Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #069

ICID · October 2, 2023

6-01.png.f62665f5e5d81ffe7a90ab78b521009f.png

^{(logo by @4MaTC)}

ICID, what the hell is this now?

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures is a small project of exploration, interaction, entertainment and reviews where we meet once every two weeks to select random WADs in search of hidden treasures, lost promises, or our worst nightmares! We use the /idgames archive’s special feature that lets us search for random files. Of course, sometimes the results are resources or unplayable stuff, so we focus on looking for WADs.

So, what do we do here?

Play at least one random WAD in a two-week period of time. WADs are selected using the Random File feature on /idgames or from the list below.
Post a review of whatever you play.
Always provide the name of the WAD, the name of the author, and a link to the file.
Play however you want, on any skill level, and with any source port, as long as you play the WAD as intended/in working shape.
Be respectful. It's okay to criticize a map, but remember that many mappers read these review threads and behave accordingly. Also, please don't tag mappers into a negative review of their work.

What kind of WADs are we looking for?

Any file on /idgames is fair game, but most of us choose to stick to singleplayer Doom or Heretic WADs that work in our sourceport(s) of choice. If you're worried about finding Terrywads or broken files, I also pull at least five random WADs for the event. Feel free to play them with me if you wish, or look for your own! The point of the event is to encourage you to explore this vast, random world.

Recommendations for reviewing:

Spoiler

1. Please take screenshots or video of your adventures.

2. Commenting the source port and difficulty level is not required, but provides helpful context to your review.

3. Try to stick to no more than 1 WAD per day to avoid burnout, but this part’s all up to you, champ!

4. Reviews of all formats are valid. Both longform and shortform are good as long as you write with integrity.

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures of this event:

cybr.gif.97f0baa04c57a6d4d821aebfc10c4bde.gif

1076803717_adventurersscores.png.0acc1debc0f7115beaa942ebc12b114f.png

Spoiler

The Top 10 (Out of 68):

1. @Roofi | 7555

2. @LadyMistDragon | 4065

3. @Sena | 2570

4. @Walter confetti | 2415

5. @ICID | 1530

6. @brick | 1390

7. @Endless | 1210

8. @Thelokk | 725

9. @Clippy | 580

10. @smeghammer | 425

Join the Doom Master Wadazine community for more events like this! » https://discord.gg/Q2RKn4J

And check the Doom wiki for the full list of past adventures.

Roofi · October 2, 2023

I had to take a small break due to coronavirus but I'm back !

Year 2 Month 07 Day 13

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

[1] DEDMATZ.WAD by Mika Piirainen (1997)

Quote

Quote

Deathmatch wad for DooM2, I have tested this only with 2 players, but you can email me and tell how it works with 3-4 players.

DEDMATZ.WAD seems to take place in a distorted wooden house featuring doomcuteness and abstraction. The layout is large and complex enough to be a singleplayer map but the author decided to transform it into a DM map that nobody will play. Whereas the level doesn't present anything really special, some sections benefit from elaborate shadow work that deserves to be mentioned.

[2] Blue Lagoon by Roger Rice (2009)

Quote

Quote

First level for Doom II

I guess the official lagon which actually ressembles more to a corrupted public pool serves as a remarkable place to give the map a name. Blue Lagoon is indeed a typical ambitious newbie map from the 1990's where the adventure mostly consists to random quirks sticked together among a mish-mash of themes.

One of the first thing you'll notice is that the blue water from the lagoon is damaging. Is it populated by piranhas or box jellyfishes? Anyway, once you've cleared the lagoon, you'll realise than most of the level has nothing related to it : get ready to take a fancy spiral staircase, sneaking in a sort of viny catacomb or venturing yourself in a dark abstract tech base.

It's hard to describe this type of level as a map, such is its lack of harmony. An old map from 1994 can remain coherent when everything is uniformly ugly and bizarre, but here the scenery remains fairly well developed, bearing in mind that there is a risk of VPO according to the author, which is rare for old wads of this kind.

Nonetheless, the abundance of ammunition, armor and health make this map harmless and therefore ultimately enjoyable to explore. Despite all this weirdness, the author isn't here to troll, as evidenced by the two invulnerabilities for killing a single cyberdemon at the end of the map, for example. It's the ordinary dullness I can appreciate in maps from the 90's.

Grade : B- (12/20)

[2] The River by Steve Johnston (1995)

Quote

Quote

1 Rocket Launcher, 1 shotgun, 1 chaingun, 1 chainsaw

The river of this old DM map for Ultimate Doom doesn't represent the center of attention as it's narrow. If you have to download this map one day, you'll rather instantly notice the octogonal-shaped fleshy cavern, the booby-trapped RL located under a glitchy crusher and the cream of the crop, the midi rendition of the badass theme from "Airwolf". Nothing really worthy unfortunately but hey, the midi is pretty cool.

[3] The Enygma Disaster by Pete Kolts (Psyborg) @Psyborg (1997)

Quote

Quote

An invasion force has taken an old mining camp and converted it into a base in which to implement the destruction of our world. They constructed devastating explosives and chemical weapons. Their plan worked, and we were unable to stop them in time. The Enygma Camp became Ground Zero, your mission is to go there and eradicate the invaders, and set the self-destruct, guarded by 2 HUGE monsters which we have never enountered before. You must prevent a repeat of the Enygma Disaster.

This wad must not be messed up with Jim Flynn's "The Enigma Episode" but "The Enygma Disaster" contains three experimental maps under its sleeves. Since the three maps aren't really linked, I'm going to talk about them separately.

E1M1 : You'll most spend your time on this one and it uses one of the crappiest midi rendition of "Smells teen like spirit" from Nirvana I have ever heard mostly because it uses the wrong instruments and this song always sound silly when use in Doom maps. In any case, this map makes a perfect dichotomy between the particularly detailed areas that seem to fit into the scenario written in the wad description and the empty areas totally devoid of interest that just serve to make the map artificially longer.

There's a real effort from its author by making the playing follow a sort of rail system or rendering an exploding wall with the means of the time. But at the same time, you'll wander among hideous flat monotextured mazes which look like they've been lifted straight out of a poor-quality 1994 map. Ambition has value only if execution follows, which is far from always being the case here. To tell the truth, it's night and day here and there.

Also, if you've a keen eye, you'll notice that the author imported some Doom 2's resources such as the city sky from Episode 2 and pipe textures. I like those subtle additions.

E1M2 : A strange and poor reinterpretation of the tower of Babel. The cyberdemon has now a friend but oversized layout and abundance of ammo of any kind make this level devoid of any challenge. The map from the original game is even harder !

E1M9 (there's no E1M3) : Useless map : you can either rush to the exit or shoot the monsters perpetually teleporting on the pillars.

Overall, only E1M1 can be qualified as a map and whereas I have a tolerable experience on that one, the contrast between the rather convincing spots and the completely empty areas leads me to assume that this map was made in collaboration between a human and a monkey. I can't think of any other possible theories.

Grade : C (10/20)

I stop here for today.

LadyMistDragon · October 2, 2023

Dark Barren Forest (2006) by Paul Corfiatis @pcorf (GZDoom)

Quote

A Dark Barren Forest. Its a dark night and outside lies an unknown beast and it must be killed to win the level. This level will only run in Zdoom. Jumping and shooting are the keys to winning this level. You are only given a SSG, and two shotgunners await outside and decrease your health and chickens run around in a pen nearby.

Made during Pcorf's jokewad phase and god, it is awful. It's like one of those spoopy wads and that's all you need to know. Supposedly, there's a friendly Cyberdemon on HMP and also, chicken for some reason in a pen on the right I guess.

Spoiler

Infested base (2016) by Masseo (GZ Doom)

Quote

My fourth map! I suck at mapping but i try! Good luck! PS Check the history below

**STORY** The monsters invaded a uac base on earth. We sent a another marine but he got trapped, He also reported 3 Cyberdemons, Kill them if possible and rescue the trapped marine good luck! -- Commander

I recorded a video for this but didn't bother uploading it because this basically is about as generic and boileplate a techbase map as they come. With some respect to the mapper, they at least put in things like height variations and differently-sized rooms that make it seem as if though they were trying to avoid STARTAN boxes. But the secret BFG is laughable, the Super shotgun trap is stupid bullshit on the scale of that plasma rifle from the Master Leve by Chris Klie called "Complex" and the ending is a silly mess with, you guessed it, Cyberdemons that you're still somehow given far more than you need to handle them! There's no sense of what makes good encounters and the weapon placement here might as well be a complete nadir 2/10

Spoiler

Edited October 2, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

Walter confetti · October 2, 2023

Baby by Richard J. Sham - Vanilla Doom 2, 1 map, SP, 1997, played with DSDA-doom (complevel 2) 0.26.0

Spoiler

While this map will look like a decent one despite the rawness of the map, this is the first of the many maps this dude (knew firstly for making lots of Doom 2 ALL demos with bizarre monickers for them, like Speedy Gonzales with the help of his son and his friends made during 1997, the level sets in this sort of large simplistic looking city with a library, a throne room in the middle of a cavern, a series of building, a courtyard and other abstract stuff that makes look Petersen city maps photorealistic works, but includes some good stuff like stairs appearing at your passage from the floor, raw doomcute couches, tall windows and a neat trickery at the map's end, this isn't a good map. AT ALL.

The map progression is pretty cryptic for being really appreciable and the semi-slaughter monster placement isn't too well balanced with ammo, leaving some of the beefiest monsters hordes alive for searching more ammo or a more powerful guns around the map, but the real worst offender is some things in the map blocking your way from jumping to windows and if it's not a thing it's one of those beefy bastards that i left alive.

Not too great for been appreciable, despite it's hidden potential. Also, what kind of title is Baby?

LIEDOWN1.WAD by Kenji K. (LEI) - Vanilla Doom 2, 2 maps, SP/DM, 1996 but uploaded in 2012, played with DSDA-doom 0.26.0

Spoiler

Two small maps with a interesting gimmick and a good design for a 1996 map, the text file is wrote in Japanese so i used google translate for understanding better what's going on. The levels in question are meant for DM and it shows, but works excellently for SP as well. There's not many monsters in these maps but they are strategically placed for better damage. Each map is made under a some sort of gimmick exploited in the title (present only in the text file):

MAP01 (The Crush Hall): a titular large crushing room with a small sewer junction in the middle as scribbled svastika shaped... ok... there's a lot of water and brown there, i like it.

MAP02 (Closed Station): it's another small area sets in a sort of metro station in hell with a running track in it? Weird... however there's a lovely fake 3D space made with raising\lowering floors that can be triggered while walking on the metro turnstile or the running track in the upper area for activate the 2nd floors, but while looking good it's kinda pointless since the important things are locked inside a hidden corridor... why not having a more simpler to achieve it like in the previous map? It's a mistery that will never have a answer...

Btw it's a good and fun small set of maps, despite the amateurish look they are competently made.

ICID · October 2, 2023

1 hour ago, Roofi said:

I had to take a small break due to coronavirus but I'm back !

I'd noticed your absence. So glad to hear you're feeling better! The virus is no joke.

Baby (1999) by Richard J. Sham

^{Play Settings}

^{Source Port: Crispy Doom}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

A pretty well-made map which I nevertheless did not enjoy. Weapon progression is surprisingly modern and combat is fun and challenging, pleasantly complemented by a MIDI of Creeping Death by Metallica. But map progression is a lot trickier, deliberately involving a lot of backtracking through the same couple of flat rectangular areas as well as fake walls and switch hunting. The only method I found for locating the blue key was to do a wallgrab, which presumably isn't intentional, and I generally found myself a bit more frustrated than enthused as the map progressed.

Richard J. Sham was 58 when he started speedrunning Doom and made this map at the age of 61, dedicating it to his equally Doom-obsessed wife Alice, who called him "Baby". His son playtested the WAD in a demo that's included with the download, so this was truly a family affair - and the first of 13 WADs Richard would publish before passing away in 2006. His maps often feature large monster counts (for their time) and the challenging, occasionally frustrating puzzle elements seen here. He was an early adopter of Boom and a friend to early mappers like Gene Bird.

For a first map, especially for its time, this is genuinely really good - it has interesting ideas and a clear personality and aesthetic even if I didn't always like it. May Richard's memory be a blessing.

Grade: 5/10

LIEDOWN1 (1996) by Kenji.K(LEI)

^{Play Settings}

^{Source Port: GZDoom}

^{Difficulty: Ultra-Violence}

Since the text file's written in Japanese and I'm a dumb American, I can't tell you much about the author's intent, but I assume that the WAD is called "Liedown" because you need to immediately take cover from a crushing ceiling. Both of the short maps in this set - the first representing an abstract base over a still ocean, the second representing a demon-infested train station - involve falling ceilings in some capacity. Beyond that and some aesthetic prowess, not a ton to talk about here - the maps are breezy and easily beaten, provided you find the hidden tunnel to the blue key in map 2. A bit dull.

Grade: 4/10

Roofi · October 3, 2023

17 hours ago, ICID said:

I'd noticed your absence. So glad to hear you're feeling better! The virus is no joke.

Thank for your words ! Nothing too serious though, but strong headaches were not really compatible with reviews writings for me. :)

Year 2 Month 07 Day 14

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

[1] Thanatos v1.0 by Doug Erickson (1996)

Quote

Quote

Nice sized deathmatch level for 1-4 players All weapons and a few monsters to keep it colorful. Energy weapons are tagged for Ultra violence only.

A massive eye-shaped and blue-carpeted arena which seems suited for more than 2 players. The arena is surrounded by large and empty corridors which artificially increase the size of the map. If you're alone like me, the few monsters you'll fight are a handful of pinkies and revenants. Nothing too fancy but Thanatos borrows the classic hell aesthetics pretty nicely.

[2] QuaKä.WaD by º RiCHaRD º Î D a D D Î Í=Î=Í áäëúLM Í=Î=Í Î FCToRæ Î (1996)

Quote

Quote

Two NeW LeVELS 4 DeaTHMaTCh... ;)
No MeRiT.The Easier Way to make a WaD iS onE 4 DeaTHMatCH,but IùM Sorry GuyS I C_A_N_T MaKE any single player wad úCoS I SaW The QuaKE TeST...
PLeaSE CheCK ThiS: -> www.idsoftware.com <- ThaTùS HeaVEN! ThaTS the OLymPuS Where the GoDS Live...
I Wanna make this couple of MapS just 4 xpress The PainFuL feelinù and The Agony of every MortaL. We SaW "ThE PriCE" But the QuaKeNinG iS NEaR The TiME haS CoME aND We R E 4 ThEXPeRieNCe!
I BougHT a DX266+8Mb about 2 years ago.
I got the marvellous program of ToM HuDSoN: 3DStudio ;) and I DreaMt of MakinG ViRTuaL Enviroments something magical and amazing.But with only 8Mb and just 540HD I canùT Spend 24 hourS a Day renderin! I allwayS looking 4 a few number of sides,the less number of lights and the best textures. It was hard,Sad and very very ungrateful.I hade a pair of good animations one about 35Mb,th other 20Mb...and...and nothing.
I cant send them to my friends,I cant show them...just more space in my HD and a lot of hours workinù 4 nothing!.
Then I DiscovereD DooM,the inCredible xperience! IT was too much 4 me.IT was the best game Iùve EveR Seen.I KNew WoLFSTein,IùVe PLaYeD The Share VerSion...but ThiS Time,the "touch" of the game waS perfect,the plot great and the playability suberb! 9 over 10...
The Second step was Deu,and all the editors that are everywhere ;) but I discover than the engine of DooM doesnùT really 3D.iTS a pseudo-3D real good but not excellent! I have to battle with the linedefs and the sectors 4 make looking-real building and rip of "ViSPLaNES oVErFLoW" and all the error message that DeSTroy my work! I had to use SECToRS to simulate ShaDoWS I haD To USe SeCTorS to SiMulate Carpets...

BuT...Q u A K E...floor over floor...light sources.ThaTS ThaTS...i have no worDS,ITS like 3DStudio but in real-time with creatures,with an argument and with fun! ThaTS QuaKE...
IùVe PLAyeD QuaKE in DeaTHMATCH and iTS better than DooM and DuKe NuKeM Iùve SeeN a lot of PiCS of QuaKE and ItS the MosT AmaZiNG ReaL SiMuLAtioN that I Can OVeRWheLM my Computer... >;) iTS the Future!

.ùú> .ùú-J-o-N-Hùú.ùúR-o-M-E-R-oúù.úùi-Sùú.úù-A-ùú.úù-G-o-D-úù.,úù> 'ù.ú'

WeLL Here U R 2 MapS with the original QuaKE SouNDS! Xcept one that I get from "ArMY oF DaRKNeSS" The MaSTer PieCE oF CiNEma HiSToRY! I hope u like it...altough if U diDnùT Play The QuaKE TeST...it would be a little bit Xtrange ;)
The first map with StairWayS to HeaVeN itS a olD-FoRGeT-CoMpleX i wanna make some new than the SquaRE levels that u saw in other wads of áäëLM. There R WiNdoWS,Stairs,CorneRS PLaSMa guN a good place 4 DeaTHMaTCH... ;) The SeCoND MaP iTS a KiND oF "A_SaCo.WAD" the FreNZieST Map That iùVe EVeR trieD! buT iTS CooL! well IùM The KreaTor And UùLL ThinK IùM noT FaiR. ...ThiS WaD WaS MaDE 4 PäNtiuM PoWäR AnD AWe oR GVS XPeRieNCE...

I hope u LikE it aND HaVE GooD DeaTHMaTCH TiME oN iT!

I don't understand why the author enjoyed writing LiKe ThIs but it's perhaps a subtility of his langage. Anyway, QuaKä or rather QUAKE.WAD offers two small and spicy maps either you battle against monsters or human opponents. It's primarly designed for DM but can be perfectly played in single-plaer mode.

The map themselves are not really related to Quake since they mostly use the Doom 2's stock textures but the second map shares a similar pseudo-medieval architecture.However, as far as the resources are concerned, the author made some custom quake-themed screenshots (TITLE, INTERMISSION...) and replaced some of the Doom's sounds with Quake's one. The statbar seems to be the author's creation, demonstrating a desire to customize the game. Not an uncommon feature in DM wads.

I'm quite surprised how polished those two maps are in terms of monster placement. When, I play monster-filled DM maps, the enemies are usually randomly placed and don't really benefit from the layout. It's not the case here. In both maps, there is a sort of sniping cyberdemon which is really dangerous when you're distracted killing the other enemies. More generally, monsters can move around quite easily and sometimes quite deviously. I can't hide the fact that I nearly died in both maps.

Despite the unreadable author's nickname and the headache-inducing description, both maps gave me a shot of adrenaline. Good stuff.

Grade : B (13/20) (From a singleplayer perspective)

[3] The Cursed Generation by Samuel 'Kaiser' Villarreal @Kaiser (2005)

Quote

Quote

This is a map that was locked forever in the vault, never to be released. Oringinally created back in 2003, this wad was made for the Plutonia II project. Well, its been countless years since its development and ya know what? I am not letting this go to waste.

An homage to Plutonia which breaks the vanilla limits and it's probably one of the reasons why it doesn't figure in PL2. According to the file name, it appears to be the 19th submission of the "Kaiser series" and I played almost none of them during my adventures.

So, whereas it uses Plutonia's textures, you need Doom 2 to launch it and the structure is heavily influenced by Kaiser's map style knowing : a tendency to symmetric architecture, long straight hallways, detailed light gradients and more broadly a very conventional kind of gameplay which can appear "classic" or "bland" depending on your point of view. The map doesn't feature any notable fights , except the references to certain iwad maps, such as the final battle against the cyber, which seems to be inspired by map 06.

The overall layout reminds me of Doom 2's "The inmost dens", which includes many passages bordering on liquid (blood) that is not dangerous. The result is a particularly open and easy-to-navigate map. Nothing perilous, except that you have to kill the monsters guarding the surrounding areas. The beginning was the spiciest part for me due to the perched chaingunners and the lack of armour.

As for the combat-design, the architecture is a proof of Kaiser's advanced mapping skills for the time but the scenery remains fairly basic, with a few advanced details here and there, such as the window above the yellow key. There's a lot of gray and brown bricks, which in this case leaves me particularly indifferent. I think Casali's brothers managed to make more memorables places under vanilla's limits.

Overall, "The Cursed Generation" is a competent map but it's far from being the most sensational tribute to Plutonia I've ever played. I think it could have been more concise, as I consider that this level lacks a concept that would make it more captivating.

Grade : B- (12/20)

I accidentally shot a barrel in a room full of them from The last fortress of hell (forgot to take a screen)

LadyMistDragon · October 3, 2023

King of the Hill (1997) by Boomer and Slaytan (Crispy Doom)

Surprisingly well-constructed deathmatch map with stairs leading down towards the center which is occupied by a hexagon-shaped fort. Seems nice if you like going up and down 6/10

Spoiler

Ball Buster! (Baseball that is!) (1995) by Eddie Hauskenecht (Crispy Doom)

Despite the pair of doomcute offices this is far larger than it needs to be! So maybe the walls in the large room are a good idea but the stairs don't have to be that high and the way the narrow corridors run paralell to the main room make no sense whatsoever. Neither do any of the other side areas really. There are some good areas but nests are larger than they should be 3.5/10

Spoiler

Edited October 3, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

Endless · October 3, 2023

On 10/2/2023 at 1:25 PM, Roofi said:

I had to take a small break due to coronavirus but I'm back !

Oh that's scary, glad to hear you are back dooming!

Despair.wad | Paul Thureen | 1995

E1M1_1.png?ex=651de189&is=651c9009&hm=67920e6a1f04e152ad242c8bbbd78ab3ec36a9f5b723c1df3183bd921a215176&

Generic empty level from the 90s. Nothing to say here other than it is pretty damn barebones and actually broken. You can't finish the map due to a wrong-facing exit switch that goes into the wall itself. Sad day.

Menzoberranzan v2.0 | Doug Erickson | 1995

MAP01_2.png?ex=651de2a7&is=651c9127&hm=a5d7c722e0d2e7cb634ba8618973b1f422610442c35d62f468f9289d3f0ed108&

A very odd and cryptic DM map from 1995. The title comes from the fictional underground continent of the Forgotten Realms (D&D lore) which caught my eye, but the actual map is far, far from actually being an accurate representation of the landscape of real Menzoberranzan. For DM, it sucks greatly, but it does have a few enemies in SP mode, and a lot of interesting-ugly areas to explore.

LadyMistDragon · October 4, 2023

FEAR21 (1994) By Walter Humphries (Crispy Doom)

The third deathmatch map in a row with monsters, though here, they actually mean something, kind of. First off, the lighting is excellent for a map made so early. A few rooms with flashing lights and this curious architecture on the ceilings say it all. The idea this was a deathmatch map is quite strange because it's quite spread out and probably would only be fun for players who fancied themselves patient. And the complex in the middle was just weird. Objects mazes surrounding what might be some stacked computer banks which spawn a Cyberdemon and Mastermind when the red key's acquired? Yes, that's what we're dealing with, along with a stupid puzzle in the red vat room that just serves to stretch things out. But there's more map after this: a walkway through a generic industrial area and a couple of traps, along with a block in front of the exit room that doesn't seem to lower. Maybe it does, but it's 3.5/10

Edited October 5, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

Walter confetti · October 5, 2023

Death in C sharp by Vasek "Damned" Havranek - Zdoom compatible, Doom 2, 1 map, SP, 2006, played with GZDoom 4.10.0

Spoiler

I've expected a much more harder map from the title, but otherwise is a pretty detailed short techbase that personally i thought it will worked better in the original Doom wad where this map supposedly born originally, especially for the white rock outdoors the episode 1 gray sky will be a better fit than the the brown sky of Doom 2. The level is not really that hard but the ending is challenging. The music (from... Fear Factory, i guess?) is a pretty good choice and i liked it. Overall, a short good map.

Mountain Base by Kurt Kesler - Boom compatible, Doom 2, 1 map, SP, 1998, played with DSDA-Doom 0.26.0

Spoiler

A map from Kurt Kesler, mapper mostly known for his kmetl series, gave us this basic techbase in the middle of a brown canyon filled of STARTAN3 just as the best of 90s maps will shows every time. Luckily(?) it wasn't paired with GSTONE1 or this will become a generic 1994 map with 3D bridges. The 3D bridges\floors are a cool touch for this map actually, unluckily the bridge in the main outdoor area (the one leading to the yellow door), doesn't have a instant lowering floor trick, breaking the "magic" with just a boring slow floor lowering. The map is not that hard but have it's challenge, withe biggest is to find a exit since it's not really well telegraphed find the switch that lower the lift to the final room and it's pleasant to look despite it's basic design. A nice early boom map.

Time2Die.zip by Jerms13 - Vanilla Doom 2, 1 map, DM, 1998, played with Zandronum 3.1 and bots

Spoiler

Conceptually not a bad map, have a pretty neat green\gray theme (made a map with similar theme for Shovelware Deathmatch) and a decent layout with some semi-decent thing placement, but it's unfortunately ruined by the usual early deathmatch mapping mistakes in thing placement (not having decent guns at the player spawns and powerful spam guns easily achievable; the SSG in this case, the plasma is slightly hard to take since it's located inside a little pit), also the brown corridor are a little too long making easy to be camped by the lucky player (or bot in our case) that takes the SSG first and then blasted away without any chance. The dark alcove "secret" is... nice, i guess? Overall, a map with potential!

Walter confetti · October 5, 2023

On 10/4/2023 at 12:11 AM, Endless said:

Menzoberranzan v2.0 | Doug Erickson | 1995

Thanks for answering me of what the Doom 2 original version, i played the Hexen version long ago and it's shit. Sorry for double post!

Roofi · October 6, 2023

Year 2 Month 07 Day 15

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

[1] Starlite! for DOOMII by Dave Johnson (1995)

Quote

This is a medium sized level which is very playable with the weapons provided and should be enjoyable for players of all levels. Look for secret areas and watch your back.

I forgot to open my software for taking screenshots, but anyway, you can found some in my old review written during Month 5 Day 30 (6 november 2021). Here's what I said about this old map :

"We start in a courtyard with a large star drawn on the ground for mainly decorative purposes. Apart from that, don't expect a map that takes place in the galaxy but rather a kind of dark and ruined brown "city". The level is neither more beautiful nor more ugly than a Doom 2 map.

For a 1995 map, I think it is above average. The gameplay is fun with lots of zombies to exterminate thanks to SSG and chaingun. Besides, we can find much more ammunition and health bonuses than necessary, so nothing frustrating. Towards the end of the map, we can get a BFG and a megasphere.

Except that, there is not much to explain. The random progression due to the use of teleporters to reach particularly empty rooms does not make this level particularly unique. However, it's still quite intuitive, so expect to spend about ten minutes to finish this little find."

I launched prboom+ this time in time in order to find the 3 secrets and kill the 131 monsters and I spent a good time. Despite the rather spicy beginning involving quite a lot of shotgunners, this level is a breeze to get through because of all the available ammo and health. The secrets aren't necessary at all in UV but I want to point out that some hidden areas aren't tagged as secrets. For instance, there's a hidden room containing light-amplificators and a handful of pinkies. Nothing important as you can expect but necessary in case you want to record an uv-max on this level.

At the end, I think Starlite! deserved to be played for its charming messing hellish visuals implying the usage of lot of different textures which could remind some Doom 2 levels such as "Nirvana".

Grade : B (13/20)

[2] Tele Pits by Naplam Man (Keith) @Keith (1999)

Quote

Quote

This level was designed to be used in deathmatch. This is an ultra cool level. You can play with it by yourself, but just to look around...,This wad is the best!!!!!!! This wad is soo cool you will want to play it over and over. This wad is espically cool with 4 players,even beter with 8 players through zdoom. Please send this wad to all your freinds!

The title explains the concept pretty well. The map takes place among a bunch of copy-pasted square canyons in which you can find several entrances leading to teleporters in each. The teleporters help you travel from a pit to an another and get the goodies located inside the elevated grottos. If you find the secret teleporters pads, you'll obtain the items perched on the tall pillars such as a soulsphere, an invulnerability sphere or a plasma gun.

The idea has some potential but its author acted way too prententiously. It's definitely not the best wad and I don't want to play it over and over. You'd better have a lot of friends to play this map, because it's ultimately large and confusing. All the areas look samey.

I stop here for today.

LadyMistDragon · October 6, 2023

Belldandy Doom (Test Edition) (1997) by Yukio Ize (Crispy Doom)

The /idgames review is probably being a touch unfair by comparing to The Sky May Be. But on the other hand there's less discernable sense of coherent design here. It's literally just a series of rooms and hallways that feel incredibly disconnected. So far, it doesn't sound worst than Sandy Petersen. But there's also tons of, ah, 'experimental' texture choices that places unlike textures next to each other with basically zero rhyme or reason. Although it can sometimes be cool to see sky textures used as a wall, here outside of the nearby teleporter room in this case, it just looks corny and awful. Yukio is no toasty, and I could swear the large outdoor area was in another map, though probably with the center walls heavily redesigned. I don't even think the hung Baron wall was the worst texturing, to be quite honest. The area with red flames in the middle and bloody industrial walls was actually kind of decent. But from one perspective, it's even worst than the couple of other Yukio wads I played. The key placement and key door location is no worst than anything else in 94, but the texturing is world-class yuck and at a certain point, it's either embrace the jank or get out. 2.5/10 then, for not being a series of non-vertical STARTAN boxes and just spamming enemies.

Roofi · October 7, 2023

Year 2 Month 07 Day 16

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

[1] Der Turm by Nicholas Bell (1994)

Quote

Quote

This level is a downsized version of an extremely large level I created which would not save due to "savegame buffer overrun." This level has been tested on 3 different systems and exhibits no such problem.

Pay attention to wall textures and check your map once in a while. Remember the one really bad monster is EXTREMELY easy to kill, once you know how. There's no need to cheat, 'cause I hate him too. Note the multiple bezerk boxes are simply a way of me giving the player 100% health without using multiple medikits. Too many useable things is the key reason some levels wouldn't save (although the number of sectors also seems to have a negative effect). Thus my reason for cutting down on the number of medikits by using single bezerk kits.

A long expedition inside a massive fortified concrete complex containing a lot of secrets, paths and sublime light contrasts which acts in favor of the gloomy atmosphere, along with the usage of Doom's E1M5 music. "Der Turm" is a traditional exploration map in which you have to recover 3 keys in order to unlock the exit located just behind your spawnpoint. However, Nicholas Bell also added optional but useful weapons and obtaining them are presented a bit as a side quest. For instance, you have to fight a cyberdemon in a rather crampy room in order to unlock the RL which make the fights against barons a lot less grindy, or you have to unlock the chaingun by pressing several switches. And as I said before, those weapons aren't mandatory at all because the author placed a lot of berserk packs. Don't hesitate to use them if you're an impatient daredevil !

Despite the high number of available blue armors and the fact you end the level with a ton of ammo in your pockets, "Der Turm" provides a solid challenge for its time. For a considerable portion of the map, the ammo balance encouraged me to adopt a steady approach and the monster placement is far from random as I usually see in wads made in the neolithic. At the end, it's still straightforward but I never felt bored in terms of combat design.

However, I love how the author managed to create a suspenseful atmosphere while keeping the visuals simple. All this concrete is delightful to look at, thanks to the carefully crafted light and shadow effects. And in terms of architecture, the map alternates between huge rooms and long corridors. Whereas progression is quite sloggish notably because of the elevators which take a long time to lower, these elements make me feel that I am exploring something large and quite tortuous, in the bowels of a fortress. My favourite area is probably the oddly toxic computer area in which you have to take a radsuit in order to pass through alive. And at last, this map contains a high number of hidden doors but finding them is so addictive knowing they are easy to spot in the automap.

In conclusion, der Turm was a pleasant surprise on all levels: strikingly elaborate, challenging and ambitious for its time. One of the best 1994 maps I've played this year.

Grade : A (16,5/20)

[2] Object "34": Sonar by Lainos [B0S] @Lainos (2011)

Quote

Did you remember of "Dehydration" from Eviternity? it's time to meet its ancestor ! Actually , there's no official link between those two maps but keep two things in mind : There's a lot of water and you"ll feel lost all the time.

Object "34": Sonar takes place in a garguantan underwater complex and is so heavily interconnected that you'll need several hours to complete it and I don't even talk about finding all the secrets, which I didn't do. If you find the secret automap near the beginning map as me, it's the best way to show all the work needed to reach the end. 900 monsters populate this map and 12 secrets are hidden. It's easy to assume that there'll be a big battle at the end, and that the map isn't that big after all, but in reality the map is so complex that all enemies are killed in small packages. Hyper-complexity will be your worst opponent until you reach the finale.

Actually, the level isn't very complicated in terms of combat, but it quickly shows its muscles, as you have to be patient before you have a decent arsenal, and mid-tiers appear soon. In the same way, you quickly experience the map's laborious progression. Most areas are either narrow or dark, or both. This can be a real problem when resources are limited, but in the end you have to make do, and caution usually gets you through.

Lainos is known for his/her exploration-oriented levels and some of them must be played at least once by every doomer such as Comatose, Doxylamine Moon, 5till L1 Complex but Object "34" : Sonar will appeal more to more seasoned adventurers as it resembles to a dungeon crawl on steroids. and even if you like the level, I'd at least recommend taking a short break to avoid all those paths giving you a headache.

The visuals aren't particularly appealing to be frank, especially compared to the maps I mentioned above. The ambiant darkness tend to make the areas look monotonous and the usage of the textures tend to be rough. I thought Sonar was one of the first levels from Lainos but it's not the case.

Nevertheless, Sonar's genius must be seen in its entirety: an endless and intimidating maze, and watching the layout gradually unfold brings a satisfaction that few maps manage to provide. Whether you like this map or not depends on whether or not you enjoy slowly emptying each room of its demonic presence. Exploration can be grindy, and in the same way as killing barons with an SSG, some people hate doing this task repeatedly. Sonar rarely follows the rules of "Good level design" and you'll have to accept it.

And I almost forgot to mention that but it's a russian wad, and as a true russian wad it uses a ogg music which perfectly match for this slow, energy-hungry journey. I guarantee you'll never really get tired of listening to it. And those sounds of machinery will invade your ears as well, between crushers and decorative lifts, Object "34" will invade most of your senses to immerse you and keep your attention.

Now let's talk about the final event in spoilers, because it's worth discovering for yourself :

Spoiler

No, just joking, it's just an annoying Icon of Shit and it's deliberately the worst section of the map despite the grandiose underwater landscapes.

So, Object "34" : Sonar isn't my favourite magnum-opus kind of map and I think it didn't age well in terms of gameplay and visuals. However, it's definitely more than a special map : it's an artwork showing Lainos' artistic vision of what Doom should be. Sonar being more of an acquired taste than other masterpieces created by Lainos for the above-mentioned reasons, this one won't win over everyone, I warn you.

Grade : A- (16/20)

[3] Castle of the Renegades by Scott F. Crank (1995)

Quote

Quote

Well, here it is and only 3 months in the making. Maybe now I can reclaim my life. At least until I start my first Doom II level. ;) I already have some ideas for that. This one should keep you death- matchers busy for a while. It's got sniper points overlooked by sniper points over- looked by sniper points! I've also set it up to prevent early exits from deathmatches. To see what I mean, try going through that yellow door before you have lowered all the key pedestals. I've included separate .txt files explaining the plot (such as it is) and some interesting technical points that I encountered in the making of CASLOTR.WAD. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Castle of the Renegades is maybe one of the old maps which marked me the most during all my adventures. I played it during Month 3 Day 04 (July 3 2021) and I remember it like it was yesterday!

Here's my past review :

" A large map that will suit fans of the "The Citadel" map from Doom 2 as you venture into a sort of large castle with an almost orthogonal shape that you can navigate around.It is however a map for Ultimate Doom and marble is the majority texture (which is not a bad thing!) I'm not a fan of the Doom 2 map 19 but I really liked this one. However, the outer areas are much emptier.

The first task is to figure out how to get into this building, as many of the entrances are blocked by numerous strange bars with an animated lost soul texture. These can be lowered from the inside to exit the castle. Once inside, one enters a large room with 3 keys on pedestals which acts as a sort of hub.

The map contains some fun new textures such as "Welcome to Chez Baron" or "Today's special: Human Kabobs". The music "Industrial Revolution", composed by Jean-Michel Jarre, gives a particularly mystical atmosphere, as if this castle was isolated from everything.

A little hidden gem of the 1990s."

I launched prboom+ this time in order to kill the 200 monsters and the 3 secrets. After 2.5 years of uninterrupted ER/iwa sessions, I have to say Castle of Renegades encapsulates all the charm from the 90's and that's why I love this level utterly beautiful even it's not my favourite old map.

What I didn't mention in my previous review was the citadel's fairly realistic twist, with jails, a dining room and tortuous secret passages that you'd find in an ancient castle.

The low difficulty also allows you to concentrate on the exploration aspect, which corresponds to the desire to discover new places and find hidden objects. And it's all done with a light-hearted sense of humor, with amusing signs that I've already mentioned in my 2021 review.

I think my opinion would not have been the same without he midi rendition of "Industrial Revolution: Overture" by Jean Michel Jerre, which is honestly one of the most exquisite soundtrack I have ever heard in a map made prior 2000. It's a delicious blend of electronic music and orchestra. Perfect music for a mysterious, grandiose adventure in a little-known, long-forgotten place, as is "Castle Of the Renegades". If I had to choose a D_RUNNIN for all the random maps I play, I could choose this one without difficulty.

This level exudes a magic that few old maps manage to do, and that's why it remains etched in my memory.

Grade : A (18/20)

I fell in a lava pit which instantly killed me in KZDoom4

Quote

LadyMistDragon · October 7, 2023

Simple4u.wad (1996) by William Engdahl, 4-D Creations, aka reddawg (Crispy Doom)

Oh, look, it's a Dead Simple clone borrowing the E4 sky and adding in actual height variation! "cool." It seems one can hide in the sides. I did chuckle quite a bit at the weapon pickup sfx, though maybe the Beavis and butthead ones less so. The plasma rifle one's less abrasive but it also is kind of goofy. 5/10 in deathmatch terms but this holds little challenge in single-player - there are 5 revenants and an arch-vile.

DOOM-Lite (1994) by Bill Nelsius

Quote

Tired of the Dark Passages and Flashing Mazes of DOOM? Try DOOM-Lite and fear the Dark no more!

Basically only here because the other hit before this one was a top 100 wad from 94 I've played before, this basically serves to create a sort of permanent fullbright effect, though to varying degrees. I suppose this might help in the cases where mappers were such clowns as to make rooms entirely blind, but it destroys the atmosphere in those maps which have it.

hexeth-u.wad (1996) by Steve DuBe' (Crispy Doom and Zandronum)

On the other hand, due to asymmetry, this map is kind of interesting! No monsters, but Player 00 starts on a pyramid of sorts, looking into a rectangular area of skyscraper tex, with a window connecting the two different areas. There's also a fireblu corridor weaving around one side, and inexplicably, a red-rocked walled room covered entirely in darkeness opened by a switch. 5.5/10

Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/K94m2CJ.png

Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/J7Zhxmn.png

Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/968WRza.png

Roofi · October 8, 2023

Year 2 Month 07 Day 17

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

[1] Temple of Dr. Death by Stephen Long (Dr. Death) (1995)

Quote

Quote

Small level designed for constant player contact. Abundant weapons are strategically placed.. Lots of strategy in this one, so look and adapt!

I'm semi-retired from .WAD making, so I took no steps to align any textures. If this just totally spoils the level for you, so be it, but I don't have the time anymore to devote to making these things. Unless of course, you want to pay me... ;)

I mention this, because the last two 3-D games I played, Dark Forces and Witchaven, had noticeable "newbie" level mistakes, and on the whole were just not that impressive. (Compare Episode 1 of DOOM to the illogical structures of DOOM 2 for a good example of this..)

A small and symmetrical arena built with a lot of stairs. These really do ensure fluid navigation, unlike elevators, which would slow down movement. As a non-deathmatcher, the light gradations highlight the brown brick textures and make this map quite visually tasty.

[2] BARTMAN6.WAD by Jim Wiscarson (1995)

Quote

Quote

Original Heretic Deathmatch Wad

A sloppy Heretic map for deathmatch mode using the same ocre brick texture everywhere and where a ton of items are placed without care of balancing. The most interesting aspect about this level resides in the small areas you can reach only if you use the wings or if you're transformed into a chicken by your opponent. The pronunced height variations are welcome too even if the level completly lacks in terms of visuals.

[3] The Brotherhood of Ruin Deathmatch by Kristian Aro @Kristian Nebula (2015)

Quote

Quote

Deathmatch level preview of partial conversion The Brotherhood of Ruin.

I confess I never played the single-player version of "The Brotherhood of Ruin" whereas I saw that mapname several times. I honestly wish idgames had given me the single-player version accordingly but it wants me to visit DM maps instead for today it seems.

I suppose this level acts more as a preview than a really calibrated DM map bearing in mind that idgames reviews don't seem to be very enthusiastic about the gameplay. However, the evil mayan theme looks pretty unique and this map also shows some boom features such as an underwater path with a friction effect in order to slow your movement as if you were swimming in the water.

Deadly Fight is one of the Timothy Brown's releases, nuff' said.

Quote

LadyMistDragon · October 8, 2023

Terror Mall (1994) by David J. Shrock (Crispy Doom)

Quote

A 4 level episode starting at e3m1 and finishing at

e3m8. Unlike CPHOBOS, all of the secrets here

have better hints to their existance. This episode

has extensive new graphics and is built to look

just like a mall with a new monster. Uses DeHackEd

for new effects such as shooting computers or

windows, the new monster and new text.

For you deathmatch players, I have put in a button

on level 3 that will take you back to level 2 for a

2 level cycle that goes until you are ready to

finish. Then just go to the normal exit.

Unless people insist, this is probably my last

episode/levels for Doom. Let me know what you

Well, the guy obviously didn't know how to format. It looks like he released some other maps though, which is interesting. Because in some ways, this is an early version of something that Roger Ritenour would become famous for some years later, with the retro stylings of Bob Reganess. Basically, the depiction of realistic space in Doom.

Like the title says, this is a mall, and actually not one that stuffs every square inch with detail and instead tries to space things out to allow for better gameplay. As a result, we've got mall trees, blue-tiled bathrooms, electronic shops, DOOM BBSs tabletop game shops, mall exit door obviously representing a turnstile and toy shops most annoyingly featuring Sonic the Hedgehog. There are also inanimate object monster replacements it's necessary to blast through in order to progress in many cases and this is where the set starts to fall apart. Maybe it's different if one tries to load to BAT file and/or install this in Dosbox, but the way things are now, the HP values aren't changed, meaning the glass doors have the same HP as a Cyberdemon. Not surprisingly, SFX aren't exactly overrid either.

But it'd be more acceptable if the design didn't occasionally veer into blandness of Doom walls being practically everywhere. After the first map, there are lots of areas with blood, with E3M7 absolutely taking the cake in the horrible backtracking department. Noclipping around everywhere revealed little but some red-lined walls.

International Doom might be better for this since it seems to run things like Wheel of Time Doom without the same Dehacked hiccups

pcorf · October 8, 2023

On 10/3/2023 at 8:40 AM, LadyMistDragon said:

Dark Barren Forest (2006) by Paul Corfiatis @pcorf (GZDoom)

Made during Pcorf's jokewad phase and god, it is awful. It's like one of those spoopy wads and that's all you need to know. Supposedly, there's a friendly Cyberdemon on HMP and also, chicken for some reason in a pen on the right I guess.

I'm sure there is worse such as Bad Jokewad and that Gammara ripoff map. Gosh gosh gosh. Midnight Island was another Ghoul map I made which just used the classical Ghouls. Silly megawad named The New Adventure and then the experimental crap such as the Maze of Frustration, etc. And that stupid Into Sandy's City episode that was me trying to speedmap, just threw the maps together out of boredom and never really tested them and a reviewer said it was an insult to Sandy.

I'll promise you that you'll never see this 2005-2007 version of me again (esp after Death Tormention 3 although I did contribute to a couple of community jokewads after that, you know WOOO 2, etc). It got me a bad reputation and I think even to today some users have not recovered from it. Probably the reason why other authors such as @Mechadon @antares031 @esselfortium and @Jimmy etc get a much better reputation is because of their consistency when it comes to creating great maps. They're all legends in the mapping community.

I was going through a rough time in my life back then, socially and creatively and it kind of ruined everything. I tried to be boastful, fell for the Mock2 and Ghoul's Forest, troll wad crap and it damaged my reputation. I was depressed, and when I tried to be creative I was so out of ideas that I got into a silly mood and forced myself to do bad.

In late 2006 I told myself I'm going to fix myself. Despite the countless Terry wads that have been released since then I just put that stuff in the background and said to myself, it's time to have fun mapping again and it is time to change as a person by ignoring the critics and not reacting their comments. So I started work on Whispers of Satan, I wanted to make a kick butt megawad and then after it was released I learned more about my faults such as too much symmetrical layouts because in those maps I focussed so much on the looks and I did not care about the layout and gameplay flow. My later maps and megawads such as Zone 400 and 2022ado fixed all those faults as I took a deep breath and used my imagination better than ever and I probably had the most fun ever creating maps (and music) in those projects.

You go down to the depths of despair, but you must fight your way out of it. But it is impossible to fix a ruined reputation. Sometimes I feel like I want to explode when I see a negative comment I just say to myself don't be childish and just imagine it doesn't exist. The more I have been like that the less negativity has existed.

Today I just want to bring as much positivity to the community and help whenever I can. The community today I think is a lot better, it resurrected me from my darkest days and that is a great thing!. We're all here to enjoy this hobby.

LadyMistDragon · October 9, 2023

Dark Web (2023) by @Powerlord (From Doom with Love)

Ok, I played this one and most likely made a video of it, so you're not getting that here. However, the feeling is the same: or this is the sort of humble techbase effort that really doesn't look like much at first but slowly gets cooler during it's probably 5-7 minute run in the combat if not the visual sense. That's not such a bad warehouse room though and while I got less secrets this time, I remember the rewards being decent and upon checking the editor, that assumption was confirmed, as well as the presence of some obscure switches that revealed the way to said secrets. Better was that room with the Revenant and several hitscanners and finally, that glorious final room with the chaingunners, and other dangerous monsters accompanied by a small army. All in all, quite a solid ride and a slight wrapping layout that deposits near a corresponding door shortly after collecting the key, blue specifically 7/10

Spoiler

Walter confetti · October 9, 2023

IDITAROD.WAD by MYSCHA (THE SLED DOG) T.ELLIOT CANNON - Vanilla Doom 2, 10 maps, SP, 1998, played with DSDA-Doom 0.26.0

Spoiler

Played the first 3 maps and get stuck in MAP03 without finding a way to reach the red key door, maybe i'll replay this because from what i've played is a good mapset, with good lighting and simple vanilla trickery, but is in MAP03 that the things starts to begin serious in visual department. Every maps changes drastically in theme and gameplay, this is a rare thing to see for a single made person wad such variety! Also, is this guy the same guy who made Strain maps?

MAP01 starts in a small tech base with platforming and imps in the end and pretty good lighting work fighting small hordes of former humans, MAP02 is a maze-y map (and not a completely bad maze map) with many lowering\opening areas to your passage and a second area sets in a burning hell cavern; finally there's MAP03 sets in a cramped fortress reminiscent of "The Waste Tunnels" in style and a sort of light slaughtermap concept in monster placement, especially near the second half.

Cool stuff so far.

joepallai · October 10, 2023

19 hours ago, Walter confetti said:

IDITAROD.WAD by MYSCHA (THE SLED DOG) T.ELLIOT CANNON - Vanilla Doom 2, 10 maps, SP, 1998, played with DSDA-Doom 0.26.0

Reveal hidden contents

Also, is this guy the same guy who made Strain maps?

No but he did end up working on Unreal Tournament

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/T._Elliot_Cannon_(Myscha_the_Sled_Dog)

LadyMistDragon · October 10, 2023

Demon's Alley (1995) by Doug Ryerson (Crispy Doom)

Another day, another Doug Ryerson map. Although this is only his second Doom 2 map I've played. Although unlike that one, there's actually some surprisingly colorful visual choices, albeit many that are made in bad taste. But that's a charming MS Paint title screen and that butterfly menu cursor and status bar are also kind of cute. The map itself seems to be an experimental texture mishmash of sorts

We start facing the Icon of Sin and have to run down some platforms in front of the titular alley into the mouth of the Icon, past some pictures advertising the map itself and certain bits respectively. It's fairly easy to fall down and be met with teh pinkies though. Anyways, we end up in a hexagonal quasi-maze structure with some ugly purple walls and some cheese pillars in the middle containing a key which subsequently teleports us to the corresponding door, next to a pair of Imps on some platforms which lower when we get next to the door. From here, two doors go up through a marble cave. One leads to a COMP room, the other a curious rectangular room with three hell knights and a laser-covered room where it seems some unfortunate comrades of yours spent their last minutes. Anyways, we can be teleported away to different sections of the first room so just go through the middle platform, push a random wall, shoot some Cacos and hit the switch here to open another door downstairs leading to a hallway taking us back to the start.

Then the yellow door seems to just be a brown concrete hallway, but at the end, a most unusual room is revealed! We emerge from under an overhang with some nicely crafted thin pillars, weird walls shooting up shaped like horns, flesh walls on the side, then some white-marbled Baron rooms with a Baron of Hell on either side with some pinkies. After some fiddling around, we head into some transparent walls that teleport us to the top of the said horns unless we go through the window and find the blue key

Behind the blue door, then, is the most irritating section of the map, featuring a series of silver walls, an Invulnerbilty placed in the middle for some odd reason and an unchallenging grouping of enemies that happens to include an Arch-vile. The next room with the exit also has an Arch-vile, and there's signs basically advertising the resources Doug used for this map. A 6.5/10 then but that's mainly due to the whacked-out visual choices since the gameplay itself is just there.

brick · October 12, 2023

Brick | 3 wads | 4 maps

Baby (1999) by Richard J. Sham. 1 SP map for vanilla Doom II.

This feels like a map with some good ideas, one that might've been at least good even if not great, but that fails in implementation. There are some nice bits of detailing here and there, but aesthetics are marred by an almost completely absent attempt at any lighting. There's a Metallica MIDI that's pretty cool if you're into this stuff. Progression is weird and annoying, I got stuck very early on because the teleporter in the outer courtyard has 2 different destinations depending on which side you use. There are some instances of dead end backtracking, otherwise nondescript walls that open for no discernible reason, walls that you can walk through even though you'd have no reason to think you could, an unmarked secret door for a teleporter... and all these are on the required path. I got fed up with the map long before I reached the last room, and when I got there and couldn't figure out how to get to the exit (it turns out there's a tiny walkover linedef in the giant room that'll open it, because why not) I threw the towel.

Spoiler

LIEDOWN1 (1996) by Kenji.K(LEI). 2 SP/DM maps for vanilla Doom II.

At least I assume these are meant for DM, because they're both very small and seem well suited for it. I can't read Japanese (and I don't know if the characters can still be displayed properly in the text file) so I don't know if there's any interesting info there, but the names of the maps are spelled out. The Crush Hall deserves its name, as the ceiling will start crushing as soon as you take a step, but there are obvious safe zones and staying in them is not hard. Closed Station is even smaller, the only feature is that the middle part can go up or down to connect the 2 levels. In both maps the exit door is locked and the key is in an unofficial secret. Despite the tiny size the maps are not bad, I imagine they could be fun in DM, and the crushing gimmick is actually pretty good.

Spoiler

Death in C sharp (2006) by Vasek "Damned" Havranek. 1 SP map for Doom II in ZDoom.

This one's pretty good! It's a small base with some very nice and evocative detailing, with the ceiling lights and the collapsed hallway, the power lines going out into the distance, the blue key room, and the ventilation shaft to escape through. I'm not sure why this requires ZDoom, I didn't even see any Boom actions. Combat and progression are pretty straightforward but well done. It's a very short map, easily done in under 5 minutes, but I still found it enjoyable, and it's definitely good looking.

Spoiler

Roofi · October 12, 2023

Year 2 Month 07 Day 18

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

[1] Roots Of Deathmatch by Kevin Scanlon (1997)

Quote

Quote

I decided to make a Doom 2 deathmatch level that was small enough for 2 players to have a lot of fun with as opposed to doing nothing but chasing each other around for 10 hours. Nice and small, still large enough to hunt.

A square and metallic arena for your deathmatch parties. The map contains tons of ammo and I like how they are properly disposed. It's more satisfying to pick them up, and I feel the same way about all the aligned blue bottles.

[2] THE LAST DOOM LEVEL MADE IN 2003 by Paul Corfiatis @pcorf (2003)

Quote

Quote

The last Doom level made in 2003. When you have nothing to do before midnight, just make a new level and throw in some poor old helpless troopers.

A tiny and brief hellish-themed level made 20 years ago. Most of your opponents will be the "poor old helpless troopers" mentioned in the description and therefore this level feels like a welcomed breeze. The detailed light gradients and elaborated architecture such as the circular rooms housing the blue and red keys make this map quite visually-appealing.

This map is like candy: it gives you a brief feeling of well-being, and the only thing you want is more of it.

Grade : B- (12/20)

[3] We are 183! by Daimon aka Walter Confalonieri @Walter confetti (2006)

Quote

Quote

Somenthing better than my last release... Aniway a medieval style level in E2M9 Style

I can tell walter confetti is a true fanboy of "Fortress of Misery" because it's not the first level in the style of E2M9 I play from him.

You start in a room , surrounded by 4 doors which 3 of them require each a key of different color. Each key unlocks a different section and all of them host a certain number of robust enemies such as a handful of hell nobles and arch-viles. Fortunately, the abundant shotgun shells and the several megaspheres and invulnerability spheres gets you through the most difficult passages without struggling.

Now, I will be honest, whereas I can appreciate the deeply flawed experience that the original E2M9 offers, I didn't enjoy playing this tribute that much. I don't mind about the very gimmicky mapping decisions but the simplistic and overdark places make this level insipid , visually speaking. The level has some doomcute such as the open book in the chapel but I quickly guessed that "We are 183!" belonged in the first baby maps category. This map plays like a mediocre map made in the middle of the 90's and, it's not in mapper's fault, but I think the gzdoom port makes the scenery even poorer than it really is. To tell the truth, I often don't use software mode on gzdoom maps in order to prevent FPS drops and visuals glitches.

Grade : C- (8/20)

[4] Auxiliary Base (E1M2) by Agtronic (2015)

Quote

Quote

This is an early style "tech base" map for DOOM 1, made in 2015. It was meticulously detailed and should be aesthetically pleasing to those who are not sick of the tech base theme. Think of it as a nostalgic ode to the early DOOM experience.

A little history: I was 13 when I first played DOOM. The level of engagement (and fear) that I felt when I first played it on a 386 with a PC speaker is something I have not felt since those days in any modern game. I guess our imagination was more developed back then. I was absolutely blown away by the detail and realism I saw when walking through the creepy halls of the various military bases.

When I first heard that people were creating their own maps in 1994, I was intrigued and fascinated by what I thought was an impossibly complicated process. I experimented with mapping back then using Doom Editor - The Real Thing by Geoff Allan, in Windows 3.1. It crashed all the time. I also found it difficult to convert my ideas into an actual map. I gave up after loosing my progress a few too many times.

Fast-forward 20 years to 2013, and I stumbled across a website for Doom Builder 2. I was shocked to find out that there was a map editor for Doom, and that it was developed in the 2000s. Since I was not a gamer and rarely played video games at all (except for a short stint of obsession with GTA4), I thought Doom modding died a long time ago. I downloaded the map editor and started to experiment. I was amazed at how rock solid Doom Builder was. (To this day, it has not crashed a single time, nor have I ever noticed a single bug.)

It was on. I started to map out a few ideas and quickly became obsessed. It was so easy to draw out exactly what I was thinking, and the 3D mode was blowing my mind. I started to work on an E1 episode like I had always wanted to since the 90s.

This level is the 2nd map of the episode. It is also the 2nd map I make (ever). The first is complete, and the 3rd is half done. I liked how this one turned out. Halfway through the development of this map, I discovered the PWAD archive and the Doom World forum. I had NO IDEA there was still a huge community of Doom playing and modding. I started to download some maps. When I saw how far mapping has come, I was reluctant to release this. My map comes from someone who last played doom in the 90s so it really was styled to what I thought was the ultimate style. But I still really like the tech base style and figured some people might enjoy it.

Keep in mind that this is the 2nd map I have ever made.

A classic hommage to the first Doom game which runs on Doom.exe. Auxiliary Base borrows the theme of the first episode with some small twists such as the presence of cacodemons and the plasmagun. It's hard to say much about it because the tribute aspect clearly dominates the field of innovation. However, Auxiliary Base proves to be more complex and a tad more challenging than the Iwad. More monsters populate the map and the sewers part was probably the trickiest passage due to the limited number of radsuits. The difficulty remains fair though, especially if you find some of the numerous secrets. I also noticed Auxiliary Base has more elaborated details, notably in terms of rendering the shadows.

The only thing I can really say is that if you like DOOM.WAD, you'll be able to reach this map without any trouble. The sewer section is perhaps the weakest point of this map, due to the omnipresence of the nukage and the repetitiveness of the texturing and architecture, but represents only part of the level.

Grade : B (13,5/20)

[5] The Spider Drome (v1.0) by Carl Tranter (1994)

Quote

Quote

Spider contains one mission, features loads of secret doors and areas, new graphics, nicely aligned textures :-), never before seen room designs and some porn (gasp!), so if you are easily offended, PLAY IT!

The Doom community didn't wait the modern ports to import custom resources and "The Spider Drome" is one exemple here. Just few seconds after launching the wad, you"ll notice that it's one of the old wads which turned out to be more "artsy" than usual. A strange nocturnal sky where the Mt Fuji seems to be represented dominates the abstract corrupted base. Custom textures make their appearance too and you"ll even find a very pixelated sprite of a naked woman in one of the blue key's section. I don't know the reason of her existence , but hey, why not ! Beside this , you'll see several signs on which it's written "SPIDER" and cross through midtex cobwebs which rather unsubtly announce that you'll have to face a giant spider at a certain point on the map.

Now let's spoil you without shame : you've to defeat a caged helpless spider mastermind near the end of the map but the real boss here are the puzzles and more specifically, the handful of unmarked doors I managed to find after copious wallhumps. However, finding the switch in the "lift maze" is the task that took me the longest.

The puzzle is the most polarizing part of the map by far but a lot of places feel very unique for a prehistoric wad like this. The occasional doomcute shows the sense of details from its author between the word "DOOM" written with red bright textures glowing at outdoors, the railway you've to follow in a specific part of the map and inflicts damage if you step on metal to show that it's electric or the very dangerous "wavy crushers" in one of the blue key's section. All that aside, the texturing is particularly meticulous, making the level a pleasure to watch on Dosbox.

I have to admit that the progression becomes unnecessarily confusing at times, but this is still a little treasure released almost 30 years ago.

Grade : A- (15,5/20)

A ghost ate me in Pacman Doom 2

Quote

Walter confetti · October 12, 2023

Yeah, "The Spider Drome" is a interesting half unknown map from the early years of mapping, almost a Wadarcheology thread.

That topless lady picture was used quite a lot of times (NEWDOOM2 and some other)

We are 183 is a old pretty broken map, especially for the Ranma 1/2 stairs room and the final battle.

LadyMistDragon · October 12, 2023

Damn-It Wad, v. 2 (1995) by Lonnie Yearwood (Crispy Doom)

Quote

Your OBJECTIVE with this level is to complete it without taking a hit from an enemy and to kill all enemies. There are health packs available, but their use means the OBJECTIVE has not been met.

I don't see how you can tell us to play behind your little setup, Lonnie. But there's really not lots to say here. A series of boxy rooms that thankfully aren't STARTAN but use the sort of brown textures we associate with ancient ruins, mixed with some rooms that contrast dramatically in the visual sense. but for some reason, there's barrels practically everywhere in the opening areas and just enough room that this doesn't feel entirely unfair. Although perhaps maybe one would appreciate more rockets for the Mancubi near the end, but they, surprise, have more barrels near them. Placing the exit unmarked in a darkened hallway that also contains a Hell Knight was a serious nadir however. 4.5/10, because it just got in, said its piece, then left.

brick · October 13, 2023

Brick | 1 wad | 10 maps

Adventure | 4 wads | 14 maps

I feel a bit bad now, after reading ICID's writings I think I was too harsh on Baby. And it was another one of those family collaborations that I love so much.

IDITAROD.WAD (1996) by MYSCHA (THE SLED DOG) T.ELLIOT CANNON. 10 SP maps for vanilla Doom II.

I was immediately impressed with the early maps and some of the special effects they try to pull off. Geometry is simple but very effective and it tries to create contrast with lighting and with sector shapes and angles. Early on you enter a room, and a pillar of lamps rises up from the ground and then "turns on" as the sectors in front of the lamps light up, just before closets open up to unleash spectres, it's all simple vanilla actions but the setup is clever and very well done. Music and graphics are all default iwad (except for a nice night sky) but several sounds are replaced, the new ones are pretty good. As I went through the maps my admiration for the wad didn't diminish, but I was not enjoying myself as much. The biggest problem is that there's no difficulty balancing, and some of those combat setups are mean. The combat seemed very Plutonia, small monster counts but used very effectively for maximum pain, even leaning slightly into Plutonia's love of revegunners, yet this was released months before Final Doom! Then around MAP07 the wad took a turn into another style that seems to predate Hell Revealed, higher enemy counts tightly packed and deadly. Unfortunately this is also the point where progression becomes a bit bullshit, with many mandatory secrets, unmarked doors, and many timed switches that leave little room for error, sometimes chained one after the other so that failure means restarting the whole sequence from scratch. Between this and the lack of skill balancing I didn't really enjoy the latter half of the wad, but it's an interesting early prototype of hard wads, and those who like them will probably appreciate it more. The text file is interesting, Myscha goes into the philosophy behind the wad in great detail and it's a fun read.

Spoiler

LadyMistDragon · October 13, 2023

Death Cycle (2001) by Sphagne (Crispy Doom)

Quote

A level good for both Normal and Deathmatch play. This is my 5th level, a circular level, small & compact. You have been cursed to be trapped in the Death Cycle, and you know that only the lucky ones could escape from here. Good Luck!

Teh second Sphagne map and one I really didn't have the patience for right now, although it's more on the small and compact end of things. See, this is a Jim Flynn or Jens Nielsen style puzzle box map that one must suss out where progress can be found through logical invisi-lift placement and things like that.

It's probably inferior to the other Spahgne map I played before, although it's certainly not for lack of trying. It's sort of neat how basically any exit in the central tower will also lower the pillar in the middle and allow you to access the other parts of the map. But barring one room that's a sort of reception area with couches and fireplaces, there's nothing especially interesting, and indeed, the design borders on downright ugly at times. It's also quite mean.....although there is a hidden rocket launcher I had neither the brains nor the patience to find. I like how the Cyberdemon facing in front of you doesn't even bother striking the Barons until you alert him yourself. Then the ending....well, basically several outdoor areas will open after acquiring the red key but there's also some identical-appearing inner rampart areas and basically, you've got the navigate them and hit certain switches in order to reach the exit. I think we do anyway, but I didn't really feel like dealing with tons of close-quarters bullshit right now. 6/10, does the Sphagne formula but has little to really recommend it.

Yup @Ludi, my life cycle does indeed determine my death cycle.

Roofi · October 14, 2023

Year 2 Month 07 Day 19

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

[1] NUCLEAR RESEARCH - REACTOR ROOMS by Simo Malinen (2003)

Quote

Quote

Large power station designed in a theme of the original Doom levels. Lots of action. Try to shoot barrels - and they'll clear the monsters for you!

A vanilla ultimate map I already played during Month 12 Day 29 (October 22, 2022) . Here's what I written the first time I discovered it :

"A crowded and full of exploration nuclear plant. Simo talks about "Lots of action", I would say "constant non-stop action" since already decimated areas got repopulated again due to the many hidden monster closets. Fortunately, the author gives you lot of ammo in order to clean all that mess and green armors are plentiful so you don't have to worry about taking damages.

Nuclear research does a tribute to the legendary first episode of Ultimate Doom but Simo brought more details and a more distorted layout . I really appreciate how the scrolling flashy red textures are used to imitate the reactors I guess, even if using your rocket launcher in a such dangerous place doesn't lead to desastrous consequences. By the way, this level doesn't have stunning aesthetics but it will please any classic Ultimate Doom fan.

This map proposes lot of exploration but you never get lost because you spot the locked door before getting the key you need. The progression was really intuitive. Simo perfectly succeded at creating a middle-sized shooting gallery in which you never get bored.

Grade : A"

I launched the file on prboom+ this time in order to kill the 280 small baddies and find the 4 not-so-hidden secrets and once again, I had a blast ! Slaughterish combat can be enjoyed effortlessly thanks to all the medkits and ammunition and the oblique architecture allows for a more twisted and creative progression.

Really fun and explosive map.

Grade : A (16,5/20)

[2] Alone in the Dark by Claus Nielsen (1994)

Quote

Quote

This is quite a huge level. Not very tricky, or difficult for that matter. It's just plain fun "dooming"... Oh, and by the way; your monitor shouldn't be too bright when playing this level - that would spoil the effect of the dark areas.

A large underground bunker featuring a ton of optional paths. The intermission screen told me I found only 6% of secrets and killed 69% of monsters. However, I don't think it's worth the effort to find everything, as this is an extremely generic exploration map with lots of rooms linked by doors. From my point of view, this map isn't ugly since the texturing remains rather consistent in each room but its definitely devoid of any detail or landmark which would encourage the exploration. Alone in the Dark mosly consist to navigate in monotextured concrete bases, marble stronghold or traditional sewers filled with nukage.

The gameplay remains ordinary but the ammo tends to be surprisingly tight. I ran out of ammo once and I think it could have been worse if I had took the wrong path. Anyway, this is a pure old-school dungeon crawl and it unfortunately lack of elaborated combats.

But all in all, it's still a decent level for 1994. I appreciate the author's ambition, even if it would have been preferable to concentrate more on developing a few zones rather than making a million empty ones.

Grade : C+ (10,5/20)

[3] SANCTUM SANCTORIUM (DooM II version) by Glenn Geiss (2005)

Quote

This is an early Doom II map initially made in late 1994 but actually, except the presence of few chainies and an arch-vile near the end, Sanctum Sanctorium still resembles to an Ultimate Doom but with a SSG. Honestly, as most of the 1994 are unchallenging, the SSG doesn't break the gameplay at all and even accelerate the process in matters of killing cacodemons and barons.

Now about the level itself, it's a rubbish "tech base" made of rusty startan. As the monsters, you can spot some Doom II textures such as the cobblestone pillars in the last room but in any case it looks like nothing at all. It doesn't bother me but the progression was quite aggravating between the completly dark paths, the crampy areas and above all the buggy actions. I had to idclip in order to reach the exit because I shot a linedef and and all untagged ceilings ended up going crazy.

Sanctum Sanctorim doesn't last long, at least, and I think the "Doom II lite" aspect has potential in Doom mapping. But it's still a mediocre map that's not worth visiting.

Grade : D+ (7/20)

[4] DOOM-Lite by Bill Neisius (1994)

Quote

Quote

Tired of the Dark Passages and Flashing Mazes of DOOM? Try DOOM-Lite and fear the Dark no more!

This is a old colormap which removes all the darkness in the maps as if you were constantly light amplificator goggles. I tested it with some of the darker levels from Doom 2 such as map 06, map 12 or map 25 and I like how it changes the allure of the maps ! Doom-lite could probably be a bit handy for testing levels, I don't know.

Anyway, it's a tailor-made colormap for people who fear the dark !

[5] Lucifer's Spell (For Heretic) by Paul Corfiatis @pcorf (2007)

Quote

Quote

New map for Heretic replacing E1M1. This is only my second level for Heretic. Its fairly large and straight forward in progression. Enjoy!

A simple homage to the one of the most known doom-like games. It contains more or less 170 monsters and 7 secrets in a mostly linear adventure. I had to launch this map on gzdoom because according to crispy-heretic, it contains too much ambiant sounds whereas I didn't notice more of them than some vanilla Heretic maps I played. Anyway, Lucifer's Spell features a rather detailed architecture which highlight Heretic resources between the meticulous light gradients, pillars and high texture variety.

I feel a lot more lukewarm about the combat design. Paul Corfiatis relies quite a lot on ammo shortage in order to encourage players to use the melee weapons and specifically the tome of powers. Nothing undoable fortunately but it tends to be a bit gindy. However, even if I already said that in other Heretic wads, I want to confess again that I'm far from being the biggest Heretic fanboy.

True adepts of this game will appreciate this map more than I did, but it's still a competent level in any case.

Grade : B- (12/20)

I stop here for today.

LadyMistDragon · October 14, 2023

Sonata in D(oom1) (2021) by Aleksei @4shockblast Kamenev (From Doom with Love)

I misread this as a dubzzz map for some reason. Good thing too! Not like this is lacking in nasty ambushes by any means, paticularly any where Lost Souls are involved, but despite a fairly hot start, there were basically zero qualms when it came to finishing this on UV, other than some of the setups being rather unfreiendly to first-timers, like the closet that appears when returning from the control station containing Lost Souls and a Baron practically in your face!

The biggest problem early on is ammo. That soon changes and we are assaulted from all corners by various scattered enemies. A switch will open up a closet with a metric ton of Lost Souls, expending all of the chaingun shots we'd just earned! No matter, ducking into a red-carpeted balcony reveals a rocket launcher, more Lost souls and some rockets. The blue key is at the end. With this, we head back to the generator room, open a control center of sorts containing a captured prisoner for some reason, fiddle with some switches to grant access to some more switches which open various rooms! The one leading to the hallway proved to be the nastiest! After blasting some Cacodemons which emerged from the center, we punched a couple of pinkies and end up in possibly the most chaotic situation of the map! Closets open to our left and behind us with Barons and Lost Souls, while shotgunners, Imps and Cacodemons all leer on. It was kind of a blur but I think this was completed without dying. We can then enter the various rooms. One is a storeroom, the other is an office, the other is a little flesh cave the pinkie carved for themselves, and the other has....a crate. It's all nice doomcute. Press the comps here, lower the nearby bars, deal with a close quarters trap of Imps and Cacos and hit a switch that basically opens the way to the outdoor courtyard somewhere, containing lots of trains and on the opposite end, a fantastic little boat that shows quite a lot of effort put into it.

Easy 8.5/10 Plz play, k.

Spoiler

Sign In

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #069

Recommended Posts

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Share this post

Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in