Give WADs To Cat

[redacted_cat]

My bias is real, I like modded old FPS stuff and Doom WADs are definitely an easy thing to get some into that stuff.

There's just so many of them and I can't help but say it'd be nutty sharing some of that stuff here.

Goes without saying MyHouse was a nice intro to quite some around, but I feel it'd be nutty sending a few other nice ones here to share that love too:

Siren's quite a nutty one from bits I tried a few months back, legit some nice horror mod feeling like a mix of Dead Space with Doom 3, with some enemies kinda going around SA-X style at points


Can't help but also bring Going Down, a more vanilla experience with some legit cool idea in it where all levels are in some office building and more you go down and more things get surreal and trippy.
It's also made by Cyriak (yes, the surreal animator), the music in it gives a bit the feel of their videos too.


Divine Frequency is a wild ride, it's still a demo but worth keeping an eye on when it'll be out or when any updates will be done on it.
Slight hints of Bloodborne vibes appearing here and there in the game, along with sorta souls-ish boss fights (demo has one, it's wild). Won't lie I'm curious seeing more since it seems to shape like it'll have some wild lore to go along with it.


Lycanthorn definitely is another one to add on top, some crazy good (even if kinda easy) Castlevania inspired WAD with cool looks, Scumhead's WADs all got that kind of vibe for artwork and it's a nice treat to see.
OST is also a banger in it.


Heavily biased around Supplice since its 1st EP's early access state on Steam.
Had to bring that one up even if it's a Steam game since it's a very good WAD worth spending money on imo.
Hinted to get 6 episodes in it, 4 are already out, and I can say it's highly worth giving that thing a try if wanting something looking like if the Build Engine went having a Marathon brain blast for adding lore all around it (down to having an ally definitely being a clear Durandal inspiration, without spoiling more).
Will warn in advance levels are VERY long on 1st time in them and that some encounters do get really mean later on (EP3 and 4 got a lot of rough moments).


Feel I'll go with these ones to start so I don't go flooding the whole thread with waaay too many in one go XD

[Lolo De Puzlo]

If you are looking for modded DooM madness, I will windmill slam down a link to Reelism 2
http://reelism.dog



There's a lot I could say about this, but really you just kinda gotta play it for yourself.
If you like randomized wave modes, this game is great. It's got a Gender Reveal Bomb weapon!

[redacted_cat]

If you are looking for modded DooM madness, I will windmill slam down a link to Reelism 2
http://reelism.dog



There's a lot I could say about this, but really you just kinda gotta play it for yourself.
If you like randomized wave modes, this game is great. It's got a Gender Reveal Bomb weapon!

I THINK I saw that one mentioned around! Name's familiar lol
I'm not too into random wave fight stuff personally and tend to stick more to either exploration or more sorta traditional level design stuff personally XD I mean cool if some can get into that but I just...can't, slaughtermaps make me insta sour as an example too, even when I kinda try my best -learning- it just doesn't work.

If wanting some wild trip too, could send Memoirs of Magic too which I need to do a full run of it someday.
Got coop in it and it's also giving off some slight Mario RPG meeting Undertale vibes while having levels kinda feeling like stuff out of Link's Awakening or Oracle Of Seasons/Ages.

[Mixi Blacksand]

I have to give a shoutout to my all time favorite gameplay PWAD, Demonsteele! It takes the 'movement is defense' aspect of Doom and runs with it. All hitscan attacks are replaced with projectile-based alternatives. You've got slides to dodge and a sword scabbard that can reflect projectiles. By default, the standard health system is replaced with a 'get hit X times and you're out,' where X depends on difficulty.

And then killing gives you charge attacks that get powerful enough to go toe to toe with slaughtermaps.



Reelism has already been mentioned, but Kinsie has another fun gameplay PWAD, Meta Doom. It asks, what if Doom 2 was... every Doom? Even the Java flip phone ones.

[redacted_cat]

I have to give a shoutout to my all time favorite gameplay PWAD, Demonsteele! It takes the 'movement is defense' aspect of Doom and runs with it. All hitscan attacks are replaced with projectile-based alternatives. You've got slides to dodge and a sword scabbard that can reflect projectiles. By default, the standard health system is replaced with a 'get hit X times and you're out,' where X depends on difficulty.

And then killing gives you charge attacks that get powerful enough to go toe to toe with slaughtermaps.



Reelism has already been mentioned, but Kinsie has another fun gameplay PWAD, Meta Doom. It asks, what if Doom 2 was... every Doom? Even the Java flip phone ones.

Oh wow! ngl that's all some fancy lookin' stuff right there oh my!
May yoink that and sliiiiiiide that in faved pages.

Speaking of wacky movement tech stuff, feel I gotta get that here too:
There's some sort of Indiana Jones inspired WAD which is crazy good and has some fancy airdash techs to get some secrets or get around map, highly recommend that TC!

Venturous is absolutely nuts

[Mixi Blacksand]

I suppose I should offer at least one level megawad too. In that case I present Ancient Aliens. A vanilla-ish romp, but man the vibes are perfect.

[redacted_cat]

I suppose I should offer at least one level megawad too. In that case I present Ancient Aliens. A vanilla-ish romp, but man the vibes are perfect.

Oh yeah! Saw that one's stated to be a classic around! Seeing it in a lot of threads when checking for highly rated Doom WADs to try out, liking also Back To Saturn X if wanting another one along those lines!

[Sugar Meowth]

Can't help but also bring Going Down, a more vanilla experience with some legit cool idea in it where all levels are in some office building and more you go down and more things get surreal and trippy.
It's also made by Cyriak (yes, the surreal animator), the music in it gives a bit the feel of their videos too.

I go through brief phases once or twice a year where I get into Doom again (and am currently extremely in one). Usually this boils down to looking at recent Cacoward winners and mentions and peeking at whatever looks cool. I usually want a more classic experience than total conversions but Doom's definitely got something for everybody!

I tried Going Down some years back and it's incredibly well made but boy is is brutal! Luckily last year Cyriak revisited it and made an easier, streamlined version designed to be something you can beat in an afternoon (that's still a little generous, maybe a full day imo). Going Down Turbo is much more approachable and I had a ton of fun going through it last month. There's some really creative use of vanilla textures and making neat special effects like using detonators to blow up cavern walls.

I've written about a few of the WADs I've played on my blog, and highly recommend binding a side mouse button that otherwise goes unused into a screenshot key. I get to take a ton of screenshots during play now and just have all these nice shots of cool architecture or memorable fights. Been meaning to do one for Going Down Turbo. https://pokyfriends.com/blog/tag/doom/

Some others I'd recommend include:

Deep Breath


Descend to the bottom of the ocean where oops an experiment went wrong and demons killed everyone! Lots of tight enclosed spaces and a good rusty vibe. The underwater motif isn't just looking out windows though, the radiation suit is replaced with scuba gear and there are moments where you have to traverse the ocean depths and make it back inside before running out of air! It's just a simple reskin and blue tint when you're outside, no physics changes or anything, but the effect feels appropriately like it would be something to gawk at in the early-90s.

Machete

Macehete is a Scythe-inspired megawad that hit a real nice sweet spot in difficulty for me. The maps felt like something I had to really work my way through, and it can get slaughter-y at times for sure. It's probably my favorite WAD with no real duds in it. I'm only just now realizing it was a NanoWADmo entry so it was made in a month?!

Throughout the levels there are some obvious sections that are blocked off and meant to open "later", which culminates at the end of the game where you go back through sections of the old maps with these spaces now opening up and having to do even more intense fights in familiar locations, a few of which you'll already associate with being the tough parts of the maps.


It also has what's by far my favorite map31 concept, just making you play through a Deathmatch map populated by a bunch of those marines with plasma rifle enemies. Getting to map32 requires getting all the keys within a time limit so you have no time to play cautiously and have to go in guns blazing. It's like you're fighting bots on an empty multiplayer server.

Zone 400

Lastly wanna plug Zone 400, a megawad with a self-imposed limitation of only using 400 lines per map. Despite this, it's still able to do so much with so little, making great use of hidden closets with teleport lines to spread monsters out quickly.

I am now officially tired of writing about Doom, but looking my screenshots folder I also really enjoyed "Dustdevil", a massive hub map with teleporters to a few smaller regions that relies on non-linear design so you can approach most fights from several angles. The "Glaive" trilogy is another Scythe-inspired set of maps that I found helpful as an aspiring mapper as you can really see how the author improves at mapping. (The third one was a runner up for a Cacoward, but playing through the first I thought the layouts felt like something I could conceivably make myself and how compelling a WAD can be even if it's not the prettiest.)

Oh wait, gotta make sure to promote RAMP!



RAMP (Rabbit's All-Comers Mapping Project) is a community project designed to get people who have never made a Doom map before to try it! DavidN started the project a few years ago now and it immediately became the largest community mapping project in Doom's history. Folks are encouraged to learn mapping skills, and with a convenient hub to access them all from, it's easier for your map to get some attention. Plenty of streamers will tackle RAMP as well as David himself. I participated for the first time this year after making my first map this past October!


Check out map #117 - Stagnant Waterworks! I'm really happy with how it came out though I still have lots to learn

[Rua Whitepaw]

No list of Doom WADs is complete without mentioning Eviternity and its sequel! These are two very beautiful and polished WADs, I believe regarded as one of the best in the community.

[redacted_cat]

No list of Doom WADs is complete without mentioning Eviternity and its sequel! These are two very beautiful and polished WADs, I believe regarded as one of the best in the community.

Oh yeah a friend of mine swears by Eviternity and I heard nice things about it! Haven't tried it yet but seems it'll be something to give a go someday!

Seriously with all posts the thread got here I feel it could be nutty getting maybe some Zandronum custom coop WADs runs shenanigans a spin, haven't used it in a while but I'm wondering how it'd be to just load up random maps and just have a deathball of people in some maps as coop stuff

[redacted_cat]

Can't help but also bring Going Down, a more vanilla experience with some legit cool idea in it where all levels are in some office building and more you go down and more things get surreal and trippy.
It's also made by Cyriak (yes, the surreal animator), the music in it gives a bit the feel of their videos too.

I go through brief phases once or twice a year where I get into Doom again (and am currently extremely in one). Usually this boils down to looking at recent Cacoward winners and mentions and peeking at whatever looks cool. I usually want a more classic experience than total conversions but Doom's definitely got something for everybody!

I tried Going Down some years back and it's incredibly well made but boy is is brutal! Luckily last year Cyriak revisited it and made an easier, streamlined version designed to be something you can beat in an afternoon (that's still a little generous, maybe a full day imo). Going Down Turbo is much more approachable and I had a ton of fun going through it last month. There's some really creative use of vanilla textures and making neat special effects like using detonators to blow up cavern walls.

I've written about a few of the WADs I've played on my blog, and highly recommend binding a side mouse button that otherwise goes unused into a screenshot key. I get to take a ton of screenshots during play now and just have all these nice shots of cool architecture or memorable fights. Been meaning to do one for Going Down Turbo. https://pokyfriends.com/blog/tag/doom/

Some others I'd recommend include:

Deep Breath


Descend to the bottom of the ocean where oops an experiment went wrong and demons killed everyone! Lots of tight enclosed spaces and a good rusty vibe. The underwater motif isn't just looking out windows though, the radiation suit is replaced with scuba gear and there are moments where you have to traverse the ocean depths and make it back inside before running out of air! It's just a simple reskin and blue tint when you're outside, no physics changes or anything, but the effect feels appropriately like it would be something to gawk at in the early-90s.

Machete

Macehete is a Scythe-inspired megawad that hit a real nice sweet spot in difficulty for me. The maps felt like something I had to really work my way through, and it can get slaughter-y at times for sure. It's probably my favorite WAD with no real duds in it. I'm only just now realizing it was a NanoWADmo entry so it was made in a month?!

Throughout the levels there are some obvious sections that are blocked off and meant to open "later", which culminates at the end of the game where you go back through sections of the old maps with these spaces now opening up and having to do even more intense fights in familiar locations, a few of which you'll already associate with being the tough parts of the maps.


It also has what's by far my favorite map31 concept, just making you play through a Deathmatch map populated by a bunch of those marines with plasma rifle enemies. Getting to map32 requires getting all the keys within a time limit so you have no time to play cautiously and have to go in guns blazing. It's like you're fighting bots on an empty multiplayer server.

Zone 400

Lastly wanna plug Zone 400, a megawad with a self-imposed limitation of only using 400 lines per map. Despite this, it's still able to do so much with so little, making great use of hidden closets with teleport lines to spread monsters out quickly.

I am now officially tired of writing about Doom, but looking my screenshots folder I also really enjoyed "Dustdevil", a massive hub map with teleporters to a few smaller regions that relies on non-linear design so you can approach most fights from several angles. The "Glaive" trilogy is another Scythe-inspired set of maps that I found helpful as an aspiring mapper as you can really see how the author improves at mapping. (The third one was a runner up for a Cacoward, but playing through the first I thought the layouts felt like something I could conceivably make myself and how compelling a WAD can be even if it's not the prettiest.)

Oh wait, gotta make sure to promote RAMP!



RAMP (Rabbit's All-Comers Mapping Project) is a community project designed to get people who have never made a Doom map before to try it! DavidN started the project a few years ago now and it immediately became the largest community mapping project in Doom's history. Folks are encouraged to learn mapping skills, and with a convenient hub to access them all from, it's easier for your map to get some attention. Plenty of streamers will tackle RAMP as well as David himself. I participated for the first time this year after making my first map this past October!


Check out map #117 - Stagnant Waterworks! I'm really happy with how it came out though I still have lots to learn

Aaaay fellow cats appreciating Doom WADs!

Quite a good selection you got there, oh my!
Can't lie it's been nice having Cacowards as a good starting point when finding new stuff out there~

Didn't knew there was a remake of Going Down made, may have to check that out too!

[Mixi Blacksand]

Not quite a WAD but I will mention there exists a VR fork of GZDoom if you want to play in a new way entirely. It can be more than a little jank, but it's so fun I forgive sometimes having to wave a cutout sprite of a custom weapon around. Since it's just GZDoom under the hood, you can at least attempt to play most WADS on it.

Fair warning if you try to play Reelism 2 in VR, though - the effect that makes your screen wobble? Yeah, that's not synced between eyes. Instant headache at best.

[redacted_cat]

Not quite a WAD but I will mention there exists a VR fork of GZDoom if you want to play in a new way entirely. It can be more than a little jank, but it's so fun I forgive sometimes having to wave a cutout sprite of a custom weapon around. Since it's just GZDoom under the hood, you can at least attempt to play most WADS on it.

Fair warning if you try to play Reelism 2 in VR, though - the effect that makes your screen wobble? Yeah, that's not synced between eyes. Instant headache at best.

Oi on that note! There IS a VR mod for Quake also! Haven't played it in a bit I super vouch for checking it out!
Legit some wizardry there!

From what I remember, it also has multiplayer and deathmatch support so I'm also curious about that side of it
https://github.com/vittorioromeo/quakevr/releases

[Bobinator]

If you haven't tried Slap the Sentinel yet, I'd absolutely recommend it. It's one of those total conversions that almost barely feels like Doom, which is impressive enough in its own right. The way I'd describe it is... imagine if Treasure, in their prime, made an FPS set in the Sonic universe. You can even play it with a Genesis controller; it's not quite ideal, but I'm just amazed that you can even make it work.



If you want something fun but a bit more recognizably Doom, Adventures of Square has a really colorful aesthetic and some pretty fun levels, even if they tend to be maybe a little too big.



And if you want to use whatever level WAD you're currently going through with something extra, Demonsteele is somebody's best attempt at turning Doom into a character action game, where you'll slaughter the demonic hordes with a katana and wave through attacks with an i-frame dash. It can be somewhat jank at times, but still a lot of fun.

[redacted_cat]

If you haven't tried Slap the Sentinel yet, I'd absolutely recommend it. It's one of those total conversions that almost barely feels like Doom, which is impressive enough in its own right. The way I'd describe it is... imagine if Treasure, in their prime, made an FPS set in the Sonic universe. You can even play it with a Genesis controller; it's not quite ideal, but I'm just amazed that you can even make it work.



If you want something fun but a bit more recognizably Doom, Adventures of Square has a really colorful aesthetic and some pretty fun levels, even if they tend to be maybe a little too big.



And if you want to use whatever level WAD you're currently going through with something extra, Demonsteele is somebody's best attempt at turning Doom into a character action game, where you'll slaughter the demonic hordes with a katana and wave through attacks with an i-frame dash. It can be somewhat jank at times, but still a lot of fun.

Oh my! That 1st one you sent looks kinda nice! Hot damn!

Did try the Adventures of Cube one way back on stream and it was kinda nice too!

[DrTeflon]

I havent messed around a lot in Doom in the last couple of months, but two Wads I really liked playing was Neon Overdrive Neon Overdrive

The vibes are off the chart:

While it's designed for pistol start, you can use it with Diamond Dragon mod for ultimate zoomies

[redacted_cat]

I havent messed around a lot in Doom in the last couple of months, but two Wads I really liked playing was Neon Overdrive Neon Overdrive

The vibes are off the chart:
YGQlrC1.png

While it's designed for pistol start, you can use it with Diamond Dragon mod for ultimate zoomies

Oh my that DOES look nice, kinda having mind thinking also of Time Tripper which is another I feel I need to check out someday

[Mixi Blacksand]

Time Tripper is GORGEOUS but relies so heavily on 'lock you in a room and teleport in waves of enemies' gameplay I don't really enjoy it.