Unpopular Wad opinions.

What wads and mods did you like that the majority hated and what wads and mods did you hate that the majority liked?

The title was the only one I could come up with that was short enough so it might be a bit misleading.

For me, I liked DTS-T but the majority hated (And for good reason).

Plutonia & Crusades are 2 wads that I can't stand that most people seem to really like.

I have no idea if it's unpopular, but I like brutal doom since v20.

I don't like Valiant, I prefer Skillsaw's older wads.

I have the impression that Knee-Deep in ZDoom is somewhat unpopular, but I really like it.

I never could force myself to play more then a few levels of TNT: Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment. I found the design in Plutonia haphazard and unbalanced, and Evilution was plain and boring.

I find Plutonia amazing, but TNT never really impressed me. I've only played it once.

I don't like any of 90s classic megawads. Actually, all megawads from 90s and early 00s suck at least in one way or another (even though some of them are mostly pretty good). As I see it, the historically first megawad that doesn't suck is Plutonia 2 (from 2008). More ones that don't suck include Speed of Doom, Jenesis, Base Ganymede, Unholy Realms (?) (? because I remember little of it), BTSX, Going Down, Valiant, Sunlust and NOVA II. Thankfully they seem to be more and more frequent nowadays.

Hmm, it may be worth distinguishing between dislikes that stem from not liking the thing versus disliking the genre that it's in -- i.e. saying "I dislike Sunder" carries much more weight coming from someone who enjoys slaughtermaps (and is consequently a more interesting point of discussion).

I say this because if there's any popular wad out there I can't stand, it's judas23, but I also can't stand 1v1 duel anyway so it's probably a moot point. :P

Plutonia pushes me away every time I try to like it.

One of these days I'll crack that nut.

AnonimVio said:

I don't like Valiant, I prefer Skillsaw's older wads.

I had trouble stomaching valiant too. I think new dehacked guns and monsters just aren't my style. Even STRAIN has only subtle changes but those red demons piss me off so much when they dont go down in one SSG blast.

Vanguard on the other hand is awesome.

I can't get into UAC_DEAD no matter what. Too oversized, ugly and boring for me. I like some of the ideas but they're not enough to make me enjoy playing it. And keep in mind that I love a lot of shitty 1994 wads.

40oz said:

I had trouble stomaching valiant too. I think new dehacked guns and monsters just aren't my style.

Yeah, I learned a lot about Doom editing just so I could change most of Valiant's custom weapons/monsters back to normal Doom ones. But with those changes made, I like it a lot.

Complex Doom, i like the reskins and such, but everything else in it is just tedious and boring, no to mention the monsters can take a lot of hp from you.
And what joe-ilya said, Brutal Doom v20 onwards.
Also i like and love Ghoul wads, especially Ghouls vs Humans, most fun Tlms mod i've ever played.

Memfis said:

I can't get into UAC_DEAD no matter what. Too oversized, ugly and boring for me. I like some of the ideas but they're not enough to make me enjoy playing it. And keep in mind that I love a lot of shitty 1994 wads.

Gasp!!!!!

Brutal Doom v19 and previous versions. Granted there are stupid features like the obnoxious taunts and annoying friendly marines but it really rekindled my love of Doom allover again. For me it greatly increases fluidity (SSG one shot Cacaos dead, head-shots can take out difficult creatures more quickly, kicks can keep biters away while you reload etc).

I am both loving and hating 50 Shades of GRAYTALL. 1 to 8 were great, 9 was pure suffering and singlehandedly ruined the fun the previous levels built up.

Super Sonic Doom was an enjoyable experience in 2005. Certain sources say it is one of the worst wads ever.

please dont crucify me.


i think scythe 2 sucks. like not only do i not like it, the entire time i was playing i was like "WHY DOES EVERYONE LIKE THIS!?"

40oz said:

I had trouble stomaching valiant too. I think new dehacked guns and monsters just aren't my style. Even STRAIN has only subtle changes but those red demons piss me off so much when they dont go down in one SSG blast.

Vanguard on the other hand is awesome.

i just took em out. i couldnt dig em either.

I like dimensions of time (dot.wad)

TNT is the best IWAD.

Debate me

I found Suspended in Dusk to be dull, which goes so far against popular opinion that I actually doubt my own judgement.

I can sort of see Scifista's point on old megawads too. It's not just that they are visually less complex or impressive because I like the oldschool aesthetic, it's the level design which even compared to the original game doesn't cut the mustard on what seems to be too consistent a basis. Further discussion would be interesting on this, I have a suspicion that Requiem, STRAIN and Icarus would be better for replaying and learning your way around the maps, which would have happened more when they were released unlike modern times when WAD saturation means mappers make levels that don't need to grow on you.

I can't stand Plutonia 2, Strain, and what I've played of Sunlust I didn't like.

purist said:

I have a suspicion that Requiem, STRAIN and Icarus would be better for replaying and learning your way around the maps, which would have happened more when they were released unlike modern times when WAD saturation means mappers make levels that don't need to grow on you.

And to further that point, having less wads to play back in the day meant you'd likely play through the old 90s stuff multiple times. And since pistol starting wasn't as prevalent, the exploration aspect was a far bigger factor than gameplay, but authors could only do so much with the builders/vanilla limits at the time. Definitely a love-it or hate-it era.

I think my only "unpopular" opinion is that I would be perfectly fine to never play the id IWADs again. For as much as I play Doom I don't think Ultimate Doom and Doom 2 are anywhere close to touching my top 10 (or 20) favorite games. I absolutely adore the engine and bestiary, and clearly think there's stellar stuff that's being produced on these forums, but I don't really have a lot of love for id's old stuff (plenty of nostalgia though). I think that's why when I see projects centered around id's old stuff I feel a little sullen over the attention they get, as I prefer seeing the "newer" ideas that people create thrive. I understand that the id games are a common experience that unites us all and I don't think anyone is wasting their time working on them; I'd just personally like to play something more fresh (thankfully I'm not lacking in that department either).

Also I stated this in the DWMC Sunder thread, but nearly everyone that Insane_Gazebo has inspired has surpassed him IMO. He might produce the most iconic visuals but goddamn is Sunder sloggy and its encounters extremely hit-or-miss.

I don't like strain and plutonia 2 and PRCP.

cortlong50 said:

please dont crucify me.


i think scythe 2 sucks. like not only do i not like it, the entire time i was playing i was like "WHY DOES EVERYONE LIKE THIS!?"


i just took em out. i couldnt dig em either.

Scythe 1 > 2.

I can stand the last levels of 1, even when they'are slaugher arenas, but they are quite short. In 2, well, I stopped playing in that green stuff episode lol, too big, hard and slaugher levels.

suspended in dusk looks amazing but i dont like the gameplay
scythe 1 is kinda boring overall

re: skillsaw: lunatic > valiant > vanguard for me, love all of them tho.

I hate slaughter maps, and I call 'em "Monster Infighting Simulator". I can understand some people, or maybe lots of people, like that kind of huge, over-detailed maps with at least a thousand monsters since it's challenging. But that's not my appetite.

A fine example will be Sunder. Its maps have magnificent visual and many people, including myself, really liked it. But the gameplay is so frustrating for me. I keep circling around, not shooting a single shot, to let monsters kill each other. Definitely, MIS is not a game for me.

I find KDiZD overrated.

And I dislike slaughtermaps.

I feel that what I like about Doom is very different to what people like about it. A huge part for me is the atmosphere. I do not like shooting too much, I don't enjoy tough levels where you have to run around and shoot dozens of big monsters thrown at you.

I love levels that are, perhaps, easier, but more atmospheric. Which is why I really love Darkening 2 level 01. The music, the design - absolutely fabulous.

I love ALT and TNT and Cleimos
I love wonderful weird one-person megawads like Armadosia
I love unintuitive levels where you can "fail" or lock yourself out from secrets
I don't "hate" any level, mod or Doom tool

I approach Doom from an RPG fan's point of view and don't really care about too many other action games (I like Ninja Gaiden and Bangai-O Spirits if this helps but it probably doesn't)

I think people whose pet hates curtail them from enjoying perfectly good work have gone ever so slightly mad >:)