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Text File | 1994-07-15 | 21KB | 400 lines

+=========================================================================+ | DOOM DEATHMATCH WAD RANKING | | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | | Revision Date: 07/15/94 | +=========================================================================+ Compiled by: James Dicke & "Chainsaw Jim" Urbas Dedicated to all those who love to frag their friends. =-=-=-=-= It is a shame to see many of our favorite deathmatch WAD's getting very low ratings from other reviewers... Why? Simply put, they are reviewing WAD's as stand alone games-- this was NOT the intent of most deathmatch WAD's! Thus, this list was born: relative to deathmatch conceivability only. Meaning that story, graphics, music, secrets, and cute tricks take back-seat to the WAD's ability to host multi-player carnage. This list is sorted by Game Play, Design, and then Type. - Deathmatch Episodes follow individual map listing. - Full legend and credits follow this list. =========================================================================== G = Game Play T = Type (Action/Hunting/Both) D = Design W = Weapons at skill 1 (0-4) # = Recommended Minimum # Players M = Monsters at skill 1 (0-5) G D Name Map Released #T WM Short Description and Comments - - -------- ---- -------- -- -- ------------------------------ + 9 markroom E1M1 4-15-94 2A 30 Dark arena w/steps. -x + 7 ledges E1M1 4-20-94 2A 34 Tunnels around a main room + 6 shadows E1M1 4-11-94 2A 40 2 small rooms connected with halls -X 9 8 core E1M1 5-30-94 4B 34 Vbig, square/symmetrical +G 9 7 butt E1M1 6-17-94 3B 44 Wood arena, shadow snipers +SM -X 9 7 ledges3 E1M1 6-07-94 2A 34 2 rooms w/ledges, stairs, & elevators 9 7 peace E1M1 5-18-94 2B 40 Based on Shadows 9 6 cor81 E1M1 5-31-94 4A 40 Corridors w/side rooms. Invs walls -X 9 5 corr2 E1M1 5-31-94 2A 40 VSml. Cross shaped. Light switch. -X 9 5 house E1M1 5-28-94 2A 40 Simple house design, no furniture -X 8 9 markrm3 E1M1 6-13-94 2A 22 Staircases -x 8 7 shadows3 E1M1 5-17-94 2A 40 Updated shadows, cute- less playable 8 6 e2m1_joe E2M1 7-14-94 2B 30 Three large elevators w/connecting halls 8 6 nova E1M1 5-12-94 2A 32 Arena in outer ring. Passable walls -x 8 6 tourney E1M1 6-27-94 4A 30 Central court yard w/snipe zones 8 5 circle E1M1 7-13-94 2A 30 A circle w/guns in outside doorways. -X 8 5 fragday E1M1 7-03-94 2A 40 Several big rooms, stairs, yard 8 5 stream E3M1 7-01-94 3A 30 Compound built around a stream 7 + maverick E2M1 6-03-94 3B 23 Limited ammo, Multi-Theme Map +C 7 9 bludlust E2M1 5-12-94 4H 45 Tall center room, plus shaped 7 8 bludlst2 E1M9 5-20-94 4H 43 Star shaped, lots of suicide 7 8 jadml1m1 E1M1 4-07-94 2A 21 Dark central room w/sniper points -x 7 8 pentadth E2M1 7-01-94 5B 30 5 Large Rooms w/ledges & elevators -X 7 8 tnplhome E1M1 6-03-94 3A 31 Someone's nice home w/furniture 7 6 styx E1M1 6-15-94 2A 30 Court yard w/bridge & sniper halls 7 6 octafrag E1M1 4-26-94 3B 12 Center elevators & snipe zones -X 7 6 ultima E1M1 5-02-94 2A 31 1Rm, Suspended Cross -x 7 5 clash E1M1 5-23-94 2A 30 Symmetric w/center room, no Spec 7 5 cwwad E1M1 6-08-94 5A 33 VLrg. Center room. Pyramid. Berserks 7 5 deathme E3M1 6-06-94 2A 45 Large Sq w/pillars, barrels, windows +M 7 5 duo_1 E1M1 4-29-94 2H 30 Square area with outside corridor 7 5 hexxed E1M1 6-06-94 2A 45 Simple Arena -x 7 5 swetdeth E1M1 5-06-94 3B 35 Square room w/trench & hill 7 4 nasty11 E1M1 6-03-94 1A 21 Simple octagon w/weapons in center 7 4 steps3 E1M1 3-30-94 3B 33 Multi-rooms & snipe windows 7 2 t3 E1M1 6-25-94 1A 50 VSml. 4 doors, 4 rooms, 4 Weapons. -X 6 8 morehell E1M1 5-06-94 4H 11 VBig. Interconnected rooms. -Cx 6 7 fragyou E1M1 6-25-94 3A 22 Court yard w/stairs & elevators 6 6 chase E1M1 7-01-94 2B 34 Center room with side chambers 6 6 dethe1m1 E1M1 4-30-94 4A 31 A large house. +GM 6 6 dethmaze E1M1 7-13-94 4H 32 A maze w/some darkness & sniper zones 6 6 spaz E2M1 6-27-94 5H 45 2 Large Rooms, Perches & snipe zones 6 5 11bones E1M1 4-11-94 2A 21 Center room w/halls & perches 6 5 flash E1M1 4-04-94 4H 14 Side rooms with central pit & balcony 6 5 gore1 E1M1 4-18-94 4A 30 Large cavernous rooms (maze like) 6 5 speedoom E1M1 6-20-94 2A 30 Square room with teleporters 6 5 spiral E2M1 4-20-94 4H 34 Room w/spiral stairs + small rooms 6 5 the-keep E1M1 5-08-94 4H 30 In the shape of a castle/moat/court 6 5 theta-4 E1M1 5-14-94 4H 30 Outside arena. Large rooms. +G 6 5 zzone E1M1 4-20-94 2A 35 Big room w/perches 6 4 dmaze E1M1 7-01-94 4H 30 Dark large twisting caverns 6 4 ledges2 E1M1 5-17-94 2A 34 Like Ledges, sloppy 6 3 avrax E3M4 6-08-94 5H 40 Paths & Arenas. TonsOAmmo 6 3 dthbox E1M1 5-04-94 2A 40 VSml room with weapons on pillars 6 3 grease E3M1 6-24-94 2A 33 Inverted pyramid. One way-down 5 9 space E1M1 5-27-94 2B 33 Several large room in outer space +GS 5 9 the_grid E2M1 5-20-94 4H 23 SLOW. Lots of nooks & crannies 5 8 trench E1M1 5-12-94 3A 21 Trenches to run around in outside 5 7 markrm2 E2M1 6-13-94 3A 22 Veritical floor maze -x 5 7 swig1 E1M1 7-01-94 5H 35 4 Rooms, 50 Rockets 5 6 afro E1M1 4-19-94 4H 23 Large Complex level 5 6 flat-692 E1M1 6-07-94 2A 34 A house with furniture & yard 5 6 jadml1m1 E1M1 4-07-94 2B 22 Dark Ring with Powerups 5 6 warehse1 E1M1 6-13-94 5H 35 VBig. Boxes mazes & outside yard 5 5 bigbro E1M1 4-19-94 5H 23 Large rooms. One "god" player -x 5 5 cross E1M3 3-11-94 5H 34 Big complex w/many rooms 5 5 dspiral E2M1 1-26-94 2A 43 Arena & spiral stairs in center -x 5 5 frgfst21 E2M1 5-02-94 5H 21 Hex room, spiral stairs, big court yrd 5 5 techbase E1M1 5-31-94 4H 32 Large room w/crates + snipe zones -x 5 5 urbnbeta E1M1 6-06-94 4B 32 Several big houses & yards 5 4 acheron E1M3 6-10-94 4B 22 Many hex rooms & teleporters 5 4 dodge E1M1 6-29-94 2B 45 Very dark. Square chambers w/Barons 5 4 jaredm11 E1M1 7-03-94 3B 40 Coliseum with side halls & teleports 5 4 xeno11 E1M1 5-24-94 5H 35 Many room complex w/outside area +G 5 3 cantrun E1M1 6-27-94 4H 50 VBig, TonsOWep Repetitive -X 5 3 stolen E2M1 7-01-94 4A 35 Based on Shadows. Bad lighting. 5 2 quirul E1M1 7-01-94 4A 12 Large warehouse w/halls -X 5 2 rip2 E1M4 6-13-94 3B 30 Many caverns -X 5 1 canyon E2M1 6-08-94 4B 32 Twisty canyon 4 8 coloseum E3M1 6-08-94 3A 35 Circular room. Outside Secrets 4 8 deadzone E1M1 6-07-94 5H 22 Arena & lift grid 4 7 thekeep2 E1M1 5-15-94 4H 20 In the shape of a castle/moat/court 4 6 dmat4 E1M1 7-01-94 3A 44 Large warehouse. LotsOBarrels 4 5 freedom E2M2 5-12-94 4H 33 Halls & large caverns interconnected 4 5 sewer E2M1 5-30-94 5H 32 Large open center circled by building 4 5 stairs E1M1 4-30-94 6H 35 VBig. Lots of rooms & stairs 4 4 grrfy11 E1M1 4-16-94 3H 22 Large multi-room complex -x 4 4 pyramid E2M1 5-11-94 4H 34 Pyramid with mazes. 4 4 quary11 E1M1 5-02-94 2A 33 Large pit w/trenches. -X 4 4 rampage E1M1 5-16-94 4H 33 Large complex w/many small rooms 4 3 atica E1M1 6-29-94 4H 12 Large maze w/outside area 4 3 horror21 E2M1 5-28-94 4B 45 Multi-room complex 4 2 pellejos E1M1 7-01-94 3A 10 Large Square room with outer ring -X 3 6 castle E1M1 7-12-94 5H 33 VLrg. Castle layout w/outside & moat. 3 6 longmtch E2M1 4-21-94 4H 43 Lots of rooms, cages, secrets 3 5 djg21-1a E2M1 3-28-94 5B 45 Rooms connected by halls 3 5 nitro2 E2M1 6-08-94 3H 23 Interconnecting rooms 3 5 pleasure E1M1 5-10-94 5B 15 Huge stadium w/bleachers & lot -x 3 4 daemon2 E1M1 4-07-94 4H 25 Not a deathmatch specific. 3 4 upliftng E1M1 4-17-94 4H 25 Halls, pits, & trees 3 3 hellbnd E2M1 6-04-94 5H 30 Large multi-room complex 3 3 jal_dm1 E1M1 5-10-94 3B 31 Several large court yards + teleports 3 3 jeff-1-2 E1M2 3-24-94 4H 31 Large rooms some dark w/teleports 3 3 rings E1M1 6-19-94 2A 12 Sq. Rings around a central block 3 2 dprison E1M1 1-21-94 2A 45 All start in center room w/Baron 3 1 arena E1M1 4-08-94 6A 40 Biggest room ever- Lots of HOM & equip 2 8 dethwalk E2M1 4-11-94 2A 33 Planks on a green acid lake 2 8 quatro E1M1 6-14-94 4H 44 VBig multi-level complex w/outside 2 4 lvnghell E1M1 7-01-94 2H 33 Lots of large & weird rooms +M -X 2 4 pillars E1M1 2-18-94 3H 34 Pillar room, Outside circle 2 4 sniper E1M1 6-30-94 3H 32 Many connected rooms -x 2 4 softhell E2M1 6-14-94 4H 35 Very big complex. Too many monsters 2 4 rock-it E1M1 5-09-94 4H 35 Several Large rooms. Many Suicide 1 1 nitro1 E2M2 5-20-94 2A 30 VSml. Interconnected rooms. 1 2 stewbeta E1M1 9-07-78 5H 45 Outside lake & tower (lots of HOM) 1 3 tnspires E2M1 4-07-94 2A 10 4 tall pillars surround by acid ? ? hockey10 E1M1 4-10-94 ?? ?? Patches EXE to play hockey ? 1 e1l1kp E1M1 4-27-94 2? ?? Lg Hex Room ? 1 serpent E1M1 5-31-94 3? ?? ? E1M2 is Mod E1M2 ? 4 surmont E2M1 7-01-94 4? ?? (Not a DM) +G ? 6 frodo4 E1M1 7-05-94 4? ?? FrodosWAD 4.3; 1st try ? 7 death E1M1 3-29-94 3? ?? 2 rings ***************************** DEATHMATCH EPISODES ***************************** G D Name Map Released # Comments - - -------- --- -------- - ---------------------------------------- 7 4 dmatch1 E1 6-27-94 2 Original 9 map deathmatch episode. 5 6 halls1-9 E1 6-28-94 3 Halls of Death episode. 9 maps -Cx 6 5 xfire E1 7-12-94 4 Original deathmatch episode. 8 8 dmsmall1 E1 n/a 2 Markroom, Ledges, Shadows V3, TnCross2 7 7 dmsmall2 E1 n/a 2 Ultima, Clash, Jadml1m1, Styx, Hexxed, Speedoom Nova, Corr2 ************************ MODIFIED ID LEVELS (Unrated) ************************* G D Name Map Released #T WM Short Description and Comments - - -------- ---- -------- -- -- ------------------------------ ? 0 bobworld E1M1 4-01-94 -- -- Modified E2M1 ? 0 darkness E1M1 3-26-94 -- -- Modified E1M1 ? 0 dd E1M1 7-14-94 -- -- Modified E1M1 ? 0 death E1M1 4-26-94 -- -- Modified E1M1; Extra monsters ? 0 dmatch E1M1 3-29-94 -- -- Modified E2M1; Black ? 0 e1l5ko E1M1 4-15-94 -- -- Modified E1M5 ? 0 e1m1dal E1M1 3-14-94 -- -- Modified E1M1 ? 0 e1m1osk3 E1M1 3-14-94 -- -- Modified E1M1 ? 0 e1m1osku E1M1 3-09-94 -- -- Modified E1L1; for deathmatch ? 0 e1m5_djs E1M1 3-30-94 -- -- Modified E1M5 ? 0 e2m9mh E2M9 3-30-94 -- -- Modified E2M9; Brighter ? 0 hunte1m1 E1M1 3-14-94 -- -- Thing Modified E2M2 ? 0 hunte1m2 E1M1 3-14-94 -- -- Thing Modified E3M2 *********************************** OLD WADS ********************************** G D Name Map Released #T WM Short Description and Comments - - -------- ---- -------- -- -- ------------------------------ - - 11inhell E1M1 4-07-94 -- -- OLD; use MOREHELL - - daemon E1M1 4-07-94 -- -- OLD; use DEAMON2 - - halls2 E1M1 5-17-94 -- -- OLD; use HALLS1-9 - - shadwad E1M1 4-11-94 -- -- OLD; use SHADOWS/SHADOWS3 - - hockbeta E1M1 3-31-94 -- -- OLD; use HOCKEY10 - - tncross E1M1 3-27-94 -- -- OLD; TnCross2 is corrupt, use DMSMALL1 ******************************** UNABLE TO TEST ******************************* G D Name Map Released #T WM Short Description and Comments - - -------- ---- -------- -- -- ------------------------------ ? 1 dmatch11 E1M1 3-30-94 3- -- *crash* Big Dark Plrs Cyb; -xmD ? 1 deadly21 E2M1 3-28-94 4B 30 *crash* Walls + LotsOWeapons ? 3 death E1M1 3-30-94 3- -- *crash* Square w/teleports ? 6 spunk E1M1 4-12-94 4- -- *crash* Several big rooms ? ? ss27bet2 E2M7 5-10-94 -- -- *crash* MultiTheme, Unfinished ? ? e1l5ko1 E1M5 3-11-94 -- -- *crash* Modified E1M5 ? ? ? scream E1M1 7-12-94 -- -- *crash* 7 6 tncross2 E2M1 4-05-94 2A -- * corrupt WAD * (Use DMSMALL1) - - ray E1M1 6-07-94 -- -- * corrupt WAD * Made for looks - - comcon E1M4 5-29-94 -- -- * corrupt ZIP * - - toe E1M1 5-18-94 -- -- * corrupt ZIP * - - logo E1M1 1-18-94 -- -- * corrupt ZIP * - - tek E1M1 4-20-94 -- -- * corrupt ZIP * - - tower2 E3M1 5-22-94 -- -- * corrupt ZIP * - - steps1 E1M1 3-30-94 -- -- * corrupt ZIP * - - steps2 E1M1 3-30-94 -- -- * corrupt ZIP * - - ee2l1 E2M1 2-26-94 -- -- * corrupt ZIP * - - horror E1M1 5-28-94 -- -- * corrupt ZIP * --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratings Legend: G = Game Play D = Design # = Recommended Minimum How Fun And Addicting How Interesting/Clever Number Of Players ------------------------- ---------------------- ------------------------ + = Play til Dawn + = A Piece Of Art 6 = WAY TOO LARGE 9 = Near Perfect 9 = Amazing 5 = Huntin' w/4 players 8 = Great--Play 1-2 hrs 8 = Fascinating 4 = Hopin' w/4 players 7 = Excellent--A favorite 7 = Interesting 3 = Hopin' w/3 players 6 = Very Good--30-60 min 6 = Above Average 2 = Hopin' w/2 players 5 = Average - Good 5 = Average 1 = A Frag every 10 sec 4 = OK but flawed 4 = Below Average even with 2 players 3 = A diversion - 10 min. 3 = Poor 0 = WAY TOO SMALL 2 = Boring after 2 min. 2 = Ugly 1 = Painfully boring 1 = A Bad Joke ? = Untested 0 = Utter shit 0 = Vomit ? = Untested ? = Untested T: Type A=Action, H=Hunting, B=Both, -= Who knows W: Weapons 0=Pistol/Fists, 1=Shotgun, 2=Chain, 3=Rocket/Plasma 4=BFG M: Monsters 0=None, 1=A few, 2=Several, 3=Lots, 4=Big&Bad, 5=Barons/Cyber Comments: +G means new graphics, +S means new sounds, +M new music added +C Cooperative Exit, +T text background story -X has no exit, -x has an unmarked exit -Cx coopertive exit ========================================================================== WHERE CAN THESE ARENAS BE FOUND? -------------------------------- You should be able to ftp most of the wads from infant2.sphs.indiana.edu in the directories contained within /pub/doom/wads or the /pub/doom/incoming directory. A big thanks to Barry Bloom and Jim Hicks, whom maintain infant2 for all us die-hard doomers! We have only taken the time to review WAD's in which the authors have expressly designed for deathmatch play or we were asked to rate it as such. No effort was made to review WAD's based on original id levels as id has expressed they did NOT want people to modify their levels. It should be noted that Episode 1, Map 1 and Map 5 of the shareware DOOM are also fine places for deathmatches. If you have written or know of a deathmatch arena that isn't on the list, or just a map good for deathmatching, let us know, and well add it. DISCLAIMER: ----------- A low rating (on our scale) doesn't imply a bad or unplayable WAD-- just that its not a fun deathmatch WAD. Do to the limited time we can devote to each WAD and the fact that most of our play-testers are partial to action based WADs, this list may be slightly skewed in that direction. All WAD's were tested on skill level 1, with 2 or 4 players in DOOM 1.2. We're not infallible. Many of the above ratings came from second hand sources. If you feel a WAD has been rated too harshly or highly, let us know, and we'll re-evaluate it. TOURNEY LOCATIONS/WINNERS: -------------------------- We would love to see the world's DOOM tournament winners play each-other to have a true world championship. To help facilitate this, we're listing the location of regional tourneys and the last known winners. If you know of a tourney in your area that hosted 25 or more people, please tell us! SOUTHERN: Austin Virtual Gaming-- Austin, TX (512) 478-5544 AVGaming@aol.com (6/18/94) 1st: DOOMGods (John Romero / Shawn Green) 2nd: Vibrant Killers (Sean Gallagher / Rob Haig) 3rd: Cutters (Greg and Kelly) tie: Boyz-n-the-Hell (Kip and Ian) MID-WEST: Virtual Gaming Center-- Milwaukee, WI (414) 476-1514 VGCenter@execpc.com (7/2/94) 1st: Shawn Crain (crains@pxa.parks.slu.edu) 2nd: Aaron Criger (Blade@freenet.grfh.org) 3rd: "Chainsaw Jim" Urbas (jimu@point.cs.uwm.edu) IRC - TCPDoom Tourney (see below): 1st: Phallus fallonjb95%cs14@cadetmail.usafa.af.mil 2nd: Jay Cotton jay@calc.vet.uga.edu 3rd: Erik "Echo" Olson ecolson@husc.harvard.edu WEST COAST: ??? EAST COAST: ??? HAWAII: ??? CANADA: ??? UK: ??? AUSTRALIA: ??? Note: The IRC-TCPDoom Tourney is a competition between internet users with computers connected directly to the internet via ethernet. For more information on participating in the IRC-TCPDoom Tourney, contact jay@calc.vet.uga.edu. WHAT MAKES A GOOD DEATHMATCH WAD? --------------------------------- A tough question to answer since there are so many playing styles out there. We'll just give some basic tips that we've found the majority of players to prefer: - Keep the map relatively small. A map that is too large is both slow on many machines and very hard to find frag-meat. If you can't get a frag at least every 3-5 minutes, you're map is too big. - Do not include suicide traps or ooze. These become unfair as people kill themselves to restock on ammo. - Avoid placing too many or too powerful monsters. Monsters can be turned off-- so you should include some, but a CyberDemon does NOT make a good deathmatch. Too many monsters also slows the game down on slower machines. Once nice trick we've seen is in a couple of WAD's is to put monsters in cage. - The BFG should only have one or two shots or not be placed in the game at all. A good deathmatch can be ruined by an overloaded BFG. - Many of the better deathmatch WADs contain sniper zones, shaded areas (not too much darkness), and good weapons placed in spots easy to target anyone running after it. - Take care with triggers that work fine in single player, but in multiplayer, allow one player to become trapped by another's actions. An example of this are triggers that stop moving floors. Any "once-only" type triggers are also suspect. - Avoid being sloppy. Correct any HOM (believe it or not people still use version 1.2) or missing textures. Make sure to include a marked exit. Beta test your map (let others do so) before releasing it. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. ABOUT THE AUTHORS: ------------------ A lot of work has gone into this listing but since there are new WAD's released daily, we'll try to release updated versions of this at least once a month (probably more). We welcome any comments, corrections, and especially any ratings YOU want to submit. Send them to _BOTH_ authors. James Dicke jdicke@carroll1.cc.edu or EXEC-PC: JAMES DICKE - DOOM Fanatic. As an employee of the Virtual Gaming Center he finds time to talk to many deathmatchers that aren't on the internet. [SHAMELESS_PLUG_MODE_ON]: The Virtual Gaming Center (Milwaukee, WI) use several networks of fast computers with 27" screens and special controllers (steering wheels, etc) to play multi-player games IN-PERSON. The VGC is also host to the Mid-West DOOM Tournaments. You may contact them at VGCenter@execpc.com or (414) 476-1514. Jim "Chainsaw" Urbas jimu@point.cc.uwm.edu - DOOM Fanatic. Current projects: wc - Wad compiler; tool to help developers integrate new graphics into WAD files. Deathmatch Compilations DM_xx_xx.ZIP; several 9 level episodes containing the best deathmatch maps, optimized for use in a single episode (namely: DMSMALL1 and DMSMALL2). Also working on a new solo episode with Brant Katkansky, author of NUCLEAR.WAD. Special thanks to these play-testers: Jonathan Dye, Dan Kaufman, Jeff Kolowitch, Chris Leffel, James Mitchell, Dan Middleton, Paul "Doctor" Novotny, Bryan Peterson, and Terry Wilson. And of course a big thanks to all the folks at id software! [END]