Endless

Minor inconvenience that might be my own fault, but I noticed that every time I open the console, it opens it with a | already typed in, which is just a little annoying.

Alkylation | UltimateLorenzo | 2014 Alkylation is a 13-map WAD for Doom 2 designed with ZDoom compatibility. It makes use of several modern tricks and replaces the enemies and weapons with new counterparts and skins. The new weapons aren't anything particularly great, they are a plasma-shotgun and a Quake nailgun, so I decided to use Brutal Doom with Dox778 addon. The mapset itself is pretty damn fine and sports some quality level design with fantastical visuals that are, generally, very well realized and follow a consistent thematic. It includes three total episodes; first one is typical tech-base bonanza with new visuals. I quite enjoyed the first levels but I found them to become a little too large the more you progress, and the inclusion of vanilla stock textures with the new modern textures feels like a breakup in a painting. It doesn't go that well and it was a little noticeable in some areas. The second episode goes into a more explorative phase and adds a little bit of spooky horror ala Doom 3. The maps were shorter and slightly more cryptic, inciting navigation. I quite enjoyed that one and the visuals were very lovely to look at. The last episode is more of a hellish-corrupted kind of deal which ends in a big level that's a little too much for me. It was, generally, quite good and fun to play even if at times it showed some things that could have been worked better. The WAD also includes a new variety of monsters alongside the regular demons. Some are pretty cool and fit well with the theme, while others are just ugh to play against, particularly the minotaur with a shield. Piece of shit. It probably is me, but despite having a very consistent quality and uniqueness to it, I just wasn't enjoying it that much. It might be because I don't really like playing GZDoom that much nowadays (and I dislike how vanilla Doom feels in GZDoom, which is why I prefer to use mods) and modern visuals don't really capture me that much as they used to. It could also be the fact that the mapset has a lot of backtracking in some of the levels, which I loathe since they uselessly inflate the playing time to just navigating the same paths you've been before with some slight alterations or none at all. Alkylation is quite good and consistent at most places, and while some of the levels felt lacking and boring to me, I'm pretty sure most doomers out there that enjoy modern-ish sets will surely love this one. I particularly wished it would have expanded more on the style and visuals of the 2nd episode, since I think we already got enough tech-base shit, but, other than that, it was quite a fun 1-hour long experience.

BRAIN2 | Gregory W. Percy | 1997 Decided to give the preselected WADs a try after reading the first comment, and so far the first entry ain't that bad. A simple 1997 level (although uploaded to /idgames in 1999) with some interesting areas that while lacking a little bit in some well needed polish, especially from the gameplay side of things, still works quite well. The map starts like your typical trashy WAD from the 90s, but the more you progress and pick up a ton of items, you start to realize why the map is called BRAIN, more or less. The final area is a massive lava arena with an Icon of Sin fight that is, quite fun, actually. A little hardcore at some points due to the usage of archviles and lava, and key hunting, but doable and quite fun. Not bad at all. Good job Percy. Lavacity | Marten Mellberg | 2000 There's like three fucking textures and two flats in this entire shit. A massive yet soulless box that lacks anything worthwhile. What makes it worse is the fact that I have no idea how to properly finish it. It's filled with near impossible jumps that probably only speedrunners can make, and every goddamn time you fall down a cliff you fall into a massive ocean of stupid ass lava that kills you in a few seconds. There's no lifts that I could find or teleports at all. I had to noclip my way out of this shitty boring mess of a blasphemy. It is a sin to make such a suck-ass map in the 2000s. Anyway, 7 out 10.

I remember playing STRONGHOLD AT TIKAL months ago in one of the previous ERIWA. It was a decent and fun effort that while lacking in polish, showed a lot of 90s charisma. It does seem like these WADs were a father-and-son effort, which just makes it even more charming and wholesome.

Hydrogen | Jacek Nowak | 2019 A decently made E1 styled map with a boxy layout and a simple progression that throws you a few hundred demons at you. The map is pretty good for its vanilla-ish inspiration, yet the gameplay is a little lacking and ultimately feels too generic by the end of it, but, if you do enjoy this kind of style with Doom 2 madness, then it's worth checking out for a few 10-15 minutes of fun.

oh no

E4M1 is probably my favorite map ever from the original, so this is quite the welcomed addition. Had fun with it. Some of the visuals are a little too dry and the teleport spam of imps is a little too much IMO, but overall, as a little homage, I liked it!

Worry not, I'm in the process of forcing Arrow to finally break free from the MP mapping machine, and join the ranks of the neverending SP meat grinder.

Join IRC chat like a true doomer and spam 24/7 how awesome your WAD is and how /idgames sux because they won't accept your coolTM WAD.

Had a lot of fun mapping for the first time for CTF in this one :) Quite the experience I'm already looking to do again.

So you can stick your dick in it.

This looks like right up my alley. Love the combination of marble with brown, reminds me of Alien Vendetta.

There are a lot of old-school 90s mappers in /idgames archive that have released one or two maps, and then disappeared. Most of their maps nearly forgotten, hardly mentioned, and sometimes would wind up in some shovelware disk. From the top of my head, I remember Street.WAD which is a single-level with some early examples of realistic design from 1994. It seems the author, just named Jail, never released anything else after that. While your question is hard to properly answer, I'd say that the average mapper in the 90s probably only contributed 1 map, then dipped. Today, with modern tools, it is more common to find newcomers that release 2-5 maps, and it's also way easier to get addicted once you start getting the hang of it and seeing other people play your stuff.

@Decay is still around and kicking, maybe he can update the link or replace it.

All the lurkers around here accumulating a thousand years of lore and knowledge.

Pretty sure the biggest ''legit'' (meaning no troll maps or generated levels) megawad out there is Rabbit's All-comers Mapping Project, with 201 maps. I do wonder what's the biggest megawad done by a single person, anyone knows?

It's called Roofi Syndrome.

Yeah that was a very bad finale to what would have been a much better WAD. Lots of potential, but you can tell the mapper, while having potential, still lacked the experience and practice to properly translate its ideas into map format.

A multiplayer crossplay (meaning between other source-ports) source-port. I don't think that will happen, probably ever, not only due to the compatibility issues and server infrastructure, but also due to internal ''dilemmas'' in the MP side of things.

These were a joy to make. Really happy with the end result :)

HELLRAZOR | John Diamond | 1996 Last time I wanted an episode and I got a megawad, well, today with the first try I got an episode (almost) for Doom II, one from 1996 designed by John Diamond, and apparently the only project he ever released (at least under that name) in his time with the community. Hellrazor is a little piece of forgotten history that I've never seen mentioned before. It's an interesting six-level piece, all of which are consistent in their quality, particularly the visuals. The architecture is great for the most part, with great magnitude and a use of gothic and satanic styles, with plenty of gore and free-roaming environments, surrounded by a demonic skybox that looks great, much better than the original and definitely matches the hell theme better. On the other hand, the WAD is a bit boring to play. It has few enemies, little variety of encounters, and the positioning of demons seems to have been done without much strategy in mind, feeling a bit clunky to play. On the other hand, most of the maps are simple to navigate and short in length. Playing it shouldn't take you more than twenty minutes, especially on lower difficulties. My biggest problem was the ending, which I had no idea how to beat cleanly. It's an IoS fight, but without the IoS, and a multitude of teleporters that don't seem to get you anywhere. I had to use noclip to find the ending, and before that, it was a bloody battle in tight corridors where death by spawnkill was common. Hellrazor is a WAD that delivers, pleasantly, with its visual value, but leaves something to be desired with gameplay. Still, any fan of the 90s will find this little episode a collection of sweet maps to admire in glorious 320x200 resolution.

Yet Another Arena | Adam Windsor @Capellan | 1995 One of the first levels created by the veteran, Capellan, who has been with us since 1995. Known for his megawad Demonfear, Capellan had simpler beginnings, releasing a series of different WADs with a smaller scope. Yet Another Arena is a small example of the kind of maps he made in the years of yore. Simple, effective, and beautiful, this arena does what it says and nothing more. Designed for (I'd guess) about 2 or 3 players, the circular design and simple item placement is enough to play a DM with friends. The map has two SP enemies, including a cyberdemon, and also an exit, so, technically speaking, it's playable for us solo players. TOOTH OF EVIL | Gul Dahre'el | 1999 A very ugly and square map filled with monsters to the brim, but no actual understanding of what makes combat fun. It's a bullet-hell kind of level designed with a variety of time-wasting mechanics and areas. Pretty much the usual stuff you'd find in a shovelware disk. Illuminatus v1.1.4 | Cory Scott @NiTROACTiVE | 2017 I was actually planning to keep playing until I hit an episode WAD, well, my wish became true by throwing me an entire megawad, way more than I can chew. Illuminatus is an interesting vanilla-ish effort created by NiTROACTiVE, better known as Aquarius, one of the earliest Doomtubers in our little history. Illuminatus is a collection of simple, Ultimate Doom reminiscent levels designed for vanilla-compatible ports. I didn't actually manage to beat the whole thing in a single setting, but I left at MAP10, so close enough to give you an idea, more or less, about the WAD. From a quality standpoint, it's a decent, albeit a little rustic at times. The geometry is designed in a very tight form, with some areas being slightly too cramped. The texturing work is quite rudimentary, and althought I wasn't able to find any major visual flaws, the textures are used repetitively so it can get a little noticeable after a while. The first ten or so maps are very much a tech-base galore of various proportions. I was playing in HNTR this time around, just looking for a relaxing stroll, and most of the levels are pretty much that. They do feel a little too empty at times due to the low number of enemies, and some of the areas could have gotten a little more care to be filled with decorations or details. What I did majorly dislike is the rather obtuse and time-wasting layout. Some of the maps require some backtracking, and there's a lot of blocked doors that must be activated somewhere else, sometimes close the area, sometimes in another whole new area. I'm not a big fan of this, and while I understand it promotes exploration of the map, particularly large maps, I prefer maps that have a seamless flow and let you blast through them with precision. Still, I was having fun, and some of the maps have some sweet, cool-looking zones, particularly the outdoors, which are complemented by an awesome skybox that's just delicious for my mountain-loving side.

Hey brad, it seems after the latest update, the Function keys don't work anymore, except for the vanilla switch F5 and the F11 gamma correction. The rest don't react to me at all.

Sarin | Hobbs | 2006 A simple but effective debut that follows the traditional steps of map creation, offering different encounters that, although at times feel static, possess a certain level of creativity and entertainment to it. The level lacks much detail or visual flavour, but has no major flaws and overall, its creation is solid, even if a little clunky. The balance is somewhat annoying, certain areas feel more difficult than they should be due to the excessive use of monster wardrobes and various high HP enemies in enclosed rooms. Overall, it's fine. Average. Abyssal Speedmapping Sessions: Session 17 TheMionicDonut - Project Lead 4shockblast AD_79 Breezeep Travers Dunne Dusk Memfis Jaws In Space Jim | 2015 Oh boy, it's been a while since the last random episode WAD, and here we have one that's part of ASS. If there's one thing about ASS WADs, it's that every time you play them, you flip a coin and pray for something good to fall. ASS is an interesting project that embraces the absurdity of Doom and the ridiculousness of the creative side. While the gist of the projects is to make them with a time limit, these also stand out for their crazy, unique and bizarre visual themes that give them a pretty unique feel. Playing an ASS is, in a way, exploring the depths of the ocean; you never know what you might be in for. In this case, session #17 brings me three main themes: - CRATES - Lower tier monsters, no hitscanners - Tactical Crushers. That alone gives you an idea of what's in store, yep, crates, lots of them. The use of crates is interesting, entertaining at times, and manages to establish a good visual theme. Most of the maps, despite being made with a rigid time limit, are solid in the visual department, and some in particular stand out for being very well done, especially MAP10. On the other hand, the gameplay is a roulette wheel. One map can throw what feels like a trillion lost-souls and a single berserker pack at you, while another is a race against hordes of arch-viles, and others feel like an adrenaline rush through mazes of crates. It's interesting to rate projects like these, as they are clearly designed to be ''fun and silly'', not to be taken seriously, designed for one purpose: ASS. Is this particular project to be recommended? Let me tell you, yes! Fun and challenging at times, the visual theme gives it an appealing touch. Thanks to the genius and creativity of the mappers, the ASS sessions always feel like a trip to play. On LSD one.

PHOBOSPHERE | David J. Reid a.k.a. MoonLust | 1995 A simple, playable level that doesn't do much other than offering the most basic of necesities for a Doom level to at least be enjoyable. The large areas and square rooms, as well as the archaic texturing work, is a strong reminder that you are playing a 90s WAD. Simple in style, but barebones in detail. Some of the progression in some areas can be a little confusing, and at times the level overwelcomes its stay, but, despite that, it's still fun. (couldn't think of one) | Chuck Turner | 1995 So, the author couldn't be bothered to make a title for his level, so I won't bother making a complete review. The conclusion: don't play this lazy, disjointed bullshit. Another Generic Tech Base | Tin Can (Can Kadioglu) | 2021 While the title of the WAD seems to take a dig at itself, this little level is actually a very solid and super fun, fast-paced level that makes some great use of the vanilla textures with simplistic geometry and layout. While sure, it looks generic due to the use of its stock assets and traditionalist design, the level itself is more than fine; it's a good, well-done example on how Doom original, pristine style, is already more than enough to create thousands upon thousands of level that, despite looking and feeling the same, can always bring different kinds of reactions and entertainment from the players. A good one. The Gate #1 | Chris Villarreal | 1995 Another old school DM map from the 90s that lies in the world of forgotten promises. Playing these maps makes me wonder if anyone ever got to play them together, or maybe it's just the solo project of a guy who probably never got to have any doomer friends to enjoy a bit of deathmatch madness with. Anyway, this is a somewhat ambitious, sprawling and rustic level. It has a great layout with different rooms that vary in theme, but the expansive architecture, as well as the repetitive use of textures, make it a bit tiring on the eyes. As for the gameplay, despite being a DM level, it is totally inhabited by demons of all kinds in SP. It doesn't have any keys or directions, but at least you have an excuse to play it. It is, ultimately, somewhat forgettable, if not for the multiple custom textures that appear as billboards, which reminds me of Unreal Tournament.