The DWmegawad Club plays: NUTS.wad (aw nuts!)

[dobu gabu maru]

What is the DWmegawad Club?
This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

Can I join?
Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

What levels am I allowed to post about?
This one we're playing, dummy!

Do I have to post an entry every day?
Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

----------

The wad we are playing through is NUTS.wad

>>>DOWNLOAD HERE<<<

NUTS.wad was created by B.P.R.D in 2001. It is the most bestest level ever made. This is totally not a joke.

----------
OLD THREADS
BF_THUD!
Community Chest 4
Jenesis
MAYhem 2012
Memento Mori
Interception
2002: A Doom Odyssey

[Flamen0d]

Overall nice level design, though it did feel a bit boring because I was never really fighting that much, however that's the only thing the author has to change. The secrets were a fun challenge to find, but even if you don't find them the items are so well balanced that you just flow through the level fine.

[Magnusblitz]

Wow, great choice. I've always loved NUTS.wad so if I gush a bit, I apologize.

First off, the level design. Absolutely spectacular. I know we talked a lot last month about how good some of the levels in 2002: ADO looked, though sometimes seemingly at the cost of the gameplay. NUTS manages to give us all of the positives of top-notch aesthetic design without any negatives. The clean lines, the perfect lighting, the texture choices... all wonderful. Loads of detail is the name of the game, but this level shows what can be accomplished with a minimalist approach. I think a lot of authors could learn from this.

Now, the combat. As Flamen0d says, there's not a lot of direct combat, but I think that makes for an interesting change from most WADs. B.P.R.D. dispenses with the slow slog of slowly gaining weapons over the course of a megawad and instead gives the players what he wants, cutting straight to the heart of the matter with a plasma gun, BFG, and the monsters to waste with it. Sure, there's only two main fights, but each one has been meticulously crafted to provide a great experience. The player needs to carefully juggle invulnerability spheres, as well as deal with an interesting sort of "time bubble" effect where the player's attempts to aim are seemingly slowed down. All together, it makes for a Doom experience that other levels, and heck, no game since has been able to replicate.

My score screen, just to compare when BaronOfStuff posts: http://i.imgur.com/qnr8bKu.png I'm not a UV-max sort of guy, but I did find all the secrets.

[Obsidian]

i liek the moosiq

[Feniks]

Great wad, the design feels pretty much optimised to provide the best playing experience. It's cleverly made and fast-paced, since the author immediately cuts to the chase and doesn't throw at you any "fuck you" traps. This wad is thereby never unfair, which means beating it is only a matter of your playing ability or lack thereof. There is indeed enough health and ammo, so nobody should complain. Conversely, I'm afraid it's far too easy for the average CN player and therefore it should've been much harder. But apart from that, it's sheer perfection.

It's also great that you can be sure that NUTS will run smoothly, no matter how crappy you think your computer is. As was the case with the recent Back to Saturn X, I think a 486 should suffice. But I can't guarantee that, so don't dredge up these words later.

[cannonball]

Stuff died, I had fun. The end

[Kristian Ronge]

Map 1 -- Nuts
I've always liked maps which manage to carefully balance on the thin line between aesthetics and gameplay. This is one of the greatest examples of that: whereas the map itself oozes of gorgeous texturing and sector work, it doesn't forget that Doom is first and foremost about the gameplay. "Nuts" blends an immersive sense-of-place with top-notch fights the likes of which can hardly be found anywhere else.

Already from the start, you can see a lot of the map which lies ahead, and which you can also access later on -- clearly a reference to Romero's design principles. The latter parts of the map also adhere to these principles, and exemplifies just how consistent the design is throughout. Nothing ever feels out of place or thrown in as an afterthought.

The fighting, although focused around battles on a somewhat larger scale, also contains some smaller fights, e.g. the imp in the lower left corner of the first arena, or the one involving the two chaingunners in the upper right corner of that same arena. Varying the gameplay in this way ensures that the action never gets repetitive.

Having fought one's way to the first switch, one would expect the map to end, but B.P.R.D. plays brilliantly on the player's emotions and the map continues on a bit in one of the greatest surprise moments in Doom's long history. The appearing area is breathtaking and may represent the single greatest piece of mapmaking ever conceived, with everything from the back wall, via the green torches, to the floor.

This is also where the difficulty ramps up slightly, but obviously you're given an ample supply of powerups, and the minor increase in challenge only feels natural for the final approach to the exit switch. Brilliant brilliant stuff.

When you're playing a map of this quality words can scarcely do it justice, so although I could go on and on I'll just mention my favourite bit: the impaled person on the platform in the last area, foreboding the sense of hopelessness which the map communicates very subtly throughout. I must also bring up the groundbreaking palette work, sure to leave noone unaffected.

No secrets to be found, although I feel the weapons, ammunition, and powerups on the start platform could well have been made secret, as they're very easy to miss if you're anxious to (literally) jump into action (and don't know how to activate lifts).

A true gem in dooming history, and the greatest map in existence. Highly recommended. --∞/5

[BaronOfStuff]

I guess I can post here before I finish writing up my 2002:ADO thoughts.

Anyway, NUTS.wad. What can be said? It's an exceptional case where looks and gameplay blend together to create a sublime experience. Make no mistake, this is the Superman 64 of Doom levels; an epic free-roaming adventure that runs smoother than butter and gives players the freedom to approach the action from endless angles, all at the a pace of their own choosing.

I can't convey the quality of this WAD with mere words; I shall update this post with a video run of NUTS soon. behold the audiovisual splendour and see for yourself:

Here is my endscreen tally of this remarkable adventure. NUTS is an experience I recommend to all Doom players, regardless of age or skill.

[mouldy]

I did my best, but looks like the baron beat me

[Ribbiks]

I think there's enough pistol ammo to actually uv-tyson this map (92%)... now all I need is a spare 3 hours to circlestrafe around 300 barons with a pistol.

[Acid]

It's absolutely stunning how the creators of such a beauty let those bastards over at Doomworld categorize this wad as "infamous." NUTS.wad can simply be stated as the paragon of Doom modding; the collective goal for those new and experienced alike. This magnificent mod, having maintained a 3.5 star average for over 400 votes [1], embodies the moral conduct every mapper/modder should pursue, including (but not limited to) strategically-simple combat situations, countless replay value, revolutionary plain-but-complex layout and gameplay mechanics, though advanced are basic, offer nothing, yet everything of a triple FFF AAA multi-billion dollar budget record breaker. The creatively dull genius, often referred to as B.P.R.D, is undeniably and doubtfully the steadfast spearhead into the modernly ancient era of games - contradictory to his more known position here at Doomworld. His value as a modder is priceless, so much that we can't bear him in society. Gaming doesn't get any better than this.

Works Cited:
[1]http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/?id=11402

[dobu gabu maru]

MAP01: Gonna have to go against the grain on this one and confess that I did not enjoy NUTS. There's a lot of things wrong with it... I don't even know where to start.

First off, there are no difficulties. What gives? This map is super hard, it would've benefitted from having half the amount of enemies on skill 2 or 3, especially for me. Secondly, the BFG is given to the player RIGHT away. That coupled with the dozens of invuls make the map too easy. I had to turn it to Nightmare in order to give myself a challenge, and even then I could just camp next to invuls. I didn't beat the map because it was too hard, but it was still pretty easy overall IMHO.

Also, there are too many archviles. And frankly, there could've been more cyberdemons. Also, I got lost a couple times because of how mazey it was. Too many puzzles for me too. IMO it should've had more puzzles.

Sorry guys but this one is a stinker. Big fat 8/10 for me, would not play again.

MAP02: WTF this is just Underhalls from DOOM2?!! How did idgames not notice this blatant plagarism? 7/10.

[Demon of the Well]

0/10 not balanced right when i try to play it with Brütal Aeons of Simpsons Doom

[Urban Space Cowboy]

Oh, the dual personality of B.P.R.D.: sometimes excellent maps, sometimes half-assed jokey shit. Sometimes both in the same WAD.

This? This is jokey shit. And yes, I'm raining all over your parade, as tends to happen in April.

[gun_psycho]

Meh, this still would've made my PC (AMD A6-3650 APU with Radeon HD Graphics, 2.60 GHz, and 8GB RAM) slow to a crawl anyway.