The /newstuff Chronicles #455

• MAYhem 2013 - A buncha schmucks
  Doom 2 - Boom Compatible - Solo Play - 5361793 bytes -
  Reviewed by: Tuxlar
  Lives up to its name.
  
  The Boom gimmicks are pretty much non-stop and impressive all throughout, in and of themselves. In terms of visuals, the theme implementations and detailing are generally outstanding (a few exceptions), especially towards the end. The themes jump all over the place across each of the maps. Map set is a mixed bag; slaughter and gimmick-oriented maps mixed in with some "standard" Doom fare. Sadly, some turds got mixed in (see below).
  
  Things worth noting:
  
  1. Map 01 and Map 02 use MULTIPLE tight-space, weak-weapon archvile ambushes as a frequent recurring encounter (on UV, at least). Some neat gimmicks to be found, though.
  2. Map 03 has a Keen near the start...
  3. Map 04 goes full-on Epic(TM); worth seeing.
  4. Map 05 goes full-on dark/creepy, and seems to do it well, but I found it too easy (update: evidently you need compat settings for ghost monsters... I may have missed out on this :(.
  5. Map 07 is complete sergeant/arach bombardment... maybe someone somewhere enjoys this sort of thing...? Unplayable for me.
  6. Map 08... fits its name well. You'll want to play it, if only to experience its glorious gimmick. Not sure if I can recommend it, though.
  7. Map 09-11 are a set of super-competent, super-thematic, super-hard slaughter maps, which really ought to be in a map set of their own (no joke!).
  
  The whole wad is a mixed bag of bonkers, gimmick-laden mayhem. I can't recommend it for playthroughs in the 'traditional' sense, but the gems it does have are certainly worth checking out. I'm a sucker for good gimmick use, personally.
  
  
• This Space Intentionally Left Blank - Sophie Kirschner
  Doom 2 - Vanilla - Solo Play - 23217 bytes -
  Reviewed by: Beginner
  This map has only one map and it is a dark room with the wad's title written with sectors on the floor (see last screenshot). The combat in this wad is annoying because the most of 40-monster squad are spectres and the only given weapon (at least on UV and HMP) is a rocket launcher. There's also an inaccessible room with lost souls and a switch that tries to crush them, but fails to do so. Author noted it was some kind of experiment and I guess it has failed.
  
  
• World trade Federation missions time travel - HELL Eater
  Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - Solo Play - 4847337 bytes -
  Reviewed by: jmickle66666666
  World trade Federation missions time travel, or wtf_time.wad is an apparent joke wad by HELL Eater and The Great It'Kpf.
  
  The few levels that are included all have a definite progression and designed challenges, and the later ones boast some obviously painstakingly created effects and events.
  
  However, this wad doesn't respect the player's time in the slightest (some would say that was the point), throwing you very early into a thin bridge walk that must be completed four times before you can pass, along with many other tedious "puzzles" that punish the player severely upon failure.
  
  It's strange, somewhere in the middle it forgot it was a troll wad, and had some gameplay.
  
  
• Better Head - Phlum
  Doom/Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - N/A - 9706 bytes
  Reviewed by: Obsidian
  A graphics modification that adds teeth to some of the HUD graphics in Doom: while the idea itself is sound, the execution is slightly sub-par in that it gives the Doomguy spotless pearly whites while his face is covered in blood. Hygiene before Hellspawn, perhaps? The graphics are also in PNG format which prevents usage of the wad outside ZDoom-derived ports, although on the upside it adds an eyebrow animation to the god mode status similar to the one seen when the Doomguy is at 100% health. Kind of neat, but not overly special.
  
  
• Doomkid's Deathmatch 2! - DoomKid (Adam P.)
  Doom 2 - Vanilla - Deathmatch - 1082522 bytes
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  Doomkid's Deathmatch 2! "dk_dm_2.wad" created by Doomkid, is a magnificent 15-level bitchin' blast-o-rama DM wad. I've played these maps plenty of times with Doomkid and other fellow Odamex Doomers. The online gameplay is super fun. The maps have excellent flow along with beautiful texture usage. Doomkid also did a very good job strategically placing items such as player spawns, health packs, powerups, weapons and ammo throughout all the maps. There are also some secret BFG routes and passable walls into hidden sectors to easily hide/frag your opponent. I especially enjoyed trolling and fragging players in one of the hidden sectors in MAP05.
  
  The zip file also contains an extra wad of a pallet color modification, which I am personally not that much of a fan of... but I know Doomkid loves messing around with that.
  
  Doomkid is known for his love of Old School DWANGO/Greenwar themed wads. I believe he has once again perfected Old School deathmatch in DK DM 2.
  
  Download this wad and play online via ZDaemon or Odamex!
  
  
• Flay the Obscene - Reversed - Chris Hansen
  Doom 2 - Limit Removing - Solo Play - 409702 bytes
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  Flay the Obscene "flay4rev.wad" created by Chris Hansen, is a large one-map wad implemented for single player and co-op gameplay. The map is very nicely designed and super old school. The enemy placement is also strategically thought out, unlike most single player maps where authors line them up in rows waiting to be mowed down by the player. A neat looking thing I noticed was in a courtyard area with a pool of water. The player walks over a linedef that activates a fast lift full of imps out of the water. While playing the game, you can expect to see demons teleported in almost every major room. I like how it gives the player the element of surprise.
  
  Overall, this wad is a must have for any single player Doomer. Go ahead and give it a download. It is really fun, and hopefully you will enjoy it just as much as I did.
  
  
• GodHand - Greg Lafitte
  Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - Deathmatch - 13836 bytes
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  GodHand, "GodHand.wad" created by Greg Lafitte, is a rather large one-level wad implemented for deathmatching.
  
  MAP01: The outline of the map is in the shape of a hand (I guess this is why the author called it "GodHand"...) Each of the fingers have a player spawn with either a plasma rifle, chaingun or super shotgun. There are plenty of other weapons to pick up, along with an abundance of ammunition. There are a total of eight player spawns.
  
  I've only played this wad against bots, and from my experience it wasn't all that thrilling (mostly due to the fact that bots are dumb). I'm sure playing this map online with actual players would be a bit better.
  
  Personally, I don't think the map would have excellent flow even when played against real players. From my experience of playing/making DM wads, I've come to notice that most maps containing of lots of open space tend to have poor gameplay. This was a big problem with most 90's DM maps. Today's standards of DM have changed a lot. People want maps designed to create good flow within each sector while fragging down their opponents. Big maps that make the player run a mile to get close to your nearest opponent are not fun; in fact, it makes the gameplay really slow and boring. A rule of thumb: Deathmatching is supposed to be fast paced.
  
  I give the author credit though for his creativity. Based on what he wrote in the text file, this was his first wad. I recommend for him to play more DM wads to get a better understanding of more modern Doom DM styles and standards. Look into Brit10.wad, GothicDM.wad/Gothic99.wad, ZMatch 2013 (zdm_13.wad), ZMatch 2014 (zdm_14.wad), Doomkid's DM (DK_DM_13.wad), Doomkid's DM 2 (DK_DM_2.wad), Doomkid's DM 3 (soon to be released), and Deathmatch Revival (dmr_14.wad).
  
  Overall, if you like big DM maps with lots of open space, then download this wad and host a server of it on any multiplayer Doom source port. Based on its size, I would say 4 or 6 players is the bare minimum while 8 is the maximum.
  
  
• Abyssal Speedmapping Sessions: Session 3 - Various
  Doom 2 - Boom Compatible - Solo Play - 509145 bytes
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  Abyssal Speedmapping Sessions: Session 3, "abysped3.wad" crafted by Obsidian, Xaser, Alfonzo, An_mutt, Scifista42, Ribbiks, and Phobus is a wonderful work of Doom art. This wad contains seven maps designed for speedmapping. I typically don't play a lot of speed maps, but this one I actually enjoyed playing. My only complaint about this wad is that it isn't implicated for co-op. MAP01 was a bit too small and cramped for my taste, but most of the other maps had a lot more open space to roam around.
  
  Overall, If you like speedmapping wads, then I highly recommend downloading this. Excellent job to the authors who participated in making this wad!
  
  
• Nebula 95: Drown Stone Cassette B - lupinx-Kassman/lupinx_Resurrected
  Doom 2 - Vanilla - Solo Play - 395423 bytes -
  Reviewed by: kmxexii
  This is an alternate version of Drown Stone, reviewed in Newstuff Chronicles #443. It's now part of the Nebula 95 series, lupinx's ode to the wild and weird days of early PWAD craftsmanship. The level plays more or less the same; the main differences are some under the hood changes that make it vanilla-compatible and some texture / sky stuff, plus the new music track, mentioned in the README as a major plot point. More significantly, Cassette B occupies MAP02. MAP01 is a pleasant, jazzy interlude on "Margie" that has a similar visual style and can score you some armor to start out with. Oh, and if you're not familiar to the Nebula '95 treatment, watch out for all the cheesy sound replacements / music / etc. you can handle, straight outta '95.
  
  
• Nebula 95: Nebula Shrine - lupinx-Kassman/lupinx_Resurrected
  Doom 2 - Vanilla - Solo Play - 367724 bytes -
  Reviewed by: kmxexii
  Nebula 95 is lupinx's love letter to the olden days of Doom user levels, filled with new weapon noises and midis that stand in stark contrast to Bobby's OST. All of the untamed elements of PWADcraft are explained away as the influence of a hallucinogenic gas known as Nebula 95. Each segment begins in your ship, and looking outside you can get a feel for what the level is going to look like, and with a little poking around score a powerup to take to the next level.
  
  Nebula Shrine, based off a lupinx submission to Odamex Nitro, is a fairly tough little level rendered in marble. The prominent perimeter staffed with pockets of arachnotrons and mancubuses plus moving parts give me a slight Titan Manor vibe, but it's not anywhere near as dense. Once you reach the middle ring it's pretty open-air so you're usually under fire. About the toughest part is dropping down to the ground floor and taking out the fatasses and spectres, almost entirely due to the spectres. The other nasty bit would be all the flying enemies that wake up once you snag the yellow key (I think), but that's not so bad if you hide out from the archvile / Cyberdemon combo. I liked the little timed puzzle to reach the exit.
  
  
• Nebula 95: Human Earrings - lupinx-Kassman/lupinx_Resurrected
  Doom 2 - Vanilla - Solo Play - 356251 bytes -
  Reviewed by: kmxexii
  The third Nebula 95 level of early user PWAD-fueled madness has a very claustrophobic feel. It's all about pushing forward, though, past those high-HP monsters to a soft pocket of zombies that should give you some room to breathe in. As mentioned by the author, the beige brick and metal level has an accessible, fluid layout, as long as you don't mind the ever-present threat of a Cyberdemon stomping around the opening area. I didn't find a plasma weapon, but I didn't really need it. That soulsphere is a bit of a tricky bastard to get to.
  
  
• Nebula 95: MudMan WonderLand - lupinx-Kassman/lupinx_Resurrected
  Doom 2 - Vanilla - Solo Play - 352580 bytes -
  Reviewed by: kmxexii
  Mudman Wonderland, part two of the early Doom madness Nebula 95 series, has mud! It also has a handful of imps, Hell knights, and a couple of other beasties. NEB02 is a bit easier than NEB01 / NEB03, thanks to its small number of monsters / high HP enemies. It's got a beige brick / starbase / metal theme, which isn't that inspiring, but the sky is cool and I love the crushers that activate in the north yard / the rising island with a couple of skeletons on it, plus its very clean layout. It's based on a DM layout from 32in24-12, which I haven't played. A fun, fast play.
  
  
• Sector Alphabet - lupinx-Kassman/lupinx_Resurrected
  Doom 2 - Limit Removing - Solo Play - 44049 bytes
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  [Editor's note: "It's a template for mappers to copy sector letters from if they want to put some text in their map for some reason."]
  
  Sector Alphabet, "Klphabet.wad" is a small one-map wad designed for single player. The floor has all the letters of the alphabet as if it was in a bowl of alphabet soup. You as the player are face to face with a cyberdemon. Pick up a super shotgun and plasma rifle, and have fun gunning him down. The midi is the ABC song, which sounds very infantile, but hey the wad is called Sector Alphabet so I guess it goes well. The custom sky looks all right.
  
  Overall, nothing too great.
  
  
• The mortal instuments: City of Bones DOOM - chesse20
  Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - Solo Play - 10208763 bytes -
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  The mortal instruments: City of Bones DOOM, "bones.wad" made by chesse20, is a strange wad with three poorly designed levels. I consider it as a joke/slaughter wad.
  
  MAP01: One short narrow corridor with a Pinky Demon. You shoot it down with your pistol and run to the end of the corridor to exit the level... but there is no exit switch. You step over a lindef that ends the level. Yeah, not so fun in my opinion.
  
  MAP02: A bigger map that has many tall platforms with Revenants everywhere. Have fun gunning them down... I couldn't beat it after a few tries, I just ran to the exit on the other side of the map. The techno music was pretty cool though.
  
  MAP03: Same exact map but with over 100 hornets called "Gangster Bees" that are relatively easy to kill. The exit doesn't bring you to MAP04, it just brings you to the Doom 2 end game demon credits.
  
  Overall, there is really nothing too special about it. Is it worth downloading? Probably not. To me the maps look like they were made in 1995. And please keep in mind that I'm not trying to disrespect the author, I'm just giving an honest review. The wad could have been better if the maps were better designed.
  
  
• Thy PrBoom Maps: Beta 1 - mrthejoshmon
  Doom 2 - PrBoom+ - Solo Play - 2000246 bytes -
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  Thy PrBoom Maps: Beta 1, "tpbm.wad", created by mrthejoshmon is a 14 level wad designed for single player and deathmatch. I believe some of these maps were used in the latest megawad called NOVA: The Birth. These maps are well detailed and fun. My only gripe with it is that some of the maps are slightly off balanced with weapon placement and demons. But that is just my opinion. I also thought that the maps were loosely based off TNT Evilution.
  
  MAP01: WTP (Water Treatment Plant)
  
  A fairly good starting level. Contains 47 demons throughout the map. I like opening maps that allow the player to find a shotgun easily instead of having to pistol run your way through hoards of enemies.
  
  MAP02: Incubator
  
  This is a very linear/spindly tech base themed map. I like linear single player maps, however they tend to not be so good for deathmatching.
  
  MAP03: Compound
  
  A slightly larger map than the previous two. It is a nice mix between an indoor/outdoor tech-brick textured map. The gameplay is a bit difficult on Ultra Violence though.
  
  MAP04: Sewers
  
  This map is one of my favorites. Solid gameplay and nice green brick textures.
  
  MAP05: Site
  
  Another good example of a techbase/outdoor map.
  
  MAP06: Rip and Tear
  
  Lots and lots and LOTS of gray textures. Just about all of the demons are lined up like soldiers in rows. You may as well call it 'Run N' Gun'.
  
  MAP07: Cyberden
  
  This one is practically a Dead Simple remake which plays fairly well. There is only one Cyberdemon along with 16 other demons.
  
  MAP08: Lockdown
  
  This one doesn't have much of a claustrophobic environment unlike the first few maps. There is quite a bit of open space in between each sector that is barricaded by MIDSPACE cages. Nicely designed.
  
  MAP09: Derelict
  
  This one was VERY linear... and it didn't take me all that long to find the exit.
  
  MAP10: The Divide
  
  I had mixed feelings on this one. Visually it is nice, but the gameplay is just becoming very similar to other maps. There is a neat looking spot where some of the tech-base textures transition into Hellish textures. My guess is that this is where the map got its name from.
  
  MAP11: The Mines
  
  This one is very narrow and spindly. I like the rock textures a lot though. The detailing is nice too. The gameplay is basically like lining up demons and knocking them down.
  
  MAP12: The Mansion
  
  Oooooooh I just love city themed maps! But the majority of the map is inside a mansion, lol. Pretty fun though.
  
  MAP13: EWTP (East Water Treatment Plant)
  
  This map was freaking HUGE and very difficult. I couldn't even beat it.
  
  MAP14: Fortification
  
  My goodness... this just looks like something straight out of Alien Vendetta. It is definitely another favorite of mine. It has lots of demons that are fairly easy to kill.
  
  Overall, download this wad, it is well worth it. Mrthejoshmon is a great author who knows how to make great old school single player maps.
  
  
• 6666 days of dooming - Walter "Daimon" Confalonieri
  Ultimate Doom - Vanilla - Solo Play - 37036 bytes
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  6666 days of dooming, "dai-6666.wad" created by Walter "Daimon" Confalonieri is a fun E1M1 Hangar remake wad. It consists of one level "E1M1" and 27 strategically placed enemies throughout the map. Just like the official E1M1 Doom map, it is fun to play over and over again because of its similarity. The wad is implemented for both single player and co-op gameplay.
  
  Download this wad :)
  
  
• More Test - xbobby64
  Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - Solo Play - 6767152 bytes
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  More Test "moretest.wad" created by xbobby64 is a newbie wad intended for single player gameplay. The map has bizarre/improper texture usage along with poorly thought out enemy/item placement. I wasn't too keen on the custom solid bright colors... they were just way too eye straining. The Green Day midi was all right though.
  
  Overall, the wad isn't all that great. But you know what, xbobby64 is new to the community so I think it would be best for us give him some advice on how to make great maps. He just needs to learn the dos and don'ts of editing. He could have potential to become a great mapper.
  
  
• Ultimate Doom 2 : Dead Anomaly - Fellowzdoomer
  Ultimate Doom - Vanilla - Solo Play - 7478 bytes -
  Reviewed by: jmickle66666666
  I don't think anyone but Fellowzdoomer could ever think "Dead Simple would be way better with barons instead", playing on E1M8 instead of MAP07. Not only did they go through and actually make it, but I have to admit it is pretty flawless.
  
  When I say flawless, I don't mean the "standard" definition of flaws, such as terribly aligned textures. Basically no gameplay, the sky texture being used on a wall, terrible item placement, the appearance of being created in 1994, and many many more; this is MORE than that. It transcends criticism in ways that people have been striving for for years.
  
  It is truly something that needs to be played to be believed.
  
  
• Middle-high school - Redbull
  Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - Solo Play - 514476 bytes
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  Middle-high school, "schule.wad" created by Redbull, is a massive one-map slaughter wad with 700+ enemies that takes place in a school. It was fun... for like two minutes, but then it got boring and repetitive gunning down zombie demons by the hundreds. Overall, I would advise not wasting your time downloading this wad.
  
  
• The shining - BreezeR
  Doom 2 - Vanilla - SP/DM - 286578 bytes
  Reviewed by: doomguy93
  Shining, "shining.wad" created by Redbull, is a large one-map wad implemented for both single player and deathmatch. The map basically takes on the style of the game Blood. It even has some of the textures from it too along with a custom texture "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." There is also a hedge maze just like from the movie The Shining which I thought was pretty neat. Overall, the wad is worth downloading. I haven't tried it for deathmatching though.