END POINT (ENDPOINT.WAD)

Another year and we are fortunate to receive another Eternal mapset. Sometimes Russia's favorite son loves to push Doom's boundaries, like the visionary Voodoo Guns. At others he's content to pay tribute to the golden age of the community as was the case with last year's ICAR2015, a loveletter to Icarus: Alien Vanguard. END POINT, released in 2016, seems to draw inspiration from the classics though I cannot recognize any particular PWAD. As enigmatic as Eternal is, he's pretty good about pointing out his authorial allusions. It's got its own complementary texture set and features seven levels of hard-hitting Doom II action.

Alpha Accident (AA_E1.WAD)

Most of what I know about Wraith came from a megaWAD I haven't played yet but am familiar with due to its subject matter: Wonderful Doom, a loving tribute to the Ultimate Doom, which many have enjoyed with others slagging it for its... thorough level of devotion. Enter Alpha Accident, another megaWAD for the original Doom that's been in development for quite some time. I remember playing the crazy demo level but I've also had the opportunity to play each map as it's been completed. As of 2016, the first episode is finished. It's basically source port agnostic, especially thanks to a bit of extra work from some helpful forums goers, but is limit-removing due to the dreaded visplane overlord (plus a few levels break game saves).

Asylum (ASYV10.WAD)

ASYLUM
by "Angry Saint"

Angry Saint's Doom debut was as a participant in Tormentor's Doomja Vu contest. Black Magnetic was an interesting, complex techbase as far as its twisted and winding layout intersected with Saint's use of 3D floors. Asylum, released in 2016, dials the choice of engine all the way back to vanilla (or, as the text file advertises, Chocolate Doom) but the author continues to evade the familiar ideas of id's publications. This time he or she utilizes textures originally created by an individual using the handle DethteX and then converted to a set by ZDoom whizzard Rick Clark, THE ULTIMATE DOOMER. The final release shares its name with the texture pack. Like so many single level releases it's a MAP01 replacement for Doom II.

Ancient Aliens (AALIENS.WAD)

About a year ago, I think, I was treated to some really cool screenshots from a secret skillsaw project, coming strong even after he had released Valiant in 2015. The color scheme was incredibly unique, looking somewhere between a coastal sunset and a Lisa Frank trapper keeper and using a lot of... alien imagery. It wasn't originally to be a full megaWAD but I guess a bunch of people couldn't wait to play around with the texture set. Thanks to skillsaw and friends, we now have Ancient Aliens. Released in 2016, it's a Boom-compatible megaWAD with some ZDoom / Eternity extras that only serve to enhance the experience.

Vispire (VISPIRE.WAD)

After an enormous outpouring of material in 2011, valkiriforce's enthusiasm seemed to taper off and apparently ended in 2013 with the release of PULSE. It was a sort of a rarities collection of rejects and stuff he had laying around from various efforts. They always come back, though, and while the majority of 2016's Vispire may be rooted in a collection of speedmapping sessions in 2013 the rest comes from a few sporadic bursts in 2015 and 2016. Altogether, it's a new 17-level megaWAD for D2, though I've gotta warn you if you're expecting something akin to Doom Core or Reverie. Vispire has a style all its own.

Somewhere in Time (INTIME.WAD)

At the risk of repeating myself... Plenty of Doom authors have opened up the editor and, imagination brimming, set out to make a full megaWAD. Sometimes things work out but they often don't. In Katamori's case his vanilla magnum opus - Somewhere in Time - suffered a major setback when he lost some of the work around the MAP15 hump and beyond, I believe due to a computer malfunction / hard drive failure / something of the like. After attempting to muster enough gumption to push through, Schmidt gave up instead capping off the work he had finished and released this fifteen (well, sixteen) Doom II map set in 2016.

Nex Credo (NEXCREDO.WAD)

Lots of Doom authors set out to craft a megaWAD. Many never make it to replacing all 32 levels and the half-finished works oftentimes languish in obscurity, something to be worked on a rainy day. The author occasionally sees fit to put the finishing touches on it and shove it out the door, grateful to be clean of it. The audience may despair of the squandered potential (as was the case with Vanguard) but they at least have something to play. Released in 2016, Jay Trent's Nex Credo follows in that grand tradition. It's an 11-level episode for Doom II and he apparently intended to pattern the final product after its starbase / city / Hell themes, just sketched by Jay's hand.

Sins of the Flesh (A_SOTF.PK3)

SINS OF THE FLESH
by "zrrion the insect"

When I committed myself to reviewing zrrion's back catalog in preparation to the curiously strong Mouldy Old Void, I did not know that he had another release languishing somewhere in a half-assed (but well-intentioned) community project. Thankfully, he was kind enough to pull this level back out for a solo publication and gently notified me of its availability. Sins of the Flesh is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II to be played in GZDoom. Made sometime in 2014 but released to the archives in 2016, it's also sort of an aesthetic sequel to his previous The Blood of Virgins.