Vrack 2b (VRACK2B.WAD)

VRACK 2B

by Fredrik Johansson

The original Vrack was released back in 2000, inspired by Dystopia 3's MAP04 and LucasArts's Dark Forces. The name of the game was a base in space and a big one at that. Fredrik's orbital platform was a pretty novel setting, but it didn't quite catch the eye of the public as strongly as its sequel did, leading to its enshrinement as one of Doomworld's Top 10 WADs of 2001. There are actually two versions of the sequel on the archives, original and extra crispy (2b). All of the changes are under the hood, adding Deathmatch starts, a REJECT table, and cleaning up the artificiality of the void; the original remains for demo compatibility purposes. That said, this review was written on Vrack 2b, a MAP01 replacement for Doom II and designed for Boom.

Vrack (VRACK.WAD)

VRACK

by Fredrik Johansson

Vrack 2 gets all the accolades as the face that launched a thousand space station levels, but Fredrik Johansson started out with just plain Vrack back in the year 2000. If you don't know who he is, well, you may have seen him up at the top of Doomworld's Post Hell. He's also done some other really cool things for the community, like create the Omgifol tool used to generate those lovely automap-type images and start up the Doom Wiki project. The original Vrack is his first publication, a MAP01 replacement for Doom II to be played in Boom-compatible ports. The story about as threadbare as can be ("somewhere on a base located somewhere in space") and references contemporary Doomworld forum member Mewse, so just take it for what it is: an excuse to go slaying demons on a big space platform.

Null Space (NULSPACE.WAD)

NULL SPACE
by Russell Pearson

Russell Pearson started making maps back in the early days of the community but then took a break until 2000 where he started looking over his unreleased works originally created as part of a TC entitled DoomTown3. The author ended up putting his past behind him while working on a level to better reflect his changed sensibilities as of the year 2000. He even went so far as to axe a section of level that he liked but felt did not fit the spirit of what he was trying to do, leading to 2001's Deleted Scene. The final product is the much beloved Null Space, a MAP01 replacement for Doom II, also released in 2001.

DoomTown (DOOMTOWN.WAD)

Russell Pearson didn't start publishing Doom maps until the year 2000 but he was working on his token ambitious TC back during the early days of Doom modding; 1995 by his estimation. DoomTown3 was probably planned to be a megaWAD but Pearson released several select levels from it - Blastem2 and Tunnel Run - as well as a small deathmatch level (Close Kill) before publishing the remainder in a micro-sized map pack called DoomTown. I imagine that the author felt compelled to put his history firmly behind him. Released in 2001, this is a three-map minisode for Doom II to be played in any port owing to its pre-source origins.

Deleted Scene (DELETED.WAD)

DELETED SCENE

by Russell Pearson

Russell Pearson released his seminal Null Space at the tail end of 2001 but not before nixing a portion of the material. Where some authors would be content to just slash and burn, though, Russell took the extract and released it on its own as a sort of extra. Deleted Scene is thus just that, plus a few small sections from the originating work in order to make it a fully functional level. The end result is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II, released in 2001 for any vanilla-compatible port. Its origin as an outtake is the closest thing you're going to get to a story but it's interesting to read Pearson's author notes. They detail why he cut it but also posture it as a sort of teaser for the impending Null Space.

Tunnel Run (TUN-RUN.WAD)

TUNNEL RUN

by Russell Pearson

Russell Pearson was one of several authors to come to the forefront during the advent of Doom's silver age resulting from the release of source such as Boom and ZDoom. Where guys like Kurt Kesler and Ed Cripps were playing around with The New Technology, though, Russell remained to hack it out in plain vanilla. At least, until he released Crypt of the Vile. His first big project was supposed to be a TC called DoomTown3 but he doled out two of its planned levels - Tunnel Run and Blastem 2 - as single level releases before publishing the other three as Doom Town proper. This review covers the second release, Tunnel Run; released in late 2000, it's a MAP01 replacement for Doom II.

Blastem2 (BLASTEM2.WAD)

BLASTEM2

by Russell Pearson

If Russell is to be believed, he started making his initial crop of maps back in 1995. The goal: a TC called DoomTown3. In 2000, he published two select entries from the TC; the language in his releases leaves room to interpret DoomTown3 as something ambitious ("presented here as a straight forward Doom2 level") but I am more inclined to believe that TC was to Russell what megaWAD is to me. DoomTown3 was never completed as the author envisioned it, but we have its finished bits and pieces. Blastem2 was the first of Pearson's levels to ever see publication, a MAP01 replacement for Doom II.

Sin City (MA_SINC*.WAD)

SIN CITY

by Ed Cripps

Ed Cripps had a pretty unassuming series of releases before his Big One; a little Doom II water plant, a new Icon of Sin level, and a pair of Knee Deep in the Dead-styled maps for the original. He knocked off single player for awhile and did some deathmatch mapping before returning almost two years later with this, Sin City. Like his previous levels, it's a MAP01 replacement for Doom II, just a bit later in 2001. Unlike his past works, though, it was made for what was at the time the cutting edge: a beta release of ZDoom. It just goes to show that making stuff for rev versions and unofficial Git builds has a long and storied tradition.

Reunion 02 (REUNION2.WAD)

REUNION 02
by Ed Cripps

Ed Cripps's Reunion series is only two levels long, both made in 1999 before entering the spotlight with Sin City and parts beyond. After starting out using the Boom engine Ed for whatever reason dialed it down to vanilla. I assume that he, like so many authors predating and following him, was attempting to cut his teeth on a familiar style. Both maps are patterned after Knee Deep in the Dead in their texture themes. Reunion 02, much like 01, occupies E1M1. The map has roughly the same amount of monsters but the number of each is a bit different. While it still has an angled-off corners feel that gives it a more organic appearance, Reunion 02's approach to level design has some key differences.