Ten Years Gone (& Dragon Island)

On this day ten years ago, I published my first post on this blog - a short introduction to Dragonfaith - followed less than a week later by the first ever demo release (which was basically a way of showing off my excitement after creating my very first town). I had only just started developing in RPG Maker, which I had asked for the previous Christmas, in anticipation of finally putting my plans of constructing my own RPG (based on the Final Fantasy games I had loved in my youth) into action. Truth be told, I had been brainstorming concepts for an RPG going back to the turn of the millennium (if you can believe some of the earliest time stamps I'm looking at), but not all of those ideas have survived the refinement process. A lot of it is lore (especially creation myths) and game mechanics (specifically outlining the magic system), little of which resembles the game in its current form. Suffice to say, it's hard to pin a date on when this game first formulated out of the jumble of thoughts I've been carrying around in my head for the majority (entirety?) of my adult life (although further searching reveals a document titled "dragonfaith.txt" dated 7/16/2005 that lays out much of the conceptual groundwork for the game), but the day I created the project file in RPG Maker marks a significant milestone early in the development (as opposed to conceptual) phase of the process.

It's humbling to acknowledge that ten years have passed since that day, but these things take time, and I'm just one amateur working on a pet project in my free time. And you can rest assured that I am still working on it. I could stand to spend more time in front of the screen during the summer, when other activities (like getting fresh air and sunshine while exercising outdoors) take priority, but I do enjoy coming back to this world every winter when I'm stuck inside at my desk anyway. In fact, after posting my latest Cacowards update just before the New Year, I made a conscious decision to put the series on temporary hiatus (though I look forward to getting back to it at some unspecified point in the future), because I realized that's time I could be spending in RPG Maker. And though it's a mammoth of a project, every little step I take gets me closer to the finish line.

Here's a short update on my progress since the last report. I mentioned working on some of the game mechanics; one problem in particular laid me flat (I still have tabs related to it open in my browser, even though I haven't worked on it for months), involving a superficial modification to the status icon display during battle. It's just another in a long line of issues that demonstrates two things: 1) that although RPG Maker claims to give you the power to, well... make RPGs right out of the box, there are a lot of functional and stylistic limitations that you have to deal with, and 2) the program seems to be more inspired by Dragon Quest than Final Fantasy, causing me to frequently have to bend the engine in pretzels (if I can even figure out how to do that) just to get the game to run smoothly in a way that feels familiar and like the experience that I want to give the player. It's frustrating.

In any case, although I said I was going to set it aside for the time being, I have instead re-dedicated myself to completing the all-important world map. (At the very least, I will someday have a project that you can explore from start to finish, even if there are no combat mechanics). Barring later revisions, everything else in the game is mapped out, so it's do or die. At least as far as mapping goes, I have nothing left to turn to as a distraction from the thing I should be working on. It's an enormous task encompassing an unprecedented level of challenge, but it has to get done. And I'm going to sit with it until it is. I hope. I've tried lots of methods to help me carve out these landmasses and coastlines, and right now I'm working on magnifying a smaller, simplified version of the map in increments, fleshing out the details before advancing to the next scale. It shows some promise. Meanwhile, I have framed prints of the world maps from the first six Final Fantasy games propped up beside me, so I can stare at them all day long in search of inspiration, and motivation.

I really wanted to have it finished in time for the tenth anniversary, but I forgot that was coming up (as I've alluded to before, my side hustle in photography keeps me insanely busy), and I've been dragging my butt. Still, I don't want to leave you empty-handed. So here's something I don't think I've shared yet (although in the past ten years, I could have forgotten). It's a bit of a spoiler, as it relates to the endgame - but it's not the final dungeon. It's actually part of the world map. So, to give you some context, I wanted to send the player through a variety of terrains leading up to the climax of the game (e.g., forest, desert, underground, volcano, mountain peak), as a sort of review or "final tour" of what the rest of the game has thrown at you - not unlike the Interdimensional Rift in Final Fantasy V - and related to the themes and pantheon of bosses in my game, which revolve around the elements. So, before I ever started working in RPG Maker, I pieced together a map of an island (or small continent), using individual tiles copied and pasted from Final Fantasy [1]. The original bitmap is dated back to 2006 (18 years ago!). I've already long since copied it into RPG Maker, but the final version will probably look a little different (it's one of the things I'm working on now). But here's the original:

Dragon Island

It's a proof of concept! Now, you'll have to excuse me. I've still got a lot of work left to do...

Revisiting the Cacowards (1997)

It's time to revisit the fourth year of the Cacowards! For an explanation of this series, please see the first entry.

Requiem

Doomworld hypes this megawad up quite a bit, but I had mixed feelings about it. Instead of looking forward to each next level, I found myself putting it down several times before finally completing it. Looking back at my notes, there are some really good levels in this wad, but it's been so long since I've played them now (just on this playthrough), that I've already forgotten them. Too many of the last 10 or 15 levels were just frustrating and tedious (an inordinate amount of cursing litters my notes). And inconsistent - I literally finished MAP26 in five minutes, then was praying for MAP27 to end after over two hours of working at it.

As a positive, the textures and architecture on display in this wad are fantastic, but the game balance is frequently flawed (at least on Ultraviolence). A lot of these levels just look nicer than they play. The most memorable highlights for me were all levels designed by Iikka Keranen - whose aesthetic I recognized from Dystopia 3 - including the secret level which is an effective tribute to Quake, and Escape From Chaos, a temple exploration level that channels a little bit of Tomb Raider, and a little bit of Duke Nukem's San Andreas Fault. I think this wad would have been much stronger if they had just cut out the fat.

Eternal Doom

This is a megawad that wowed me early on, then proceeded to overstay its welcome. It's actually a compilation of Eternal Dooms I-III. Eternal Doom I (consisting of the first twelve levels) is fantastic. It has a narrative cohesion, with creative levels that convey a medieval atmosphere. Time Gate is a level that has to be seen, with lighting and atmospherics that spark the player's imagination (and had me reminiscing about Phobos Anomaly, one of my all time favorite levels from the first episode of Doom). I also love how entering the exit portal the wrong way takes you somewhere you definitely don't want to be. I can't possibly include my notes about all the levels, but there are a lot of mentions of the gothic architecture, combining graphical flourishes with effective level design. The final level (Darkdome) is a memorable climax that demonstrates everything this wad does well.

Here's what I wrote when I got to this point in the megawad: "we're only about halfway done (maybe even less) with this combined wad, and if it was just Eternal Doom I, it would already be a must-play, hall-of-fame wad. Such great atmosphere. The medieval architecture gives it a Partial Conversion feel, but with all the smoothness of the default weapons, enemies, and mechanics. The levels are expertly designed, meticulously detailed, and lots of fun to explore, while the action is well-balanced and exciting, with good monster traps that thrill you, without enraging you too frequently. Highly recommended."

But then I continued to play 14 more levels of Eternal Doom II, and six levels of Eternal Doom III (two of which were awkwardly shoehorned in out of place). I started jotting down fewer compliments, and my list of grievances began to swell: convoluted progression that is harder to figure out than most secrets (with frequently unintuitive nonlinearity masked as "puzzle solving"); inconsistent panels that need to be shot at; finding keys to doors you haven't seen yet (and sometimes they don't work even where you think they should); overuse of the "enemy in front of you teleports behind you" trick; x'es scratched on walls to denote switches that are way too subtle and hard to see; totally unfair chaingun sniper firing lines; too much backtracking; pressing a button and then having to run before the door closes; areas that are so dark you have to boost the gamma, and then be blinded when you step into the next room flooded with light (you can do pitch black in this game, but you have to be very careful how you utilize it).

When I got to MAP20 Silures, I searched up its author's name (Bob Evans) and wrote a note to "avoid at all costs". I also wrote "I play Doom for stress release, not to tax my brain. Action is good. Adventure is fun. A little bit of challenge and exploration are par for the course. NOT banging your head against the wall hoping something will pop open, scouring the level repeatedly to no avail." I couldn't even finish it. I never use cheats when I play Doom, unless I've mentally checked out of a level. I used cheats on several different levels in this megawad. "I'm clipping through walls, I'm using the ammo cheat, I don't even fucking care anymore". The readme asserts that Eternal Doom was "made lovingly by an assortment of crazies dedicated to driving wad players mad" - and it delivers.

Time Slip was pretty much the only level in the second half that I liked more than its flaws. It has very effective honeycombing (super efficient use of space) that doesn't feel contrived. The odd angles and varied floor heights work really well, with effective gating governed by a series of force fields you can progressively deactivate. Time Gate 2 had some interesting ideas that should have been developed more fully, but it doesn't live up to its predecessor, and the narrative conceit of time travel fades into irrelevant background noise. To wit: "this level doesn't even make any kind of sense, it's just a hodgepodge."

The final level, Excalibur, really should have been its own separate wad, and it bears addressing in its own paragraph. Under different conditions, I might have enjoyed this megalithic level - it's a sprawling fortress with lots of secrets (that are required for progress), and fairly decent honeycombing vaguely reminiscent of the architecture in the original Tomb Raider. However, it drowns in its own flawed theory of design. I was not surprised to learn that it was created by none other than Bob Evans, as it has many of the same flaws that caused me to throw my arms up in frustration playing his earlier level. My notes feature repeated occurrences of the phrases "pore over", "fine-toothed comb", and "what am I supposed to do?", followed by numerous expletives. I feel like this level was designed for the Doom community to play collectively, unlocking its secrets bit by bit. At this point, you either have to figure it all out yourself, or consult a detailed walkthrough, and neither strategy is very much fun. I don't have the patience to waste my time running back and forth across an enormous level with a magnifying glass, looking for tiny clues (and unmarked, walk-through walls), when my first instinct is "this level must be glitched". I thought this was going to be a quick "spawning vat" level like MAP30 usually is; instead I spent days on it, and that's even after I checked out and started following a walkthrough. I just wanted Eternal Doom to be over already, but it feels like it goes on for... well, an eternity. (Just like this review).

In conclusion, Eternal Doom I was fantastic. Eternal Doom II overstayed its welcome. And Eternal Doom III failed to justify its own existence. My recommendation is to play the first 12 levels then stop. And if you're feeling really ambitious one day, you can give Excalibur a try. Just expect to spend a lot of time on it and pay attention to every little detail (including the ones that aren't there).

Gothic DM

This is a full megawad of 32 deathmatch-only levels, in a gothic style. So, yeah, there's not much here for me to enjoy. But I will say, after spending months on that last megawad, it's refreshing being able to blow through a whole 32 levels in a single sitting! I just don't get the appeal of being in an enclosed cage and repetitively wailing on your friends (especially in arenas that are literally just single rooms lined with weapons - at least give me some tunnels or side passages!). Seems boring and overly aggressive. Give me some exploration. Give me some enemies I can exterminate that won't immediately respawn, so I feel like I'm actually accomplishing something!

Just a few quick notes. I really like the aesthetic of MAP02 Plaza at the End of the World (Andrei Romanov) - a stone castle floating in a grey mist. Would have been a good basis for a full level. There's actually a lot of creativity on display in this wad, I just hate to see it wasted on deathmatch levels. MAP10 Out Comes The Evil (Anthony Czerwonka) has some excellent lighting details. Wish I'd see more of this in regular levels, but maybe it's not practical to do on a larger scale. MAP11 Final Reclamation (Romanov) has a kind of plain aesthetic (although I don't dislike it), but features great architecture, with good use of varied floor heights; this would have been another fantastic non-deathmatch level. Hypostimus has a series of levels in the middle of this wad that seem to be carved up from a larger fortress arena. I wonder if some of these authors have ever made non-deathmatch levels. I recognized Iikka Keranen's name, responsible for the only untitled levels in a wad filled with imaginative titles (Necros Evangelicum anybody?). For what it's worth, in this never-played-a-single-deathmatch Doomguy's opinion, this looks like a really solid collection of levels.

STRAIN

We're into the thick of it now, with yet another 32 level megawad - explaining the time gap between this and my last Cacowards post (over a year ago - urp!). Touting itself as a total conversion, this is in fact the epitome of a partial conversion. The look and feel of the game is familiar (why mess with a winning formula?), but there are enough tweaks to make it feel original - from graphics to music to gameplay.

Among this wad's newly-engineered, tougher strain of enemies include red "pinkie" demons, fireball-spewing lost souls, imps on speed, and floating artillery drones (some of them cloaked). Meanwhile, the Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind (in a new form) have been nerfed just enough to greatly improve their versatility, while a new grey Baron with a spread shot will have you twirling like a ballerina to avoid getting fried. And then there's the occasional BFG trooper for comic relief.

Poised as an unofficial sequel to Doom 2, this wad cleverly takes you to an appropriate yet unexplored arena - our own moon. As such, levels predominantly display a tech base aesthetic (effectively rendered, and at times fairly nonlinear), sometimes even feeling more alien than demonic. Which is refreshing, but it doesn't commit to the alien approach firmly enough to satisfy, and after 32 somewhat samey levels, I find myself missing the varied hellscapes of Doom 2.

The quality of this megawad is pretty consistently good, but my biggest complaint is that it struggles to reach greatness. My enthusiasm waned significantly around the start of the last third - if padding out a nine level episode introduced room for filler, then a 32 level megawad is at least three times as guilty. It's better to take your core set and trim the fat, than pad it out to reach a quota. That said, I appreciated that the last levels weren't overly bloated, as they can sometimes be. There is a place for gigantic levels in Doom, but I like having digestible 30-45 minute sessions of demon-slaying. And the final level spreads the action out just enough to make defeating the Icon of Sin manageable without using cheats (for once).

I'll finish with a few lingering remarks. I noted with interest that a couple levels in this megawad (MAP09 and MAP23, both credited to Anthony Czerwonka) were recycled from Dystopia 3. Highlights of my playthrough include the subterranean tunnel infrastructure of MAP06 (Launch Control), the sparse and eerie "working class" atmosphere of MAP18 (Relay Station), and the main laboratory complex in MAP25. Some of the levels seem designed for coop, which left me a little bit confused at times. I liked the secret level, but I felt that the path to unlock the super secret level was prohibitively unintuitive. Doomworld touts this wad's meticulous gameplay balance; for the most part this is true, but playing from pistol start, there were multiple levels where I got frustrated by how many rockets I was picking up, without being given the rocket launcher. Finally, there were some levels (especially towards the end) that were way too dark. If I'm sitting in a room at night with the lights off, and I still have to boost the gamma just to see what I'm doing, your level is too dark.

Mordeth

This is a hall-of-fame wad right here. After being on the fence about STRAIN - it's good, there's nothing really wrong with it, it just didn't get me excited - it's nice to be reminded of what it feels like to play a wad that truly stands above the competition. After 32 levels of STRAIN, I could honestly take it or leave it, but just 6 levels of Mordeth has me clamoring for more. Who knows, maybe after 26 more of these levels I'd eventually start to get bored of it, too. But nothing in STRAIN tickled my fancy the way this wad does. Like STRAIN, Mordeth is an effective partial conversion that touts itself as a total conversion. It feels like Doom, albeit with the addition of gargoyles inhabiting fog-enshrouded swamps.

From the start - and I had to make sure I got it loaded correctly; it looks MUCH better with the trees displaying properly - this wad draws you in with its eerie, gothic atmosphere. The architecture and level design is top tier, with lived-in arenas that have a real sense of place. There are dark hallways illuminated by glowing torchlight (pitch black is used sparingly - and tastefully, for once), warm, wooden textures and cobblestone streets, with cozy libraries to be found in every level! Plus, this wad makes excellent use of the pseudo-3D environment. You'll be climbing boxes (in a way that's familiar while still feeling fresh), jumping in and out of windows, hopping between roofs and crawling across narrow ledges. If you only play one wad from '97, make it this one.

The Talosian Incident (A Requiem For Doom)

Gear up for twenty levels of exploration on an ostensibly lifeless planet (spoiler: it isn't) by the "Black Star Coven" - a group of level designers doing one last Doom wad before moving on to Quake. Once again, I have mixed feelings. Not since Aliens TC has a Doom level been so ominous without featuring any enemies whatsoever. After leaving the ship, you begin to explore the planet and much of its underground, including (surprise!) inhabited structures that occasionally evoke a vaguely liminal feeling, which is enhanced by the original soundtrack.

Early on, I was set to sign off on The Talosian Incident being a fun wad (if not especially challenging) that emphasizes adventure over action (nothing wrong with that). Consider how the levels connect intuitively to one another, giving the sense that you're exploring sections of a larger world, instead of detached arenas in isolated pockets of empty space. But I quickly grew bored of the simple aesthetic and at times irritating and repetitive level design. Lighting waffles between being warmly atmospheric and coldly technical. There is a completely unnecessary overabundance of doors, frequently without proper color-coding, and a weird obsession with binary-branching corridors. This wad isn't a stinker by any means, but it's not a slam dunk either.

Dawn of the Dead

You know what would have been perfect? An adaptation of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead in Doom II, with the player exploring a suburban shopping mall during a demonic outbreak. "When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth!" Unfortunately, that's not what this is. This is a nine level (excuse me, eight level - one of the levels consists solely of an exit switch; kind of a disappointing way to tell the player, "we didn't meet the quota") episode replacement for the original Doom (we haven't done one of those in a while), featuring another iteration of the "teleporter mishap on moon base" story (this time it's Europa) we've all heard before. Honestly, the author should have picked a different title, so players wouldn't go in expecting something they weren't going to get.

That said, it's a perfectly satisfactory set of levels reminiscent of original Doom, with the familiar techbase aesthetic. Although, the episodes of Doom progressively got more hellish, leading to all the colorful variety of Doom II's levelset, so this wad (styling itself as "Episode V") feels like a step backward. It also suffers (although not cripplingly so) from the same limitations shared by all wads designed for original Doom - the reduced weapon and enemy set leads to somewhat more frustrating gameplay, with lots of hitscan damage, and a frequent disparity between the weapons available to you and the punishingly tough Barons (especially on Ultraviolence mode). It's almost not fair to judge this wad on those [de]merits, but it makes you wonder if we've matured beyond Doom I level design at this point...

Hell Revealed

Let me tell you, this megawad is a hot mess. The level design is mediocre, with questionable architecture, a bland aesthetic, and too many untelegraphed exit switches. The music is discordantly upbeat, like it belongs in a Megaman game. The author(s) appear to lack a deep understanding of how to utilize monsters, hiding behind the excuse of trying to be "super difficult", while mistaking volume for difficulty. I mean, you could easily make a level that's just a Berserk pack and a hundred Barons, and it would be super difficult. Also, obnoxiously tedious. Would it be any fun? None whatsoever. Would there be any point in playing it? Not at all. Even as a flex it would be pretty pathetic.

And I'm no spring chicken; I'm a veteran Doomguy. I've been playing this game since the shareware release in '93. UV max from pistol start is my bread and butter (minus the speedrunning). I don't hate this wad because it's "too hard" - I like a good challenge. I hate it because it's not any fun. And because I don't have enough hours left in my life to waste on shit like this. I only managed to suffer through a third of it. Picture this: you've unloaded ALL your ammo on literal wall-to-wall imps, so you punch through them to grab an invulnerability sphere, then spend the ENTIRE duration of your invulnerability phase smashing imps to giblets left and right, and STILL have wall-to-wall imps left over after the invulnerability has worn off. That's when I checked out.

Turning on cheats just to see what was left didn't improve my experience much. It would be humorous, if it weren't so downright offensive to any objective sensibility of level balance, how much I have to sit there and spam the BFG, just trying to zoom through the whole thing. So many of the later levels are just "how many enemies can we fit between the player and the exit?" (Too many - the answer is too many). Was this wad made by an adolescent who thought putting a monster on literally every available tile was a cool idea? This wad makes conventional excess look like restraint. Cyberdemons and Spider Masterminds left and right. So many Archviles you're actually floating across the screen. A wad like this demands a bigger weapon than even the BFG. A weapon that would make the BFG look like the pistol by comparison. A weapon to instantly wipe out every monster on screen. Like a bio-fucking EMP. The idea that anyone would play these levels straight (either willingly or under coercion) is completely unthinkable to me. You're better off not playing them at all.

Hell's Eventide

After completing so many megawads from '97, I can't tell you how much of a relief it is to be able to finish out the year with a couple of single, standalone levels. The first is Hell's Eventide (kind of a pretentious title, no?). Considering that it's a "chain" wad (passed around between three authors, with each one modifying a segment and then passing it on to the next person), it's pretty cohesive. It's also challenging, while not being unmanageable (I'm looking at you, Hell Revealed). I won't say that it's a must play wad, but it's perfectly decent; and given the short time investment, it's worth a spin.

Chord_ng

And we end on a high note! From Malcolm Sailor, an author who worked on many of the levels in The Talosian Incident, comes this gem (that replaces MAP28 - you'll have to warp to the right level). The readme specifically cautions the player about the difficulty on Ultraviolence mode - and it is hard. That said, I UV maxed it - with some effort, but no lingering complaints. So that should tell you something about the validity of my criticism of Hell Revealed. Apart from the challenge, this is also a really cool-looking level, with some inspiration from Quake. It really feels like I'm scaling a high-rise tower. Even without the supreme difficulty, I would totally play more levels in this vein. I recommend it. (And if you're not as good as me, you can always choose a lower difficulty setting).

JUDGMENT: Keeping in mind that for any wad to win a Cacoward, it must have distinguished itself in some way, I'm making the assumption that you don't have time to play them all, and that you value my opinion (otherwise, you wouldn't be reading my reviews), so here are my recommendations for which wads are most worthy of your time.

Must Play: Eternal Doom*, Mordeth, Chord_ng
Time Killers: Requiem, STRAIN, The Talosian Incident, Dawn of the Dead, Hell's Eventide
Skip: Gothic DM**, Hell Revealed

*(but do yourself a favor and delete the wad after you finish MAP12)
**(unless you're a deathmatch player, in which case have at it)

See you in 1998!

Completing the Final Dungeon

I was thinking that my last Dragonfaith update was last year around Memorial Day, but it turns out that was two years ago. The update I was actually thinking about was from February of last year. In any case, I wanted to check in again and report that I've finished mapping out the final dungeon. It was a monumental effort - I'm not sure whether I should be proud or embarrassed that it took me a year to complete, but it's not like I've been working on it every day (this past summer was another busy photography season).

Now all that's left in the mapping department is an even more monumental effort - the world map. I've reconstructed overworld maps from the first six Final Fantasy games in RPG Maker as practice (do you recognize them?), but I still find the mechanics of the process of structuring landmasses (and the terrain they contain) to be intimidatingly inscrutable (oh, if I could pick the brains of the team members who developed these maps). There's just such a large canvas to work with. But I'll keep trying.

And anyway, in the meantime, I just might start working on hammering out the combat elements as a distraction (I'm never so productive as when I'm performing a task in order to avoid working on a different task), and slowly piecing together everything else in this game beyond the maps. I know how the world map is generally going to function, and I know every important element that will be in it, so I don't think I need it to be completed to work on the other stuff. This is where I've really gotta start making decisions and laying out a plan for progression re:items and weapons and growth and things like that.

I'm ruing the day I ever decided to take on this project singlehandedly - although truthfully, I enjoy working on it. I like going into my own little world; it's a pleasant escape from reality. But the pressure of needing to eventually end up with a completed game just builds and builds with every passing year. However, thinking of the alternative - spending all this time and work and never having anything to show for it - is no less dreadful. (And I'd love to show you more of what I have completed, but I'm always torn because I don't want to spoil the experience of playing the game). So I'll keep chugging along.

I can but hope that I'll have something more substantial to report next year on the 10th anniversary of starting this voyage (at least in RPG Maker - I brainstormed it even before that). Don't expect a completed game - but maybe by the 15th anniversary? I don't want to spend the rest of my life working on it, and I want at least someone to be able to test it (at the very least) before we're all resting in our graves...

Revisiting the Cacowards (1996)

It's time to revisit the third year of the Cacowards! For an explanation of this series, please see the first entry.

Memento Mori & Memento Mori 2

1996 starts out with a bang! Each being a full set of levels for Doom II, Memento Mori and its sequel together constitute 64 different levels. That's a lot (it took me awhile to work my way through them, one level at a time), and I'm not going to comment on each one. Suffice to say that they're good; this is a project that combined the products of some of the most talented Doom level modders at the time (including The Innocent Crew, which worked on some of my favorite wads from '94 and '95), and is one of the most memorable fanmade wads from my first playthrough of the Cacowards many years ago.

What these wads might lack in consistency of style from level to level (despite the sequel's notable attempt at stringing together an overarching narrative in the readme file) - and let me tell you, the atmosphere and sense of place in some of these levels is truly spectacular - it more than makes up for in consistency of quality. Be warned that some of the later levels in these wadsets are huge, and do tend to run long, some taking me hours to complete. If you're sick of playing the same official Doom levels over and over again and want something fresh, definitely put Memento Mori (and Memento Mori 2) on your playlist.

Dystopia 3: Re-Birth of Anarchy

Apparently, this is a sequel to Dystopia 2 (which I assume is a sequel to Dystopia), though I don't recall if I ever played this wad's forebear(s). It features 11 maps for Doom II, complete with some cool new textures. It's a bit of an anticlimax after coming off of the high of Memento Mori, but really, these are some solid levels, with real creativity on display. Several of the levels begin in crashed vehicles (cars, rockets), and one takes place on an island, beginning and ending on a boat. I also enjoyed the mineshaft level. The third map experiments with a completely novel dynamic, turning part of the level into a race. My main complaint is combat-related - the author(s) seems to favor the use of the plasma gun - which is powerful, but in most cases is like using an anvil to hammer a nail. And for health you're thrown a lot of instant +100% soul spheres. It's too indiscriminate for my tastes; I actually enjoy the resource management part of playing this game. But it's a relatively minor quibble for an otherwise enjoyable wad.

All Hell Is Breaking Loose

This is a short, 5 map wad that touts itself as a "near total conversion". Apparently, I played an incomplete version, with graphics intact, but none of the game mechanics altered. Honestly, I didn't like it enough to try it again. Level-wise, the wad is serviceable. I liked the abandoned mine motif, and the final level which takes place in the city. But the graphical manipulations were distracting. Adjusting to new weapon graphics throws off your aim (also, what's the point of a double-bladed chainsaw?). Some of the monsters looked neat - red Demons engulfed in yellow flame, Barons floating around on green fire, two-headed Chaingunners riding Arachnotrons. It's hard to criticize the creativity and work that goes into a project like this - I'm sure making those graphics wasn't easy. But without a professional studio, there are always seams visible, which gives it a characteristically rough appearance. Along with the feeling that what you're playing is still Doom, it's just wearing an [at times ill-fitting] mask. As an exercise in modding, I don't doubt that this wad deserved a lot of attention in 1996, but beyond that? I dunno...

Army of Darkness

This is a total conversion for the first Doom, replacing episode 3. The theme is Army of Darkness. Not one of my favorite horror/comedies (I liked the first Evil Dead the best), but you can tell the authors are diehard fans, and put a lot of work into this wad, recreating much of the spirit (and locations) from the movie. This is kind of the bridge between Aliens TC (still being a horror property where running around killing demons is in character) and later pop culture TCs that are pure novelty (e.g., The Simpsons, Sailor Moon). That said, to describe this TC as a novelty would be to do it an injustice. It's quite well put together, and captures a fair bit of the atmosphere of the movie. The levels are well-designed; I only had a few clipping issues, including a pillar that rendered the boss Bad Ash helpless (both times he showed up), and a passage I just couldn't seem to figure out how to open in Arthur's Castle. I understand that a lot of the sprites are taken from other games similar to Doom that were released around the same time (namely, Heretic and Hexen), but not being familiar with those games, the different look of the enemies (which blend in really well with the medieval theme) goes a long way in giving this TC a cohesive atmosphere. I had a lot of fun playing it.

Icarus: Alien Vanguard

I was very excited to see that this megawad (a full Doom II complement) was developed by TeamTNT - a group of wadders that were so good, id Software made one of their projects the basis for an official release: Final Doom. As such, you can expect quality from these levels, which balance space ship (that's space ship, not space port) environments with Holodeck-like "simulation" levels for variety. The ship levels are inspired - with some interesting settings (e.g., Engineering, Sick Bay, Hydroponics) that at times remind you of Star Trek and Duke Nukem - and make great use of a limited range of textures (one could argue that the authors got lazy, but I think it effectively conveys a minimalist aesthetic). But some of the most memorable levels are the simulation (and planet-side) areas, including a labyrinthine asylum, a storm-battered chapel, and a truly brilliant recreation of a diner that's got to be one of the most creative Doom levels I've ever played. This wad features all-new music, and though there isn't much in the way of a written narrative, it does a remarkable job of creating story just through architecture and gameplay. Levels are meticulously designed and expertly lit, with the addition of features (such as computer panels and science experiments) that have little to no functional use but add so much life to the environments you'll explore. Every time I passed a window on the starship, I had to stop and marvel at the stars sailing past!

Polygon Base

I booted up this wad with no expectations (thanks to a conspicuous lack of any kind of readme file included in the folder). A quick check verified that it was a single level, so (after all these megawads I'd been playing), I thought, "great, I have half an hour to play through a nice, simple wad." Boy, was I wrong. This level is massive, even labyrinthine. Now, I can appreciate an epic Doom level, but I definitely wasn't prepared for it. I got to the point where I just wanted it to end already. Don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly good level, in the classic "moonbase" aesthetic. But I generally prefer a more linear layout (this section leads to that section, which leads to that section over there), instead of endlessly criss-crossing passages you could easily get lost in. Add to that a preponderance of switches, and you've no choice but to give up all hope of a thorough sweep of the level (even with the automap!).

99 Ways To Die

Unfortunately more of an empty boast than a clever concept to build a level around, 99 Ways To Die consists of three short castle-themed levels (that altogether took me less time to complete than Polygon Base did). They demonstrate basic competency with the level editor (which I maintain is an accomplishment of its own), but seem to lack any real spark of brilliance. Attention given to lighting (I mention this only because the readme file points it out) seems to focus mainly on gradating sectors and not how the lighting can be used to develop atmosphere. There's an interesting idea wherein keys are used not to progress through the level but to access bonus rooms (that offer both additional challenge and additional reward), but nothing in this wad is developed fully enough to warrant real praise. I've seen it all done better elsewhere.

The Trooper's Playground

Offering nine levels for Doom II, this wad is good, but not great. It's solidly constructed, but doesn't really stand out; I suspect that it dazzled more in its heyday, and simply hasn't aged as well as some other early wads we've covered. There are good traps in this levelset, it's mostly well-balanced, and the secrets are well placed - not glaringly obvious, but also not stupidly difficult to find if you're looking for them. The final level is anticlimactic, but I've come to expect that from Doom II, where the final boss is basically an infinitely spawning deathmatch chamber (which is chaotic, yeah, but doesn't make for much of a level). In other words, this wad goes down smooth. It's a good way to pass the time, but you probably won't remember it. Which I guess is better than being frequently frustrated by its flaws, right?

A Hidden Mountain Factory

Remember what I said about levels that frequently frustrate you with their flaws? This one's a great example. Doomworld raved about this "obscure" wad in 1996 (no doubt bringing it tons of attention), but I'm playing it now and I think it's massively overrated. The concept is clever, but its potential is squandered by gameplay that's critically flawed. For one, I like how the level starts in the mountains, but there are passages where you're squared off against "hitscan" enemies (who hit you instantaneously with bullets, instead of launching projectiles) in pitch black! I get wanting to be realistic and create atmosphere, but sections of complete darkness should be used sparingly, and to mount tension, not as widespread combat zones.

Even worse, what apparently passes for "difficulty" in this level is crowding narrow corridors with an unreasonable volume of monsters. You're taking lots of hits, and there's not a lot of health, or room to move around. So you're constantly getting respawned every five steps, rendering Doomworld's claim that you can finish this relatively small (but not short) level in 8 minutes a savage lie. That's not challenge, it's just punishment. It's not even fun. I want to be pushed to fight smarter, not harder. I've seen cooler levels; I've certainly played ones that were more fun. I think this wad has had its run.

JUDGMENT: Keeping in mind that for any wad to win a Cacoward, it must have distinguished itself in some way, I'm making the assumption that you don't have time to play them all, and that you value my opinion (otherwise, you wouldn't be reading my reviews), so here are my recommendations for which wads are most worthy of your time.

Must Play: Memento Mori, Memento Mori 2, Icarus: Alien Vanguard
Time Killers: Dystopia 3, Army of Darkness, The Trooper's Playground
Skip: All Hell Is Breaking Loose, Polygon Base, 99 Ways To Die, A Hidden Mountain Factory

See you in 1997!

Revisiting the Cacowards (1995)

It's time to revisit the second year of the Cacowards! For an explanation of this series, please see the first entry.

Fava Beans

This is, in my opinion, a thoroughly mediocre episode 1 replacement. The level design is competent, but lacks a spark of creativity. There is an overabundance of ammo. Vaguely familiar environments recall areas from the original levels, but it feels more like rehash than reinvention.

Infinity (Serenity 3)

This is episode 3 in the Serenity/Eternity trilogy. I think these level sets improved from one to the next, but I'm still having a lot of the same complaints I had from the first two. Not very intuitive level design. Overabundance of nukage barrels. Way too much ammo and not nearly enough health. Is there a bug with the secret sectors? Because normal rooms that are necessary passage to complete the level are triggering as secret areas. To end on a semi-positive note, there's a glimmer of a good idea in the final level, with enemies seemingly constrained by lighting sectors. Demons that are afraid of the light is a fantastic idea. But the execution here is minimal, and clunky in a way that makes it feel more like a glitch than a stylistic approach.

Boothill

This is a set of four Western-themed deathmatch levels for Doom II (although there is some repetition between the levels - the first one is the largest, but the third one has cool lighting effects to simulate night). As an exclusively single player, I might not be the best person to review these levels, but I can say that they are excellently crafted. Great manipulation of architecture to create the illusion of buildings with upper and lower floors (the Doom engine is limited in that you can't stack floors). There is a real sense of place in these levels, making them fun to explore even alone and without combat. I would have liked to have seen this design approach applied to a single player level.

Fistful of Doom

Two levels, billed as the "ultimate Western Wad" and "UK's answer to Boothill". The best part is that it's actually playable for a single player! The conversion details are very immersive - it really feels like you're in a Western. I don't like that the buildings don't show up on the map in the first level, but it looks like that was fixed for the second level, which has a stronger Mexican flavor. I love the nude paintings, the idea of raiding a bank in the first level, and how cool the church looks in the second level. I also love the idea of the rocket launcher being dynamite, and repurposing energy cell pickups (for a weapon that's not used in this wad) as bags of gold. Even though the gold is functionally useless, you're a bandit, you're collecting gold, it's fun! The creativity in a wad like this really fires the imagination - it makes me wish I'd completed my own total conversion all those years ago.

H2H-Xmas

This is our first full 32 level set for Doom II, and yet it never really feels like it drags. I remember playing this wad before; even partial conversions, as this is, tend to stand out in your mind, because they often look and sound so unique. This one is Christmas-themed - and by total coincidence, I ended up playing it (again) in December; it was even snowing outside the day I loaded up the first level!

Graphical replacements include Santa taking the place of Doomguy, ammo wrapped up like presents, and health pickups represented by things like cookies and eggnog and candy canes. There are even wintry textures, including falling snow, and Christmas trees scattered about the levels. Plus, popular Christmas songs have been rendered in glorious instrumental midi format to play in the background.

Level design is pretty creative - some of the more memorable locations include an airport terminal, a tree farm, and a hockey rink - and although this wad is a hodgepodge of levels by different designers, there are subsets with recognizable themes that have a sense of logical progression from one level to the next, which is something that I really appreciate. A number of levels (especially later on) seem to be optimized for deathmatch, but are still fun to play through on single player.

This wad really makes use of Doom II's larger roster of enemies, with heavy placement on Ultraviolent - and a notable focus on Revenants; you'll be adept at side-stepping their deadly homing rockets by the time you're through. At a point, the combat does get ridiculous. For consistency, I should complain about the overabundance of ammo and the literal swarms of enemies, but the reality is, there's a fair amount of health to keep you going, and it just turns into a giddy free-for-all. This kind of mindless melee, with little to no strategy involved, is not my favorite form of combat in Doom, but I can't deny that it has a certain entertainment value.

All in all, this is not the best levelset you'll ever play, but it's certainly a memorable one, and one that I think is a lot of fun. Although the novelty might be less effective if I were playing it any other time of the year.

Gather2 (a.k.a. The Final Gathering II)

I have mixed feelings about this 5 level set for Doom II. It starts out weak, with a level so short I was actually surprised when it ended. The design aesthetic is middling, with lots of bright sectors and dark sectors (that are prohibitively dark), and little complicated shading between. Rows of identical trees show off the limitations of the graphics.

The set improves as you go through the levels. I like the idea of the elevator in the second level, but the implementation is rudimentary, and I feel like it's been done better elsewhere. I appreciate the continuity between the second and third levels, although the lift takes entirely too long, and the strobe lights are annoying. The third level is big, but not especially complex.

The fourth level is where this wad really shines, as it is a sprawling, labyrinthine fortress. I still have mixed feelings about the design aesthetic, but it's a fun level to play, and it must have been a bear to put together. The fifth level is also big, if not as complex, and makes me wonder how some of these levels would work in deathmatch (even though I don't play deathmatch).

I'm not sure if this was a bug or a feature, but I encountered four "ghost" imps after unleashing an Archvile at the end of the last level. They were faded out like the spectres, but couldn't be hit by my weapons. They would sometimes (though not always) phase through walls. I eventually discovered that they could be killed by indirect splash damage from rockets exploding nearby (e.g., on walls).

Artifact

I feel like this wad is a good example of what happens when your ambition exceeds your talent (something I know a little about). It sounds great on paper - a wad with a little bit of story (I always appreciate a creative flourish), so big that it had to be split into three levels (I also love wads that harbor a spirit of adventure/exploration, instead of just creating disjointed arenas in which to slaughter demons). But the execution, in my opinion, is lacking, with somewhat amateurish design and questionable gameplay balance, that reads more as frustration than challenge (I say after smashing an army of imps one at a time into giblets with my bare hands at 6% health). The levels provide healing spaces with extra power-ups, but the vague threat of being punished for using them makes their very presence more cruel than forgiving.

This wad has also ruined me on strobe lighting. I've been more aware of its problematic nature living with somebody who is photosensitive, but even aside from that, I found their overuse here to be annoying. Coupled with that is the inclusion of extremely dark tunnels, with walk-through walls, sometimes over radioactive floors, such that you're navigating blind and being decimated even by low level enemies because you can't see for shit where the room even is, let alone what's in it. And then in the final level there are invisible floors which contribute to your disorientation, that seem tossed in just because "they're cool" and not because their presence makes any kind of logical or aesthetic sense. It got to a point in the climax where I'm being tossed around by unintuitive teleportation triggers in no readily apparent pattern, with arrows drawn only on the map screen that seem to be trying to tell me something but I'm not sure what it is...and I couldn't even finish it.

Nostromo's Run

Though only a single level for Doom II, it's a pretty big one. There doesn't appear to be any direct connection to Alien in spite of the title, but I still enjoyed it. There's an overabundance of ammo and health pickups, but I suspect that's a symptom of the level being designed with co-op play in mind (which is pretty uncommon in my experience, as opposed to deathmatch - not that I ever play this game with anyone else). If I don't have much else to say about it, that's because I don't have any serious complaints. As far as big, single levels go, I think this one was executed a lot better than Artifact.

Obituary

This is a half(ish) level set for Doom II (just enough to cover the secret level, which is accessed from MAP15). I was very excited when I found out that this wad was created by "The Innocent Crew", which did two of my favorite levelsets from 1994 - Slaughter Until Death, and The Evil Unleashed. Sure enough, the quality is just what you would expect, with a solid set of levels that are a lot of fun to play. They start out pretty compact - rather than "sprawling", they are packed tight with efficient use of space - but get bigger as you go along (including one level with the most tricked out exit section ever). I noticed some misaligned switch textures, but it didn't ruin functionality, and was the only problem I encountered.

Introduced in this wad are some light mods, including some tweaked weapons and enemies. For example, you get dual pistols, a kick instead of a punch, and updated graphics for the plasma weapons. Additionally, the imp has been given faster green fireballs, some troopers carry rocket launchers (unbalanced perhaps, but lots of fun), and the Nazi has been upgraded with erratic movements, partial stealth camo, and more powerful guns. Don't be intimidated by the complicated instructions to get the game running; you can use a patched wad (search "obticfix") to plug and play in GZDoom. It's totally worth it.

Enigma

A nine level set for Doom II (and some of these levels are huge, taking me well over an hour to complete). The graphical style may be slightly rudimentary by today's standards, but the level design is very creative, with a good use of height (you'll be climbing the walls of tall buildings and descending into shadowy canyons), and a mastery of stair sectors. Levels tend to be non-linear, at times even tricky to figure out the path to the exit. The difficulty is more due to puzzles than combat, which is a change of pace for Doom. At its worst, there are passages and solutions the finding of which is downright unintuitive. I don't recall ever needing to consult a walkthrough for a Doom level before. Bottom line, this is not a perfect wad. It has flaws. But it also displays a real artistic vision. I was impressed with it. It is frequently fun, occasionally frustrating, but above all, worth playing.

Dwango5

It's hard to find a lot of background information about this wad, other than that it's a compilation of 24 random levels for Doom II, all designed by different authors specifically for deathmatch play. Oh, and that it was apparently super popular back in the day. I wouldn't know, as deathmatch was never my scene - I've always been more of a solitary player. The levels all display typical deathmatch characteristics - small levels with ample ammo, usually designed around a central arena but with intertwining passages and vantage points for sniping. Quality ranges from the downright boring to the pretty creative, with a couple original Doom II levels lightly modified for deathmatch play. But if you're a single player like me, you're not gonna find much to do here.

JUDGMENT: Keeping in mind that for any wad to win a Cacoward, it must have distinguished itself in some way, I'm making the assumption that you don't have time to play them all, and that you value my opinion (otherwise, you wouldn't be reading my reviews), so here are my recommendations for which wads are most worthy of your time.

Must Play: H2H-Xmas, Obituary, Enigma
Time Killers: Boothill/Fistful of Doom, The Final Gathering II, Nostromo's Run
Skip: Fava Beans, Infinity, Artifact, Dwango5

See you in 1996!

Welcome to the Endgame

As predicted, my productivity (working on Dragonfaith) waned over the summer, after leaving COVID lockdown (before Delta and then Omicron started making waves). But then, around the time of New Year's, in the dead of winter, progress picked back up, as it tends to do. I've completed mapping a major dungeon, the last two towns, and a couple of outposts since my last update. Do you know what that means? It's on to the endgame dungeons! I don't want to overstate my progress - there is still a lot of work to do outside of the mapping department (particularly with combat), and the world map is still a hurdle in my path - but I have a game that's almost completely mapped out!

Granted, the final dungeon is going to be a behemoth. There are multiple stages, that the player will be able to tackle progressively (because I want it to feel monolithic, while still being manageable). As always, I don't want to spoil too much, but the initial stage involves three floors, the intermediate section will be a tower with several [smaller] floors, and then the final section leading to the climax will be a sprawling labyrinth ("labyrinth" may be an exaggeration, in case you were getting worried; I just wanted it to sound dramatic). I'm quite excited to finally get started on it after all these years.

Revisiting the Cacowards (1994)

Preface: I intended to post this in March of 2019 (during the last period in which I was playing a lot of Doom), then changed my mind when I decided not to complete the series. But I recently returned to continue the series, and now I regret not publishing this set of reviews when I wrote them.

As a brief introduction, Doomworld has published a list of some of the best and most notorious fanmade mods for Doom - a top 10 for every year following the original release of Doom in 1993, called the Cacowards (named after the Cacodemon enemy in Doom). It's a great place to start if you're looking to play some of the best wads ("wad" is an informal term for a set of Doom levels, named after the .wad file format) the fan community has to offer. I played a bunch of them in the past, but now with my recent resurging interest in Doom, I've gone back for a replay, and this time I'm going to write down some of my comments/impressions as I play through them, which I'd regretted not doing the first time around. (To avoid overworking myself, I'm going to keep them brief, except where I feel compelled to elaborate). Let's begin with the first year of the Cacowards - 1994 (links available @ Doomworld):

Crossing Acheron

Good level. Cathedral-style architecture. Mix of brightly lit halls and dark tunnels. Lacking in "ominous" atmosphere, however (as compared to the Unholy Cathedral level in Doom episode 3). Sort of like the difference in a haunted house between night and day.

Aliens TC

I'm including alternate links here, because they worked better for me in 2019 than the Doomworld links. These can be played in GZDoom. Here is the classic version, and this is a new version with updated graphics. (I played the classic version).

Aliens has the reputation of being the first ever "total conversion" for Doom - in which graphics, sound, and sometimes even gameplay is tweaked. Modern wads may be on a whole different level, but back in 1994, this was the epitome of what a total conversion could be. It's immersive, and a natural blend - Aliens and Doom both being sci-fi/horror titles with monsters - as opposed to just throwing pop culture characters (like Homer Simpson or Sailor Moon) into a Doom level sheerly for the novelty. I hear it generated enough buzz to overshadow the release of Doom's official sequel, Doom II!

Playing it again, I'm impressed with how well it holds up, even after all these years (and how much I remember from that one time I played it years ago). The mod's atmosphere is genuinely terrifying, and it's impressive how well it captures the mood of the film. As you explore the decimated colony on LV-426, you'll be constantly looking over your shoulder as you tiptoe down dark corridors, dreading the moment when the tech environments start to give way to organic tunnels (excellent use of the spine wall texture, turned green), unseen hissing heard 'round every corner, trying not to think about what's lurking in the shadows as you navigate the labyrinthine air ducts.

The author has made clever use of Doom's toolset to realize this project - in particular, I like how the Lost Soul's behavior is used to make the facehuggers lunge at you, and how Doom's tendency to hide monsters and spring them on the player unsuspectingly is adapted in the form of hidden rooms concealed by camouflage to simulate the xenomorphs seemingly coming right out of the damn walls! In this conversion, Doom has effectively been transformed from a shoot 'em up to a run 'n' hide, enforced by a relative scarcity of health and ammo pickups. One level even requires you to seal off certain passages to prevent the aliens - which you do not have nearly enough firepower to eradicate - from overwhelming you, in an inspired gameplay mechanic that I'd like to see more of in Doom.

Suffice to say, it's good. Real good. But I'm gonna stop gushing and move on.

Doomsday of UAC

Simplistic, but creative. Large open areas, touted for its "realistic" architecture - overturned cars, reception halls, even a public restroom with individual stalls. Plus a really neat invisible staircase. In theory, I like the fact that the manmade structures are mapped and the demonic tunnels not (like you're viewing a schematic of only what's supposed to be there), but in practice it turns out that I don't like wandering around areas that don't show up on the map. Great level for its time; if only today's levels could be judged by the same standards (I say as an amateur editor who doesn't want to be drowned by the big leagues).

Galaxia

Good concept. Notable in that it's more than just a level - there's a back story to it. I like the underground train/subway environments, although as one reviewer has said, it's a bit tedious running back and forth across these long tunnels. Some custom and remixed sound fx give it a slightly different feel from regular Doom (were those pig noises I heard, like from Duke Nukem?).

Serenity/Eternity

Two full episodes, made by the same team, put out in the same year. I daresay these levels feel like they could have used a bit more care and thought put into them. I mean, they're structurally sound (and that, in and of itself, isn't a cakewalk), but there's not much rhyme or reason to the architecture, the levels don't have much of a flow (despite the superficial gimmick of building one letter of the title into the layout of each level), and the gameplay isn't properly balanced. Shall I be more specific?

There are too many nukage barrels. I like a strategically-placed nukage barrel as much as anyone, but one in every corner is excessive. There's too much ammo - especially boxes of shotgun shells. I know you want to have enough to get the job done, but I find it annoying when I have to leave too many pickups behind, and I'm also a proponent of punishing the player for being too reckless with their weapons by forcing them to use a chainsaw or their fists (with a Berserk pack - I'm not a sadist). Plus, I know everyone's favorite weapon is the shotgun (it's mine, too), but I enjoy switching weapons for tactical advantage (e.g., chainsaw against spectres, chaingun against cacodemons and lost souls, rocket launcher against barons, plasma rifle for when you get tossed into the center of a heavy fray), but when there's so much ammo you can literally use the shotgun for everything and still have boxes leftover, there's no incentive to mix it up.

The enemy selection is also a bit irritating. For example, there are lots of projectiles in close quarters. With little room to dodge, you're taking a lot of damage and (unlike ammo) there isn't a corresponding amount of health pickups to make up for it. Armor is also very rare, so that's even less damage mitigation. Choice of enemies also feels very arbitrary - like a little of everything sprinkled into each wave. I prefer to evaluate the monsters' strengths and weaknesses, and suit them to the terrain, so it's more of a tactical challenge, and not a repetitive chore. One of my favorite things about playing Doom is the feeling of satisfaction that comes from eradicating all the demons from a map. But in this wad, it just becomes tedious. Without even the super shotgun (exclusive to Doom II), who wants to mow down all these dense mobs, with a cacodemon in every room? I know that original Doom suffers from a smaller roster of tougher monsters, but it's not fun fighting one Baron of Hell after another (they're called "meat shields" for a reason), when you don't even have the rocket launcher (or very many rockets) or plasma rifle to kick things into high gear. If nothing else, it makes you appreciate how well the official game was balanced.

The list of things I liked about these levels is pretty slim. There's some neat lighting featured, and I really like the idea in the first level (sadly never revisited) of using damage floors to simulate solar radiation (or a toxic atmosphere). The movie theater in the second level is cool (like with the public restroom in Doomsday of UAC, I'm sensing the vacuum that Duke Nukem 3D would fill upon its release in 1996). And I have to give props to Eternity for using a midi version of the Halloween theme for the intermission music. But honestly, I don't think these levels are worth the time unless you're really bored.

Trinity College

Hailed as the first "photorealistic" recreation of a specific real-world location (apparently, the authors took pictures of the college and rendered the images into Doom textures). It's certainly an interesting exercise, although as a Doom level it doesn't really stand out.

Return to Phobos

Not a terrible set of levels, although there are some questionable segments. Certainly better balanced and thus more tolerable than Serenity/Eternity. I like that the architecture is reminiscent of classic, episode 1 Doom. A couple of the levels have an overabundance of switches. Doomworld touts this as a positive, but I find it annoying. Half the time you don't even know what the switches are doing, and it's tedious having to go back and forth, poring over everything with a fine-toothed comb, thinking that the level might be changing at any time. At this stage, I think I prefer authors who have a neat idea for a standalone level over those who feel compelled to produce a full episode (or two or three), where the creativity is spread thin, and gaps must be filled in to complete the set. Leave that to the professionals, and let the fans explore some more creative applications of the level-building software.

Slaughter Until Death/The Evil Unleashed

Now this is how you do a levelset. This is an episode 2 replacement, with good, creative level design. It's well-balanced - challenging, without being impossible. Secrets are well-hidden (almost too well-hidden). There are parts that are legitimately shocking; sometimes involving enemy traps, other times a flair for theatrics - like careful placement of mutilated corpses, and rooms that tell a story (I can't help wondering about that one space marine's body accompanied by a pile of corpses and just a few demons left alive - he must have put up one hell of a fight). If you only play one straightforward, classic Doom levelset from 1994 (that is, not novelty or conversion levels), forget Serenity, forget Return to Phobos, play Slaughter Until Death. Or, its sequel, The Evil Unleashed, an episode 3 replacement which is more of the same, if not even better level design. Lots of cool, tech-based locales - including a reactor core - and good use of moving floors and walls to maximize efficiency of the space used. You can't go wrong with either one. Better yet, play them both!

JUDGMENT: Keeping in mind that for any wad to win a Cacoward, it must have distinguished itself in some way, I'm making the assumption that you don't have time to play them all, and that you value my opinion (otherwise, you wouldn't be reading my reviews), so here are my recommendations for which wads are most worthy of your time.

Must Play: Aliens TC, Slaughter Until Death, The Evil Unleashed
Time Killers: Crossing Acheron, Doomsday of UAC, Galaxia, Return to Phobos
Skip: Serenity, Eternity, Trinity College

See you in 1995!