this week in doom - September 27, 2016 (doom date 22.8318)

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, Doom 4 updates and updates on projects for all the Doom games as well as Doom engines and more.

One thing I really like about the Doom community is how dedicated its members are. So many people around the world put a great deal of time into keeping the community going; it's amazing to see so many dedicated mappers, artists, and programmers all gathered together for the common goal of enjoying such a fun game. Big thanks go out to all folk who put their time into making our community stronger!

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End Point

Alexander "Eternal" S. is one of the most decorated Doom mappers, with 5 Cacowards and 3 runners-up over his mapping career. Having hit the (/idgames) mapping scene in 2007, he won two Cacowards the year he debuted to the archives, another the following year('08), another again the year after that('09), and a fifth one the year after that('10), with 2 runner-up places in '08 and 1 more in '12.

A couple of weeks ago, Eternal released a new map titled "End Point," a 7-map Limit-Removing (-complevel 2) set which runs with the Doom 2 iWad.

Aesthetically these maps were totally solid; considering the format, these maps were beautiful! Very nice attention to detail and architexture throughout, with some really great lighting here and there, too. You can always tell an established mapper from playing the maps they make, certain things just are there. Stuff like detailing to be found at eye level, below, and above, as well as nice, solid texturing to make the lines feel more like 3D objects and less like "lines with wallpaper," and also a general avoidance of Massively-Monotextured Walls TM. Eternal nails all of these points and even has some nice faux-3D stuff hiden within these maps. Always great to play through a pretty map set.

The gameplay of this wad was just as pleasurable as its aesthetics. The maps all tended to play fast-paced, or at least were highly condusive towards an aggresive playstyle. This was also encouraged with low ammo amounts in the beginning of a map, forcing the player into the next encounter to grab the supplies they need. Nice use of barons, including one in the beginning of an early map with few ammo supplies, forcing the player to either press on with him on their back one way, or do the same with the area he guards... Gotta appreciate stuff like that :) There was a good general usage of enemies, as well as traps. Setups were typically moderately pressuring in their beginnings, but quickly unraveled, making the difficulty of this wad fairly low; once again accomodating that aggresive playstyle nicely.

If you haven't already, definitely give this awesome 7-map set a download today! Find it on /idgames here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/Ports/d-f/endpoint.zip

NEWS from the /IDGAMES ARCHIVES

8 wads were uploaded this week to the archives!

Our first wad this week snuck in on us from last week; "Big Trouble in Little Chi--" I mean, "Big Trouble at Deimo's Base" by Carlos Lastra can be found here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom/Ports/d-f/e2m1cl.zip

This map runs in E2M1 in zDoom under the Ultimate Doom iWad.

This was a nice wad. Solid aesthetics, though a couple misaligned textures and one-or-two questionable flat-to-texture uses, to be fair. Not a difficult wad by any means, this wad was still fun to play and kept my interest throughout. Nice use of dynamic architecture and monster closets, as well as little things to throw off expectations, like 2 doors that look like they'll open for a trap, but then the walls open instead and the doors remain, or a door you go to open and instead it turns out you're on a lift. Little things like that are nice touches which keep things fresh. Nicely done, Carlos! Give this wad a check.

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Second on the ole list is "Plutonium Sandpit" by Kristian Aro! Find it here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/Ports/j-l/ka_tech.zip

This wad runs in GzDoom under the Doom 2 iWad.

Many in the Doom community know the name Kristian Aro. Around since the mid-90's, he's made and released more than a couple megawads on his own, in addition to contributing to a couple CP's and more than a few collabs with Paul "pcorf" Corfiatis; one of which, "Whispers of Satan," won a Cacoward in 2009.

"Plutonium Sandpit" is a fairly large GzDoom map with fantastic visuals and some fun gameplay to match. Exploring the reaches of this overrun base kept me interested throughout. One of my favorite things about this map, small as it may be, was the leaves that blew around in the wind in one spot outside; I think I saw a bird or two as well... heh. One of my other favorite things about this wad was Kristian's heavy use of colors; from colored lighting entire rooms to tiny lights throughout a space. Everything was very well-done. Outside, the lightly-colored fog setting made for a convincing light dust storm and the use of GzDoom's other features throughout the map, such as 3D floors and slopes, really made the level design seem realistic. Custom monsters were present here; some felt like their vanilla-counterparts (also present) while others were fairly different. I liked their occasional use for the most part; little bit here and there keeps things fresh.

I highly encourage everybody to check out this beautiful piece of work from seasoned mapper Kristian Aro!

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Following that beauty is "Fuzz 2016" by Bzzrak Ktazzz, which can be found here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/deathmatch/d-f/fuzz2016.zip

This DM map was originally made by GinsuMan in 1996 under the title "Fuzz 1" and basically consisted of "a primitive arena with some walls and lots of BFGs and SSGs. However, it had one dumb idea: those walls were actually 2S impassable linedefs, thus, you could shoot through walls." (Text file) Bzzrak basically went in and fixed that... but it's still not a good map by any stretch of the imagination. Still, I always like seeing new (or rehashed, for that matter) DM maps come out; never know when that next one will be a keeper. Keep at it, Bzzrak; I like that you map for vanilla, but next time make a new map! And spend more than 10 minutes on it. Hehe.

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Fourth for the week is a new 8-level wad compatible with the original vanilla doom2.exe, "Absolute Dishonor" by veteran Doomers and mappers Michael Jan Krizik (valkiriforce) & Jon "40oz" Vail. Find this wad here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/a-c/absoldis.zip

This awesome 8-map set runs in vanilla Doom 2.

I had the pleasure of playing this wad almost a month ago when its beta was posted on the DoomWorld forums; I had a lot of fun with it then and more now. Valkiriforce and 40oz are both well-established mappers that have produced some fantastic works and having these two powerhouses team up to make maps is utterly awesome. As a Vanilla map set, the only thing this is lacking is a bit more color; structurally and aesthetically these maps are solid as a rock, though. I loved the layouts these guys designed for this map set; the maps flowed well.

Gameplay is to be expected of valk and 40, with tough, high pressure moments and set pieces complimented by quick, fun incidental combat, plus a couple curve balls here and there to make sure the player is still awake, heh.

Give this sweet Vanilla map set a go immediately!

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Next up is "Black: The Return of The Masters" by Timothy Simpson and can be found http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/Ports/a-c/brotm.zip

This 6-map set runs in GzDoom under the Doom 2 iWad.

This wad felt much like a first map, but keep at it man and they'll get easier with time!

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Our sixth wad is a hefty one; coming to us from parts unknown, 40Oz and team bring us one of this year's top wads. "Mutiny" is a Limit-Removing (Vanilla except with VPO's) 16-map just-barely-squeezed-into-there (->) megawad (heh) made for the Doom 2 iWad and it is utterly fantastic! Find it here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/Ports/megawads/mutiny.zip

This 16-map megawad runs in Limit-Removing ports (-complevel 2) under the Doom 2 iWad.

These maps were designed by a talented team of mappers, led (and probably fueled) by 40oz that all operated on a few basic rules, two of which being "all submitted maps must be a collaborative effort" and "emphasize contrast where the dark grays and browns are in the dark, while the vivid colors are under bright light," which really makes this map set something truly beautiful to behold.

The gameplay of this map set is a finely-balanced machine of action with a fair dose of pain on the side. Most of the maps are not too terribly difficult, but there are certainly more than a few hairy moments. Designed also with co-op in mind, these maps offer more stuff to kill when you decide UV isn't enough pain and switch it on over to -solo-net, heh. Perhaps my favorite level in this set is called "The Firewall" by AD_79 and Breezeep; 2 talented mappers I tend to keep an eye out for.

All-in-all Mutiny is one of this year's top 10 wads, without a doubt, and you'll enjoy this map set start-to-finish! Get on over to /idgames and download this gem right away!

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Following that beast is "The Joy of Mapping #2" by Jimmy and team, found here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/Ports/megawads/joymaps2.zip

This 19-map megawad runs in zDoom under the Doom 2 iWad.

"The Joy of Mapping" is a speedmapping series held by Jimmy that aims to help folk improve their mapping skills. Some participants follow his Stream while others log onto his Discord channel and over the course of a couple hours maps are made, things are learned, tears are shed, skills improve, bonds are made, then summarily broken, more tears are shed, and we usually end the event by talking about our nails and they way they bring out our eyes. Compliments abound until one person gets upset that they didn't get as much compliments as another person at which point the event draws to a close. I kid, of course; the events are fun, good learning experiences and though I'm not exactly new to mapping, I like to attend just for the speedmapping practice, which I sorely need.

Several veteran mappers made appearances here, including Pinchy, TheMionicDonut, breezeep, an_mutt and rdwpa. I thoroughly enjoyed the maps from each of these gentlemen, as well as Jimmy's own map for the event. All of the participants steped up their game and there is visible progress for most mappers from the first JOM set, though I liked a good handful of those maps, too. I highly recommend this set of maps; being speedmaps most are very short and they make great coffee break maps. I also really look forward to the next JOM session! Great job to everybody involved!

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Our eighth and final wad of the week is called "The Journey" by hervoheebo. Find it here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/idgames/doom2/Ports/megawads/tj.zip

This 32-map megawad runs in Limit-Removing ports (-complevel 2) under the Doom 2 iWad.

This was an interesting megawad; on one hand, I didn't like the way it looked and on the other I did. Some parts looked great while others were just... meh. Gameplay was about the same for me, some parts I really liked and others were fairly lackluster. Some poor baron use throughout this megawad, but it certainly had it's fair share of ups to go with the downs. I recommend giving this wad a check for yourself!

Fantastic; 8 new submissions to the archives is something to be proud of!

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Speedrunning news and videos

DoomWorld member 4shockblast put up a couple interesting demos for Sunder over the week; MAP03 NM-Speed in 3:20 and MAP08 NM-Speed in 2:54 (also Pacifist). Both are good watches! Great job on these 4shockblast! Would love to see more!

Check 'em out here: https://www.doomworld.com/vb/post/1670302

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NEWS from around the Web

Looking towards the DoomWorld forums we find a couple sweet things:

DoomWorld member Cannonball released an 18-map Boom-compatible set called "Sparta 2 - Project Vesuvius" and true to Cannonball's typical form; it's a good set.

Cannonball has a really nice "Old-School" style of detailing that works well with the textures he uses. Minimalist in appearance yet constantly interesting to discover/explore. With a good mix of shorter, more arcade-ish maps thrown in, this mapset doesn't fail to keep interest!

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Cannonball is a good player and a talented mapper. His work on the gameplay of this mapset shows with the tightness of most encounters. Many of the smaller maps had interesting setups that kept me coming back for another go, while the longer maps went quicker than I'd thought. The nice, fast-paced gameplay made for a really sweet, death-filled romp through a pleasurable 18 maps.

Cannonball has been around for more than a couple years, with contributions to a few big CP's and a Cacoward winner in 2014 for his Ultimate Doom E4 replacement episode, "Thy Flesh Turned into a Draft-Excluder." Cannonball is always a mapper to keep an eye out for and this set of maps proves why. Head on over to this thing's DoomWorld thread here:
https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/90764-sparta-2-project-vesuvius-beta-boom-compatible/

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HavoX made an interesting PLAYPAL which changes the blues to a lighter, ocean blue and the greens to more pf an emerald green. It looks pretty cool! I always like seeing new PLAYPAL's, COLORMAP's, or any custom palettes come out and this one looks nice; great job HavoX!

Check out the thread here:
https://www.doomworld.com/vb/doom-editing/90808-so-i-made-a-custom-playpal/

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One Man Doom has a new review up!

Earlier this year Skillsaw and company released a megawad that took the Doom community by storm; "Ancient Aliens" is perhaps going to stand as one of the most influential wads of all time in the future. Everything that was possible to do right was done just that and the effort put into making this wad has made for easily one of the best megawads of all time. "Ancient Aliens" runs in Boom format (-complevel 9) under the Doom 2 iWad and contains 32 levels of mind-boggling, truth-discovering, rabbit-hole-exploring joy. See how far down the rabbit hole goes as you read KMX's brilliant review here: https://onemandoom.blogspot.com/2016/09/ancient-aliens-aalienswad.html

Then play this awesome megawad if you haven't already!

Great job on the review KMX!

Wads In Progress has some new info on a WIP called "Pollution" by HUNdebLeonidasX. One shot's a little bland, but it looks pretty good for a "first map" set; good effort man! Check it out here: http://wadsinprogress.info/?a=listwads&wad=1815

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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 has received an update! Pre-beta Version 1.6 is out! For those who don't know, Doom Reborn is a 1:1 replica of Doom 1+2 in Doom 3. The recreation and attention-to-detail put into this mod is simply amazing and can truly only be witnessed for oneself. Grab your Doom 3 cd and download this baby right away!

Find it here: http://www.doomwadstation.net/doom3tc/reborn/

And check out their site here: Doom Reborn (404)/

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.