Steveb1000

Ultra violence. It's above my skill level, especially for modern wads. But I like to experience the maps in the way that - normally - the author intended and in the way that most people discuss the wad.

Anders Johnson, Erik Alm and Eternal for me. I'd love to see Dannebubinga make a full comeback, after making a couple of maps last year. Also, based on a hunch and some comments he has made since he started uploading playthroughs, I reckon Dario Casali is working on maps again right now. (PS maybe we could have a greatest comebacks thread or list? I guess Insanegazebo would be top).

Sunder. I love moody music which sounds like it comes from a film score.

Just finished this. Amazing. Love the constant DBP emphasis on new assets and a coherent feel. Too many great maps to name but the final fight map will surely go down in legend. Thank you to everyone who made it.

I save very often, usually after each encounter, sometimes also mid fight. It's not to make the level easier because i don't go back to optimise. If i misplay, waste loads of ammo, and have 4% health, I save and play on. For me, the priority is experiencing new areas and new levels, not playing a level repeatedly until I can 'beat' it.

Roast potatoes

How generous.

Think I've only quit two; BTSX1 after Map 14, and ALT after Map 4 - didn't feel like the progression was worth the effort.

I'd say finish scythe 2. The final third is not just a big jump in difficulty to around the level you want but a big jump in quality. It's much, much better. Play from Whispering Winds onwards and you have a great mini megawad to get through.

I enjoy chaotic, open, maps, where you can roam pretty much anywhere from the start, while desperately trying to gain a foothold. So stuff like Dark Dome from AV, The Indomitable Mastermind from Struggle, Solidao from Ozonia and Mu Cephei from Sunlust.

I remember being in in arcades in the 1980s and 1990s, when people would happily stand by the side of machines watching other play. I also used to enjoy watching my older brother playing Command Conquer-style games in the 90s and 2000s (he was much better than me!) and enjoyed watching early TV shows (like Gamesmaster) where you saw other people play. My experience is that watching other play has always been part of my gaming experience (I'm 43) and I regard watching YT and Twitch is just another version of those days spent stood at the side of an arcade machine.

Looking forward to a map with a confusing, inescapable hell-pit, perhaps it called be called 'New Street Station?'

I've noticed most people got into Doom because: (a) They played it in the 90s, when it was released/popular (I fall into this category). (b) When they were a child, their older relatives played it. I'd be really interested to hear from young people who got into it another way. What was your first experience with the game? Why did you enjoy it? What keeps you playing it?

Doomkids comments seem to help put the important of Alien Vendetta and then Scythe in context. Would it be fair to say they modernised and to an extent saved Doom and its community?

This was great- the best episode yet.

Played as a casual in 1994-1995, and restarted as a casual player in 2020.

Arrival

Map 28 of Epic 2. It's difficult, labyrinthine, and I didn't understand what I had to do to progress.

Can anyone help with something simple? Sorry for being a bit slow! How do I turn off mouse movement forwards and backwards etc? I just want to use WSDA to move forwards, backwards and strafe. I can't seem to change the settings so that it turns off forwards and backwards movement via the mouse. Thank you!

Sorted, thank you.

moved

Just finished Scythe 2 yesterday. I was a bit skeptical beforehand, thinking it may be overrated. And most of the early maps feel fairly standard. But the final two episodes are incredible, as good as anything I've played before. I now understood the legend of Erik Alm. Not sure what to try next - suggestions welcome. If there are any styles of WADs different to the one here, which I have played, be good to hear; Alien Vendetta, Going Down, Struggle, Epic 2, Auger;Zenith, Scythe 2, Fractured Worlds, Miasma, Sunlust, Eviternity, Valiant, Arrival, The Eye, ALT.

ranking things is fun; get thee to a saltmine.

I'd rather MtPain gave his actual views than alter them so they are more acceptable to one community or another. I see him as a critic - like an art critic, music critic or film critic. As a 'consumer', you want that critic's genuine, independent views, not views heavily influenced by anxieties about how they will be perceived by the creative community. Ref: his point about his reviews having an element of a conversation with the map author, I feel it's the same thing as with other critics. Imagine reading an author's books, or a director's films, and not having any thoughts about what they intended with certain choices or having any questions about why they made certain decisions.

Just to say I think this thread deserves to be pinned. It's an incredible resource that deserves to be seen by all newcomers.