Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #007

 

Endless, 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 2 weeeks to select random WADs in search of hidden treasures, lost promises or our worst nightmares! In case you didn't know, /idgames archive has a special feature where we can search for random files, of course, sometimes they are resources or unplayable stuff, so we will focus on looking for WADs! 

  

So, what are we going have to do ?

1. We/I try to play at least 5 (or more if you can) random WADs on /idgames. For that, I use the Random File feature.
2. We comment/review the WADs for the duration of the event. There's no set time, but one WAD every 2 days is a good measure, or 1 every day in case there's plenty.
3. Try to take screenshots of your adventures.
4. Play however you want, on any skill-level, as long as you play the WAD as intended/in working shape.
5. Avoid shitting on people's work, try to review in a respectful manner, but of course, let's all have a good laugh in case we find something odd.

  

What kind of WADs are we looking for ?

Mostly singleplayer WADs that work in your source-port of choice. You can skip DM WADs in case you don't have anyone to play with. Heretic WADs are also allowed. I will look for at least 4 random WADs for the event and add them here. Feel free to play them with me, or if you wish, look for your own! The point of this is to encourage you to explore this vast, random world. 

 

Tips/recommendations for commenting/reviewing:

 

Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures of this event:

 

1. Three Ways to Die
2. GMC.WAD
3. Vrack 2
4. Amnesia
5. The Villa of Pain

 

 

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

 

^{» Previous adventures:}

 

Day 1: Three Ways to Die https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/0-9/3way2die

 

In accordance with its title, this WAD offers three different starts depending on the selected difficulty, and while the author seems to suggest that this adds replay value, it is a very minor change - if in Map 1 you spawned in the outside area with the shotgun, how different would it really be? And, it doesn't really correspond to difficulty either, since I'd argue that HNTR was the hardest of the three. Regardless of which you choose, it leads to the same result. Go into that big courtyard area, and then fight 100~ imps and lost souls, and that's it, level complete. Not really, there's 300 enemies left, but that's all there is, walk onto every platform, activate every door, but you can't actually do anything. On the HNTR run, you start elsewhere and can get a bit further, being able to get a yellow key and go through one more room, but it doesn't change the ultimate fact, you're left with a map you can't complete. So, not off to a great start, as I like my levels to not softlock me within the opening 5 minutes. But it definitely looked good.

 

 

 

Lizardwar.WAD by @Lizardcommando(2004)

^{Limit removing}

This is a graphics only patch that replaces all monsters (bar the pain elemental), all weapons and some decorations/textures. A number of the enemies are quite similar and look to be taken straight out of MS Paint but that doesn't negate the fact that it takes considerable time and effort to replace all those frames.

 

The sprites are very basic but thanks to a bit of charm (like the AV flipping you off when it dies) it's worth checking out. I can't imagine anyone would play a megawad with these replacements but a mapset with a complimentary art style would work quite well.

 

Overall, it's nothing to write home about and looking at the screenshots below is probably all you need but I appreciate the work that went into this wad.

 

I give the wad 3/5 buttholes

 

 

Screenshots

 

 

49 minutes ago, xvertigox said:

Lizardwar.WAD by @Lizardcommando(2004)

^{Limit removing}

This is a graphics only patch that replaces all monsters (bar the pain elemental), all weapons and some decorations/textures. A number of the enemies are quite similar and look to be taken straight out of MS Paint but that doesn't negate the fact that it takes considerable time and effort to replace all those frames.

 

The sprites are very basic but thanks to a bit of charm (like the AV flipping you off when it dies) it's worth checking out. I can't imagine anyone would play a megawad with these replacements but a mapset with a complimentary art style would work quite well.

 

Overall, it's nothing to write home about and looking at the screenshots below is probably all you need but I appreciate the work that went into this wad.

 

I give the wad 3/5 buttholes

 

 

Screenshots

 

  Hide contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My god, this piece of shit is still in the Idgames archives? Ugh, this should have remained lost in my crappy Geocities website forever. I'm surprised you gave this 3 buttholes out of 5 lol.

The Villa of Pain

UV | GZDoom + Dead Marine

 

For a 21 year old map, this sucker has aged fairly decently. While the layout is fairly flat for the most part with only a little bit of height variation in rare instances, it makes up for it with some interesting progression and decent combat. Visually, it's kind of like a stone fortress that doubles as a warehouse. It's kind of like if the UAC found an Aztec temple and used it as a repository for their junk. There's some fun bits of progression with how the combat reveals its traps and misdirection. While it's nothing to get really hyped for, it's a solid map that's worth at least one playthrough.

 

 

Incidentally, I tried playing Amnesia as well, but that map's weird switch-puzzle progression left me stumped at one point and had me wandering around the map for a solid 15mins unable to figure what the fuck I was supposed to do next. Doh well.

GMC by Grant Marko (vanilla doom 2, 1995, played with Delta Touch and chocolate Doom 3.0.1, freedoom 2 used as IWAD)

 

Since I saw from description that this is a short map,i decided to play this on Delta Touch (already played another simple map, but not finished), this experience let me with some thoughts i want to address:

• Playing Doom with touch controls is a nightmare
• The new movie-like animation in the starting room is badass
• Rush "YYZ" is a neat midi that should be used more

But otherwise, this map is a pretty more distillate of 1994 / 1995 user maps, extremely rectangular in layout with some changes in the "cave" tunnels after the big wood room, the switches are confusing to understand what works and what not (like the switches puzzles in Doom E3M4, but worse!), pretty empty in big part of the rooms.... It's a ok map.

 

Month 2 Day 3

 

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

 

File 1) Bloody Cheese by Dennis "Exl" Meuwissen (2005)

 

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A singular map designed solely for Coop mode. Infinite ammo should be turned on, and no difficulty levels whatsoever are present. Just blast your way through. Not very long either, maybe something to try and finish without dying.

 

 

A boom map that I had to play with gzdoom because of the strange if not incoherent rules set by the author.

 

It's a co-op map with no ammo and almost no health regeneration items. To tell the truth, it looks extremely difficult, but most of the fights are extremely cheesable (bloody cheesable!) because of the unlimited ammo and the block monsters lines that reduce the efficiency of the traps to nothing. The level is not very interesting, but still quite fun.

 

The author could have simply added ammunition to make it a map that can be played both in solo and in multiplayer.

 

Aesthetically, it's a pretty nice and detailed tech map, but nothing special.

 

File 2) The Ultimate Doom Metal Replacement Vol. 3 & 4 by Mr. Chris/Glaice (2014)

 

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So you like Doom and metal, right? You have come to the right place because what is to be heard is some super heavy, pulse pounding metal replacements for both Doom and Doom 2.

There is black, death, doom, thrash, stoner, folk, heavy and a tinge of grunge in the contained files Volume 3 & Volume 4.

Song list is contained within the uldmso34.txt included in the archive.

Future volumes may come due to the abundance of MIDI files to still go through! 2,800 or so!

 

Yes indeed Chris, I like metal and I like Doom. However, compiling midi music found on the internet is not something worth uploading to idgames in my opinion unless they are extremely hard to find.

 

I have listened very briefly to some of the midi's included in both wads. The quality is pretty good.

 

File 3) alpha by wesley (beast) werner (2018)

 

 

Quote

one in a series to gain mapping experience

A dark base for Ultimate Doom with vicious traps involving zombies. I advise you to use E1M5's music to be more in the mood!

 

I really liked how some secrets lead to others. The use of the lights going out also helps to make some of the traps more scary.

 

 

 

 

 

And I died in a tribute map of WOW.wad. WOW23

 

 

Day 2: GMC.WAD https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/g-i/gmc

 

As Walter pointed out, it's got a cool little animated thing at the very start, but that's probably the only positive thing I have to say about this WAD. The main problem with it is navigation. In the first room, you have to shoot the door, for some reason, and in the second room, there's multiple doors, and two switches, but you have to activate behind the switches to advance. This opens up four more switches, connected as part of a cube, but only one of them does anything. In the screenshot with the BFG and wooden walls, there's a hallway with at least 6 doors, but none of them even do anything. What all this means is that getting around is more difficult than it needs to be, which is kind of a shame, because the combat is good. After defeating the cyberdemon hidden inside the Icon of Sin, who doesn't appear the first time you enter that room I should mention, you're basically stuck, using a forbidden navigational technique (turning on noclip) I managed to figure out how to get to the end, but in short, I like my levels to not lie to me. If I see a door, I should be able to walk through it. Obviously, not every single door needs to work this way, but there is no reason to have a 1:10 ratio of functional doors. If I wanted to deal with doors that don't work, I'd buy a Lada.

 

 

 

 

16 hours ago, Lizardcommando said:

My god, this piece of shit is still in the Idgames archives? Ugh, this should have remained lost in my crappy Geocities website forever. I'm surprised you gave this 3 buttholes out of 5 lol.

 

To be fair, a butthole isn't exactly the most glamorous accolade.

Month 2 Day 4

 

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

 

File 1) doombsp.zip by id Software (1994)

 

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This is Id's objective-c source for their binary space partitioner

 

Nothing to say here.

 

File 2) Doom 3 by Abhoth (th3h4nd@hotmail.com) (1999)

 

 

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An unfinished TC for Doom 2

 

An effectively unfinished project that contains 3 separate maps in 3 different wads respectively CRYPTS, LIBRARY and TEMPLE.

 

However, it's really a pity that he didn't continue his project. The maps are particularly unique and strange with a mysterious black and white universe with gradient textures to represent the void around us.

 

The maps are currently not really playable due to the lack of a real exit or a real gameplay with monsters you can kill.

My favourite level is Library thanks to its furniture such as the strange black tables made of midtex.

 

Anyway, if this "Doom 3" would have been released, it would have been a lot different than the one we all know since 2004.

 

 

Dead in Abyssal Speedmapping Sessions: Session 16 map 12

 

 

Day 3: VRACK2 https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/v-z/vrack2

A space base that overstays its welcome, it's got about 700 enemies, which is certainly more than average, but that's its only claim to fame, and I'd much rather have a level where you have 100 enemies that are actually interesting to fight, than 700 who are a slog. In VRACK, you will fight enemies in one of three scenarios:

1) Fighting small numbers of enemies through small corridors, without thinking twice about it because these encounters are meaningless. Even though it's probably got more Barons than Doom 1 and 2 combined, when they're deployed like this, they're not a threat in the slightest, I get as worried seeing them as I do seeing an Imp, only difference is it's just more of a slog having to SSG them.

2) Areas that are just a cluster of enemies, with no way for the player to enter unless they want to die within a second, meaning you'll be trying to slice the pie the best you can, but since you can't expose yourself for more than a second before taking cover, it's not a particularly good implementation of it, even something like Suburbs in Doom 2 is a better example of having to engage with many enemies in a relatively small space, without it just being 'instigate infighting and wait for a minute because you don't even have space to walk'.

3) Traps. They lock you in a room with very little space to maneuver, and spawn anywhere between 0.1-0.6 fuckloads of monsters, and expect you to get out of it. Take the picture with the nukage and yellow key for instance, after stepping one square further forward, five windows open, all with 3-5 revenants inside, and there's no cover at all, and you're supposed to walk through nukage, because that's your only conceivable way to not die to all of those rockets being directed at you, and that little maze thing like the stuff they have at airports, it moves, because I guess they weren't giving me enough of a bollocking already. Towards the end, after taking a key card in the middle of a room which has about as maneuverability as a segway with no wheels, and then they spawned 12 archviles, each in four corners, and that's when my patience was running thin. Some people like kaizo difficulty, I just think it's lazy.

 

So, yes, didn't really plan to convey my thoughts in that particular way, but that does summarise it, for such a big map it's quite impressive that they manage to make it not confusing to navigate through, although it might have been better if it wasn't because they liked putting enemies in rooms you've already cleared. A bit dark in one or two places, but in general, I wasn't very impressed, too many areas that are built in such a way that just does not work given the speed at which Doomguy runs, and it's too long for its own good. But apparently most people like it.

 

 

 

 

 

The Villa of Pain by Michael Reed (Vanilla doom 2, 1996 but archived in 2000, played with doom2.exe and DosBox)

 

A pretty cool map with a charming classic style from the author of great classics such as Hotel Hell and Hoover Dam, is sets in this hispanic / latin house with libraries, fountains, (hidden) warehouse, tourture chambers, small lava sewers and other wonders, layout is simple but effective, giving a sense of real place with the primitive editor the author used at the time. The level itself isn't filled with monsters or been pretty challenging but the warehouse part is pretty tought. Fun, cool map.

 

 

Also got randomly the silly sound patch HellNet Doom WAD by Aaron Tiensivu, is one of those "old times" sound replacements from early years of mapping (1994, to be precise) that includes sounds from different sources all joined into one. Pretty silly but nothing extremly weird or annoying...

Month 2 Day 5

 

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

 

File 1) NEWCASTLE BROWN by T J Lucas (1996)

 

 

Quote

blah blah blah... PLAY THIS WAD!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah, this is names after my favorite ale

 

An ultimate doom level that is particularly abstract because of the different themes that intersect in a totally incoherent way: tech base, flesh, marble temple...

Moreover, the layout is mainly made of long corridors and rooms separated by teleporters.

The level is quite fun and particularly appreciable for the UItimate doom gameplay, but otherwise it remains very generic and therefore not very interesting.

 

 

 

 

I stupidly fell in the last pit of Doom 2's map 08 while testing the funny dehacked MORPH.ded (I was planning to play the 11 first maps of Doom 2 with it).

 

 

Day 4: Amnesia https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/a-c/amnesia

 

Ironically enough, this WAD doesn't make me feel amnesic at all. I regularly do, when you play the same game for so long, eventually it kind of just blurs together, and I think we've all gotten Doom deja vu at least once. Also I've got memory problems, that might be related. But this level actually feels distinct enough to not be something generic enough I might think I've played already, it uses custom textures, which goes a long way in helping to make it feel different. Some of them are from Quake 1, others are original (at least I think so), and it also features multi-stage button sequences like Quake 1.

 

One major aspect of this map is it uses a lot of verticality, and it says it requires ZDoom, which leads to me believe it might have been designed with mouselook in mind, whereas I play without it, it's not unplayable without, but you're going to be getting chipped by zombiemen from angles you can't see, which can be annoying, and if you happen to be indifferent, I would suggest turning it on. 

 

Compared to yesterday's map which used all 6 keys, from an effective standpoint, this one was used 2, which was a welcome change. By an effective standpoint, I mean all 3 skulls were placed next to each other and each one opened up a bunch of monsters like a little challenge arena, the map's not too big, but I thought that was pretty neat. The only real criticism I have is that while some maps end with a surprise archvile that isn't that scary when it's alone, this one has a narrow hallway with deaf monsters of the worst kind, specifically archviles, chaingunners, and revenants, and since you fight one at a time, they're not that scary either, a bit rushed on the ending, and there was one glitch where I got stuck under the floor (but unstuck once I took the elevator). Also, that one switch was floating in midair, and it chased me for a second, which terrified me more than any horror video game has.

Somewhat short, I don't think it could've taken me more than ten minutes, but it's pretty good for what it is, and I even got a bit of flavour text. The mapper might not have the best spelling, but his heart's there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Month 2 Day 6

 

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

 

 

File 1) Hellpost by Owen (1995)

 

Quote

See for your self!

 

 

A fairly easy Ultimate Doom map, but still quite dangerous if you're not careful because of the few deadly holes in some places. You have to jump over them, especially when collecting some keys. It is very simple but a bad jump will result in a long and painful death.

 

Aesthetically it is a tech base using mainly rusty Startan textures. The level is divided into sections connected to a sort of HUB which also acts as a spawn. It's pretty standard but it works.

 

I liked this map.

 

File 2) Kick Yo Ass! by Lou Garcia (1995)

 

 

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Kick Yo Ass! is a DOOM I deathmatch only level without any monsters except your friend-become-prey. It's stricktly move fast and kick ass from begining to end. The level consists of another arena (12 sided) surrounded by a deep moat (below) & hallways (above). One Teleporter at the bottom of each hallway entrance will transport you to that hallway (you can also jump accross from above and achieve the same thing). There is also one Teleporter in the central arena take you to the Holding Bag. Weapons, Ammo and Goodies are all over the place depending on the Skill level chosen at start (The higher the Skill level, the nastier the Weapons. There are windows accross from the arena which access semi-secret rooms with invisibility spheres and other goodies. These rooms are also accessible through a door in the hallways. They make for good ambush sites. The players start in one of the four connected hallways above the arena or in one of the semi-secret rooms. They will each find plenty of weapons to start them out (Nobody should get the upper hand). This level is great in DEATHMATCH 2.0 as well as regular Deathmatch.

 

A DM map replacing the E1M4 slot of Ultimate Doom with the particularity to change the weapon layout according to the chosen difficulty.

Indeed, the BFG appears as the main weapon in UV, replaced by the Plasmagun/RL combo in HMP and the chaingun/shotgun in HNTR. I think that the effectiveness of the BFG is rather theoretical in this style of map, especially knowing that only the weapons are given and not the ammunition. I think that this level is more appreciable in HMP/HNTR because of the greater diversity of weapons.

 

Otherwise, this is an almost totally grey map with a ravine full of water. You can get back to the surface by taking teleporters.

 

I died in CAVALEIROS - MACAÉ/RJ BRAZIL because of very sadisctic monster placement.

 

 

Pigeon Speedmapping Session 6: To hell and back by various mappers (Boom compatible, 2018, played with woof 3.1.0)

5 speedmaps of various difficulty and styles by 5 different mappers for the "famous" pigeon speedmapping session that was a answer/dissing for the Eagle sessions that was a answer/dissing to Abyssal Speedmapping Sessions. The levels are mostly slaughtermap-like with the best being MAP02 and MAP03, the weirdo is MAP01 and MAP04 is just a circular structure filled with lots of monsters. MAP05 is a cool map, I loved the texture theme choice of this wad.

 

Day 5: The Villa of Pain https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/v-z/villa

 

The map's from the 90s, so it's kind of basic, but it's good at what it does. If I have to give one major criticism, it's that it's too easy, I played on UV, and I was pretty much never in trouble, they gave me one megaarmour in the very beginning, and probably at least 5 regular ones throughout, but I didn't actually fall below 100% until the very last room, but I guess people back then were playing with arrow keys so I can see why they'd have disagreed. The map layout is basic, but that just means there's no backtracking or filler, it's also a little plain with its architecture, too brown, but the crate room still provides a bit of visual variety. In essence, it's kind of short, it's probably a bit easy for its own good, and this is coming from someone who only ever used those 600 plasma cells on precisely one enemy, but if this thread's taught me something, it's that when Sturgeon said "90% of everything is crap", he made a low estimate, but this is in the 10%. Nothing outstanding, it's not getting preserved in the Library of Congress, but it's getting preserved in my folder as a decent WAD.

 

 

 

Month 2 Day 7

 

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

 

File 1) Chess, Hades-style by Maciek Sakrejda (Octahedron The Unwise) (2013)

 

 

Quote

Your pal Satan invited you and fifteen of your closest friends over for a friendly game of chess. Not trusting him one bit, you took along quite an arsenal. As you arrive at Satan's door, you are whisked away to a huge arena. Alas, as your compadres see the terrors before them, most (or all, depending on how many players you're using) die of fear. Some even implode. Now it's up to you to checkmate Satan.

 

A fun little map where you fight several monsters on a sort of giant chessboard. Apart from that, there's nothing really special. However, I almost died in this map because I killed the last Mastermind Minden knowing that there is no way to protect yourself except the other monsters and no health bonus.

 

The level uses Beatles music and the mapper has put the 4 artists' portrait towards the end. The level was officially released in 2013 but all these elements make me suspect that it was made in 1994. Also , the mapper used DEU 5.21 which was very outdated even for 2013 lol. Definitely a 1994 map.

 

However, I can say that the Hell Revealed 26 map exploits the concept of placing enemies on a chessboard much better.

 

 

And I got terry-trapped in the trollwad Mecha-Albert Four-Hundred.

 

 

Day 6: Female Doom https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/female

 

It's very bad. One good thing about most the bad WADs I play is that they're still Doom, whereas this isn't, to summarise, every enemy is a whole lot stronger, and every weapon you have is a whole lot worse. The first level comprises 40 enemies, and I'd guess it's 30 shotgunners who don't drop shotguns, 10 imps, which, if it was in the default game, would've given me much trouble, but shotgunners now take 20-30 pistol shots each, and this pistol has dethroned Quake 2 as the worst pistol to ever be put in a video game, since not only has its damage been cut in half, so has its accuracy, you can be touching someone and have it be physically impossible to get any closer, you'll still only hit about 60% of your shots. Also, in case you hadn't noticed, all the enemies are women, and also naked, because the story says that this is the future where the feminists took over and killed all the men. 

After completing the first level, which while not terrible from a design standpoint, even incorporating a bit of breaking open and crawling through vents, which was kind of neat I guess, is irredeemable with the replacement enemies and weapons, stuff like the Extreme Weapon Pack has its value in playing it once as a joke because it's funny someone would put something so bad in their game, but this is played straight. So, I did what anyone sensible would do, I IDKFA'd and went straight to the final level to see if I found an interesting final boss, and I didn't, but I did find that all the other weapons are pure gobshite - the super shotgun has the sprite for the riot shotgun from Shadow Warrior, meaning it combined two great video game shotguns to make something that feels so dysfunctional it gets priority parking space. However, while the final boss was nothing that interesting, I will add that I decided not to show one of my images of the level, lest I get banned for posting pornography. Also, really ugly HUD font.

 

 

 

 

Month 2 Day 8

 

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

 

File 1) TEKGOD by CTHULU (1995)

 

Quote

more less a remake of map 1 centered around the sshotgun room,great for 1 on 1, 3 or 4 players, and great for teams

 

A Deathmatch map for Doom 2 strongly reminiscent of map 01 of this iwad. The layout is more complex than the original level due to the many interconnections, corridors and larger areas. Also, in some places, doors open by themselves when you get close to them, which is quite fun in my opinion.

 

Aesthetically, the green textures including the tek textures dominate the landscape.I particularly like the architecture near the BFG. Gameplay wise, I don't have much to say but it definitely could have been a good single player map.

 

File 2) Deimos Control Center by Tobias Münch (2006)

 

 

Quote

Medium sized episode 2 styled level.

 

An Ultimate Doom vanilla map with different themes from the second episode but with the same features as the E2M2 map with its flat and exploration oriented layout and its enclosed aspect.

 

The level is particularly narrow and does not use the second episode's bestiary. The author was inspired mainly by the visuals with sometimes rooms made of wood as in E2M5 or areas filled with lianas as in E3M3 or the very dark outside area as in E2M7 towards the end.

 

The level is very easy because of the absence of real traps. To be honest, I think it's a shame that a map from the second episode doesn't use crushers or other quirks that would increase the player's anxiety a bit.

 

In any case it's a very good map that I could almost call "the way id did".

 

File 3) Unameit3 by Vincent Lozupone (1997)

 

 

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You can complete this level without God Mode, it is difficult but it can be done have to save it a few times. them. Really for single player only. ***********************GAME DESCRIPTION*********************** I'm not really sure what the theme is, let alone what to name it. It's a fun level and I think most Doomers should enjoy playing it. Just enjoy the effects and scenery.

 

A very gimmicky map that works very partially. Indeed the author wanted to use the IOS spawner to make monsters teleport infinitely on the map. However, he probably didn't know that monsters get stuck on slots other than slot 30.

 

So, this is a relatively standard level, but the progression is particularly twisted with long narrow corridors, variations in height with notably stairs going in all directions.

 

We seem to be walking through a sort of large white fort. It's very ugly and the textures are used in a particularly inconsistent way. However, I can only appreciate all this grandeur and creativity.

 

I had a lot of fun on this map.

 

File 4) Denis Leary Doom, V 1.0 by Les Jones

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I was listening to the CD "No Cure For Cancer" when talking to someone about DOOM, and the idea of making a .WAD came to me. I had played Ash/AoD and the James Brown .WAD's, and found them very funny. But the first time I played Denis Leary DOOM, I almost died laughing (and I died several times while playing, too...). It may not be the best-ever .WAD, but it is likely the funniest.

Created from sound samples taken solely from the CD and edited by me using Windows 3.1 SoundBlaster 16 tools.

I do plan to make a .wad especially for DOOM II (if I can find a .wad tool that works...)

 

Another wad with new sounds that will keep you entertained for 5 minutes before you realise that most of the sounds are partially inaudible in game due to their length. So , just check all of them on slade and throw this wad to the bin.

 

File 5) Doom Detect Ver 1.25 by Mike Audleman (1994)

Quote

Detects WAD as DOOM! or DOOM II type. Added detection of matching TXT & BAT files for move operations. They move with the WAD too! Doom Detect 1.25 also displays number of maps and what levels they replace. This version adds a MOVE option to move wads around based on what type they are. Supports filename wild cards, type 1 or 2 and more! A definate must for someone who owns both Doom and Doom II! A BAT file is included to split DOOM! and DOOMII files and place them in their respective directories!

 

Very old program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No death this time and I didn't want to stop here , but I pressed the wrong button in the very old map Widow Maker and the red key became unreachable. In general, I do idclip if it results from a mapping error. However, blocking access to the red key is a deliberate choice here so I consider that I have lost. Here is a random screen I took of this map.

 

Day 7: Assault On Outpost 13 https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/a-c/asslt13

 

A bit of an interesting idea with this one, it starts off empty, but once you fire a shot, all 300 or so of the enemies will spawn in various locations, and it becomes more about figuring out how to survive rather than figuring out how to, and it's good at that, claustrophobic, but in a good way, the base has plenty of areas you can open and close off, which probably has strategic importance, but the best thing to do is just instigate infighting in one of the few locations there are, and just chainsawing anyone who gets through, because ammo is scarce. Unique in that regard, because Half Life is the only thing I can think of that really compares to the feeling of "oh fuck the demons are coming", but yeah, good map, once you've got the space to move, one of the switches you activate raises one on the outside, and that ends the level, no idea what one it was, but I didn't have to dick around for 20 minutes figuring out which one, unlike some maps, so no points lost for that one. With that said, the enemy count is so low that had I not felt compelled to satiate my bloodlust with the single hell knight that appears in the beginning, if you figured out which particular switch you're meant to activate to get the exit switch to raise, you probably have the easiest map to pacifist run ever made. Might not compare to some better slaughter or survival maps, but for its era, it's pretty good at what it does.

 

 

 

 

 

I just want to chip in and say that I'm really happy to see The Villa of Pain here - a great WAD from back in the day and one of the first custom levels I played for Doom II.

Ruins to the Underworld by Kyle Lomeli S. (Vanilla Doom 2, 1996, played with Prboom 2.5.1.7 complevel 2)

 

A castle-like map with a mixed layout of charming detailing and bland, ugly rooms, but with a overall result of a fun, interesting map. But again, is a pretty mixed bag of good and bad in the same map, both in layout and gameplay. The new sky looks neat.

 

Played with the randomly taken sound patch AOD-TC sounds that replaces all the sounds with the sounds from the movie "Army of Darkness", groovy! Well, kinda groovy, since the sounds kinda drives me mad.

 

 

Month 2 Day 9

 

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

 

File 1) Zap'em and Run Like Hell (DooM 2) by Tom Sanner (1995)

 

 

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A DooM wad that works in all modes, including Co-Op and Death Match. Consists of many large rooms connected by narrow and dark tunnels. A special congrats goes to all players who end up with 100% secrets and items without using the computer map. Pay special attention to any subtle differences in wall textures. This DooM 2 wad was converted from a DooM 1 wad with DooM 2 monsters added for more blasting enjoyment.

 

A very fun, almost totally non-linear level with ammunition as well as monsters and barrels placed all over the place. The same weapons in different places obviously suggest that this level was designed for deatmatch.

 

The items are far more numerous than the monsters so the difficulty is not very high. However the map is extremely difficult to finish without looking at doombuilder because you have to open a lot of randomly hidden walls to find the switches and the blue key to reach the exit. It's quite typical in old wads but the author insisted on this aspect so that a quarter of the game consists in having fun by killing everything that moves and the other three quarters where you wonder where to go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I die in a very cruel trap in the long exploration-oriented gothic map Mycastle

 

 

Day 8: UAC Earth Base 2: Wrong Teleporter https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/s-u/uac_eb2

 

A 2021 WAD, consisting of 4 maps (1, 2, 3, and 31, not sure why he didn't just do 1-4), although the 3rd and 4th are distinct from the others, and not for a particularly good reason.

 

The first two are pretty good, standard half hell half tech base, there does seem to be a big emphasis on avoiding enemies because they don't really give you sufficient weaponry to deal with what's thrown at you, in most maps they just delay it, for instance, spawning a baron when all you have is a shotgun, and then later on you get a plasma rifle so you can finally kill it, whereas here they just never give you it, of course if you want to kill 3 hell knights and 2 barons with a regular shotgun that's up to you, but I'd rather just walk to the end. Also, I'm going to guess that the music was a rendition of some pre-existing music, since it had this weird squealing sound every now and then, which probably sounded better when that particular piece was not a MIDI. Apart from that, not a huge amount to say, the mapper clearly knows what they're doing, but they don't go too far with it, a chaingun is the highest tier weapon you get, which thereby means they can't pull any tricks that are too advanced, but it's good at what it does.

 

 

 

Map 3 is just E1M8, but if you spawned in the area where you die. I'd argue that this doesn't really count as a map, you spawn, you walk one square, you get to 5% health, you complete the level, that's it.

 

Map 4 is okay, he said that he scrapped it (but still put it in so not scrapped really), and it's not that bad, only major problem is that they made the whole thing out of the default texture. It's a lot shorter, got a little bit of platforming, but same modus operandi as the other two, too many enemies relative to your weaponry, you figure out how to work around it. Perhaps I could argue that it's a bit basic for a map that's so new if it was a can of soup it'd still be edible, but it gets the job done, decent design, easy to get around, and no archviles, can't complain about that.

 

 

 

Month 2 Day 10

 

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

 

File 1) AOL Girls Museum by Capone (1998)

 

 

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Come visit the museum of AOL girls that has been taken over by the demons.

 

A legendary map... for many reasons. :)

 

This is the first oriented porn wad I've found in my adventures.

 

AOL Girls Museum consists of a very primitive base with long corridors filled with pictures of very lightly dressed women. The conversion of these photos to the Doom palette is particularly disastrous and the large pixels make these images unattractive.

Also, new sounds are used for the weapons, the 90s oblige. The music is nice though.

 

A rather mediocre map with pixelated women. 5/5

File 2) Demon Plague for Doom 2 by Keith Phipps (1997)

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The only cure for this plague is your trusty shotgun. Your mission is to clean out the demon infestion of a long deserted, slime-encrusted outpost. This level was inspired by the general 'look' of many Quake levels. Great single player, deathmatch and co-op action

 

A fairly large map set in a sewer system located in natural landscapes. The level is really great for its time and very fun, it's a little gem to play from the 1990's.

Aesthetically, it reminds me a lot of Alien Vendetta's "Toxic Touch" with the rather pronounced use of metal textures and green bricks. The level of detail is quite high, such as a broken wall with missing bricks.

 

The progression is quite linear with buttons to activate and keys to collect. The progression is quite intuitive so that you are never really lost.

 

The gameplay is also very enjoyable. The SSG and the chaingun are our main weapons and the mapper has placed a lot of ammo along the way. We often face small groups of enemies without really having to save ammo. The level has a slaughtermap feel to it without really being one.

 

File 3) Pallace Skorn by Callum Guy Oliver aka Phobosdeimos1 (2011)

 

 

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A medium sized Boom-compatible map featuring new beasts and weapons. Play on UV for a non-slaughter based challenge. The misspelling is intentional.

 

A pretty unusual map using various new resources : new monsters , new weapons and of course new textures. You explore a kind of desert with a temple inside. The aesthetics look like a mix of various textures which mostly come from Heretic/Hexen games. To be honest , it looks kinda weird and inconsistent but I liked it. The whole map has a classic and interconnected with very few details , as if it was made for vanilla compatibility.

 

I really dig the silence pistol even if it's purely cosmetic. However , the uzi is basically a chaingunny with upgraded firerate. You will encounter some black uzimen and those baddies are really powerful due to the higher firerate. There are also green imps which fire faster projectiles and have higher health (100hp). Despite , the slightlly tougher bestiary, the map stays pretty easy thanks to easy-to-find generous secrets.

 

Also , I don't understand the last fight with the cyber. You just have to camp to kill him.

Good map otherwise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got trolled by a green armor in a dead pit which looked escapable at first sight in BREAK.WAD

 

 

Day 9: UAC First World Facility https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/uacfwf

 

Maybe I should stop deliberately disappointing myself by playing maps that are older than I am. This one's from 2017, and it's got a very comfortable difficulty level, not too easy, but the only thing he's using to crush my balls is a lowering sector, rather than archvile and revenant spam.

 

First of all, this map has a quite impressive change in architecture as the player progresses, going from "slightly hell but still on earth", to "hell as fuck", and it's pretty impressive, the earlier rooms don't lend themselves to grandiose structures for obvious reasons, but once you get towards these FIREBLU screens and lavafalls at the end, it suits it well, and accordingly, the enemy count changes. This mapper seems to have a proper understanding of how enemies control space, and the parts where you get a bit worried with getting trapped come from the fact that the enemies are actively taking your space to move, rather than just spamming 20 of any old monster who'll inevitably do that just because there's so many of them.

 

Additionally, this map is very clear with where you're meant to go, it's not linear, in a lot of parts you'll have multiple entrances to take, but even though you have to backtrack once or twice, it's perfectly clear where you're supposed to go, which is more than I can say about most maps.

 

I did mention crushers, and this map has four of them to be exact, all put on adjacent walls, and I think this map has made me realise that I don't like them. With things like spawning in a ton of monsters at once (which this map utilises), there is a certain degree of improvisation, trying to figure out how best to respond to a situation you may not have seen coming, though the player will obviously be rewarded if they do, e.g. by instantly running for cover in precaution as soon as they take a key. With crushers however, there is no real improvisation or anything of the sort, because it's completely binary. Either you know the crusher is coming beforehand (which you probably don't unless you've played the map before), and walk out in time, or you don't, and die instantly, it's not like you accidentally have a bad weapon when you activate a closet and lose a bit more health than you would have, or have to use ammo from a high tier weapon because you got overwhelmed. So, yeah, basically, crushers are stupid and I don't like em.

 

But, in conclusion, good map, it's got a proper escalation of difficulty, and change of architecture, good enemy count, good layout, only real criticism I have is one specific room with a crusher, and also the music doesn't loop great, but this map is definitely on the better side of things. Also, that text reads "death awaits", had to get close to tell myself.

 

 

 

 

 

Staph1 by "Dr. Sean" Leonard (Vanilla Doom 2, 2011, played with Delta Touch and chocolate Doom 3.0 using freedoom 2 as IWAD)

 

A small episode of very good DM maps, I've just navigating in them on SP without players, but there's a lot of good layouts here just judging the flow of the map. I definitely played this back in the day on skulltag after i saw MAP03 and MAP06, only that i recall them with more details...

 

Overall, this mapset looks very good a good final map to play on Delta before dis-installing it from my phone...

 

 

Month 2 Day 11

 

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

 

File 1) Intensity by Christ Wright (2009)

 

 

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A cruel affair wherein you will be constantly bombarbed by hideous demon attacks from every accursed angle. You cannot advance in this level without stumbling across nest after nest of nest of vicious hellspawn.

 

A very short and easy map replacing Map 19 of Doom 2. The progression consists to open hidden monsters closets which get wider as long as you approach the exit. The map has no particular theme and the rooms always are non-orthognal but stay very basic because of the lack of height variation or more complex traps.

 

This level was made in 4 hours so it explains its shortness but stays undercooked for a map from 2009.

 

Still fun though.

 

File 2) DudMatch by Maxime Bédard (Alias) Cyberdud14 (1999)

 

 

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A Dm Only level with hidden stuff, cool effects, good weapon placement and Deadly traps that protects the Bigger Weapons

 

Totally unplayable map because the author forgot to tag the "SR" door , causing all celing to lower. The only thing I can say is that has simply never been tested as the bug appears at the very beginning and cannot be avoided.

 

A completely buggy map is worse than a Terry wad imo.

 

 

 

I got quickly and deadly murdered by shotgunners who became ghosts because an arch-vile resurrected them under a door in Quick and Deadly 2

 

 

I'm back with another playthrough after finishing my latest map 'Corporate Nightmare'.

 

I got 'Merlin's Revenge' (https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/m-o/merlin) which - as the text file says - is very mellow. It has a nice aesthetic to it with lots of lava filled hallways with very open lines of sight. Nothing challenging about it, but quite fun to play. I missed a secret because I didn't want to backtrack.

 

Anyway, here is my playthrough: