DICKIE07 (DICKIE07.WAD)

DICKIE07
by Richard Wiles

The DICKIE series consists of ten maps released for Doom II in 1998 by Richard Wiles. DICKIE07 is the seventh map in the sequence, uploaded to the archives right as April rolled over to May. The beginning of the series, DICKIE01, portrayed some spacefaring entity touching down on a planet inhabited by demons, intending to purify it. After killing the enemy leader right off the bat, you spend the rest of the levels gallivanting around the world, scourging it of all the hangers-on. DICKIE07's theme is a green marble fortress with lots of (non-toxic) blood, with some dark gray brick areas and computer terminals (the last found chiefly in the western area, Wiles's favorite section of the map). With the orange sky, he's kind of got a Thy Flesh Consumed theme going on.

DICKIE06: Hell Henge (DICKIE06.WAD)

DICKIE06
"HELL HENGE"
by Richard Wiles

Richard Wiles released ten Doom II maps in 1998, comprising the DICKIE series. DICKIE06 is, uh, the sixth map in the set, given the title "Hell Henge", which is quite appropriate. Back in DICKIE01, you showed up on an alien planet to find it full of demons. You bust a few heads, find yourself fortunate enough to dispatch the commander, and then spend the rest of the levels traveling the rest of the planet, eliminating the remaining pockets of monsters so that your victory is complete. Hell Henge is quite the departure from previous maps in the series, with a supernatural color scheme worthy of "The Spirit World". Most of the level is cherry red brick and stone, but the rarely-seen yellow-cracked rock is used to great effect.

DICKIE05: Waterworld (DICKIE05.WAD)

DICKIE05
"WATERWORLD"
by Richard Wiles

DICKIE05.WAD, alternatively titled "Waterworld", is the fifth map released in Richard Wiles's DICKIE series, ten maps made for vanilla Doom II back in 1998. The decalogy chronicles the adventures of a benevolent protector of the universe who touches down on a planet overrun by Hell. After dispatching the leader in DICKIE01, the player "finishes" the job by destroying the rest of the Hellspawn so that the planet can be free of the taint of evil. Evidently, this particular outpost of Satanic forces is located in a region that's inundated with water.

DICKIE04 (DICKIE04.WAD)

DICKIE04
by Richard Wiles

Richard Wiles broke into the mapping community in 1998, unveiling his ten-map DICKIE series one installment at a time. DICKIE04 is the fourth outing, running in MAP04 of Doom II. In DICKIE01, you landed on a demon-infested planet and promptly slew the big boss, eliminating the source. The rest of the levels track the player as he (or she) runs around, clearing out the demonic remains. The adventure occurs in a variety of locales, mostly due to Wiles's vow to give each WAD its own distinct theme. For DICKIE04, this means a map split between green-walled outdoors, dark metal interiors, and a ton of lava running through it all.

DICKIE03 (DICKIE03.WAD)

DICKIE03
by Richard Wiles

DICKIE03 is – you guessed it - the third map in Richard Wiles's critically-acclaimed DICKIE series, a collection in ten parts. This particular level occupies the MAP03 slot of Doom II, designed for vanilla. The plot of the maps isn't really touched on between the first and last outings. In DICKIE01, you dropped onto a planet apropos of nothing and managed to eliminate the source of a demonic infestation by killing the boss straightaway. The following levels track your journey across (and through) the planet to oust all the insurgents until it is cleansed.

DICKIE02 (DICKIE02.WAD)

DICKIE02
by Richard Wiles

DICKIE02 is, unsurprisingly, the second map in Richard Wiles's DICKIE series, released as ten individual maps in 1998. While he parted with DICKIE01, the second in the series is the first he deemed satisfactory. It's a single map for vanilla Doom II, occupying the MAP02 slot. It basically takes off from the previous map, where you slew the demon responsible for a planet's invasion and must kill its cursed offspring afterward. Well, it's not explicitly mentioned in the .TXT, but that's the story going in to DICKIE02.

DICKIE01 (DICKIE01.WAD)

DICKIE01
by Richard Wiles

Richard Wiles began and ended his Dickie series in 1998, composed of ten maps for Doom II that form a full episode. DICKIE01 represents his first stab at mapping, posted to the archives in an attempt to gather as much feedback as possible before he rounded out the rest of the levels. Though he denigrates storytelling in the .TXT, he nonetheless felt inclined to include a little something for the people that enjoy that sort of thing. I can only assume you're some kind of superbeing, as you begin drifting in hyperspace before landing on a planet infested with Hellspawn. You find and eliminate the source at the monsters, though you're of course stuck with the inevitable clean up.

Odessa 14: Savage Morals (ODESSA14.WAD)

ODESSA 14
SAVAGE MORALS
by Bob "Odessa" Evans

Bob "Odessa" Evans was working on a megaWAD all his own, releasing single levels in a piecemeal fashion to gauge the interest of his peers. As of ODESSA14, "Savage Morals", he appeared to have abandoned LORDDOOM (the original project) altogether, instead polishing and releasing the maps as single releases. With the death of the Compuserve Action Forum, the other nine levels available at the time were lost to the ether. ODESSA14 is the only one publicly available, as it was uploaded to the archives by Evans himself. The rest, even if they are found, cannot be archived without the word of Bob, due to a restrictive distribution clause meant to deter unscrupulous shovelware producers from selling his works as part of a collection. Appropriately, the only shreds of the Odessa series left are available via shovelware discs. EDIT 04/01/14: Well, thank goodness! Bob Evans came back, or at least stuck around long enough to released his finished Odessa levels. Now let's see if he gets the Compuserve mirror up...

Base Ganymede (BGCOMP.WAD)

Base Ganymede has been a long time coming. Adam "Khorus" Woodmansey released the first episode near the tail end of '09, the second around the same time in '10, and then finished the trilogy in early '12, after pushing out KSSHT for Doom II at, again, the tail end of '11. Base Ganymede "complete" is a megaWAD for the original Doom, featuring twenty-seven levels of OG Doom action based on Jupiter's largest moon. Jupiter is no stranger to demonic activity; Chris Klie and Bob Carter put their works together to create an exploration of Callisto, Io and then Jupiter itself in the infamous Lost Episodes of Doom. Base Ganymede, however, is a much better work than the Lost Episodes in every conceivable way.

Wonderland (WL_1_0.ZIP)

Paul Stasiuk, aka "fiend-o-hell", is usually one of the first Doomers to comment on WADs uploaded to the archives. Here, he's supplied one of his own, a minisode for Doom II to be played on limit-removing ports entitled Wonderland. For your own sake, I suggest you use a more performance oriented port like PrBoom+ or at the very least, Eternity. I noticed some slowdowns playing MAP05 in ZDoom and MAP06 is virtually impossible due to a vast sea of torches that fill most of the area, slowing performance to a crawl. As to the story, well, you're a space marine stuck in a nightmare from which you must escape. To do so, you'll have to battle through an infernal wonderland of abstract locales.

Venom (VENOM.WAD)

VENOM
by Ola Björling

Before Ola released Tantrum 2, a remastering of his original Tantrum, he put out Venom, another MAP01 replacement for Doom II. The biggest noticeable difference between Tantrum (2) and Venom is that Tantrum is predominantly brown with a few green marble areas, whereas Venom is the opposite – mostly green marble with a few brown / tan brick sections. Otherwise, what you have contains much the same combat, if a bit toned down. As usual, Ola has no included storyline. Venom is just a celebration of the aesthetic pioneered in Thy Flesh Consumed.

Eternally Yours (ETRNYOUR.WAD)

Eternally Yours is the third and final entry in Michael Jan Krizik's "Doom Core" trilogy. Unlike its forebears, it's not a megaWAD, instead weighing in at an eleven-map episode for vanilla Doom II. If Doom Core and Reverie were double albums, Eternally Yours would be something of a hybrid-rarities LP, featuring three early maps since tuned up to his current standards and two birthday presents for Doomworld forum superstars "Phobus" and "Deathevokation", the other six levels being brand-new offerings much in line with his existing material. Together, it's another delight for fans of valkiriforce's style, ostensibly a way for him to make his peace with the last of his remaining earlier material.

Alkylation Episode 1: Handle With Care (ALK-EP1.WAD)

Alkylation is a work in progress by Italian Doomer "UltimateLorenzo". It's for Doom II, running in ZDoom, with this first minisode consisting of five maps. The plot is simple, reminiscent of 1997's STRAIN - a UAC base has been invaded by a new breed of Hellspawn, and it's up to you to stop them. This new wave of monsters comes carefully handpicked from Realm 667's bestiary. None of the originals feature in this outing, and a number (mostly Doom II beasties) do not have corresponding replacements. The new guys carve out their own niche in the team. The important thing to remember when playing Alkylation is that the young bloods wield vastly superior firepower.

Spawn (SPAWN.WAD)

Spawn is a five-level minisode (four maps and a boss closer) for Doom II to be ran in GZDoom, released at the tail end of 2011 by Dave Billing. Unfortunately, it received very little hype on its debut. I say that because it's a fantastic little mapset. SPAWN takes place at a UAC xenobiological research facility on the planet Epsilon Eridani III (more than ten light-years away from earth). As is usually the case, something has gone horribly wrong at the base and it's up to you to sort things out so that it never so much as touches home. You have to penetrate deep into the heart of the base and eliminate the power core in order to halt this particular invasion.

Doomed for a Year

Doomed is now more than a year old, from when I started the blog back at the tail end of last April. Its scope and layout have changed a bit. Early on I was picking WADs out at random from a huge folder of recommended items culled from various favorite lists and the first flurry of posts was just a dump of the scanty notes I'd taken on the few works I had played (which I have since beefed up, if ever so slightly). I still have the old first impressions of Evilution and Plutonia, though I'm going to be giving those a more thorough examination before too long. 

Early on I shifted from playing random works toward more focused pursuits, like playing the Moellers' TiC releases, eventually settling into going through Doomworld's Cacowards, which has been a blast, with some side trips. I also adopted an unofficial schedule which I'm happy to say I've kept to, and in some cases exceeded by posting material early, back I thought I had waaaaay too much buffer (oh regret). Nowadays I'm content to post surprise / filler reviews to stall for time when I get distracted or stuff takes too long to play through (*cough* Hell Awakened *cough*). I also made the boneheaded decision to play through the 2011 Cacowards winners and recommendations. Boy is my face red! But, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I have to admit that they were all pretty good, if not amazing (which many were).

I've seen some cool stuff I never would have thought, like drive-by comments from classic authors Tom Mustaine, Chris Klie, Dietmar Westerteicher, Jan Van Der Veken, and Adam Windsor. If I'm forgetting anyone, I'm sorry! I also see nice posts from current authors I've reviewed (valkiriforce, Skillsaw, Nil, Vordakk, ReX) and amusingly enough early commenters who now have reviews on file (deathevokation, ProcessingCentral, Snakes, darkreaver). And, of course, ancient Doomed blog buddy Herculine, whose blog now has an entirely different candor, and other posters who I haven't yet had the pleasure to review (like vdgg and Printz) Last but not least, the lurkers. I know you're out there, and thank you guys for reading!

What lies in store? Well, after finishing the final threads of the few 2012 Cacoward nominees (leaving Eviltech for now) I can finally knock out '98. The next period is a mixture of cool stuff (I swear!) from '94-'98 along with some items I'm tentatively calling "bribery reviews" that I've wanted to do for some time but have put off. Then it's on to '99 and '00, which I'm combining into one full span with both Darkening episodes back to back bridging the years. Then, who knows. I'll probably catch up with the '12 Cacoward nominees at some point. Be on the lookout for a 64-bit surprise...

Some quick stats: 160 reviews, 323 credited authors, and 1311 maps. That's roughly 2 authors per review, 8 maps per review, and 4 maps per author. Fun stuff!


And now, the ten most popular pages by pageview, according to Blogger, and my reactions:


10: Sacrament

Pimped around the Russian community, Sacrament just barely beat out Whitemare, if only because it's been a page longer.

09: Master Levels for Doom II

Like a few others on this list, I have my suspicions that a lot of these page hits are looking for warez, but a fair number were filtered through my anemic Features tab.

08: 1994 Tune-Up Community Project

Still draws a few hits daily.

07: Doom 2 Unleashed (Paul Corfiatis's Community Project)

Same as 1994TU.

06: The Phobos Directive

Dark horse candidate! Very popular review for no reason I can see through search traffic or sources, unless I missed some copious link traffic.

05: Aliens: Colonial Marines TC

Piggybacking hits off of the Colonial Marines property, for the most part, with a few looking for the '94 conversion.

04: Eternal Doom

Half of the search hits I see mentioning Eternal Doom are looking for hints, amusingly enough.

03: Star Wars: Chibi Rebellion

Like Aliens, but a much more blatant case when I see the search hits. I hope a lot of this traffic gets interested enough to download Mouse's excellent Star Wars FPS!

02: Perdition's Gate

One of the oldest posts on the blog. Also, tons of warez hits. I want to get up the gumption to petition Atari to release this as freeware...someday.

01: Hell to Pay

Ditto on every point.

Castle of Fear (CASTLEFR.WAD)

CASTLE OF FEAR
by Eli "ProcessingControl" Cohen

Castle of Fear is one of the independently release maps from Doom the Way id Did by Doomworld forum superstar "ProcessingControl". It was originally intended for DTWID's E3M8; PrC stripped the section of the map you see here and kept the boss arena, which made the cut as "Core". CASTLEFR occupies E4M6 of Ultimate Doom. It's a mid-size map cast predominantly in green marble, which may explain his seeding it in one of the Thy Flesh Consumed slots. There are a few HOM errors here and there with some of the rising floors, but it otherwise bears a workmanlike quality in its texturing that's not far off the mark when compared to the id levels.