this week in doom - August 23, 2016 (doom date 22.8293)

If this is your first time visiting this weekly chronicle, welcome. If not - I hope you like (and enjoy) some of the changes I've made to the page to make it easier to find the content you're looking for as well as the aesthetic changes to make the page more palatable. There have been changes to the look and feel, navigation, etc.... If you have any feedback on it or would like to suggest any further changes - you can use the email ink above.

As I have been doing for the majority of the history of Doom's existence, I will continue to bring you new doom wads, new reviews, updated news and much more. This particular page is my modest attempt to keep you abreast of all the current goings on in the Doom community - new Doom wads, new Doom 3 maps, updates on projects, Doom engines and more. And, don't forget - pretty soon, we'll be able to celebrate the release of Doom (2016). Enjoy and Keep on Dooming!

The Doom Wad Station forums are now up and running! It's been a long time since I had forums and I put some work into setting these up. Please take the time to visit them and create an account. Get all your burning questions answered or just pimp your work. :-)

This Week in Doom is back! I'd like to take a moment to apoligize for such a long break; unfortunately, there are many awesome wads which have not been covered over the last couple months. If you released a wad within the last two months and would like for it to get a quick mention here, send me a line on the forums either here or on DoomWorld.

My time off was well-spent, as I was able to crank out what I needed to do to my maps for THT: Threnody, as well as participate in a speedmapping event, "Joy of Mapping," with Jimmy of DoomWorld, had a birthday, and started work on a new Heretic DM megawad (with SP conversions), the first map of which is done. So it was time well-spent, but selfishly spent (after THT finished up) and I apologize for that to both Bob and our readers. Making these articles tends to eat a lot of my time, something which needs to change in order for me to continue to do this on weekly basis. I may have to trim down the "Forums" section of the articles in the future and will certainly, unfortunately, have to spend less time in each wad. It's a torturous-pleasure to try to cover everything as in-depth as I would like to for this on a consistent, weekly basis, but it is great to be back! Let's jump in already!

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The Total Package

DDoomWorld member rdwpa is among my favorite mappers; few can pull off the total package of good, interesting level design, nice-looking aesthetics and fun, challenging gameplay. It takes a lot of skill to be able to make high-quality maps solo, which puts rdwpa on that list for me among many of the top mappers as "mappers who's work I highly anticipate;" consistency in quality across many projects gives this top-billing in this week's article.

A small blurb: rdwpa typically makes speedmaps that look abstract in a good way, but focus mainly on creating a good challenge for the player that applies pressure from many locations, in many forms, and at many times. Sometimes things get slaughter-y, but they always remain fair. His mapping style is very similar to Ribbiks. In his posts, he usually has interesting thoughts worth reading on thing placement and mechanics, which being right up my alley makes me a little biased here, admittedly, but these two things are really something that makes for an interesting and replayable experience. This combined with quality in the line-placement puts it on the radar.

All of these run in Boom (-complevel 9) format under the Doom 2 iWad.

First up is a two-fer in the "Untitled WIP Series," found here:

https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/88503-untitled-wip-series-2nd-map-released/

These two maps were fairly short; both speedmaps of an undisclosed time, which I'm guessing means he worked on them for three years, but really quickly. Both had a couple fairly tricky spots, but in retrospect aren't that tough with a decent strategy. Still, coming from rdwpa, you know those monsters are placed in such a way as to maximize their potential, which really makes for a fun, tough romp. Both maps were that total package I was talking about and featured some really cool, interesting setups! I highly recommend the "Untitled WIP Series" to every Doomer!

The second wad released by rdwpa during my time of hiatus is called "FzBM" and was a birthday map for me, hehe. It was made using FuzzballFox's textures and looks great! Never did FIREBLU look so good... hah. Find this wad here: https://www.doomworld.com/vb/post/1654763

This map was fairly easy if you find the invul sphere. Some good delayed-action triggers in not only this map, but the other 2 wads here as well. The action happened quick and was often painful; just the way Doom was meant to be, hehe. Give this awesome, short map a try today!

Last, but certainly not least, is a monster of a map called "Hel--" I mean, "Eden" and it can be found here: https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/90173-eden/

What a map! I could go on for days about how much I enjoyed playing this giant map coming in at over 800-strong, as well as how absolutely gorgeous it was! Took me about 100 minutes of play-time and a little under 20 deaths, plus a bit of thinking in-between deaths to come up with better strategies for some areas. One thing I really liked about this map was the use of normally high-priority monsters, such as Pain Elementals, as distractions, making what would otherwise be a counter-intuitive strategy the correct one. One example of this was the Wooden Skull Key fight near the start of the map; the PE's that appear certainly need to be killed right away, but it is more imperative to clear out the hitscanners, as well as possibly just one whole side before focusing attention on the PE's. Cells are given, but tight at this spot, which makes it even more of a bad move to run straight for the PE's, plasma-stream steady. Another thing I liked about this map was the stark contrast between areas; of the first area and its surrounding sea, and of the second, primarily green area that is detached from the rest of the map. That all said, my favorite thing about this map was the mechanics at work and one special little secret. I'm fairly sure I noticed a few chain-of-event mechanics that are initially triggered by monsters, too, hehehe; that's good stuff. If you like big maps that encourage exploration while also punishing you for it, this map is your map. If you don't like maps too tough, turn the difficulty setting down and have fun exploring its rich atmosphere, finding its interesting secrets. No matter how you choose to do it, definitely give this awesome, 10/10 map a download right away!

As a player who values fun, challenging gameplay (Intelligent Monster Placement) combined with smart, interesting level design and good aesthetics as a total package, these maps are fantastic pieces of work that show a labor of love with a firm dedication to quality. Not many mappers have a unique style, but rdwpa is among the few that couldn't pull a Memfis and come back anonymous (much like Memfis himself, hehe). If you haven't already, put rdwpa on your list of "mappers who's names instantly means 'hit the download button'" today and hit those three download buttons already!

NEWS from the /IDGAMES ARCHIVES

THT: Threnody Released!

After a year in development, the project created to honor the passing of our Essential Pillar, Ty Halderman, has been completed and released to /idgames on the anniversary of his passing. Find it here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/Ports/megawads/thtthren.zip

There was a reason Ty was called the "Essential Pillar of the Community;" he was 100% necessary during his time and one of the key supports for the community, being the one who took care of the /idgames archives. I only had one short email correspondence with Mr. Halderman, but he struck me as a stand-up guy and was nothing but both helpful and respectful to me. Ty was one of the reasons why I joined the community. It was a great honor for me to be able to work on this project with many fantastic and well-known mappers, like Chris Hansen; I made a few decent connections, learned more than a few things, and had a lot of fun in the process. It's a small show of the impact of Ty: that the project to pay homage to him brought so many together. God Bless Ty Halderman; we will always remember you.

Started by DoomWorld member geo and headed by long-time map-maker Christian Hansen, this project attracted some big names to the table, including Mechadon, Pcorf, Liberation, Didy, dobu gabu maru, and Antares031. Also working on the project were: Angry Saint, Doomkid, Eris Falling, yours truly, Gothic, joe-ilya, KevinHEZ, Mithran Denizen, Z0k, and many other fantastically talented people! The project turned out to be an awesome mapset of 20 high-quality maps plus several songs and a heap of skies made just for it! We all miss Ty; hopefully this labor of love pays a fitting homage to his memory; what he did for us, as well as what he meant to all of us. Special thanks to Bloodshedder and The Green Herring for taking up the job in Ty's absence, as well as to my two fantastic partners during this project: Z0k and Didy, designing maps 12 and 19, respectively. Big thanks to Chris for seeing this thing through to the end. I hope that you all have as much fun playing this wad as we all had making it! Run it in Boom format under the Doom 2 iWad.

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"The Cursed Temple" by Paolo M. aka Paul977 and can be found here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/Ports/a-c/cursedt.zip

This wad runs in Vanilla under the Doom 2 iWad.

This was a very fun level to play through. With a bit under 150 monsters, this map was a nice length. Nothing was too terribly difficult, but there was a good use of monster variety in the map. Some areas tended to feel a bit flat and cramped, granted; not everyone will like that, but it was well-done here. One fight in particular I liked was a couple barons and some hitscanners came out. The barons had me surrounded, so naturally I fled (forward). Upon fleeing, I encountered an HK, then chaingunners as the barons caught up, then finally more chaingunners while the barons took pot shots at me and attempted to corner me. It was fun! Great job with this Paolo! Give that download button a click!

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Next is "Wolf O'Donnell" by Michael Jan Krizik (valkiriforce), which can be found here: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/skins/wolfskin

This wad is a player skin which makes the player look like Wolf (Starfox's nemesis) from Smash Bros. It's always cool to see a new skin! Run it in anything that allows for player skins.
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The next map is called "Mephitic Purity" by Lee "DooMAD" Wallis; find it here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/Ports/m-o/mephitic.zip

This map runs in zDoom under the Doom 2 iWad.

This was a fairly cool map. Mostly brown, granted, but some cool detailing and some good, interesing architecture. I liked the general composition of encounters as well. Never mind that randomly putting the boss-fight music from Spiderman: Maximum Carnage on MAP02 when there is no MAP02 automatically makes it great in my book, hehe. This map is fairly large, at a 357 monsters on UV, but they go fairly quickly. ZDoom fans will like this; give it a shot.

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And our final wad on /idgames this week is called "Back to Thunder Road" by ZaBigBoss, found here:

http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/Ports/s-u/thundr.zip

This 7-map set runs in GzDoom with the Doom 2 iWad.

I liked this map set; it had a cool, minimalist aesthetic while still retaining that polished look; partially helped by some interesting architecture in a few places. While a few places were fairly bland, the good-looking spots did look good! I also liked the twist ending. Gameplay for this was fairly easy-going. Another good one for the (G)zDoom fans!
4 more for the archives; good job y'all!

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Speedrunning news and videos

DoomWorld member Rayzik has been adding some demos recently to the "No Sleep for the Dead" section in DoomWorld's Doom Speed Demos board. Rayzik is a well-established mapper and runner who makes some great demos/videos. His YouTube channel is one of the few channels I have subscribed to, including things not Doom-related, heh. "No Sleep for the Dead" is a somewhat recenet Episode 1 + E2M1 map set for the Ultimate Doom wad which runs in Vanilla and was created by Jan Van der Veken. It's a fantastic Doom 1 pWad worth playing, but watching Ray play it is almost as good (and more portable, hehe). Great job on the demos to everyone who posted some in that thread! Keep 'em coming!

Check out the thread here:
https://www.doomworld.com/vb/doom-speed-demos/89693-no-sleep-for-the-dead-complevel-3/

And Rayzik's YouTube Channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQYckZWrNmAJv-cufwyUDoQ

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NEWS from around the Web

Looking towards the DoomWorld forums gives us a few gems this week!

DoomWorld member Jimmy has started a series of speedmapping community events called "The Joy of Mapping." The first event was held during my haitus and I had the opportunity to participate in it; it was a lot of fun and I learned a bit about managing my time better while mapping. Practice will make perfect; speaking of: the next event is scheduled for this Saturday, August 27th. I hope to make it and encourage you all to contact Jimmy on DoomWorld or reply in the thread to book your spot in the event. Discord is the program-of-choice for most communication, though Jimmy also live-streams the events. Check out the upcoming project's thread here: https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/90376-the-joy-of-mapping-ii-aug-27th-9pm-edt/

"The Joy of Mapping" is a project meant to help newcomers learn to map. The first session went over: mapping in chosen format, tags/switches, and layouts. The second session will go over: shape and flow of map, lighting/texturing/sector effects, using space and verticality to your advantage, and the importance of thing placement. All cool stuff; sounds like it'll be a great learning experience all around!

The first event attracted a good group of folk, with a total of 15 maps, including Jimmy's. Really 14 maps and a room, because that's basically what my map was: a room, hehe. But for some reason Jimmy felt generous and included it anyway, which was awfully nice of him. Some may recognize a handful of names who participated and there were more than a couple good maps out of this set, though certainly a few rough ones as well. I think my favorite map was Pinchy's map, "Spooky Spoops." Still, given the time-limit of 2 and a half hours, everybody did a good job :) I recommend folk check out these maps and highly encourage everyone to get in on the next one! Newcomers welcome. Hope to see you there!

This map set was compiled for zDoom, though not all maps were made specifically for it. It uses the Doom 2 iWad and can be found here: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/joymaps1

Or check out its DW thread here:

https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/89692-the-joy-of-mapping-released/

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Mechadon's Supplice

Many of us know Mechadon, self-described "lazytron" and community-described talented mapper/artist. Mech has been around for a while and has not only produced some really awesome wads over the years, he has also helped further many big projects along, taking leadership positions when needed. He has given a lot to the community and won a Mapper of the Year award in 2009. Teaming up with him for this fantastic-looking project are: Jimmy, musical extraordinaire; Cage, an artist so creative he might very well cut his own ear off one day; and Pillowblaster, coding genious. That's a star-studded line-up as far as this community is concerned and for me, knowing the quality of the work that all of these four skilled individuals have created over the years, I can safely say that this will be the next big thing... whenever it comes out that is, hehe.

News on the project went dark on the forums for a little while, but it looks like they've been steadily cranking stuff out. If he and team manage to jet this out this year, 2016 is going to be a rough competition for the Cacowards, but I'd put money on next year being the year for this thing's release. Still, at the very least, it's something to look forward to!

As you can see, the screenies for this thing are absolutely amazing; it was tough for me to pick which ones to grab from the DW thread. To go into a tiny bit more detail about this wad: it is Doom 2 but it isn't. Based around Doom 2's core gameplay, Supplice plans to expand upon it with several additional weapons, an additional firing mode for each, more powerups, more hazard objects, and more monster variety. In addition, it also replaces most graphical- and sound-related assets, including palette/colormap, textures, sprites (save a few vanilla monsters), fonts/menus, and sounds (except the vanilla mobs). Knowing Mech, I have faith it'll be well-executed. With a good mix of the old and the new, this sounds like it'll be something as fun to play as it is beautiful. Keep an eye on this!

Find it's DoomWorld thread here:

https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/62406-wip-supplice-totally-not-dead/
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Valkiriforce and 40Oz have just put out what looks to be a release candidate for a new Doom 2 episode they've been cooking up. Coming in at 8 levels-strong, 4 each, "Absolute Dishonor" runs in Vanilla!

As you can see, it's a very nice-looking Vanilla project. Valkiriforce and 40Oz really made some awesome stuff happen with this map set. I love this thing from head-to-toe; the detailing is absolutely fantastic for Vanilla; though often times not very colorful, it still looks great and makes you wonder how close to the limits some of these POV's are. From the layouts to the architecture, these maps have got it going on.

The gameplay was definitely solid as a rock, as well. I liked the random curve-balls thrown from the mappers, such as an extra-large group of low-tiered mobs. Stuff like that can really change things up and keep encounters fresh.

This is a solid wad from two well-established mappers. I highly recommend that every Vanilla fan check out these awesome maps right away!

Check out its thread here:
https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/90275-absolute-dishonor-an-8-level-episode-for-vanilla-doom-2-need-testers/
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And now a couple things for the Heretic fans out there:

DoomWorld member Cacowad released a fairly sizable map called "Obsidian Fortress." Run this map in zDoom.

This big beauty weighs in at over 800 enemies, though only one difficulty has been made so far. Still, that's what BPPT was made for! Hehe. The start of this big ole map is fairly hectic, with few places to run for cover (which also have to be fought for). Still, as you wander around you'll aquire plenty of items to aide your plight. Finding the weapons can be a bit tricky the first time around, but each of the three paths provide weapons and a crossbow can be found near the start. Speaking of those three paths, one cool thing about this map is the choice of which key to go for first, with the ability to change one's mind at any time and hunt down another. My first few runs I got caught into trying out the one path I found, but I soon discovered the others; each providing a well-balanced way to start the map proper after the large-scale opening. For players looking for a challenge, BPPT was a ton of fun to fight tooth-and-nail through.

I loved the way this map looked, as well as its overall atmosphere and texture-use. The detailing was minimalist, while still looking very good, which to me shows a good amount of skill at mapping: the textures worked for the author, rather than the author working for the textures. Another thing I really loved about this map was the layout of it all; intricate crossing paths that all centered around the main "hub;" that being the giant outside area. Everything line-wise made for a map which encouraged exploration in spades and I loved every second of it.

The gameplay of the map was awesome as well to me, but then again I played on BPPT so your mileage may vary. From a hectic beginning, things toned down considerably, settling into more of a traditional Heretic feel. Few dark areas in this map that made for a few rough encounters, but nothing unfair. My only gripe about this map, after many deaths, more than a couple hours, and a very relieving victory was the absence of the Hellstaff. Absence of a mace is tolerable; indeed given its spawn mechanics sometimes it doesn't appear anyway, but the Hellstaff's absence here was a travesty. I will say, though, that I understand the author's dislike of the weapon, but by the end of the map I had aquired a good amount of runes from sabreclaws and the crossbow isn't exactly the world's fastest killing machine, but the dragon claw, pheonix rod, and a small handful of books helped with that well. This map had some cool general setups, as well as trap setups. Monsters were intelligently placed, which I really appreciate. The secrets were all fun to find as well, while exploring the pretty scenery. Very good use of items in this map, which is a critical facet of Heretic mapping, so I loudly applaud Cacowad for that; good on you, sir!

Every Heretic fan should try this map out. I had a lot of fun; I know you will too! Download it from its DoomWorld thread here:
https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/90107-heretic-obsidian-fort-1-map/
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And lastly, I released a short Heretic map during my hiatus; for now it's titled "Hairy Tick DM."

The plan is to continue this until I have a good-sized Heretic megawad. The primary purpose of this wad/map (as with all future maps added to this set) will be DM, but I cannot resist the temptation to do thing placement, so I have added in an SP-element to the map, complete with objectives: obstacles that block your way and the switches to remove them. Hard-mode is very tough; BPPT is brutal. Always remember to check that you are playing on the right difficulty level by typing "IDDQD" at the beginning of every session ;D I kid, of course; difficulty settings were made for a reason and definitely use them on any map I make. I always like to apply pressure to the player from many angles with different attack patterns and utilize higher-priority targets to give the player something to think about. For this map, I use ghost monsters and the mechanics thereof (physical vs magical weapons) for the extra depth it provides the game. Expect to find more than a few ghosts on Hard, with less appearing on the easier difficulties. Chicken tunnels are a "must" for every level's DM-component, of course, heh. Every weapon is present, as are most items (remember the mace may not always appear and also has multiple spawn locations). Few unmarked secrets in the map and a wide assortment of items.

As happy as I am with the way the level turned out, it's not without it's problems. I put off detailing the starting room for SP, so of course that looks like crap. While the rest of the level looks nice, the line usage was through the roof, as per my norm, which to me is not as elegant or skilled as something more minimally detailed, yet still looking really good. Still, using only the stock textures I shouldn't beat myself up too much over that. Health was another problem; I should have given another urn in the beginning. I also likely put in one-or-two enemies too many in one fight on hard, but all-in-all it's a fun romp through a small, pretty level. I hope you enjoy :)

This map runs in Heretic+ (limit-removing Heretic), so basically run it in anything that's not Vanilla/chocolate/etc. Find it on its DoomWorld thread here:
https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/90269-short-heretic-dm-map-with-sp-conversion/
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One Man Doom has been cranking out many reviews since I've last visited them. This week KMX put out a review for the "Japanese Community Project," which hit the Doom community big over here a few months ago. That wad is utterly fantastic and I hope nobody has missed out on it! KMX provides us an excellent review and some great thoughts as always. Be sure to check it out here: http://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2016/08/japanese-community-project-jpcpv1wad.html

Afterwards, make sure you check all of his other reviews as well: http://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2016/08/japanese-community-project-jpcpv1wad.html
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Wads in Progress has tons of new stuff up; check it out immediately!

http://wadsinprogress.info/?a=listwads&game=&status=&mode=

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Slade has received an update during my hiatus, for any who haven't caught it yet. V3.1.1.3 is the most current version.

Head on over to the Slade site here: http://slade.mancubus.net/

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Doomsday Engine continues to be updated as skyjake fills us in on the progress through his blogs. Always be sure to check their site weekly!

http://dengine.net/

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Doom 3/4 news

Doom Wad Station (yours truly) posted it's first Doom 4 map review, which you can find here. The map is called "Janitor vs. Zombies" and while not the best map I ever played, it's not bad and it's a good lead in to the 2nd map (the sequel) which I'll also be reviewing shortly. And since you have to play the first one to play the 2nd one, you might as well. :-)

Not really much going on with Doom 3 (pretty much the norm). If you have any news to add for either of these, be sure to email me.

In case you were wondering about System Requirements for Doom 4

Doom video game system requirements ( minimum )

OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 or better / AMD FX-8320 or better
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (2GB or better / AMD Radeon HD 7870 (2GB or better
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 22 GB available space
Additional Notes: Open GL 4.5. Latest Graphics Drivers.

Doom Reborn is still under development, so be sure to show your support to the fellas over there with a visit to their site every now and again to check on progress. If you haven't tried it out yet, it is 1:1 replica of Doom and Doom 2 in Doom 3's engine. Ah, Doom 3 as it was meant to be; hehe. Also keep in mind that the team is looking for good people to help set it free. Check out their site here: http://www.doomreborngame.com/

That about wraps it up for this week. Once again, Vinny and I would like to thank YOU, the people who keep the community alive, for visiting this tiny corner of the internet and getting your news from Doom Wad Station. Mucho appreciado!

See you next week, same Doom time, Same Doom channel. If you have news - a wad, a new site, a youtube video you want to share, just email me and we'll get it into TWID.