Good Doom/Heretic/Hexen WADs

[octavius]

Recently finished Requiem from 1997.
It's kind of a sequel to the two Momento Mori MegaWADs, but I didn't enjoy it as much. Too much variation in map size, quality and difficulty IMO.
Also, rather tame after having played Hell Revealed.

 

[tormund]

I started a replay of Sunlust, this time with Guncaster gameplay mod. It's a newshit gameplay mod through and trough, it's unbalanced as fuck, but it's insanely fun. Weapons feel ridiculously good, super shotgun's replacement and revolver need to be experienced firsthand. Mod also adds loads of spells that can be used by player, the go from fire breath to making enemy corpses explode or casting flock and murderous birds at enemies. Both weapons and spells can be upgraded by spending gold that is dropped by killed enemies. I'm already afraid that game will eventually become too easy to a point where it becomes boring (and this is sunlust we're talking about, that should tell you how unbalanced this mod is)... But I've already beaten Sunlust once, and this is almost like coming back for revenge.

 

[Riskbreaker]

Finished two more wads by Bryant Robinson.

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/distion
Dissolution is something of an expansion to his Project Slipgate. In terms of visuals and gameplay, it's basically more of Project Slipgate's second half: classic Doom gameplay in moody, Quake-ish dark fantasy environs. Visuals are pretty solid, with same Zdoom tricks from Project Slipgate and lotsa graphics from Quake and Hexen. Weapon graphics are also replaced with basic rips of D64's weapons. Out of seven maps, four are proper medium-sized affairs, with two boss maps and scripted intro. Gameplay is fun if once again a bit too easy. Only one potential annoyance: there are several instances of switches being placed so high that it is only possible to hit them by enabling vertical mouselook.

Spoiler

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/scge
9-map episode for limit removing ports, themed after Doom's E1. While Robinson's trademark Zdoom magick is obviously mission from this release, visuals are still as polished and pleasing as ever. Layouts are relatively straightforward, maps are sadly light on secrets, but gameplay is more challenging than in his Zdoom releases (while still on the easy side, for the most part) and just eminently enjoyable trough and trough. Fun, polished piece of vintage Doom action.

Spoiler

 

[tormund]

Tenebrae is p good (and p hard)
http://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=51608&sid=a0f3fd7a23597da45649408a3a914e31
It probably deserves award for some of the most authentic Blood looking maps for Doom, they made me wish for decent gameplay mod based on Blood. It also reminds of Unloved, with really dark maps, claustrophobia, some intense as fuck fight with custom enemies in p limited spaces... All the enemies have been replaced, some of the new ones are really brutal (like new revenants), few received some IMO questionable upgrades over their vanilla counterparts (new hell knights and imps shoot homing projectiles with inconsistent area damage). Third map is both my favorite and the most annoying one, since it had best atmosphere and most authentic Blood feel but also had too much back tracking and switch hunting.
I played it with voxel pack and nashblud.pk3 for the maximum Blood effect.

 

[skacky]

John Romero has dropped a new Doom remix level.

 

[Riskbreaker]

Splendid! Here's hoping he'll release few more of 'em before his KS campaign is over.

 

[Darth Slaughter]

Downloaded, played. Pretty straightforward. If his KS game is as simple and fun as this, I may back it...

 

[Riskbreaker]

Decidedly easier than his previous map, but still pretty gud. Loved the shifting geometry in this interior computer/terminal area

(was stuck there for few minutes too, but that's vintage Doom experience alright).

 

[tormund]

I liked it, combat was easier than in the last one (that makes sense given the map's place in the episode) but layout was more complex and maze-like. I've beaten it on the first try.
Now if we could get entire episode replacement from him... :drool:

 

[PeachPlumage]

I liked it, combat was easier than in the last one (that makes sense given the map's place in the episode) but layout was more complex and maze-like. I've beaten it on the first try.
Now if we could get entire episode replacement from him... :drool:

I would throw money at Romero for a full replacement of all Episodes of both Doom and Doom II

 

[tormund]

So, this guy is working on a gameplay mod based on System Shock
http://webmshare.com/r68Vx
It will be interesting to try, to say the least.

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

AFAIK it's common consensus that freelook breaks classic doom gameplay. But what d'ya think about freelook in Heretic/Hexen/Strife? Technically, code for mouselook was already introduced in Heretic (for VR shit). Does freelook break these games as well? Do they have any maps where inability to look up and down is essential part of gameplay (like in Icon of Sin)?

 

[octavius]

Hoe does freelook break gameplay?
To me it feels right when using Doomsday. Also, it makes the game harder since you have to aim along both axes. I hadn't played vanilla Doom for 15 years before replaying with Doomsday, but even back then I thought that aiming along only one axis was a bit lame, and a limitation of the Doom engine.

 

[tormund]

Because stuff like enemy placement and composition is balanced around autoaim and lack of free look. Take for example situation where you are faced with a bunch of enemies, where with freelook and fully manual aim you have full control over where you shoots are going so that their initial position in group is far less important, where with autoaim and without freelook enemies will be hit according to their position, distance and angle from you. You have pinkie and a chaingunner half visible behind him, but even if you are "aiming" at chaingunner your shot will hit pinkie due to his position in comparison to yours. That is a "rule set" that most mappers to this day have in their mind when they design and balance encounters. And yes, same goes for Heretic as much as for Doom.
Hexen is a very different beast from them at its core, and I never played much of Strife outside a part of first hub years ago.

I say that people should play however they want and that this argument is as pointless now as it was ages ago since nobody is likely to change their minds, but fact is that major differences DO exist.

 

[Riskbreaker]

Another Doom 2 "reinterpretation" was released recently - this time 'twas a Soviet take on last year's unfortunate "Doom 2 in name only". We have nine maps (more or less) loosely based on names of original Doom 2 maps.
https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/74744-doom-2-in-name-only-russian-variation/

Turns out that they indeed plan to release reimagining of the entire Doom 2 campaign! And, as the day when we of the Eastern Church celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord is at hand, following gift has been released: new version with several new maps, including a couple of city-themed ones!
https://yadi.sk/d/Hm1e-nhMnvSqL
I have a feeling that these new maps are going to suffer from same issues as later maps from this wad's initial release, but at least visuals and atmosphere are (probably) going to be top notch once again.

 

[octavius]

Because stuff like enemy placement and composition is balanced around autoaim and lack of free look. Take for example situation where you are faced with a bunch of enemies, where with freelook and fully manual aim you have full control over where you shoots are going so that their initial position in group is far less important, where with autoaim and without freelook enemies will be hit according to their position, distance and angle from you. You have pinkie and a chaingunner half visible behind him, but even if you are "aiming" at chaingunner your shot will hit pinkie due to his position in comparison to yours. That is a "rule set" that most mappers to this day have in their mind when they design and balance encounters. And yes, same goes for Heretic as much as for Doom.
Hexen is a very different beast from them at its core, and I never played much of Strife outside a part of first hub years ago.

I say that people should play however they want and that this argument is as pointless now as it was ages ago since nobody is likely to change their minds, but fact is that major differences DO exist.

It's a good point, but in my experience it's relatively rare that these kind of situations appear. Some encounters will be easier, but others will be more difficult.
But using the limited engine of original Doom for making new maps, is like making intentionally pixelated modern games IMO.
Oh well, Doom was never my number 1 game back then, so I guess I'm not seeing things from a Doom purist's POV.

 

[tormund]

This looks p damn promising, and it is being made by some really talented Doomers http://blog.project-retrograde.com/2016/05/supplice_its_doom_kinda/

 

[Darth Slaughter]

It's a good point, but in my experience it's relatively rare that these kind of situations appear. Some encounters will be easier, but others will be more difficult.
But using the limited engine of original Doom for making new maps, is like making intentionally pixelated modern games IMO.
Oh well, Doom was never my number 1 game back then, so I guess I'm not seeing things from a Doom purist's POV.

Free mouselook will never make doom more difficult becau you have another axis. I normally use vertical aiming and it actually makes easy to kill pink demons that are down below a cliff, they are sitting ducks. It would be impossible to kill them with no vertical aiming, unless you dropped down the pit.

Also, since sunlust missions, i turned off vertical aiming and i don't feel like i'm missing anything gameplay-wise. The only thing is that sometimes i'd like to apreciate the vistas a freelook is the best for that.

 

[Ninja Destroyer]

albierio:

I’m honored to show all of you, a perfectly preserved copy of the id Anthology, it comes with some paperwork, id’s older games before wolfenstein, along with wolfenstein 3d, doom and quake games, a pewter Cyber demon, two dog tags, an XL shirt, a card, the book of id, an Anthology poster and most importantly, the legendary DOOM COMIC. It’s a lot to take in.

Spoiler

 

[Riskbreaker]

That packaging is pure class.

 

[Ninja Destroyer]

Sadly, nobody scanned the Book of Id. They are too afraid of Activision. Wussies.

 

[Astral Rag]

https://archive.org/download/the_book_of_id/the_book_of_id.pdf

 

[tormund]

Looking at something like that and thinking about the status id had at that point in time is p interesting... They were basically game industry's equivalents of rock stars, and we have nothing like that today. Gabe or Kojima might have their own cults of personality these days, but it doesn't at all compare to special position id held in mid 90s. I can only imagine how silly or weird related articles, pictures, promos from that period might look to someone younger or just unfamiliar with id's history.

 

[Astral Rag]

Purdy, promising-looking 32-level megaWAD by Skillsaw and friends:

Ancient Aliens is a megawad featuring 32 colorful, action-packed maps for Boom compatible ports and a soundtrack composed by stewboy.

Ancient Aliens began as a personal project but eventually mappers AD_79, esselfortium, Joshy, lupinx-kassman, Pinchy, stewboy, and Tarnsman joined the fun and left their mark on the project. Special thanks to dew, AD_79, Altazimuth, and Tarnsman for helping out with testing. And of course a huge thanks to stewboy for all the awesome music!

Story
Go on a journey to discover the truth about the enigmatic origins of human civilization...

I'm not saying it was aliens, but.. the truth is out there.

Download:

RC1
http://www.mediafire.com/download/5ptaah76c81rgsh
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pe0g4isde...ns_rc1.zip?dl=0

source

 

[Riskbreaker]

Ye bastard! I was just planning to post that!:D

Anyways, can't wait to sink me teeth into this. Skillsaw is a mapper, and those screenies look beyond delicious (pretty impressive that he churned out another megawad with that level of detail and polish so soon).