• Swift Death - franckFRAG (guest mappers JCD & Memfis)
  Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 1.51 MB - (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: Voros
  Swift Death is a Doom 2 megawad, replacing all 32 maps.
  
  The name says everything...
  
  Swift Death has the theme of slaughterfest and arena shooter. But the difference is there is no progression. You start a new game, and in one second, you'll find yourself desperately running around in the small space given, while trying to avoid the multitude of Revenant fireballs coming your way, with a pistol in your hand... all on MAP01. This on "Beginner Challenge", which replaces "Hurt Me Plenty". The author says to take "Toilet Break" first, which is basically "Hurt Me Plenty".
  
  Visually, it's nice, with the new skies and all. Don't expect mindblowing details though. You won't have time to admire the sights!
  
  The demons... demons everywhere. But used uniformly, so there's some chance of surviving. Unless you have a BFG 9000, your chances are pretty slim (but not impossible). Thankfully, such large numbers of demons in one place is bound to start infighting. Unfortunately, finding a spot to wait it all out seems impossible.
  
  This is a well-executed megawad, and if you ever finished The Plutonia Experiment on Ultra-Violence, then you must try this.
  
  
• The Last Sanctuary - cybermind (aka Mistranger)
  Doom 2 - Single Player - MBF compatible - 9.03 MB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: Ribbiks
  The Last Sanctuary is a rather spectacular MBF-compatible map crafted by Russian author cybermind (aka Mistranger) for the 16th First-Try Demo Contest (FDC). For those unfamiliar, the premise of FDC is that participants race through a map that no one has played before and try and complete it as quickly as possible, so it's a contest of navigation and planning as well as combat. For this map there were 15 players in total, myself among them, with some familiar names scoring the fastest times.
  
  Onto the map: first of all, this thing is huge. It boasts ~64k linedefs in its description, and Veinen's winning FDC time was more than 40 minutes, so expect to spend quite a bit longer if you intend to soak up the sights. Without spoiling the sense of "holy cow, there's a whole other area over here?" I had when first playing, I'll say the map consists of three main areas with distinct themes following the much loved tech -> hell aesthetic. Fans of the dreary narrative-implying semi-realism, sprawling jagged caverns, and diverse texture schemes that typify Russian releases won't be disappointed, as this map has plenty of it all.
  
  The monster placement mostly suits the exploratory gameplay, with incidental mobs lining the rooms between the occasional arena-like setup. My greatest familiarity with the map is on skill 2, the setting used during FDC, which is designed to be very friendly for the player who's in a hurry and can't afford to hunt for resources when short stocked. The enemy composition is quite a bit meaner on the higher settings, and might be a smidge harder than the average fan of exploratory maps might be looking for, but that's why the settings exist, right?
  
  To me the most impressive attribute of The Last Sanctuary is the amount of technical wizardry that cybermind managed to pull off in a mostly Boom-compatible fashion. The highlight feature is a grandiose outdoor section that transitions from day to night in real time using some slowly animated textures in conjunction with half a million voodoo dolls, very cool! Another absurdly neat feature is the implementation of a combination lock to open the exit. I've spent like an hour studying that thing in DB2 but still only have a tenuous understanding of how it was done. There are also quite a number of elaborate elevator and stairbuilding triggers, and some quirky conveyor mechanics. In general, the behind-the-scenes functionality seems to be of such complexity that I'd wager bits of it had to have been procedurally generated.
  
  In short: Strap in for a gigantic adventure, ogle the cool technical bits, and don't be afraid to lower the difficulty if needed to blast your way through this beast; it's worth seeing!
  
  
• Abyssal Speedmapping Session 24 - Various
  Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 2.46 MB - (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: Jaws In Space
  For the 24th entry into the Abyssal Speedmapping Session, mappers were given the theme choices of silent teleporters, use a max of four monster types, or use the textures and palette from AD_79's Violence. For the second round of mapping 12 hours after the first, the bonus of avoiding placing lines parallel to the grid was given.
  
  Of the 18 maps submitted, 17 used the Violence textures; the only one that didn't was Joe-Ilya's map 32 because he started and finished making his map before the themes were revealed, which is why his map was put into the secret slot. Only two maps (4 and 31) use the bonus theme of no lines parallel to the grid; I don't read the themes before playing these wads, and I found that this theme was hardly noticeable. The other two themes are the most interesting from a player's standpoint and appear at least ten times each throughout the wad.
  
  ASS starts off slow and sweet with maps 1 - 4 being quite easy to blast through, and they all look pretty decent for speedmaps, Jimmy's map 4 being the standout visually. Map 5 is the first bad map of the wad; a combination of a huge lost soul swarm and damaging floors make the map annoying to play. In addition the map is quite bland visually, and seeing that it was only made in 45 minutes I don't find the lack of quality surprising. Maps 6 and 7 by Jimmy and TMD are two of the best maps in ASS 24; both maps look great and are very intense to play. Map 8 by Breezeep is another pretty good one; there are lots of nice boom effects used in this map, but the monster placement is a bit of an acquired taste, lots of Caco and Revenant hordes to be found here.
  
  Map 9 is the worst map in the project; the author drew a 256x256 square and then copy/pasted it around the editor until he had a maze. Map 10 is where difficulty starts to ramp up in these maps; map 10 itself is an open arena style map with a few side corridors. Map 11 is another great map from rf`; it's the biggest map in the wad and is nicely detailed throughout. I'm impressed with what rf` was able to make in such a short time. Maps 12 - 14 are the end of the wad toughies, map 13 being a true BFG spam slaughter map. Of these three maps, Obsidian's map 14 is the best both visually and in the gameplay department.
  
  ASS 24 has three bonus maps in slots 31-33. Map 31 is Return to Castle Funhouse by TMD; the gimmick here is a moving floor that circles the player around the map. This map is extremely hard. Map 32 is Joe-Ilya's map; aside from not following the rules of ASS at all, this map is OK. Map 33 is a visually updated version of map 3 that was done long after ASS had taken place.
  
  
• Rezulux's First Map - Rezulux
  Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 15.78 KB - (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: gaspe
  This is a really short single map, and it's the first one by the author. Visually is okay; it's the usual techbase stuff, though some of the texture choices seem amateurish. The gameplay was rather fun; there will be only low-tier monsters to kill, but the section with the red key was interesting and there were also a few nice traps in there. Overall the map is all right, only thing is that it could have been expanded a bit.
  
  
• Nevasca - Deadwing
  Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 23.15 MB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: antares031
  Nevasca is a ZDoom compatible single player wad, developed by Deadwing. It presents eight regular levels and one secret level to play, with a lot of custom elements such as weapons, monsters, background music in MP3 format, items, and powerups. Every level is played with ZDoom UV-Pistol Start during the review.
  
  As I've just mentioned, this wad has lots of custom features to offer. Now you have a Freezegun, Railgun, and Biorifle from NeoDoom, instead of the BFG9000. And you have some tougher monsters than the original counterparts, such as dark revenants called Death Incarnation and insane zombie specialists who launch deadly rockets at you. The distinctive change in the replaced monsters is the speed of their projectiles. Even the new dark imp now shoots a speedy fireball, which is almost as fast as a plasma shot of arachnotrons. Not to mention that the new, irritating lost soul from Doom Alpha can not only charge towards you, but also shoots a plasma shot to distract you even more. To compensate your disadvantages, health items and bonus items now offer more health than before, and there are new powerup items you can get, such as regeneration, a power orb that boosts the damage of your weapons, etc.
  
  Now it's time to talk about the level design. Like the author mentioned from the text file, every level features a non-linear layout, which is always nice to play. The architectural detail isn't superb, but it's good enough to express the concept and environment of frozen, tundra-like planet with ruins and tech-bases. And this is not a slaughter wad. Even the level with the highest monster quantity offers less than 150 monsters on UV. The difficulty of Nevasca is set by stronger monsters with faster projectiles and tricky moments to deal with. Some levels are easy to beat for intermediate players, but some levels are a little bit hard to go through with pistol start unless you've spent some lives to understand the layout.
  
  Nevasca isn't a megawad, nor an outstanding masterpiece. But it is a modest, interesting, enjoyable single player wad with well-designed non-linear levels. Of course, if you're fan of the original vanilla Doom levels, you may have a chance of not liking this one with lots of custom elements. But to me, I spent slightly less than two hours to beat this one, and it was totally worth it. I usually don't play many ZDoom compatible wads with custom elements since I'm a huge fan of limit removing wads. But I will give an exception to Nevasca.
  
  
• Tramplak - KJS
  Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 212.06 KB - (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: gaspe
  Tramplak is a single map, and the first made by this author to be precise. The setting is a "techbase" building which has also some bits of hell corruption. Visually it is quite good though there's nothing remarkable, but the lighting was really nice. Gameplay isn't really hard but the ammo is really tight, and there won't be the usual stock of only zombies and imps. In particular the room with the chainsaw and the plasmagun that traps the player was quite nice. That said, it's really good for being a first, and there are some interesting things in this level.
  
  
• Village DeathMatch - IMMODIUZ
  Doom 2 - Deathmatch - ZDoom Compatible - 82.78 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: Voros
  Village Deathmatch is a simple DM map for ZDoom-related sourceports, but poorly executed.
  
  The lack of environment variations makes the whole map look like the suburbs than a village. It also has tight corners and claustrophobic paths between the houses, not very ideal for a Deathmatch map. All the houses are the same, non-interactive and placed uniformly, with a few not in order. There's also a well that contains the BFG 9000, which I think is an OK hiding spot. Suburban Deathmatch might have been a better name.
  
  But the main problem: lack of weapons. There's one of each kind on the map except for the chainsaw and shotgun, the latter having around three. And the ammo for these weapons is pretty scarce, but the plasma rifle and rocket launcher ammo seem only possible to obtain by rocket jumping. There isn't even a single health-related pickup!
  
  It probably doesn't sound fun to play Deathmatch with your friends (unless you like "no health packs"), but I forgot to mention: this is a first map. Frankly, it may be unbalanced, but it shows the author has potential in map making. If the author chose to put in some more guns and reduce the houses, it would get my stamp of approval for any Deathmatch.
  
  
• Debrecen - HUNdebLeonidasX
  Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 2.41 MB - (img)
  Reviewed by: Hornbuckle
  Debrecan is a single level with new textures and decorative sprites. Altogether, this is a very good level. It's more or less a slaughtermap, engaging a few large mobs whenever you explore a new part of the city. The whole level is modeled after the author's hometown. All the weapons you'll pick up are from zombies, except a rocket launcher I didn't even notice I picked up until a showdown with an archvile. Most of the enemies you'll encounter will be grunts, zombies and imps. In the big street segment, you'll find some heavy resistance.
  
  The textures really make it feel like a Doom level, be that good or bad. I like it, but others may be spoiled by some of the recent HD textures to really appreciate the old-school feel it gives off. One complaint is that, at least in the latest developmental build for GZDoom, there is an invisible hell knight. Before I noticed it, I was hugging it while it was scratching me up. Another, although very minor, is that there is a stimpack next to a tree that is unattainable. I was at 7 health and scouring the map for packs, and this one just teased me mercilessly. Very fun, a bit challenging (maybe I just suck), and looks very good. The architecture was a joy to explore, and it was fun finding monster closets. I definitely recommend it.
  
  
• Trick Or Treat? - Federico Milesi (aka MrFroz)
  Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom - 1.47 MB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: yukib1t
  Trick Or Treat? is a single-player level for ZDoom (I used GZDoom) by Federico Milesi, aka MrFroz. The level has apparently gone through some revisions since it was first released, with this version specifically adding some ZDoom features.
  
  The level is split into two main sections, which can be played in any order. A third section acts as an exit chamber, as well as containing a nice health fountain. I played through on UV and found it to be be pretty easy, mostly due to the low number of enemies. In fact, nearly all the damage I received was from some careless treks through hellslime or nukage. But there also isn't much health or ammo, and I found myself with nothing but a few rockets more than a few times. This did help to balance things out in the end, though I still feel as though the level needs more challenge.
  
  Despite being for ZDoom, the level looks and feels much more like a level from the mid-90s. Not that this is a bad thing, but it is the weakest aspect of this level. Most rooms are pretty bland, with only a few nice decorative touches here and there. Light levels are also simple, but effective, though the differences between bright and dark sectors can be a bit jarring in places. As far as texturing goes, there really isn't much variation, with the bulk of the level sticking to the brown city/hell textures.
  
  Overall not a bad level, but doesn't feel too memorable either.
  
  
• Same Linedef Challenge Example - Royal_Sir
  Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 459.7 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: BloodyAcid
  Let me preface this review with some context - these maps are Royal_Sir's second and third completed maps in the entirety of his or her mapping career. The two maps bundled in "Same Linedef Challenge Example" (or SLCE for short) are constrained by several gimmicks. In addition to the already well-practiced 1024x1024 size and the symmetrical layout, each map must look and feel different from each other despite using the same layout. While the maps in and of themselves accomplish this challenge, that is unfortunately the best, or perhaps the only, positive feedback I can sing about this project.
  
  Starting with the non-gameplay related quips, there are about 620 loading warnings, specifically missing patches when loading textures. I don't think that this affects the maps at all, aside from an overhanging HOM sky texture in the first map. Aside from the slight patch mishap, there is also a custom palette provided in addition to all the textures needed to play the map standalone, and some nice custom tunes.
  
  The maps are undeniably both cramped and ugly. Both maps feel terribly claustrophobic, and not in the sense of the acclaimed megawad of the same name. Many 1024 maps attempt to creatively sculpt an atmosphere that emulates areas larger than what they actually are, but SLCE boasts a "what you see is what you get" feel; you're stopped short at literally every corner due to the countless little bumps and protrusions that exist solely to hinder player movement. If you're not all banged up and bruised from faceplanting into every other wall to fight some demons, you'll find that the first map is extremely rough with ammunition. Unless you've struck a deal with the damage roll and bullet spread gods, you'll need to fist your way through at least a few mid-tiered monsters (bonus brownie points for each one that the archvile revives). On the offhand, the second map is much easier and lax with supplies. There's nothing appalling about the gameplay designs that stick out - and the combat is decent, relative to the cramped maneuverability conditions you get to fight in.
  
  In the visual design department, the map suffers from multiple cases of doors opening into the void, paper-thin walls and stairs, misaligned textures, the occasional HOM, and corners sharp enough to slice regular passers-by. The themes are consistent, but the sloppy and inconsistent texturing ruin the sense of atmosphere. Any sense of architecture also crumbles under the tiny map boundaries and poor texturing.
  
  All in all, these are decent first maps, but there's nothing worth playing through, even out of sole curiosity; move on and look forward to something else.
  
  
• Outpost HW - Topi Hattukangas
  Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Limit Removing - 144.82 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: Not Jabba
  A while back I reviewed this mapper's first wad, Big Circular Room With Cybie, and my verdict was that they had created an almost interesting level from a crap concept, so I was interested to play a real level by the same author. I'm not sure Outpost HW really delivers, although it does have some interesting moments.
  
  Hattukangas continues to build a mapping style around tricks, traps, and forcing the player to think and observe, but many of those tricks just feel unreasonable. In the first half of the map, I had a monster closet open up literally right next to me while walking along a narrow catwalk and was expected to drop down into a tiny pit with two Pinkies to pick up a rad suit. On the other hand, there were also several situations where I was able to eliminate monsters without fighting them directly (via barrels or crushers) or even sneak up on them from behind -- not that it really felt necessary to do any of this, as there was plenty of ammo and most of the enemies in question were Imps and zombies, but at least it was interesting. The last few rooms of the level really drive the concept home by pitting you against more enemies than you're likely to be able to beat with your ammo (though you do have the chainsaw) and giving you opportunities to use barrels and infighting to your advantage. There were one or two bugs (I remember an Imp that was stuck until I shot it), but most of the frustration in this level comes from weird progression. A Soulsphere secret dropped me down into a previous part of the level and forced me to re-traverse a bunch of the map for no apparent reason. At the end, my way back to the rest of the map was completely cut off, and I was faced with four Barons that I really didn't feel like fighting with only a few rockets, so I ran past them to the exit switch.
  
  The author seems to have taken great care with secrets in this level -- there were many, but I only figured out how to get a quarter of them, and they may be the sort of secrets that rely more on timing and hidden switches than the more traditional visual cues. The level's big megasecret revolves around an enormous and presumably extremely annoying single-textured maze, and at the end of it you find...the author's entire first level, Big Circular Room With Cybie. Of course, if you want to play that level, you can just download it separately. Needless to say, I didn't feel compelled to try to go for 100%. This mapper does show some promise, but I can't condone this kind of trollish nonsense. Still, if you enjoy levels where the combat situations themselves are sort of like puzzles and half of the content is secret (in some ways, Hattukangas almost reminds me of yakfak), then you might like Outpost HW.
  
  

Shadowmaker - Nicholas "Tiger" Gautier
Doom 2 - Invasion - Zandronum - 15.5 MB -
Reviewed by: Decay
Tiger is known for making maps that push the limits of computers.

Shadowmaker is an invasion map for Zandronum. It requires Skulltag_content for some weaponry.

It apparently REQUIRES the use of OpenGL. I'm not convinced of that, but since there is glaring text telling me otherwise, OGL I go. I shouldn't have to screw around with my lighting/brightness settings to play a map. The outside is pitch black, how in the world are you supposed to see your enemies?

Gameplay wise, it's a fairly typical invasion map. New areas open up after waves, and Tiger implemented a music changer after certain waves. The game play is not bad at all, in invasion principle. The waves get progressively harder, culminating in a "boss" fight at the end. It seemed fairly balanced to me, as someone who is not a PvE player, so maybe some others would find it a little easy. The tower at the top of the hill and using other corners to your advantage make the map not too difficult. Good spread out of weapons too, and use of Skulltag items.

The map's obvious strong point is its looks. It is a beautiful map, if a little busy, but does well in creating an atmosphere outside and appropriate structuring on the inside of the castle, though it seems attention to lighting went a little by the wayside inside.

The single-most, biggest problem with this map is that it requires, absolutely requires, a strong PC to run smoothly. The map looks really well-crafted, very pretty and I can tell a lot of effort was put in, but it is hard to appreciate the map you're playing when you are moving around at under 10 FPS trying to kill enemies and trying not to die yourself. Other problems include cliffs you can jump up and suddenly die in water, teleports that lead you to instant death pits (why in the world would you do that), and perhaps a little bit of over detail inside the main building lead to catch-ons and double-looks to make sure you got everything.

Overall, if you have a strong PC, I recommend giving the map a play. If not, pass for now, otherwise you'll find yourself struggling to play.

Mindphuq - HdRambo, Eko, Vegence
Doom 2 - Deathmatch - GZDoom - 215.53 KB -
Reviewed by: Decay
"This wad is utter garbage."

That's all that is really worth saying about this wad, but I need to expand on this for reasons of reviewer integrity.

Mindphuq.wad is a Boom format...DM wad... for all the Boom DM players... right. It was made by HDrambo, someone literally straight from the fabled Dwango series, who coincidentally hosts a Dwango5 server to boot.

Anyway, in the pictures for the wad you'll see some of the things I'm describing. A "simplistic" battle arena that also supports SP and Coop play, this wad is straight out of 1994 in terms of being unconventional, but also in terms of being straight up ugly to look at. Featured in this wonderful "DM" wad is a spawn in an inescapable cage full of megaspheres and a damaging floor, many death pits, items strewn everywhere, similar to the dragon balls spreading out after use, dark cave mazes filled with hanging corpses (lit up for your benefit in the pic), a pitch black room full of crushers, a dark damaging liquid area full of inescapable pits and exploding barrels, and a... boxing ring... way the heck off to the side far from EVERYTHING. Given it's evidently a meme wad, there is no point in discussing item placement/technicalities of the map.

I have no idea how anybody is supposed to have any sort of DM in this map. Or any semblance of fun at all. Maybe a few laughs at the author's expense but that's about it. Mindphuq isn't really a mind fuck, it's just a stupid and terrible wad that should've been left behind in 1994. It isn't funny, it isn't trippy, and it isn't good.

Twilight of the Gods - Ed C.
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 459.7 KB -
Reviewed by: Csonicgo
This map, "Twilight of the Gods", was to be included in Doomworld Mega Project 2013, but an older version made it into the map pack instead. This is the "newer" edition of the map. And while this map is quite large in scale, it's also large in boring.

I'm not trying to be a bitch here, I'm saying that this map is everything I cannot stand about a ZDoom map. The whole thing is made of slopes. ZDoom slope physics are from another planet, so it's not only a pain to get around, the slopes also trap monsters in the floor. That doesn't look good; why do people keep doing this? Why?

I assume the goal of this map was to hit certain switches certain ways, but since there was nothing happening when I tried just that, multiple times, I conclude that the map is broken. It doesn't help that I can hit those same said switches multiple times in a row, screwing up the scripting so badly that ZDoom plummets to single-digit frame rates. I couldn't see past my nose in the darkness in GZDoom, and the HUD messages that appeared when I flipped switches sounded like the mapper was trying so hard to be edgy. If the mapper happens to read this, please do not make a slope-heavy map again. In software mode, it just makes your map even worse!

The main attractions in this map were the grey revenant giants, which kill you instantly if one of their fireballs makes contact. Slap them with the BFG and move on. There were around 10-15 cyberdemons running around when I decided to give up on the map, because I was going in circles at that point, and the Mock 2 levels of demon projectiles were slowing the game down to an unplayable mess. I'm sure if I had a stronger computer, I could be arsed to continue, but there is zero fun here in the first place. it's just running around effortlessly flipping switches.

If I wanted that, I could play Eternal Doom.

A strong Pass on this one. I know the mapper can do much better than this.

CCCP 20 - m0wgli
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 9.59 MB -
Reviewed by: JudgeDeadd
According to the text file, this map pits you against hordes of "homo sovieticus" created by the far-future Soviet Union. The Soviet theme is mostly evident in one or two pieces of monumental architecture, as well as run-down buildings, perhaps meant to evoke the squalid living conditions in USSR.

Unfortunately some parts of the level don't play very well due to misguided attempts at realism. It may be cute to design a kitchen and a communal bedroom in Doom, but gameplay-wise there's not much fun about running from one flat tiny room to another, killing dinky hitscanners one by one.

The difficulty curve isn't the best. Initially your biggest problem will be surviving the copious amounts of distant hitscanners with very little health to be found. This does add some genuine challenge. Once you clear out the initial areas, however, the level is more or less a breeze, with traps that have no teeth, cramped corridors where you're never exposed, and enough ammo to never worry about the next fight. The only more demanding battle is the final crossfire, but there's nothing stopping you from cheesing it by simply retreating into the building behind you.

Worth mentioning is that the author insists on having damaging sectors surrounding several of the light sources, which I found both annoying and stupid (is the Doomguy really so clumsy that he can't stand next to a candle or lamp without burning himself?).

If there's anything that the level has going for it, it's that the music is fairly addictive, and the visual design is interesting; among the more memorable bits (captured in my screenies) is the lighted stairwell near the blue key door, as well as a cozy-looking office near the end. Though it might have been better if the author had built up on the story hinted in the text file, and emphasized the Soviet theme with some more recognizably Communist architecture, propaganda posters, etc.

The map uses ZDoom features, though the author didn't specify port compatibility in the text file; regular ZDoom 2.8.1 seems to work okay (although there are ugly HOMs in one place, so maybe it'd work better in GZDoom).

Castle Argh! - El Tupi
Doom 2 - Deathmatch - GZDoom - 91.86 KB -
Reviewed by: Decay
The First of El Tupi's DM maps.

I went backwards, starting with his most recent, and they definitely got progressively better because Castle Argh is one of the absolute biggest travesties of a DM map I've ever seen. There really isn't much worth saying here, the screenshot speaks for itself. It's a lame maze (terrible for DM), with items strewn everywhere for absolutely no reason, and very little actual feasibility in DM game play. It is visually ugly to behold, and I can only say "thank God the author improved." This is an example of a "myfirstDMlevel" wad at its finest.

Precious Snowflake - El Tupi
Doom 2 - Deathmatch - GZDoom - 53.64 KB -
Reviewed by: Decay
El Tupi's 2nd DM map.

Featuring more 3D floors and double-decker style play, this map is a little more progressive but not as good as map 3, for reasons of a boring symmetrical layout and the worst spawn gimmick I've seen in a while. Players spawn in a small alcove hallway, get a weapon, green armour, and ammo, and then fall down a small tube into the main arena. Kinda sucks if you die and don't get the extra goodies, and falling in a small tube away from the central megasphere really puts you at a huge disadvantage against a powered up player with a rocket launcher, SSG, and 200/200. Also, if played in LMS, a player can easily just stay in the spawntube to win. Alternatively, get a few frags up, respawn in the tube, and just wait the rest of the match out. There are also medikits strewn EVERYWHERE, way too much health, we are playing DEATHmatch, not LIFEmatch. The visage is plain and boring, not much to be said in the looks department. Not really worth a play once, but it's nice to see someone trying progressive layouts.

No One Lives Forever! - El Tupi
Doom 2 - Deathmatch - GZDoom - 39.68 KB -
Reviewed by: Decay
OK so El Tupi made a series of DM wads. In each one, what we have here is a break from conventional flat DM maps and an attempt at something different, focusing on verticality (freelook highly recommended/required), looks like item control with a central soulsphere, and jumping. GZDoom (or OpenGL in Zandronum) features include dynamic lights, and there are some 3d floors.

3rd Map, "No one lives forever"

A DM map for... GZDoom DM... right. Well, it works fine in Zandronum, where players actually are and DM might actually happen.

In any DM map these days, it's bad practice to have spawns with no weapons immediately on them. Dominating pistol spawns is easy, and I think people may have too many flashbacks of thrashings on Dwango5 map07 or being spawn-fragged to oblivion in Toxic Refineries in various CTF compilations. If you only play this map with the intended 2-4 players it might actually be okay. The single SSG is placed in a central location.

The major flaws in this map come from the item/thing placement though. There are way too many armours for example, and if you don't have a SSG and are trying to pick away at someone with a CG or SG only and they have a SSG + soulsphere + GA, you aren't going to have a good time.

Visually, it's very plain and boring, which isn't great if you're unfamiliar with the map because you won't know exactly where you're going for a while. No landmarks really stick out, but then again the center area is a big ole open pit so finding opponents shouldn't be tough.

Overall I feel like this a map that has potential to be a decent romp in one of Doomkid's various 1990s wads compilations. Cleaning up and changing some item placement (more rocket play for example, and more SSG game play) would probably help out quite a bit.

Area 02 Temple Study & Excavations V0.8 - Boss Claw
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 255.93 KB -
Reviewed by: Csonicgo
Area 02 is a very simple map. It looks "okay", even though lighting is rather bland, textures aren't aligned properly, and there isn't much texture variety. It's supposed to be played with Brutal Doom, but since I'm not playing that, I played it with Lithium instead. I think that's fair!

Although the ammo is rather tight, there's not much to write home about here. There was supposedly a cacodemon theme, but I found the mancubus encounters to be more exciting.

The map ends very abruptly, too. I hit a switch thinking it would lower something and only found it to be the exit. There was so much of the map that wasn't accessible - for some reason? I can't figure out why. Perhaps the mapper just gave up on that area and left it in. I don't know.

If you have a few minutes, check it out. Don't expect much challenge, though.

Controlled System - Memfis
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 67.93 KB -
Reviewed by: Csonicgo
Memfis comes through with a small but fun E1-style map, with lots of nukage and not much difficulty. That's not a bad thing - it's rather fun to turn the brain off and just shoot the brains out of some demons.

My only complaints here are the use of cacodemons. There's a hidden one somewhere that will bother you if you're after 100% kills. My next playthrough uncovered his cowardly tomato self, and his hiding place looks like a secret area, but it's just a trap.

There is also a chainsaw that I never thought to use, which would probably have helped in the ammo department - ammo is very tight in this map! Just don't miss too many times.

Also, you can skip a major fight by straferunning to a small ledge from the last key platform, which I don't think I was supposed to be able to do. So naturally, I took that route. Sorry!

If you have played Doom all your life this won't be much of a challenge for you, but it's a fun few minutes.

Kentucky Fried Wad - Memfis
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 54.35 KB -
Reviewed by: joepallai
This was my first time playing a map by Memphis, so I wasn't sure what to expect going into this. What I found was a well-made and clever map with expertly staged combat and a near ruthless parceling of health on Hurt Me Plenty. Ammo balance is tight initially but becomes plentiful by the second half of the level. The music selected is fun and works quite well (even after dying as many times as I did, it still worked). Atmosphere is excellent and the map has that 90's Doom feeling to it, especially with the new textures. The only serious gripe I have is the lift controls in the SE section of the map aren't particularly obvious, especially for the lift leading to the red door section; eventually I figured it out, but it seems odd to not have a separate switch nearby to allow entry into that area.

So is it fun? Yeah it is. It's a map that has that in-your-face simplicity that mocks you with each failure, driving you on until you beat it. There's a lot that can be learned from this map, especially monster staging; and I'm now interested in what else Memphis has made. Highly recommended if you want a challenging vanilla map.

DOOM CHRISTMAS - For Doom II & Final Doom - Various (see credits)
Doom 2 - N/A - Vanilla - 3.55 MB -
Reviewed by: Csonicgo
It's the middle of May, and I'm back from my slumber (if you could call it that), so why not something to fool me into thinking the heat I feel is only because it's cold outside?

This must be how Australia feels every Christmas.

Anyway, this is a compilation of all the Christmas Doom PWADs that have existed since we were able to throw our own/someone else's assets in Doom, because nothing says Christmas like... wh... what is this?

There are 32 Christmas midis, various sounds from Christmas TV specials, and sprites like a Cacodemon Christmas bauble, demons with Santa hats, imps with Santa hats, Santa himself (?!) and... Keen, who has been replaced by a Doomguy wearing boxer shorts. Weird.

Textures have been modified to be more wintry or "Christmassy" whenever possible, although this is inconsistent in terms of color sometimes. Most Wolfen-bricks are decorated, but the swastika textures aren't, presumably because there is so much Fascism radiating from the Nazi Party symbol that the snow just melts right off.

The Novelty wears thin really quickly, and it's good for a laugh or two in a Deathmatch I suppose, but it only works on "Offical" IWADs the best, so don't expect Christmas Brutal Doom or Santas vs Zombies. Besides, hearing "GO FUCK YOURSELF" while carols are playing probably gets you on Santa's naughty list.

Also, go check out the WolfSS replacement. I dare you.

The /newstuff Chronicles is a usually-weekly roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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3 Heures d'agonie 3 - 3ha3 Team
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 3.24 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
I once took a French film class, and the first thing we watched was the gut-wrenching trial of Joan of Arc, portrayed without dialogue or color. The director had to rely on a more limited tool set than what we are used to now, but they came up with something that still has power even today. In Trois Heures d'Agonie, the mappers have limited themselves to three hours (ish) of build time for each map. The director of Joan of Arc had no choice, but these people purposely crippled their construction materials just for fun?

Well this is the third installment from the French speedmappers, and in many of the levels I found myself thinking "this must have taken more than three hours." A few of the levels are rather bare, but none looked horrible. Usually lighting contrast was most neglected in terms of visuals. Most of the maps look good with some being exceptionally shiny. The MIDIs were pretty top notch throughout, including selections from Doom 1 and Heretic that I enjoyed a lot.

So she has a sexy voice and stylish clothing, but what about her personality? 3ha3 is a really fun megawad to play. It's fast, it's easy going, most of the maps are not very long and aim for quality rather than quantity. The mappers here have done an excellent job of utilizing those three hours to pack some punch into their small maps. Creative uses of moving sectors and previously visited areas lent an unexpected and lively atmosphere to the gameplay. Instead of turning each corner to find yet another intricately detailed room that's really just a square with ten thousand border sectors, you will instead fight through interesting configurations that change in just the right way as you play. All this is done with a subtle touch in relatively short maps, so nothing feels beaten to death other than the demons under your feet.

Most of the maps are very short, but a few are longer, especially at the end. The last couple maps bump the monster counts up into the hundreds, and the final map is actually sort of a composite of three mappers' efforts and follows a more slaughter-oriented style. It's fitting as a final map however, even if it strays a bit from the rest of the WAD's style. The progression of the maps is also pretty darn good considering the lack of a binding theme. Overall, this excellent megawad won't drag you down with extensive layouts - instead it's like a buffet of delicious appetizers that have totally filled you up by the time you've eaten 32 of them. And what's more, it features a mod to the SS Nazi which makes it almost fit in as a normal Doom monster! Just what I've always dreamed of...

Back to Phobos - Serge Haikin
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 54.36 KB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
A short, small map for E1M1. It's fun and has a very classic feel to it, although there's randomly a baron (easy to skip) and some cacodemons that are a chore to fight with just the shotgun. Detailing is simple but effective. The lighting was pretty good although a bit dark in some places. Could be a nice beginning to an episode, but doesn't stand for much on its own. The description is cute though. "You find a time machine and throw the switch." Sounds like something Doomguy WOULD do...

Snot Station - Xyzzy01
Chex Quest - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 30.4 KB -
Reviewed by: antares031
Snot Station is a single level, created by Xyzzy01. This level was designed for Chex Quest 3, which requires ZDoom to run. For your information, this level doesn't have difficulty settings.

The level itself is pretty simple and straightforward, with minimal details around this Chex Quest techbase. Ammo and health supplies are just enough to keep you alive, and monster placements are pretty challenging for the casual players. If you don't manage your ammo wisely, you'll end up with your bootspoon, while a bunch of cycloptis are trying to cover you with green slime. This level even has a boss monster, Lord Snotfolus, so this level doesn't play around. Keep in mind that there are some evil Chex Warriors, which don't technically count as monsters. So stay alert, even if the monster count shows 100% kills. Despite some difficult moments, this level can be beaten within five minutes on UV-Max, once you know how to beat it.

Snot Station is a simple, but challenging level, thanks to its ammo and monster placements. If you're not familiar with the original Chex Quest, I suggest you to play the original game before you try this level. If you enjoyed Chex Quest, then go ahead and play this level. If you beat this level first try with no foreknowledge, I guarantee that you're pretty good at Chex Quest.

Short Dance at Iris Base - Carlos Lastra
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 50.09 KB -
Reviewed by: obake
This is a single ZDoom map set in a base. Details are nice, and there are no notable technical errors.

Like its name, this map is a dance, and a deceptively difficult one. You start only battling zombiemen, but the damage they inflict on you can easily turn into more stress during later encounters, as health pickups are few.

Saving up on shells is a must, as later encounters will pit you against multiple sergeants and even chaingunners. The map weaves in a loop, so simply running away from them is risky. It also does not use many ZDoom-specific features, but since it looks and plays nice, I do not mind.

It is a good map, though it can be frustrating due to the amount of hitscanners. Once you obtain the chaingun, it becomes less strenuous, and you can enjoy the work put into the detailing. Plus, it is short, with less than 100 monsters even on UV. Give it a whirl.

Torn - Robert Kruger (MarketAnarchy)
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 5.51 MB -
Reviewed by: JudgeDeadd
A humongous map with over 4000 enemies. Sounds difficult? Well, it really isn't that hard. There's a lot of helpful nooks to hide in, as well as heaps of health and ammo, allowing you to pick off the monsters one by one from a safe spot. In the end, probably the most difficult challenge of this map is mustering enough patience to whittle down the entire population over the course of a few hours. Personally, I only had enough stamina to get through the first thousand. About this point I got trapped on south-eastern stairs (a glitch?), unable to get past the green torches; it was as good an excuse as any to stop playing.

The map is very good technically, with great visuals (including shadows baked into wall textures) and a nice, unobtrusive song — an important thing in such a long map. If you're the grinding sort of gamer, who won't mind spending hours getting kills one at a time, you can have a good time with this map.

MAYhem 2016 (v1.2) - A buncha mother schmuckers
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 19.31 MB -
Reviewed by: Catpho
It's Quack time baby!

The community staple "MAYhem" series returns for its fifth installment. As per usual, it sports some restrictions: either having a maximum thing count of 160 in a map, or having a monster count of the map number multiplied by 10. The latter theme is not really pronounced, as the project never reached 32 levels, resulting in maps getting different slots than their intended ones (MAP31 still kept its original limitation however: monster count was the map slot multiplied by 100). Another creative factor was the resource pack given. It's all Quac--I mean Quake themed, very beautiful to boot: textures from Quake I, a Quake I total conversion called "Malice", and the Quake II inspired "The Darkening E2".

The 21 maps in Mayhem 1600 are a diverse lot. Not like community projects were known for consistency mind you, but it's especially apparent here. You could be in a Quake temple in one map, but then find yourself in a colorful train space station a few maps later. Gameplay concepts follow suit: slaughtermaps, gimmick levels, adventure romps, and run 'n' gun action all find their place here. That means, for some, it brings a whole lot of different locales to discover, but for others, a bunch of illogical transitions without any sense of a big adventure or some sort of plot.

That being said, the set manages to maintain beautiful visuals throughout. And if we are talking about a quality Doom experience, "MAYhem 1600" has a lot of nice individual bits, mostly thanks to experienced mappers like Alfonzo, Tarnsman, Breezeep, an_mutt, and Jimmy. There's the polished and fast MAP11 "Quake Plumbing Inc", the alluring, evocative and majestic expedition through MAP14 "Ancient Den", or just the good ol' Doom guilty pleasure of MAP04 "Affinity". There are also some weirder trips through the awesome gimmick in MAP20 "The Performance", the usual eccentricity of Ribbiks's obsession with colorful death boxes filled with monsters in MAP18 "Maria", the devilishly cruel MAP08 "Lodi Eno Rebmun Si Ocin", and slaughter pieces like the nightmarish MAP09 "Blood from a Stone" and the epic MAP31 "In Death, Is Life". The misfires weren't too bad, as they had one redeeming character one way or another (expect MAP07, you can skip that). There's something for everyone, and truly shows that variety is the spice of life...

... but to quote forum member "Demon of The Well", it could also be "the secret sauce of death"! The difficulty level here is astounding, and the aforementioned lack of consistency also created nonexistent difficulty progression and a myriad of ways to kill the player. Death here comes in many faces: maybe you didn't control a horde correctly in a slaughtermap, maybe a weird challenge got you, or maybe just 10 incredibly well selected and well placed monsters doing great teamwork (MAP01!). UV is a very grueling journey in this set, so i advise you to chose HMP or lower if you are just fresh off IWAD UV!

Overall, MAYhem 1600 is a solid community project thanks to a pool of talented authors on board and the beautiful variety. Quite bone-breaking, but also very satisfying to play!

Distribution Center - Rayziik
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 3.91 MB -
Reviewed by: Scotty
A sprawling single map for ZDoom that includes a variety of custom monsters. Aesthetically this is reminiscent of Knee Deep in the Dead, albeit highly modernised and rife with tastefully implemented ZDoom features. Combat is polished, and the map has a smooth difficulty curve, with fights gradually escalating in difficulty and size as you progress.

This level won the Vinesauce mapping contest, which should give some indication of the quality you can expect here.

Fast and for Doom - JC Dorne
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 283.68 KB -
Reviewed by: Obsidian
Is it just me or are maps made by the French Doom community oddly brutal? I think of Swift Death, Tangerine Nightmare, 3 Heures d'agonie...and then my brain segues seamlessly into blunt force trauma to the head (in a nice way, of course). There's just something inherently vicious about the gameplay in maps from the French community, throwing you into the action like a dog treat into a Pomeranian's eager jaws. That isn't to say it isn't fun though, oh no: there are few feelings more satisfying than looking back over the twisted cadavers in your wake and resisting the urge to do the Conan monologue. Today we're looking at one such example.

"Fast and for Doom" is a collection of five speedmaps brought to us by a Mr JC Dorne, he of Tangerine Nightmare and Survive in Hell fame. I'll be going through each map on pistol start and reviewing them as they stand due to the small quantity, but I doubt that victory will be handed to me on a SHAWN2 platter. So let us begin.

MAP01: Technological
I wasn't kidding when I said you get tossed right into the thick of things! It's a small affair at 34 monsters, but the use of space and monster arrangement makes you work to kill those 34 monsters. It's a style of mapping I dig: it's economical with the resources a mapper has to hand and, as most limitations do, it breeds creativity. It's a theme that you'll see repeat throughout the wad.

As for the map itself, it's a compact affair that looks pretty stylish. It's obvious that the gameplay is the main focus, but I appreciate the time put in to make the map look pleasing. All in all, a good opener.

MAP02: Open Space
As the name suggests, this one's got a bit more room to move and dodge and the monster count is bumped up to compensate. There's a bit more of a focus on mobs with MAP02, usually as punishment for accessing stronger weapons: thankfully, the map title stretches here too as more of the map is cut away as you progress to allow egress and dodging. It even stretches to the solitary secret: yes, the extra ammo is useful, but the real prize is the utility that the newly revealed space offers you when fighting. It's a nice approach to map design, both on a gameplay and aesthetic level.

For want of criticism, I'd say that the gameplay lessens in intensity as you go on when it should be escalating: there's an effective two-pronged attack upon grabbing the red key, but after that the map doesn't quite return to that zenith. Personally I'd have had 1 of the 2 Archies before the end warp away to keep the player on their toes, but it's not something that overly bugs me, and the subsequent dramatic reveal of the single Lost Soul at the exit gave me a good chuckle.

MAP03: Bloodbath
In some ways Bloodbath feels similar to the map that preceded it, complete with the architecture opening up in time with the player's progression. The similarities don't stretch to the gameplay though: swapping out low for mid-tier monsters does the combat a world of good and ups the stakes nicely. There's a bit more transformation this time around too, with the centerpiece being the way the starting room opens up near the end. I won't lie, I dug that a lot. Good stuff.

MAP04: Plutinya
Heh, I wonder if 40oz has a copyright on that name. As is obvious from the moment this map slides into view, this is a pint-sized piece of Plutonia. Oddly enough it actually doesn't dunk you into monster line of sight on startup like the other maps, so I wonder what's in sto-

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, dicks! DICKS!"

So yeah, out of all the maps this one is definitely the craziest. You expected Plutonia, in all its Revenant and Chaingunner-drenched glory? You got it, and you got it in spades! At a guess I'd say that's why you have the moment's grace, as this is very much a map you have to approach as a puzzle more than a map. What enemies you shoot, where you go, all of these things are worth thinking over to determine the best route. The biggest threat by far is the collection of Revenants near the yellow skull, as they tend to have a decent line of sight over most of the map and will not hesitate to use it: the best tip I can give is to be aware of them at all times. The map also sets a couple of Archies loose at the end, although the impact they have is lessened somewhat by their positioning.

In the end, it's a Hell of a rush to beat this map. The finale awaits!

MAP05: In the Void
The finale to Fast and for Doom has a fairly simple setup: there are 2 keys, you need 2 keys. Each key has a mini-gauntlet to soldier through and gives you a particular weapon to deal with the nasties. From a gameplay standpoint, I'm a little iffy on the fact that you can pick up both weapons before tackling each key challenge: the super shotgun makes the chaingun area somewhat trivial in my view, and forcing the player to go through a challenge with only 1 weapon might've been more challenging. Still fun though, and the little maze area was quite inspired.

The standout part of this map for me though is definitely the end. It might not seem like much from a broken down perspective - a fight with a single Cyberdemon around a pillar - but the small arena gives the encounter a sense of urgency while the lower windows prevent splash damage from becoming a major bugbear. Again, I feel like the SSG's absence could've made this more tense: as it stands you can activate the Cyberdemon's pain state fairly easily whenever it pops its head around the corner, while the supplied plasma rifle falls by the wayside a bit. Again though, it doesn't stop being fun and it felt damn good to see that bastard go down.

And that's yer lot! I may have had some nitpicks on the gameplay front in some places, but considering these are speedmaps I can easily forgive them, and the experience I took away from this mapset was ultimately a positive one. If you're looking for some Doom-flavoured entertainment with its fair share of teeth, I highly recommend you check this out.

The /newstuff Chronicles is a very sporadic roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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• The ArchVile Temple - Logan MTM
  Boom Compatible - SP/DM - 1188 KB - (img) (img) (img)
  This short, cramped map claims to work in all Boom-compatible ports, however this is not 100% true. It's clear that the map was compiled with an older version of zdbsp and only tested in ZDoom, as there are numerous misalignments that appear in PRBoom 2.02 and Eternity. Everything else seems to work out though. The architecture is moderately detailed and overall pleasing, though I hope you like brown because that's about the only color you'll be seeing. Architecture interferes with movement occasionally but I think that's intentional. Despite the abundant health and ammo, players will find themselves challenged more by the tight spaces than by the enemies themselves. Give it a whirl if you like close-quarters, frantic fights.
  
  
• 1024 - alterworldruler
  ZDoom Compatible - Solo Play - 43 KB - (img)
  Ok seriously guys. If you're going to call a map "Boom-compatible", try actually testing it in something like PRBoom. This map will not work outside of a ZDoom-based port because it uses ZDoom's flat/texture mixing ability. So it will crash with a missing flats error anywhere else. As the title suggest, it's a map inspired by the 1024 project, so it's pretty short. It's also exceedingly easy. You'll mostly be facing off against zombiemen, with a couple of imps and a demon thrown in. Texturing and architecture are poor (BRICKLIT should never tile vertically). Pass on this one.
  
  
• Ancient Battlegrounds - DJShrimpy
  Skulltag - Deathmatch - 646 KB - (img) (img) (img)
  Huge and hideous. With the exception of maps 1 and 7, it's just gigantic arenas basically. Plasma is abundant. Something some players may dislike. Due to the large sizes, you'd probably need at least 6 people to have a good time. Definitely not suitable for 1 on 1.
  
  
• Burning Fane - Vasek
  ZDoom - Solo Play - 127 KB - (img)
  Another 1024-style map. This one looks pretty good and plays all right. As you would expect, it's very short. But it is sweet. My only complaint is that things are really easy up until the very end, and it's a copy/paste-fest. Check it out for some quick fun.
  
  
• The Challenge - Jacob
  doom.exe - Solo Play - 42 KB
  According to the text file, this is one of ellmo's first wads. But despite that, it's not totally horrid. Texturing could have been more coherent, instead of covering almost every theme there is, and there's no detailing to speak of, but it actually plays all right. One of the traps managed to catch me off guard which is hard to do these days. Ammo is tight and the enemies are abundant early on so lesser-skilled doomers may want to play this on skill 3. Not *too* bad for an early work.
  
  
• Hard Attack - Morbid DooMer
  Limit Removing - SP/DM - 244 KB - (img) (img)
  I really enjoyed this maps interconnectivity and sense of openness and nonlinearity. Detailing is modest but effective. You'll find yourself moving back and forth through the maps "main areas" without feeling aimless or bored. Enemy placement could have been a tad better, since infighting tends to occur. It's not very long but it's a good show.
  
  
• Demon Eclipse: Episodes 1 and 2 - Eric Ou (Eriance/Ezxariarch)
  GZDoom - SP/DM - 14468 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img)
  The following review was submitted by Hobbs:
  
  Where do I start. The new weapons and monsters, the looks, the gameplay, the atmosphere, the music, the, oh screw it. I guess I'll just start from the beginning.
  
  Demon Eclipse is the newest GZDoom was by Eriance/Exariarch. You probably know him for making sprites. He needs to stick to that, and never make levels again. This was the most painful dooming experience I have had lately. The new textures are easily the best part of this wad. They make sense, don't look like crap, and create a theme. The rest of it is just pure port loving, detail whoring crap.
  
  To start off there's a whole arsenal of new weapons, courtesy of DECORATE. I personally am not a fan of weapons mods, but hey, for wads that change everything else I was willing to give it a shot. I will know better next time. The weapons are really quite weak, so much so I think that they were inherited from Heretic. Theres quite a bit of stolen sounds there, I won't give examples, I'll just let you figure it out. Oh yeah, my personal favorite part, there is a weapon (slot 4 I believe) that makes wonderful squelching noises when its in the idle state. Totally unnecessary. Moving on to the counterpart of weapons...
  
  ...Monsters. I don't have quite as much to say about these. For the most part they seem quite horrible. For instance there is a floating recolored monster spawning cube that flies around shooting projectiles at you. While this might sound ok, they are used in horrible ways, do more to annoy you than actually hurt you, and seem to have an enormous amount of health (though this might be attributable to the weapons). Another fine example are wraithverge ghosts. Which again, are just annoying. Next subject.
  
  K now it's time to go into how absolutely beautiful this wad is. To be honest its not particularly beautiful, contrary to the popular (and quite true) (G)ZDoom megaproject stereotype. Although the wad has a coherent theme that works well, it looks quite blocky at times and in general does not present any bit of architecture that just wow'd me.
  
  Actually, the indoor areas look pretty good. Not anything really memorable, but still they look nice enough. The outdoor areas on the other hand just look so terrible. The use of height variation is awful. The fact that a slew of slopes, normally quite ugly themselves, would help out this WADs outdoor areas is a testament to its ugliness. Anyways...
  
  The gameplay is crap ranging from utterly boring to utterly retarded. That's all that needs to be said unless you want a novel about it.
  
  Oh and one more thing, the wad supposedly features new music. I cannot hear it no matter what I do.
  
  
• Doom-plus and Doom v1.91 hacks - Miguel Folatelli (aka myk)
  doom2.exe - n/a - 6 KB
  A pair of patches you can apply to version 1.9 of doom(2).exe, compiled into a single package by Myk:
  
  "The patch in PLUS incorporate's e6y's hacks to raise Doom's limits so that it can load large or complex levels, the one in LONGTICS loads the changes discovered by cph to enable v1.91 demos."
  
  
• Gamarra's story: Part III \ - Giulio Galassi
  ZDoom - SP/DM - 87 KB - (img) (img) (img)
  Crappy joke map with no effort put into it. One of those "so bad it's good" attempts, except it's got no kind of thought or creativity behind it. Requires ZDoom for some reason. Don't waste your time.
  
  
• Kastel of The Koebrah - Ruba
  doom.exe - Solo Play - 33 KB - (img) (img)
  After reading the text file, I can't tell if this is a joke map or not. Either way, don't bother. Map 31/32 textures mixed with normal Doom textures. Nazis and demons. You get the picture. Its only positive aspect is that it's really short and easy.
  
  
• Das Labor - Hannes Müller
  Limit Removing - SP/DM - 250 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img)
  If nuts.wad were toned down a bit and turned into something more playable, this would be it. I'll be honest and say that I played through this with IDDQD and IDKFA helping me. I was unable to find the exit though. I'm not sure if this level can be completed normally. Each area is jam packed with ludicrous numbers of enemies. I don't mean in the sense of Hell Revealed either. It's just a crazy mess of enemies separated by doors and teleporters. In the author's defense, I'll say that it's not visually abysmal and some attempts at interesting architecture were made. Play it if you liked nuts.wad.
  
  
• Megaaussie's Mega Deathmatch - Megaaussie
  Skulltag - Deathmatch - 354 KB - (img) (img) (img)
  Awful. Map01 has terrible connectivity and few weapons. It's also got a pitch-black middle area connecting the two "arenas". Maps 2 and 3 have zero visibility and enough copy/pasted "architecture" to ensure that you have as much difficulty moving around as possible. All three maps are hideous. Avoid.
  
  
• The Newstuff Chroniclez - DU0
  EDGE - Solo Play - 156 KB
  I was unable to review this because EDGE wouldn't run properly. No I'm not kidding. Yes it's kinda funny.
  
  
• Odamex - KillingMaster
  doom.exe - SP/DM - 29 KB
  Lame joke wad. This is not Odamex.
  
  
• Blood Rock - sitebender
  Boom Compatible - Solo Play - 53 KB
  One look at the file name will give you an idea of what you're in for. A hell themed map which is very, very red. It's also VERY difficult. Lots of monsters. Hardly any ammo. Expect to spend a lot of time running scared. Despite this, I had a pretty good time playing this one. The map is laid out so that you can slip by many enemies. A few parts are somewhat unfair though. Try it out if you like high difficulty.
  
  
• Status bar replacements - Daniel
  doom2.exe - n/a - 105 KB
  A large set of replacement status bars based on Doom textures. Give 'em a shot if you feel like spicing up that 13 year old HUD. Note that they all remove the little weapon/ammo counters, but not the large ammo counter on the left.
  
  
• Toxic Province - DJShrimpy
  Skulltag - Deathmatch - 562 KB
  Most of these maps are straight up arenas. The rest don't have great layouts and you will occasionally find dead ends. Some places will trap you for a period of time, which is never fun. Weapons and ammo are too readily available in some maps and nonexistent in others. Like the text file says, the theme is "toxic", so expect lots of slime, some of which may damage you. I didn't particularly enjoy that either. Visually it ranges from bland to painful. Overall there isn't anything very noteworthy about the maps. Give this wad a try if you need a new DM set to play. But if you never pick it up, you're not really missing anything.
  
  
• White 0 - Hyperdormant
  ZDoom - Solo Play - 118 KB
  The following review was provided by HobbsI feel wads with a decent amount of effort put in deserve a decent review (scathing or not) and a few screens. I also feel wads that are total crap deserve nothing but a crap review. This is one of the latter type of wads. 26 levels of someone transferring one of their LSD trips into ZDoom. Truly epic.
  
  
• RL-PL-BFG-Upgrade - Karate Chris
  Skulltag - n/a - 57 KB
  Some graphics upgrades for the rocket launcher, BFG, and plasma rifle, as well as their respective projectiles. The changes are minor edits to the original Doom weapons. Not bad looking but not terribly interesting either. Try it if you like pink plasma.
  
  
• ZDoom Catch The Chicken v4.0 - Cutmanmike and HotWax
  doom.exe - Deathmatch - 404 KB
  A Catch the Chicken multiplayer mod for ZDoom. Players Attempt to grab the chicken, which spawns somewhere in the map, and then hold onto it for as long as possible to gain points. Supposedly it works on any map, and a test map is included. I had a hard time really testing this out with bots, but it looks like it could be fun.
  
  

Harmony functions as a standalone game with the Zdoom engine, but can also be viewed as a TC.

More information on Harmony can be found here. A download to the game can be found here.

Disjunction - floatRand
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 10.66 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
Disjunction. Judging by the name, I first thought this might be a financial planning mod, taking Doom to its outer limits, where you have to trade caco-coins and baron-bucks until you realize your career is worthless. Or perhaps a train simulator, with the unattainable objective of not crashing and killing everyone aboard.

It turns out neither of these fantasies are true. Today's offering from last year is a straight-forward, no BS megawad by floatRand. Let me be clear, though, when I say "no BS", I do not mean "no frustrations". The fact is, this WAD did frustrate me in a couple of ways. But it was also delightful in other ways. So we'll focus on the good first, because good things are good.

Let's talk about the visuals. 99% of these maps are stunning, and I don't mean stunning in the sense of "I put on so much makeup today that you can't see my actual skin." floatRand has a way of making things look really nice without always using ten thousand sectors. Don't get me wrong, there are enough sectors to go around, but I really loved the overall sense of composition and purpose in the architecture of Disjunction (ironic, isn't it?). I say 99% because a tiny portion of areas looked bland, especially parts of the very first outdoor area, as well as parts of the final map which is insanely large so a bit more excusable. Many of the maps are themed heavily around one vibrant color among dark backgrounds, which I find pleasing because I'm a simple person.

The music was awesome. Much more on techno/fantasy side, with tracks from Megaman and Jazz Jackrabbit (yay!). Metalheads might not like it. But I liked it, and I was ready to gaze at 11 beautiful maps and jam to the tunes and whatnot.

So what about my frustrations? Well, those are found in the "whatnot". The "whatnot" being all those things you do in Doom other than look at the walls and listen to Cyber Rainforce. You know, finding keys, shooting hellspawn, et cetera. At first I was confronted by lots of monsters, and difficulty was high but since these were generally small humanoid enemies, the flow was alright. Unfortunately in these early maps the architecture does get in the way because it's way too cramped and annoying to traverse. That problem goes away once the maps themselves become bigger, but is overshadowed by a different problem: incessant use of monsters in annoying ways. For example, there are a ton of surround-traps. You enter a room, the door locks behind you, monsters surround. You go through a teleport, monsters surround. You grab a key, monsters surround. There are just way too many locked-in-a-room-full-of-monsters scenarios for my taste. Also, once you get past the first few maps, you find a lot of encounters with almost every enemy type. I felt that floatRand was placing monsters based on how cool it looked, not how it would make a good battle. Expect to find battles like: one arachnotron, one mancubus, one pain elemental, and four revenants. Also both during and after large battles you can expect two to four archviles to brighten your day.

I don't want to make it sound like the action was never fun. At times it was cooking. Sometimes there were tricks to get around the battle, which I generally welcomed. But more often than not the pot seemed to be boiling over, and by the end you're facing giant hordes that make your BFG seem kinda weak. The epicness of the scenery gets more and more grand, but the gameplay actually grinds to a slow crawl because it just takes a long time to clear the rooms. Maybe I'm just getting old and slow. I did play on HMP so I guess I could have lowered the difficulty, but a quick look at monster counts showed only a small difference. I'd consider playing it again with some custom weapons. A minigun and a railgun would balance the game nicely, I think. Slaughter enthusiasts and masochists can fire up UV or Nightmare, but for the rest of us, expect to be severely punished.

I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on the phenomenal level design, but I know some people will be turned away by the high difficulty. If you think you're one of those pansies (I know I am!), then consider playing on super easy mode or using a mod to increase your firepower. Or play on "cooperative mode", which we all know means spawning a bot to flail about at the beginning of the level in order to give yourself infinite lives. Whatever you need to do, this is a WAD that shouldn't be ignored - it's more like a famous tourist attraction that's always busy and you just have to suck it up. On a scale from lamb to lambchop, I give this WAD a solid 7.9.

Temple of Unholy Fire, chapter 1 (demo) - Cacodemon9000
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 8.96 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
We've all done it: or at least most of us have, and we have learned the consequences and hopefully will never repeat our mistake. Any time you write "Chapter 1" on something, you're guaranteed not to finish that thing.

Well that was the case here with Cacodemon9000's map "Temple of Unholy Fire, chapter 1 (demo)". Tragically this was the last thing they uploaded to /idgames. Perhaps it was because of the scathing review by Zalewa, who is all over that s*** playing everybody's maps. Who are you anyway, Zalewa, and why do I keep having to talk about your reviews?

Anyway, this level suffers a lot from tedious battles as well as some bland architecture. There's some modification to the bullet weapons, making them a bit more powerful, but it's basically useless against the hordes of monsters - some of which just had to be upgraded themselves. The archvile's flame attack, for example, spawns many explosions throughout the animation, which is funny because you can outrun it, but also stupid because it's out of control. That might have been cool for the boss battle (which was, astoundingly, a THIRD version of archie), not for the entire map. Add to that spectral cacodemons, mancu-serpents, and beefed up arachnotrons, and you have a little party.

The actual geometry of the map was pretty cool in a lot of places (less cool in others when it was very long hallways), but the texturing and lighting made it mostly ugly. Since there was often no contrast, you couldn't really see the nice features until you're right on top of them. The outdoor areas were generally nice looking, and easy to traverse. Indoors however the layout is very boxy. The path you're supposed to travel does loop over itself in a nice way, but gets confusing at times, and most of the switches activate something random that you have to go find (like Hexen, but not as bad).

There are some good ideas buried in this chapter 1 (demo), and I think Cacodemon9000 should continue mapping since Doom will never die, and neither will we IF WE JUST KEEP MAPPING. Perhaps they're mapping for another game or whatever, I just hope Zalewa's criticism didn't turn Caco9000 away from mapping entirely. Next time I would suggest posting the WAD in the forums to get feedback before uploading to /idgames, because the one-paragraph reviews are often flippant and discouraging. However, the criticism was indeed fair, and for someone looking to play a polished level, chapter 1 (demo) isn't gonna cut the mustard. On a scale of 1 to chapter 1 (demo), I give this WAD a chapter 1.

Vertigone - Brett 'Mechadon' Harrell
Doom 2 - Deathmatch - Skulltag - 217.52 KB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
I'm thoroughly confused by this text file. First paragraph goes something like this:

"This is my second oldest surviving map that I still have, and my very first DM map ever. However, the gameplay and layout are pretty awful, so I wouldn't really even bother playing it. I uploaded it for nostalgia reasons, I suppose."

Sounds normal enough right? But then:

"(Note from Mechadon from the future!! I decided to upload this while updating some other releases in the archive. I'm really only uploading it for, uh, 'historical' reasons. You should never play this map, at least not seriously :P )"

So Mechadon went back in time in order to warn us that instead of not really bothering with this map, we should instead never play it. Well I played it, for "historical" reasons, and it's pretty bad. Could be worse though! It could always be worse. Always. On a scale of 1 to forgotten, let's move on to the next WAD, shall we?

Newgothic Movement 2 - Armouredblood and Archi
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 10.95 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
Welcome to Newgothic - Movement 2. The first installment, released in 2010, was generally liked. So the stakes are high, your training wheels are off, the GDP must go up (forever).

I spent my last review whining and complaining about unfair and wild monster placement. That's because I'm extremely sensitive. You can imagine my feelings when I read the description. "Slaughter. Fun Slaughter. With music. Enjoy." ...I'm going to be slaughtered to music? And I'm supposed to enjoy it? Fine.

Some of us are aggressively against slaughter maps, and we can see why. They just filled the hallways with monsters, perfectly placed on the grid, all facing the same way. It's stupid. But you know what, it's also stupid that you can carry 100 rockets. And that's what makes Doom fun. Not the hellish landscapes, nor the goring of endless demonic flesh. It's really the insanity of your own character, the voiceless Doomguy, sliding around inside a nightmare firing rockets that move slower than himself.

The beautiful thing about Doom is that you can enjoy it many different ways. Even though the textfile says "Difficulty settings: not implemented", they are always there for you. And in many other ways you can cheat around the true, hardcore experience. Want to save every ten seconds? Go for it. Want to play co-op, turn on infinite ammo, or skip maps? Only your pride can stop you. So I enjoyed these maps with a pleasant little Biffbot to keep the savings away.

Aesthetically these maps were mostly awesome. Only a few of the massive areas looked bland to me, and since they would soon spill over with bodies, it kinda didn't matter. Complementing the monster counts in the thousands were ridiculous amounts of ammunition and health. Several places could be muscled through by collecting the health along the way. This (along with all my cheating) made the slaughter feel more like a party. Maybe they should be called party maps! Moving on, there are overwhelming numbers of guests at this party, and my poor bot was often being swarmed at the spawn by hungry zombies reaching for the keg. It was fun. And you deserve a bit of fun after your long day at the office.

This megawad delivers what it promises. I have only a few small gripes - such as difficulty settings would be kinda nice (take out a few cybies plz), and a couple of map oddities such as giant but inconspicuous doors - but nothing really major. So slaughter away, my friends. On a scale of 1 to nutz.wad, I give Newgothic Movement 2 a near-perfect score of 1.6.

Silent Hill Orphan TC - Autz (sonic_HD87)
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 24.91 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
And now for something completely different! This TC uses "messy code" to turn Doom into a point-and-click adventure! Specifically, it copies Silent Hill: Orphan, an obscure mobile game. The code seemed to work fine to me; it's got inventory, dialogue, totally illogical puzzles (yes, put the candle in the pot of sludge), and even combat! However, the game is unpolished, with the creator sometimes talking to your character, saying stuff like "I was too lazy to put this in." It's still quite an accomplishment. Perhaps someone could use this engine to create a Doom point-and-click using screenshots of maps as the backgrounds. Anyway, check it out if you want to see a very obscure use of GZDoom.

Vulkan (Episode 1) v1.2 - DavidN - @DavidXNewton
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 36.12 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
Vulkan has nothing to do with Star Trek, which is a good thing. I love Doom and Star Trek separately, and I wouldn't want one to be ruined by the other. I don't remember setting anything to "stun" in Doom - do you? So anyway, DavidN has created an episode about a UAC project that accidentally drilled into hell. Your job is to get dropped off and totally abandoned, as usual, so you can dive to the bottom of the infested power station.

I had a blast playing this WAD, which overall has a cool vibe that reminds me of Doom 1, mixed with a little Quake, and a slight nod to Descent. The environments are not caked with detail, but they are put together in a way is evocative and beautiful. Unfortunately the lightning isn't so great in places: you will encounter some bright areas that don't have enough contrast, and much worse, insane darkness in others. I was turning my gamma up to 1.4 and still finding walls with my face. Some of that was from destructible light sources, but other times it was obligatory. Was there a flashlight that I missed? Thankfully it was only a few small areas that had this problem.

Brutal Doom is included with the package, which is awesome, but I can't be judging that portion of it. I think these maps would be a success even without it. The swarms of axe-men made me feel like I was playing Nazi Zombies at times. The bigger monsters on the other hand were less of a threat with the Brutal weapons. They just go down too easy, and weren't used in big enough numbers to be taken seriously. You'll be more worried about lightning fast pinkies.

Some other customization added nice variety to the gameplay. You collect "vulkoins" in each map which give you a bonus to your health and armor when you get 100, and there's a few scripted events including a mechanic at the end where you have to bring cooling orbs to reactors to cool them down, which was fun and cute. And cuteness is the most important thing in any WAD. So despite some minor kinks, Vulkan has mostly atmosphere and action to offer you, and I hope DavidN is working on the next episode. On a scale from 1 to core breach, I give this mod an 8.1.

Secretdoom: Hell's Memento 2 - Cyberdemon531
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 25.19 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
After sacrificing your soul to the depths of Hell, you wake up in a pool of blood and walk into a gateway. You find yourself in the depths of Hell once again, and you have to find your way out. Deeper, and deeper, into the depths of Hell. Once again... depths of Hell.

You should all know Cyberdemon531 already, from their status as a "speed runner extraordinaire". I hate running, so I don't really follow that side of the community. Anyway, in this WAD you will be facing insane amounts of monsters, and you'll also have a ridiculous buffet of items both healthy and ammunitious. Starting with map05 you get enemy counts in the several-hundreds. Often you'll be free to wander a vast expanse, but some areas are very crowded. A lot of the battles were repetitive or too easy. A few moments did get interesting, such as a fun trap that cages the player, or suicide bombers swarming around a barrel. Additionally there were a ton of switches to hit, which was cool (because stuff was happening) but not executed well. What I mean is, the switch might lower a wall, revealing a room. And in the room is another switch... and another wall lowers, revealing a similar room with a switch. And on and on in the endless depths of Hell.

And if you call the depths of Hell right now, we'll even include two additional pools of blood, and one additional gateway to Hell, totally FREE! All we need is your soul that's 1-800-DPTH for two gateways and three pools of blood to wake up in every morning!

The design of the maps fluctuates a great deal in terms of visuals. Many of the areas are just so big, it's impossible for them to look nice. In other places there's decent geometry but poor lighting and texturing, or just extreme darkness. Some areas did look quite nice however, with the techbase and industrial areas being the best. The music was pretty good, but I think it was composed by Zagfan590 (referred to in the .txt as supplying "choice clips").

This plays more like a speedrunning/slaughter training camp than an atmospheric adventure, and perhaps that's what you are looking for. Perhaps that's the whole point of the Secretdoom series (secret's out!). There were some nice ideas buried under the demons piled 900 high, as well as some pretty areas but also some ugly areas. Kind of like my brain. On a scale of 1 to 1-800-DPTH, your pools of blood can be delivered straight to your door!

Good Morining Phobos - sincity2100
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 9.93 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
Good Morining, Doomworld. Today's class is about an exciting and brand new experience created mostly by sincity2100. It also happens to be the last review for March 2017. Huzzah!

This WAD has already received a number of positive reviews, so if that's enough for you, why are you wasting your time listening to me yammering away instead of playing? God knows. Anyway, Good Morning Phobos is long and beautiful. It's attractive in a non-invasive way, making it almost relaxing to behold. It appears that sincity2100 can use any clashing styles they want and still have it look amazing. It took me a moment to realize that giant lamppost was made of rock. It's not a detail-fest but with 33 maps, I don't even want that. Your eyes need a place to rest once in a while. I was impressed that all 33 were pretty consistently gorgeous, with decent gameplay to match.

Enemy placement was where this WAD shined a little less clean. The layouts were almost always so wide-open that you'd rarely get stuck, which is nice, but can also make encounters too easy. On the other hand, most of these levels are just brimming with former humans and company. The hitscan attacks quickly turn the wide areas into death traps. So you'll spend a fair amount of time sniping dudes out with your chaingun, and as a fan of games like Ghost Recon I actually don't mind this type of gameplay. However, I can see how it discourages the run-and-gun attitude possible in classic Doom, which might feel weird in a WAD that otherwise feels kinda old-school. Welcome to post-modernism!

In conclusion, I really liked GMP and you could too. It's got a classy surface and respectable organs. It's got great MIDIs. It's not sure if it belongs in 1996 or 2016, just like us. Next class, I want an essay about your emotional response to playing this WAD and how it might affect your relationships with your family and friends. Dismissed!

The /newstuff Chronicles is a very sporadic roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

View full news article

The Blood Trials - youraverageamir
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 2.82 MB -
Reviewed by: Crawldragon
I was initially very excited to play The Blood Trials. My previous Doom source port of choice was the now-defunct Skulltag and its successor Zandronum, but I'd heard many a tale about the advanced non-Doom-compatible features which GZDoom boasted, so when I picked up The Blood Trials and found it had been specifically designed with GZDoom in mind, well, I had to take it for a spin.

Reading the description, I was led to believe that there were three separate paths to go through. In reality I myself could find only two, but a quick peek using a level editor did reveal that the third one branches out from the second. Each route seems to be based around a single enemy type, but I'll get on to that in a bit. The level design, though it initially piqued my interest, was ultimately disappointing, and I don't think it took full advantage of the advanced GZDoom features in the way I was hoping. I wouldn't say the map was poorly designed, just a bit lackluster, and that's without me nitpicking at the occasional misaligned or out-of-place texture. But Crawldragon, why did you look at a level editor for the other two routes instead of playing them through? Well, allow me to explain.

The first path I initially chose to take was the labyrinth, and I normally don't like labyrinths in a first-person shooter because they involve a lot of groping around half-blind. However, on closer inspection, I noticed that the walls of the labyrinth were actually reflected on the ceiling, so you had a map of sorts, if only a limited view of it. I thought this was a clever way of getting around how god-awful mazes can be in first-person. It didn't fully help me on my first playthrough, however, because I was too busy dodging Cacodemons to fully pay attention to where I was going, and ammunition is pretty sparse in The Blood Trials. The first time I played through I hadn't seen the switch in the first room which enables access to the chaingun, so I was blasting away at Cacodemons with a shotgun. I remember naively thinking "this seems like a lot of cacodemons."

Anyway, I got through the labyrinth relatively unscathed, whereupon I exited out into a little alcove separated from a large courtyard by a wall of vines. Incidentally this courtyard is also the first room in the second and third routes that's immediately accessible. Bizarrely, you can't shoot through the vines. Anyway, in this little alcove I found a chaingun! Yes! Now I have some firepower! And then I learned that ZDoom adds a new monster named The Enhanced Cacodemon, which ate my face off.

You see, The Blood Trials is very difficult, but in the early stages at least I felt that the challenge was very fair. Even after learning how to acquire the chaingun from the start, I found that it was a real challenge holding on to ammunition, but for the most part I initially thought that I had all of the tools that I needed to beat the game fair and square without having to lower the difficulty setting, so I pressed on and walked straight into a room of what felt like a dozen more Cacodemons, with another Enhanced Cacodemon and a Pain Elemental thrown in just for fun. After some time I managed to fight my way through that and climb the tower into a room with an Enhanced Cacodemon and a Cracko Demon, and this Cracko Demon can fuck right off with its multiple unpredictable one-hit-kill attacks. Who puts a flying enemy in such a cramped space, anyway?

As I said, each route in The Blood Trials seems to be based around a single enemy type, and up until the very end I don't think a single encounter on the labyrinth route wasn't just a boss rush of Cacodemons or a small number of cannon fodder former humans. Given how much damage Cacodemons can absorb, and the total lack of any plasma rifles or rocket launchers, after a while I was really struggling with getting through even small encounters without running out of ammunition. On top of that, Cracko Demons are really difficult to deal with in a cramped environment, so it was at this point, after hours of trial and error, I decided to shamelessly IDDQD my way through the rest of the level to see if it got any more varied, and with the exception of a final encounter consisting of enhanced versions of the three monster types the routes are based around it really didn't. At the end of the day, this level is just a straight up series of blatantly unbalanced monster rushes in vaguely interesting but ultimately underwhelming architecture.

It's a shame that I can't bring myself to give The Blood Trials more than two stars, but I've gotta be honest it got really stale really fast, and for me, as much as I enjoyed the challenge of it, it really just came down to how much bullshit you're willing to put up with all at once. While the initial labyrinth encounter angered me just enough to keep playing, after a while the whole thing just devolved into a boring slog that made me want to stop playing, and really isn't that the cardinal sin of level design?

If you want to prove that you have balls of steel, by all means give The Blood Trials a shot. If you're looking for a fun experience to mix up your WAD collection, skip it. GZDoom is capable of far better than this.

Trigger-happy (Updated version) - pintolinh0
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 123.93 KB -
Reviewed by: Crawldragon
When I read the readme for Trigger-Happy, and it mentioned that Nazis were included in the level, I wasn't sure whether to be iffy about the conflicting game themes or amused at how appropriate Nazis in Hell would be. Fortunately, pintolinh0 seems to have blended the two themes rather well, with a nice choice of textures that doesn't quite make this level feel like Hell but doesn't make it look like an SS base either; it makes it look like an SS base in Hell.

Unfortunately, as much as I liked the architecture, I didn't have much time to appreciate it, because this level comes at you fast and HARD, in all the right ways. There are monsters freaking everywhere, all cramped up in small spaces and tucked away behind teleporters and closets. It creates this massive rush, but at the same time after you've cleared a room it gives you as much time as you need to catch a breather. Even the compact map is utilized well, making enemy waves feel more pressing and urgent while also opening up over time so that the map doesn't quite feel too small to move around in.

It's not even just that this level is challenging, either; it's also cathartic. You start off with a super shotgun absolutely wrecking shit, and then it gives you more little by little, so that by the end, if you win, it feels like such a victory.

I was a little tempted to say that this level is a little too difficult, actually, because at one point during "part 1" of this map I was having a hard time with some Hell Knights because all I had was a shotgun and a pistol, but then after a couple of respawns I found a secret containing a plasma rifle. Fortunately this secret isn't too hard to find, especially if you know Wolfenstein, so I'm not going to deduct points for that.

And the tension only gets amped up by the final encounter. If you're like me, by the time you get to "part 2" and everything crescendos into a last stand of sorts, you're low on health and desperate for ammunition. The level doesn't quite let up at this point, but it is very generous with ammunition, so it's fairly well-balanced and if you've got your head screwed on right you'll get there in the end. I'm not going to spoil the final encounter, because I think the best way to experience this level is to be as surprised as I was and use your head to figure out what the level designer wants you to do.

Now, some might argue that the challenge factor to this level ultimately comes down to your ability to strafe out of the way of enemy fire while firing back, and that's true, but at the same time because there's so much going on at any given moment I can safely say that the level doesn't need to bring any more challenges than that to engage me. If you're a better Doom player than me, maybe you won't find this level quite as much of a test of skill as I did, but I can almost guarantee you'll still find it fun.

Since the author recommended Chocolate Doom for the authentic old-school experience, I shall summarize my opinion with a chocolate-related metaphor. Trigger-Happy is like a truffle: Not a whole lot of it, but what there is is so rich and full. Sure, it might be little too intense for novices, but if you take your time to get used to it you can get into this zone where you acquire a taste for it. Five out of five, would eat a whole box of this level if I could. Check it out, even if you just play it once.

Planisphere 2 - Perro Seco
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 741.65 KB -
Reviewed by: kmxexii
This was originally released back in 2012. It's essentially a scale model of some of the New York City area. You start out in New Jersey and fight your way through Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, as well as Rikers Island. The work involved must have been painstaking. There is a ton of open world to explore, and while it isn't interactive in the same way one might expect a Duke Nukem 3D city level to be, it still works as a Doom playground. Back when it was originally released, PLANISF2 showcased the "Hitscan attacks hit invisible barriers in large open areas" bug and required some additional measures to get it ready for play outside of ports that built nodes on startup, like GZDoom. Perro Seco made a pass at polishing the level, removing the latter headache as well as other quality of life improvements, but the updated version is not the one that was anonymously uploaded to the archives.

Back to Saturn X E1: Get Out Of My Stations - Esselfortium and a lot of wonderful people
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 17.54 MB -
Reviewed by: joepallai
Honestly, what more needs to be said here?

Initially released on December 10th, 2012 (why does that date sound familiar?) and finally uploaded to the archive on March 3rd, 2017 after years of exhaustive bug crushing and fine tuning, this 27 level mapset can best be described as one of the crowning achievements in Doom mapping.

When I played it for the first time back in 2012/2013 over Christmas vacation, I was struck by how professional the art direction, music, and level design was. This could have been a commercial game release back in the day—though really it's better than that. It has nuance, and style and exciting combat with carefully hidden secrets. It oozes atmosphere and immerses you into a alternate Doom universe with its clever level designs that artfully lead the player, yet manages not to feel ham-fisted like a lesser work would.

What makes it even more remarkable is that all of this is done within the strict limits of vanilla Doom mapping. Sure the save game overflow limit is broken every time, but honestly, all good maps break that limit. (I suppose the hub levels act as the save points for this mapset in vanilla Doom.)

To me, what is most impressive here is that this beautifully detailed and ever expansive environment doesn't break the VPO limitations. The skill and planning to pull this off is amazing (and a little intimidating to be honest). I stopped playing and went into the editor on two occasions to see how a room was done—I simply couldn't believe I was playing a vanilla Doom level. It felt like a true 3D space to me—it's that good in its design. That is what truly impresses me here.

The other strength that this mapset has is the combat. The combat is really engaging, coming at you from multiple sides and heights. I love how the monsters are arranged to find you and are always applying pressure to the player. Also the barrel placement is top-notch; they're almost always right there where you need them.

Everything about "Back to Saturn X" is of the utmost quality. There's little to actually complain about that wouldn't be a personal preference. I stand by my statement that "Back to Saturn X" is one of the crowning achievements in Doom editing, if not the pinnacle.

It simply is that good.

Pollution - HUNdebLeonidasX
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 6.91 MB -
Reviewed by: JudgeDeadd
A techbase mapset by HUNdebLeonidasX, with eight maps plus one secret. There's one new enemy I noticed, an electric Demon which moves faster and can rapidly shoot ball lightning.

The first few levels don't make a very good impression, mainly because of how incredibly easy they are, even on UV. There's more than enough ammo and health, and the enemies you meet are for the most part little fries; even when you come upon something bigger, there's usually lots of room to let you run circles around them. Later the maps get slightly tougher, but not by much. The visuals certainly aren't bad; there's use of beautiful CC4 textures and eye-catching detail and all. However, due to the uninspired enemy placement and lack of any proper challenge, the levels feel very samey and dull. It's basically one pretty-looking room after another, but it feels empty and it's not working as a single memorable experience.

However, there is one map that I did enjoy playing: the secret level, MAP09: Leftover of the Nile. Its Egyptian visual theme and architectural design (and music) are pleasant enough to stand on their own, and the gameplay, while still rather easy, feels somehow more solid.

"Known bugs: If you find one, good for you." Well, that's nice to hear, 'coz there are quite a few bugs. The end of map04 has a stuck spiderdemon. Map05 has an event where a key is supposed to teleport to your location, but sometimes the teleport fails to work. On map06 I left the lost soul room early, and somehow locked myself out (the door at sector #815 wouldn't open all the way anymore, just a few units), making the level unwinnable without cheating. And I can't figure out map08. Maybe it's a bug or maybe I'm missing something, but I can't open up the second half of the map, no matter what I try; even after opening the map in the editor, I'm still stumped. (If this helps, I'm running ZDoom 2.8.1 with standard compatibility settings. But then, the author claims in the textfile that this was tested with ZDoom, so...)

Withering Graves - Ryan "quakis" Rouse
Doom 2 - Single Player - Limit Removing - 346.97 KB -
Reviewed by: JudgeDeadd
A short, but solid level where you explore a graveyard to put rowdy corpses back into the graves. Hope you like revenants, there's quite a couple of them. The visuals are nicely detailed and easy on the eye, and the gameplay offers quite a challenge, at least at the beginning (owing in part to tricky hitscanner crowds); once you get your hands on the chaingun, things get way more mellow. Take it for a spin if you're in the mood for a short map.

Tlacopan - riderr3
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 257.56 KB -
Reviewed by: Scotty
A remake of the Plutonia map "Aztec". This map retains the theme of cramped, curved corridors connecting larger, more open spaces. This lends itself nicely to providing varied and generally entertaining combat.

Progression is somewhat non-linear in that you can choose from a couple of routes, but ultimately everywhere must be visited in order to obtain all the necessary keys. In some instances keys are only accessible after certain sequences of switch activation and understanding how to actually get to the key, which served to slow proceedings down and create a lull between encounters.

A Walk In Hell - Skul
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 76.79 KB -
Reviewed by: Walter confetti
A short and pretty cute map made by Skul for the first Vinesauce Contest held by Joel set in a bright red cavern environment with some nice details here and there and for Boom-compatible ports.

Layout is pretty organic and the cavern looks pretty natural. The only "problem" I found is some minor texture alignment, but nothing that breaks the play experience.

Gameplay is nicely crafted; the short monster count is composed of medium-hard enemies for harder fights, including some traps and good enemy placement. Thing placement in general is good. This map includes an external DeHackEd file that modifies the monster behavior (the barons of hell) so that when you kill them, it opens the exit door by special sector tags.

Overall, it is a fun little map that I recommend playing!

Running Late - A2Rob
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 1.18 MB -
Reviewed by: Scotty
A short five-map jaunt through some techbase type environments.

Action is generally free flowing and fairly fast paced, although the odd lock-in-style trap is encountered in places. The infamous plasma marines are present in this wad, and they add extra urgency to proceedings when they appear.

This wad has an Erik Alm/early Skillsaw vibe to it, so players who like those mappers will most likely find enjoyment here too. If you are looking for a good hour or two of solid Doom entertainment, then consider checking this out.

The /newstuff Chronicles is a very sporadic roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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The Inquisitor III - Shadowman, Big Memka, Guest
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 48.29 MB -
Reviewed by: kmxexii
INQSTR3 fulfills the promise of Shadowman's first two iterations by giving you an epic fantasy campaign to play through along with a relatively developed statistical progression system. You won't need to play through INQSTR1 or INQSTR2 to get up to speed; the stories of both are included in the intro. The setting is some wonderful fusion of Diablo / Diablo II and Eastern Orthodox Catholocism delivered with a Russian sensibility where gunpowder is a somewhat lost art. You'll battle through the infested mountainside, a graveyard, a cathedral, crypts, mines, a castle, and the depths of Hell, not to mention the secret excursions. There are quest and dialogue systems to help direct you and flesh out the universe. They're fetch and kill, of course, but not much in the name of busywork. You also get two towns to flex them in.

There are a ton of weapons and spells. Your ability to use them is determined by your stats - STR, DEX, VIT, INT, and WIS. You roll your starting points but the rest are placed by you. INQSTR3 is really slow to start since you have to clear the majority of the first "map" using the sword but if you can stomach your way through then you'll pick up tools at a much faster rate. The monsters have more of a Diablo II feel and sort of echo the Fallen, goat men, and corrupted rogues, to name a few. New versions appear as you play through, featuring different abilities and posing tougher challenges.

As far as difficulty goes, the easier the better. Hard is at times a complete slog with the number of foes and the combat is not nearly as nuanced as Doom II's. You won't get mobbed as badly as in INQSTR2 but your enemies are numerous and belligerent. I don't believe that you'll be cheated out of XP; if I recall correctly, the XP per kill is proportionally higher the lower the difficulty with less monsters to handle. You don't get enough stat points to master every "skillset", so to speak, so I would suggest specializing since you'll miss out on being able to use the crowning perk items. I didn't have a lot of fun fighting some of the bosses (Lich, Dragon) but the big one was all right.

INQSTR3 is dripping with atmosphere. Some of it is stolen from Diablo II's soundtrack, but effects like the fog in the graveyard or the rolling mists in the Shadow Gorge are phenomenal. Places like the Cathedral may not have the most distinguished gameplay but they're amazing to visit. I also like little touches like the crows appearing and devouring the corpses of monsters. If you like action RPG adventures then you ought to at least try this one out.
 

Doom II: Purgatory - Corey H.
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 44.59 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
And here we are again, playing a 20 year old game, fighting a tired and sluggish horde of outdated monsters, an endless tide of WADs to play, as if stuck on a hamster wheel that's obviously made of faces, while Satan watches and yawns, it's almost like we're stuck in purgatory.

But why venture out into the real world when we can spoon feed ourselves a gratifying experience? Exactly. So fire up that source port and forget about your problems. Corey H. wants to help you by offering up a 9 level epsiode for Doom 2. And Zalewa wants to help me by writing this review on /idgames:

"Anything that uses Doom64 audio promises insanity and this WAD does not disappoint. Expect corridors long to THE EXTREME as you listen to the unplugged toilet drain pipe that is Doom64 music. Wonder and ponder why some sounds are replaced with Doom64 moans but others are not. Marvel at disgusting texturing that pays tribute to the worst level design like Dark Forces or that Bethesda Terminator games. Ambitious architecture shows author's strive for good maps, but fun is NULL. Poor, poor, poor!"

ONE star. That's all Zalewa is willing to give. No thanks, you can keep your star. All I'm saying is, if you don't want to listen to the unplugged toilet drain pipe, then don't. DoomSpiel liked it. I liked it. We're all doing it man, don't you wanna unplug?

Anyway this episode is clearly not everyone's cup of tea, and it's not really structured in the classic Doom style. Corey did say in the text file that he was aiming to emulate Doom64, which I've never played (lol). The music DOES sound like a drain pipe, and there are ridiculously long corridors, sometimes with few or no monsters. This is especially true in the early moonbase maps, where you might question why you're even defending this cold and dead place, where you are completely alone among the forgotten. But if you can handle the intense loneliness, and don't forget who you are, you'll get to the hell portion of the maps, which according to DoomSpiel are "wicked tho." You won't be lonely anymore when you get the Magnum shotgun, do we need another shotgun? Yes we do, and it's going to be your friend.

I personally loved this set of maps, despite all the mismatched textures and random uses of colored lighting and fog. In fact the disjointed nature of it adds to the atmosphere of chaos and secrecy. At least I thought so, and I'm totally down with the Doom64 music apparently, even if it was cheesy at times. The puzzles were generally creative but not tedious, and there were lots of secrets and moving parts. The architecture is usually large and impressive, but switches randomly between boxy and simple to more detailed. The monster count was never huge; later levels had more action partially because they were smaller. I didn't find the Unmaker or the secret level normally... both are kinda silly but they aren't needed for the success of the WAD. If you're looking for eerie exploration, light puzzling, and plenty of action to finish you off, give Purgatory a try. On a scale of 1 to Doom2.wad, this is a great episode, understand?
 

DOOM II: Hellscape - Chris Lutz of The Chaos Crew
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 14.1 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
They say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but I always do anyway, especially when looking at /idgames. Do I really want to download this file? It says it's a recreation of id's levels... another one? Because of my scathing prejudice, I didn't really want to download Chris Lutz of The Chaos Crew's creation. But, it's next on the review list and I'm a sucker for order. Actually it is the second oldest one, but The Inquisitor III is a behemoth and I don't know what all to do with it.

So I reluctantly set foot into Doom II: Hellscape, which replaces map21-30. The stunning architecture set me at ease a little bit, and it's stark and highly detailed throughout the entire set. It starts very tough and only gets worse, as it should, but fortunately for any losers the easier difficulty settings more or less match the balancing of the original game. There were an awful lot of chaingunners and pain elementals, both of which are my least favorite enemy, and yes I do get to have two least favorites. Anyway it wasn't all bad because despite referencing id levels, these are enough of a departure to provide a fresh experience. Many parts played more like an obstacle course, and had almost a Quake vibe to them which was fun. But then I got to map29 and was constantly stuck on tiny ledges with revenants and such. I had to tell myself, "You asked for this. You deserve this."

Speaking of asking for it, map30 isn't a departure, so if for some reason you want to ride that lift over and over, have fun. It looks really nice, of course. One thing I didn't ask for is that in the earlier levels, lots of important things like switches, doors, and turning hallways were shrouded in almost complete darkness. So if you're wondering where to go, head for those black squares, although keep in mind that some of them are just walls. Other than that the gameplay is quite solid.

Normally I'd use a scale from 0 to doom2.wad, but since this is a recreation of maps from doom2.wad, I'm instead going to rate this on a scale from doom2.wad to scythe.wad, in which case I give it a 13.
 

Final Mission - 6XGate
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 657.37 KB -
Reviewed by: Obsidian
...I can't think of an opening spiel paragraph.

Final Mission is the second release of a fellow by the name of 6XGate: haven't played their first release, but I don't imagine that'll impact the review too much. But what caught my eye about this particular offering was the ZDoom port recommendation. That may not sound too special, but in this day and age where everyone is jumping ship to use the latest iteration of GZDoom, a wad that uses simply what ZDoom has to offer is something that can definitely pique my interest.

So we load it up and... it looks pretty good. Effort has been put into making the map look pretty decent: not so under-detailed that it feels sparse or barren, but not straining under the weight of Tormentor667's Detail Guide either. Gameplay is pretty simple from the outset as well, although I raised an eyebrow at the early SSG and random stealth monsters. Like, there's about four in the entire map tossed in for some token variety. Odd, but not worth more than a raised eyebrow.

So after some back and forth with collecting the three keycards, we activate the teleporter to visit the next area. This is where things get a bit wobbly: not metaphorical, 6XGate uses the Earthquake function a couple of times as you progress :P . The canyon area that greets you is quite nice as areas go, and it culminates in an interesting miniboss fight with an oversized Baron. No, really. There's a screenshot of the fight and that isn't a perspective shot, it's actually scaled up with a bit more health. Again, it's a bit odd, but still all in good fun.

But the real wobbles come in the next area: the maze. Appearance-wise it's pretty cool, using Doom II's horizontal spine texture along the walls in a way I appreciate. The problem here is one intrinsic to the gameplay and one I'm more than familiar with: ammunition. At this point in the progression, ammunition dries up and you have to fight mob after mob of imps with your dwindling resources. Yeah, you can backtrack and grab one of the boxes of shells that the map gives you a few of at the start of the Hell-themed area, but it's stupidly unintuitive and only delays the inevitable anyway. After the maze comes a winding pathway with mid-tier enemies that you may very well not have the ammo to kill and then surprise! Another scaled-up enemy, this time a Cyberdemon. It also doesn't have its coded height tweaked, so it follows you out of the arena if you're backtracking to get the ammo you sorely need.

And all of this culminates in an Icon fight. Yep. An Icon fight that, if you used up all of your rockets in the previous area, doesn't supply enough to kill the Icon itself. That point was where I heaved a sigh and stopped playing.

According to the textfile this wad took three months to make, and it's evident in what I've seen, don't get me wrong. It's well put together from a technical standpoint, and for a second public release it's pretty accomplished. But always remember that the proof of the pudding is in the eating: you are crafting an experience, and anything that disrupts the experience - in this case insufficient ammunition - will be sharply picked up on by your audience. And don't fall into the trap of saying that the secrets make up for it: they're called secrets for a reason, because not everyone will find them.

I don't want to discourage Mr (or Mrs, it's a brave new world!) 6XGate though, so I will recommend that they keep striving to improve and simply bear what I've said in mind. I really do feel like some polish could produce great things here and I'd be interested in seeing what they produce next: heck, I'll beta test if they want. Keep on trucking, my dude. :)
 

Suitcase of Gor (Formerly D2Redux) - The Tarnsman of Christmas Past
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 9.87 MB -
Reviewed by: Scotty
This wad is an incomplete remake of the original Doom 2 maps that covers maps 1-15 and 21-26. There is also what appears to be an Ultimate Doom E4-intended map in the 32 slot.

The maps are highly modernized versions of the originals, both in terms of aesthetic as well as gameplay. Visuals are consistent and some impressive vistas can be seen in places.

As these are map remakes the wad basically does what it says on the tin - sometimes the source material is fairly closely observed, at other times it is interpreted more loosely - this leads to a feeling of the wad being quite a mixed bag in terms of quality and execution overall. I personally found the more liberally mapped remakes to be more entertaining and creative, and they are perhaps the best reason to try this wad out.
 

Blood and Bones: A Skeleton Scorned - Jaxxoon R
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 5.94 MB -
Reviewed by: obake
Jaxxoon R's "Blood and Bones: A Skeleton Scorned" was made for one of the VineSauce Mapping Contests. Those outside of the loop of the VineSauce channels will find "Blood and Bones" sometimes incomprehensible, with its obscure references and nonsensical cutscenes. You start by hearing the phrase "rise from your grave", a sound clip taken from one of the home ports of Altered Beast. As you punch your way out of a coffin, the map begins.

The theme is Egyptian, though the lighting and even the textures are a bit brighter than most pyramid levels, which is a nice change of pace. You can also jump really high.

You'll also notice the new, minimalist HUD, which looks good. The pistol is also different, having unlimited ammo, but only shooting straight ahead. Limitations aside, it is quite useful. The shotgun, while effective, feels incredibly odd, given that its animations are much faster. I never quite got used to it. As for the gameplay, it is fine. Encounters are fun and varied, though nothing too memorable, and there are some cool effects like deep water and sliding doors. One of the few complaints I have is lifts looking like normal walls. Different textures could have eased this confusion.

Now for Spoiler Territory. There is a long, humorous cutscene of Doomguy meeting his real father, a scientist always wielding a fire extinguisher. He traveled through time searching for his son, in hopes to show him his invention of the world's largest teleporter, which he does. What comes through the teleporter is a reference only people who follow Vinesauce (or obscure memes) will understand: a "7 Grand Dad" version of Mario, complete with the bootleg Flintstones theme.

The fight with Mario is the most interesting of the wad. He has a few attacks: a bouncing fireball, a ground stomp, and a charge. The latter is the hardest to avoid, and took a lot of running behind corners. I died a few times, but I eventually took him down.

Should you play "Blood and Bones?" If you're a follower of Vinesauce, then absolutely. If not, then the level offers some unique concepts and offbeat laughs, but may not be to everyone's liking.
 

Dimmed Palettes - Julian Nechaevsky
Doom, Doom II, Heretic, Hexen, Strife - N/A - Vanilla - 48.96 KB -
Reviewed by: Obsidian
A pretty self-explanatory release: this contains tweaked palettes for Doom, Heretic, Hexen and Strife that turn down the brightness of each game a notch for a more pronounced feeling of gloom. It's a fairly subtle difference, but one that actually adds a nice melancholy touch to proceedings: check it out if you're looking for a more gloomy Dooming (or Heretic-ing or whatever) experience. For the curious, I've included a comparison screenshot taken in ZDoom to emphasize the difference.
 

Trapped - Aiden (Maisth)
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 136.2 KB -
Reviewed by: Myst.Haruko
"Trapped" is a ZDoom compatible DOOM II map made by Aiden (Maisth). Author stated that the map works better with GZDoom (which I used) than ZDoom.

I was greeted with custom titlemap instead of traditional Doom II titlepic. Action started at the same location as the titlemap showed, it's like kind of a spoiler. I instantly noticed that there are only ZDoom features - custom sky view point/skybox (not sure for this one), transparency, slopes, and some 3D floors, as I moved forward.

Combat is kind of newbish - I wasn't challenged enough; even the last monster wasn't able to kill me, because of cheesable combat.

Also, I prefer to avoid having secrets inserted into things. It's better to mark secrets in areas instead of stuff like boxes of rockets. I found missing textures in the red key area, especially in the beginning of that area if you lower the floor nearby.

Design choices were questionable; I found reflection and swimmable sectors quite unnecessary, and even more so in the last monster fight, because jumping into swimmable lava was distracting and frustrating thanks to some restricted movement. Feels like author wanted to add all advanced features into one map. Also, I wasn't a fan of impassable linedefs in some places.

I recommend playing this wad on your own risk, expect some nitpicks and difficulties in the last fight, and I believe that author in the future will make better maps than this one.
 

Moonblood - Deadwing
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 3.9 MB -
Reviewed by: leodoom85
Moonblood is a 32-level megawad made by Deadwing, and it consists of several themes which will be familiar if you played the original IWADs. Without further ado, let's go.

Episode 1, which is maps 01 to 06, has a distinctive Doom 1 feel mixed with some Doom 2 architecture, similar to E1M3 - E1M7, but with more variety for the monsters. Maps 01 to 03 has the initial kick of hitscanners, pinkys and lost souls, the weakest but annoying group of monsters. The difficulty is fairly easy but you still need to be alert because of the chaingunners. Maps 04 to 06 start to add damaging floors and some stronger enemies start to appear. Difficulty starts to increase a bit. Obviously, discovering secrets will help you quite a lot. Your trusty shotgun and chaingun will be your preferred weapons for these six initial maps.

Episode 2, which has maps 07 to 11, has similarities with Refinery (E2M3) and other similar maps. The main feature is that the mancubus and the arachnotron are heavily used. Map 07, for example, uses a lot of mancubuses and spiders, mainly as major resistance or as an ambush. Map 08 does a nice homage to Underhalls while keeping some of the Doom 1 feel to it, and revenants are fairly used here. Map 09 contains some secrets that will help you greatly, mostly because of some acid and pain elementals. Map 10 is all about radiation, and fortunately there's a bunch of radiation suits. Map 11 is the last of the tech-base maps and has some cramped fights that can kill you if you're not careful.

Moving on for a nice change of scenery...

Episode 3, which features maps 12 to 15, shows a mountain-cave theme mixed with urban-hell architecture and also contains the secret levels, known as "archive maps". Map 12 has more caves and some hellish bases combined with some tech bases. Map 13 features a sort of small city and... surprise surprise, the first cyberdemon is found in that map... be sure to pick up the invulnerability sphere!!! Map 14 is a medium size map with caves, lava and progressive "hellification" with some ambushes here and there, and map 15 has some nasty traps with lots of monsters waiting to kill you, and the secret level awaits. Difficulty in this episode raises quite a bit; ambushes and damage provoked by a hazardous environment starts to be a constant.

Map 31, Dobu Gabu's Exam (quite the name eh?) is a fun and fairly hard map with ambushes and lots of revenants, quite a lot. It also has nice detail without going overboard. The difficulty of this map is expected thanks to the slot it's using: hard, frantic, fast gameplay, and fun overall. What was totally unexpected is the ending... press switch and you die? That was a risky move which, depending on the player, may like it or not, forcing you to do a pistol start, and that takes you to the super secret level!!! Geez...

Map 32, map 32, oh map 32... some of you may know this, some of you won't, but this slot had two versions, an older small map that featured a "survive the ordeal while the mastermind is watching you" gameplay where you needed to pass the mastermind somehow without getting killed in the process. Hard, but not a fun map. However, the newer version of map 32 fixes all of that. A map set in some ruins, hard gameplay but at least it's more fun to play unlike its counterpart, accompanied by a MIDI rendition of Botpack#9 from Unreal Tournament... great! Spiders, zombies, revenants, cacos, pain elementals, and two cybies are waiting for you to be crushed or crush them to death. Lovely map.

Going back to the normal levels...

Episode 4 contains maps 16 to 20 and follows almost the same theme in the last episode, where the main difference is that it features even more tech-base maps. Maps 16 and 17... this is where the real game begins; the difficulty raises some points, it has more ambushes, and it starts relying on revenants, hell knights, and also archviles. Map 18 shows another progressive "hellification" with well-placed monsters and a mastermind in a small place waiting to say hello... oh, and more agitated revenants are on the loose. Map 19 has some really nasty traps involving revs, archies and imps... and a cybie waiting to duel in an island. Map 20 starts the journey to Hell with a gateway in the end of the map along with more hellspawn. Tricky episode for sure, and now... HELL!!!

Episode 5 is Hell, composed of maps 21 to 26, featuring hellish maps with a clear inspiration from Plutonia, you'll see that when you play it. Map 21 is like the warm-up for the incoming maps, annoying hellspawn with another cybie as a sort of turret, and some puzzle-lift that you must be quick to progress. Map 22 has one word... REVENANTS!!!... 'nuff said. Map 23 is like the big brother of Mt. Erebus (E3M6), which has big islands surrounded by lava. Map 24 has the trickiest fight of this wad, and it's a tricky map too with lots of places to go. Map 25 is a big hellish town with a gimmick fight against the teleporting cybie. You must be alert at all times or you'll eat one of his rockets. Search all the buildings and don't leave a single bastard alive. And map 26, as the name implies, is a coliseum where you must get all the keys and get out of that place alive. Be really careful of ambushes because archviles are there to burn you to death. After crossing the last resistance, you'll start the last episode.

Episode 6, which has maps 27 to 30, mix all the previous episodes in terms of themes and architecture. Map 27 has you do something important in the map and a group of archviles is spawned in several areas, reviving all the monsters that you killed in the process...yeah, expect some infuriating events thanks to that. Map 28 does kinda the same, but instead of archies, revenants can come out along with a small varied group of monsters, and of course... keys and cyberdemons. Ah, one more thing: be careful of traps too. Map 29 is by far the most time-consuming map of the whole mapset... big map with lots of monsters and both bosses, a mastermind sniping you from afar and a couple of cybies hidden from you. All of that for some keys. And the final map. Few monsters, the last resistance, but they can't do much against you except one. Instead of being a typical Icon of Sin map, it was replaced by a special boss monster (which is a Nazi replacement). It has a LOT of attacks with powerful projectiles, and some of them have homing properties. But, some good evading skills and well placed BFG shots are enough to kill that monstrosity.

And that's it for the mapset. Good difficulty curve, lots of ambushes and traps, nice homage or resemblance to Doom 1 and Plutonia with the Doom 2 gameplay and... oh yeah, I forgot one key detail! The music. Deadwing ALSO did the music and, honestly, I liked it a lot. If you have a soundfont saved in your Doom folder, I totally recommend you use it... configure it and you're good to go.

Before I go, you need to know two things before you play this wad:

- All maps have less than 200 monsters
- Don't play this wad with randomizer mods because it'll replace the custom boss with a normal Nazi mob and, therefore, you won't finish the map.

Well, that's all for this review. I already did a playthrough of this mapset but, after making this new review, I'll say this... Play it by all means. I had a blast playing this mapset. Thumbs up!
 

The /newstuff Chronicles is a very sporadic roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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Hell's Train Station - JagDogger2525
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - GZDoom - 41.33 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
You've been dropped off at a train station, but the train is broken down. You have to fix it by pumping demons full of pellets from your shotgun, so that you can get to work on time. Just kidding... but for real, the text file says you have to save the station so that it can be "used again." To me this place looks far beyond repair. In one area the tracks just END. In another, the tracks are cemented under hundreds of tiny, immovable boxes.

Aside from that, this map is very... odd. It does have features. Such as 10 difficulty settings, which seems unnecessary, and rendered Doom 1 music, which I really like, but then the music changes often when you enter new areas, which is strange. There's some custom fx, and some silly slopes and 3D floors.

And then there's the gameplay. Well, despite all the features, the main substance of the WAD is huge open areas peppered with monsters and items. I need to talk about the difficulty settings here, because they change the game a lot. I tried "hell spawn" to start (skill 6), and found the beginning to be tiresome, so I bumped it down to "wimpy little imp" (skill 4) and found it to be pretty easy. The thing is, the skill levels seem to drastically change the placement of items (such as keys and weapons), as well as the number and types of monsters. On skill 4, the first room has some zombiemen and one imp. On skill 6, it's some imps that fire a red plasma ball. On skill 10, it's imps that fire mancuballs and take 3 shells to drop, as well as beefed up chaingunners. I wonder if JagDogger2525 ever completed the map on skill 10, because it seems impossible.

Also of note, the map is on E5M1, but the wad works with both Doom 1 and 2, and maybe has the SSG and BFG? It's a little confusing. Anyway, like I said, it's wide open most of the time and you can run by all the monsters with ease, or at least I did on skill 4. I imagine you won't be able to do that on higher difficulties because you'll be getting hitscanned to death in seconds. Seriously, skill 10 has hell knights and barons with a hitscan attack. Either that or an invisible projectile... whatever it is, it's ludicrous (causing confusion, disturbing the peace). This WAD is suffering in both gameplay and visuals, which is a little disappointing for a 30 megabyte file.

UAC First World Facility - OVERKILL_Adam
Doom 2 - Single Player - Limit Removing - 1.02 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
Ah, yes, I remember the first time I made a map. Actually, I don't, but I'm sure it looked nothing like UAC First World Facility.

This map by OVERKILL_Adam is fun and nostalgic. In general there seemed to be way too much health and ammo around, which didn't seem to bother me at all. In fact the only bother was remedied as soon as I found a backpack, so I could finally go pick up those extra shotguns. But despite plenty of meds, I did manage to die at the hands of some pesky chaingunners once or twice, -maybe- a baron, or whatever. Overall the challenge level is low, I'm just a reckless player.

So as the Disturbed MIDI serenades your ears, you'll gaze about at the structures that have been laid out for you - you, the helpless pawn, the lab rat strapped to a chair, with your eyelids held open by hooks, forced to "cleanse the evil hellspawn" and "save the world." Yes, that's you, and you see before you a maze of truly demented construction. To describe it would be impossible, but I'll describe it anyway. Imagine marble goat-heads abutting computer screens with wood trim. Blue carpets and metal supports. Cement and space-rock and STARTAN. Hearts, stars, and rainbows, clovers, and blue moons. You might call "zany" or "wacky" and if those words make you uncomfortable, then maybe you're too young to die.

Part of the map is based on a map from Payday, and it's pretty obvious because the styles are clashing. But really the entire map is clashing - colors, textures, enemies. It feels thrown together, but in a way that's charming and that makes it fun to explore because you never know what's coming next. Textures could have been aligned better in some places, and lighting was off-and-on (I hate myself), with some areas being flat lighting while others having stark contrast. Nothing major though - and most areas had lots of sector furniture and decorations which gave it a lived-in feel that I enjoyed. On a scale from 1 to Doom1.wad, this is a pretty solid entry into mapping by OVERKILL_Adam.

Scharfschutze Suche - D.Scratch
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 9.3 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
This offering from author D.Scratch is "a experimental wad i did in a Month" which sounds very promising. What kind of experimental? You mean like Frankenstein? Is D.Scratch really Doctor scratch? (I thought the D stood for something else.) Is this wad just a scattering of limbs torn from other maps, stitched together into a terrifying and unplayable amoeba?

NOPE! His name is "D*** Scratch" just like you knew it was, and you already looked at all the screenshots which clearly show a beautiful and professional level, because pictures are the most important thing really, you definitely shouldn't waste your time reading Magicsofa's lunatic drivel.

You are still reading for some reason, so now I will go on to actually describe the wad, in an effort to bore you to death. Scharfschutze Suche is a German title which at first my brain didn't really see because all I could see was "Wolfenstein", but eventually I realized it obviously means "Sucky Scarf Shooter." However, this isn't a Wolfenstein map, nor is it sucky. It does have a slight Wolf3D vibe since you have a knife, pistol, and SMG to replace the regular Doom arsenal. There's also a rifle... we'll get into that later.

The bullets, which are not hitscans but adorable little projectiles, do massive damage. You can be taken down fast, and at times it can be really frustrating to get sniped. On the other hand, you can also knife the crap out of people and it's really fun. You also have an inventory medkit that will restore up to 100 health, which can really save the day. Your knife and pistol don't alert enemies so there is *some* stealth element to the game, although it's a little contrived. At the beginning, all of the enemies are facing away from you. Later on this isn't the case as much, but for much of the game (especially right outside the facility) you can take down each bad guy, one by one, without any alerts. Sometimes they will be standing right next to each other, screaming in pain, and nobody notices. It's not a huge problem, just made certain areas feel like they were staged, taking away from the idea that you're dropping in unexpected. With all the GZDoom features I would have liked to see some patrols! Oh well - it didn't ruin the fun overall.

Let's get into the sniper rifle. With alt-fire you can zoom it in, and that does come in handy in a few spots. It's a little funny to be sniping in Doom but whatever, I didn't mind. What I did mind was that the damage is heavily reduced when you are not zoomed in! This makes no sense and ruined the rifle for me. Give me terrible accuracy, so that when I hipfire like an idiot the bullet goes off the planet and I die with reasonable cause. If I get a lucky hit though, the victim should be a goner. Instead the rifle is just as accurate without zoom, but it'll suddenly take two shots to kill someone instead of one. Garbage I say, GARBAGE. A few times I resorted to zooming on people in close quarters, which is really not easy on the eyes. Mostly I just used the knife and SMG, both of which are very satisfying to use.

On to the visuals. This map is gorgeous. Unfortunately the very beginning involves a super dark area where you fall down a pit to your death. Once you get past that, everything is great except for the vents (yes, you'll have to use the crouch key in this wad, get over it) but hey, they are vents, so I'm okay with them not being pretty. In a way it made me feel more like I was in an area I'm not supposed to see. Anyway the rest of the level is packed with snazzy decorations, dope sector detail, and fantastic lighting. For an "experimental" wad, there's a fair amount of polish on the architecture. Considering the solid gameplay to match, this is a wad worth downloading. I only hope that next year, which is really this year because of how backlogged the reviews are HINT HINT please help me, there might be more Sucky Scarf Shooter levels to play!

Distorted Memories - Derek " Count " Pierson
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 387.18 KB -
Reviewed by: yakfak
Distorted Memories is a replacement episode for Doom 1 that invokes some the trademark moments of the original game without turning them into clichés. Two maps are dedicated to each of the Ultimate four episodes, and their difficulty climbs accordingly.

These levels are arranged in pleasant ways, their lines avoiding too much unnecessary symmetry, instead creating simple loops of gameplay area with plenty of devious corners for the enemies to conceal themselves away. There's plenty of secrets to find, and most of them are a touch more clever than the standard chainsaw-in-a-cupboard.

Distorted Memories is at its best when forcing the player into slightly unsavoury game-pieces - maps four and five require Doomguy to range into slime and lava when progress seems obscured, while seven and eight punish you with short area-denial combat puzzles where you'll have to fidget away from baron attacks and desperately seek a way to stand your ground. Even the opening map asks you to scramble for a berserk kit before you can really feel safe! There's also a crazy secret level based around a single fiery arena fight.

Most of the homages to the original levels hit home pleasingly, although you could say it's distasteful to have your map six wear the trappings of Mt. Erebus and yet be totally linear. Still, you get to shoot a lot of cacodemons out of the sky with a rocket launcher, so it's not all bad.

This is a good level set, harder than most Doom episodes towards the end but still perfectly manageable without saves. Expert players who blaze past levels like these might attempt them with -respawn enabled. Good stuff all round!

The Deserted UAC Plant - Solo-Bringer
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 73.61 KB -
Reviewed by: obake
The story of the wad is that no one else showed up to work at the UAC. You explore a small, empty building, find three keys and exit. End of game.

Seriously, the wad's title is absolutely accurate. There is no one else besides you at the building. No monsters, pickups (besides keys), or jumpscares. There is not even music. I have to say, the rooms themselves are functional (except the blue maze not featured on the automap). The author did a good job detailing small touches, like the outside area with all of the trees, and a singular pool of damaging nukage. I applaud them for trying something different. But I don't feel there is enough here to justify uploading to idgames.

Temple Palace - VeeTHis
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 16.63 KB -
Reviewed by: Liberation
A small linear map01 replacement that will take roughly 3 or 4 minutes to complete.

The map is lacking in general, small in design, poor texture alignment and architecture. It does have a few traps, but nothing special.

If you're desperate for something to play, then go play Entryway again, it's still more fun than this.

Green Inferno - AconyX
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 192.67 KB -
Reviewed by: Memfis
A preview of a megawad scheduled to release in the next 10-20 years. The geometry here is very very simple; instead the level tries to charm you with its fancy detailing. There are tiny borders and elaborate ceiling decorations everywhere. They are not particularly original but still pleasant to look at and remind me of a style that was rather popular around ten years ago. The gameplay is relatively relaxed and for the most part allows you to set your own pace, but there are two or three traps that require quick reaction. Play this if you're in a mood for a simple five minute adventure in a typical E4 setting.

The Joy of Mapping #3 - MANDATORY JOY - Jimmy & Various
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 7.12 MB -
Reviewed by: obake
This wad already gained points from the restructure of Weird Al's "Mandatory Fun" cover art. The theme of Joy of Mapping #3 is "Mandatory Joy", and joy there is. This is an overall fun speedmapping compilation, with a few hiccups here and there.

The wad starts with two "eh" maps, but quickly evolves into really cool levels utilizing UDMF features and sharp gameplay. One of my favorites is Gutawer's "Infestation Station". It has quite a few interesting areas, including a room with a glass floor and hellish caverns.

Looking at my notes, I found a lot of the maps (from 3-8 especially) hectic fun. Many can be ran through at fast pace, making encounters even more exciting and overwhelming. Don't worry, I made sure to get good looks at each map after I was done clearing out demons.

The second half of the wad goes through a major difficulty spike. Maps 13 and onward can be grueling, despite being short. Often times this makes the maps even more enjoyable, but sometimes not. Maps like Alfonzo's "Slime Nook", for example, where gameplay feels terse (the level could have used a chaingun early on.)

Going back to the first half, Polyduck's "First Map", DrPySpy's "Battle Tendency", and Kevans Evan's "Micro Computer Lab" all lack refinement. The worst level is 17, Sarais Vanu's "Midal". Film critic Mark Kermode would call it a "cluster fruitcake". Though I do like some of the structures in the map.

But enough of the bad. Let's get to the good, which this wad has a lot of! There is the already mentioned "Infestation Station", and the four maps afterwards which are all a blast. There is RDWPA's "Library of Horrors", which lives up to its name in terms of both aesthetics and difficulty. Fonze's "Funked Up", while not my favorite gameplay wise, leaves an impression, and is short enough to be inoffensive. Zzyzx's "Embers" looks outstanding, as does the wad's closer, "Oasis" by Jimmy. "Oasis" is a perfect way to end the wad; a breather after some of the tough-as-nails maps of the second half. Plus it looks fantastic.

The only bugs I found were in Dalvi Dandi's otherwise great "Fortress of Blood" (an imp does not teleport out), and "Embers" (there is a see through piece of floor.)

Definitely give Joy of Mapping #3 a try!

Switcheroom: The Forgotten Maps - Various
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 734.1 KB -
Reviewed by: yakfak
Eighteen maps, here, the conceit being that each is a tribute to an original IWAD map dressed in the theming of another level, from an episode in which it doesn't belong.

You'll soon notice the discomfiting illusion this creates: you know these levels well enough that the few diversions from the blueprint can be jarring. Worryingly, these changes tend to veer towards trivializing the levels - where the original E4M2 was pitiless, demanding leaps of faith and tight fighting out of a corner, its doppelgangers here under-estimate the player and short-changes them in terms of action. Ultimate Doom E4M6 is notoriously vicious from pistol- start; you can safely shoulder-barge your way to this version's exit in five minutes. If the theming of the level is getting in the way of its gameplay, then the project is largely to blame!

The main Switcheroom project was a sweet little idea, disarmed of its naivety by the way we all have exhaustive knowledge of the original maps and rendered fairly uneventful to play in the end. Many of these extra maps follow the same pattern, but there are two more substantial levels:

srforgot.wad E2M1 combines E4M5 with the Episode 2 theme - that's the weirdest Ultimate Doom map done up in obscure trappings. The map isn't spectacular since it doesn't stray from the blueprint except in scale and colour choices but the marriage naturally works. E2M6 is the real jewel, reconfiguring The Slough of Despair as if it appeared in the final episode and this, at last, does something new, giving the player difficulty on the Ultimate Doom higher end, the shambling horde filling out the curves and peculiarities of the map in a way the original E3M2 longs for, paired with some new and interesting secrets along the way.

Projects like these have their parameters all wrong. Like Switcheroom, this is a set of levels concerned mainly with craftsmanship. If you wanna make a good Doom 1 map, build your own obsessions, lose the hero worship and understand that you are operating on a seam that has already been heavily mined.

The /newstuff Chronicles is a usually-weekly roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

View full news article

• BFG edition IWAD Support

• Server-Side Demos

• Improved demo compression

• WAD downloads directly from the server

• Commentary, Team and Spectator Modes added to Voice Chat

• UT-style double jumping

• Instant Teleporting (like quake)

• True 16:9 Widescreen Support (and better support for other screen modes)

• Super-Sampled Anti-Aliasing (single core)

For an extensive list of changes since 1.09, see the changelog. To download, visit the official website.

Tutorial: Lifts - JagDogger2525
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 5.51 KB -
Reviewed by: Walter confetti
Another tutorial level made by JagDogger2525 which replaces MAP37, and like the previous one, the level itself itself is a square room (this time bigger and with more hazards than "Music Change") with a super shotgun and two demons as opponents. The lift (yes, there's only a lift) in the title is a basic ZDoom lift that help you get out from a toxic blood pit that divides the room from an island with the super shotgun.

I expected to see more lift examples, like lifts using 3D floors, but I think it's OK for learning ZDoom techniques if you are a newbie... otherwise, skip it.
 

Simple Mirrored Monsters - Coldiron
Any - N/A - ZDoom Compatible - 83.04 KB -
Reviewed by: Spie812
Crispy Doom is a neat little port which, along with its other features, includes some simple but cool graphical effects. One of those effect is randomly mirroring corpses, adding some variety to a bunch of dead demons. Another effect is colored blood, blue for the cacodemon and green for the hell nobles. Simple features like these are mysteriously absent from even more advanced ports.

The idea of this mod is simple: add both of those effects to your ZDoom-compatible port of choice. What you see is what you get. It works just like it says it does. The mod includes versions for every major IWAD (meaning Heretic, Hexen, and Strife are included) and even some PWADs with custom monsters or palettes (like Ancient Aliens or Valiant).

It's pretty neat stuff. Add it to your autoload (or something)!
 

Speed Master - Russian Doom Community (see below)
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 23.82 MB -
Reviewed by: obake
"Speed Master" is a compilation of Russian speedmaps. Quality in general is high, though select maps run into gameplay issues. More on those later.

"Speed Master" has nice variety in themes, given the maps came from three separate mapping competitions. There are atmospheric maps, puzzle maps, and even slightly silly maps. None stand out as looking bad, though some are just OK. On the other side of the coin, there are maps that are absolutely gorgeous.

Gameplay wise, the wad is incredibly tough. There are maps here that will overwhelm even veteran players. While there are certainly parts that are frustrating, the majority is great fun.

The highlights, in my opinion, are:

Map 09: Into the Core - A cool tech map that ends in an expansive, epic way.

Maps 31 and 32 - Map 31 is strange and hypnotic, and 32 is...well, I won't spoil it. ;)

Map 19: Demense of the Sleepless - Such a scary, hectic map, yet surprisingly not too difficult.

Map 30: Hell Island - My favorite map of the set. An out all brouhaha that never slogs. Has an interesting boss, too.

As for downsides to "Speed Master", there are a few clunky maps. Map 05: Safety Advice, has noticeably questionable encounters, especially in an area where you fall into tiny rooms that quickly fill up with Hell Knights.

Map 22: Dimension Dispersion has the only game-breaking bug I found in the mapset: one of the lava pits in the red key room is inescapable and does no damage. There are also a few cases of maps not indicating where the player needs to go, and some maps could certainly use more ammo and health.

But overall, "Speed Master" is a wad that is well worth your time.
 

Clockwork 70 - Paul Corfiatis (Pcorf)
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 156.75 KB -
Reviewed by: Memfis
Another level from Paul Corfiatis, one of the most prolific authors of all time. Just like a lot of his works it somewhat suffers from the abundance of rectangular architecture, but the overall structure of the map is neat and the way it gradually unfolds is pleasant to see. Visually I really liked the use of green and red bricks; they stood out nicely in an otherwise very brown setting. However, the best thing about this wad is the custom MIDI provided. It uses a ticking clock as one of the instruments, resulting in a unique and catchy melody. It's worth playing Clockwork 70 just so that you can hear it. But keep in mind that Paul's ammo balance is strict as usual, so careful aiming and the use of chainsaw is recommended.
 

JAGL2(Just Another Generic Level 2) - ShamanZT
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 100.12 KB -
Reviewed by: Scotty
This map is the first effort from ShamanZT and it is a simple techbase jaunt, nothing we haven't seen many times before. Ultimately the experience is as suggested in the name, it is indeed just another generic level. However, there are one or two moderately interesting traps to be found in this map.
 

Low Memory - Bzzrak Ktazzz
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 234.62 KB -
Reviewed by: leodoom85
Low Memory is a 2-level mapset by Bzzrak which must be played in Doom 1 and... oh boy, this set is clever and deadly.

As I said before, you start in E1M1 in Doom 1 and... what a way to start. You stand before six doors, but you must choose the correct door or you'll end up crushed (first image). Now you know that this map is NOT any map, so be prepared for traps, and don't be ashamed of using saves. You'll need them.

After the first trial, you'll be teleported to a sort of question (choosing easy or hard) that, to me, doesn't have much relevance to the progress of the map unless I'm completely wrong. But after choosing one option, you'll be teleported back to the beginning, but this time you'll advance further.

Then you'll reach a fleshy area after picking up a soulsphere and you'll know that it's a trap. How can you get out? Simple, look at clues like arrows, or try shooting. After you do some platforming and pick up the red key, you'll reach the next area in which you'll find some colorful architecture that acts as lifts (second image). Be careful of the cacos and imp-hitscanner turrets before proceeding.

After crossing into the next area, you'll reach more platforming areas with shooting a switch included (third image) with a mean crusher trap. Also, if you fall, you need to reach a teleporter nearby, but fortunately there's no damaging floor. That teleporter leads you to a special area with a bunch of teleporters and their respective texture showing the area that will be revealed as long as you progress more in the map (fourth image).

The next area can be confusing and it can potentially stop you from progressing because there are more crushers with an invulnerability sphere in a secret area, and if you're not careful, it will activate those crushers. But if you're successful, you'll find more switches, tricks and traps until you find the blue key, which will lead you to the exit.

E1M2 is just a non-functional, weird map where you need to press use to exit. Anyway... Low Memory is not the usual map where you kill everything in sight; the map itself will try to kill you instead. Neat challenge that will test your skill and your sanity, and it's up to you players to try this map.
 

RetributioN Trilogy - Fenes Octavian Romulus (DooM_RO)
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 20.27 MB -
Reviewed by: SP_FACE1
This mapset consist of three levels. The first two are enormous maps, and the third one is a small Doom 2-like final map. I played this on Hurt Me Plenty.

The first level is a techbase map. It was released first as a separate map to replace E2M8. Its style is reminiscent of episode 1 and episode 2 base levels with small abstract hellish areas and caves here and there. You begin your quest in a subway car which takes you to this huge base with empty halls and spacey, dimly-lit corridors. The author says in the description that the levels aim to give the player a feeling of exploration, and that's what I got right from the start. This sentiment is emphasized by the soothing and a bit eerie ambient soundtrack, which is a very good fit for the level. I don't usually pay that much attention to music, but now I did because it was such a suitable choice.

The visual style is a bit more detailed than Doom's original techbase theme. However, the detailing varies a lot. Sometimes you come across plainly textured, fully lit, big blocky rooms that take you back to the nineties, but mostly you encounter areas with more detail. The areas near the start were less good-looking than the later parts.

The layout is very interconnected. Especially in the beginning you can find multiple semi-secret panels that take you to a corridor which connects to the other side of the level. The level opens passages like this the more you progress.

The pace of the level is pretty relaxed. At start you are greeted with empty areas with no monsters, and everything is suspiciously silent. Some single Demons show up after wandering for a while, but the feeling of being alone in this huge base stays with you. You'll encounter your first herd of enemies in the outside area on top of a cliff. And when you enter the cave area you'll start to get enemies in your face. The enemy fights in the beginning areas are more close combat. I usually evaded the first bigger encounters by running around them, which turned out to be a good strategy, as that way I found better positions to shoot at them.

After you get the blue keycard and go south to the blue door area the enemies appear more from a distance, such as on top of crates or behind grilles on the walls. This area contained a lot of cannon fodder, Zombies, Sergeants and Imps. It was very soothing to kill them en masse. You still get enemies in your face too. The visual style also got better. There was more consistent detailing and the rooms got more vertical.

The area behind the yellow door continued the same rhythm; you enter peaceful and spacious areas, sometimes enemies run after you, sometimes you get to slay them from a distance. The open area with the zigzag path and pillars over the slime presented an enjoyable fight. The walls were filled with Imps shooting at you from the distance while Cacodemons were flying in the middle and you had to run around the path throwing rockets at them while avoiding falling down to the slime.

After the second half I started running out of ammo. This happened more than once. Well, I had a lot of plasma ammo but I had no plasma rifle. If I'm not mistaken you only get the plasma rifle after the Cyberdemon fight, which I think was not fair. There was a BFG in the level but I cannot remember now if I got it or not. However I'm sure I didn't have BFG in the Cyberdemon room. Maybe the BFG was a secret. There were 18 secrets in total. I found half. There were many secrets where you could see the item from a window and then had to figure out how to get there. Those were nice and logical puzzles.

The fight before the exit is probably the roughest. You get a lot of Demons, Barons and a Spider Mastermind. But in the end it's not that big of an issue because you can compartmentalize them to a room and shoot them through the windows or make them fight each other.

It took me almost an hour to finish the level even though I did not get lost. It was a pleasure to stroll through the map and admire the areas despite the small throwbacks to the nineties here and there :) I think the author succeeded very well in giving the player the feeling of exploration in the first level.

The second map has Doom 2 styled abstract hell visuals. Actually it has almost all kinds of areas. Caves, rocky cliffs, lava, slime, organic, gothic, marble and what have you. Whereas the first map has a slower, almost wandering pace with a hauntingly soothing ambient track, the second map is more hectic, aggressive and has a metal song as soundtrack. The fights didn't always feel fun. There were too many Chaingunners at distance. The open area with the Quake's Q logo on the ground was the first time I thought "I'm gonna IDDQD if this hitscanning continues." And it sadly did, but thankfully not all the time. In general this map is much more slaughtery than the first one. Also this map is much larger than the first one and there are over a thousand monsters.

I must say I did not find that many things to like in this map. I did not get any feeling of exploration here. The layout was confusing. It didn't feel interconnected at all. Yes, there were teleporters, but it's always hard to figure out where they take you. Also killing started to feel almost like work at times, and after an hour I was considering giving up on the map.

The western part of the map was dedicated to getting the blue key. The eastern part was for acquiring the yellow key. And in the middle you entered the area with the red key and exit. That sounds simple but it wasn't. I got frustrated and went astray more than once. I was at a loss what the various buttons were supposed to open. It didn't help that the abstract hellish landscape of Doom 2 is not my favorite theme. I also think the styles changed too much. But there were some areas that I liked. For example, the section with organic texturing was one of the best parts in the level. Other good areas were the library and the red gothic cathedral.

The third and last map was almost a traditional Romero's head endgame map but instead you had to push two buttons to finish it. The music choice for this map was weird. I guess in some sense it fits the level. I was pretty exhausted from the second map and I rushed the final map as fast as I could.

TL;DR
The first map is without a doubt the strongest. Vast, interconnected and explorative techbase map with some nice detailing, relaxing pace, interesting fights, and great ambient music. The second map is a gigantic level with a mishmash of styles. At times it feels like your are working at Switch Hunting Incorporated instead of enjoying a game, and then you get perforated by a Chaingunner. The last map is OK but I'm not sure if it was that necessary. In fact the levels feel so different from each other that I wonder if it was a good idea to combine them into one WAD.
 

The Cursed Hangar - Jonathan Dowland
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 293.58 KB -
Reviewed by: Myst.Haruko
"The Cursed Hangar" is a Boom compatible map for Doom. It was made for the Freedoom project, but it was replaced sometime around 2017, so this map was edited, fixed, and submitted to /idgames. It plays identically to vanilla Hangar. Some zombies and imps to shoot, and some switches to press. Most of them were near corners as shotgun meat. It wasn't hard to avoid projectiles or find hidden areas. Not much to say about it, besides the neat custom SFX for the imps.

Map layout was interesting. I liked some touches, like the outside area for air transport or pools of slime. It really resembles a hangar of some sort. I actually disliked the lighting, as this is way too dark for some ports.

Some Boom format things were used – like transparency for windows, barrels explosions with texture/floor changes at the start, or colormaps to transfer to a red colour for going down the stairs for the switch or secret.

I noticed some misalignments and cut off textures on flats and some problems with green slime floors, and one unclosed sector in same green slime area (source ports like GZDoom say that line 2573 is unclosed).

Anyway, this map is perfect for lunch break as it won't even take 10 minutes to beat.
 

Earth Assault - Peter Hunt (Seidolon)
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 317.69 KB -
Reviewed by: leodoom85
Earth Assault is a three-level, short, fast-paced mapset made by Seidolon which resembles some maps in TNT. Time to review this bad boy.

Map 01 stars, and a barrel is crucial for dispatching the first group of zombies, but there's no indication of a door to get out, which can be confusing (first image). I consider that the only downside of the map and the whole wad, so don't worry, it gets better after that.

The next area reminded me of typical architecture found in Doom and TNT, like a mix of both (second image), and that combination is present in the rest of the maps. The monsters will make you feel surrounded, but since those monsters are low-tier mixed with a hell knight and some cacos, it won't be a problem. And nearby some secrets are there, including some armor.

As you progress, more traps will activate, so stay alert. This map has a lot of monsters for a first map, around 150. After that, you'll reach the last part (third image) in which you will find more powerful monsters like revenants, but you can dispatch them quickly.

Near the exit you'll find more secrets and some great goodies that will keep you in form for the next map. Great and enjoyable first map.

Map 02... surprise... couple of imps waiting for your shotgun (fourth image). There are three ways to go at the starting point. This map starts a bit quiet but not for long, because after some minor fights and picking up the yellow key, the map will be slightly harder.

The outside area leading to the yellow door (fifth image) is perfect for some traps. After pressing the switch leading to the exit path, a LOT of monsters, including an archvile, will appear in that big area. Some infighting will definitely help.

The exit (sixth image) is just more monsters, but expect some barons for the last resistance. This is the map where you can get the rocket launcher if you find the secret. Short map for the size but it's still fun to play.

Map 03 starts with a group of monsters surrounding you, including chaingunners, plus some radioactive pools and some secrets (seventh image).

You'll find some big areas, like a hangar or something, leading to a sort of rocky maze involving more monsters at the top and more monster traps (eighth image). This is even more reminiscent of TNT than Doom 2 due to how the map is presented to you, and I like it... it feels different somehow.

After picking up the yellow key, you'll reach a key point in the map involving more monsters, traps, an exit for which you need the blue key, a path leading to the red key, and a soulsphere (ninth image).

Before reaching the blue exit switch, you'll need to fight more monsters, and of course, closet traps (tenth image). After activating the last switch, more teleporting mid-tier monsters will appear, but you can dispatch them quickly with the rocket launcher.

More barons and revenants are waiting for you in the exit... not surprising as you've killed more than 300 monsters so far. This map was great in terms of fights, gameplay pace and use of monsters.

Overall, it was a nice mapset that you can finish in one sitting. Fairly hard, not very difficult. Good aesthetic architecture and detail for the maps that, like I said, feels like a mix of Doom and TNT. Great stuff Seidolon!
 

The /newstuff Chronicles is a usually-weekly roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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Project Uber - Darsycho
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 62.14 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
Preface: This is an outdated WAD. The author just put up a newer verson on the mod thread, which includes a second player class. I realized this after doing the review, and I'm extremely lazy so you'll have to find out about the new class for yourself! Get it from http://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=45173

"Once again, hell is up to no good. They've decided to make a supercomputer thing producing all sorts of new demons, it is up to you as Captain Akimbo to put a stop to this!"

When I read a WAD description such as this, I automatically get a strange taste in my mouth as if I'm a child claiming not to like a food before even trying it. It speaks of collecting "score," which is ironically a creation from hell that does NOT belong in Doom. The crowds of purists are gathering with pitchforks, chanting "E-1, E-1, E-1!" Torches will be set to all the multi-floored buildings, and nothing but the most pristine Doom maps will be born out of the ashes.

Somehow, despite the world coming to an end, I managed to load up the WAD. Once I hit the main menu, I forgot about all my skepticism and gloom. I guess I'm just a sucker for a dope main menu with a legit beat, the kind that says "get ready to launch, girl." I picked Intermediate difficulty, which is unusual because normally I think I'm tough and I pick the second hardest difficulty. Later on I almost considered switching to Easy, but the shame and guilt prevented me.

You start off with akimbo pistols, because obviously, you're Captain Akimbo, and oh yes, all of the weapons are such. When using the pistols, you can use alternate fire to shoot out a wonky projectile at the expense of health. I didn't use it ever. The pistols, on the other hand, have infinite ammo, and beserk makes them faster (and stronger I think?), and they also seem to do extra damage when you're in melee range. As such, you can use the pistols for a large part of the game. And you might be, because I found it incredibly easy to waste all of my ammo. For me double weapons apparently means quadruple trigger happy.

The first thing you will do is collect some "bombs" and then immediately waste one of them because you have no idea what they do. Well, they turn you into some sort of lord of the shotguns for a short time, during which you are invulnerable and fire maddening amounts of SSG blasts as well as bouncing shotguns that explode! Once I wasted the three given at the start, I never had more than 1 in stock. You get more by getting points or by finding pickups, and you'll wish you saved those first three. Anyway, it's ridiculous but fun.

I quite enjoyed the akimbo weapons, especially the plasma gun/rail gun combo. I did wish that there was a grenade launcher of some kind, but I haven't played the new class so I deserve to suffer. At first the guns seem overpowered but you quickly realize that the relentless tide of custom monsters is never going to let up. There are many variants on every Doom monster, plus a bunch of other monsters just thrown in. I guess I'm not as much of a purist as I thought because I was totally down with the wacky hordes of giant mancubuses and mini cacos. There's a little bit of light jumping and puzzling, but most of your time will be spent in bullet hell. For me this meant saving constantly, so maybe you should just play on Easy, alright pipsqueak?

In terms of visuals, there are a lot of great locations, and most of it looks pretty awesome. However, when the style changed from sleek futuristic to hellish and psychedelic, it lost some cohesion. Some of the later areas do look amazing but it kinda felt like Captain Akimbo had caused a time rift where classic Doom 2 mapping was infesting what should be a future-goth fortress. It certainly didn't ruin the action, which is excessive.

Speaking of excessive action, the last level is a real slog. Start in an arena, fight 4 or 5 battles, exit the arena to find... a much bigger arena encircling the first. Kill all the uber-wraiths and other riff-raff, a portal opens. Step in to find... a new level? Yup, you are now in a totally separate place that's basically its own level filled to the brim with revenants and archies. This is where I turned on the hax. I found it tedious even with God mode - finally I found the exit, which brings you to a -completely- different place, and finally, the end boss! You defeat it and... enter yet another area! Is this the end? No, it isn't! This map felt like an entire second episode was crammed into a single level. The room with the archies and revs was uninspired and overcrowded, which is unfortunate because the part right after that is stunning as well as playable. You saved those three bombs from the beginning, right?

Overall, this mod delivers what it promises. It's a zany adventure through Darsycho's twisted mind, which apparently has time to come up with silly replacements for all the in-game messages. And if you can't handle seeing a score counter on the screen, well then you might as well throw that source port in the garbage!
 

Aeon Deathmatch - Argentum, Combinebobnt, Decay, Dranzer, Dynamo, Grymmoire, HeavenWraith, IvanDobrovski, Jdagenet, Ra
Doom 2 - Deathmatch - Zandronum - 84.57 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
Ah yes, deathmatch. A time to set aside the troubles of the world and get together with your "friends," who may or may not be simulated, to throw silly taunts around while blowing each other away. I actually sometimes wish that real people were more like the bots, who say hilarious things such as "Meet your Doom." All you get online is "GG" or perhaps, if you are lucky, "LOL"

Anyway, here we have the appropriate number of maps, 33, in which to blast thy foes. Almost all of them look really good, with a few looking exceptionally sexy. One map did employ generous amounts of vomit green and vomit brown, which didn't tickle me in an appropriate way, but I just accepted it because let's face it, we're all here for a little taste of hell. Such as a Minecraft map where little creeper decorations are scattered all OVER the place, just silently probing your mind. Or a Chex Quest map that really blows your nose. It's all here folks. It flows like Greenwar and stings like GothicDM. It includes a track from the Unreal Tournament music, which makes me insanely happy. It's even got the BFG, which is part of a balanced breakfast. What more could you want for your kids?
 

Starbase Gehenna - Abe87
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 2.28 MB -
Reviewed by: magicsofa
This nine level episode comes from user Abe87, who from now on I'll refer to as Honest Abe because their misc. author info reads "Nothing special."

Overall I found this WAD to be quite enjoyable. I actually went back into the text file after finishing it, thinking there might be a backstory, because the atmosphere of the levels was quite nice (most of the time), and a lot of the locations actually felt like they had some meaning other than just a room to hold some demons. This is especially true in the first few levels, where the gameplay is pretty slow, with small enemies roaming large, sprawling hallways.

I might have liked a -bit- more action early on - the maps felt bigger than E1 maps, but with fewer enemies. I didn't mind however because they were fun to explore. The architecture and texturing were not totally consistent (a few sparse or ugly areas) but were creative and varied, and I enjoyed the effort towards a tech-base that's being tainted by the evil seeping from the cracks. The design was usually non-linear and relied very little on copy-pasta. One commenter complained of looking at the automap too much, but I would disagree since no two areas looked quite the same. It's just that you aren't rail-shootered along and may have to backtrack once in a while. Too bad Doomguy runs so slow! Another commenter said you will take two hours to complete the WAD because the distances are so long, and they were right.

The second half of Starbase Gehenna increases the action as well as the health items significantly. As you will see in the screenshots, at first I was running around with 5% health - and I would complete whole levels like that. Later on, the balance was much better. It still wasn't very tough on UV though, so all you nutcases with pent up feelings to blow out of a virtual shotgun barrel will need -fast or -respawn or some other masochistic nonsense to appease your dark desires. Personally I don't see a pressing need to make Doom into an E-sport, and neither does Honest Abe apparently.

Atmosphere in the second half got a little wacky. Some places lost the vibe of having a reason to exist, which I don't think is always needed, but I'm not sure if that was Honest Abe's intention. Also there were a few bumps along the way, such as areas that were a little bit too dark, revenants with their heads cut off or stuck monsters, a couple silly traps, a random sector of deep water, elevators that are too fancy for their own good, and blood that hurts you (lol). But, none of these were rage-quit worthy. I will say that there's one particular slow door at the end that could potentially be rage inducing. I saw it coming, but I gotta be honest, Honest Abe, that was a pretty poor choice. Just say NO to slow doors.

Well there you have it: if you're like me and think it's cute when a mapper includes a room with little compartments that you open up to reveal dead bodies or nothing at all, you will enjoy this set. E1 obsessives will find the first few levels arousing but then begin to question whether they have been living a lie when they start pummeling arachnotrons with the double-barrel... and liking it!
 

Poison Hub - John Connolly
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 35.51 KB -
Reviewed by: Walter confetti
Poison Hub is a medium sized classic E1 style map with little changes (like FLAT20 as a teleport pad, similar to alpha-style Doom, and an outdoor section with ASHWALL) made by John Connolly.

As I wrote above, the style of this map is pretty classic and follows the E1 theme pretty lousy. The layout is a puzzle-ish hub with a central and three doors that need to be unlocked via switching or keys; detailing is basic but well done. Gameplay is nice and there's some good combat sections. Overall a nice classic map to play. Check it out!
 

Chainworm Kommando - Chainworm666
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 4.61 MB -
Reviewed by: Spie812
Chainworm Kommando is a set of 10 (+1 credits map) maps for ZDoom and ZDoom-derived ports.

The levels are for the most part reasonably abstract, but set in realistic locations, sort of in a TNT Evilution kind of way, if that comparison makes sense. Generally speaking, the WAD starts out pretty poorly but improves as you progress, both in design and in gameplay, culminating in an awesome finale. Most of the WAD is also on the easier side, but not necessarily in a bad way.

One recurring theme is complicated sector architecture. There is a lot of cool furniture, machinery, computers, etc. all created with numerous tiny sectors. Lots of it is pointless detail (why make a sector terminal with three switches on it if you can just use a switch texture?) but it looks cool and gives the WAD some personality.

All maps played on UV with pistol starts.

MAP01: really straightforward techbase, to the point of being bland. However, you get introduced to a few of the aforementioned cool sector things.

MAP02: Another techbase, this time with a different theme. However, it's still pretty bad and suffers from some weird design choices. You know the Icon of Sin? There's a room with those head textures on a wall with an air vent leading into the brain. What?

MAP03: Takes place in a train yard. The gameplay benefits from the open space and is easily better than the first two levels. You collect the keys and board a train to exit the level.

MAP04: You get off the train (did I mention this WAD has continuity?) into a forest, which is amusingly but somewhat effectively made from a wall texture with trees on it. You then go about the forest exploring several wooden buildings along the way.

MAP05: You arrive at a brick mansion, which is being subverted by hell (or something like that). I do not like this map. The themes here (brown brick and marble) clash horribly and there is cramped combat accentuated by a scarcity of ammo.

MAP06: This one's has a graveyard/crypt theme. The marble textures here complement the theme rather than clashing with it like in MAP05. There is still some ammo scarcity (not quite to MAP05's extent) so don't be afraid to skip a fight or two.

MAP07: Continuing through the catacombs, but with fiercer opposition. The traps here are more creative and a bit more vicious than previous maps. The red key area is really cool, but pretty pointless.

MAP08: You teleport into a swamp of sorts, where sunbeams shine through the trees. It's really striking looking, actually. The level features nothing new in the gameplay sector, but nothing bad either.

MAP09: This map is set in a snowy village straight out of some 90s fantasy RPG. The architecture is simple, but looks fantastic. Unfortunately, ammo starvation is back in style and there's lots of mid-tier enemies.

MAP10: And you are sent straight to Hell for easily the most difficult and awesome map of the set. The use of lighting and textures makes the level look awesome. The level even includes a weird trippy sequence visiting previous maps of the set and even maps from other games, all completely taken over by Hell. It's a wild, crazy ride, and without any doubt is the highlight of the set.

Overall, after a pretty rough beginning, this is a decent mapset with good-looking and well thought-out levels.
 

Underground Presence - youraverageamir
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 203.91 KB -
Reviewed by: obake
I played through all six maps of Underground Presence pistol start.

Map01: A cavern-base. Can be plowed through with minimal effort once you know the route, which is not a bad thing for an opening map. The rooms are incredibly basic, with novice mistakes immediately apparent (non-lower unpegged door tracks, etc.) The central area of the map, with nukage oozing down a set of stairs in a sort of canyon, is not a bad setup. I also found the secret behind the nukage fall nifty.

Map02: Another cavernous map, though more segmented. Includes spiraling staircases of rock and dirt, a lava room with imps behind cages, and even a library area. A mish-mash, but inoffensive.

Map03: This is where things get annoying. The map begins with an odd setup, where you must let a pair of Cacodemons die in order to open one of two doors. Either door lead to frustration, as much of the map is thin hallways that get filled with bullet-sponge enemies like Pinkies and Spectres, or powerhouses like Knights and Barons. You better conserve health, because the map is confusing and likes to lead you into nukage pits, even if they are not necessary to progress. The only part I liked was releasing a friendly Cacodemon from its cell, and letting it fight other enemies.

Map04: The task here is to avoid a Cyberdemon on a central platform until you can activate a crusher. Though the architecture is still very minimal, the map works. The non-Cyber related combat, which consists of random assortments of enemies, is also fun to plow through. Bonus for providing the first Super Shotgun in the wad.

Map05: The most random yet. This map is a hodgepodge of ideas, few of which are successful. Enemies appear at random, sometimes in incredibly confined areas. Not as frustrating as Map 03, but not much fun, either. Contains a (possible) homage to Dead Simple.

Map06: Another boss map. This time it is battling a Cyber atop a platform, while Boss Cubes get in the way. The first time I tried it, it was intolerable, as in the middle of the arena are two inescapable lava pits, making movement in an already tricky situation all the more limited. I failed over and over.

I took a break. Next time I loaded the map, I simply stayed a modest distance away, letting the Cubes spawn monsters behind me. This time I beat the Cyber with minimal effort, having only to strafe slightly to avoid his rockets (which would hit the spawned monsters behind and spark infighting.) Not a bad concept, but execution is (again) very minimal. The only secret in the map is a tiny room with a few rockets, which is unnecessary as rocket boxes are ample in the final area.

Overall, this wad is not good. There are nuggets of potential, but much of it is bogged down by basic design, with sometimes annoying gameplay. While it is probably better played continuous, even then, the lack of health and very rudimentary design would still get in the way.

I hope this review is not too harsh. The author has good ideas, they just need to take more time utilizing them properly, and tweaking gameplay in their maps.
 

Infested Water - Worm318
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 396.25 KB -
Reviewed by: Myst.Haruko
This short map is intended for ZDoom compatible ports, and I played it on medium and hard skill settings. Gameplay related things first as usual. Both skills can spawn a hell knight and a baron of hell in the start, but with good infighting and taking the quick shortcut, everything becomes easier. Also, in the start, the player can get the chainsaw, so with some risk, fighting with more dangerous monsters is possible.

On both sides of the locked doors there are spider demons, so quick reaction is required before they melt the player. Traveling further from the starting point, combat becomes easier by a bit. I liked one trap after pressing one switch – it lowers the floor and leaves a nukage pool with some platforms.

I don't know if this more a design flaw or gameplay flaw, but it's easy to miss a switch which reveals teleporters and leads into another part the of map. It doesn't count as secret and it can lead to frustration if the player tries to do a UV-max run for the first time. The other part of the map contains a traditional switch trap and the super shotgun.

The large and secret parts of map are mostly base themed, and the smaller part I would say is more spiritual/hell themed (judging by the colour red and some moving 3D floor usage and open space). Ahead is a small arena with an interesting fight and a megasphere in one of the small islands. Be extremely careful not to fall into the void...

Now about visual side of this map. The player can expect some crampiness in corridors, a small throwback to the Doom II map 02 starting area (heavily modified, so nobody could reject it). As I mentioned before, the author used 3D floors, slopes and other ZDoom mapping related things. Besides those things, some areas could use more details and light.

As the author stated, it was his experiment with some ideas, so, I recommend trying this map, a not so detailed and fun map to kill boredom.
 

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A.W - AndyNicka
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 171.46 KB -
Reviewed by: bzzrak
Why look at this.

A newbie's first mapset.

Betcha it sucks, heh.

...damn.

A.W. is a 6-map set released in January '17 by the anonymous AndyNicka, intended for vanilla. So far this has been his only release, which is kind of a shame, as it, rather unexpectedly, mostly kicks a$$.

Generally it looks and feels like it came straight out of a time machine from '96 or so. But in the best, best possible way. If AW hit /idgames straight away instead of lying in the time machine for two decades, I'm sure that today it would be one of those "hidden gem" WADs that every one of us came across while experimenting with the "Random file" button. Do modern kids even remember what that thing was?? Ah, memories.

Um, I got carried away a bit.

I played A.W. with Crispy Doom 4.0, HMP difficulty, continuous, no saves. Time-wise it will consume an hour, maybe two if you're even more oblivious than me.

The levels are mostly a mix of wood, stone and marble themes, which looks very 90s. But just like in every decent and not-so-decent 90s WAD, you'll occasionally encounter an environment that sticks out, like hell or craaaates. It all looks quite comfy and warm, even if crude. The detail is not really as plentiful as it could've been; actually it's quite scarce, but it fits the spirit of the set, so it's cool. You won't notice it anyway, if you're at least a little like myself.

The author makes a lot of use of mid-textures, particularly the grate ones. Moreover, most of the time those grates separate the player from groups of monsters and may visually obscure them as well. Not just ugly, but also annoying.

Andy seems to be fine with the technical side of things. The levels worked properly in Crispy Doom, which deserves respect.

(Some switches do need to be pressed a few times in order to fully work though, unless you're using a particular PrBoom+ or ZDoom compatibility option.) Also a few minor cosmetic glitches can be found throughout the set, but that's not really that important, is it?

Now, about the gameplay. (I played on HMP skill level, for the record.)

The combat with monsters is quite easy. The author (thankfully!) doesn't overload his maps with annoying and stupid traps that, in this day and age, seem to be the very essence of mapping.

However, it's the maps' design that enhances the monsters' threat level and also works as a danger on its own.

Other than the so-classic-that-it's-repulsive "Spectres in the dark" cliché (which is present on several maps, mostly on MAP03), there are also things like monsters on lifts, or teleports, or even just big height differences that make the monster invisible for you, but not vice versa. Surprisingly, it never felt too cheap to me.

Along with all that, Andy makes a LOT of use of teleports. It's quite confusing to be honest, but, taking the overall small size of the levels into account, the confusion doesn't last too long.

Oh, by the way, the effect of most switches is NOT immediately visible, as all the badassiest mappers advise you to do. But you'll figure it out relatively quickly (unless you're really dumb keklolXD).

MAP01 -- generic wood+marble combination. The combat is very relaxed. Looks very pleasant, nothing too annoying. Can be completed in two minutes.
MAP02 -- SKIP THIS PIECE OF (insert favourite word) IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY. Just don't. Trust me.
MAP03 -- a wooden base, where you get treated to a tiny, but cute outdoor area. However, the bulk of the level relies on darkness as the main challenge, and you'll spend a good part of the time wandering around a maze which is also, coincidentally, quite dark. Oh, and it's got Spectres. Be sure to use the automap and your weapons (to light up the path), find the light-amp goggles, and then you should be fine. A quite strange level.
MAP04 -- a long, confusing level. Looks like a blend of MAP01 and 03, but is also a biiiiit threatening. Furthermore, there's a lot of rooms here that look very, very similar, like, you are in a room or corridor or something, and there are monsters shooting at you from behind some grates. Not a bad level, but kind of meh.
MAP05 -- a small level that mostly focuses on a teleport puzzle (bleh) and a bit of crate platforming (bleh). I'd say this is a decent, but forgettable level.
MAP06 -- an amazing finish to AW. A skilful combination of several themes. The first part is some sort of industrial-ish place, with bricks and wood planks and all that. Also there's an... underground computer lab, I guess? Then you get outside, into a small and quite cute chunk of outdoorsiness. Around this part you get the red key, and I'll tell you this, beware, you might die a lot there. That is followed by a big, enormous, grandiose, beautiful green/gray marble area. From here you'll reach some sort of yuck indoor fetid rocky tunnels or something, the blue key is here somewhere. Somehow (I don't remember the exact process) you obtain the yellow key as well and proceed to... THE BIG NASTY MEAN BOSS FIGHT OH MY GOD I'M SO SCARED SOMEBODY CALL MOMMY PLEASE!!!

Just kidding. Even I didn't find the Cyberdemon and a handful of other punks too hard.

One more spoiler is that there's an Invulnerability sphere behind the Cyberdemon, which you are free2grab.

There's a bit more of fighting after that, but you should be fine. And That's All Folks, AW has exhausted its supply of... itself, I guess? I really don't think out my smart phrases as much as I should.

Overall, A.W. is a great 90s-styled mapset; I'm sure any nostalgic oldschooler would shed at least a lonely manly tear playing this delight of a WAD. And the rest of us can still have a bit of fun here.

...what does A.W. mean anyway?

NAM Ally Green Beret Items ACS Enter Script - Huey Greenhorn
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 5.43 MB -
Reviewed by: Walter confetti
This is a little patch for ZDoom that gives you a team of four helpful bots, and they will help you while playing. When they die, they give you a nice weapon (a chaingun most of the time) with some ammo, and a new health kit that works like the Duke Nukem 3D medikit item. The guys are pretty helpful, but the only bug I found is that their weaponry is a little overpowered (maybe on hard/slaughter maps), and they don't fall down ledges. This last one is the worst problem for me, since seeing how this thing works I've put one bot in action at the start of map01; it worked pretty efficiently, but when I jumped down the ledge I expected the bot to follow, but it remained in its place, what a good soldier. I had to use another one to have another support through the map.

Overall, a nice and helpful mod, you can always check it out.

Planisphere - Perro Seco
Doom 2 - Single Player - Limit Removing - 726.4 KB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
Planisphere is one of those overlooked gems. The level dates back to around 2011 (or at least that's when I first played it), but it never got an /idgames upload until this year, and it was probably vastly overshadowed at the time of its initial release by the emergence of mappers like skillsaw and valkiriforce. This map also has practically nothing to do with Planisphere 2, which some long-time forumgoers may remember as that map that recreates all of New York City and lags like crazy. Planisphere 1 is just a nice medium-sized classic city map in a more conventional Doom 2 style.

The map is pretty open and laid-back, and it's mostly fun for the sense of exploration and all of the creative ideas that are packed into it. It's well detailed in the style of TVR! or Kama Sutra, with sector objects and signs of damage all over the place -- flipped cars, street lights, trains where you walk through every car and kill zombies, and all that other good stuff. Personally, I can never get too much of it.

According to the story, you've been traveling by train, and then suddenly the apocalypse happens. The train grinds to a halt next to a missile launch facility, and it's up to you to keep the demons from using the missiles against humankind. The first half is just hunting around the city, but the second half is where it gets really interesting. You enter the demons' portal and end up in a far-future post-apocalyptic version of the world that includes a canyon full of demons, a creepy and seemingly empty techbase, and a vast toxic sea where nukage pours down from the sky. After all of this, you return to the city, clear the guards out from around the missiles, and find your way to the exit. You also have the option of hunting down an army of SS Nazis that are hiding out in a fairly large secret area in the city -- which I think works pretty well and doesn't feel out of place, since it's a secret and they're not just thrown in as regular enemies. All in all, the map has tons of interesting ideas and great storytelling, and it always feels like it's giving you something worth seeing.

Planisphere was a very good level for its time, and I think it has aged pretty well; it has a distinct classic feel, but it remains very fun to play.

JNNHangar - joshthenesnerd
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 119.63 KB -
Reviewed by: Memfis
The readme of this wad contains probably the most passionate credits section ever written. I could almost feel it clouding my judgment while playing. Then again, why not? We should be nice to newcomers after all. That's right: JNNHangar is yet another first time effort uploaded to the archives, and I have to say it is one of the better ones in the "genre". Sure, it doesn't have a coherent theme, the monster placement is rather basic, and the texture alignment could use more work. But there is a lot of variety, constant action, and some pretty cool surprises to keep you entertained. It's just a nice and chill map you can play without worrying about your health too much. Not convinced yet? Just open the readme...

MDK Skies Pack - Bzzrak Ktazzz
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 514.98 KB -
Reviewed by: Walter confetti
This is a little graphic wad made by bzzrak with a little demo wad including six new (huge) skies from the game MDK, and they all look pretty good. If you're looking for a good sky for your own levels, take a chance at this!

Deathtrap - sKydran
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 59.46 KB -
Reviewed by: Walter confetti
This is a level for Doom 2 made by sKydran (how to pronounce your nickname? Sky dran? S. Kydran?) and works with ZDoom and derivative ports (I played this on Zandronum).

According to the text file, the map replaces MAP01 (to be more precise, only one new level without any hint of the map slot) so imagine my surprise when I didn't find it in any of the classic slots the first time i played this wad and neither in other alternative slot. Tried MAP33, MAP34, MAP35, even MAP00. Nothing. At first I started to think this level was broke, so I checked it out with SLADE3 and... check the first screenshot, but it is a pretty weird choice for a map slot and it will surprise you like me, maybe.

Anyway, the level itself is pretty nice, with some cool detailing here and there and a solid theme of a techbase beginning map for some megawad or map pack of sorts, and the gameplay follows the starter map concept, with an easy/medium difficulty and some simple puzzles after the red key door section for spicing up play. Beat the level and you beat the game. Yeah, is one of those kinds of maps.

I expected something harder for a map called "Deathtrap", but it was pleasant to play, overall. Take a chance at playing this map, I'm expecting maybe a mapset with more stuff from this author in the future!

Arena Boss Fights - Aiden (Maisth)
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 43.8 KB -
Reviewed by: Obsidian
Before you ask: yes, I picked this wad simply because it had the words "boss fights" in the title. I love boss fights: there's something magical about pitting your wits and skill against an entity specifically designed to test your mettle. I love the atmosphere that comes with boss fights, I love the gimmicks they can sometimes indulge in - you get the picture. I could waffle about bosses all day, but that's not what I'm here for.

So, what does arena_bf.wad have to offer in the way of bosses? To be honest, not a whole lot: the wad consists of one level with three encounters modeled after the boss battles from the original Doom. And how do they measure up? Welllll... let me count the ways:

- The baron fight is a (somewhat toothless) tango on some walkways above lava. Seeing as the wad gives you the SSG off the bat to take care of the Barons (yeah, this wad is for Doom II for some reason) they become somewhat trivial to take down in short order and the experience suffers as a result. I love the SSG as much as the next Doom marine, but I have to admit that the shotgun/chaingun combo against the Barons in the original hit the balance of difficulty in taking the bruisers down. Well, unless you found the rocket launcher, but I digress.

- The Cyberdemon fight consists of ol' Cyb on a raised platform and a plasma rifle that you can use to effortlessly shave off most of his health. Considering the threat of the original tussle was the Cyberdemon's mobility, this does effectively handicap one of its greatest assets.

- Finally, the SM fight has you hiding behind pillars in the corners of the arena and popping your head around to fire off rockets. It isn't terribly exciting, all told. :/

On the plus side, there's just enough ammo to get the job done and the wad doesn't drag its heels too much. The author states that this was something made on the fly to unwind, and at the end of the day it's basically inoffensive: I don't really recommend it, but I don't hate it either. That's all I have to say on it, honestly.

Fnord.

Impact - greendingbat
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 23.22 KB -
Reviewed by: Obsidian
First of all, I feel like I should mention that I initially thought the username of the guy who made this wad was greedingbat. I have no idea why, it makes no sense.

Ahem. Impact is a single-level wad for Doom II that (according to the textfile at least) was made with the express intention of feeling like an intro map. A noble aspiration to be sure, and to the map's credit it does have that feel somewhat: it does its best to invoke that MAP01 feel with the texturing scheme and length. I actually caught myself thinking of D2TWID's MAP01 at one point, so there's definitely something here that works. I wouldn't say it completely succeeds in its venture though: the map itself feels a bit too linear for my blood, and the short map length is rather in-advisably used to introduce the Shotgunner, Demon and chaingun in fairly short order. Bearing in mind that these elements aren't introduced in Doom II until MAP02 and MAP03, having all of them introduced so quickly makes the map feel shorter than it is and actively does it a disservice. This ain't Pistol Panic darling, you're well within your right to take it slow.

Gripes aside though, impact.wad is pretty decent and accomplishes what it set out to do for the most part: perhaps you could make the case that it'd be better utilized in a mapset of similar maps, but it's still a decent (if short) romp. By the looks of things this is the mapper's first map too, so I'd say this is a decently promising start, and it'll be nice to see where they go from here. Would I recommend you download it? If you're looking for something simple and short to unwind, then go for it. Just make sure you aren't allergic to D_RUNNIN.

Sinful Outpost - Paul Corfiatis (Pcorf)
Doom 2 - Single Player - Limit Removing - 284.24 KB -
Reviewed by: leodoom85
Sinful Outpost is a standalone map made by our friend, Paul Corfiatis, involving some hellish architecture combined with a nice sky and more traps... of course. Without further ado, let's go!

It's a nice start for sure (first image) with some imps and zombies shooting you from afar, but you can easily dispatch them with some well-placed bullets. When you advance, you see the soulsphere, the BFG (secret areas), and some nice green armor that will save you. Surprisingly, the blood pool doesn't hurt, which is great.

The keys are always followed by some traps, and this map is no exception. When picking up the blue skull, cacos will appear along with some minor resistance. Fortunately, some secrets are easy to spot (like the soulsphere and the berserk with some medkits in the next area). There's an SSG and more enemies to kill before the next main area.

I like that the map lets you see the next areas, showing the interconnection and allowing some planning by the player (second image). And be sure of it, because once you pick up the yellow skull, a big group of monsters will spawn including a pain elemental.

The next areas are like the calm before the storm (third image) because the fights serve as a sort of climax before reaching the red key area and then going to the red door after that. The encounters are well-paced for those areas, including an acid pool and more traps. Very important thing here... don't forget to discover more secrets, which come in handy.

The last area is where the map gets even more entertaining to play (fourth image), where you see some revenants and monsters that work as turrets in each side and the exit right in front of you. The architecture in that area is effective for trying to keeping you at bay. I was surprised when that archie spawned suddenly before reaching the exit... that bastard. You know the bad part of this? I picked up both the BFG and the megasphere after I killed all of the monsters... sigh...

Overall, it's a great and solid map that it's fairly difficult and enjoyable. I ended up getting 100% for everything because the secrets are not hard to find. Great job Paul.

The /newstuff Chronicles is a usually-weekly roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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Quantum Strike - Spectre01 (rileymartin)
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 1.97 MB -
Reviewed by: Csonicgo
Oh dear.

I had written a scathing review of this, but the author was nice enough to message me personally and ask me to give him my honest opinion on the map. So instead of editing the review, I scrapped it entirely and started over. So, here goes.

Quantum Strike is a set of three slaughtermaps with something most slaughtermaps don't have: sane difficulty settings. However, because I was dumb and played on UV, I kept getting my ass kicked. After many, many tries to get out of the first set of rooms in MAP01, I was about ready to give up, but then I read the text file (hurrrr), and discovered that UV was supposed to be intentionally terrible. Well, that explains everything.

So, gameplay is exactly what people expect from a slaughtermap - a relentless barrage of hate and death. But there is something in each encounter that I haven't seen in many slaughtermaps - ways to avoid attacks. Let me demonstrate what I mean.

MAP01 starts in a hallway with an arch-vile behind you. At the start. AT THE START. Naturally, you want to run, but you're trapped behind a door that blazes open to reveal - you guessed it - hitscanners. To the left of you is a pole made of blue skull key door textures. Guess who's going pole dancing?

What ensues is a lot of failed attempts to beat each "wave" of enemies, using either the environment to dodge, or your weapons to stun. Every few feet you walk, you just might get owned.

Arena-style fights are here, are way overdone, and quite honestly stress me out. My biggest issue with the Arena fights in these maps is that a lot of them use teleporting monsters, so you never, ever, ever know what to expect. Think of a minefield, but the mines move. Not to mention a section where cacodemons pour out of an area for what seems like hours.

If you like slaughtermaps you'll enjoy this I guess, but there is something that ruins this map for me and it's not the game play, it's... well, let's take a look!


Ow, my eyes. It's a shame that this screenshot is a static image, because in reality, everything - EVERY texture is scrolling. It's garish, it's irritating, nauseating, and the ultimate in Gothic99/KDIZD-esque overkill. Boy, I never thought I'd say that in 2017. The other way I can describe the level of detail is a Victorian-era dollhouse, where the house is so detailed that looks like someone figured out how to shrink a real house.

This doesn't just affect the visuals; it affects movement. Every little detail sticking out from the walls into the player's space makes using projectile weapons that much more dangerous.

But hey, at least the mapper didn't booby-trap stimpacks like DV0!

A new monster, the afrit, has been added that replaces the Commander Keen - which has wayyy too much health. The attack is also the most evil thing I've ever encountered, combining mancubus and revenant attacks. WTF AVOID.

Here are my recommendations for the mapper:
* Remove as much of the crazy detail as possible. Good lord, there's no reason for computer textures to scroll.
* Implement better lighting in the fullbright areas. Why so many lamp decorations?
* Take into the account the few moments of immobility after teleporting. There are many many times that I died simply because I couldn't move.

This is a -complevel 9 wad, but infinite height is expected to be disabled, and freelook enabled. This could explain a lot of my frustration, because I play with mostly vanilla settings, and never thought to check that stuff.

And yet... I couldn't stop playing the thing! This map sucks, 5/5.

If you think you can take the sensory overload, give it a shot!
 

Counterattack - Brett "Mechadon" Harrell
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 8.03 MB -
Reviewed by: Ryath
Mechadon's style is unmistakable: beautifully-crafted architecture, all the way from the tiny details of a light fixture up to the vaulted archways of a nightmarish cathedral that could house every single denizen of Hell. His skill is unmatched at stringing the sections of a map together in fascinating, overlapping, interwoven paths; and his maps reshape themselves as you play, opening new passages and doors and staircases in a way I've rarely seen. But unlike a lot of other mappers who create these epic, hour-long slogs, Mechadon knows precisely how to signpost and place landmarks so that it's a rare thing to get lost in his maps, at least for more than a minute or so.

Counterattack is perfect Mechadon, and takes you on a wonderful journey through a UAC base on Earth to a Hellish gate at the edge of the universe over the course of five massive maps. (Not including two secret maps, a tiny end map you won't see in Eternity or ZDoom, and a placeholder at Map30.)

Map01: The first map messes with your expectations by giving you the rocket launcher right away, and a huge portion of the first map consists of blowing battalions of former humans to bits with rockets and ubiquitous explosive barrels. The pistol zombies are a much bigger threat than you might expect, just from their sheer numbers. Oddly, this is the map I got turned around in the most, though I think part of that was just getting comfortable with how progression and layouts work in Mechadon maps.

Map02: Mechadon set out to create maps that could be completed any number of different ways, and it's quite clear from here on out. In this one, for instance, you need the red skull key to get to the exit -- but you can retrieve the red skull using either the yellow keycard OR both the red and blue keycards. And if you have all three, you get grab a BFG to use in the last few arena battles. This might be my favorite map in the WAD, though it probably has the worst midi. It's hard to find music suitable for really long maps, and this one is just too repetitive.

Map03: The other contender for best map in the bunch. I love the melding of Hell's green marble with green base textures like STARG1 and CEMENT9. Hyper-detailed CEMENT-based architecture is one of my fetishes, and this map satisfies. Things are getting significantly more subverted by Hell's influence, though gameplay-wise Map03 feels a lot like 02 -- just slightly more confusing, which is why it's not quite definitively the best map in Counterattack.

Map04: Fire and brimstone Hell meets Doom II's city aesthetic. Map04 is one of the most beautiful maps I've ever played. You're deliberately under-supplied for the opening, which forces you count your bullets and bust out the chainsaw any time you can risk it. This time you're not just key-hunting; you're hunting for ammo and weapons too. Scavenging is great (stressful) fun, but it does make it easy to get in over your head. I had at least one death because I ran into a lock-you-in-the-room style trap against a swarm of demons and revenants with only the chainsaw and shotgun. Not too discouraging, though, since these maps are such open-ended playgrounds, and starting them over just feels like a chance to attack them from another angle.

Map05: An entire map of arena battles. Stunning visuals, but I didn't appreciate the gameplay as much as in previous maps. The final boss monster is kind of underwhelming because it poses so little threat; because of how much room there is to move around, this map is actually significantly easier than 04 -- and it's the only map I didn't die in.

Counterattack isn't without its flaws. It's a minor nitpick, but Mechadon's use of shadows can be a bit aggressive. Almost everything casts an extreme shadow, even some little ceiling detail twenty feet up that barely protrudes at all. It also gets very predictable when EVERY switch releases enemies. And a couple maps start to drag on by the end, especially 04.

The WAD is pure joy, though. Each map is its own self-contained adventure full of not just gorgeous vistas, but a new, charming little detail to find every time you play it. And each playthrough unfolds differently as you discover new and unexpected routes. Mechadon is quickly becoming one of my favorite mappers. By the way, is that a sequel hook I see in the ending text? I sure hope so.
 

Fanta Factory - Hebridean Isle
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 1.56 MB -
Reviewed by: leodoom85
One word: ORANGE. That's all for the review, bye...

Just kidding. This is Fanta Factory, a tech-base orange-tinted map which is really short but fun.

The map starts with really nice orange-tinted ambience and a few monsters (first image) and the added Quake MIDI track which fits nicely. Still easy enough with the encounters by killing zombies, imps and pinkies. Ahead of you is a switch that will change the tone of the map in a sudden way (second image).

Music stops, change of tone, music starts. And as a surprise for the outside, more zombies are waiting with a hell knight behind. Next area is the orange arena with more Fanta to drink (third image)... probably, but first, the monsters. After that you clear the first line of hellspawn and enter an arena with several small pillars and some goodies. Inside the arena is a well-hidden secret which some people may figure out and there's a plasma gun. That will help against some monsters.

The arena itself has three waves of monsters, one group with low-tier monsters such as zombies, imps and pinkys. The second wave is a mid-tier group with a couple of cacos and revenants. And the last wave is a pair of mancubuses. Oh, I forgot to say that every wave is summoned, some of those pillars will lower very slowly, and for the third wave you won't have any cover at all, which is a great touch and adds more challenge. You can still die in this map if you're not careful though.

The detail of the map is quite good, but still I found some vertical misalignments, but that's not too serious. Two things though... that secret sound... haha, coming from OMD and its song, Secret, nice touch. And uh... that image that's revealed at the right when you press the secret switch... I don't know where's from.

Overall, it's a nice map. It can fit really fine for a Map01 if it's compiled into a mapset or something. Good gameplay. Thing is, it's so short that the player will feel disappointed at the end. Maybe adding a couple of maps can be useful for more time spent in the map.

And enjoy drinking Fanta while reading this review please!!!
 

Quester's Fest - Fonze
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 303.21 KB -
Reviewed by: rdwpa
Fonze has been an advocate for the rocket launcher as Doom's best weapon for some time now, and his speedmaps over the past year-plus have been a series of love notes to it, exploring a variety of surprisingly uncommon gameplay concepts. Examples include the rocket launcher–pain elemental dynamic, as well as inverted target prioritization -- pinkies are often the biggest threats and archviles can be surprisingly harmless. These maps don't really attempt to be "normal"; it's all rocket-pumping action. In Quester's Fest, as in many of Fonze's speedmaps, the rocket launcher is the only weapon you will be given ammo for. Featuring around 200 monsters spread across two set pieces, it's a very short map. The gameplay will be challenging for most, although those used to 'hardcore' sets such as Sunlust will classify it as somewhat leisurely. Difficulty settings have been provided: HMP is much like UV with extra forgiveness in the second half, but the most important thing you should know is that HNTR is an absolutely mandatory play after you're done on either HMP or UV. I won't spoil the surprise. Just try it.
 

Phrygia - Fonze
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 169.4 KB -
Reviewed by: leodoom85
This map was really hard at the starting point... surrounded by spiders, revenants, hell knights, barons and pinkys. I tell you, that part took me ten tries to get right (first image). It's all about learning how to progress through the map, picking up the backpack and not getting damaged much by the damaging floor and the homing projectiles (second image). That specific part is also the key for killing the revenants near you first, then dispatching the big group of revenants, spiders and hell knights in the right is necessary. Oh and be careful for pinkys that are entering the area where you are, or one of the rockets will kill you.

After dispatching most of it, killing spiders and pinkys are a must, by rockets or infighting, then get the soulsphere, and when the area is clear, megasphere time. It's worth mentioning that after clearing that area, the map gets easier... not without killing another group of revenants, cacos, and a couple of archies (third image)... and a sneaky pain elemental that comes out of nowhere. Detail in the map was fine, simple but clean. And surprisingly, I liked the music... even if the track sounds like it's from an Egyptian-themed track.

Definitely a really hard but fun map; strategies must be used in order to clear it.
 

Emergent - Benjogami
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 2.53 MB -
Reviewed by: leodoom85
Emergent is a 4-map wad made by Benjogami and it's already teasing the player at the start with that "Don't Save" message in the save game options. Nice touch there, but you know where that's going. So, here's the detail of the maps.

Map01 - There's a quiet start with a teleporter in front of you saying that this will be a nice start (first image) but... oh boy, this is deceptive, as you step into that teleporter and see the new big area (second image). You're already surrounded by hellspawn of the nastiest kind, and the cover can't be of much use here as long as you kill them ASAP. This map starts hard and ends hard and that will be a constant for the next maps, so be prepared at all times.

I like that all maps are set in some void instead of being in some common place like Hell or Earth. That gives a clear indication that you're hopeless and alone while fighting whatever comes. The detail for this map is great, and it has some interesting ways of mixing themes... like, you have rocks, urban textures, and tech stuff mixed together.

By the way, you need the archvile to get the soulsphere? While some players would have low health already? That's risky, unless that there's another way to get there. In any case, good and hard map.

Map02 - Pinky start (third image)... time to punch those bastards with the berserk!!! What a way to start. You have two switches to lower some pillars and walk to the main part of the map. The map itself is interesting because you have the choice of which side of the map to go.

You have two major areas in the map. The left area has the red key (fourth image) and the right area has the blue key. Also, in the sectors where the keys are, there's a switch nearby which activates some lifts to the exit (fifth image). Did I mention that there's also two long and narrow pillars that also have the two keys, and if you pick up one key, the other is unreachable? Cool stuff.

The gameplay itself was also hard regardless of the amount of monsters. It's completely deceiving, and the player will understand that in a painful way. There's some ammo in those acid pools that you will receive some damage to get... talk about punishment. Also, ammo management is crucial here and in the next maps... fortunately in this map you have the berserk if you want to save some precious ammo. And always be careful of archviles.

Overall, it's a nice and hard map that's like the calm before the storm for the next map.

Map03 - OK, OK... starting point surrounded by imps, hell knights and revenants... OK. What a chaotic entrance (sixth image) which has some ammo scattered, armor and health to use it wisely because the problems for this map begin now.

Red key area (seventh image)... OK, where do I begin?. This section caused me a lot of problems, mainly because there's no teleporters to give the player a choice of keeping the fight. Instead, you'll suffer a slow and painful death. This is annoying. To make things a bit worse, there's four cages which can spawn random monsters... if one of them is not a pain elemental then you'll have a hard time, and also you have to worry about a couple of archies.

Fortunately, this is the only problem that I have with this mapset, because the next section is more forgiving than the red key area. The yellow key area (eighth image) is easier than the last one; at least you have a chance of surviving the fight if you stay in the lower areas. The fight is still chaotic of course, but it's manageable.

Overall, I have mixed feelings with this map to be honest. It started good but... the red key area is the downside of this map. At least the yellow key area raises the fun a bit and that's appreciated. The player must be alert at all times in order to survive this nasty map.

Map04 - Adorable start (ninth image) but this map is anything but adorable. The map is composed of three main areas that are divided to the left, center and right areas.

The left area (tenth image) was the hardest part of the map because it has two mini-areas to deal with. By the way, there are four switches scattered in the map. Press one of them and more monsters will come out. In any case, you have to deal with more hellspawn while you press those switches. I noticed that cacos are more present than the other three maps, same for the revenants and hell knights and of course... archviles. And I'm also surprised that 1 or 2 pain elementals are there... I guess that the mapper was generous on this one. OH... that soulsphere is a must to pick up.

Right area (eleventh image) was far easier than I thought. Lots of rockets and the place itself helps tremendously against the monsters because you can run from there and have a lot of cover. Those bastards don't have a chance this time, and of course, archies are the priority to take out first.

Going to the center area (twelfth image), you'll find cacos that will surround you at any second, plus some archies at the already mentioned left area, and worst of all, a cyberdemon acts like a turret, but this is a perfect chance to provoke some infighting (and I had the help of a spider to kill him while the cyberdemon had eyes on me, which saved me some time and ammo). Also, you'll find some pillars that must be lowered in order to get to the exit.

You have to be careful on the exit because there's still a few monsters that can spawn, and you must kill them before getting damaged, and it's not fun if you die right before the exit, you know.

The detail and architecture of the map is good, especially the exit. Pretty simple layout but effective and does a good job by keeping you at bay. Overall, it was a fun map and yes, still having hard difficulty and the rocket launcher will be the preferred choice.

This wad provides a real challenge that can be a good or bad thing depending on the player's skill. It's up to you to play this set but in my opinion, you should play it and give it a try.
 

The /newstuff Chronicles is a usually-weekly roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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Pizza Steve - Fernando Sanchez M.
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 2.9 MB -
Reviewed by: rdwpa
Some slaughtermaps are at the zenith of cerebral play in Doom, forcing you to puzzle out specific strategies and execute them with precision in order to prevail. Some slaughtermaps give you powerful weapons and lots of megaspheres and offer you mindless no-strings-attached fun as you spam your way through hordes. There are plenty of good slaughtersets out there in either idiom.

Pizza Steve is not one of them.

Playing through this set -- with a willingness to IDCLEV or IDCLIP when faced with tedium, such as chaingunning door-with-health cyberdemons in maps with hardly any cell ammo -- I could feel the outlines of a fun monster spammy offering. I really could feel it. But for every enjoyable fight or two, you have to endure a spell of head-scratching tedium. Hallways lined with cyberdemons you don't have the ammo for. Mixed hordes that clog up at fast doors, forcing you to wait, rapidly opening and closing the door, until they infight themselves to death. Thresholds packed with revenants that exist solely to keep you from blitzing through the map, forcing you instead to pluck off every single cyber turret. Pizza Steve has a terrible habit of being quite stingy with the actual good weapons, especially in the earlier stages of maps. This often ruins what would have been decently fun spamfests in any other set. Instead, threshold camping and general slogginess become the order of the day.

What I find fascinating about this set is that it clearly took some effort to make -- there are 32 maps, some of them quite expansive, none too pretty or highly detailed but most more sophisticated than monotextured Startan rooms. Yet as was mentioned during a discussion of the set, it feels like Pizza Steve was made "in a vacuum", devoid of any external feedback, devoid of anything even resembling thorough testing. It's as if the author hunkered down for a year and just made maps, without any thought of anyone but him playing them. More power to him, but the results are self-explanatory.

If you are willing to hunt around with IDCLEV, you'll find some playable maps -- even a broken map design algorithm is right twice a year, or however the expression goes. The set also has merit as a sandbox for overpowered weapons mods and similar gameplay supplements. But overall, it's more bad than good, and unless poor design holds an intrinsic appeal for you, it's worth skipping in favor of basically any other set of slaughtermaps.
 

UAC Doom - Part 2 - Laus
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 428.99 KB -
Reviewed by: rdwpa
Despite requiring ZDoom, Laus's second map looks and plays like something straight out of 1996. The indoor areas are a network of humbly sized rooms and cramped corridors, each made primarily of a single texture, with occasional wild theme shifts from one room to another. The gameplay mostly involves shooting stuff in front of you. Technical design is far from a strong point; texture misalignments are common, and in one area walls bleed into the sky when viewed from certain angles. So if you are looking for polish or modern gameplay, this is not for you. If you want a map unencumbered by modern tropes, reminiscent of a time before communal notions of what is considered "good design", or if you like shooting stuff with the single shotgun -- or if your name is Memfis -- this is for you.

I played this map twice. Once right before bedtime (the gameplay accelerated the process), once the next day for the review. The one thing I wish I hadn't uncovered is the last secret: a room of dated memes displayed in large custom textures, a deliberate eyesore, unfunny, Terry-like in vibe. It's not malicious but it's pretty dumb. A shame, because otherwise the secrets would be a small selling point of the map. (And still are... if you are twelve.)

Note: Jumping can break progression. The silly secret aside, this is a classic map that just happens to need ZDoom because ZDoom was what the author was familiar with.
 

Saturnine Chapel (MNENMA 0) - dobu gabu maru
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 1.79 MB -
Reviewed by: rdwpa
Dobu Gabu Maru is one of the most uncompromising mappers of our time. He's an artiste-slash-dominatrix -- think Ribbiks, or a much crueler Mouldy -- whose primary goal is to raise your death count astronomically high, but who is also kind enough to treat you to awe-inspiring sights as it soars. Saturnine Chapel is an aesthetic marvel. The opening shot depicts the chapel looming in the distance in a wild realm of twisted metal and torrential slimefall, and from here onwards, everywhere you look you'll be privy to painstakingly assembled lighting effects and Doom 2's stock textures used in creative, surprising ways. People often talk about "sense of place", but Dobu's maps go many steps further, bringing along their own sense of mythology. As the lore goes, the Saturnine Chapel itself was made out of books. Dobu himself explains that "the chapel wasn't built to be used, it was built because the vile books had willed it to be, completely independent of any observer, curator, or architect".

Pretty as it is, Saturnine Chapel is a vicious mistress, a tough map even by Dobu's standards of cruelty. Movement space is at a serious premium, and resources are balanced precariously, leaving you next to no room for waste or substandard usage. Fights on "Hard" (the UV equivalent) openly embrace RNG -- in a few, bad luck with monster movement will result in a quick death with anything short of TAS-quality play. But in line with a growing trend (see Stardate 20x7, for example), "Hard" is not the intended difficulty. According to the text file, "Normal" (the HMP equivalent) is. I'd venture that roughly 99.5% of players would enjoy this most on either "Easy" (skill 2) or "Normal" (skill 3) and should actually listen to the text file. For most players on skill 4, savescumming will run into a wall. "Normal" is already substantially tougher than most contemporary maps on UV, enough to satisfy all but the most intense spells of bloodlust.
 

The Red Line - Didy
Doom 2 - Single Player - Limit Removing - 4.07 MB -
Reviewed by: Csonicgo
Finding mappers who take advantage of the Doom engine to make stunning abstract visuals, while not going overboard, is pretty much impossible. Then Didy came along and released Bauhaus. Thankfully, Didy is not a one hit wonder, and has released The Red Line: another set of maps that are just as much fun to look at as they are to play.

Each map is focused around a particular weapon or gimmick of the Doom engine. Not as involved as Cyber Dreams, The Red Line focuses on mastery of each Doom weapon, provoking infighting, corralling monsters, and then using the environment to kill them. For example, MAP01 (called The Crusher for obvious reasons) requires the player to lure monsters into crushers - yes! It's not encouraged, it's required!

Upon starting this map, I realized quickly how rusty I was with regards to the melee weapons. The Red Line demands the player to be proficient with all weapons, in all situations. Remember chaingun sniping, silent BFG tricks, and monster pain chances? If you don't, you're going to have a tough time here. As the maps progress, you are to use stronger weapons, and the difficulty keeps pace. I must admit I couldn't finish on UV. You must fight to get the weapon the map is named after - usually.

But damn, these maps are gorgeous. It's as if Didy himself built these structures manually, brick by brick, panel by panel. I've missed seeing detail like this, and I hope it makes a comeback, without the Christmas and the light flares.

If you are playing this on a port that uses vanilla code, or a hacked vanilla executable, I'm sorry to say that you will start to "stick" to some walls, and a few hallways straddle the blockmap lines so your shots will go right through some of the monsters. This is unfortunate, but due to that ever-so-weird artifact of having a lot of detail in a small space, one of the things that doomed some of Greenwar 2 to ZDoom 2.x-based ports only, I cannot recommend playing this in anything but a relatively recent (G)ZDoom.

But please do play it, just don't expect weapon mods to play well with it.
 

CoolMapForContext - Bonfac
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 169.04 KB -
Reviewed by: MysteriousHaruko
"CoolMapForContext" is the second wad by Bonfac, and this map was meant for the 2016 Vinesauce mapping contest. I played it in GZDoom on medium skill.

Gameplay was simple most of the time. Monster count is minimal in both maps and they're not challenging, except in the last area of Map02 due to a cyberdemon and some barons of hell, but even this becomes easy with some clever infighting, an invulnerability sphere which you can pick up at any moment, and all the ammo at your disposal. In map01, a large portion of map is skippable. In map02, the first invulnerability sphere was worthless and forced, because the monsters weren't as threatening as they would be in larger groups.

I disliked the idea of player blocking lines at the edges; I believe that players should fall free, even if the fall will telefrag them to shreds or have teleporters around. Instant walk only-once linedefs were annoying too, for example in map02. This "instant only-once action floor goes up walkable linedef action with blue key" can lock the progress for the player, forcing you to do the noclip cheat. Most of the demon teleports were made through the easiest kind of scripts. Also, the autosave function was very unnecessary and pointless. If I talk about important items like health, ammo, armor bonuses, he didn't place them much, and in some critical places I ran out of ammo and I couldn't heal myself after a fight.

The visual side of this mapset. First of all, I liked the foggy outside areas; they give an interesting and mysterious vibe, but the fog effect in inside areas wasn't so good. I noticed lots of misalignments and some unchanged textures provided automatically by Doom Builder 2. Sky viewpoints were way too close to windows and to the player's viewpoint. I think putting a new sky (probably one that blends well with the fog outside) and the linedef action "Line_Horizon" with the same fog effect would be more efficient. Sky viewpoints are mostly visible with the first invulnerability sphere effect at the outside area in map02. The main wad layout is linear, nothing special.

Music in both maps are default, in my opinion, wad would be more interesting with custom music. This wad is weaker than "MyFirstUpload", mainly because this mapset feels rushed and untested before this was submitted for that contest and to /idgames.
 

Puzzle of Doom - CrazyDoomguy
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 71.33 KB -
Reviewed by: rdwpa
The titular puzzles in Puzzle of Doom aren't switch hunts, timed platforming bits, searches for the odd book out in the library, or anything most people would associate with puzzles in Doom. What they are is a set of combat vignettes, the common link being that conventional fighting -- shooting stuff, dodging, etc. -- won't even come close to working on its own. Blockades, such as rows of hell knights in corridors and cyberdemons planted in front of switches, are ubiquitous. You won't have the firepower to clear them on your own. This is where the puzzle part comes in. In every map, the challenge is essentially "How can you use the monsters and the map geometry to create 'events' that remove the blockades?" You're tasked to think outside the box and exploit monster behavior in unconventional ways.

It's a cool concept, one I'm very amenable to, but ultimately I felt the set was a mixed bag -- a couple of clever and fun maps alongside a few tedious ones. A recurring pattern is that a solution is inventive but executing it involves lots of unfulfilling repetition, often leaving one to think, "Okay, I get it already". It's worth at least a brief look if the idea appeals to you, but a willingness to IDCLEV would help. Needless to say, if you're looking for conventional Doom gameplay, this set isn't for you. It's not much of a looker either. And be warned if you want to try these maps with saves: in every map it's possible for an early "wrong move" to render the level unwinnable. Mark your progress if you feel compelled to do so but be willing to reset entirely if you reach an impasse. These maps are quite short, after all.
 

Maihama - Memfis
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 156.54 KB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
Maihama is a smallish map with sort of an abstract nukage base theme. The map is laid out as a series of islands with a city built into them, and the nukage sea is very much a part of the gameplay, as you have to manage radsuits and dive down into it on occasion to look for a switch or key. The whole thing is wide open and nonlinear in the tradition of Sandy Petersen's "Downtown."

The map starts out with a fairly tough hot start, as you're immediately surrounded by various zombie hitscanners with nothing but a pistol. This sets the tone for the whole map: the goal is to find the weapons first and fight the enemies second, and there are plenty of Doom's deadlier foes around to distract you and trip you up. Ammo is tight, not in the sense that there's not enough of it, but rather because you have to keep moving and hunting around to get what you need to continue fighting, and there's only enough of it to kill all enemies once you've succeeded in finding all the weapons. Since it's a resource management map, it's most challenging toward the beginning, and gradually gets easier as you gain a foothold and build up your arsenal.

Like many Memfis maps, Maihama doesn't take itself too seriously and is quick to play. It's a good choice for anyone looking for combat puzzles with a relatively low enemy count.
 

Refrigerator Magnets Volume 1 - theJF
Doom 2 - Single Player - Limit Removing - 1.53 MB -
Reviewed by: Csonicgo
Anyone growing up in the US remembers any neighbor's refrigerator with tons of novelty souvenir magnets, mentioning places you didn't get to go to (but hey, at least you got a t-shirt).

What does that have to do with Doom maps? theJF decided to use fridge magnets as inspiration for maps. Proof that we can find inspiration anywhere, right?

Wellllll, actually, there's not much inspiration from the magnets; only the names of the maps share any relation. But that doesn't mean the maps aren't fun. Every map is "small", with handfuls of monsters, yet the positioning of said monsters always brings a small scare (the suckers are hiding everywhere). Be prepared to be spooked quite a bit. theJF's use of verticality means a lot of monsters can see you only if you're quite a ways into an area, and the clever use of blocking lines keep those surprises from being triggered too soon. That's a trick I hadn't seen since B.P.R.D. made his Community Chest map back in the day.

My only complaint is that the texturing isn't consistent. Large, tall areas with little detail to break up the monotony is still forgivable though considering I'm too busy being paranoid of a cacodemon sneaking up from behind and biting my face.

Lighting could also be improved a bit...

I'm looking forward to more from this mapper. With some work, maps like these could steal the show in a megawad somewhere.
 

Water Spirit - Manbou(burabojunior)
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 7.06 MB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
Manbou/burabojunior made a splash (no pun intended) last year as the most prolific contributor to the Cacoward-winning Japanese Community Project. Anyone who's been looking forward to seeing more of what this subset of the community has to offer will certainly be pleased with Water Spirit, which offers plenty more of Manbou's creative and playful approach to level design.

The three levels of Water Spirit are set around a blue-themed stone temple megastructure with lots of pretty falling water, blue laser barriers, and those great dragon stained glass panels from Quake that are in the CC4 texture pack, many of which hang magically suspended in midair. In fact, the whole mapset has a distinct CC4 flavor to it, which isn't surprising given that it was the texture pack used for JPCP, but the setting still feels fresh, unique, and visually stunning.

Water Spirit isn't just about huge structures with lots of detail, though -- because, let's face it, we've all seen plenty of those by now. One of the things that's really cool about this wad is the unseen presence of the spirit alluded to in the title, which never actually shows itself but still somehow feels like a real character that's part of the narrative. In map 01, there are long trails of health bonuses that guide you along to various weapons and powerups, but also have a tendency to draw you headlong into dangerous situations. Manbou's trademark floating spirals of thin blue glowy bars also seem to be connected with the spirit, often rising up out of nowhere as though granting some kind of blessing to the player (not that they actually do anything for you, but the effect is cool as hell). There's even one spot where you step into the middle of them and are propelled straight up into the air to grab the key you need. The water spirit is clearly benevolent, but maybe also mischievous, which adds a fun element.

Maps 02 and 03 have high monster counts and tend to be slaughtery, but you have a ton of space to move around in, which really helps the battles to feel like manageable challenges. The big fights can sometimes feel a little bit repetitive -- Manbou seems to like using hordes of small monsters coming through several teleporters at once (which I think are fun for the most part, since you have powerful weaponry to shred them with), and both map 02 and map 03 end with the sudden release of a large number of Arch-Viles into the large open spaces of the temple. But since there are only three maps, and they play pretty quickly despite the high monster counts, I feel like it's OK that there are some combat motifs. My favorite battle is the seemingly endless flood of Imps and Demons released out of a gateway at the climax of map 02, as they seem easy at first but quickly threaten to overrun the entire temple if you don't control them effectively. It's almost like a tower defense game with the player as a solitary mobile tower. That map is also really fun to move around in, and the huge amount of height variation not only makes for some impressive views but also gives you some interesting ways to tackle the combat.

Overall, Water Spirit is exactly what all of us new Manbou fans were looking for -- a natural continuation of some of the best ideas from the author's JPCP maps, but with a self-contained story and a format that allowed Manbou to explore a single theme in much greater detail. Highly recommended.
 

The /newstuff Chronicles is a usually-weekly roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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Doomworld Roulette: Session 2 - Various
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 3.53 MB -
Reviewed by: Csonicgo
Doomworld Roulette: Session 2 is a community project - stay with me - consisting of maps inspired by a theme generator. As a result, we get themes like "The Emerald Farmhouse", "A Christo-Judean Arcology giving way to A Sheepish Little Slice of Hell", and "Some Soups morphing into The Cloudship".

Yes, there is a soup-themed map in this.

Aesthetically, it's all over the place. Some are better than others, that is for sure. It took me way too long to play these eleven maps, but a lot of these maps were just that large and deserved exploration. They all play differently, and they deserve to be played with pistol start on each map, so don't expect those newfangled weapons mods with money systems to play well. The number of monsters on UV may be too many for some of the complex weapons mods, which tanks the frame rate to garbage. Try those mods at your own risk.

Maps that stood out: Pinchy's MAP10 gets hectic quickly. I savescummed the hell out of it, but holy hell is it pretty. MAP11 is, quoth AnonimVio, "shit", but not so much that it's unplayable, it just has a clash of poor lighting vs. the sky chosen for that map. And it's cramped due to being too close to the source material!

MAP06 is supposed to be London, if you believe the text file. It also gets the "worst map in this set" recognition for having no gameplay whatsoever. I was bored a minute into playing it. Are we all so afraid of making a map that has any sort of linearity? Joe-Ilya decided to try a "sandbox-like" approach, which means there are no clever monster setups and no sense of progression. Oh, and there's no lighting to speak of. Avoid.

MAP04, MAP05, MAP07, and MAP08 are amazing. MAP02 is a little too mazey. MAP03 moonlights as a sadist. MAP01's music is "Fate in Haze" with some awful chords in it, which I had to turn off as soon as I heard it. It also has a lot of Green in it (the map, not the music, that would be weird).

I hope there's another one of these coming out soon, with even crazier ideas!

50 Monsters - Brayden "AD_79" Hart et al.
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 6.39 MB -
Reviewed by: geo
50 Monsters is aptly named, as each of the 34 maps has 50 monsters, and I see this as a great thing because every level is detailed, compact, interesting, enjoyable, and never outstays its welcome. It's almost a Doom 2 replacement in terms of length of time each one takes. They each have just enough challenge and complexity to where they stay enjoyable.

The levels manage to look unique from one another, although there are a few times where the same theme is reused from level to level. There is a good mixture of liquids, height variance, elevators, stairs, open arenas, and catwalks in each map. This pack doesn't seem to do hallways or narrow spaces; there's always enough room to fight and or dodge.

They look good, they play good. There is enough ammunition, armor and health with both easy and difficult enemies scattered throughout each level. At the end it usually crescendos with a larger enemy such as an archvile, revenant, or mancubus depending on what you had already fought during the map.

For anyone that dislikes backtracking, there is backtracking, but most levels morph, shift, and open up that it seems to make new areas out of old ones. Plus the maps are so compact that it never felt like a chore. The developer also knows when to spawn in a new enemy in an old area to let you know you're going in the right direction.

At around a third of the way through the pack, the challenge ramps up as the game is done losing, so it throws four cyberdemons at you to end one level and has four archviles hunting you down in the next. I assume both challenges are designed for you to run away to the next door. The deeper into 50 Monsters I went the more traps there were. Some subtle and surprising such as the entire floor lowering, while others were obvious, such as oh look a lit key in that dark pit. Solid central areas raise to reveal what's hiding inside.

The pack is well worth anyone's time to play and it flies by fast.

Undeath '94 - Various
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 756.52 KB -
Reviewed by: Csonicgo
The Doom community likes to make derivative works, even though we won't catch most of them admitting it. Introducing Undeath '94, a set of maps based on 1994 DM maps with some interesting IWAD elements. It also has a story that puts the Doom comic on notice.

The story consists of... uh...

"When I was young and my horns were just coming in, the girls and I would go down to the Containment Area to play hide-and-seek. Sometimes the nice marines would join in. And there, between the boxes we'd lie in wait to ambush them. But more often, we got over-exited and careless and so they found and fisted us. It was a lot of fun!"

Never mind.

A lot of maps resemble the Episode/Map slot they replace, but the layouts have been taken from 1994 DM maps. From what little research I did, those IWAD-ish areas were "fit" into the layout, but not faithfully in terms of orientation - even if it feels like they are. I like this approach. But how does it play? For claiming to have "IWAD" difficulty, some levels are ridiculously hard in comparison due to the number of hitscanners and positions of the monsters at the start. (Note: I'm saying "in comparison"; these maps are easy for me.) Get ready to scope out and ration your radsuits accordingly.

The main problem is that with that Deathmatch layouts come some really intimidating paths. It's not obvious where to start going! I found myself getting lost a few times, although most of that is due to my habit of backtracking and finding other areas before finishing the first area I visited. I missed a blue key on E1M3 due to this and ran around for a good twenty minutes before it hit me that I had skipped that area. There are also many ways to get to the same place, just as a good DM map should have. Good luck figuring out the fastest path, speedrunners!

These maps felt like my first experience with Doom, before I could map IWAD level replicas in my sleep. As a child, I would always get lost in E1M7, and that I can get lost in these maps kind of... takes me back to that time.

If you wonder why I'm not being as harsh on these as I could have been: Remember that these layouts are from 1994 - they're older than some of the kids who think they can map for this game. Speaking of Episode Two, E2M1 is boring, lacking lighting, and contains needless repetitive texture usage. Looking at the source layout map, it's not that much different!

But at least it's structured!

Oh, and E2M2 is an awful tech version of the Unholy Cathedral courtyard with newbie monster placement. Stick with the E1 maps.

Devil Trauma - Martin Read
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 32.1 KB -
Reviewed by: Memfis
Basic short map by a first time author. I didn't notice any technical problems but there isn't much to praise either. The outdoor areas are way too bright to my taste and they are rather scarcely populated, so surviving is trivial. The texturing is logical but unappealing: I would recommend using more colors instead of making areas almost entirely green or red. There is a cute teleporter that works differently depending on how you approach it, which is probably the best part of the wad. Overall, for a "first serious attempt at producing a PWAD" it's definitely passable, now let's just hope that Martin doesn't stop here.

MyFirstUpload - Bonfac
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 504.64 KB -
Reviewed by: MysteriousHaruko
"MyFirstUpload" is also the author's first wad, so when I saw it, I said to myself, "I must check how this plays". Long story short, I expected something bad or unplayable, but I was wrong. This mapset is intended for advanced source ports like Zandronum and GZDoom. I tested this with GZDoom on medium skill.

Gameplay was quite weak. It lacks health and ammo. Some places had them, but others not. If the shotgun is presented in the first map (even as a secret), there should be shotgun shells somewhere. Even shotgunners are a good source ofammo, but the author decided to put in player blocking lines. Also, the backpack and super shotgun in the second map are also pointless, because they were placed at the end. Due to quite claustrophobic map design, it was hard to dodge monster attacks. Monster placement felt weird, especially the in early stages. For example, I saw a pinky demon trapped in barrels; it was fun to blast it, but that's it. One backtracking trap was unfair – I was snipped off by shotgun guys from the back while I tried to get away from hell knights; this could be improved if the player had more health and ammo. Now, more about the positive side – friendly marines were like a cherry on top; they took care of monsters while I grabbed some ammo and rested. Some other demon traps caught me off guard (but I quickly got away from them), but I don't think this is a bad thing.

As for the visual side of the two "MyFirstUpload" maps. Both maps are based on some sort of moon, so I assumed the theme would be techbase. Both maps use some new textures, GZDoom effects like dynamic lights, 3D floors, and slopes. As I mentioned before, maps don't have much space and focus more on action than exploration. I spotted some misalignments, but they don't break anything. Texture choices are decent for the first map like this, but it doesn't have too many details. A starry skybox added charm to the outside areas.

Music in both creations are the same Doom II track - "Message for the Archvile". Maybe I seem like a spoiled player, but I prefer to hear two different tracks.

Some complaints about text file now. When I scrolled down and saw the line "May Not Run With: None" and later "Tested With: Gzdoom, Zdoom, Zadronum". This is quite misleading, and it's better to write that this wad won't run in vanilla/ Boom ports.

To sum up, "MyFirstUpload" isn't bad for a first wad, of course there are more better wads, but this one gives us hope for the better wads from the same mapper.

BaG - Za Warudo
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 331.4 KB -
Reviewed by: MysteriousHaruko
"BaG" is Za Warudo's first wad. I believe that this wad name refers to "Black and Green", because map01 says its name is "Black and Green with some brown". This wad is intended for GZDoom and I tested it on medium skill. Gameplay is straightfoward. The player just grabs a better gun, shoots demons and moves on to other sectors. Once I ran out of shotgun ammo and I had shoot a hell knight with the pistol. Besides that, I liked how the gameplay flows, and fighting with archvile near end was fun. The best part of the gameplay was a fake exit trap. It tests player's reaction and observation before he gets crushed to death. I see this trap as some sort of punishment for being way too fast for reaching the exit. In terms of ammo/health/armor distribution, there should be more of them. A few parts of the map require crouching.

Visuals, as map01 stated, are full of green, black, and some brown. The author used lots of new textures and they all are well placed. Details are kept at a minimum. Most of the visible misalignments mark the escape route from the crusher. Dynamic lights in this map are pleasing; the author knew how to use them. Actually, there's no proper height variation; the map is mostly flat, besides some 3D floor and slope usage. The main layout isn't too confusing, so I didn't have any problems with navigation. Almost forgot to mention, the wad theme is old good techbase. I liked the author's musical taste in his first map – he bothered to change "Running from Evil" into the metal MIDI "Rainbow in the Dark" by Dio.

In the end, a lot of work is still required, but I hope the author will fix all the issues and create something interesting in the future.

DEHACKED Revenants - scifista42
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 6.67 KB -
Reviewed by: Philnemba
DEHACKED Revenants is a set of not so serious DeHackEd files that change Revenant behaviors in um... unusual ways.

Revivant.deh makes Archviles resurrects ANY monster into a revenant, while Pain Elementals spit 'em out instead of Lost Souls. Oh and they're slightly more aggressive and like to leap towards you too.

Skel_op.deh basically makes Revenants stupidly OP (hence the name of the file) by giving them double health, double aggressiveness, quadruple speed, instant melee attack, shooting five missiles in a row, and shorter pain animations.

Op_reviv.deh is just the two previous DeHackEd files mixed together for double the pain and chaos.

While I do find these DeHackEd files amusing, people who completely dislike them should steer clear of this, while everyone else should give them a try for fun and giggles.

Math Test - Albatross
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 79.37 KB -
Reviewed by: Memfis
In this charming little wad the marine has to put down his weapons and solve a few mathematical problems instead. There is some humor in the level that you just have to experience by yourself. If you want to spend a few minutes in a slightly unusual way and you're at least a little bit interested in math, check it out.

Ever Shrine - Alter
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 1.54 MB -
Reviewed by: leodoom85
Ever Shrine is composed of three cave-hellish and a bit of Eldritch-themed maps that can keep you on alert, and that I'll talk about in more detail for each:

Map01 - As you will notice, you don't have much space to maneuver at the starting point. Ruins left by some sunken ships has imps that will attack you. Fortunately, you have some barrels to do the work for you (after all, demons are dumb enough to shoot them). There are some areas that you can pick up weapons like the shotgun, SSG, and chaingun, which are necessary for clearing this map. There's one weird thing about this area and it's the water (first image). The deep water effect (or 3D sectors) used for this plus the damage that you can receive is strange, and that can be a bit annoying.

The next major area is the land, and things will be a bit easier than the starting point if you're careful. I really like the combination of mixing the actual land with caves tinted by blue rocks and more water. And the lighting helps a lot too (second image). Another nice touch is in one of the areas which shows a ship in the distance if you step into one of the turrets (third image). Did I mentioned that behind the starting point, there is a nice looking tower? Well, surprise... an archie is waiting there along with a megasphere... tasty. I did that after clearing most of the map and having enough ammo and weapons. Also, that secret backpack really helps for getting more ammo.

Overall, it is a nice map that gives you a good challenge and tells you that more of that type of the gameplay is coming. The only part that leaves me worried is the starting point, but that's not too serious if you're careful. OH... what about the music? Great music.

Map02 - This is where the mapset gets interesting and raises the difficulty. Three paths to take in the starting point and one of them is blocked. I noticed that there's a clear increase of revenants, spiders, mancubuses and archies, which will be a predominant topic in the next map. Still in caves but lava is added, feeling that you're close to hell or something. I really liked the entrances to those "shrines" or whatever (fourth image), and it's clearly identified with a big letter. A, B and C are the names of those shrines where the main objective is to press a switch which can undo the blocks in the last part.

Well, those shrines are obviously infested by hellspawn which changes the amount and difficulty of monsters in each shrine (one of them has a megasphere in it which will help you a lot). I forgot to say something important, and it's related to the custom textures... I dig the look of all of them. Some of the secrets in this map (fifth image) are... obvious but really unexpected. I mean, no one would expect a place that you can walk into casually where one sector is marked as a secret. Oh... and there's a water area near the "C" shrine that was fairly hard to deal with, but luckily there's a soulsphere that your choice to pick up or not.

After clearing the shrines and pressing the switches comes the last part of the map with a nice vista of the exit (sixth image). This part was fairly hard too, but the BFG will do the job perfectly fine. After doing that, you reach the exit which is some kind of big portal (seventh image). The architecture for that is great, and what a way to enter the next level.

This map is really fun to play combined to some big places packed with monsters. And surprisingly, no traps whatsoever like crushers. Nice detail to the map and another nice music track.

Map03 - Continuing to the "same place" after crossing the portal and watching the amount of monsters in the map, you realize that this last map will be fun to play, and after running through the water current, you reach a huge and great looking city (eighth image). This map has some amazing visuals and I like it. But the main event here is the gameplay, so here we go.

In order to clear the map and reach to that portal in the center of the map, you need two keys that are in two mayan-inspired pyramids but before reaching that, you need to dispatch the ambushes that this place has in store. This map is pretty generous with the ammo, and you can probably reach full ammo when you're in the final area. One suggestion is to lower the amount of ammo and put a few more monsters to make it balanced. Also, this map is pretty non-linear in terms of getting the keys... you can choose the left way or the right way; it gives you some freedom.

To me, the hardest part of the map was in the right side, close to where the key is (ninth image). Fortunately, there's a lot of space to deal with the monsters. Some BFG tactics will help you, or run away from that area to form a bottleneck and kill them easily... any option is valid. And again, lots of ammo scattered around the area, plus some health.

Last part (tenth image) is easy enough. Just let the cyberdemon kill the poor archies but have your BFG prepared in case that doesn't happen. Now that you're in that area, you can see why that area looks really good. The switch for that final lift is well hidden, so look well for that, and crossing that final portal ends the level. Great.

Overall, this map was awesome. Just some balancing issues with ammo and such, but this map is still hard and you must stay alert at all times, especially the revenants and their homing projectiles, which can be a serious advantage for a big map like this one. Nice music too. Great detail for the map. Liked it.

For a three-level mapset played for the first time, it's a great one, and I totally recommend trying this wad. You'll have some fun playing it.

The /newstuff Chronicles is a usually-weekly roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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Train Station: Episode 1 - JagDogger2525
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 253 KB -
Reviewed by: Walter confetti
Train Station: Episode 1 is, as the title suggest, a replacement for Ultimate Doom episode 1, made by JagDogger2525, a mapper with a bunch of other deathmatch maps already released that I don't remember playing.

The story behind this map pack is that these levels were made for a forum that the author follows and dropped it since the forums that this guy follows are being frequented only by him and the forum host, so this thing has been forgotten forever by everyone... OR HAS IT?

The author decided for some obscure reason to bring it back and... almost finish this episode, bringing us his first magnum opus.

The levels are, obviously, set in a train station world of sorts including train stations, techbases, huge train tunnels (with the one in E1M3 filled with FIREBLU that makes a strange dimensional warp effect; imagine that while waiting for the train in the station / subway of your city?), Hell sections, abstract square caves, and canyons where you are running station to station to destroy the demon invasion once and for all from planet Train.

If the idea of base sounds nice and kind of a novelty (if we forgive the many other train station maps made during the years since 1994), the execution was done pretty badly. The level layouts look like an amateurish map made with DEU or some other old editor; it is just bunch of square rooms and sectors for the stations and long and tedious hallways for the train tunnels. There's little to no detail (except nice lighting work in E1M1's station); the gameplay is kinda OK but doesn't really follow the episode flow perfectly, since on E1M2 you find yourself battling a horde of spectres with only your pistol. The rest of the battling is a sort of hard battle scenario, with tunnels filled with monsters and ammo, some pseudo-slaughter moments, some arena battles at the end of the episode (that is on E1M7; E1M8 is a sort of secret level here), and overall the feeling of playing something incomplete is highly visible here, so I don't get why the author decided to send this episode to the archives (it has a few good moments, mind you, like the mentioned E1M3 fireblu station and some other nice abstract moments in the middle of the episode and the overall hub feel of the episode layout). But for me it was a forgettable experience; take a look at this if you are a die-hard fan of old (or old-looking) mods from 1994 / 1996, even the most amateurish ones, but this episode could be easily skippable in favor of other levels in the archives.

Plasmatology Vol. 1 - pintolinh0
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 26.03 KB -
Reviewed by: Philnemba
"Designed to be played on UV"

When I first read these words on the text file, I would assume that this map was tested thoroughly... sadly, this isn't the case. The main issue is that the only weapon you get is a plasma rifle with extremely limited ammo to the point where you literally don't have enough ammo to kill all 90+ monsters in this poor looking 1994 visuals map.

Best to avoid this and hope one day with a bit more practice, pintolinh0 can deliver a much better map for us.

While I did play this on ZDoom, this map IS vanilla compatible, however DON'T open the secret room near the red key room, otherwise the whole map um... collapses itself in Chocolate Doom (prboom+ won't open this secret room for some reason).

Map a Day - Topi Hattukangas
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 406.06 KB -
Reviewed by: bzzrak
Map a Day is a 24-map speedmap megaWAD by Topi Hattukangas. If you haven't heard of him, he has released some very enjoyable but somewhat under-appreciated maps and mapsets, such as T3ST. Basically, this guy knows how to map. His maps generally feel kinda "smart"; he tries to incorporate unique concepts and gimmicks, but while also keeping the core Doom gameplay, and most of the time succeeds in doing that.

During October 2016, Topi attempted to make one map every day and end up with a full megaWAD. Well, that particular goal wasn't entirely achieved; he managed to make only 25 maps, one of which was "not working" and therefore dropped. Never mind, 24 is still a megaWAD, right? And boy, what a megaWAD.

I played Map a Day using ZDoom 2.8.1, HMP skill, lots of resurrection. In total it took me 2 hours or so?

One little thing. The mapset comes a PK3 file (which means that it requires a ZDoom-compatible port), but the maps definitely look vanilla. Not even Boom. The author uses some vanilla mapping techniques, such as self-referencing sectors. The only port feature that the author seems to utilize is MAPINFO, even though that probably would've worked in a WAD file as well...

Ah, whatever. I don't wanna start another ports-vs-vanilla debate. Well, I do, but not here. Introducing you to the maps would probably be a better idea in this case. :]

All of the maps have rather low monster counts (
_{^{(yeah, I said that slaughter-free means fun. Fight me, come on, I dare you. :] )}}

Though, that doesn't mean the maps are easy. No, sometimes they are quite hard, especially if you are one of those weird folks that doesn't cheat. Some of the spaces you'll find yourself in are quite tight, so you'll have considerably less room to dodge the enemies' attacks, like in map01. In other maps, some gimmick or puzzle will be what prevents you from reaching the magnificent exit switch.

Another thing is that you'll be quite low on guns most of the time. The weaponry is very scarce. The pistol and chainsaw will be your only friends until MAP06. If you're one of those super-cool Doomers that feel entitled to having a SSG at all times, this is 707411y NOT 73h m@p537 4u. Otherwise, you'll find out that the limited capability of shooting is actually not that limiting; you won't even notice.

Along with being not too crammed with monsters, the maps have another advantage: they are short. You could probably expect that from 1-day speedmaps. They usually take 1-3 minutes to complete... plus an indefinite amount of time spent on unsuccessful attempts to figure them out. You'll probably be able to finish the mapset in about 2-3 playing sessions.

Moreover, the maps have some consistency to them, which is kinda nice for a speedmap set. For example, the exits are in the majority of cases represented by skull switches, like in the end of Doom 2's MAP11, which is cool. Also, usually the end of one map will be similar to the beginning of another. The last few maps even end in the same room. There doesn't seem to be any particular plot tying them together that would explain this, but we can probably guess what is the backstory here, shouldn't differ much from the usual. :]

Visually, the maps are perfectly fine for the amount of time spent on them. Well, almost. The thing is that Topi seems to have a fetish for the colour BROWN. Some of those levels feature that colour almost exclusively. There's so much brown in here that it feels disgusting. Was all that brown really necessary??

Other than that, the detailing is usually adequate and neat, not crossing into overd33teyl territory, but also (mostly) keeping away from mid-90s aesthetics. Sometimes you have DoomCute™ little sector objects such as ships, boats and furniture.

Also, Topi sometimes breaks that one rule of John Romero's, the one that says that different flats should have different heights. That doesn't look too good.

Map-by-map review for both folks who appreciate it. If you're not one of them, feel free to skip it!

MAP01: Teleporter -- very simple little level. Right after you start the game, you find that you're surrounded by a group of Cacodemons, with more monsters that will come into play a bit later.
MAP02: Running From Evil -- a brown fortress in a brown lake, with some brown walkways around. Some Revenants are watching you from above; be patient if you can't kill them right away. An average level.
MAP03: Deja Vu? -- You start with the exit pretty much in your sight... but soon you find out that it's not that simple. Between you and the switch stand three sets of teleport gates. Sometimes they teleport you to an area that is a recreation of some IWAD map, such as Deimos Anomaly, Tricks and Traps, and even Plutonia's Well of Souls. You have to figure out which gate will not teleport you, letting you pass instead. The third set of gates takes you to a potentially very nasty fight. This is a very interesting level, I enjoyed it.
MAP04: Claustrowhat? -- boring brown set of corridors with different height levels connected by lifts. The only room that's not a corridor (with the red key) looks very nice. Other than that, this is a forgettable level.
MAP05: Soul Falls -- contains about 73 billion Pain Elementals and a comparable number of Lost Souls, while you have only a pistol, a chainsaw and a berserk. "Fun". Visually it's a very pretty little level, with even some colour variety.
MAP06: In The Sewers -- best level so far. Barely any brown, with delightful green, gray and blue everywhere. Also, oh my god, the SHOTGUN!!! I found the final battle very fun.
MAP07: Dark 2 See -- also a good level. The beginning requires you to react very quickly. Then it turns into a dark maze with Mancubuses everywhere around you. After you dispose of those, a huge outdoor area opens up, with around 150 trash monsters, an invulnerability and lots of rockets around. Insane fun.
MAP08: The Trench -- mostly an outdoor level. Has some simple platforming with Chaingunners in guard towers shooting at you. The lighting really could've used some work. Other than that, this continues the chain of good levels.
MAP09: Remember Citadel -- this level is focused around a small, decently built fortress. I'm really liking these last few levels, I hope it gets even better!!
MAP10: Maze Of The Minotaur -- ugh. UGH. This level greets you with a simply atrocious maze. Goddammit, I should've known there was a maze in here somewhere. Even worse, you have to find both a key and its door. I recommend noclip. After you get through that, the level becomes just average, with two rather awkward rooms where you pick up the other two keys and a simple fight.
MAP11: Weight Of The Matter -- in the very beginning you face a Cyberdemon, although he can easily be avoided. The rest of the level is some ordinary key-finding. Well, at least it's not brown!
MAP12: Toxic Lake -- a cement base in a lake of nukage. Earns my respect for not being brown. Very similar to the previous level.
MAP13: Deep Breath -- the very first impression of this level is not too good, but it improves soon. You will see some metal grates above water pools that also block you from the switch on the other side... but you can dive under them! Incredible concept.
MAP14: At Last A Battle -- a great level. One huge nukage pool, with some walkways around and monsters hurling projectiles at you from every single direction. Enduring this battle feels like a true achievement. This, along with the fact that there's barely any brown, makes this level one of my favourites.
MAP15: Are Barrels Fun? -- secret level that I couldn't find.
MAP16: Out Of The Shadows -- Oh. Brown. Meh. The blue key area is very smartly designed.
MAP17: Rock The Docs -- you are in a dock of some sort and you need to get to your boat. The first (indoor) half is easy, but the outdoor half can get tricky.
MAP18: Peaceful Boatride -- you thought you could get some sleep while you sail to your next destination, without being threatened by demons? No such luck. This is a small level where monsters keep coming in waves and you just have to survive. If you jump and look at the sea, you might find that it looks a bit glitchy due to all the ambushes unleashed upon you from it. Hey Topi, people can jump now, you know? This level is quite hard.
MAP19: Towers R Odd -- the rest of your voyage was not too problematic, and you successfully arrive at the dock. However, a squad of zombies were waiting for you there! There are some powerups on raised platforms here; you'll get the opportunity to lower them as you progress through the level. The ending fight can be a bit surprising.
MAP20: Feel The Hot Of Hellfire? -- starts out as a cute, relaxed little techbase, but then it turns out that there's more to it than you might think! You get the first taste of Hell when you see a marble room, followed by a big cavern with IoS pads on the floor. Good level. Also I'm proud to announce that the levels become far less brown from now on!
MAP21: Nether? Whatever... -- whoa, you're really in Hell now! From a surreal cavern you enter a marble structure. Has some nasty fights. A beautiful level. Also, you are introduced to the exit room that you will revisit in the next few levels.
MAP22, apparently named "Rewind", was dropped due to "not working". After finishing 21 you go straight to 23.
MAP23: Arch-Enemy -- you start in a tiny room, with some barrels around you; that room soon expands, twice, with a fight accompanying each expansion. Then you encounter a really tricky fight with some Revenants on a platform. You are in a very inconvenient position here, so shattering them into bones can be challenging. The doors in that room with the Revenants can be a bit annoying due to the way they were set up. Following that is a moderately hard fight against some Cacodemons and Pain Elementals; after that you grab the key and face your arch-enemy. The arch-enemy fight is kinda underwhelming, as it's a tiny ring-shaped room and hiding from his attack is trivial. Also there's some sort of sequence where you get an invulnerability to blow up a LOT of barrels, which was awkward, but cute.
MAP24: Tower Of Babel -- again you start on your trusty vessel, with a huge ziggurat in front of you. You need to ascend to the top and grab the key from the tower's master and then go back down, where the key door is situated.
MAP25: Dead Again -- Icon of Sin fight :]

Whee, we're done!

Overall, I liked Map a Day. It's a very neat set of speedmaps, with some brilliant concepts, but also not too gimmick-oriented. I recommend it if you want some "bite-sized" classic-style Doom maps to pass some time. Kudos to Topi for creating such a good mapset!

Trigger-happy - pintolinh0
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 52.68 KB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
This is the author's second map, and it has all the tropes you know and hate from every other beginner map, including D_RUNNIN as the default music. It's basically just a series of rectangles where you kill the monsters, hit a switch, and move to the next rectangle. Most of those rectangles are full of hitscanners, including many SS Nazis. For the entire first half of the level, you get no weapon except a shotgun, and you're expected to kill Mancubuses, Arachnotrons, Pain Elementals, and a Baron with it, which is no fun for anyone. The second half of the level is more of the same; you at least get a rocket launcher, but nowhere near enough ammo to actually kill the Mastermind that's camping on the exit switch. Not worthwhile.

The /newstuff Chronicles is a usually-weekly roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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Miasma - Thomas "tourniquet" Seifert
Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 2.42 MB -
Reviewed by: Nine Inch Heels
Miasma was uploaded to the archives on December 16th, 2016. I don't feel comfortable calling it a "map", because, more than anything, Miasma is a place so alien and malicious, within a few minutes it will make you realize you are unwelcome in its presence.

In Greek mythology, a miasma is a contagious force with an independent life of its own. This wonderfully detailed and disturbingly abstract environment is dominated by the color green, yet it combines many different themes, which flow into one another seamlessly as the player peels back Miasma's many layers during exploration. This... place is huge. Oppressive open areas and treacherous tight quarters await the brave, keeping them alert at all times, and making them feel weak and fragile.

Miasma is as much a piece of art and ingenuity as it is about gameplay variety. If there was something like "the everything map", Miasma more than deserves to be considered as such. Tourniquet managed to constantly mix up the gameplay in this non-linear microcosm: from exploration to close quarters combat to slaughter, all of which is delivered with many brilliantly executed and varied nuances. No encounter feels like the previous one, adding even more to the impression that this place is looking to get rid of you by any means necessary. That's not to say the map plays unfair. On the contrary, there is a reliable solution for everything here. However, if you want to see everything this green behemoth has on offer, I suggest saving your progress occasionally during your first, or maybe even second playthrough, in particular when playing on UV difficulty. Miasma can take well over 30 minutes to finish, even for quite experienced players, and dying 20 minutes into the map to then start it all over again may be unpleasant.

Encounter design throughout the map is consistently at high quality. Nicely orchestrated small encounters with impeccable thing placement create about as much psychological pressure as the relatively large scale encounters which take place in the the deepest bowels of this festering abomination. The pacing is top notch every time; nothing ever feels boring, tedious, or uninteresting, let alone trivial.

When it comes to resources, you will be kept on a relatively short leash. Matching the visual theme of the map, players are going be limited to green armor for significant periods of time. When you get hit, it will hurt. In spite of the relatively low Archvile/Cyberdemon count when compared to other maps with roughly 1000-1500 monsters, the opposition is potentially lethal, and mistakes will get punished severely. Tourniquet is reasonably generous with firepower. You will always be given a little bit more than you might need, but never so much as to allow for an overall wasteful or careless play-style. Many encounters, especially early on, but also a bit later down the line, are designed around SSG/RL use and quick thinking paired with a good tactical approach on the player's end. As a consequence of limited resources, the creatively hidden secrets in Miasma are not only meaningful, but they also feel very rewarding to discover. Some secrets require a good eye; others can be found by way of hearing "something" happen.

Even after having played many Cacoward-winning megawads, I was more than pleasantly surprised by this astonishing masterpiece. It is one of the best Dooming experiences I have had.

Infested Outpost - Cacodemon9000
Doom 2 - Single Player - Limit Removing - 1.5 MB -
Reviewed by: geo
Infested Outpost is a sea of grey, cement, dark tunnels all wrapped into a near-maddening labyrinth. It starts out enjoyable enough, a fair amount of health, ammo and challenge. Enough ammo to have you switching weapons until you find the armory. Health is abundant in key locations that you'll return to again and again.

The key here is again-and-again. Wow this is a tangled web of a complex. All three keys are used, naturally, but there are color coated switch doors as well. Green to green, yellow to yellow. I was lost and confused backtracking to the very beginning of the level to discover the room of switches that I had walked by without noticing. To unlock that bank of two switches, I had to stumble my way through a pitch black theater that was darker than any Duke Nukem theater.

Getting lost in a dark room was only the tip of the iceberg, as there is a network of dark tunnels around big rooms. These tunnels are at 45 degree angles and there are lights at select moments, but it was more of a nuisance than a moment of dread. There are chaingunners, imps and barons to fight in these close quarters with little room to strafe. Another issue with these dark tunnels is that its tough to discern one tunnel from the next without your trusty map.

Oh but it's tough to navigate even with a map, because these tunnels have ladders that work as silent teleporters to different sections of the map. So there was no clear cut way to find a route via the map when looking at the tunnels. This would be fine if you didn't have to back track through them so often. I got the blue key and it was next to a switch that required a yellow key, which meant I'd have to trek through the tunnels another time. What I failed to mention is the fact that blue key needs to be used on a blue key switch somewhere else in the tunnels.

Outside these menacing tunnels are big storage rooms where a lot of the action happens. In each of these large warehouses is a slew of imps, barons, and chaingunners. As we all know the chaingunners can snipe you from across a room with no real sense of where it's coming from. To the level's credit there is always cover, just know where you're getting shot from.

To make things both more detailed and frustrating, there were half doors. Doors that were stuck half open, so you could see beneath them, but they never open. So when looking at a map to see oh there's a red door I haven't gone in; the trick was these doors are jammed half open and can't be opened even if at times you could still get to the other side.

Another detriment is just how grey it is. I could still tell one room from the next, and a lot of rooms had good detail and interesting concepts, but it's still a lot of grey on grey punctuated with blue fabrics in the occasional living quarters and boxes... lots of boxes. Speaking of boxes, this is a vanilla DOOM 2 WAD so there's no jump. The red key requires some intense accuracy running off a box and landing on another, but only after taking a long route up a bunch of crates and over two other gaps. After ten tries, I gave up, cheated and jumped. I should also specify that this WAD was meant to use the embedded DeHackEd file, so perhaps that would have given me some sort of run ability not native to the vanilla version.

On the good side of the map, it feels like it could be a real outpost. There are barracks, a morgue, the movie theater and so on. There are a few moments it felt like the map design was inspired both by Duke as I mentioned before, but also a bit like Doom 3 with large trafficking tunnels that have walkways and stairs on both sides.

If you're someone that likes intense puzzles, this is for you, but as I went further into the rabbit hole, it only ended in anguish.

Shovelware Adventure! - Doomkid (Doomkid92 on steam)
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 2.28 MB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
Shovelware Adventure is a throwback to the early days of Doom, when you could get away with raking up a bunch of other people's random crap levels and throwing them onto a CD to sell commercially. It doesn't actually play like a shovelware map, fortunately. Instead, it's more about having a cheesy retro feel and a very simple but high-quality design. The detailing is pretty spartan and I don't think there are any custom textures, but there's plenty of fun new content to help keep it interesting, mostly in terms of monsters and decorations. Besides the recolors and reskins, some of the new monsters include a spectral Imp and a plasma-shooting zombie with Duke sunglasses. These sorts of monsters don't create new gameplay, but they do contribute to the overall sense of variety and light-hearted fun, so I think they serve this map well. Two monsters that I do think add something new to the game are a tougher Imp with a faster double fireball attack and a zombie that fires homing missiles. Both of them take more damage than you expect and are unlikely to flinch, but their seeming weakness makes it very tempting to get cocky and face them out in the open with the assumption that you can stun-lock them or kill them very quickly, exposing you to some pretty dangerous attacks. There's also a nice custom music track that fits well with the retro feel of the map.

The level is very large and very open for exploration; it includes three keycards, but you don't even need all of them to win, and they're mostly used for opening up more optional areas where you can get better equipment. I never got tired of running around trying to find everything. Enemies are packed in pretty densely, but since most of them are weak, the map isn't too hard, as long as you can survive the occasional packs of hitscanners. I love this sort of gameplay, where there are tons of mostly low-tier monsters, so you're always mowing something down. The finale is a challenge, throwing you into the middle of an monster spawner battle and forcing you to clear a Spider Mastermind and a Cyberdemon out of the way before you can get into position to destroy the source (not too hard or annoying as far as IoS fights go, but it did catch me by surprise). Shovelware Adventure might be too quirky for some players, but I highly recommend it.

Superfast Mapping: Domination Edition - Combinebobnt, Argentum, Dranzer, [IFOC]75, Razgriz/Strangle, Gustavo6046
Doom 2 - Domination - Zandronum - 15.79 MB -
Reviewed by: Decay
Domination is a team game mode that Zandronum features. The aim of the game is earning points by "owning" a sector for extended periods of time. A player "owns" a sector for their team by walking over a line that recognizes their team colour and then assigns the sector to the team. Very few map packs have been made for this mode.

CombinebobNT led this project after authoring Superfast DM, CTF, and Duel. None of these wads get played and are of dubious quality, and you would think after two wads you would give it up, but Bobby doesn't take hints very well.

This wad is an example of a horrendous philosophy of "Doom players play anything with enough people." I don't think quality control existed in this project. The floors are quite bumpy all over the place, particularly in high traffic areas, even more specifically many of the domination points themselves. It's not really a great idea. Some areas are too tight where they shouldn't be, and others are way too open where they could probably stand for some more cover. Many recurring problems in this set could be fixed with testing, but I feel like nobody cared because SPEED MAPS. Many of maps have a good flow, if you were running around in single player that is. The maps feature 3-D floors in general game play use instead of decoration, and fit in really well, adding a good vertical dimension to the maps, boosting general movement flow. There are only a few real dead-end feeling spots in maps or areas that require excessive run-around.

I feel like these maps would play better in straightforward DM. In many instances spawns are so close to the domination points, you don't have much opportunity to defend it in any reasonably sized game. It's a constant barrage of death with a little bit of "walk over the sector lines" thrown in. Bob will read this and say to me "Decay that's the point" or "That's a good thing!" but approximately not one of these people enjoyed the maps, so perhaps that's saying something. Even for public play the disorganization reaches disastrous levels, particularly in maps that look the same everywhere. The point names are lazily thrown in with no creativity (hallmark of a speedpack?), leaving some people maybe wondering where exactly the top, middle, and bottom points are.

The maps are mostly clean, coherent, and smooth on the walls, which usually translates into reasonable maps visually, but instead many maps suffer from being overly plain and boring. Some of the map themes come straight out of AeonDM (made by some of the same authors) but look like low-budget, D-grade movie versions of them. The wad, suitably for speedmaps, looks like a ZDaemon hand-me-down for Zandronum from the mid 2000s.

I never see this wad randomly played, and there is good reason for that. The unfortunate bit is there isn't much I can compare it to for domination; I can only judge it on how it played out. The closeness of spawns to domination points, some unclear paths, BFG placements that really are unnecessary, and lack of smooth play really kills most of the maps in the pack. But I'm pretty sure domination doesn't have to be this bad. I chalk up the problems in this wad to poor leadership and no real care given to the maps or game mode, and as a result we get another subpar speedmap pack nobody will play more than once, but perhaps more tragically lost potential for a hardly-played game mode. The philosophy of "people play anything" needs to be ding-dong-ditched, because this isn't 1995 anymore; it's 2017 and people play next to nothing, so making subpar maps isn't an option.

Mogor's Winter - Shadowman
Doom 2 - Single Player - PrBoom+ - 6.05 MB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
If the name Mogor sounds weirdly familiar to you, you may be remembering it from Whitemare 1, where Mogor appears in one of the secret levels as a cartoonish boss monster that shoots streams of Cacodemon balls. Other than that, I have no idea what kind of backstory there is to this character. Apparently he isn't really dead though, because he's come back to steal New Year's, and you can only stop him by beating this 11-level mapset.

The style of these maps is fairly typical of Shadowman and some of the other mappers who have participated in various Russian community projects. The levels mostly take place in snow-covered cities with gritty texturing, and there are realistic houses and shops with realistic boxiness and lots of pictures hanging up on the walls, faucets in the kitchens, and so on. The mapset sometimes gets kind of jokewadish (particularly in the music selections, some of which are really annoying), but it's not a jokewad. You get the sense that Shadowman just made these maps for the fun of it and wasn't trying too hard to impress anyone.

If you can look past some of the flaws that show up early on and give a bad impression, Mogor's Winter is a pretty solid set of maps -- at least, if you enjoy these sorts of city maps where it's mostly about exploring every corner and fighting from room to room. The maps build up slowly with a strong sense of progression, and the SSG and plasma rifle (along with most of the powerful monsters) show up pretty late. The steady straightforwardness of the combat and the rambling, mazey nature of many of the levels reminded me of '90s dungeon crawlers and Doom wannabe FPS games, but fortunately I have a lot of nostalgia for stuff like that. My favorite level was map 04, which takes place in a big mansion with a hedge maze surrounding it; it has some interesting puzzly stuff and is the best example of that dungeon crawler style. Maps 06 and 09 also stand out in that they're more like conventional Doom maps, with larger combat spaces and more fluid layouts that emphasize gameplay. You also get to play the obligatory moving train level somewhere in there.

You do get to fight Mogor again at the end, and this time he's basically a glorified Arch-Vile with sprites ripped from the final boss of Blood. Maybe he got a makeover after the last time you killed him. Like the rest of the story, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but whatever.

With all the epic mapsets that get released these days, it's easy to forget that stuff like Mogor's Winter can still be fun in its way -- although for some people, it may not be. I got annoyed with the switch hunting at times and turned off the music in a few maps, but otherwise I got some decent enjoyment out of it. Recommended mainly for nostalgia Doomers and people who are looking for casual mapsets.

The /newstuff Chronicles is a usually-weekly roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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Russian DOOM - Julian Nechaevsky
Doom/Doom 2 - N/A - Chocolate Doom - 2.91 MB -
Reviewed by: joe-ilya
A well made text replacement for Russian speaking people who don't understand English, or just for people who understand the Russian language and the English language, yet are simply interested to see how this conversion turns out. It turns out quite nice; the biggest change besides turning English text into Russian text is the way the Russian grammar is implemented in the intermission screens; there are various versions of the "FINISHED" and "ENTERING" graphics for grammatical purposes.

Most of the texts are replaced: the menus, the pickup messages, the HUD, the automap, the intermission screen, the ENDOOM graphic, and even the English text on the textures is replaced, such as the exit signs and the various computer screens for example. The one thing that isn't translated are the acronyms in the textures, like UAC for example.

The text translations are implemented into all the id Software Doom IWADS; you can choose through the five Doom IWADs in the launcher's setup. (You can choose between Shareware Doom, Ultimate Doom, Doom 2, TNT and Plutonia.)

The Russian text is professionally crafted, looking like something id Software would make if they were Russian instead of American in the first place. It's a bit humorous thinking about a parallel universe where id Software is a Russian company and all their games would be implemented with Russian text and Russian inspirations such as music.
 

Doomworld Mega Project 2015 - Various
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 17.61 MB -
Reviewed by: Csonicgo
I have no idea when I picked up Doomworld Mega Project 2015 to review. It's 2017 now, I know that much. It has taken me way too long, I've played about everything, and I still cannot say much more than the README already states. Because that's quite literally what we're looking at here. Quoth the README:

The idea and goal of the project was to get maps from as many mappers as possible, one map per person, during the course of the year 2015. Anyone could participate, and there were no restrictions regarding the theme or the quality of the maps, other than "no abusive maps that use scripts to change people's settings or are 1 GB while unzipped, etc."

Mapping and compiling this took two years. Something in development for that long should have more of a review than "It's a map equivalent of a bitchin' Trick-or-Treat haul". But there is nothing to chain these maps together whatsoever. Only one map per mapper, so there isn't any consistent styling of the sort.

There have been many, many megawads like these in recent years; these "compilation" releases with nothing to tie them together. There's nothing inherently wrong with this, I've reviewed many of these before, but I still had something to say about those!

Here's what's up: the map balance is totally destroyed on all these maps if you don't play from pistol start. None of these maps were designed with the spoils from the previous map in mind. However, the maps that are hard with the traditional play method are damned near impossible if played from pistol start. And so many maps in here abuse hitscanners with glee, at great distances, effectively creating huge zones of danger if you dare to walk in them. In Doom's original resolution, they might as well be considered invisible.

Other sins include: A revenant fight with little cover to block homing shots, Barons acting as doors, distant chaingunner turrets above your line of sight, projectile monsters in cramped hallways, samey rooms that require you to bring up the automap (the first time I've used markers in ages), picking a 45 second-long midi for a 20 minute-long map, using a flat that tiles horrendously for the majority of the map, getting caught in a BLOCKMAP collision due to detail abuse, maps with either too-complicated design, or too little design. There are more ways to make a map non-linear than interconnecting rooms via hallways.

Making your map seem "expansive" when it's literally hallway-room-hallway-room by using Boom sky features is an effective way to give the player the idea that he's actually in an open area, especially when one can see the other paths from the player's vantage point (and may be shot at from said hallways), but this setup is best used when teleporting in monsters to walkways next to the player, not just plop monsters in front of the player in a triangle shape, and have him die instantly by half a dozen shotgun guys blasting as soon as the door opens.

The maps are set up by source port, surprisingly enough. There is a "Vanilla" set, a "Boom" set, and a "ZDoom" set, although it's best to play those in GZDoom now. Actually, I recommend playing all the Boom maps in a port that can handle slaughtermaps well, because there are a few in here!
 

Sealed by Blood - Nick "Nostalgick" Burnham
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 39.14 KB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
Sealed by Blood is a smallish level that looks like it's probably the author's first map. The architecture is blocky and weirdly angled, and the design is generally awkward and confusing. Random textures are used as doors, the sides of doorways aren't unpegged (so the walls scroll up and down), monsters are sometimes stuck on the sides of ledges, I faced at least one horde of Demons (right after the first main room with the central cave pillar) that were incapable of reaching me if I didn't enter the room they were in, and ammo balance is feast or famine. There are plenty of annoyingly narrow hallways and inconveniently placed decorations.

Difficulty is extremely easy until the end, and that's mainly because of cheap enemy use -- the final battle is an ambush by a Pain Elemental, and Arch-Vile, and some other enemies in very tight quarters, and you can either suicide with the rocket launcher or fight them with the chaingun or shotgun, as no better weapons are available. There was an interesting secret that let me sneak into a later portion of the level that I wouldn't otherwise be able to reach yet and gave me a rad suit so that I could go after a Megasphere in some lava, but then I found myself in the awkward position of having to pistol a Mancubus to death to get back out the way I came. Overall, this isn't bad for a first effort, but I was relieved to be done with it and wouldn't recommend playing it.
 

Return to Hadron Episode 2 - The Collider's new clothes - Matt "cannonball" Powell
Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Limit Removing - 1.04 MB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
Ever since Cannonball hit his stride as a mapper, every Ultimate Doom episode he has touched has literally turned to gold. Although it's anyone's guess what will happen in a year as insane as 2017, Return to Hadron E2 is -- at least in a figurative sense -- pure gold as well.

I played this episode right after No End in Sight, and I find it impossible not to compare the two, just because they are so completely opposite to each other in almost every conceivable way. Whereas NEIS tends to be slow-paced in the vein of classic Doom and full of puzzles, Hadron E2 is all action all the time -- pulse-pounding, gut-wrenching, exhausting action that's probably going to kill you if you're ever foolish enough to stop running, sort of like Jason Statham in Crank. Whereas NEIS is very restrained in its use of large monsters and makes you ration your rockets and cells for the times when you encounter them, Hadron E2 just about pretends the shotgun and chaingun never happened and is all about using rockets and plasma on meatier, harder-hitting enemies backed by hordes of their lesser brethren, even as early as E2M2. And whereas every level in NEIS is a brand new experiment, Hadron E2 pretty much sticks to its formula -- which isn't a bad thing, because its formula is pretty kickass. "Purity of form," I believe is what Alfonzo called it.

All of the levels are pretty compact, except for E2M7, aka The Big Epic One, which is actually about four compact levels placed as quadrants of a larger square, with plenty of connectivity between them. Romero-like freedom of movement is the rule; usually every part of the level that isn't behind a key door is open to run around in as soon as you start, and usually the locked areas are just tiny little rooms where you grab the next key or hit a switch before being spit back out into the main complex. As a result, every level has the feel of a big multi-room arena where you're constantly fighting large numbers of enemies. Every once in awhile, you get a creative gameplay twist, like when you're sandwiched between two waves of Demons and have to run through a crusher field for a chainsaw at the very start of E2M1, or like how E2M4 starts off as a Tyson map and allows you to either play the whole thing with your Berserked fist or hunt for weapons while on the run. But generally speaking, those sorts of clever setups would only have slowed Cannonball down, which is why they are few and far between.

The set culminates in an immense arena battle against hordes of Cacodemons, Barons, Cyberdemons, and the occasional Mastermind in E2M8. This map is so intense and brutal that I find it really hard to imagine where Cannonball could possibly go from here with E3, aside from making every map revolve around the BFG. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
 

Industrial Facility - Aidan (Luigis) Geisler
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 284.76 KB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
Industrial Facility is a short, basic techbase map, and it's one of the first maps the author has made. It shows some decent competence with basic architecture construction and features, but it's full of misalignments, strange-looking acute angles, and other glitches and visual oddities. The gameplay is very simple and not very interesting, but the only actual bug I found was the door to the room with the red key, which I had to clip through because it can only open once from each side. There's also a section of the outdoor slime area that you can only get out of by jumping, but it would be pretty easy to put in some steps or something to make passability easier for non-jumping players.

The music is goofy and vaguely annoying, but the level mostly feels like a serious attempt at design until the final two rooms, where you get about a zillion cell packs, a BFG, and an invulnerability sphere, and then have to fight a bunch of SS Nazis and a Cyberdemon. It sort of feels like the author just stopped caring. Not recommended.
 

Outland Industries - Professor Bucket
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 62 KB -
Reviewed by: bzzrak
Outland Industries, Professor Bucket's first WAD.

I have to say, this is a cute and enjoyable little level, and that's without the first-WAD-extra-points.

But first, I have to criticise Professor for doing something that shouldn't be done. Let's take a look at OUTLAND.TXT.

Advanced engine needed  : None
...
Tested With             : ZDoom 2.8.1

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. This WAD apparently doesn't use any port features, but the red-key door will break in ports that don't support ZDoom's handling of 0-tag linedef specials. Basically, ZDoom will work, PrBoom+ works too (if you enable an option in the menu), and also some other ports.

But OK, let's focus on the more important stuff.

I played this WAD in ZDoom 2.8.1 on HMP skill level. No jumping or mouselook required here, and jumping can actually lead to skipping a fair part of the level, so don't do it.

The WAD is a base set in a cave or mountain or canyon or something rocky. If I got a penny every time someone made a level with that concept, I'd now have far more important things to do rather than review newbie maps. But unfortunately, I don't get a penny. Fortunately though, the rocky base theme is executed decently here. You start in a dark underground area, then enter the base, go outside on a couple of occasions, then you have a quite cool final arena fight. The difficulty is fitting to keep an average player on his toes without causing ragequits, which is wonderful. There are no Arch-Viles and Cyberdemons, for a change. No Chaingunner or Revenant abuse either. The monster count on HMP is 189 (with Lost Souls), but it feels like far, far less ("whaaaa, I've killed half of the map already?"). I'm not sure if I should criticise or compliment that one.

The detailing is also quite good, the usual computer stuff, it's all done neatly.

(I have a small secret tip for Prof Bucket: making linedefs on inset details impassible, so that I can't climb on those computers and switches. Shh, don't tell anyone.)

However, the texturing is mostly STARTAN2 on walls. That's not really recommended, especially as it's DB2's default texture. There are some not too widespread texture choices too, but they don't stick out too much. Alignment, on the other hand... well it exists, and I can respect that.

The layout is quite clever. At some point you will see that you're standing right above the door that you entered the base through; that felt amazing when I fell down and saw where I was. The final arena looks quite badass.

Professor has stashed a solid six secrets into this small map, which is definitely something to compliment. (I found only one, though)

Well, that's really everything that can be said about Professor Bucket's mapping debut. It's a nice, small, fun map that you can give a play or two if you feel like doing some relaxing demon killing. Keep it up!
 

Happy Birthday JC! - franckFRAG
Doom 2 - Single Player - Vanilla - 33.21 KB -
Reviewed by: walter confalonieri
Three REALLY short tiny maps made by franckFrag for the speedrunner specialist JC, and all of these maps are only doable if you know some tricky speedrunning strategies; otherwise you will not know what to do from the very start... like me exiting map01 of this wad.

But luckily all of these maps are really short, and if you get the trick you can finish them pretty easily, and it's more of a little romp for speedrunners than your usual Doom wad.

Perfect for Doom speedrunner masters and lovers; for other people it could be easily skippable using another map from the archives.
 

Mercury Rain - Jimmy
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 912.24 KB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
Mercury Rain is a nice medium-sized ZDoom level that uses a fair number of port features and has some cool textures and decorations to help flesh out the setting. The biggest feature is the rain system -- not the 2D rain texture sheets found in TVR! or Armadosia, but a full-fledged weather system that comes down everywhere there isn't a ceiling and partially obscures visibility over longer distances. I know this isn't the first wad I've seen it in, but it looks nice and adds to the atmosphere. The progression is based around color-coded sets of forcefields controlled by a single switch, which you use the keys to unlock. There's also a fun custom hazard, a sort of skull tree that releases clouds of poison gas when you destroy it -- they present very little danger to the player, but like nukage barrels, they're fun to murder enemies with.

The map is pretty chill for the most part, except for the Revenant opener and the red key area near the end, which has some light horde combat. Overall it's nothing super fancy or unique, but it's fun and pretty quick, and the custom content helps it to feel a little more different from a typical base level.
 

Tungsten - Jimmy
Doom 2 - Single Player - PrBoom+ - 252.52 KB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
Tungsten is a short level that Jimmy made for a Battle of the Bits contest, and the idea was to create a map that used no orthogonal lines at all. The latter sounds neat, though I can't say I really noticed it while playing the level; most mappers try to keep 90-degree angles to a minimum anyway, and there are still a lot of straight lines, which I think is mainly what makes it feel normal. Still, it's a nice little base map with custom textures and music by Jimmy. The layout is compact, but the structure transforms as you grab the keys and platforms descend into lava, which makes it progressively more difficult to get around and fight the enemies without taking damage. I think that's a pretty cool gameplay hook, and the level feels like it's worth playing just for that. Otherwise, it's a fairly basic map that could easily be map 05 or so in a Jenesis-like megawad -- and who doesn't want more of those?
 

The Floor Is Lava! - Jimmy
Doom 2 - Single Player - ZDoom Compatible - 125.42 KB -
Reviewed by: Not Jabba
I'm sure we all played this game as kids: jump around from one piece of furniture to the next, because the floor is lava. Jimmy's "The Floor is Lava!" translates that concept into ZDoom, with scripts that kill you instantly if you ever hit the floor, forcing you to navigate using furniture, crates, doormats, lamps, trees, and even explosive barrels. It's a short map and there are only a handful of enemies, but the furniture placement makes it extremely hard; you have to be an ace at jumping, and Doom has never been very good for platforming. I had to save after almost every jump and died repeatedly on every attempt to get to the next safe point, mainly because many objects are small and I kept sliding off of them. The concept is neat, but I wish the map had been a bit more casual -- no house I lived in as a kid was anywhere near this difficult. I came to a total standstill after getting the blue key and hitting a key switch that doesn't appear to do anything except execute a cutscene; the way back outside was blocked off, and I couldn't get to any other areas with a normal jump. Maybe you'll do better than I did, though.
 

The /newstuff Chronicles is a usually-weekly roundup of new items uploaded to the /idgames archive, and it is written entirely by community members like you. If you wish to contribute, the /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Register on the Doomworld Forums first if you don't already have an account, because you need one to submit reviews. Special thanks goes to the nearly 300 users who have submitted reviews over the past several years.

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Morgenstern - Nicholas "Tiger" Gautier
Doom 2 - Deathmatch - GZDoom - 13.97 MB -
Reviewed by: Fonze
"Morgenstern: imagine if gothic99 was made in 2017" - infurnus - 2017
"In principle he was right to use GZDoom to expand Doom DM's stale game play with GZDoom features (included weapon alteration) but also featured things Zan didn't (and doesn't) support at the time. Problem was he was so headstrong about it he forgot GZDoom has all of 0 D "This is what happens when you don't seem to understand the fundamentals of DM of either game you are trying to replicate (Doom and Quake).
"A confused mapset that only looks good in OpenGL or GZDoom that requires a strong computer to run smoothly with 1 player, never mind DM audiences." - Decay - 2017

"Morgenstern" is an "18"-map (17 if you discount the "eyecandy" aka "inordinate extra stuff to lag even more" version of MAP04, which is otherwise the same map. 14 if you discount the 3 "rejected" maps. 13 if you forget about the shoot.wad remake. And 9 if you ditch the tgrdm2 maps. 4 "small" maps, 4 "medium" maps, 1 "large" map for 9 total) DM/Domination PK3 built for GZDoom 2.2 and tested a bit with Zandronum 3.0. This stunningly gorgeous mapset features maps for matches of all sizes. Unfortunately, that also means that most maps will not fit into most events, unless your server has player numbers which fluctuate often. When you build a DM mapset, all maps should be for the same number of people, unless you expect people to only DM on one or two maps the whole time. Aside from a select few, these maps are all oversized even for their intended player-base. Some of the "medium" maps take a good 10-15 seconds to run from one side of the map to the other, though to be fair there are portal-teleports in most maps. The "large" map is just comically sized.

Some of these maps are tgrdm2 maps, and the quality of the maps as a whole, even on the aesthetic side, is all over the place, with some maps looking a bit... vanilla. Maps should look at least somewhat uniform in terms of their detailing; some of these maps could have been vanilla-compatible, and not in a good way. Even many pretty spots were fairly simplistic architecturally, meaning that it is mostly the eyecandy-type stuff that these maps show off. That said, lag and performance issues should be deeply considered when making any map, but especially a DM map which involves a competitive nature and pits people against other, very fast-moving people. "Inordinate" is the perfect word for many maps in this wad. "Not within proper or reasonable limits."

On the note of performance issues: void space (the space where no sector is in-between the back sides of 1-sided lines) is needed to cut off rendering many special effects, such as 3D floors. Some of these maps have areas that are multi-storied, with different layouts for the top and bottom. This means that there is no void space in these areas, and seemingly simple-looking areas will lag, which is terrible for DM. MAP01 of this PK3 has a series of tight hallways which curiously cause fps lag due to this.

Shoot.wad doesn't need a redux.

"The map layouts are bland." Those words were said to me by several Doomers that DM and whom I respect, and the more time I spent in these maps the more I found I agreed. Some maps seem to have potential; indeed the truly beautiful maps are fun to DM in even just for the fact that they look so damn good, but unless both you and your buddy have either machines more powerful than mine or the patience of saints, you will not have a long session. Oh, and multiply that for every additional player; most of these maps (especially the ones worth playing) are clearly meant for 8+ players.

Despite using 3D floors in a way which actually directly affects gameplay (which is nice), the areas created are often not very interesting, such as tight, flat hallways with many corners that eat up time as you run around searching for the only other player. Most of these maps are generally room-corridor gameplay, and some have vast, oversized areas that favor the beefed-up chaingun.

"Thing" placement, especially powerups, is just totally "WTF" in many places. Prime example: the "large" map has a megasphere just sitting there down a little hallway, offshot from a huge room in the corner of the overall map and in a fairly inconspicuous spot with fairly decent cover, aside from people who can see directly down the hallway. Soooo... camp that spot and never die? Sounds like a plan to me; the endless shells and other ammo nearby will keep you supplied. To be fair, in a domination match this megasphere would be far less useful, but controlling it would still allow even just one person to control a domination point from 3 or 4 people who have nothing but 100/0, or maybe 100/100 if they got a green armor. There are other big powerups in the level, but those would be next to other domination points and not useful for ones over here, due to the level's sheer size. This isn't the only "strangely placed" thing, either, just a really good example. To be fair though, I like that many of these maps were generous with SSG pickups, which is nice when the opponent just grabbed that randomly placed blue armor after fragging you.

Something I think is really important to note with newschool-designed maps, and maybe some other DMers may disagree with me on this, but aside from general aiming NS matches are all about controlling the main powerups in order to run the map, with a bit less focus on controlling areas, as opposed to oldschool where items do not respawn and therefore control is all about sector denial and crowd control. A map which allows players to be vastly overcharged on a continuous basis is going to make matches more lop-sided, with momentum being an even bigger factor than in an OS match. NS maps are supposed to be designed with item respawn accounted for, meaning that you probably should not allow a player to get overcharged and kill the other player repeatedly while running around grabbing health in-between kills, always getting back up to 100/200 or higher. Item respawn isn't the problem; having more than 100% in health pickups (stimpacks, medikits), is. I'm not a particularly good DMer, (though I have been coined a "rocket spammer," heh) but I ran MAP01 of this PK3 on a couple of people simply from just controlling the blue armor and running around grabbing health kits and ammo; I rarely ran out when I wanted to. It got to the point that I had to stop grabbing the blue armor, health, and ammo just to have fun... Playing down for people because of an unbalanced map; that's pathetic, but again some of that comes down to the obtuse "thing" placement.

Some weapons have been rebalanced and others replaced. There is no BFG in these maps, but there is a grenade launcher and a railgun. Some of these levels start you with a CG+SSG while others only start you with a chaingun; something kind of weird/inconsistent to note.

Jump pads, particle effects, "thing"-based fog, 3D slopes, transparent/reflective surfaces (walls/floors), scaled textures, legit rain, 3D models, dynamic lights, smooth weapon animations, additional player sprites to show what weapon people are using, and more all are present in these maps. As I said, some of these maps are just truly beautiful works of art! I have to wonder if this mapset will be redeemed to a very small degree in the future when more people have machines that won't blink twice at these maps, though of course the layouts, powerups, and other things will never get any better. Still, a lot of effort and time was put into making these things "advanced" and pretty, which shows!

Aesthetically, most of these maps are awesome, though perhaps a bit too much-so given that beauty in many of these maps leans on the back of FPS-taxing special effects. MAP01 has a nice example of both the pluses and minuses of one particular feature: scaled textures. On one hand, some of the SUPPORT3 trims looked just awesome being so finely pixelated, (which makes me wonder in awe the usefulness of such a feature) but on the other hand there were 'dirt-ish' flats that were also scaled for no real particular reason. Going on about pixels, the skies were mostly all animated, even the ones you can't really see without hovering around in spectator mode waiting for players; well, gotta have something to keep people entertained while they wait, I guess. While this was a cool effect, in particular on the skies where you could see the clouds stretch off into the horizon, slowly moving from their creation-point, past you, and onwards to the place where they cease to exist; those same skies often looked exceptionally terrible directly above the player, as the pixels were supersized monstrosities.

So what, should you check out these maps? I think so, if nothing else just to see how nice they look. Good examples of what not to do in a DM map, though by the same token, unlike many DM maps which fail to get a foothold on regular players at first and forever fade away, awaiting luck in a future random compilation, these maps will continue to stand out just for their looks. So what did this mapset do right, after all this wrong? Tiger made a mapset which fulfilled a niche, previously under-decorated with only a select few other really beautiful mapsets that fully utilize GZDoom/Zandronum's vast features to create such a rich and unique aesthetic. However, good luck finding somebody else to play with. Some of you may not even be able to open these maps up and see them without buying a new machine. Many of you will find the frame rate on the "eyecandy" map to be nothing short of comical and some may even call the inordinateness of that map "trolling," (such as the huge number of "fog" "things") but on the off-chance you have two really sweet gaming PCs, or have a nice circle of Doom-friends all with good gaming PCs, you might be able to get some decent matches out of a couple of these maps. I would say cut them out and throw them in your custom compilation, but there would be a lot of crap to sift through and the layouts aren't really that great for particularly interesting matches, so even then it'll likely become just a one-off, but it'll be a good time while it lasts if you stick to the really pretty ones and enjoy the sights more than the frags. Give it a shot :)
 

The Crystal Maze (GZDoom edition) - Stephen Clark (The Ultimate DooMer)
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 20.56 MB -
Reviewed by: geo
The Crystal Maze is based on a British game show, but since this is for Doom, it is a series of puzzles and challenges. From the start, you select from one of four locales and the order you'd like to tackle them. On the surface, each of these locales acts as a hub with eight challenges. Each challenge is timed and labeled skill, mystery, and so on.

If the time runs out or you perish, you're thrown in that locale's dungeon where you're given a crystal to open the door so you can continue playing. I can tell the work and effort that went into this, as it pulls in different textures and sound effects to make the game feel special.

These challenges feel like miniature levels on their own with enemies here and there with great use of lighting and other effects. Lava bubbles pop and spew out, doors open as they would in real life rather than up and down. There are humble ways of making platforms simulate boats that move across a small pond. There are ramps and water to dive into. The game feels truly 3D compared to 99% of anything else in Doom.

Even if its a GZDoom level, it feels like its own game. Its an interesting concept and the author does a lot to make the Crystal Maze feel far different than any other Doom WAD out there. In practice it seems involved to get into. The game does a well enough job of explaining everything, but I think to truly feel the joy of this map you need to be a fan of the show.

Some areas were a bit too dark to see, others were confusing as to what to do, but that's all part of the challenge. If you're up for something fresh, this is for you, but if you just want a map to kill things, then avoid it.
 

TEMPLE OF SPIDER - Big Memka
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 846.83 KB -
Reviewed by: geo
Temple of the Spider is a big map with a lot of extremes and very little in between. It has both a cityscape and a rocky cavern. Its external area is well lit, while its internal areas are so dark that it's a detriment. It is both flat and high up with steep steps to get between the two heights.

With a name like Temple of the Spider, I was expecting more... spiders. The external areas are guarded by typical imps, knights, cacos, soldiers and everything every other Doom map has in abundance. The interior had barons and mancubuses with a mere shotgun to dispatch them. There were boxes of rockets hinting at the possibility of a rocket launcher within.

It's the height difference that made the map stand out. There are a lot of tall walls with enemies lurking complete with staircases to get up to them and paths to jump over from one wall to the next. I assume this was meant for GZDOOM considering there was a river without an exit except for jumping.

On the downside, it was a chore trudging through the dark. I tried to stand in the light and snipe into the dark, but eventually I had to be drawn in. I was shooting blindly hoping to hear a groan in the dark or that I will find another hazmat suit to change the tint of the darkness so I can see. Sometimes I'd get lucky to see a shadow in front of a torch, while other times they were behind the candle... shooting at me and laughing. Perhaps I needed a different light map pack, but some areas like the caverns have no light source.

There was a distinct lack of both armor and ammunition. Even conserving the ammo, there were issues. Perhaps if I could see the ammunition dropped from dead enemies it would have been helpful, then again... all it takes is me running over the ammo. Try as I might I humped all the walls looking for hidden secrets, and if there are any... they're just too hidden and I wasn't humping hard enough.

To the map's credit there was attention to detail, roads were lined, edges had bits taken out. The cavernous sections felt enjoyably craggy to traverse. There was even a nice little blood spider in the ground toward the beginning of the temple.

I still liked the map, and it's not very often you get to see a temple in a city that's next to a cavern. It just was a struggle to enjoy the map due to the extremes.
 

Test Subject 43 - Paul Dechene
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 1.46 MB -
Reviewed by: geo
Test Subject 43 is a fantastic series of six levels. They are each humble, yet grand. They do so much with so little and lavish them in detail and extravagance. A simple tech base is turned into a real, believable building done on a big scale. Large hallways, massive rooms seeping with enemies, holes in the walls to snipe at them. The hallways are full of cover and bathed in enemies. It's all clean, pristine, and a great use of detail. It's so good, enjoyable, simple, dangerous and deadly.

The amazing thing is the developer claims it's his first attempt at map making. Well the map maker is a natural... or a boldface liar. Whichever is good.

The first and second level are both humble beginnings. You have a pistol and a shotgun for the first level as you take on former humans and sergeants. So there are plenty of hitscan enemies covering every corridor. To compensate, there is cover everywhere with notches in walls, boxes, catwalks, and so on.

The level pack divvies out weapons bit by bit, and a super shotgun or a chaingun in the second level feel like a treasure among a hall of the undead. Even facing off against chaingunners in the first level will not earn you their weapons.

By the end of the second level, the pack amps it up as all hell breaks loose... literally. Imps, demons, Mancubuses, barons, knights and cacos get seen for the first time as they pour through a portal. It's a great sight after trudging through hallways of former soldiers.

With all the good out of the way, it's time to get to the issues: lack of health and armor. When health is found there is a lot of health around and usually in logical places, as this is a mod that mimics what a real complex could be. Perhaps I should have tried to find more secrets than jumping over things.

It's an enjoyable experience, but with so many hitscan enemies in the early going, it forces every situation to be cat and mouse. To the pack's credit there are plenty of opportunities to flank your enemies, such as multiple doorways, or giant pillars to go around.

The first two levels took me 30 minutes of killing 1,500 enemies, so this is an excessive set of maps for better or worse.

Another credit I will give the pack is a lot of mundane areas are spiced up with detail. These areas are punctuated with a touch of 60s or 70s sci-fi vision with select rooms. They break up the monotony of seeing giant command centers focused on one doorway, dark walled tunnels with sparse lights from the walls. It's a beautiful sight that makes things feel almost cinematic beyond what could be considered typical for a Doom base.

This pack with a deceptively simple name of Test Subject 43 is well worth anyone's time to play. Unless you have issues with hit scan enemies...
 

final doom return of the evil god - ron
Doom 2 - Single Player - GZDoom - 4.01 MB -
Reviewed by: geo
First impressions are a doozy, and this pack of 32 levels is a door slam in the face when you first begin. The exteriors are just so bland, uninspired and reminiscent of 1995, before there were amazing tools to create incredible masterpieces. Beyond the first impression, what's here in "Final Doom Return of the Evil God," is quite enjoyable and well balanced. There is plenty of health, plenty of ammo, plenty of big fights, enemies, wide open areas and cluster phobic hallways. It's a mixed bag of mostly good and some bad that still ultimately feels like 1995.

Despite the first impression of some of the worst mapping ever, you can still tell that effort was put into the game. There is a title screen, custom GUI, custom map titles, a green key instead of a yellow (color blind people love red and green, right?), different sound effects, window textures, and text labels for areas like dormitory, room names, and so on. It helps wash out the bad taste and show there's hope for this series of levels for those who chose to delve deeper. Later on the developer flexes ingenuity, as there are good moments of enemies appearing in front of easy switches and conveyors pulling boxes.

Another problem with that first impression is the fact that early on, the water depth didn't work for me, but perhaps it was just your typical hall of mirrors or maybe I wasn't using the right source port. The first level and others have sets of narrow corridors with no room to strafe, which many can have a problem with. There are hole textures in the walls that are easy to miss, so I was using a map early on to find what I needed to.

It should be noted that in the early going, there is a homage to the Master Level "Black Tower." It manages to have a fresh challenge while feeling familiar. It's quite the labyrinth interior with glimmers of memorable rooms. The second level has you in a small open city hunting through building after building, which breaks up your average map quite well.

As I touched on before, the exteriors are empty, vacant, and devoid of detail, and it's a detriment to the entire package. Having built up rock formations along the exterior walls would help; bridges with water beneath would also go a long way. Perhaps this set of levels was meant for vanilla Doom with extra frills like conveyor belts. The interiors are realistic and several are cramped. Some are so cramped that the revenants are taller than the rooms themselves.

Certain maps here can be quite cryptic, and I feel lucky to know well enough to never back track unless there are new enemies. Such as the black tower, climbing to an exterior and knowing to recognize the faces of marble pillars were different than they should be. If I had somehow been stumped and back tracked down the tower, I could be lost forever. It might be best to trap the player in the cryptic area until they solve the puzzle. If you are meant to backtrack, the levels know to open doors and release enemies so you know that you're still progressing.

In terms of challenge, it's much easier than other wads, and perhaps more enjoyable because of that. You'll get a dose of just about every enemy other than bosses on every map. Turning a corner can occasionally lead to an archvile ,as if finding a man using the john! Sorry sir. I didn't smell you there. The beauty of these archviles is they're more generic enemies due to the surroundings rather than threats that resurrect an army.

It's worth anyone's time to give this level pack a try. You'll get to see both the worst and best any map can have to offer.
 

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• Over 200 new textures by jmickle
  
• A new C1M1 by YukiHerz, and it uses the new textures
  
• Chapter 3's music now replaced with Blueworrior's excellent music
  
• Various music replacements in Phase 2 and FreeDM; thanks to KevinHEZ, Blueworrior, bytebeats, Viscra Maelstrom and Blastfrog AKA Sodaholic
  
• A new intermission picture by Blastfrog
  
• Speaking of Blastfrog, there's a new pistol too
  
• New logo for the game and website, thanks to Jewellds
  
• New Plutonia patches too, by Jewellds once again
  
• Freedoomguy now dies with dignity, with some fresh death screams from SeventhSentinel
  
• Did I forget to mention, there are new maps too? Big thanks to Jayextee
  
• And BIG applause to Catoptromancy, Amarande and Xindage AKA Protox for cleaning up Freedoom's maps
  
• Best of all, they're all limit-removing, so load up a port like Crispy Doom and play!
  

• A native backend for OS X
• SDL2 backend for Linux, with OpenAL support
• Better MIDI support, with nostalgic options aplenty
• New ACS functions, like DropItem and DropInventory
• Arrays are now supported at the script scope
• Extended compatibility options

• Brown and Red - Benjogami
  Doom 2 - Single Player - Boom Compatible - 411.68 KB - (img)
  Reviewed by: rdwpa
  Brown and Red on the Ultra-Violence difficulty is a bite-sized slaughter puzzle map. For those unacquainted with the term, fights in slaughter puzzles are characterized by high monster density and high lethality, and are consistently survivable only with specific strategies. I don't mean general approaches like "target the archvile first" or "circle-strafe"; I mean arcane plans and movement patterns that you aren't going to brute force unless you have familiarity with the genre or a lot of time to spare. Short of applying those strategies -- the discovery and execution of which is the primary appeal of this sort of map, if you are wondering -- us mortals will get wrecked on UV and might even complain about how RNG-based the map is.
  
  So unless you are familiar with the genre or just want to die a lot, do NOT play this on UV, and do NOT feel bad about dropping to a lower difficulty setting.
  
  Hurt Me Plenty more closely approximates a typical modern UV experience, where Brown and Red should provide ten or so minutes of entertainment for everyone. It's too short of a map to warrant a standalone playthrough, at least when playing with saves, so throw it on a list of small single releases to play together in a single Dooming session, leave yourself a reminder to play on HMP, and have fun.
  
  
• Templum Dormiens Dei - Stormwalker
  Heretic - Single Player - ZDoom - 12.73 MB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: Not Jabba
  You've probably figured out by now that I'm one of the Six Fans of Heretic, and a new release for one of the Raven IWADs is always a treat, especially if it's really well done. Stormwalker has made some pretty cool Heretic wads in the past (Dark Deity's Bastion and Call of the Apostate), but Templum Dormiens Deity is probably their best work so far.
  
  First off, the level looks really nice, and it gets a ton of mileage out of what I'm pretty sure is nothing but stock textures. There's a great contrast between large outdoor areas and atmospheric, slightly claustrophobic indoor sections. The lighting is excellent and sets the mood of a dungeon crawl whenever you leave the brighter outdoor areas behind. The music is also well chosen and adds a lot to the atmosphere (and it's by Kevin Schilder, so it fits Heretic like a glove -- must be from one of Raven's later 3D games).
  
  The map feels very exploratory, and slow-paced in a good way. I've spent a lot of time lately thinking about Heretic in terms of how to speed up or vary the pacing, but TDD proves that the feeling of slowing carving your way through an imposing enemy bastion, hunting for loot and watching for enemies in every shadow, is very much what Heretic is set up to excel at. To make things even more interesting, there are three new monsters (the Medusa from Hexen 2, a stationary turret gem, and the flying wizards that were used in Strange Aeons), all of which have low health like typical Heretic monsters but have attacks that are more difficult to dodge. There's also a final boss that throws a variety of attacks at you, including some that reduce player stats such as speed. Stormwalker has even found interesting ways to use the regenerating explosive pods, both as a legitimate part of combat and to set up deadly gantlets (in combination with crushers) between you and some useful gear or an important switch.
  
  Templum Dormiens Dei is a large level that takes a solid half hour to play, and it's worth every second. I've played it, and Stormwalker has obviously played it, so that's at least four fans still unaccounted for. You know who you are -- don't miss it!
  
  
• UnAligned: 21 Days, 27 Maps, Zero Texture Alignment - Ryath/scwiba
  Ultimate Doom - Single Player - Vanilla - 595.41 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: bzzrak
  New day, new 27-level megaWAD to review! :]
  
  This time, it's UnAligned, coming straight from Ryathaen, whose other release in 2016, Absolutely Killed, found its place among the WADs which got one of the 2016 Cacowards. I haven't played it yet, but now I kinda want to.
  
  Small note: I'll refer to UnAligned as UA from now on. Spelling "align" rapes my dumbass brain worse than the puzzles in the WAD itself.
  
  The story behind UA is somewhat intriguing. Somewhere in November 2016, Ryathaen set out on a brave mission of making a 3-episode megawad in 3 weeks, because he was apparently fed up with himself spending way too much time on little details. 27 levels/21 days = 1.29 levels per day. I wish I could make 1.29 maps per month. Kudos to Ryath for the speed. Every few days Ryath would pop up in the UA thread on Doomworld with a fresh batch of screenshots, making the nostalgic Doomers out there drool. Eventually (on 16.12.2016), the mapset was published and the people enjoyed its simplicity and interesting gameplay, despite all the time (and engine) constraints.
  
  But damn, you know all that, right? Most of the people reading this probably remember November, it was 4 months ago! Oh dear, 4 months! I feel old now. You want to read what do I have to say about the levels themselves, right?
  
  Another note: I played through UA with Crispy Doom 3.5 on HMP skill level, mostly continuous play, but no saves.
  
  Back to the mapset. It's similar to the splendid megaWAD I've reviewed in the 525-th Chronicles, Doom: Damnation (that's why I chose to review it, duh). Both are vanilla 3-episode megaWADs, both were made by a single author, both are retro like... well, a guy playing Doom in 2017, heh. However, they do have a crucial difference. Damnation took years. UA took weeks. While the first one makes you adore it because there was so much time effort put into each map, the other one strikes you with the complete opposite. And yet, both of them kinda grow on the player.
  
  All UA's maps are extremely distinct from each other, both in visuals, gameplay and gimmicks. You might've sensed that, just like Absolutely Killed, gimmicks are the body, heart and soul of this megaWAD. Gimmicks gimmicks gimmicks. I love gimmicks. Everyone does, right?? How can you not like when a map forces you to activate that spaghetti-like thing you (hopefully) have in your head? How can you not like a map devouring your life when it simply hypnotises you into using all brainpower you have left for your last vain attempt to figure how to get there?
  
  I'm pretty sure that UA has at least one gimmick in at least one of its maps that you haven't seen anywhere else before and that you will like and maybe end up overusing in all of your maps until 2030 or so. E3M1 is entirely empty when it comes to enemies, but it does have many, many ingenious puzzles that will put both your brain and your brawn to the test. E1M4 forces you to find switches scattered across the level. E2M2 wants to tell us that firepower isn't everything, there's something in the legs too... Thankfully, however, there are some more straightforward, more Doom-ish levels interspersed throughout the megaWAD as well.
  
  As a mapset, UA has some other traits that are no less well done than the gimmicks.
  
  One thing the author uses quite often are shootable switches, not just in E1M4, but in the rest of the WAD too, which is something I just have to compliment, as I'm a fan of those myself. :]
  
  Another thing that is really cool about this megaWAD is the fact that only one or two maps (out of 25 I have played) are really difficult, on HMP at least. Being a die-hard anti-slaughter-mapper, I feel pleased to play through a mapset that doesn't take every possible chance to blast you into smithereens.All the maps are, of course, underdetailed as hell (as the author himself states), but, I don't know about you, I noticed that just when I finished playing and started writing. The locations represent something, that's good enough, especially for a conceptual speedmap WAD like this.
  
  As I've said, (almost) all of the puzzles and gimmicks you encounter in the maps are hard enough to make you think, but not hard enough to make you scream in agony and start physically participating in a rather unequal fight against your computer, as if the poor thing had done anything wrong to you, or just get tired/bored of thinking.
  
  Each map has several rather well-hidden and inventive secrets; however, some of them aren't always accessible. You can get to E1M1's outdoor areas only before you press the second switch, and E1M7 seems to have a lift that lowers only once. There might be more, of course. In spite of that, finding the secrets is rather fun and something you'll appreciate if you like exploration.
  
  Furthermore, height variation is in the core of many of these levels. Makes many areas look a lot more detailed and beautiful than they really are. Not to mention the tantalising sight of a door or switch you can't access... yet...
  
  There's one more feature of UA that simply amazed me when I realized it: I don't have any real complaints about this one as a whole, I really don't. Almost all the drawbacks here can be attributed to both the goal and deadlines, so they aren't really drawbacks, right?
  
  I'll get to that almost a bit later.
  
  Now, I'm gonna devote a significant chunk of text to describing each of the levels.
  
  You're free to skip straight to the conclusion, there are no important points raised here. :]
  
  E1: Drafty Stations -- the style here is classic techbases in the first half, but the last 2-3 levels are quite different, with more hellish influence and red rocks/lava. My highlights here are E1M4 (duh) and E1M7.
  
  M1: Infight Central -- Looks very much like the first two levels of Knee-Deep in the Dead. The gimmick here is that you aren't given much ammo. However, you are given the chainsaw and barrels. In the end, you have to use your "diplomacy" skills to persuade a squad of Imps to rip and tear a big-mouth floating thingy.
  M2: 100 Linedefs Minus 1 -- for the less tech-savvy folks reading this, 99 linedefs is really not much. This level looks OK, but the geometry is a bit messy and uses triangles instead of rectangles (because triangles expend one linedef less). There's a lot of height variation and interconnectivity here, so the level keeps your attention for a good 3-4 minutes. A cute little level.
  M3: Toxin Refinerer -- a single average-sized area, centered around some sort of nukage fountain or something, which descends into the nukage eventually. One thing that I didn't even notice until I saw a guy bring it up in the DW thread is that the nukage turns into water when the "fountain" descends. Jesus would be proud. Anyway, nothing too remarkable about this one TBH, but nothing too bad either.
  M9: Nov 13, 2016 (that's the level's name) -- didn't find it. And even if I did... oh you know.
  M4: Always Be Shooting -- this level can take a while. As I've said, it's one of my favourite levels here, due to the main concept being shootable switches. It's a fairly classic-looking techbase, with a raised ledge, a red key on it, and 5 red stairs next to it. You have to find 5 switches scattered across the level and a good spot to shoot them from. Some of them take quite a bit of snooping around to find, so keep your eyes open. Also has one of those aggravating "mazes" with raising and lowering platforms.
  M5: Sgt. SLADDER -- a small, very green level with nothing but those aggravating mazes. This is two big rooms with dozens of platforms moving around, revealing powerups and monsters. I like the colour scheme here.
  M6: 128 in 1024 -- a 1024x1024 level? Quite cramped and messy-looking, as you could probably expect. There's some numbers on the floor. Apparently, the "128" in the level's name stands for how many individual stairs it has and the number shows how many of them you have already climbed. Weird! It's a small, short, but fun level, try it.
  M7: There and Back Again -- a cool level, one of my favourite ones. You start in a small techbase area, and the exit is situated not too far from you; however, it requires all three keys to be opened. To find the three keys, you must take one of the provided radsuits and step through the teleporter... it leads to a big underground hellish cave, with lava below you just waiting for your radsuit to expire and fry you. Though, the demons have left a few radsuits lying around, too. They don't even need them, why would they do it? That's not your problem, blast 'em.
  M8: Sympathy for the Devil (AKA Devil's Advocate) -- damn. The previous levels were so good. Unfortunately, that can't be said about Devil's Advocate. This level is just horrible. This is the "almost" I've referred to earlier in the review. I wanted to die. I wanted to IDDQD. Someone should be put behind bars for this. Being a Devil's Advocate just sucks. I will refrain from devoting any further words to this atrocity of a level. No sympathy for this one. I'm so sorry, but I just can't.
  
  E2: The Less-Loved Moon -- "E2 is the best in any Ultimate Doom megaWAD", Aristotle, 331 BC. Can't say he was wrong. I found E2M6 and E2M2 to be the most appealing in this episode.
  
  M1: Energize! -- looks very much like the original Deimos Anomaly. The teleporters are used quite inventively, it took me a while to figure it out, though. You can find some energizing secrets if you take the time to look and listen around, with a BFG as the main prize!
  M2: They're Watching -- an extraordinary level. The level is split into halves, each housing a key necessary to exit the level. One of them is some fighting in a warehouse (this is E2M2, remember?), where you're trapped against teleporting waves of monsters, and also some secret-hunting if you're in the mood for it. The other one is more interesting. In a big maze with a nukage floor, you have to (again) take note of where are radsuits, all that while trying to evade many, many Barons of Hell that are gradually thrown against you. Of course, you don't have nearly enough ammo to fight them off the classical way. It is more fun than it sounds, trust me. If you really want that 100% kills, once you unlock the exit, some crushers around the level are activated and you might succeed in luring the bruisers into their deaths.
  M3: 100 Linedefs Plus 1 -- a single very tall area with a lift in the center and many small rooms around it at different heights. As you progress, the lift allows you to go higher and higher. A small but very fun level.
  M4: Not a Crate Maze (the old name was "Ickmaze") -- a tight fortress done with nothing but the ICKWALL series of textures. The fortress has several "storeys" that you will explore in order to find the yellow key. It is full of those kinda-3D effects with lifts (a-la Doom 2 MAP15), which makes navigation even more challenging. Not a single crate here.
  M5: Cryostasis Station -- this level was originally intended for the E1M7 slot, I think. Warning: the water (or whatever that blue liquid is supposed to represent) is damaging, you have been warned. This level uses one of the numerous vanilla hacks as its main gimmick, namely, the transparent walls. How does it look: you see lots of monsters just staring at you, you go away, press a switch, go back, and suddenly all those monsters feel amazingly eager to die heroically. You'll even fight a Cyberdemon this way. The level is fairly dark, but easy to navigate. Also a good level.
  M9: Doomer-Friendly WAD-Shifter -- see E1M9
  M6: Deimos City -- this level is awesome. It's a city level, like Doom 2's second episode... but a bit different. You'll see many tall buildings around, with hellspawn on tops of some of them. All the buildings are very diverse in their exterior and interior (in case of the ones you can enter): there is a huge marble tower, a warehouse, a garden of some sort... You'll be under constant fire from all sides in the beginning, so be careful, space marine. One of the tall structures, textured with COMPOHSO (the brown stuff with blue lines and squares), is in fact a lift. Did anyone say Sky May Be? Anyway, once you defeat the Baron on it (which might be tricky), you get to see the Deimos mountains... tile vertically. That was disturbing to see. After that you hop down into another building, press a switch and proceed to M7.
  M7: Heck Tech -- this level is situated in a red cave of some sort. The exit is almost right at the start, but it's blocked by a tall pillar which you must bring to your knees, so to say. You will also encounter a small green area with some leaking nukage. Ryathaen challenges the player with a rather intriguing setup: you are teleported to a small star-shape, more specifically, in a small "cage" in the center, and two Barons of Hell spot an excellent chance to dissolve you into molecules. Their last chance.
  M8: Rocket League -- a boss level. You might not figure out what to do right away. Ryathaen seems to have understood that, so one of the included demos shows you how to blast Mr. Cyberdemon's ass. BTW, this level relies on infinitely tall barrels.
  
  E3: Infernal Eternal -- Ryathaen truly goes creatively nuts in this one, as the good (or bad) thing about Hell is that it can be anything. Some maps here are full of monsters instead of puzzles. I liked the arena-like E3M3 and E3M6 the best.
  
  M1: Gatehouse -- a VERY interesting puzzle level. There are no monsters guarding the Gatehouse, but it doesn't really make the level any easier. To lower the gate, you must find all three keys through completing puzzles. I can hear your "OH NO"; don't worry, I was the same. However, to my surprise, Ryath did account for the fact that the people playing this are most likely ordinary humans, so... he provided two different puzzles for each key! The blue key has the easiest puzzles. One of them is a not particularly complicated crusher navigation setup, the other one is a bit convoluted teleporter navigation, which will warp you to the surrounding lava if you make a wrong move. You can go back up, though... IF you can, that is. The red key is more like the real deal. One of them is a "maze", somewhat like TNT: Evilution MAP30. There's something that seems like a hint... but, frankly, I have no idea how does this one work. The other one is more about speed. You have three pads scattered across a small area, and you need to trigger all of them AND manage to grab the key, because the pads trigger doors and lifts, so they close after a few seconds. You need to block the lifts with... yourself I guess, that will give you extra time. The yellow key was hard. The first puzzle is building a staircase from individual wooden platforms which are manipulated through a series of switches. It takes some time to figure out what does each switch do and what platforms it affects, but after that it's fairly straightforward. The other one is some devilish voodoo doll "pushing" setup, which will most likely result in that "Zombie player" phenomenon. I'm sure puzzle fans will love this level, and maybe some normal people as well.
  M2: 100 Linedefs Times 1 -- a small level that is a single area that gradually opens up to you. The combat here relies on barrels and infighting, as I doubt the Gatehouse gave you anything to fight with. Be careful, though...
  M3: Shrine of the Cacodemon -- a visually beautiful level. It's nothing more than a single (quite small) arena with you, lots of rockets and 36 Cacodemons. Pure, unspoiled f-u-n.
  M4: Blindfire -- a level that is focused on complete darkness. Your only guides will be the torches and candles, with occasional silhouettes of monsters popping up to fire at you... and end their life journey right there. HERE COMES THE NIGHT TRAIN! There is a sequence here where you follow a path made of candles and if you step away from the path, your health percentage will be subjected to an unexpected decrease caused by a damaging floor. I've seen that somewhere... :]
  M5: Infernal Eternal -- starts out very peacefully. However, soon you are to realise that this is everything except peaceful. The whole level is a huge arena that releases more and more bloodthirsty monsters at you, including many Barons and a Cyberdemon. Some of the monsters take quite a while to reach their teleports; once I had beaten everyone, I had to wait for another 2-3 minutes for that last dumbass zombieman to teleport in. Come on. :/
  M6: The Stand -- wow. If this ain't what folks call a "slaughtermap", then I don't know what is. A gargantuan 191 monsters in an even more gargantuan arena. You start at a mountain, with another mountain in your sight and many, many monsters slowly approaching in their (hopefully) futile attempts to rip and tear you apart. My advice is to pick up all the weaponry at the bottom of your mountain ASAP, because you will unable to do that when they come close to you. However, Ryath gives you a chance to chicken out... it's a trap actually folks, don't believe him.
  M9: ??? -- I actually found this one. The only thing I can say is that it's one of those things that can't be described.
  M7: Unaligned and Unapologetic -- I expected far more from the last non-boss level. It's just typical canyon-fortress level, with some strange texture usage, a small return of the lava+radsuits mechanic seen in E1M7 and E2M2... and that's pretty much it. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong about this level... but there's nothing right either.
  M8: Pinkies and the Brain -- uhh. As I didn't die since M2 in my playthrough and I was slowly accumulating ammo, I had enough firepower to just disintegrate the Spider Mastermind with my guns, brute-forcing Ryathaen's vile and refined puzzles. What do you think of that?
  
  One small correction: apparently E1M2, E2M3 and E3M2 each have one linedef more than their name suggests. Ryathaen, you lied to us!
  
  Yay we're done!
  
  So overall: is UA weird? Yep.
  Is UA unconventional? A bit too much.
  Is UA under-detailed? Definitely.
  
  UnAligned isn't the best megaWAD out there. But it has a soul. Ain't that just wonderful?
  
  

• ZDaemon Thursday Night Survival #292 - Good Morning Phobos (Part II)
  
• Date: 16 March, 2017
  
• Time: 19:00 GMT / 15:00 EDT
  
  

Friday Night Fragfest and ZDaemon Sessions have not yet been posted this week, so keep an eye on the multiplayer forum for further updates. Happy fragging, and welcome to the new news section!