first episode is finished) - https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/136190/

 

 

[UnknDoomer]

2. CARTUCHO, CHIVALRY, SLEDGEHAMMER (2023).

 

1, 2, 3.

 

3 extremely short maps, presented by @RataUnderground, that in total can be completed in less than 5 minutes, the main feature of which was the limitation on the grid size of the level of 512x512. The second feature, also characteristic of all three, can be called the element of the "combat puzzle", embodied with some variability.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.

[RataUnderground]

1 minute ago, UnknDoomer said:

2. CARTUCHO, CHIVALRY, SLEDGEHAMMER (2023).

 

1, 2, 3.

 

3 extremely short maps, presented by @RataUnderground, that in total can be completed in less than 5 minutes, the main feature of which was the limitation on the grid size of the level of 512x512. The second feature, also characteristic of all three, can be called the element of the "combat puzzle", embodied with some variability.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.

 Thanks! I will watch the video now.
You missed the fourth map : p 

 

[UnknDoomer]

@RataUnderground, well, perhaps one day I might record it as well, combining with some sort of other short maps, but will skip it for now. Same as, according to how things is going, you might make something similar to this at the end point.

[UnknDoomer]

Changed all screenshots to the links instead, so thread now is better for navigate / easier to read.

[UnknDoomer]

136. WMC04: Heresy (2021). Build RC1.

 

Screenshots:

 

https://www.old-games.ru/forum/attachments/wmc04_1-png.290896/

https://www.old-games.ru/forum/attachments/wmc04_2-png.290897/

https://www.old-games.ru/forum/attachments/wmc04_3-png.290898/

 

The second and, at the moment, the last wad from the WMC series, presented by @Endless, which I decided to consider. Unlike its three counterparts, it is focused on working with Heretic. Consists of 8 levels (no secret one). The gameplay has a clear bias in run & gun, there are few enemies, on average within 150, the difficulty can be assessed as moderate. No plot intended. There are three main features here - high-quality detailing of levels, new, sometimes unique type of enemies, two new weapons.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, difficulty 4/5.

* It takes ~ 1,5 hours to complete.

Edited June 9, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[UnknDoomer]

137. Doomguy Does Speed (2023). Build RC1.

A fleeting wad of 7 levels. In addition to the features mentioned in the review of the previous wad, which are generally characteristic of most WMC works, there was a place for another one - the limitation of 666 linedefs, which thus makes the levels quite compact. I usually don't stick to the "pistol start" walkthrough, but at @INfront95's suggestion, I decided to make an exception by dropping all previously collected weapons at the start or end along the way, saving only at the beginning of a new location along the way. The alternative is to enter the IDCLEV code, which I somehow managed to forget about.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.

* It takes ~ 25 minutes to complete.

* Jumps and squats must be enabled.

 

Pros:

 

+ M5 - Discrete Showdown. A good map in the urban style, accompanied by an old-school rap track.

Edited June 11, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[UnknDoomer]

3. (diagonal) REALM (2020).

Map, presented by @4MaTC, with a bias in hard skirmishes in small spaces. Beyond that, the main feature is the way the level is built - there are a lot of diagonal lines, which makes it rather atypical.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.

* It takes ~ 1-1,5 hours to complete.

* Hardcore.

Edited June 11, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[UnknDoomer]

138. Hundreds & Thousands (2023).

Wad of 5 short levels, presented by @finnks13, the characteristic feature of which is the health of the doomguy - exactly 1 HP. Pharmacy is not provided. As a result, it is necessary to pass all levels without taking damage as such. The entourage is made in the spirit of ancient space temples that has already set the teeth on edge, in my subjective opinion - a rather overrated style, leading its history from the early 00's, at the same time, can note the presence of a good soundtrack. Recommended for the passage mainly avid fans of hardcore challenges.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.

* It takes ~ 1 hour to complete.

* Hardcore.

[UnknDoomer]

139. Wrath of the Titans (2023).

 

Screenshots:

 

https://www.old-games.ru/forum/attachments/wott_1-png.290973/

https://www.old-games.ru/forum/attachments/wott_2-png.290978/

https://www.old-games.ru/forum/attachments/wott_3-png.290979/

 

Wad for Heretic, presented by @ETTiNGRiNDER, consists of 9 levels (1 secret). No innovations are provided here, with the exception of rare inclusions of custom textures, the overall bias is generally made in the "old school" format. The difficulty is moderate, although throughout the whole wad there is a fairly severe shortage of ammo and flasks to replenish health, and at the end, given the chosen difficulty, it was not possible to cope with the abundance of malotaurs without cheat codes in my case.

Purely theoretically, a telefrag should have been used here, but I have never been able to use one, while the real solution would be to save phoenix pod ammo + tome of power combination to the very end, so flamethrower might be applied.

Separately, I note that a number of maps from this wad, in particular the same Montain's King Domain, were previously considered as part of Master Levels for Heretic.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, difficulty 4/5.

* It takes ~ 3 hours to complete.

 

Secret level.

 

https://www.old-games.ru/forum/attachments/wott_secret-png.290974/

 

E2M4 -> E2M9. In the process of passing you can find a helmet, then proceed through it to the section in the south.

Edited June 15, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[UnknDoomer]

While earlier I limited myself to about twenty wads from the "modern" "top 100" list, in many respects, perhaps, it is still quite subjective against the background, all other things being equal, of the annual Cacowards, from the lists of which previously also in general were gleaned representing one or another the interest of the position, which to a certain extent stood apart, remained the "early" period of mapping, or, to be more precise, until 2003 inclusive.

 

A more or less recognized list from those times, especially regarding wads before 1998, is usually the Top 100 WADs of All Time, covering the period from 1994 to 2003, compiled, unlike many other "late" lists, in 2003, group of 5 authors.

 

Previously from it were considered:

 

1. Cyberdreams (1998). #50 in a modern top.

2. Revolution! (2001). #84.

3. To some extent, 2002 A Doom Odyssey, or rather its modern incarnation 2022ADO (2002 / 2022).

4. Scythe (2003). #8.

*. Separately, here can recall the compilation of Compendium.

 

Today I decided to dive deeper into the past, but not so much with the goal of covering more early creations, such a goal, especially an attempt at comprehensive coverage, was never set, but with the goal of considering the most interesting single maps.

 

If exclude TC, multiplayer wads, megawads, as well as wads with 2 or more maps, it turns out that single maps over a period of 10 years occupy more than 1/3 of the list, namely 36 positions. Considered, in turn, will be 10 of them, 1 for each year.

 

4. Crossing Acheron (1995).
 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/a-c/achron22

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Crossing_Acheron (wiki)

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/John_Anderson_(Dr._Sleep) (wiki, about author)

 

First on the list is Crossing Acheron, the second level in a series of 9 levels, which, according to the author, is a visual representation of hell from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy (see Wikipedia):

 

Quote

CROSSING ACHERON (pronounced 'ak eron) is the second level in a series that began with DANTE'S GATE. For any of the two or three of you out there who have read Dante Alighieri's masterwork THE DIVINE COMEDY -- or even only "Inferno" -- I'm sure you've been able to appreciate the many allusions to this work in DOOM. I have tried to take a tack of my own along the same lines. (I do this not only because I think the idea is neat, but so that people will think that I'm very clever.) I'm not so naïve as to expect everyone to rush out and get a copy of "Inferno" (I mean, it IS pretty tedious stuff, at times), but it's well worth the read -- and a little patience is a virtue that is often well-rewarded.

(By the way: Acheron is a river in Hell (basically). But don't look for any rivers in here: I tried it several different ways and just wasn't convinced.)

 

It was once planned that they would eventually be released as a single wad, but this did not happen. In addition, the release of the ninth map did not take place. As for the plot of the series, its events take place parallel to the events of the poem, and in short it is as follows:

 

Quote

The text files provide a small storyline paralleling the Divine Comedy. The space marine protagonist plays the role of Dante and seeks his paramour Beatrice with the poet Virgil for guide.

 

The influence of the author's maps extended not only to other well-known representatives of the community, but also to his own course, which led to participation in the work on well-known projects in the gaming industry, such as Blood and Unreal.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.

* It takes ~ 10-15 minutes to complete.

Edited June 15, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[ETTiNGRiNDER]

On 6/12/2023 at 8:22 AM, UnknDoomer said:

throughout the whole wad there is a fairly severe shortage of ammo and flasks to replenish health, and at the end, given the chosen difficulty, it is not possible to cope with the abundance of malotaurs without cheat codes

Having watched the playthrough, more effective use of the artifacts would have helped; hard difficulty was calibrated with good artifact use in mind.

 

In the early levels, you don't use the timebombs at all, which amounts to thousands of HP worth of damage output wasted that you could have had as carryover ammo; you can only carry one artifact of each type between levels, while you get to take all your ammo with you.  The tower fight in M3 would have been a particularly good time to use some, as would many of the situations where a mob of gargoyles or golems are chasing you... drop a bomb, run in a direction that makes them chase you towards it and let it blow up right in the middle of the crowd.  Should be able to take out multiple gargoyles or golems a pop that way.  When you do start using the bombs in the later levels, you do a few sub-optimal things with them as well; double-dropping is usually not very effective (the first blast tends to push monsters away from the second one, unless maybe you're dropping them on an Iron Lich) and it's also not a great idea to keep shooting at the monsters you dropped a bomb on, unless maybe you're using the wand.

 

You demonstrate in M9 that you know about the tomed gauntlet leech effect, at least in so far as using it for the maulotaur kill trick, but you never try to use it outside of that situation.  A bunch of times you used a Quartz Flask while tome time was running and you could have just gauntleted a straggling golem/gargoyle/sabreclaw to refill.

 

In lesser faults, there were also some Morph Ova you didn't use, which is more lost damage potential (turning an enemy into a 10 HP chicken is essentially shaving off whatever HP above 10 it had before).  Later on, when you do egg some enemies, you overkill some of them instead of using the wand on them.   You also frequently used the crossbow to fight ghost groups, which is generally to be avoided if you can help it.  The side shots can't hit ghosts, so you're wasting between 4 to 32 points of damage per shot even if your aim is dead on.  Dragon Claw / Hellstaff are usually the ideal weapons to use on ghosts.  I would also recommend sniping distant/turret enemies with the Elven Wand or Dragon Claw rather then other weapons, both of them can do the Heretic equivalent of Doom's "chaingun tap" where if you repeatedly press and release the trigger with the right timing rather than holding it down, you'll get perfectly accurate shots.

 

Your tome use was fairly good aside from the gauntlet matter, although you make the typical amateur mistake with the tomed Hellstaff (holding down the trigger when only two rainclouds can be active at once, so you despawn the older ones before they let out their full damage potential).  You put it to clever use in the throne room on M6, though, two shots set to rain right on a spot where monsters teleport in.  Not sure if this was planned or a bit of unintentional genius.

 

Despite the earlier issues, you still came to M8 with better than a wand start, you just could have come a lot better prepared.  So looking at particular issues in your handling there, I think a big part of what hurt you was the tome burn directly before the coliseum teleport where you burned up a bunch of Dragon Claw and Hellstaff ammo with questionable effectiveness (I think that last hell shot didn't hit anything at all).  Tomed shots of those use up 5 ammo per shot and tend to be niche in their effectiveness.  There were a few other places where you used phoenix shots in places where bombs could have been effective.  In the final boss battle itself, you saved the last tome for... the wand?  I guess I see the logic, but if you'd used it along with the ring and phoenix rod instead of going for untomed phoenix rod, you could've melted a 'taur or two then and there while the ring and tome were up.  Regular phoenix rod vs. maulotaurs is like rocket launcher vs. cyberdemons, it still hurts them if you hit dead on, but they don't take blast damage so it's not the full effect.  Tome+crossbow would also probably have been a more effective choice.  You drop your last two timebombs on the maulotaurs for good measure... but timebombs deal only blast damage, and thus maulotaurs are fully immune to them.  Another factor is that you missed a couple of secret vaults in M8 with some good additional ammo loadout, but you should have been able to do better even without them.

[UnknDoomer]

5. Doomsday of UAC (1994).

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/s-u/uac_dead

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Doomsday_of_UAC

 

A wad, that began it all...Perhaps this is how this map could be described in a nutshell, loosely paraphrasing the slogan for a well-known action movie from Hong Kong. Officially one of the first custom wads, or rather one level, released on June 23, 1994, after and to this day is remembered for various reasons, not least, despite its general simplicity, due to the first use of some technical and design features. There is a backstory:
 

Quote

Earth date December 10, 2010. Location UAC branch of Jakarta, South East Asia. Local Time 18:35. Monsters from hell just spawned in UAC complex. UAC has deployed their truck to pick you up, along with your 5 other pals to help them. But the only person sit in the secret compartment is you. The truck got attacked, just after it entered the complex. You were knocked unconcious... minutes later, you got out from the compartment and tried to find your pals. "Where are they ?" "Where are inhabitants of this complex ?" "If they are dead, where are the corpses?" Thus, the adventure begins... Later, you will find them all. but, they are dead. EVACUATE is your priority then.

 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* Requires original Doom to run. The map occupies slot E1M8.
* I ignored the hidden section with the plasma gun and chainsaw, so in particular, some of the opponents were not detected.
* The complete passage takes ~ 10-15 minutes.

[UnknDoomer]

6. A Hidden Mountain Factory (1996).

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/?id=5563

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/A_Hidden_Mountain_Factory

 

As the name implies, the action takes place in a factory lost somewhere in the mountains. Unlike the meditative and spacious DoU, the gameplay here is run & gun in nature, with tough skirmishes in narrow passages. The difficulty is quite high. The chip of the map is a large number of switches and lowering / rising platforms.
 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* It takes ~ 20 minutes to complete.

[UnknDoomer]

7. Hell's Eventide (1997).

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/?file=levels/doom2/d-f/eventide
https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Hell's_Eventide

The level begins with the doomguy being fired upon from all sides by enemies, among which there are machine gunners. A similar beginning sets the spirit of the rest of the map - traps await here and there, in which archives will hide from time to time.
 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* The complete passage takes ~ 13 minutes.

[UnknDoomer]

8. VENOM (1998).

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/v-z/venom
https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Venom

According to the author, the map is made in the spirit of the fourth episode of The Ultimate Doom. As a consequence of this choice, a green tone and high complexity prevail. Local architecture is notable for its good attention to small details.
 

 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* It takes ~ 15 minutes to complete.

[UnknDoomer]

9. KZDoom 1 (1999).

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/j-l/kzdoom1

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/KZDoom1

 

The first map in the KZDoom series. As the name suggests, the combination of the letters "K" and "ZDoom" actively uses the elements of the then new port. The second gun here has a faster reload, the imps attack more often and can temporarily become invisible. The entourage is inspired by Quake and some of the sounds are directly drawn from it.
 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* It takes ~ 15 minutes to complete.

[UnknDoomer]

10. Atomic Tomb (2000).

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/a-c/at

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Atomic_Tomb

 

A typical map in the spirit of those that could be seen in the first episode of the original Doom, for which it was adapted, with one difference - the emphasis here is on the now rarely seen chaotic gameplay. Doomguy is allowed to sweep through the level like a hurricane, destroying everyone and everything in his path, just as famously picking up objects that come across the road.
 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* The complete passage takes ~ 4 minutes.

[UnknDoomer]

11. Null Space (2001).

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/m-o/nulspace

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Null_Space

 

A large wood and stone structure frozen in the void. You've just arrived here to be greeted by a less than friendly reception.

 

Doom wouldn't be what it is without some elements of surrealism. NS makes a small bet on this element, while the rest are the lack of ammo and the abundance of enemies. As a consequence, one of the ways a doomguy will be able to get to the final, which is represented here by an arena battle that takes place in several stages, will be to ignore a number of monsters, in my case about 100.
 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* It takes ~25 minutes to complete.

[UnknDoomer]

Quote

Despite the earlier issues, you still came to M8 with better than a wand start, you just could have come a lot better prepared. So looking at particular issues in your handling there, I think a big part of what hurt you was the tome burn directly before the coliseum teleport where you burned up a bunch of Dragon Claw and Hellstaff ammo with questionable effectiveness (I think that last hell shot didn't hit anything at all). Tomed shots of those use up 5 ammo per shot and tend to be niche in their effectiveness. There were a few other places where you used phoenix shots in places where bombs could have been effective.  In the final boss battle itself, you saved the last tome for... the wand? I guess I see the logic, but if you'd used it along with the ring and phoenix rod instead of going for untomed phoenix rod, you could've melted a 'taur or two then and there while the ring and tome were up.  Regular phoenix rod vs. maulotaurs is like rocket launcher vs. cyberdemons, it still hurts them if you hit dead on, but they don't take blast damage so it's not the full effect. Tome+crossbow would also probably have been a more effective choice. You drop your last two timebombs on the maulotaurs for good measure... but timebombs deal only blast damage, and thus maulotaurs are fully immune to them. Another factor is that you missed a couple of secret vaults in M8 with some good additional ammo loadout, but you should have been able to do better even without them.

 

@ETTiNGRiNDER, in opposite can tell that here goes a fact that number of malotaurs at the end with combination of ammo... well, rather a bit unsual, as I can tell, in compare to most of the wads I've seen / or remember, while I've completed now up to all well / less known one, including tough one. If you know how it ends, then combination of enough ammo of phoenix pod + tome of power(s) would save the day, but, by other hand, of which I've suddenly forgot for a while (usually not), which is basically one of the issues, as well as I didn't know what will be on this very end, while before there were no much specific reason to care about, ever by the fact ammo loadout was short, due to a fact there is also a plenty of wads which such technique exist.

BTW. There is an recent example to compare I've posted here - "Null Space" for Doom II. The way to the finale might be rough, but at the end there is enough ammo to use. So what can be count here good or not is an a matter of choice / specific preferences, I guess. As for the my position here, it's rather purely neutral, when things come to such.

As for telefrag, not sure could it been used at the end point or not, but, I guess, it might be count as a good option if it would be.

 

I've updated my short note to be more specific.

Dropping last time bombs was just an act of ridding of last items rather then any proper use.

Edited June 15, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[UnknDoomer]

12. Ruma (2002).

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/p-r/ruma

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Ruma

 

Gray technical base somewhere in the canyon. This is how the author himself describes the map, and this is how it can be described in general. This would, ceteris paribus, could mean that we have something extremely ordinary before us, but, as usual, even if the context is quite typical, the end result depends on the embodiment, which in this particular case succeeded.

Of the gameplay features, one can note the lack of ammunition and the fact that the sound effects of weapons have been replaced.

 

 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* The complete passage takes ~ 14 minutes.

[UnknDoomer]

13. Doom Raider: Crypt of the Vile (2003 / 2020).

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/?id=12035 (original version)

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Doom_Raider:_Crypt_of_the_Vile

 

Something between a map and total conversion. The level is inspired by the classic Tomb Raider games. Doomguy goes to the tomb in order to find a certain fiery artifact. Along the way you have to deal with several puzzles, avoid many traps, a classic boulder escape is provided, and also fight a series of modified monsters of four types and one boss.

The arsenal has also been changed to match the mastermind - two pistols instead of one, submachine guns, and a Quake-inspired nail gun as a bonus.

In the process of passing I missed a few secrets. Most of them do not carry any special value, with the exception of one that requires finding a red skull - armor-piercing pistols are hidden in it.

The original map came out in 2003. In 2020 the author released an updated revision focused on working with GzDoom. I opted for the latter.

 

 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* It takes ~ 30 minutes to complete.

[UnknDoomer]

Doom and surrealism. Part 1. M.K. Escher.

 

As already briefly mentioned when describing one of the previously reviewed maps, Doom would not be what it is at all, if it were not accompanied by a certain degree of surrealism both in the environment and what is happening, which distinguishes it favorably from conventionally typical military-style shooters, and not less conventional horror / psychedelic works that have more or less action elements. When it comes to custom maps and wads, the concept of what is generally considered surreal is often blurred and, as a result, it is placed on the same abstract shelf with others, in particular the mentioned genres. This fact, perhaps, is partly due to the fact that in a pure, distilled form, such creations are much less common, both in the context of custom wads and if we take the gaming industry as a whole, but they exist. Next, 5 + 1 maps and 2 wads will be considered, a total of 8 works, which, in my opinion, are the successful incarnations, to one degree or another taking one of the three key elements as the main one.

Pointwise elements of this kind were encountered repeatedly in a number of previously reviewed wads, where wads under Doom 64 could be singled out in particular. In today's new rubric an attempt will be made to find more "clean" examples, or, in any case, those that are close such status, starting with two projects inspired, like The Bridge (2013) and, to a lesser extent, Kairo (2013), by the works of the famous artist. Brief reference from Wikipedia:

Quote

Maurits Cornelis Escher is a Dutch graphic artist. Known primarily for his conceptual lithographs, engravings on wood and metal, in which he masterfully explored the plastic aspects of the concepts of infinity and symmetry, as well as the features of the psychological perception of complex three-dimensional objects, the most striking representative of imp art.

14. Impossible: A New Reality (2006). Cacowards 2006.

 

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

 

Quote

Don't trust your instincts. Don't trust your sense of reality. This fall, there are more than three dimensions.

On the face of it, this map starts out pretty ordinary. Doomguy explores another fortress in brown tones, but the farther, the more the surrounding space is rebuilt according to unknown laws, seemingly endless stairs lead nowhere until the hero turns around and goes back, somewhere the mirror is just a mirror, and somewhere... it's a pass... The combination of unusual transitions, puzzles and unexpected skirmishes, culminating in a battle with a cyberdemon in the looking glass, served to ensure that I:ANR not only received the annual Cacowards award, but became one of the most familiar examples of how Doom can be embodied something borderline.
 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* The full passage takes ~ 40 minutes.

Edited June 16, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[UnknDoomer]

15. F&*% You, Escher! (2020).
 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/fuescher

This map, presented by @smeghammer, can be called the complete opposite of the previous one. While in I:ANR the emphasis was on unusual elements as such, puzzles and not simple battles, fuescher completely shifts the focus to the structural component. The location as a whole, as well as its individual elements, represent the maximum, as far as possible in the realities of the local code, the approximation of the implementation of geometry to the spirit of the paintings of the Dutch artist.
 

Settings and features:

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.
* The full passage takes ~ 40 minutes. On youtube I found only one video with this map, where the author did not have the patience to fully complete it - he was not able to open the door where the yellow skull is used, noclip was took a place. Judging by the topic on the forum, the problem is common, I also encountered this moment.

https://www.old-games.ru/forum/attachments/fuescher_yellow_skul-png.291241/

At the lowest level of the library it's easy to miss the switch, hidden in the otherwise inconspicuous little room, where the chain gunner is located. By default it is hidden behind one of the bookshelves.

By the way, somewhat departing from the "fictional" abstraction. This has nothing to do with the note about maps, but I recommend watching this video:
 

Edited June 15, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[UnknDoomer]

Part 2. Strange dreams.

 

16. Doom Dream (2009).

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/doomdrem

 

Dreams. A mysterious space, devoid of any framework and restrictions. A place where the wildest fantasies can come true with a light touch. Given such a context, the implementation of high-quality thematic wads in this vein was only a matter of time. DD is, according to the author, a compilation of six dreams. The hero begins his journey in a strangely built space, moves to an empty city, where he has to find a series of toggle switches, after which he has to escape from the ormada of imps and several cyberdemons, and at the end a snowy landscape and a waterfall await. There are a lot of custom textures, new weapons, among which can distinguish an assault rifle, new types of enemies, in this context, successfully combined with the usual roster.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.

* The complete passage takes ~ 30-40 minutes.

[UnknDoomer]

17. Surreal 2 (1995).

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/s-u/surreal2

 

This is specific +1 map. One of the earliest attempts to take the designated theme, and this is primarily interesting. Short, the map can be completed in 5 minutes, rather unprepossessing, with places obviously not well-chosen textures, but at the same time still having a certain atmosphere. The idea of a gas station or similar objects in the middle of an all-encompassing void will be used more than once later, the sound effects also came in handy.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.

[UnknDoomer]

18. bunker (2022).

Map presented by @NoC0ncentrate51. The hero wakes up from a strange sound - a siren sounds somewhere outside the window, a tornado is approaching. In order to hide from such, he descends into the basement... and finds himself in a strange, distorted world. Moving through the space, part of which is devoid of walls, and some of the elements of which repeat each other, he will have to cross the canyon, which will lead... to M1 from the original Doom 2, but not at all the one that everyone had time to remember. In order to do without spoilers, I will not say how this story ended, besides, the map is not difficult and is devoid of any puzzles - the whole emphasis is on the atmosphere.

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.

* It takes ~ 20 minutes to complete.

Edited June 16, 2023 by UnknDoomer

[UnknDoomer]

19. Sharp Things (2017).

 

https://www.doomworld.com/files/file/18974-sharp-things/

 

Map from a well-known modder in the community under the nickname Haser. According to a short backstory, the action of which remains behind the scenes, in the process of clearing the weeds in the backyard of the house, a portal is found to the "thorny", in the architectural sense, due to the use of a large number of triangles, hell. Armed mainly with a plasma gun, you will have to escape from this metaphorical "weed".

 

 

Settings and features:

 

* GzDoom 4.10.0, UV difficulty.

* The full passage takes ~ 40 minutes.