Ultimate Doom Project Leftovers (UDPL.WAD)

Memfis established a reputation as a crafter of levels that would be fine openers for megaWADs because, well, he perennially started larger projects and stalled after the first level or so. Hence Ultimate Doom Project Leftovers, an archival release from 2012 that was published to /idgames in 2013. There is something morbidly amusing in UDPL as a demonstration of why he was pigeonholed into the "XXM1" / "MAP01" characterization, given that it replaces the first level of each of Ultimate Doom's four episodes. If you are looking for a more "substantial" experience, then UDPL will probably not make a convert of you. Its levels are short and not even classically difficult, insofar as how they differ from the standards set by id's own E1M1, E2M1, E3M1, and E4M1. They are assumed to be vanilla-compatible but may require a limit-removing source port.

The author has not been one to write traditional Doom scene-setting flash fiction so the story is left to the imagination of the player. Are each of these the first scenes of acts of a long, OG Doom-like campaign? Is Doomguy merely making stopovers in the fringes of enemy territory, only a weekender in Phobos, Deimos, and beyond? Or are these satellite locations of the Mars teleportation experiments, with you making stopovers in these places in order to oust some scant remains of demonic activity? Based on the .TXT it's the first one but it's a little more fun to imagine it as the last since it would pun on the release's given name. (Not that this excludes the general thrust of the plot from applying to the others.)

This small set of morsels is good for fun and, generally speaking, fast Ultimate Doom. Memfis has a particular philosophy when it comes to tuning encounters and resources that is austere in comparison to John Romero's Knee Deep in the Ammo but keeps the action moving at a good clip, as opposed to Sandy "Two Cacodemons" Petersen. The best way that I can describe it is a sort of very gentle survival horror where you save the pistol for the basic zombimen and as a finishing weapon for stuff that the shotgun didn't outright kill. This way, you always have shells for imps and bigger things and are thus spared the indignity of slowly chipping away at spectres in the dark or, God forbid, cacodemons.

The other half of this battle of attrition is governed by the availability of health. You can get away with playing fairly loose in "Unwelcome Visitor" (E1M1) and "Demon Hunter" (E2M1) but "A Quite Place in Hell" (E3M1) and "Summer of Doom" (E4M1) require a bit more caution as they inherit more of the frugal health sensibilities of Ultimate Doom's "Hell Beneath", though not absolutely. There are a handful of stimpacks scattered about "Summer", for instance, and the level isn't lousy with shotgun guys or, for that matter, anything more potent than a lone cacodemon near the end. The relatively tight ammo balance feeds back into the dearth of health by drawing the player into spending more time exposed to monster attacks in order to conserve ammo. 

Memfis declined to offer difficulty settings but, if you play these levels on ITYTD, then you'll get some rip-roaring shotgun-fed blastathons thanks to the doubled ammo and halved damage. There are times where I wonder if the whole scene wouldn't benefit from having a built-in UV alternative that keeps the same monster count but applies the extra ammo and reduced damage modifier. I doubt that it would be all that useful in fostering players into appreciating slaughter who otherwise wouldn't but I wonder about the knockabout, Plutonia-style and its myriad descendants.

UDPL is pretty approachable on its own, however, and if you're looking for a quick romp through all four themes of The Ultimate Doom then this ought to fit the bill as long as you're not expecting to face anything more formidable than demons and spectres. A full-fledged megaWAD like his beloved 2002: A Doom Odyssey may not have been in the cards given his temperament but it's great to get what we can.

ULTIMATE DOOM

PROJECT LEFTOVERS

by "Memfis"

EPISODE ONE

Unwelcome Visitor

E1M1

The thing that strikes me most about this E1-themed techbase level is how squat the ceilings are. This is to some extent endemic of Knee Deep in the Dead's connective tissue but it really sank in during this level's opening moments. Memfis has still crowbarred in some height variation; I like the pit in the northern edge of the level that you have to enter in order to raise the bars. I also really like the layout of the computer room directly north of the windowed walkway that links the northern and southern parts together. The player can't immediately see which way is forward and is forced to peek behind the panel-blocked cubby holes, naturally driving exploration. The combat is very easygoing E1 stuff and limited to both zombie types and imps. The author has included two monster closet ambushes. The one in the pit is so ineffectual that it borders on Doomcute. The other is toothless enough that it feels like a "why bother?" moment but for the fact that, well, it's a decent enough warmup for the map slot. Memfis has declined to enforce ammo- and armament-austerity upon the player. It's virtually impossible to enter the main body of the level without at least walking past a shotgun (or one in the hands of a sergeant).

EPISODE TWO

E2M1

Demon Hunter

This is a "corrupted techbase" with a few Hell-warped rooms sporting things like crosses on the ceiling or baleful red ceiling lights. The centerpiece of the map looks like a settling pond with an something resembling a four-bladed agitator. As you explore you'll poke your nose into a small but mandatory dip into toxic green water and, shortly thereafter, a clean, concrete computer annex. Memfis decides to save you the trip back by having a key door route you back to and through the water processing chamber. It's a pleasant example of economy of design. The gunplay is virtually indistinguishable from shareware insofar as its bestiary only adds demons on top of the three beasties from "Visitor". There are plenty of bullets but not so many shells. If you decided to get a little shotgun-silly then I suppose that you might be forced to resort to the handgun. You generally have plenty of room to back into, however, so the player is rarely exposed to any real pressure. At least, judging by modern sensibilities. People unused to lazily loping away from demons may have a more exciting time and the tech center triplicate monster closet ambush is a nice little rumble.

EPISODE THREE

A Quiet Place In Hell

E3M1

Memfis shakes the techbase trappings of E1M1 and E2M1 for an unmistakably Hellish level. It sort of feels like a rewrite of "Hell Beneath", but not because of any soul-crushing difficulty. Rather, the first red brick area brings to my mind E4M1's starting zone and the ensuing trek into infernal caverns suggests the title. The un-naturalistic scenery comes as a nice change. I like the juxtaposition of giant, red brick and the igneous-like dark rock that makes up the earthen walls. The layout has a similar motif to E2M1 in that, after grabbing the key, there is a direct shortcut back toward the starting area where the exit is. The author ratchets up the difficulty a bit with more monsters hiding in out of the way places and given opportunities to sneak up on the player. You also feel Memfis's inclination toward ammo austerity as well, and while it's not overdone you might have to scrape for shells. And, uh, resort to the pistol when necessary, particularly for plain ol' zombies. None of the encounters stand out much but the southwestern recess with the ledge-bound imps feels the most dynamic.

EPISODE FOUR

E4M1

Summer of Doom

This is a fun wood, marble, and metal E4-style map with a cool layout. You have your pick of three different directions to pursue once you access the level's atrium, which has my favorite architecture of the set. The author utilizes some classic-era elements of three-dimensional layouts with a lift-bridge combo and a required ledge-hopping bit. I initially failed to recognize that I had to mountain goat my way over to the red key. As a neat aside, the outdoor yard which sports the exit is visible from an early-accessed balcony, making for a neat interconnection. This is about the closest to a "typical" Memfis level in terms of ammo balance. The shells are a little less forthcoming, though, so there's a slight chance that you may have to resort to using the sidearm in a less optimal fashion. The opposition consists of Doom trash enemies with the sole exception being a lone cacodemon which foolishly attempts to engage you in a wide-open area. This, however, is merely a ruse. The level has a few sizable teleporter incursions at key points, with the rush toward the conclusion being my favorite.

GREETINGS, MORSEL