ICID Posted January 22 (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: Wet Work St. Hangar Intelligent Acid Structure Pool Ironrun SargeBaldy Speedmapping Compilation #12 Spoiler The Top 10 (out of 70): 1. @Roofi | 8395 2. @LadyMistDragon | 4870 3. @Sena | 2650 4. @Walter confetti | 2570 5. @ICID | 1725 6. @brick | 1690 7. @Endless | 1260 8. @Thelokk | 725 9. @Clippy | 610 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. 3 Share this post Link to post
Walter confetti Posted January 22 (edited) St. Hangar by @DiR - Limit removing, Doom 2, SP, 2 maps, 2023, played with DSDA-Doom 0.27.4 Spoiler A little jokewad with a arena map style based upon the infamous St. Anger album cover by Metallica and gun\fist noises are replaced with the even more infamous trash bin kick, made as a answer of this guy that posted screenshots of a weird E1M1 remake using white bathroom tiles and having fullbright areas and creating a plethora of silly remakes in almost every FPS imaginable. The map itself is not bad, too short but cool. Nothing else to say, a fine jokewad. SargeBaldy Speedmapping Compilation #12 by Various - Boom compatible ports, Doom 2, SP, 8 maps, 2004, played with DSDA-Doom 0.27.4 Spoiler 12th installment of the SargeBaldy's exercise, one of the earliest community efforts in this style of mapping, with 8 pretty good maps despite being made in 1 hour and 40 minutes, especially thanks of the theme chosen of techbase overrun by nature, with some maps taking good the theme and some other not so much, a explanation of this in the usual map-to-map small reviews: MAP01 (Csabo): A pretty generic techbase that truly screams mid 2000s mapping tropes all around it, with some doomcute and design tropes that was seen lots of time in those years. Small but decent, enjoyed the old basement with the broken walls MAP02 (Danarchy): Talking about a level that doesn't get too much the given theme, a small sewer hub system sets in a anonymous brown building and finishing it in a "blood room" of Vinesauce doom mapping contest "memetic" memory. MAP03 (Mephisto): A very neat small and compact map with lots of charming simple detailing and decorating. Really enjoyed the outdoor wood as well. MAP04 (Boris): Another cool techbase map with a fancy layout and natural areas coming from destroyed parts of the ceiling, giving the idea of a abandoned but still working secret installation that was recently attacked by demons. Good job! MAP05 (Arno): A small outpost reminiscent of TNT "System Control" but abandoned and overrun by nature, not bad, i liked it despite it's visual simplicity. MAP06 (Earthquake): The only map that uses "new" textures taken from MIDVINEx patches, this is a Plutonia-like map that reminded me of "Congo" visually, lots of archviles in this map and the second half it was pretty rushed out, but it's another good one. MAP07 (Hyena): A level that diverges from the usual techbase trope to have a small temple structure surrounded by a nice wood, similar to MAP03. Search for the yellow key and beat the small opposition in the temple, witnessing weird boom port things happening like a tree doing a sort of dance thanks of sector scrolling inside the temple central area. MAP08 (Erik Alm): What, a map from the author of Scythe? And it's a pretty good one visually despite the time limit, similarly to MAP03. The level have great flow in layout and a good gameplay as expected. Pretty good finale. Overall, a great compilation with a inspiring theme! Edited January 23 by Walter confetti 5 Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted January 23 Another Awsome DOOM PWAD (1995) by Unknown (Crispy Doom) It's unfortunate that among the many wads with questionable amounts of info uploaded many years later, this is one of them. Textures switching for literally zero reason. A pointless maze containing several softlocks and an obscure but required key for a door hidden in a secret behind which actually has some pretty gosh darned good combat. And of course, there's a volcanic section somewhere because.....and you can't be damaged anymore when it's raised. That what you get for messing with damage floor values and that's what I get for playing this awful map. The replacement sfx are oddly enough, the best part of this map next to the somewhat cooked final room 2/10 4 Share this post Link to post
brick Posted January 23 Brick | 3 wads | 3 maps Wet Work (1994) by Zen Psychosis. 1 SP map for vanilla Doom II. This is a remake for Doom II of a map for the original, by the same author. As far as early obscure maps go it's not so bad, there are some attempts at nice architecture and a laudable commitment to avoiding right angles, coupled with some strange design decisions. Yes, there are mandatory secrets, some official and some not, made more confusing by making one of the keys optional. The yellow key requires stepping through several secrets, but the red key, also in a secret, is not needed and I don't think gets you much. The RL is not there on HNTR but there are plenty of rockets strewn about that I could never use. Outside of the stranger choices that level design shows some good thinking that we take for granted now but that was not universal so early on. The yellow key sits there as a visible goal long before you finally reach it. There's good use of elevation, some for combat, some just for sights and to keep the design from getting too monotonous. The architecture coils in on itself but the backtracking is not too bad. It's not a great map but it was fun. Spoiler St. Hangar (2023) by DiR. 1 SP map for limit-removing Doom II. As Walter mentioned this is just a small tyson jokemap. I'd normally be sighing in exasperation at seeing the J word, but this one's too short and inoffensive to be annoying. The recreation of the album cover in sector art is pretty cool, the sound effect replacements are goofy (I have no idea what their origin is about), and the whole thing is over in a minute. I admit I I did chuckle at the title. Spoiler Intelligent Acid Structure Pool (2003) by Jow. 1 SP map for limit-removing (?) Doom II. I'm guessing this is limit-removing, the text file is not very informative about this; it played fine in GZDoom but there were HOMs that nothing would fix in both software and hardware (they were also there in Eternity). The map looks nice in parts, there's a lot of detailing and some of it is successful; some of it less so but I think it's more because of some of the texture choices. The problem is that the map is just not fun to play. Past the detailing it's just a succession of orthogonal, mostly flat rooms and hallways, filled to the brim with spongy enemies (there are hordes of nobles and cacos) and with nothing to fight them beyond shotguns and chaingun. And even then the SSG is quite a bit into the map, I got bored of shotgunning everything long before I found it. It's unfortunately not a map I can recommend playing. Spoiler 5 Share this post Link to post
ICID Posted January 23 SargeBaldy Speedmapping Compliation #12 (2004) by Various Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, pistol starts Source Port: PRBoom+ via Delta Touch, complevel 9 Against all odds, I'm pretty sure this is the first set of speedmaps I've actually played to completion in the ER/iWA. A lot of the rest of you get them quite often, but for whatever reason I don't usually pull them for the main topic description - or if I do, it's some 50-map set that's not even worth attempting. Speedmapping is a really important part of the Doom mapping world. It's a way to practice your fundamentals and get over mapper's block by just making something. But are they actually fun to play? That can...vary wildly, to say the least. These are pretty decent though, especially for 2004. The "techbase overrun by nature" theme is a good hook and while most of the maps are, indeed, too short to make an impression, Mephisto's MAP03 (first screenshot above) is both gorgeous and clever in how it forces you to ration shells. Earthquake's MAP06 also stands out for being pretty tough and fun and Hyena's MAP07 is memorable for just being cruel, locking you in tight rooms with those ever-infuriating tree props with insufficient ammo and high-tier enemies. Outside of a bad slime trail in MAP08 I didn't really encounter any technical issues - health is really badly balanced in a way it probably wouldn't be with more testing and not all mappers made the most of their 100 minutes, but I overall had a good time with this. 5 Share this post Link to post
Walter confetti Posted January 23 (edited) Ironrun by Simone Lombardi - Vanilla Doom 2, Doom 2, SP, 5 maps, 2004, played with DSDA-Doom 0.27.4 Spoiler A map i played long ago but i didn't fully remembered until had a little flashback on MAP01. Here's what i wrote about this... God knows when: Quote nice short maps, too bad for lots misalignment in the red cave of map05 and using that weird exitsign pillars and graypois on map02 exit, also found some stuck enemies in that... btw they're nice and funny, but they felt rushed... My impressions now are the same as before, they felt like a some sort of speedmaps made in a hour more than something made in a week but they're fun to play. Also the GATE misaligned floor triggered my inner OCD, eww. This mapset have what the description says, 5 shorts and kinda fun maps heavily reminiscent of Master Levels in visual style but slightly easier in gameplay terms, levels looks like something that was made 5/10 years before the year it was done, but that's really a bad thing in this case imo. Usual map-by-map short analysis, even if i don't feel this needs it, but nonetheless: MAP01: A square map where some little switch hunt is needed for progress, but it's not dull. A ok map that shows the Master Levels feel immediately. MAP02: The level starts thematically where the last map ended, sharing this gimmick with all the maps in the wad. Map is set inside a canyon structure with a brick building crossed by... a lava aqueduct and a lava pool? Anyway, this place also contains a prison filled of skippable enemies and a handy invulnerability sphere, skip the stucked monsters alcove, hit the switch and exit from here by crossing the mentioned misaligned teleport pad. MAP03: The level starts in small canyon (again) over a caged island below a toxic shit lake even if i don't understand why it was chosen to be done like this, i mean it could be started in every possible way but... it's canyon time again. Enter the gray techbase and exit again via a aligned teleport pod this time. However, this is a pretty nice map with cute simple detailing and a decent layout. I don't get the blue armor teleport trick but it's ok. MAP04: Returning back to the canyon theme of the previous maps, now more prominent with a cave system and a bridge above a sea of wild boss monsters placement, i mean there's like 4 masterminds and 5 cybers below there, Jeez! Over this, the map is pretty straightforward and quite frankly, not really that good. MAP05: The best map from the set imo, is another pretty "Master Level" style map with good usage of simple detailing seen in MAP03 but done better, also have more care in the layout department from the earlier maps. Gameplay have some minor issues (like some stuck monsters and flying monsters spawn) but overall it's a pretty good map! Wet Work by Zen Psychosis - Vanilla Doom 2, Doom 2, SP, 1 map, 1994, played with DSDA-Doom 0.27.4 Spoiler Talking about 1994 maps, this is a converted version of a Doom map for Doom 2 by Zen Psychosis, this level was remake in 1994 Tune Up community project and for i can see the reason of the choice. This map have a pretty good usage of room spacing and structuring despite the raw simplicity of it, good stuff for 1994! Not groundbreaking, but nonethless a good map, a hidden gem i must say. Good layout and gameplay flow overall. Intelligent Acid Structure Pool by Jow - Ports that supports GL rendering (so limit removing), Doom 2, SP, 1 map, 1994, played with DSDA-Doom 0.27.4 Spoiler I'm joining @brick sentiment about this map, this mysterious map that can have as only description "Hard" is a conceptually good crafted map visually with good simple detailing and that style typical of mid 2000s maps seen also in sbsp012 sets in a techbase with a nice layout but not that good texture usage especially the horseshoe corridor made of TEKBRON, ewwww. Gameplay instead of being "Hard" as promised is instead horribly dull and unfunny, broken tagged door and fake climbable balcony is the cherry on the top of this thing. Not good at all. Edited January 23 by Walter confetti 5 Share this post Link to post
ICID Posted January 23 Ironrun (2014) by Simone Lombardi Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence, continuous Source Port: GZDoom via Delta Touch An ugly, frustrating series of five maps made in a week. Each map is best remembered by how it annoyed you: the first is a dull-as-ditchwater switch hunt, the second is made trivial by invulnerability, and the third and fourth are covered in hurtfloors (with the fourth also throwing in another invincibility for good measure). But MAP05 is actually pretty solid - it looks nice even with the same drab, flat lighting as the rest of the set and combat does a much better job of balancing tough with fair. Biggest complaint about that map is that if you play continuously, as I did, and don't waste all your BFG ammo on the pointless and very skippable six boss monsters at the end of MAP04 then you stroll into the level with tons of cells that will neutralize most of the intended setpiece fights. Overall: didn't like it, but have certainly played worse. 4 Share this post Link to post
stephyesterday Posted January 23 DOOM NIGHTMARES II by JERRY LEHR, JR 1996, Doom 1. Played on Nugget Doom Quote finally, some real-deal 90's jank. finally, some good fucking food This is a great find. A complete 3 (and a half) episode replacement for Doom 1, full of nonsense like broken semi-invisible walls, huge slime trails, and baron spam. The first episode is easily the most interesting one, I'm not sure how some of the bugs in these maps even work; there are walls and midtextures that grow and shrink as you move, like slime trails but not?? The automap doesn't show half of the linedefs in any given map so they all look incomprehensible. There's teleporter line gotchas EVERYWHERE. The monster placement is ode2impslayer at best and rooms upon rooms of scattered zombiemen and lost souls at worst. It's a work of art. By far the highlight of the whole experience, though, are the endtexts. Quote Anyway the next two episodes aren't as fun. The author cleaned up his mapping work a lot since ep1, but not for the better in my eyes. Nothing in any of these maps is interesting enough to even really mention; no nonsense, all business, and all boring hallways with boring rooms- but with the same baron spam. In particular, 3-3 is almost SLIGE-esque. There's a few new maps in episode 4, but not enough to close out the wad. A tad better than 2 and 3, highlights include the infinite-height caco chamber, and The Stairs (see above). Over all episode 1 was silly enough to keep my attention, but the boring nothing hallways of the rest of the wad ruin it for me, even if they technically are higher-quality. uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 3/10 thanks jerry 5 Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted January 23 (edited) RedRat (1996) by Marvin Cantwell (DSDA Doom) I think I might have played another map by this author. Not like it matters: this sucks ass with a layout that feels like "Heretic: The Way Sandy Petersen Did" There's even one room that appears to be a version of the stair gimmick from Nirvana! But this ends up worst, not merely because the rooms feel like connected dissimilar shapes drawn on paper but because monsters are placed in some rather unfair and inconvenient spots, and the ambush points make basically zero sense. I'm not sure the switch which opens the exit works either! There's certainly enough Iron Liches though and a certain dearth of powerful weapons that's more annoying than anything. 3/10, things improve after the first hallway or so, at least until we get to the crooked squiggly lines leading to an open room with a switch that would probably open something. choices.zip (1994) by Matt Reid (Crispy Doom) Pea-soup[ Marble hitscan hell and totallly random-sized rooms. Utter hell. You want true sadomasochism? Try outrunning approximately 50 shotgunners in a large and empty room. And what the hell are those darkened rooms in the middle of fullbright about? 0/10. After getting one of Doug Ryerson's more charming wads I played before.... RESCUE1.WAD (1994) by Thomas Austin III Chapel Hill (Crispy Doom) Quote Story so far: You have just completed the last mission of episode 1 and killed the Barons of Hell. You make your way out of the bloody battle field to a locked central control center. After running a sercurity bypass you find a surplus of food and medical supplies. While sowing two of your fingers back on, you here a general distress call (G.D.C.) alarm from a con panel. You track its location to a small wharehouse 3 kilometers southwest of of your position. The transmittion is weak and broken up but you make out what it says... "MAYDAY...MAYDAY...MAYDAY...MARS MARINES DELTA SQUAD*&^%^ IN SECTO#$%#$( ... REQUEST EMERG*&^^*$@ AND RESCUE! OVER!" Thank God! You're not alone! Quickly you put on a headset and reply finding out there status and get a update on the aliens. It seems that they are planning another big party and the wharehouse is being setup as another gateway to their world! They have just started so they are not as dugin as others. These marines were captured to be sacrificed to the Lords of the under world for forgiveness for failing their mission ... oh yea and being kicked in the ass by you!!! You learn that only a hand full of troops are left and time is of the essence. You must find you buddies before you and your johnson are the only to normal people left on the planet! You send a planetary distress call and warning message to aproach planet with caution... You pick up what amo you have left and start again but this time with a glimer of hope. *** I made this game to introduct a new way of thinking about mutliplayer games. They should not just start together but have that 'Rambo III' fill so that you just aren't clearing levels together but achieving an interactive goal that is set before you. This game is designed for four players... tried with two... seems to work! A kind of plain map released on the twilight of Doom II's release that's designed for.....4 players?? At least it gives the vast ammo stores some justification. Not like it isn't fun to blow away enemies of course! But visually speaking, it's a mixed bag. The first rectangular wooden room is a neat little bit of architecture regarding how it caves in and the portal in the second to the last room is a really neat idea! But then, this map shits the bed with its key placement, specfically placing two of them behind entirely anonymous fake walls. It's an awful design decision, almost enough to wipe out the good clean fun this provides, but, but, the fireblu portal! But honestly, the ending is still a nice sight 4.5/10 Wings Deathmatch WAD (1995) by Paradox (Crispy Doom) Two sort of pentagonal shaped open marble rooms facing each other containing lots of pillars described as being entirely open. It's not the worst idea ever but it doesn't really line with modern deathmatch preferences so well. There's really no issues as such though 4.5/10 Spoiler London Road (2023) by Mike Everson (Crispy Doom) Quote My House" style map with texturing choices to match but with a good challange and fun gameplay. All the demons and weapons are here to party and there are lots of interesting secrets to discover. This map was based on my own accommodation in Canterbury, UK whilst attending University and made at a time when I should have been studying physics instead of playing Doom. Enjoy! And with this one, I think it's time to stop for the day because I knew it was a pretty tough one. See, this is one of 4 separate maps released by Mike Everson to /idgames last year that are pretty darned good, believe it or not! No video this time because I already did one of this map where I may or may not have found all of the secrets. One thing stands out instantly: this uses the infamous E1L1 music from Duke 3D "Stalker" and you've got to admit that it's a serious bop! Despite what Mike says, this isn't MyHouse-style so much as a somewhat corrupted city. Much of this takes place in and around what could just as easily be an office building. Enemies in the outer regions like Arachnotrons and Mancubi demonstrate acute awareness of the city environment that this takes place in! There's even a gardenaround the back facing the river! It doesn't all flow the best but it's fun ride for someone who wants to get lost for a bit. Easy 7.5/10 Edited January 24 by LadyMistDragon 2 Share this post Link to post
brick Posted January 24 Brick | 2 wads | 13 maps Adventure | 5 wads | 16 maps Ironrun (2014) by Simone Lombardi. 5 SP maps for Doom II maybe in ZDoom. I'm not sure if the maps really need ZDoom but it's the only port that Simone mentioned testing in. They're all small and pretty short maps, and they do get better. MAP02 is a switch hunt that's not terribly interesting, there's not even much hunting or exploring as all the doors are in the starting area, opened in strict order by switches that are each immediately past one of the doors. MAP02 has a spiderdemon to SSG down while under invulnerability. MAP03 starts showing promise, with slightly more elaborate level design and a couple of interesting encounters. MAP04 is the most expansive, again with a couple of good fights, and an interesting infighting setup with the cybers and spiders; I had to mop up the cybers with BFG and invulnerabiltiy at the end, but running past the bridge in panic as they all wake up, then hearing the spiders die one at a time while going through the map was pretty entertaining. MAP05 bugged out on me, I somehow managed to get past the bars leading to the yellow key without knowing there's a switch to lower them, which caused some head-scratching when I couldn't figure out the way back. Otherwise it's the best and most elaborate map, still short but it look nice and the fights are set up well, particularly the surprise all the way at the end. Health seems to be a bit too rare, this and the general layout and size gave me speedmap vibes. I can't argue with the flaws others have mentioned but there are worse coffee break wads and it has some fun ideas, especially in the later maps. Spoiler SargeBaldy Speedmapping Compilation #12 (2004) by Various. 8 SP maps for Doom II in Boom. And speaking of speedmaps. The theme seemed really interesting, and I'm happy to agree that it was executed really well! Some of the other SBSPDs I've played were just bizarre with the theme clearly being turned into a joke, but here it's taken pretty seriously and leads to some nice architecture and texture usage, often impressive considering the strict time limit. The mappers clearly had different ideas when reading the theme, so it's fun to see variety between a flooded underground base, a complex taken over by vines and trees, or old buildings falling apart and surrounded by flora. Most of the maps are very short but convey the theme well. My favourite was MAP08, not just because it was the most detailed (really hard to believe this was only 100 minutes!) and with the most elaborate gameplay, but also because it is executed so well and even manages to throw a couple of surprises at you. I think some of the maps have serious health deprivation, and MAP05 might be pretty ammo starved with all these knights, but playing continuous alleviated most of the issues. I'm echoing ICID and Walter, this is pretty good! Spoiler 4 Share this post Link to post
Roofi Posted January 24 Year 2 Month 10 Day 09 I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped. [1] Jägermörder - 01 Chemical Lab by Derek Mac Donald aka Afterglow @Afterglow (1999) Damn forgot to launch the software for the screens... Here are some which don't come from me instead Quote I guess I gotta write a story.. argh.. Basicly the hellspawn have invaded earth again, this time in the Colorado Rockies (not a fan of the team ;)... the military sent you alone because they cannot afford any more casulties after the previous wars with hell... you're resumé also helps you get the job. :) A few days back the UAC base radioed in that the computers were acting weird, such as programs closing down for no reason... the UAC hq just dismissed this since Microsoft was the dominant maker of most of these programs... the scientists and soldiers at the base were never heard from again and satelite scans reveiled the enemy (Yes, in this story the scanners actually pick them up!) Inside the base there's teleporting technology which must be how the minions of hell got back on earth.. you must find this teleporter and use it to transport to the source... Hrm.. wasn't too bad for my first storyline :P An early boom-compatible map made by a respected veteran of the Doom community, notably regarding his contributions for Eviternity 1 and 2. Jägermörder 1 sends you to a chemical base, which is probably one of the less extravagant theme you can do in Doom. However, if you played many wads made prior 2000, you"ll quickly notice how detailed the visuals are, thanks to the layered architecture and countless light gradiants which suceed to make a chemical lab pleasing for the eyes. I expect a tiny level after I saw the low monster count (70) but that was eventually not really the case. It takes 10-15 solid minutes to beat that map as it contains several pretty large rooms to discover. Unfortunately, a lot of fights consume more your time than your health because roomy areas is the worst enemy for the barons. I also missed the SSG during my playthrough but I could have found it if only I was a bit more sharp-eyed. Anyway, I would say the combat design, while not being sensational, remains above standards of its age. According to doomwiki, Jägermörder 1 was one of his first releases and I can now say that with its advanced visuals, it subtly foreshadowed a brilliant mapping career. The addition of a rocking midi is also welcomed. Grade : B+ (15/20) [2] Run for ever by Michael Krause (1996) Quote Quote 1 level WAD. I use a P120 machine, so I imagine some areas may run slowly on a underpowered machine. I don't know if Michael Krause expected from us to run in this map but I can tell that it may be the worst idea if you want to stay alive in this map. First of all, despite its large size and length, "Run for ever" represents a claustrophobic stroll among the many straight hallways of an underground concrete base. Take also account that this map is loaded with traps so running mindlessly can result to a chaotic mess that you probably can't take the control. The overall darkness also contributes to oppress the player. It's not a horror-oriented map at all but it works to generate constant suspense that keeps players on their toes. The second and probably most annoying aspect resides in the total absence of armor in this map, not even a single armor shard. Actually, there's a blue armor but tucked away in a secret located late in the map. In my opinion, armor tends to be usually more important than health. Limiting armor bonuses can provide a good dose of tension in a level but their absence make the level frustrating. You have to constantly check at every corner in order to get a revenant's missile right in the face or being cowardly shot from behind by a chaingunner. I usually like to play slowly but it gets tiresome in the long run and it's unsatisfying to always see "0%" in the armor's section from the STATBAR. Anyway, if you're patient , this map will not be extremly difficult for you but if you're still looking for a fast-paced experience, prepare to die a lot. The arsenal is limited too. The shotgun, SSG and Chaingun are the only weapons you'll obtain here. So, I don't think I like "Run for ever" on all its aspects but it remains a cool adventure with a gloomy ambiance. The visuals are also top-notch with an emphasis on large-scale and repeated architectural elements that sometimes give me the impression of visiting backrooms or playing a map made in the mid-2000s. This map uses the 27th slot in order to use the mysterious music from "Monster Condo" (and "The Courtyard" by the way) and it fits like a glove in this map. Grade : B (12,5/20) [3] what do i call this but @Dewad (2022) Quote Quote A map I made I think its author is already aware about the fact that this "map" is not good at all to stay polite. Random texturing, 22 randomly placed monsters, an obvious "secret" containing a chainsaw... The screenshots speak for themselves. This attempt would more tolerated as a test map but the author should have concentrated his efforts on making his map rather than putting it on idgames. Grade : F (3/20) Just fell in the deadly water in the first seconds of the first map from GOODWAD. Quote 4 Share this post Link to post
Walter confetti Posted January 24 Die1RV.zip by Dale E. Harris @Cadman- Vanilla (?) Doom 2, Doom 2, SP, 1 map, 2002, played with DSDA-Doom 0.27.4 Spoiler I don't see the hype other reviewers have for this map on idgames, is a decent maze-themed map that is a remake of a previous version of it, the room construction and space usage are decent but nothing too extraordinary, idk the improvements from the original but this is a decent map and that's a lot about a maze-centric map. Also, the author of this map is a member of Team TNT but didn't made too much in mapping terms... maybe he did something else more relevant but, again, i'm not sure. Wait, he's the guy who started and hosted the first two community chest series megawads? Cool! But is still a decent map, nothing too great or unforgivable imo 3 Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted January 25 The Bloody Corridor (1997) by Florian Robardet (Crispy Doom) Quote Authors of DEEP 8.75 My mother who was very patient My dear computer who accepted to stay turned on during long hours... Story : hmm .. well .. Why should I invent one ? Ok, you're an american marine, and your chief sent you in these rooms to improve yourself, since your skill isn't good enough... I find it amusing that this man addressed his computer as 'dear' over his mother, as if the computer was going to provided him with pizza and Mountain Dew. Anyway, the name is extremely accurate, but like is stated in the text file, this was really his first mapping effort and I suspect part of the reason why there's hardly anything to it, or like why I really don't map at all. Anyway, there's this marble corridor containing corpses and blood piles of various kinds, along with some extra shells or too probably hidden away in secrets but I just killed the hell knight at the end with a pistol. Why is there a red-keyed door behind the entrance? Why does it matter? 4/10 because the touches are quite nice, despite it feeling like ammo balance got neglected. Arena Ball (1995) by Eric "Pollux" Harrison (Crispy Doom) Yeah, that's not Eric Harris because that damned ridiculous movie Face/Off came out like 2 years later and it's not NBK. Anyway, it's childishly-named map is a deathmatch wad, simple and ugly with wooden corridors running along the outside, tiny pitch-black corridors connecting these ones and a central arena lined with marble in the center that can seemingly be only accessed by a teleporter. Contrary to the /idgames review, this isn't that bad, but maybe the downtime might be too much for most people. 5/10 Spoiler Spoiler Baloo's second wad (1996) by Patrik Appelros (Crispy Doom) It's not that hard to put a description. Anyway, Patrik made sure to vary the size of the rectangular rooms on display. We start in a room of warm brown but outside here, it transitions to other themes with no rhyme or reason. And why is there a key to collect in a deathmatch map anyway? The concept doesn't make a ton of sense and things might be just a bit spread out but it probably doesn't play all that badly otherwise 4/10 Spoiler Spoiler Processing Bunker (2009) by @pcorf (From Doom with Love) Here is a pcorf map, larger than usual but doing what are best described as generically tech-y things visually, though with a noted darkness permeating the base that underscores the midi choice of "Agony Rhapsody (or it's more like the other way around). Description is tedious but there's basically lots of circling around particular rooms, pushing switches and wonder if they actually lead somewhere, like the out-of-the-way yellow key, located in a profoundly non-descript pit room. Finding secrets is nice though, especially when one of them is a timed wall leading to a Supercharge. There are a few scattered Boom actions used in certain locations, mostly to ease certain things. Overall pacing is probably comparable to Chris Hansen's TNT: Revilution map, though perhaps this is a touch less interesting, despite pcorf's masterful command of lighting as always. No matter, the red key ambush is one of the highlights with the way enemies are teleported in, very much like certain TNT maps, although this goes for a more basic style, Paul was obviously influenced by all the IWADs to a large degree. The constant closets-opening behind us lasts just long enough and there's two Arch-viles at the end because of course. In the end it's a 7/10 and a nice transition to the Whispers of Satan days. 2 Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted January 25 Megalith (1997) by Wild and Wooly (Zandronum) Wasn't Doom supposed to be over at this time? Anyways, the self-promotional text file proves something of a joke, there's maybe 3 rooms total from the looks of things and they're all large and rectangular. And I'm pretty sure any teleport that sends us to a cage is probably not really something that belongs in a deathmatch map, even as a joke 3.5/10 After getting another anonymous DM wad and a pile of manure played before, we came on.... Evil's Playground (Diabolique part two)(2001) by Pablo Dictter (Crispy Doom) Two maps for a project that I guess wasn't related to Ninth Gate, and as was his wont during that time, these maps are filled with square rooms and crates. That's a cool ambush near the beginning of the first map though! For the most part though, it's just lots and lots of shotgunning. And why oh why does there have to be a simplified layout of the Unholy Cathedral in the second map?? It's an interesting mess which awaits when we teleport to the center and there are a few glimpses of detail but softlocks and a stupid transparent wall put a damper on the first map, which ends quite lamely by the way. It's fairly inoffensive though so 5/10 I guess. 2 Share this post Link to post
ICID Posted January 26 Intelligent Acid Structure Pool (2003) by Jow Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: PRBoom+ via Delta Touch, complevel 2 I full-on love the look of this map, even the dumbass TEKBRON room. It's definitely an unusual use of the textures but it's generally well-lit, interesting-looking, and definitely very unique, which goes a long way with me. And I think the ideas here are very cool - you start in a fancy teleporter room and teleport to a series of contained, nasty little fights before grabbing a key that opens up the whole map as one interconnected space and absolutely floods it with monsters. That absolutely rules as a concept and I encourage one of the fine mappers reading this to steal it, because the execution is unfortunately not nearly where it needs to be. Combat is way too hard until you get the SSG at which point it's easy but slow as you pop hell nobles and pain elementals (the latter rendered useless by the lost soul limit if you're playing complevel 2 as I did). The map has several technical issues including a pair of HOMs that are maybe intentional(?) and an untagged door that I'm glad Walter mentioned because otherwise I would have never figured out how I was supposed to progress. 5 Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted January 26 (edited) Lawnboy (1996) by Josiah Hamilton (Cridpy Doom) The funnier the name is, the more terrible the map is, in most cases. It's literally nothing but an open green field with a few buildings scattered and an unmapped white maze for no reason other to piss people off! Probably a red key behind some fake wall but at that point it was worthless. The way those trees spiraled internally in one location was nice though 0.5/10 THREE KICK ASS WADS (1995) by Malcolm Sailor (Crispy Doom) As far as can be determined, these were the first maps that Malcolm Sailor ever saw fit fort public consumpotion, though you wouldn't know it from his quintessentially 90s cockiness. Anyway, Ruler is probably his first map, lasts a few minutes and contains an Icon of Sin and isn't exactly difficult, Omelet is a series of brown caves starting out in a room shrunken from the beginning of the Living End, then ending in a rather ugly cave system in which Spider Masterminds and Arch-viles are both gunned down twice. Then finally, Teknrkbrn is a series of largely brown tech hallways with a couple of outdoor areas we weave through like trenches, featuring enemies in greater density than perhaps you're a little more used to from Malcolm Sailor maps. Health is rather limited but there's a decent ammo backlog and putting the baron near the end wasn't such a bad idea. Getting confronted by Arachnotrons after getting handed a plasma rifle was quite interesting and maybe a little flat since the map ended instantly after pressing the switch near their home. Trying to run between trees to evade balcony Revenants may not have been the finest moment and this gets a little mazy in spots but there's a monster around every corner so it's not all that bad Overall, this gets a 6.5/10 Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Edited January 26 by LadyMistDragon 2 Share this post Link to post
stephyesterday Posted January 26 Cadaveric Incubator of Endoparasites (Cadaver for short) by Obsidian 2013, Vanilla Doom 2, single map, played on Nugget Doom Quote ...hang on, i recognize that name An old map from a decade ago (what the fuck) by the forums' own Obsidian! This was a really cool roll. The map comes swinging out the gate with an unsettling atmosphere with the music. Dial tones and bubbling liquid sounds over an ominous choir really set the stage. So the first thing to know about the map is that there's meat. There's so much meat and it's spilling out of the doors and windows and it's so gross. Definitely the coolest looking map I've landed on /idg, there's lots of doomcute meat trails and holes in doors and walls everywhere. The combat is mostly reserved and relies more on light ammo starvation over monster placement for difficulty; you probably won't have massive ammo issues most of the time, unless you max. Then it gets hairy. Quote The .deh reveal at the end genuinely got me, I actually forgot I even loaded it when the time came. I haven't played another wad with a heresy lord in it other than this but I know it's used in a few so uh....... that's something to look forward to I guess. Last thing: there's a fun secret that I uh. had to iddt to find because i suck at finding secrets, but it lead to a nasty couple of teleporting archviles and... this Quote i don't know the context but congrats to Linguica for being boobies Overall fun map. Tight resources and simple but fun fights, and a cool ending that cleans up all the meat in the techbase before you leave. Neat to see older stuff from prolific mappers! 7/10 4 Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted January 27 (edited) Sewage Base (2021) by Cory @NiTROACTiVE Scott (Crispy Doom) The guy that used to play all those jokewads must have had this rub off him to a large degree. The map in question is an exaggerated caricature of all the E1 tropes: tons of damaging floor everywhere, a mainly maze-like layout with tons of useless rooms containing ammo that you'll never need, even with the vast quantities of monsters, a rather cryptic series of switches that eventually grants access to the red key and a crate warehouse for basically no reason at all. Did I mention that a Cyberdemon will teleport into the final room when the side-room switches have both been pressed? This last enemy blocked the hallway I'd entered likity-split, then finally, his attention was diverted to strike an overeager Baron that also entered the hallway, finally allowing me to slip past and exit. This one lasted just long enough to get the point across and it's not one I want to revisit. I do want to know the original MUS choice though because "Doom 1 Intermission Music" certainly goes with the joke if nothing else 6/10 IT'S TOUGH (2017) by @xdarkmasterx (Crispy Doom) Another map even earlier than the other xdarkmaster map I played last month which probably explains the largely more simplistic architecture or the fact that health is close to fucking nonexistent. While technically, this doesn't have the same sort of 'you must play this way' angle of a ribbiks map, the noted lack of resources sort of pushes the player towards that mindset anyway. Still, teh stupid trap where Imps in front, Chaingunners in the back, and Revenants on the far end basically broke me, in particular because I wasn't exactly at peak performance to begin with and also because the chance of dodging say 15 Revenant rockets at once in a fairly narrow square hallway from the other end is actually really small, and doing it anymore than 3-4 times is not something I can think about right now. Running to the far end of the Imp closet then gunning down everything closest to me whilst then weaving effectively from the inner to the outer part of the layout seemed to be the most effective but this was kind of a 'perfection' kind of challenge. Though I do understand why there's only a Supercharge in the final area - herding in a sophsticated way is unnecessary and possibly even-ill-advised, next to just brute-forcing one-side and then having Cyberdemons and Mancubi on either side strike many of the Revenants whilst performing a circle strafe and miraculously (thanks to the chevron shape of the room atr the far ends), there will be a hole that can be moved through! But this was exhausting and so I'm not continuing today. Still pretty frickin' good, but while tighter in combat than the other one, is almost too rough. Did the one secret have anything? I was over it at that point so you know 6.5/10 Ok, maybe I decided to do one more, with the proviso that it was something like the below selection. perfct10.wad (1997) by Thane Silker (Crispy Doom) Oh boy, what a name! But anyways, here's these largely 10 insubstantial deathmatch maps, largely crap since there's like too many comprised of like a few symmetrical rooms or else are just open to the point of idiocy. The one with the long hallway and darkness could be worst but it would get boring quickly. About the only decent maps are the ones that are set in an old-school mansion and some kind of 'hick outpost'. 08 is just awful and copypastes fake walls for much of its runtime. I wanted to like the sort of Wet Dry World-esque Map 06 but let's just say that was a seriously ugly texture combination 3/10 Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Edited January 27 by LadyMistDragon 3 Share this post Link to post
Walter confetti Posted January 28 BLITZ!!! by Michael White aka OSAKA!! - Vanilla Doom 2, DM, 1 map, 1995, played with Zandronum 3.1 and bots Spoiler A bland series of squares with random texturing, kind of OP weapon placement and almost everything that can be found in a 1994 graphic/sounds replacement in one map. Also, the upper area isn't reachable? Best part is the NIN music that i don't recall the song name now, sorry. Water Treatment Facility by MaxPower8905 - Zdoom compatible, Doom 2, SP, 1 map, 2006, played with GZDoom 4.11.3 Spoiler First off: that skybox is wonderful, really! I remember to have seen that in another wad, maybe a map by Tormentor667? However, this is a small, compact and fun map made during the Simplicity craze that happened during second half of the 00 decade, good detailing and room structuring, good usage of the Simplicity gimmick (semi-symmetric layout, switch puzzles, new monsters and items spawning while backtracking) and overall, a pretty enjoyable experience. Chunkks' Hell In The Fallout Shelter by Dave Fields - Vanilla Doom 2, DM, 1 map, 1995, played with Zandronum 3.1 and bots Spoiler A pretty amateurish retake of Entryway, based somehow by "The Dark Tower" book series of Stephen King, guys i just saw the movie once so i take this claim as real, but despite this information the map is still not that good, i'm joining Doomkid by the way too long staircases in this map, at least for DM play. It's just pretty generic, the layout is kinda abstract so that's the "better" part of the map. Also, i just realized this map came out in the same day as Blitz? What a very odd coincidence, or the universe just put some lame DM maps that day. 3 Share this post Link to post
brick Posted January 28 Brick | 1 wad | 32 maps Adventure | 6 wads | 48 maps The Long Trek Back Home (2021) by hervoheebo. 32 SP maps for more-or-less vanilla Doom II (original exe not recommended). Played with GZDoom on HNTR continuous. The concept behind this is fantastic in my opinion. It's the end of Doom II; "you begin the long trek back home". So the first map starts in the ruins of the Icon of Sin, trying to backtrack to the teleporter that goes back to the Living End, and so on through all 30 main maps all the way back to Entryway. The way iwad inspiration is handled is great, for the most part. In some maps it's just a couple of homages in what's otherwise an unrelated map (Underhalls and Entryway were especially bad about this), but the middle has tons of maps where almost every original room is recognizable, but everything looks different and is reconnected in new and interesting ways. I think The Courtyards was excellent in the way it does this, and one of my favourite maps here. It's also really fun to go back through some of the iconic landmarks and watch them destroyed and decaying, some maps capture the Hell on Earth look better than the originals. Despite my love of the idea, there were several designs that irked me. Difficulty balancing is iffy: UV is the "default difficulty" (a rant for another time), HMP has more ammo, HNTR has more health but the same ammo as UV. Ammo starvation is pretty bad in the first few maps, and while it gets better later on, cells and rockets are still very precious, and dealing with 300-500 enemies per map with mostly the SSG and chaingun gets so grindy. For the first handful of maps, I was having to melee knights, revenants, arachnotrons and other delights, and an extra stimpack here and there was not particularly helpful. There is an abundance of invulnerability spheres, on average one per map and sometimes more, but I have never played a mapset in which I felt I so rarely benefited from them because of their placement. Pavera showed masterfully that balancing on the strength of items alone (almost) can be done, but it's more uneven here, especially in some of the mini-slaughter arenas. Some of the backtracking is infuriating, it drove me nuts in The Citadel (and in one of the earlier maps, I think The Chasm). The maps are in general much larger than the originals, and they come relentlessly one after the other with long lengths. Industrial Zone and Downtown are now so complicated and convoluted that I wanted to pull my hair out, and I think I even managed to get myself softlocked in the former. Nirvana definitely has a softlock, that half-moon stairway can be very easily bugged out and make the map impossible to complete. I also ran into a problem with Barrels o'Fun, though this one is not all the wad's fault because of GZDoom not properly emulating vanilla quirks, but the wad does claim to be tested and compatible with it. Still I persevered, because I wanted to see what hervoheebo would do with the concept, and while I enjoyed some aspects and loved some of the maps, I did not like the wad as much as I was hoping. Spoiler 2 Share this post Link to post
Roofi Posted January 28 Year 2 Month 10 Day 10 I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped. [1] HARDTIME.WAD by Mike Katzberg (1995) Quote Quote An interwoven 2 key level; kind of interwoven like the original Doom levels. The action is pretty intense.. for a first level at least. The challenge provided by this title seems to be the main point interest regarding the name of the wad, the higher than usual monster count and the cyberdemon acting as a deadly turret at specific location of the map. However, the emphasis put on the oversized outdoors and architecture is what impressed me the most in this map. I always love when mappers design such simplistic spacious areas under vanilla limits because it provides a sense of liberty and adventure, despite the lack of detailing. Actually, if you're craving for more details, the author compensated with a lot of monsters to shoot. HARDTIME.WAD would belongs to the small category of "early slaughterwads". According to the comment on idgames, there are more less 400 baddies in this map, which looks few compared to modern standards but high for older ones. There are not enough monsters for BFG-spam , there is no BFG by the way. However, the hyper-sized zones allow for substantial horde of monsters. Since Hardtime.wad is a Doom 1 wad, hordes of imps , zombies and pinkies present almost no danger but they accentuate but they emphasize the grandeur of the places. The only challenging part resides in the cyberdemon's part I mentioned above but you can easily get rid of him if you gather enough bullets and shells. Your arsenal is limited too . You can obtain a RL and PG later in the map but I found few cells and rockets so those weapons were only for occasional use. In the end, I didn't have a hard time, as killing lots of little monsters is generally good fun. I wouldn't say that the visuals are pretty - it's still very shovelwaresque on the whole - but this emphasis on immense scenery impressed me more than I expected. Grade : B (14/20) I didn't take attention of a crusher in POST...The mini-episode's map 02. (Forgot to take screen) 3 Share this post Link to post
Walter confetti Posted January 28 Withering Graves by Ryan @quakis Rouse - Limit Removing, Doom 2, SP, 1 map, 2017, played with DSDA-Doom 0.27.4 Spoiler A genuinely really good "small" map sets in a brown brick mausoleum with GRAY2 cemetery, mountains and a little cavern building, lots of great detailing (that MIDBARS3 gates in the exit room are a really neat touch imo) and even some doomcute pick-up vehicle outside the entry point, the layout is extremely fluid, the gameplay is straightforward and fast-paced (despite having a 108 monsters in HMP), the map can be finished in 6 minutes. A real hidden gem! 4 Share this post Link to post
brick Posted January 28 (edited) Brick | 2 wads | 8 maps Adventure | 8 wads | 56 maps The Revenge of Avind (1998) by Christian N. Hansen aka Dykanden. 1 SP map for vanilla Doom II. This is a tiny map by @Chris Hansen and by all appearances his first, and for such it's not bad at all! It's a short key hunt with each switch or key sending you back and forth, but the map is too small for the backtracking to be a problem. The detailing is pleasing, there's a consistent theme and some nice attempts at breathing more life into corridors with ceiling openings, sector fountains, or even just small height variations. Speaking of heights there are a lot of lifts, much more than strictly necessary, but the verticality adds depth to the map and makes it seem a bit larger than it is. There are also cute touches, like the foyer of sorts with fireplace and bookshelves. About my only complaint is that inescapable lava pit, but the same room also has a pretty clever secret. Of course almost all of Chris's later maps are better (in fact the direct sequel made 3 months later was already a huge improvement) but everyone has to start somewhere, and if this is him at his most amateur it's easy to see why he's been so highly regarded for 25 years. And this reminds me I still need to check out Hell's Bane. Spoiler Doom 2's Consumed earth (2015) by Various. 7 SP maps for vanilal Doom II. Right off the bat this wad wants to make it very, very clear that it is not kidding around, despite the small maps and very low enemy numbers. The first real fight in MAP01 has you surrounded by knights, chainguns, revenants, mancubi, cacos, trying to run ahead to get some breathing room brings in a whole bunch more nasties. Later in MAP02 there's an archvile with too little room to use the RL, so it's either the chaingun or SSG, and the only way to find cover is to run past the archvile and hope for the best. The maps get longer but no less deadly, though they also start introducing more involved progression, without having the switch and key hunts be too convoluted. I think my favourite was MAP05, it has a similar abstraction to a city that Downtown does but with more variety in architecture and some very cool secret hunting. MAP06 was a great mystreet wad with a ton of doomcute and some fun hectic fighting. This is also one of these sets that string together maps so the end of one and beginning of next follow, made strong here because it creates a narrative with the way the maps follow, I thought this was impressive considering each map seems to be by a different author. I wish I could tell who made what, I know @Chainie and @Walter confetti were involved, but I guess it's not a big deal since everyone's work was top notch. I really liked the wad, the tricky fights challenged me without becoming frustrating, the level design was engaging but the maps are not so big that they become a chore to navigate, and while the visuals are not amazing there are still some good sights using stock resources and lots of cute touches. Spoiler 6 Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted January 28 The Devil's Den (2008) by Aaron "NjdEvil508" (From Doom with Love) There have been a few Wood5Flat5 maps released over the past month or two. This one isn't quite as strict in that regard but still is able to create some impressively Doomcute banquet rooms and bars. Mostly, this just plays like a good classic Doom wad, occasionally throwing greater numbers at you, but not really approaching slaughter until the very last room. There's also 2 custom enemies, those yellow Barons holding the Hexen enemy shields and this afrit-look alike that's far easier to kill and is a fair bit les dangerous. There's not really lots of health though so perhaps it's best to reload if it drops too low. I think the Cyberdemon can be telefragged but didn't feel inclined to find out. Then of course, the unholy chapel at the end throws literally the goddamn kitchen sink at you and in the very next room, I actually killed a Mastermind with one clean BFG shot, with the two baron guys behind him dying a short time later. Unfortunately, despite the PrBoom+ test, it doesn't seem like this was tested in the right compatability because hanging corpses at a couple of points will make progress impossible, outside of some light editing in doom builder and just, no! 7/10 Strange Place (2022) by Fonpher (GZ Doom) A map without music, decent combat or really much of interest beyond what kind of feels like an editor's playground, for lack of a better term. Those collections of marble in the middle that lower to reveal an Arch-vile or the fact that much of the map feels like a nightclub due to the texturing or the fact the rocket launcher isn't really necessary at any point. It's a 5/10, totally passed over me. Tower Maze Deathmatch (1996) by BlueRAVEN (Crispy Doom) A DM map that can be divided into three sections: a maze that's probably best avoided, a circular tower with stairs running up and what appears to be a building with a rooftop. Did people like playing this? Who knows? It's a nice design but there's some obviously practability questions 4/10 Spoiler Pit Stakeout (1996) by Jeff Patch (Crispy Doom) Jeff says this can be played in single or co-op as well as deathmatch. Not like it matters: there doesn't appear to be any monsters and this is the lamest excuse for a design ever, assuming the rectangular hall with pits on both sides is the whole map 2/10 Spoiler 3 Share this post Link to post
Walter confetti Posted January 28 3 hours ago, brick said: I wish I could tell who made what Doom wiki goes to the rescue! Btw good review, glad you enjoyed it! 2 Share this post Link to post
brick Posted January 28 1 hour ago, Walter confetti said: Doom wiki goes to the rescue! Btw good review, glad you enjoyed it! I could've sworn I checked and didn't see a wiki page for the project, I'm really clueless sometimes. Thank you for the link! And since you're the one who made MAP02, I tip my hat to you and that troll archvile at the BSK :P I liked how the map has the feel of one of those longer limit-removing adventures, just more compact, it was a lot of fun going through the various themes between the small valley, the lava river, the red caverns, and that central building with the jump into the exit, I really liked all the open space too. 1 Share this post Link to post
ICID Posted January 29 Wet Work (1994) by Zen Psychosis Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2 A mostly competent but needlessly confusing 90s techbase with optional keys, mandatory secrets and combat that will keep your heart rate safely in the mid-60s. Some interesting attempts at architecture but terrible lighting - always too bright or too dark, never drawing the eye to what's really important. St. Hangar (2023) by DiR Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2 A nasty little Tyson fight staged on the St. Anger album cover where the only winning move is not to shoot, at least until you've taken out a couple of revenants with infighting. Shoutout to Walter for actually tracking down the meme thread that spawned this. For a 30-minute joke, not bad! The Pits of Doom (1996) by Peter Anchondo Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2 An extremely amateurish Wolfenstein-ass 90s map that gives you thousands of cells and 15 megaspheres to deal with fewer than 80 monsters, most of whom are imps and zombies. The SS guys make an appearance because of course they do. Made me realize I was probably a little too hard on Wet Work. Castle of the Far Island (2014) by Aleks "Plut" Shahov Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 9 This is my first introduction to the works of mapper/speedrunner Plut and it left me extremely impressed. The "castle" is achieved with sprites from a bunch of different sources but it all feels cohesive and finds ways to make the ever-challenging brown-on-brown Quake-y castle layout eye-catching and memorable. But what really makes this a gem is the combat, which takes place over a series of tight, clockwork-calibrated combat puzzles where every hitpoint and every shell matters. "Cramped combat" is usually a criticism in the ER/iWA but here the space is used brilliantly to make fights thrilling even with low monster counts - most of the fights require some infighting on UV because the alternative is to get point-blanked by a revenant missile, but infighting is always easy to consistently set up. This is the kind of smart, careful mapping that you often find with great speedrunners and a true delight to discover. THE UNDERHALLS 1.0 (1995) by John Walker IV Play Settings Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Source Port: dsda-doom, complevel 2 A mashup of Underhalls, The Inmost Dens, and a really annoying crate maze which is actually really good for 1995 if you ignore the latter. Like a lot of early Doom II maps challenge is over once you get the SSG but everything else is well-placed, with some sneaky teleporting-monster traps and good use of space to keep things interesting. Visually the map is mostly just looking at the IWADs and taking ideas that worked from that, but fuck man, that's more than most 90s mappers seemed to manage. This is one of those WADs where the textfile is more interesting than the map itself (even though I did enjoy the map in this case) - Unit Supply Specialist John Walker was a newly-married Doom fan who was hoping to do a remake of the entirety of Doom II (here's Entryway) but had to stop after this because he was joining the "Primary Leadership Development Course" - essentially the first step of officer training. He was never heard from again by the Doom community after this, which is a shame because both of his maps show a ton of promise for their time. I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to track down what happened to him, hoping to learn for sure that he simply got tired of Doom rather than coming to harm, but unfortunately there are far too many John Walkers in the US military (with his same rank, even) to possibly know for sure. My best guess is that he might be the man in this picture (left), a Sergeant (which Walker would likely have become if he graduated PLDC) in a resupply brigade who joined the military in 1993. In addition to everything else he did in Doom, Specialist Walker reviewed WADs in his textfiles - in a way a distant ancestor of what we do here in these adventures. In fact, I was struck by how similar the writing is. I'd like to copy the review that's included with Underhalls 1.0 here as an item of interest. Here's hoping that wherever John is, he's doing well. The Church of Doom II (CHURCH.WAD) (1995) by Virgil Itliong "I'm not quite sure why this was called church.wad and not grave.wad, it's more of a cemetary than anything else. Great construction in this wad, including features such as a musoleum <?> with a chaingunner...somewhere, people burning at the stake, a church (small), and the most awesome exit I've ever seen. This wad is simply great. Oh, BTW, as soon as I contact the author, don't be surprised if you see that same sky texture in one of my future levels." 6 Share this post Link to post
brick Posted January 29 (edited) Brick | 1 wad | 12 maps Adventure | 9 wads | 68 maps Chris K (1995) by Chris Klie. 12 SP maps for vanilla Doom. Played with GZDoom on UV. There's something about Chris Klie that I've always liked. Maybe that his maps follow a similar style as id's, with a similar balance between puzzle-solving and combat but with his own unique style, maybe that I find almost every one has a memorable trick or gimmick, or maybe just that they're easy enough that I can actually complete them on UV. He initially released his first maps as individual wads, though I don't think it's possible to find them in this form any more. When he had enough for a full episode replacement he compiled them into Chris_E1. Then he made a few more maps into a partial E2 replacement and released the full package as ChrisK. All the maps here would eventually end up in The Lost Episodes of Doom, with Bob Carter filling the other half. Chris didn't stop here though, he converted a handful of these maps to Doom II and they ended up in his megawad BF_THUD. I've played these before as part of the Lost Episodes, but it was fun to replay them here. As far ChrisK goes, the first maps feel primitive, but part of it can be blamed on the early tools, he has explained that some oddities in the architecture (like the weirdly angular hallway in E1M1) were because this was the only way he could get the nodebuilder to not create HOMs everywhere. Other cases are just because he did not care much for detailing, his level design is pure abstraction with a focus on puzzles more than anything (though they are not as taxing as say Jim Flynn's). Still there are some really original setpieces for the time, like the bridge with the pit full of Cyberdemons in E1M4, the switch puzzle box with the dozen Supercharges and later the complex web of teleports in E1M5, the crusher in E1M6. E1M7 has what must have been the craziest hot start at the time, the map opens with a Mastermind staring us down, and making even the smallest movement opens up a whole bunch of enemies attacking from all directions. The trio of E2 maps have some differences in their design, eschewing the more hub-like approach of E1 and going for more interconnectedness (though E2M3 goes for a combination of both), some simple but effective lighting to establish a darker mood, and in E2M3 quite a lot of fun with exploding barrels. If you dislike Chris because of his Master Levels contributions I don't think this wad will change your mind, but I really like those and enjoyed revisiting these early levels, they're short and lighthearted fun. Spoiler 5 Share this post Link to post
Roofi Posted January 29 Year 2 Month 10 Day 11 I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped. [1] AGONISM4.WAD by Guy Shelton (1996) Quote Quote Deatchmatch wad for level 4 of DOOM II. Very small, contains all weapons save for the BFG. Items are level-dependent, expect for weaponry. I'll join the comment written by Doomkid on idgames : it looks like a nice duel map with a small couryard and several buildings. This map is also pretty spicy on single player because it's populated with several monsters, revenants and chainies included, and contains lot of explosive barrels. [2] E2M1ER.WAD by Espi (2001) For some reasons, Crispy Doom didn't save my screens. Here is a playthrough from "DOOM Wad World" I found on YT instead. Spoiler Quote I found this old PWAD of mine and decided to release it. One of the first releases from Esa Repo, according to his Doom Wiki page. This a vanilla-compatible Ultimate Doom map which uses the slot E2M1. I launched crispy-doom because this map uses some custom flats, which actually are stock wall textures converted into flats, and I felt a bit lazy to execute DEUSF in order to merge the wads. This map takes place in an overgrown base made of beige and brick textures, under the orange sky from Episode 4. This map has a bit the allure of a jungle-themed base from Scythe 2 which came out 4-5 years later. The detailing and architecture remain boxy and minimalistic but the careful usage of texture and light effects from Espi do wonders and make this map pleasing for the eyes. However, The level of perfection doesn't yet match that of Back to Basics or Suspended in Dusk. The combats are tame for the most part, but the strict ammo and health balance makes map spicier than it looks. I would probably be dead if haven't found the secret berserk and box of shotgun shells. Most of the ammo come from the zombies and killing them can be a bit risky in such restrained spaces. Moreover, the yellow key's section test your platforming skills. Fortunately, you can escape from the damaging liquid and the challenge isn't as demanding as Sunder or even Sigil, but you can lose precious health. Be careful. Overall, this map looks standard compared to more modern Espi's releases but E2M1ER.WAD is undeniably a good UD map for its time with a nice portion of challenge and simple but clean visuals. Grade : B+ (15/20) [3] OMG!!!! WHY is PuMpKiNsMaShEr still Mapping? (OMGPump2) by PumpkinSmasher @PumpkinSmasher (2006) Quote Quote Bricks/ Hell/ Tech themed level This is a sequal to OMGPump.Wad According to my wads folder, I already played the first "OMGPump" but I lost all memories about it. The present sequel globally takes place in a castle with some incorporated hi-tech computers. This is a boom-compatible map featuring quite a lot of detailing and occasional boom effects such as transparent glasses. Despite I still manage to capture the main theme of this map, OMGPump2 first and foremost plays like a sandbox of random ideas to me. It seems like Pumpkinsmasher tried to use the most Doom 2 textures possible and each room looks really different. It's hard to complain about variety. but in the end I think the map lacked cohesion and the author lacked planning. I really like how Pumpkinsmasher merged the medieval theme with hi-tech elements but some parts resemble more like a christmas tree than else. Combat design is rather basic, but pleasant overall. Like many maps of the 2000s, the layout is rather corridor-like, and there are quite a lot of keys to find for a map of this size (150 monsters and 4 secrets, more or less). "OMGPump2" makes me think of a decent Community Chest 1 or 2 map. The battles are decent but not exceptional, there's quite a lot of detailing and architectural ideas for a map made with stock textures, but it's all arranged quite randomly in the end, which makes the adventure rather mundane. Grade : B- (12/20) [4] Marble 1 by @AconyX (2011) Quote Quote Marble and greenish textures used for this one, symmetrical pretty much. The design of this hellish temple of marbre is simple and efficient. You have to find three keys in the order you want and AconyX didn't aim for something complicated. The three sections are small and distinct enough so this map includes less than 100 monsters and can be completed in less than 10 minutes. The highly refined, rectangular architecture would qualify this map as "amateur" but like the map from Espi I played just before, the detailed light gradiants and careful usage of marble and red textures make this haunted domain beautiful. The combats turn out to be dull at times. For instance, some monsters pop up from the ground for no real reason or another exemple, you're locked in a room against a single mancubus. However, some parts were as fun as they were explosive, notably when you have to kill the gang of teleporting monsters after defeating the cyberdemon. In any case, the gameplay is fine. Ammunition is limited at times, but secrets are easy to find, especially the BFG. Finally, this map uses a remix of Silentzorah from map 30 of Doom 2. While I greatly appreciate the ominous quietness of the original version, this more "metal" version works well with the different combats scenario. Grade : B (13,5/20) [5] Chris4 by Christopher 'RaIDeN' Lemare (2005) Quote Quote My 4th wad attempt. Honestly, when I noticed that the wad only weighs 8kb, I already knew that the map will not be that great, but I had fun blasting all the enemies crowded near the stairs. However, all my hopes vanished when I opened the second door. The author didn't put the efforts to create them properly so opening it breaks the map and stuck you in the void. The map is unbeatable without idclip and by the way, the next rooms leading to the exit are almost empty. So, I've no doubt that "Chris4" is just an attempt to pollute the idgames archive with a poor unfunny jokemap. Grade : F (2/20) A cyberdemon appeared just behind me in the third map from Fall of Society v1.1 and turned me into gibs. Quote 5 Share this post Link to post
