OTTAWAU.WAD ver 0.9 (OTTAWA09.WAD)

Jean-Serge Gagnon released and updated his Forest Valley PWAD through 1994-1995. The final publication included a teaser for his next subject - the Ottawa University that must have been near and dear to his heart. OTTAWAU was never properly finished. Gagnon had planned out level names for the entire episode but in spite of the "ver 0.9" descriptor, the set only spans E1M1-E1M5 and E1M9. E1M5 only has the starting area built and it's apparent after perusing README.1ST that Gagnon and his team were not even finished with the maps that are included in OTTAWAU. This more or less final version was published in March of '95, a few days after the last version of FOREST.

ENTRY (ENTRY.WAD)

ENTRY
by Josie "Morgana" Austin

ENTRY is a fairly unremarkable OG Doom map from 1996 with a sweet coda, revealed some sixteen years after its release. It's a small E1M1 replacement, showing just over seventy monsters, and the only release from one Josie Austin, aka Morgana, who was apparently to author an entire episode which never materialized. You're some kind of prisoner who was supposed to be released, only to be forced through a deadly gauntlet after being shot in the leg by your escort, ostensibly for the sadistic satisfaction of the keepers. It isn't revealed whether they honor letting you free if you manage to escape, presumably because Josie never got that far.

CHORDG (CHORDG.WAD)

CHORDG
by Malcolm Sailor

There's something about loading up a Malcolm Sailor map - particularly the CHORD series - that evokes a sense of dread and impending loss of all self-respect. Sailor nailed a very distinct style on UV play that I'd label as, I dunno, scavenger. They're super-hard for a variety of reasons and the monster count has little do do with it (sitting at a little more than seventy to start with). The levels are often claustrophobic with Sailor acting as an authoritarian when it comes to things like weapon and ammo placement. If punching revenants with the berserk pack isn't your bag, well, too bad! CHORDG is the fourth level in this mapset, occupying the MAP29 slot in Doom II.

Jägermörder - 01 : Chemical Lab (DMDJM01.WAD)

JÄGERMÖRDER 01
CHEMICAL LAB
by Derek "Afterglow" Mac Donald

Derek Mac Donald, otherwise known as Afterglow, is more known for his deathmatch works than anything, so it's interesting to see such a dedicated author take a run at the single player side of Doom. Mac Donald wouldn't release the second Jägermörder level until 2005, but in 1999 he published this single level - Chemical Lab - for Doom II, to be run in Boom-compatible ports. It's a short MAP01 replacement in a techbase style. The supplied story describes a Hellish invasion in the Colorado Rocky Mountains where UAC computer anomalies were ascribed to ever-infamous Microsoft malfunctions. The oversight allowed the demons to slip in, so it's up to you to fight to the teleporter technology they used to enter and slay the source on the other side.

CHORD2 (CHORD2.WAD)

CHORD2
by Malcolm Sailor

Malcolm Sailor's claim to fame is the CHORD series, which consists of small, brutal, but gorgeous levels. Imagine my surprise when I open up CHORD2, the second map in the sequence, and find that it fields not only 150 or so monsters, but is also a very large level to boot. CHORD2 was released in 1997, replaces MAP26 of Doom II, and is something of an enormous castle. Sailor provides no story, nor does it really need one.

CHORD1 (CHORD1.WAD)

CHORD1
by Malcolm Sailor

Malcolm Sailor loved (loves?) Sverre Kvernmo, hated Tim Willits (and probably still does), and thinks that the CHORD series is the best level set he's ever done. CHORD1 is the first map in his pet project, a MAP25 replacement for Doom II published in '97 that looks something like Doom II's Hellish fortress / mansions. His CHORDs are renowned for being short but brutal affairs, interesting some of the best and brightest of demo recorders. CHORD1 sets the standard with a berserk pack and two revenants in a circular room. I hope you're good at fisting, because you'll have to do some punching before the day is done.