@endless I think the purpose isn't as much for rewarding as it is for a general categorisation so that people have an easier time brosing through the several dozen thousand custom wads that have been made over the past few decades. Maybe it turns out you like a certain type of maps more than others and you want to see more of that, but currently the only way to find anything similar is asking people who have played a lot of wads for recommendations, "I just played this and that, are there any similar wads?" kind of threads are pretty common on Doomworld.

Awesome stuff @joe-ilya you blasted through this wad like it was nothing! There was a few updates (looks like you have the first one with some names being mangled).

For any future players, here is the 'final' one.
pandora_22.zip

I should check this one out!

Here's some of my favorite wads that left such a strong impression on me you can see their influence in my stuff to some degree or another depending on map:

Sunder - Every map has the progression, ambience, scale and music of a final showdown, something that inspires me greatly. Going to Hell - WIP megawad that never got finished that i'd describe as "BTSX E1 without the cookie cutter level design". Paradise - Has combat, aesthetics and music that inspire me like nothing else. To me it almost felt like playing a whole new game. Lost Civilization - Gigantic explorational lush levels that make you feel like you're in a real place, without sacrificing the fun of gameplay. Hurt - This is the only one of these that is one single map, and despite that it feels like something special. Even from looking at the screenshots you can tell that.

There's many others i'd recommend like TNT Revilution and Eviternity, but i think those above are on a whole other level. They felt like whole unique experiences for me.

Oniria is probably the best one. I know there were a few wads that make use of Boom’s palette tricks to simulate different hues but I can’t remember.

Icon of Sin likes being a referee for various sports.

Nice find, thanks for posting.

@dasho said in What Doom texture would you use as wallpaper at home?:

AASHITTY

thatd just be this

56b1c281-6238-48bf-9bc3-80b277ff5569-image.png

I prefer centered because I think that's a bit iconic. My only gripe with angled weapons is when the angles are way off and it looks like you're trying to shoot someone to the left that's just out of your peripheral vision.

What a fucking amateur

Another picture from the same WAD :S

alt text

The idea of a filler map (i.e. dosn't particularly stand out) seems a tad unfair for 'conventional' maps, since it just comes down to whether or not the player connects with the map, which itself comes down to the stylistic preferences of the creator...

Anyway, filler maps help, but they're by no means required to fill out a cohesive map lineup. Best two examples off the top of my head are Fractured Worlds and Sunlust - they both avoid filler in their own ways, and both were amazing, with every detail of each map burned into my memory.
SL manages to avoid being exhausting by not being in any rush to overwhelm the player (contrary to its reputation). Aside from the first, every map brings new and interesting ideas to the table, but until the late maps, they don't pile on any more than necessary. As a result the maps, while hard, are never unduely taxing to play, demanding 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 level of attention, while doing what it can to 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 said attention.
( I think this is where magnum opus syndrome comes from - demanding attention without earning it - but that's all tangential)
FW is different - rather than not having filler maps, it is almost devoid of filler fights. The effect is exhausting when starting out, but once you get going, it is exhiliarating. It avoids the phenomenon of every map competing for attention by continuously escalating the stakes, each map more dramatic or intense than the last. (map06 is the exception to this, but makes up for it with the single best secret area ever made)

Wait... this forum has downvotes 😄

Map 33, 34 and 35 to hold overflow maps for all ports, and xINFO to provide access to them in modern day ports

@Devalaous Yeah, I agree, an IOS ending is lame and underwhelming after playing 29 maps, IOS's place nowadays, if any, should only be in the middle of the set as a mid-boss.

For me, Death's Bells was unlike all the other tracks back when all I had was the four Doom IWADs. All these rock midis, spooky midis, then there was this one midi unlike all the rest that was just plain enchanting and powerful, and also situated on Wormhole, one of the most atmospheric maps. I remember that my PC at the time had a specifc soundcard in it that made that midi really awesome, and source ports and upgraded PCs later on never captured the original feel.

There was also a neat remix of it on OC Remix that was...haunting.

Into the Beast's Belly is notable for being loud and a perfect action map midi, and it fits the final map so damn well, to the point that when I was working on TNT2 with Kyka, I asked Bucket to make a track that used the opening notes of it as a callback, as at that point in time, the first map of TNT2 started in front of the dead broken IoS from Last Call. This was lost in translation in Revilution, when we inherited that midi, but Jaws threw out my plan of also starting at the IoS (We were going to make it start at the blue-eyed IoS seen in the BOSSBACK for Evilution), but ive heard that the opening notes of Beasts Belly energise most players and get them in the mood for TNT, so I definitely did SOMETHING right asking for that!

@Cuppykeks said in Stupid things in maps that bother you:

Wait what's the pushback against UV? Do they put an inaccessible monster on UV only or is it something even weirder?

Stuff like the drama over Magnolia, with Ribbiks sabotaging his own wad and making you submit demos of HMP to get the un-cut version, as well as offering bonus maps to the first lucky people, due to his longstanding grudge against 'UV only', then there was the weird conversation on DW where a bunch of elite modders were plotting ways to screw over UV max players, whole thing just really comes across as exceptionally rude to me. Like, why be so weirdly hostile to your userbase? I just dont get it. Maxing out the items, kills and secrets has been part of the game for almost 30 years, and people have been playing on UV for almost as long.

On other subjects; one thing I forgot to mention was widescreen stuff. We live in 2022, in an age where pretty much every TV and monitor you'll ever see is 16:9 minimum. Even Doom and Strife's official rereleases have everything in 16:9 now. It baffles me that 99% of the Doom community hasnt adapted, and that some of the bigger ports like Eternity STILL dont support widescreen, when the 'shitty Unity port' does. It makes me a tad grumpy that even with the widescreen asset thread and the IWADs all being nicely WSed on GZDoom courtesy of Nash, people arent budging in the slightest. Is it really so hard to start your new assets in widescreen THEN reduce them to 4:3 for older ports? You futureproof it that way.

Yes, im picky and cantankerous, I know 😛 Its one of many side effects of working in a video game industry firsthand, changes how you look at modding. Theres a level of efficeincy and forward thinking you get used to, at least, where I worked.