ea Gothic 1 (EAGOTH1.WAD)

EA GOTHIC 1

by Erik Alm

2001 was Erik's coming out party, starting off with a handful of submissions to Sam Woodman's One Week Mapping Contest before moving on to his first solo release, the relatively large Europa 1. He continued his frenzy of activity along a different path with ea Gothic 1. This is still a level for Boom-compatible ports but it's a much smaller, intimate affair that requires the beloved Gothic DeathMatch II texture pack. The product is a MAP27 replacement for Doom II, presumably because Alm appreciated the combination of Hellish sky and the curious atmosphere of "Waiting For Romero to Play".

Europa 1 (EAEURO01.WAD)

EUROPA 1

by Erik Alm

Erik has gone on to great fame with Scythe II often lauded as the direct ancestor of the Doom community's current gameplay standards. He humbly began in 2001, though, kicking out five submissions for Sam Woodman's One Week Mapping Contest. Thus spurred into action, he started an impressive array of small solo releases. Europa 1 was his first such publication, a Doom II MAP22 replacement for Boom-compatible ports. If you're looking for something on the level of the 2003 Scythe's short, accessible first two episodes then, well, hunt somewhere else. This one is large and, as is the case with Alm's early output, not particularly fair.

Nexus (NEXUS.WAD)

NEXUS

by Brad "Vorpal" Spencer

2001 was a pretty big year for Brad. When I last left our hero we had just seen Maximum Breakdown in 1999, a level that tested some of the fledgling ZDoom engine's capabilities. 2000 gave us the publication of Atomic Tomb, a hard-hitting OG Doom level in Spencer's swampy style, as well as a few deathmatch releases (Freonic Craze, Fury of Procyon, and Terror's Wing). 2001 brought one more of the latter - Sector X-9: Silo Control - as well as the first version of Alien Vendetta, which had five Vorpal ventures. Nexus came in between and marks the logical end of the author's trend from ZDoom to Boom, finally settling into vanilla. A result of his participation in AV, perhaps? This is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II and should play back in anything, though Brad takes care to stress the original .EXE.