Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
ICID

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #047

Recommended Posts

7-01.png.2bdbb378462a20125c3537bccce42373.png

(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.
  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. It's okay to criticize a map, but remember that many mappers read these review threads and behave accordingly. Also, please don't tag mappers into a negative review of their work.

 

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. If you're worried about finding Terrywads or broken files, I also pull at least five random WADs for the event. 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 difficulty 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. 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:

mancuba.gif.8656dfd0e1294b2f2de60a3f8a75894a.gif

  1. Mobius
  2. Brick Metal Techbase
  3. Catharsis II
  4. Enter Night
  5. 50 Monsters

 

1076803717_adventurersscores.png.0acc1debc0f7115beaa942ebc12b114f.png

Spoiler

The Top 10 (out of 55):

 

1. @Roofi | 5330

2. @Sena | 2310

3. @LadyMistDragon | 2150

4. @Walter confetti | 1410

5. @ICID | 710

6. @Endless | 570

7. @Thelokk | 535

8. @smeghammer | 380

9. @Clippy | 365

10. @Biodegradable | 320

 

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

Share this post


Link to post

Me first!

 

here is a playthrough of the first two maps of an old compilation wad from back in the day...

 

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

 

Date:09/04/95

Author:The Kid, The Lord, Blackfist

 

I have played both of these many times, but ages ago - hence the hesitation when looking for the timed switch on e2m1. It is definitely a product of its time, so play it as such.

 

Anyway, here is a vid of my run - not max or all secrets, but a fun nostalgia trip nonetheless.

 

Spoiler

I think I should rename these to the 'not-unpegged-doortrak-mapset'...

 

 

Edited by smeghammer

Share this post


Link to post

SYMOWOLF.WAD by Symo Storr really puts the regression in progression because I spent far more time backtracking and head-scratching than I did actually playing this map

 

 

Share this post


Link to post

Just a heads up - the new World of Warcraft expansion pack just dropped, so expect me to be quite a bit less active on the Doom side of things for at least a couple of months. That said, this evening we have a famous map... or, rather, an infamous one!

 

SEWERS.ZIP by David Calvin & David Blanshine (1994)

DSDA / UV /100% kills / 100% secrets

 

That's right, the infamous sewers.wad, the sprawling, boring, crappy level that somehow got bundled with the official XBox release of Doom. We learn here the level was meant to be the first in a nine-maps episode, which fortunately doesn't seem to have ever seen the light of day. 

Plenty of playthroughs, commentaries, scathing reviews of this... thing on YouTube and such, so what's left to add? Well, let's see if an unironically sewer level enjoyer like me can find some salvage. 

 

Nope! confirmed for piece of crap. It's really no better than the bottom-of-the-barrel, middle of the 90s shovelware we all know, and it truly beats how it could find a way into an official release, if not as as laughing stock, or a rotten easter egg. No sense of progression through this meandering mess, ammo is a rarity while hitscanners are all over the place, the supposed 'sewers' are, for the most part, orthogonal and unadorned expanses of the most basic of techbases. In fact, I have played much better shovelware, which at least had the decency to go all the way with the weirdness.

 

Uninteresting, even as crap. Avoid.

 

image.png

Share this post


Link to post

ArchDlux.wad: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/a-c/archdlux

 

Here's one for Wadarcheology. This map might have come out in the 90s, but it is absolutely infused with modern sensibilities. For starters, they actually use multiple archviles, and effectively at that, as they demonstrate a clear knowledge of the archvile's abilities, and how they can be utilised to become a genuine threat. Elsewhere, there is a similar level of variety, and a more general ability to use the different traits of the monsters in an effective manner, which also makes this one of the more difficult maps from this period. Granted, I do think its difficulty seems frustrating by design, such as by placing chaingunners too far out of reach to actually fight, having to dodge revenant rockets in areas absolutely packed with other enemies, and there's always the classic move of just putting 4 archviles in the same place to all come at the player at once. Still, I can at least respect a competently made and fair challenge that evidently encourages experimenting with a bunch of different strategies. Its level of detail could be better, and some of its interior sections could definitely do with more height variation, but this is a surprisingly modern level for something not actually modern, it's got first person platforming, a multitude of different locales and visual motifs, one section with a wave of enemies who all teleport in at once, and is generally built with a greater degree of precision and polish than was standard back in the day. 7/10.

E058Pb6.pngABYT1L1.png

Share this post


Link to post
3 hours ago, Sena said:

ArchDlux.wad: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/a-c/archdlux

 

Here's one for Wadarcheology. This map might have come out in the 90s, but it is absolutely infused with modern sensibilities. For starters, they actually use multiple archviles, and effectively at that, as they demonstrate a clear knowledge of the archvile's abilities, and how they can be utilised to become a genuine threat. Elsewhere, there is a similar level of variety, and a more general ability to use the different traits of the monsters in an effective manner, which also makes this one of the more difficult maps from this period. Granted, I do think its difficulty seems frustrating by design, such as by placing chaingunners too far out of reach to actually fight, having to dodge revenant rockets in areas absolutely packed with other enemies, and there's always the classic move of just putting 4 archviles in the same place to all come at the player at once. Still, I can at least respect a competently made and fair challenge that evidently encourages experimenting with a bunch of different strategies. Its level of detail could be better, and some of its interior sections could definitely do with more height variation, but this is a surprisingly modern level for something not actually modern, it's got first person platforming, a multitude of different locales and visual motifs, one section with a wave of enemies who all teleport in at once, and is generally built with a greater degree of precision and polish than was standard back in the day. 7/10.

E058Pb6.pngABYT1L1.png

 

Default ceiling textures are a tell-tale sign of a daring and experimental sensibility. Might have to give this one a shot.

Share this post


Link to post

FURDEMON by @URROVA (2020)

GZDoom / UV / 100% kills / 100% secrets

 

 

Well, no denying it, the animated title screen is pretty spiffy. We have a partial conversion here, where we'll be fighting demons... and cats, which is pretty much the same thing. First map by the author, according to the .txt file.

 

A UDMF 5 maps set, Furdemon employs more or less all of the tricks the map format allows for: colored lighting, scripting, polyobjects, reflective floors, deep water, slopes, camera points of view, 3d floors... and a few very welcome ones especially, such as autosaving and no automatic weapons switching. Now, you may think 'well, sounds like baby's first maps', as first works in UDMF that go overboard with advanced features have become sort of a trope in the DW community. You'd be right... sort of.

 

There is a lot to like about this set, under the GZ abuse. The architecture is super-linear and blocky, and the lighting is occasionally a bit flat, but there is some thought put into combat and progression - a few of the ambushes, especially where the author makes good use of damaging floors, are actually dangerous and got me close to death a few times. The scripting and dialogue are very well done, and the maps do feel like a proper 'adventure', so to speak. The custom sprites are... what they are, but they work fine and are rather entertaining - apparently the chief plan of the Furdemon is to turn imps... into furries. Calm down Satan, stop warcriming. Fortunately, we have an addition to our arsenal - an unmaker that spits out spawn cubes, providing us with allies against the ur-fur in MAP05. Good stuff. 

 

So yeah, many will probably snub this mapset and throw it into the heap of 'my first UDMF map' but, personally, I found it fun and charming at best, and no worse than a lot of first efforts out there. Well done!


 

Spoiler

 

image.png


image.png


image.png

 

image.png

 

 

Edited by Thelokk

Share this post


Link to post

Today, a single map WAD from 2000:

 

Highlnds.wad

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

GZDoom

freelook

no jump

 

The readme is quite amusing in its self-promotion :-) It's not really that difficult... Anyway, it is - to be fair - a pretty good map from both an aesthetics and gameply PoV. I had a lot of fun with this. I didn't try to max it though I did find all secrets with plenty of things and monsters still to find. It flows nicely and progression is clear and the encounters also seem to ramp up nicely.

 

As with a lot of maps it seems, the lighting is very samey - there is not much noticeable light used as a design feature, except for one place (~16:50) where a line triggered a sector to fullbright - seemed like an afterthought? This is minor though, and overall this is definitely an above-average map.

 

My playthrough:

 

Share this post


Link to post

Chaos Total 2 (1997) by David Schaeling (Eternity)

 

Yet another mazey 90s complex, featuring some incredibly ugly and questionable use of texturing, including poisonous liquids that clearly aren't meant to damage you, though perhaps mark danger in certain cases. Like the lava-filled room leading to the exit area for one. And if you're going to put an Invulnerbility anywhere, shouldn't be in this room rather than the prior one? There are some more generous Invuln placements, but to be fair, they do seem to allow you go into a tight room and not camp. I'm still far more bothered by that shitty barred changunner room with silver teleport textures everywhere. By comparison, the double-pronged chaingunner/Lost Soul attack is located on both sides of a narrow hallway is laughably easy to cheese.

A couple of other random areas such as a flesh-walled room will crush you for no reason at all and the key placement in most cases is laughably arbitrary. Specfically, the red key is sitting unobstrusively in a storage closet while the blue key sits on a platform with COMP plastered everywhere The final area that's located behind the hall of key doors is actually fairly interesting, with Arachnotrons placed almost-thoughtfully around with Mancubi, Revenants and Barons of Hell around as support. After this is a crappy gray hallway with Revenants and more SS than you could shake a stick at. After this, the ugly water-filled exit feels like a relief. 4/10, not that painful but a little more drawn out than you might like

 

Spoiler

u6X8ZMx.png

Spoiler

BGkwGaE.png

Spoiler

atf1Fti.png

 

Share this post


Link to post

Sarge Baldy's Speedmapping Compilation #13 (2004) by various (Eternity)

 

Having played three other ancient speedmapping compilations (Doomworld Mapping #16, #18, and another one directed by NiGHTMARE), it's quite safe to say that Doom Builder's release had a fairly sizable impact on overall speedmapping quality. Despite the opinion of one disgruntled commentator, there's close to half of the maps here that demonstrate what can be done with a more user-friendly editor. Enemy encounters at the very least feel far more polished. The same time limit for at least two those compilations (100 minutes) is still present here, so you'd have to imagine this as quite an achivement

 

Map 01: This opener is made by ravage, now known as Fletcher, and somehow manages to be much more energetic than his Community Chest submission, despite the presence of low-tiers everywhere because of how closets are opening everywhere. Normally, getting too trap-happy will annoy most players but they are largely filled with trash enemies and  fly by quickly enough, it's unlikely you'll take too much notice. At the same time, the monotonous texturing doesn't do too much for the navigability, and you'll probably want to play with a midi pack or some other mod like Jimmy's Jukebox or a more recent one I download whose name I can't remember right now because D_RUNNIN will just make things worst. Props to Fletcher for actually putting in a secret, marked by a candle. It's just a closet with health potions but it could be much worst. Anyway, the rad pool was cool.

 

Map 02 - Now this map on the other hand...well the concept is certainly impressive. You're sent to jail and have to break out, head down a nearby lava tunnel with red rockand hit a switch which opens another cell containing a fireblu portal which'll take you out of the map. But the issue is combat is a total joke and you're absolutely overloaded with ammo for some inexplicable reason.

 

Map 03: Better than the previous map, but consisting of darkened tunnels, some cells and some relatively intense combat. Behind the yellow door, is a confusing red teleporter that doesn't take you anywhere but seems to indicate the exit bars.

 

Map 04: Wait, so Kaiser's speedmapping here? Despite being a touch minimalist, detailing is tasteful if a little less flashy than usual and some combat situations that are archtypically Kaiser, which is too say, single-shotgunning such enemies as Mancubi and Pain Elemental for no other reason than they were in Doom 64 or something. That is a cool shallow pool outdoor area, though, if empty. But those Arch-viles at the end...my god, Kaiser isn't known for going hard, but it's possible that you may not be too aware of the other weapon you picked up which makes this encounter much easier, but still.....

 

Map 05: A largely darkened map with several crushers (the first of many such maps) some claustrophobic combat, and a questionable curly platform you need to walk to the end to progress. Hearing the Arch-vile in the last room might seem scary but avoiding them doesn't prove too difficult when you finally see each other

 

Map 06: Sgt Crispy has contributed to all the Doomworld Speed comps I've played so far. But whilst the simple layout and low enemy count would deceive you into thinking this was easy....let's just say it isn't at all! Don't head into the red key room with the altar when you spot the Caco because a massive Imp mob and two Revenants will teleport in and you do NOT want to be boxed in here. Probably want to skip the Imps in the closets before those if you want enough ammo for the latter enemies too. Some tomfoolery with  Lost Sould  and an Arch-vile in a hallway leading outdoors conclude what would probably be the best map easily if competition did not arise in the second half. Death exiting is cool though

 

Map 07: A Mike Watson joint! So this shows quite a bit of promise early on with the crimson caves and tight encounters with Cacos (and that's what she said) but the last room is a fake exit which reveals a million Imps you get nothing but chaingun bullets to kill with

 

Map 08 - This one had some decent ideas, but the ammo was just not there. And why exactly are we going to jail again? And why is the way out just a shootable switch?

 

Map 09 - This next map though....imagine something like an indoor quarry with Cacodemons and Imps everywhere, and you'll know exactly what this map's about! Charge down to the Supercharge, plasma rifle, hit the switch on the bottom and prepare to unload! I think this is more on the dumb side of things to be perfectly honest, but definitely among the best maps in the set. Hats off to Anders_A!

 

Map 10 - Don't you just love maps that fake you out with fake choices? Because near the end, you have two switches on either side and one switch will lower some crushers that'll probably kill you, while the other opens an exit and also sends some Hell Knights and Arch-vile your way. That's far from the only crusher too, but on the other hand, this last fight probably makes the map for what that's worth.

 

Map 11: Scythe creator Erik Alm is back with yet another delightful entry and the one that will be most people's favorite. See, experienced as was with somewhat less rtestrictive speedmapping at this point, this probably wasn't a huge stretch for him. So you start out in a dark cave with a chaingunner and Revenant kind of next to each other and a Super Shotgun nearby on a raised surface. Choose wisely. Don't pick up the BFG, the bloody corpses will tell you why. Next room is nasty rocket launcher trap you can beat by backing up. It's pretty clear from some of the other fights here that Erik realizes the fun of rocketing weak enemies. Finally the detailing of the last room was kind of nice but I was also over this map. Nicey cinematic ending with outdoor courtyard and Revenants at any rate.

 

Map 12: Chopkinsca's map. So you're assaulted on all sides in much of the map, you must advance wisely, and once again, 5,000 crushers. I didn't finish but the restrictions may have hurt it, somewhat, though it's still in the top 6 or 7 maps.

 

Map 13: Some guy called Earthquake did this one, and it's not even possible to UV max. It's an interesting gimmick to teleport back to the starting room several times. Don't bother killing the Cyberdemons, although the Hunted-esque maze bit was nice.'

 

Map 14 - Well, this guy's name was certainly appropriate! Like, progression was probably the weirdest part, especially since I don't believe we got an exit and the last place you can enter will just crush you.

 

 

Overall, this is a very solid 6/10

 

Spoiler

o5zBK8q.png

Spoiler

LVuOPJT.png

Spoiler

M9O1jc5.png

Spoiler

d9aOhQg.png

Spoiler

9f2SFdp.png

 

Edited by LadyMistDragon

Share this post


Link to post

Tonight the random file button took me to Bygone, a 2003 vanilla map by Doug "FrootDip" Leeman. I wasn't sure how feel about this one at first, but it surprised me and definitely worth a one-off playthrough at least. This is one of those maps with a round central structure, like Doom II MAP11, although this one is largely much more flat. There's some little cave sections in this map which are very dark and quite cramped. The combat feels a bit rough and there is a definite resource starvation on UV, at least. This led to a fair few deaths and reloads, and carefully trying to stay alive at low HP. On the other hand, it also meant a lot of tight, frantic combat which turned out to be good fun and only really mildly frustrating.

 

Screenshots (Woof! 10.4.0):

Spoiler

woof0041.png
woof0043.png
woof0045.png
woof0047.png
woof0048.png
woof0049.png
woof0051.png
woof0054.png
woof0055.png

 

The blue key room ambush took me totally by surprise the first time, and it didn't trigger on the 2nd attempt. I ended up having to come back for the much-needed green armour, medkit and scattering of ammo that was being guarded. The circular central room later came in useful for running away from Revenant missiles. A couple of monsters got stuck, in the red key cave and after grabbing the red key. There was some repopulation on the way back from getting keys, which added to the tension. I thought the way the central room opens to reveal the exit was cool, though again it did emphasize the mostly flat nature of the map. The exit lines can also be crossed before killing the final Barons, I gave it a couple of shots but ultimately I didn't have enough ammo to 100% the map. Despite that, I quite liked it. Good way to kill a few minutes.

 

Bygone

Edited by Somniac

Share this post


Link to post

when the postman strikes back... by Thomas Ott is the prototypical 90s map: confusing progression, mountains of hitscan, lopsided item placement etc. Despite all this it was a pretty good time! I was merciful to myself and opted to look at the level in editor once I had searched every path I could find, and I'm glad I did because I saved myself a whole lot of wallhumping by doing so! The combat is lukewarm, and the "puzzles" feel more like arbitrary switch progression but whatever that's fine. All in all I'd say it's a decent map for the era

 

 

Share this post


Link to post

First roll got me Cydonia, which I played recently and didn't like at all, so I rolled again.

 

Castle66 by Robert Berkowitz (1997)

DSDA / UV /100% kills / 100% secrets

 

 For probably my shortest commentary so far, here we have probably one of the most barebone, insubstantial things I have played for ER/iWA. A near-monotextured castle that is actually just a moat, a moat but without water, and an indoor moat. Scaffolds of imps everywhere and mostly the shotty to take them down, a comically long and empty corridor, the shortest three key hunt in Doom history and no secrets at all. Boring, forgettable, really struggling to find something to say about it. Maybe we'll get luckier tomorrow. 


 

Spoiler

 

image.png


image.png

 

 

Share this post


Link to post

Neith (2004) by Owen "Sarge Baldy" Lloyd (Eternity)

 

Or Exhibit A in which I have a hard time grasping Tyson maps, or partially Tyson maps in this case. I dunno what green custom texture Owen is using in certain spots, but anyways, it gives just that extra bit of color here that something like Fava Beans just lacks. Also, those are some nicely constructed computer consoles in certain spots. And overall, layout is suggestive of something realistic, even though in real lift, nothing actually looks like this. Looks like doors were also darkened for some reason

 

Anyways, there's quite a bit of ridiculous RNG crap to deal with in hallways as overall narrow as these ones. Like the take the lift at the end of the first hallway and you're immediately confronted by pinkies you're somehow expected to run around without being blocked off. I died several times here. Although running a counter-clockwise semicircle so you can pick up the berserk pack sitting behind some crates seemed like a fairly consistent strategy. There are several places where you are meant to punch pinkies, and I guess it's fine. Another trap with a pair of shotgunners and a pinkie on either side is definitely highly dependent on luck, especially since it's easy to switch to a shotgun once you've picked it up. From this point, combat alternates between killing somewhat large groups of enemies and punching pinkies or spectres. Ammo is rather limited though so you'll have to pick carefully, along with health. As such, the crawl through a slime pool will be made much less painful if you can find the hidden rad suit in a rather obvious closet. Then you come into a outdoor courtyard filled with some seriously nasty sewage and a group of Cacodemons. A rocket launcher is located not too far away under the collapsed ceiling of a room, but you'll probably find that you won't have enough rockets for most of them. Another nearby switch opens a room with some bare walls which you can then press on and open some little computer rooms, one containing a Lost Soul pack. After going through some more rooms, you end up in a series of Fullbright mine tunnels, with a blue key located in what might be another facility but doesn't have a huge sense of place.

 

   Then prepare for a long trek all the way back to the very first hallway to use said key, only stopping to punch some spectres that attack you from a closet on the left located right before the warehouse room. Final room is quite claustrophobic, but you can rocket a pack of shotgunners if you save a rocket or two, along with some other amusing encounter I forgot. Easy 6/10, but the bit with the Cacos was dumb.

 

Spoiler

w5jODvt.png

Spoiler

nURHcNc.png

Spoiler

OGawKbu.png

 

Share this post


Link to post

I also got this one last night, but I didn't look at it until today - And the Dead Shall Rise by Memento Mori and Requiem contributor Orin Flaharty. It turns out this is actually Memento Mori MAP08 as a standalone, for E4M1 of The Ultimate Doom. However, the file I downloaded actually runs in Doom II despite what the txt file says. Its been some years since I played Memento Mori, and I don't remember this map from it at face value. However, this was a very solid one, albeit with some minor caveats.

 

Screenshots (Crispy Doom 5.11.1):

Spoiler

DOOM0016.png
DOOM0017.png
DOOM0021.png
DOOM0023.png
DOOM0026.png
DOOM0035.png

 

The map was visually well above-average for its time, and the best way to describe it is a marriage of Thy Flesh Consumed's marble, metal and wood aesthetic with Doom II MAP24's gameplay at a smaller and mostly more forgiving scale. Just like the map from yesterday, ammo and health were tight on UV. Orin gives out enough radiation suits and teleports to escape the lava pits if you're quick enough. The progression was at times a bit cryptic, with walk-over lines used to raise the path to the exit not being telegraphed, and lowerable platforms not being obviously textured - but the map isn't big enough for this to become a game-breaking problem. Overall I found it snappy and occasionally sadistic, with a nice layout and nice visuals. 

 

And The Dead Shall Rise

Share this post


Link to post

REALM10.WAD by Darren McKeigan (1994)

DSDA / UV /100% kills / 100% secrets

 

Yay, another '94 misfit! Poking fun at these primitive levels feels a bit as if shooting at sitting ducks, which I love to do. Truth to be told, I did play worse - Castle66 was certainly worse. Still, it's typical wannabe E1techbase territory, where textures just kinda happen with no attempt to make the transition pleasant, or at least vaguely sensical. Combat is just a heap of hitscanners and imps spread all over the dimly lit halls and giant sized courtyards - there is a vague attempt at an ambush or two, especially as a few pits sloooowly raise revealing a bunch of pinkies, but it's too little to pose any kind of threat: as usual, the only thing that might kill you is a thousand hitscanners and no armor. Seriously, sometimes I wonder if these early level makers actually played Doom at all. 

So yeah, another short commentary for another short, forgettable piece of early Doom mapping. Don't bother. 

 

image.png

 

 

Share this post


Link to post

Flesh Factory by Damson does a great job of emulating that 90s feel, in fact while playing I completely forgot it was actually form 2015! It's got some convoluted progression, but not frustratingly so. The level of detail is consistent throughout, leaning heavily on the 64x64 grid. Some interesting mechanical features by which I mean there's a lotta switches that do stuff, including what I would call a "poor man's stairbuilder" that ends up becoming a pathway to a secret in a not-so-obvious kinda way. All in all it was a good time!
 

 

Share this post


Link to post

DMHSIEGE.WAD | By Dave Hurt | 1996

 

MAP01.png?width=796&height=597MAP01_3.png?width=796&height=597MAP01_2.png?width=796&height=597

 

A little arena-like type of map from the 90s that does a nice job of being fun and a charming, if a little difficult to navigate. It's quite brown on the eyes but the gamplay is well done and I was quite surprised to see a little sense of progression in there. The design is quite barebones but does the job well and most of it flows well. Only problem is the exit, which is just too hard to find. Still, fun little map.

Share this post


Link to post

50 Monsters by Brayden "AD_79" Hart et al.
GZDoom software ITYTD blind continuous

 

I've had this one in my backlog since forever, the concept always seemed interesting. After playing Arrival with the DWMC a couple of months ago AD_79's name really stuck with me, that wad's soundtrack was so exceptionally beautiful and haunting. I was enamored with the music, and I became even more curious to see what AD's mapping would be like. When I saw this come up I knew I had to play it, even if it meant breaking my not-quite rule about playing full megawads for ER/IWA because it often takes me more than 2 weeks to go through them.

 

I absolutely loved the first episode. The gimmick is interesting, but I was especially impressed with how it's kept so consistent across the various difficulty levels, and how each map is so well balanced to keep the monster count the same and still vary the challenge level so much. I was only slightly disappointed that none of the music was AD_79's, but the selection was still excellent. The levels looked beautiful, small and compact yet fun to explore, secrets were few but usually clever and fun to figure out, combat was easy as expected from my skill pick but doubly impressive for still being interesting thanks to the gimmick. In short, I was really having a great time.

 

Then MAP10 rolled around. The map itself was ok, but I didn't care much for the big cyberdemon fiesta at the end. Then the death exit happens, stripping me of my hard-earned equipment. Fine, I can deal with it. Then on MAP11 I find myself slowly plinking at a mancubus, a bunch of demons, a whole lot of zombies, and half a dozen archviles (which means a lot more of the first three...), and I felt that the difficulty curve had just jumped off the cliffs of Dover. The next few maps didn't particularly improve my opinion, especially when the something-teleported-behind-you trap started feeling way too overused. Then I took the exit to the secret level. MAP31 looks really cool at first with the untextured crushers, but I found the actual gameplay insufferable; the constantly-teleporting revenants are bad enough, but then the archviles come in... I cheated through the level and almost quit the wad right there.

 

What a great decision I made when I kept going! MAP32 breaks with tradition (99 monsters!) but it's such a fun map. The hot start almost made me question my decision to keep going, until I realized that this time I was back to having fun. MAP16 was one of my favourites, it looks beautiful with its spiral stairs and stone structures suspended above the cloudy abyss. Somehow the difficulty balancing seems to have recovered, maybe because at this point I had a larger arsenal, but I think it's also because the maps go back to using a more varied selection of enemies. I really enjoyed the rest of the episode.

 

At least until the inevitable death exit on MAP20. I didn't dislike MAP21 (at least once I was done punching revenants and cacodemons at the beginning...), but the third episode felt rougher, and difficulty once again did a crazy spike on MAP25. I managed to keep doing well for another couple of maps, but kept feeling more and more like I was playing Plutonia with the constant spam of revenants, archviles and chaingunners (and those invisible chaingunners...). The last stretch was brutal, especially as the custom enemies become more common. Then the last map drops, and for ITYTD the difficulty is just ridiculous, there's barely any healing and lots of nasty enemies in tight quarters. When I found myself down to 7% health and facing revenants, archviles, PEs, cyberdemons, those genie barons that fire clusters of homing missiles... I just gave up.

 

I really liked the wad's concept and some of the maps were lovely, but the difficulty is all over the place, and when it spikes it's relentless. Still it's quite impressive what the wad pulls of while staying vanilla compatible, and the aesthetics and the palette are beautiful. The maps are mostly very short, even the ones I disliked at least didn't drag on. I was disappointed not to get more of AD_79's fantastic music, but the selection is excellent.

 

Spoiler

OK3e5IT.png

 

bmFrz8S.png

 

1PA8efd.png

 

flK8QLH.png

 

n2VlVlM.png

 

Boeuu6t.png

 

8J5i4W1.png

 

Share this post


Link to post

Another old one today:

 

"WOP Hall Of Monsters"

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/v-z/wophom

 

No actual HOMs though, which is good.

 

Doom2 MAP01

by Baluk/WOP (not sure if that's one person or two)

1994 according to the readme

 

Played UV with GZDoom and freelook, but no jump.

 

Quite an erratic one here. Biggest gripe would be the non-obvious lift in the starting area that just looks like a wall...

 

Some of the door logic was a bit pointless - the switch that opened the middle door needs to be re-triggered each time you need to get out of the start area because the door shuts - which got annoying quickly.

 

Plenty of ammo and health like some of the reviews said, though I never actually found the plasma gun! - which meant I was forced to chainsaw the archvile - which is a first for me, so yay, go me! 

 

 

 

 

Share this post


Link to post

And I did the first map of this yesterday (forgot to upload - probably because putting the kids to bed...):

 

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

 

Date:09/04/09

Author:Erik Alm

Played UV, GZDoom, freelook, nojump

 

I have played this before, and you guys probably know it well...

 

Diametrically opposed to the above one.

 

Not really much to say about it - certainly nothing to criticise - other than a pleasure to play and explore. Highly recommended if you haven't played before. Here is my playthrough of MAP01:
 

 

Share this post


Link to post

Year 2 Month 01 Day 14

 

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

 

[1] CITY.WAD by Unknown (2005)

 

Spoiler

0dI9xQI.png
UiF5nIn.png
IOpbv0I.png
aLPrk0E.png
LRqNcVk.png
4laIT3O.png
N99TKqs.png

 

 

Quote

You fight your way through a doomed city.

 

Realistic city-themed ultimate doom levels are not common among the 1994 era. This map made by an unknown mapper fills the gap. This level seems to take place in America because of the perpendicular roads.

 

In order to escape the city, you have to find 3 keys located in the buildings in a determined order. The open layout allows you to explore many optional buildings as you want. For such tall buildings, this city proves to be underpopulated. You'll not meet a lot of monsters despite the large layout and most of them consist of zombies and imps. This fact results to an unchallenging adventure even if a cyberdemon is guarding the keyed doors leading to the exit. You have two options about they cybie : you can either grinding by shooting at him until he dies with your weakest weapons or reaching a switch which will raise the little wall surrounding him. Be careful if you're a maxer! It looks like the cyberdemon become unkillable if you choose the second possibility.

 

I think the biggest reproach we can do about this map resides in the emptyness of most of the areas. It looks like the city had just been built and the apartments hadn't been furnished yet. The visuals are simplistic but not hideous from my point of view. The author managed to kept a kind of consistency in terms of texture usage. Moreover, the Doom's textures are not tailored-made for city-themed maps compared to Doom 2's ones. This map could have been much uglier. And also, I cheerish the simplicity of the level design.

 

Grade : A-

 

I had a slow and painful death after falling in a deep pit full of slime at the beginning of aloha4u2

 

Spoiler

Z4LbdzJ.png

 

Share this post


Link to post

Zeo by Rei Yukamuri is a weapons/enemy replacement JOKEWAD that I decided to just mess around with anyway even tho, as you probably already guessed, it's not very good!

 

 

Share this post


Link to post

This is going to be my final participation in ER/iWA, plowing through an endless stream of terrible 90s maps is starting to feel like a chore (much like Doom in general) and we don't want that, do we?

 

M Y S T I C 7 by ANDY MCKIE aka mystic (2001)

DSDA / UV /100% kills /100% enemies

 

And I wish I could say I'm going out with a bang, but... nope! This 2001 map is just a DM map with some spawns and random weaponry thrown in. No health except for a single, tucked away megasphere, a bunch of chaingunners perched up enough to take potshots at you with zero chance to retaliate, elevators to nowhere. Barely more than 30 monsters and no secret, the map goes by with barely a notice. The Vrack-ish visuals are somewhat interesting, but the whole map is literally one octagon, so very little is done with the aesthetics going on. 

 

image.png

 

 

Share this post


Link to post

Year 2 Month 01 Day 15

 

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

 

[1] OCTAGONS by Nelson Laviolette (1995)

 

Spoiler

tJMvWbL.png
Nv4wsYv.png
m0zLNIZ.png
wYm2OgW.png
4dbuE4F.png
Rjr3Svr.png
1OY0ZHV.png

 

Quote

One look at the map will tell you why
This is a personal favourite & is a good example of how a linear level can be interesting
Lots of rave reviews on this one especially on the first 2 octagon rooms

 

OCTAGONS is a Doom 2 level which replaces the fifth slot. As the title indicates, the gimmick consists to explore large octogonal-shaped rooms. This level has no specific theme otherwise since you can visit marble temples, tech bases and other classic themes.

 

Most of the adventure is trouble-free thanks to the lot of ammunition and health lying on the ground , at your disposal. You'll meet bigger group of mid-tiers, especially hell nobles and mancubus but the BFG will greatly help deleting them. There are some homages to Doom 2 maps such as the corridor full of barrels from Map 23 or the duel between the SMM and the cyberdemon from map 20.

 

I found the aesthetics really neat for a level released in  1995. OCTAGONS has a lot of spacious areas and the architecture as well as the textures choices help filling the lack of detail.

 

I don't have a lot to say about this map, it's a great classic one . My only complaint is the blatant softlock regarding a room at the beginning.

 

Grade : A-

 

A shotgunner shot me whereas I was invisible in Restinpc.WAD

 

Spoiler

WCZfdhE.png

Share this post


Link to post

@brick Heh, AD was a mapper first. His music would only start appearing from 2018 onwards, since Eviternity. If you like his music, try his dedicated thread (link below) or his bandcamp.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post

OLDWEST.WAD (1995) by Sachin Pansuria "Sonic" and Vlad "The Impaler" Tokarsky (Eternity)

 

A deathmatch map stated to be a recreation of an Old West town and its actually pretty good! There are plenty of places to run around, hide, and ambush fellow players. Ammo is well-distributed and the detailing put into the town (there is an obvious, stable, jail tavern and watering hole) is very tasteful without really sliding into Doomcute, but for a couple of spots. Despite the square layout and rather monotonous wooden texture scheme, this is quite fun, theoretically 6.5/10

 

Spoiler

LOuFvMq.png

Spoiler

drpWGHP.png

Spoiler

JIxdl0u.png

Spoiler

aqle8KT.png

 

 

The (1995) by Andrew A. Fritz (Eternity)

 

Who else just loves the cockiness of early 90s mappers (slight sarcasm alert)? These guys were all saying "This is the hardest, weirdest, most INSANE map ever made!!!" (just look up the text files of Malcolm Sailor's early wads if you don't believe me, but honestly, he was proven right in the end :D). And if you were playing keyboard-only, there would be several tight spots that might make most players flinch (oh yeahhhh). But comparing this to HR is stupid and it's entirely possible to beat single-player only. There's barely more than a hundred enemies, so thing will be fine, right? Right?

 

     So we start out in a sort of water-collection area in a green marble castle, a walkway running through the middle. On one side are 2 shotgunners. And on the other side are spectres. So why you'll likely pick up the shotgun almost immediately, you'll have to get a Super Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, and possibly chainsaw (you wont' need the latter really) by ducking into some closets that go up and down for some reason, and getting cornered by spectres is not out of the realm of possibility. From here, we ascend some stairs at the other end of a courtyard, then into a narrow courtyard as we head down some stairs, through some shoddily-placed chaingunners might blow you to bits, and insultingly, a Megasphere is on one side of this combat bugaboo. Green marble with ashwalls prevail here, and when you go up the pair of stairs on either side (this is something Andrew likes to do) you are then ambushed! Imps in a slightly raised square area surrounding the hall here, a chaingunner or two (of course) and most terrifying, an Arch-vile and Baron in one corner. Step in the right spot, a square opens in the middle with Lost Souls and a valuable cell box. After this, a door in the first courtyard opens up, revealing several shotgunners and a yellow key gazing out on a vista with a Spider Mastermind you might assume you can access but can't see you despite being alert. So then, you head through the yellow door, see a blue door, and a seriously weird double corridor that curves in either direction. Go the way that isn't blocked, and be confronted by several hitscanners and an Arch-vile. Trust me, this is more interesting than it sounds. You'll then open the other corridor that leads to a large key with the blue key sitting in the middle. No ambush or anything. Open the blue door, take a teleporter at the end, and then find an actual half-tech area as a star-shaped platform lowers to reveal a Cyberdemon I dunno can be killed, but maybe you should because you'll likely be turned into a pile of blood. Because escaping up to the lift and exit might be technically feasible, but it doesn't matter because I was done at this point. 7/10, some neat setups but suffers from some questionable placement at times (but it's like co-op, see)

 

Spoiler

FD2KGiw.png

Spoiler

YZBhqDy.png

Spoiler

s5Ve20V.png

Spoiler

YZJOhd5.png

Spoiler

AIjXdvV.png

Spoiler

3sNXYs3.png

 

Share this post


Link to post

Brick Metal Techbase by Wills (2009)

 

My very own metal techbase, just for me!

 

I admit that, outside of How Not To Be Seen, I am not the biggest Wills fan. This one is at least a real map and not an "intentionally bad" jokewad. The very start gives a clear idea of what's coming: cramped combat in which you're surrounded by the three types of humanoids, imps and demons. Rinse and repeat for 200 monsters (there's no difficulty balancing at all). Ammo scarcity is quite good though, not too tight but I never found myself swimming in it either. You have nothing but the shotgun and chaingun for 95% of the map, which coupled with the restricted enemy variety makes the map quite repetitive. Jumping is required, though this is not indicated anywhere and I only realized this when I got stuck unable to get the blue key, looked in SLADE and saw no other way to reach it (this made me miss a secret earlier, which requires jumping but becomes unavailable after you progress further). The wad requires ZDoom, but aside from a couple of very simple scripts I think jumping might be the only other ZDoom feature. It's visually ok, if a bit bland (I forgot to take screenshots; sorry!). It's not a bad wad overall but it's not very exciting either.

Share this post


Link to post

The cool sub by Christopher MacGregor is a neat little map with lots of small details and creative side-stepping of doom's limitations. Simple, but effective "room-over-room" approximations, and a little bit of what I would call poor-man's-scripting; that is, making the player press several switches. Not much here but it is a fun little experience! The early days of modding (and really, just the early days of computers being common at all) when conventions weren't as ironed-out as they are now is a mind space I like to be in while creating. Yes, we are all standing on the shoulders of giants when it comes to mapping--but that doesn't mean you've gotta carry those giants' baggage as well. Sometimes it's best to just forget all the rules/conventions and just make real whatever silly idea you have floating around in your head.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post

So, something rather... embarrassing happened. After my previous post I decided to do a random roll. I got excited when I got a less-well-known @pcorf wad. Then I got busy with stuff away from the computer, came back a couple of hours later... and couldn't remember which one had rolled. I hadn't made a note, I hadn't downloaded it, I hadn't bookmarked it, and my goldfish memory had not retained it. All I could remember is that it was either 2008 or 2009, a single map, a solo effort, not one of the famous ones, and not a jokewad. That narrowed it down quite nicely to one wad from each year, so I decided what the hell, let's play both.

 

Technician's Base by Paul Corfiatis (2008)

A small and fast playing level replacing E2M1, but with the E1M5 music. It's very fitting, as the level is low on action and think with atmosphere. I think what impressed me most is the care put into lighting - if you play a few Pcorf maps you'll notice the "light banding" sectors he puts to create the sense of fading around light sources, it's there most recently in 2022ADO but you can see it all the way back in Twilight Zone. This level seems to be built entirely around achieving mood with the use of this and other lighting tricks, and it works really well. The map is not a magnum opus by any measure and the gameplay is nothing outstanding, but it's an enjoyable short experience.

Spoiler

PF99gBd.png

 

9iseZ5A.png

 

Processing Bunker by Paul Corfiatis (2009)

This one is much more substantial and took me half an hour to go through. There are a lot of tricks to give the impression of 3D walkways and passages crossing over each other - the tricks are very obvious (especially the lifts) but it still makes for very fun progression. Visually it's even better than the previous map and the lighting is outstanding. It also takes a shot at atmosphere, with some very dark areas, some very nice sector lighting, but also quite a bit more action. The problem with the darkness is that some parts are just too dark, and getting shot at by things you can't even see is not always fun. My biggest criticism is the ammo starvation, it's not so bad at first but about a third of the way in it becomes brutal. To make matters worse the first SSG and the only RL are in secrets, I'd have been down to punching barons and mancubus if I hadn't found them, even then I was almost out of ammo at several points. It gets better past the halfway point (especially with the plasma secret). The progression is really fun, with lots of switches but finding them is generally quite easy, and it's fun to watch the level rearrange itself (especially around the large room with all the doors). It's got a few flaws but is a solid adventure overall.

Spoiler

CBgHE8h.png

 

NMj0b8h.png

 

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×