Captain Viridian

I hope he will. I want to see a Tom Hall map that isn't screwed totally by Petersen.

Levels are basically the evolution of what you have seen in Map11, Map17, Map26, Map29, E4M2 or E4M6. E4M6 is like a Sigil map released in the 90s. Modern wads have evolved from Plutonia and Alien Vendetta, which is a completely different experience. That's not bad, but way overdone, and while some did it in high quality (like Eviternity or Heartland), most are generic and unrecognisable for people outside the bubble. MyHouse is something completely different, and then it exploded... you don't have to be John Romero to get recognition. NRFTL wasn't his work, and was famous too for a reason. Since people here are way too overprotective now just this discussion scratched the surfece, it's better turn back the thread to its roots.

Well, at least you gave your examples. From that list, only Lost Civilization was any good, the rest were mediocre in my opinion with some questionable assets (Wayfarer, Verdant Citadel), but yeah, enjoy your gameplay on them. Off-topic ends.

Limit removing instead of vanilla doesn't mean it can't have classic vibes. When I played most maps, I quickly felt it was a time travel back to 1994. Something I didn't get with stuff like DTWID and it's various sequels and other id style wads. Classic vibes is coming from the fact that all assets are used in the way originally intended. The imp in the corner looks like an imp in the corner. Even the best produced wads struggle to get this vibe, somehow the imp in the corner feels a bit out of place.

Then feel free to give your examples. I'm not gonna cherrypick here, but do you really think that the 10 cacoward winners in 2019 were all better than Sigil? Other than Eviternity, all of them are now forgotten, and none of them were actually anything remarkable. Tech Gone Bad won, because back in 2016, it was an all rosy, look who's back moment. When Romero became a competition, suddenly everybody started shitting on him, and using this "your wad is only played because of your name" fake narrative. Granted, if he had made something average, it wouldn't have become popular. Sigil was popular because it was good, and refreshingly different to the typical community wad, didn't follow the tired tropes, and all levels had their own visions and own gameplay/visual narratives. It doesn't mean Sigil didn't have its issues. Shotgunning barons in the early levels were pretty annoying, the crusher maze in M4 could have been better and the secret level was mediocre. It's a 8/10 wad, yet, it was objectively better than at least 7-8 of the year's cacoward winners.

Care to give some examples? From this last 3 years, only Eviternity and MyHouse got comparable fame and exposure outside of the community bubble. Maybe Ashes: Afterglow, if you consider TCs too. Other ambitious wads included Heartland, Lost Civilization, Ozonia, although none of them has the classic vibe that made Sigil famous. Sigil not winning a cacoward in 2019 with some VASTLY inferior wads had been selected instead kinda tarnished the entire legacy of the thing. You have to hate Romero and his hype to not rate Sigil at least in the top 10 of the last 5 years. And Sigil 2, based on Romero's Twitch videos will be an improvement, some levels seem to have some real eyecandy it, not to mention the challenge. Now we got the proper episode 2 and 3 we wanted back in the day. Maybe we get an episode 1 rework too one day.

Romero gave us an advanced look on the maps on his Twitch site. Some map, particularly the Knee Deep-styled secret level or E6M6 look incredible. Others like E6M2 look so-so.

Exactly. My avatar and name is based on a similarly "blocky" game, VVVVVV. It has just pixel and limited art, but it looks beautiful, has lots of soul and a clearly defined style. Thomas was alone is similarly great looking, or 140, another blocky platformer, is also a stylish visual feat. Sometimes games with limited art age better, because they never want to overdo their technology. IMHO visuals are very important in Doom, as important as gameplay, but people should respect the game's limitations more. As there are no slopes, and the palette is not made for vibrant city lights (not to mention other things like the lack of true 3D), the best thing to do is to slightly enhance the classic style instead of reinvent it. That's why I don't like mods with new palettes, weird graphics, and over-the-top Unreal like settings, somehow they don't correlate well with the game's mechanics. BTW I don't like panoramic photos as teasers from upcoming maps. Player's view is much more important, and often those "supergreat" panoramic visuals has a much weaker impact from player view. Also the lack of slopes made those photos weird sometimes.

Ever since Sigil missed it out in 2019, and it only got a pityful also-ran accolade with a salty "we're better than you, Romero" review, I can't take this award seriously. Full of nepotism here, usually friends of friends have advantages. Re-checked the final top 10 that year, and other than Eviternity, nothing truly deserves a higher place than Sigil. If you want to play the best wads, go for the official Bethesda add-ons. They have some misses too, but those mapsets are much more relevant IMHO.