The /newstuff Chronicles #48

We are dumped on by no fewer than eighteen new WAD files, in our weekly digestion of the newest things deposited to CDROM.COM.

• Harvested Sorrow by Michael Smith - One single-player map for Doom 2, running on Map15. This is your typical linear single-player map. Pretty straight-forward. Search for the key, open the door, search for the key, et cetera. Very little detail and lots of Wolf3D-style mazes. Not all that difficult, either. Seemingly more than enough ammo to go around. Nothing very special.
• Greenfish by Simon Howard - A very simple modification for Doom. The face in the status bar is replaced with a green fish. Its pupils get redder and redder as your health goes down. When it dies, it turns belly-up.
• Oxygen by Jordan Buck - A single-player map for Ultimate DOOM this time, running on E1M2. It's a small, rather easy map. It contains your typical E1 monsters, nothing larger. Not all that much detail, but it still looks clean and nice. It does capture some Episode 1 feel, with the computer lab theme, and the inaccessible outdoor areas not unlike the outside of the windows of the last room of DOOM's E1M2.
• 00_e2m8 by S. Woodman - One single-player map for Ultimate DOOM, running on E2M8. A rather cheap, cheesy map. Some demons, some Cacodemons. No detail whatsoever. Three Cyberdemons at the end that you need to kill with a BFG to finish off the map.
• Subversion by Various Authors - Six interesting maps for Ultimate DOOM, E3M4 to E3M9. It starts out pretty tough. Monsters all around you, lots of Cacodemons and many cramped passageways, making it hard to dodge attacks. It stays this way throughout most of the WAD. Somewhat of a space lab, military base theme. Not very many secrets or puzzles to figure out. Just straight-forward carnage. Lots of lots of detail, though. So much detail, it almost makes your head hurt. Still, it looks nice, and plays reasonably well. Enhanced DOOM port recommended.
• Doomolition by Kaiser - Eleven new weapons for Doom 2. A series of automatic and non-automatic weapons, as well as a knife. Some new sounds as well, of course. Nothing we haven't seen many times already. Requires EDGE.
• Andydm1 by Andy Mckie - Here's something nice! One deathmatch map for Doom 2. This takes place in a sort of city, with buildings. These buildings are fully accessible with multiple floors and rooms. There are even underground sewers that you can wade through! This map is also quite playable in single-player, with some monsters thrown in. Requires Doom Legacy.
• Wet Phannys by Andy Mckie - Somewhat of a sequel to Andydm1. Seven deathmatch maps this time, each with lots of monsters. This one is more of a high-tech spacey theme, with lots of outdoor and underwater areas. More of your usual room-over-room goodness, of course! Requires Doom Legacy.
• Mummy3d by Andy Mckie - The quality continues. One map for Doom 2. Somewhat of an Egyptian theme to this map. Lots of statue and mural images. Some outdoor areas, and some more rooms over rooms. A decent challenge. Ammo and health balance seems reasonably good. Requires Doom Legacy.
• Mummydm1 by Andy Mckie - This is quite similar to Mummy3d. Not the same map in itself, but the same sort of theme. More of your typical deathmatch map. Lots of monsters, just in case you're into deathmatching with them. The bright blue sky and city in the background seems quite pleasant. Requires Doom Legacy.
• Phannys by Andy Mckie - To round this series of Andy maps off, a nine-level deathmatch WAD for Doom 2. Some of these maps are new, some are re-released. All of them are loaded with monsters, and pretty much all of them have a four-way-mirror to them. You know, the kind that makes a map confusing and repetitive. The same usual bunch of textures, and a few new sounds.
• Poly Wad by David Fontaine - One map for Doom 2, running on Map01. A reasonably large map. Not all that much detail, but it looks okay in places. Quite difficult and overwhelming in places. The amount of ammo provided seems insufficient at first. It gets better later on if you're able to survive. Not much of a theme to this map at all. Random designs here and there. The music from Map09 of Doom 2 is used. Enhanced DOOM port recommended.
• Circular Area by Jan Engelhardt - One deathmatch map for Doom 2. Somewhat of an interesting design. One basic square area, with some slopes and even an underwater area. Lots of weird eye decorations and grates that you fall through, not to mention water with a strange checkerboard pattern. Somehow, I can't help wonder if I'm missing something. Requires ZDoom.
• The Square Base by Jan Engelhardt - Another strange deathmatch map for Doom 2. Marginally larger than Circular Area, it has somewhat of an octagonal design to it. An indoor area with ramps and underwater areas (that don't work properly), some tunnels, and a wet foggy outdoor area. There's also a surprise in the map somewhere. Requires ZDoom.
• Some Old Level by Nuno Correia - One single-player map for Ultimate DOOM. This is one of the best Episode 1 style maps we've seen in a while. Not very difficult, no monsters larger than a demon. It has a very good use of textures, about as much detail as your E1 map. And those funny little brown outside areas which you can't get to, but still speak Episode 1 quite clearly. Oh and by the way, this map is several years old. The author found it on and old floppy, and decided to release it.
• The Outpost III by RTC_Marine - One small map for Doom 2. Stainless steel and wood, with some torches and lava. Not altogether difficult. Lots of ammo and enough health to go around. I'm not sure what the purpose of this map is. I suppose you could play it if you wanted to.
• Grail1 by Andy Mckie - It looks like the Andy onslaught isn't quite over. One large map for Doom 2. Somewhat of a water cave / castle theme, with some other goodies thrown in. This map leans toward the difficult side, with lots of imps shooting at you from underwater, and an ammo supply which is slightly stingy. Still, the experience of the outdoors can be a refreshing one. Requires Doom Legacy.
• Egyptian Textures by Andy Mckie - This WAD contains the textures and graphics used in most of Andy's levels released this week. Lots of Egyptian textures, lots and lots of Egyptian textures. And other graphics too. Yep, some other graphics too.