Dome awards - Were they deserved? + Applicable mapset/mod thoughts

First topic message reminder :

The Dome awards had gone on for a decade, starting in 2002, before being discontinued this year. However, while there were many, many projects that got a well-deserved award, I feel there were also, sometimes, awards given out to releases that overall didn't really deserve one.

Therefore, I thought I'd create a thread to discuss, focusing on one year at a time (from most to least recent), the deservability of releases which received awards that year. Thus the year of focus will start on 2011. There is no fixed amount of time in which the discussion will be on any particular year; it will be more determined by that when responses start dropping off for a particular year, I'll consider changing the focus to the previous year. So there is no need to cover a whole year at once since it'll pretty much be the centerpoint as long as participation suggests it should be. And it is okay to talk about a particular release from a different year if it happens to really be in your mind at a given time; the year of focus is just a guideline so we aren't all looking at hundreds of awards at once.

The talk can be as simple as "deserved" or "did not deserve" if you'd like, with maybe just a few quick thoughts on why, or you can feel free to make an explanation or even a mini-review of the release if you'd like. So there's no real minimum or maximum amount of detail for this. And there is no need to comment on every award (even if I do) - preferably mention the ones you've played at least but in the end, it's your choice.

All awards can be found here. So let the discussion begin! I'll always have the current year of focus at the very bottom of this post for convenience.

Current year of focus: 2001 mentionables - use the Dome news archive (July-December 2001)

Note: After 2002, this thread will turn into a highlight of what I feel were some of the mentionable releases (still by month) of the previous few years; the possible would-have-been awards in my view per se.

Dark_wizzie wrote:Wlhack seems to hav vanished.

He's alive and well and somebody told me that he's not doing wolf3d stuff anymore. just his own video games. So sad because he had some amazing coding going on and had proof that it was working for TMU. I wish he'd stay around because he was one of those coders that wasn't just good, but was able to create new features nobody thought possible! Maybe someday he'll return and finish Trail of Schabbs. We can only hope!

It's very sad that WLHack decided to stop making Wolf3d mods. I honestly hope WSJ didn't/doesn't go down the same path.

Just become someone rarely posts does not mean they aren't working on something. WLHack always had the intention to return to work on Trail of Schabbs, but I don't see it happening.

I must really need to try Michael Collin's sets again. Quite honestly, I probably like at least 95% of what Thomas does. And I had even talked a long time ago about my backtracking problems with these sets. No one else sees them as anything, while I recall them as being a virtual show stopper. Maybe I just don't have enough patience or this just rubbed against some pet peeve in the wrong way. I can admit they are very well designed otherwise, I certainly don't debate that. And they (at least Nazis with Attitude) have true bosses - they take a LOT of punishment, and boy do I mean it.

Maybe someday, sometime WLHack will come back. He had a decent (but not the best) episode in the community map pack as well (E5, I think). And I'm sure Trail of Schabbs was going to be a masterwork. Shame. The only thing he needed but didn't have was SDL; DosBOX always gave me some bugginess in his sets (False Spear, which has not been covered yet but will be when the time comes, being the biggest one).

WSJ would be another terrible author to lose. Even with a few bugs, I felt Totenkopf SDL was his best mod (Coming of the Storm is really not that far behind though) and even a similar treatment to his other Dos mods would come out with amazing results, let alone a brand new SDL mod. But while I would not recommend bothering with the Dos version of Castle Totenkopf if you've played Totenkopf SDL, the converse of this is very false: Totenkopf SDL is a complete need to play game whether you've played Dos or not.Saying it's a pass if you've played Dos would be like saying that, if someone made all the maps in RTCW in the Wolf3D engine and you played them, then RTCW offers nothing new at all. Not a perfect analogy, but clearly that would be a false statement. Anyways, back on topic, I just know WSJ started good right at the gate and his last two sets were just outright fantastic, top five or ten material even, and I could only imagine what he could come up with if he decided to do some more work with SDL. I don't even see how you could easily top Coming of the Storm as it is, but I'm sure if he gave it the Totenkopf treatment it would blow it right out of the water. WSJ really showed he knew how to take SDL to the limit even in its early (albeit rapidly gaining popularity) life cycle. While off topic here, I'm surprised every time I look at some of the stuff we have now, and recall that just a little over three short years ago I don't think there was a single SDL download out there (NovoWolf might have been the first?).

And yes (as Thomas mentioned), Spear Revisited was a very solid one overall too, though it was never ported to SDL yet Sextilogy was.

Yet clearly it's not time to move to 2006 yet...the best is yet to come and won't it be fine!...

Well we DHWs aren't getting any younger. It's only natural we get bored of Wolf3d eventually in our lives.

Damn straight. WSJ is not on leave or away or anything, he's just keeping a low profile. He posted a screenshot about a year ago or something where... Don't know how to explain it. But it was like in DooM, you could stand on top of something, as if there were 2 floors. But it was Wolf.

I remember him referring to it as a 'visual enhancement', and the visual was definitely enhanced. I *believe* it to be a remake of one of his old mods again, like Totenkopf SDL. But man, WSJ is still the best all-round modder right? Coding, graphics, maps, music... all his.

Yes, definitely. Spear Resurrection/End of Destiny were joint efforts - WSJ has always done everything by himself. Truly admirable, one of a kind. I hope all this flattery won't reach negative heights though, relying on expectations can sometimes result in fear of flaws. But I think that's near impossible with that guy.

I think the guy's a fucking genius, one thing I especially admire is his attention to small little things that enhance a mod so much... like in Totenkopf 4SDL when the soldiers are talking when they're searching for you, or the boss taunts. That's just small touches that really stand out to me and make a mod just that tad more special.

WSJ is so cool. He must have like a thousand chicks on speed dial.

I'm sure he has found a way to code that into his life.

Last two posts are the exact reason why I love this forum.

I don't recall the boss taunts though.

Think I'm about ready to close out 2007 and move on to 2006? No - not so far...the best [of 2007] is yet to come and won't it be fine!

Spoiler:

Hi Pedro!

It's fine WSJ keeps a low profile, but someone should get him to join here too since most of us (obviously except me) use DHW.

I think that should be his own choice. It's not as if he's frequently at DHW either.

Indeed, but it's just not the same without him.

Okay time for the conclusion of 2007! And the one I didn't cover is none but:

Feb 2007: All this and Wolf3d!

Well I could ignore a few levels near the end, and say that this is just typical very high quality Thomas work, because that's really exactly what it is and shouldn't imply any negativity at all. Of course I'd have to give it the mention for being the most levels in any set to date though.

Then you reach Level 68. And you wonder why everything is so all of a sudden different. Shading and ghosts, and a new music. Who allowed that to get in here?? But honestly besides those few weird things it's just another level. Nothing big (in fact it's somewhat small).

A little later you find the exit, and press the spacebar [or mouse button] a couple times to get into and past the statistics screen. And right away you notice a couple awfully weird things, that you wouldn't know about unless you'd already heard or read about them, or watched Balames87 play these levels a couple years ago for stathmk. An unusually stretched screen. Another new music track. A timer in the bottom corner. And if you try pressing Esc, Pause, or any F-keys, you'll notice something more: either they don't work or force you to lose a life when you return!

That's just some abbreviated comments to wet appetites from a full blog post of mine you can read here.

[reading blog post...]

And by now you should already get the point: This is one mighty weird and unique level. Certainly not one of the excellent, but normal, levels that Thomas makes. I feel too bad for never doing Part 2 yet. But I can put summary comments on here.

After you walk through either one of the portals, you are in a room that looks identical to the start of the original's E3L4. And there's another timer in the bottom of the screen. Yes - you are on another time limit - but it's a mighty long one compared to before. And you have work to do.

I still don't feel like spoiling the rest in its entirety, but this is only a partial list of some of the stuff you'll find as you play through the rest:
-At least three more oddly familiar looking areas.
-The Doom Space Marine and Duke, some of BJ's greatest spiritual successors.
-Pictures of girls you must press that act like switches.
-You'll be feeling deja vu in this level itself at some point...
-You might think another gold or silver key is useless when you already have one. But it is really?
-At some point, probably as you near the end of the girl portrait hunt, you'll emerge back into the same room before you entered one of the black holes. You'll see a band of guards, and yes, it's really a band.
-Got the clock stopped? Well there's even more surprises, and I'm not spoiling them all! At least there are some thing you can do again now, but you'd better be daring enough to risk all your progress to find out, and you'd better not guess wrong or you'll lose a lot of work. The first time I played, I sure wasn't willing to risk a thing.
-For kicks, play again and let the timer run low (and out) on you.
-Exited with all 100% ratios? You might notice something different coming from your speakers.
-And too many other weird things and easter eggs to even put a number on. I'm not spoiling another one!

Perhaps at first you were frustrated with how hard it was, or maybe you enjoyed the challenge. But after the dust settles, only one thought should remain in your mind: This level is pure genius. Like, the best thing made for Wolfenstein 3D. Ever. And do you recall the mod's name? It eerily fits the scene!

And a little playing time later, you'll be done with the mod. Don't expect another climax though, just another good piece of work by Thomas as you fight to the final boss. I don't think Level 69 is just the climax of the mod; it is the climax of custom Wolf3D modding altogether. I honestly think I've spent more time, and had more enjoyment, with this level than with all other 69 levels combined. And when Thomas is the mapper, that's quite a tall statement.

Eventually, I think you might even come around to thinking that everything Thomas did here is just a bonus in comparison! Not to discredit his excellent work at all, but it's hard not to think: if those other levels had all been terrible, but I know this level was something so special (yet had no spoilers as to just how), would I play the mod? Ultimately, I probably would.

There's no doubt ATAW is the best mod of 2007, since Level 69 alone is the most ingeniously amazing mod of all time. Possibly there is only one person in the community who can truly top that. And he has work in this mod.

...

And there it is, the ultimate 2007 grand finale I had promised and eluded to many times!

(Oh, and just as a side note, we're through 5 out of 10 years after this. Halfway done looking back.)

That level serious hurt my brain. I'm still revoering.

Chris really did capture the zeitgeist of modding, homages to the original levels and funny, interesting coding when he built that level. I truly love him for including that in one of my mods and for making it all come together that way.

Too bad this one hasn't turned up in SDL yet. I have not played level 69 in five years. Damn, I miss it. Had a ball winning that SoB with 95/100/100% on skill 4 back in the day.

@Thomas Once you stop the timer, you can roam wherever in the level you want. So 100/100/100 is always possible. And should you get it, there's yet another little surprise at the exit if you have your speakers on!

I know there's a surprise. Just forgot what it is. Sometimes when running around the level, random sounds could be heard. And the cards... The music that changes... All the original levels... That turquoise, christmassy feeling like the first time you discover the secret pac man level...

ATAW really meant a lot to me, and I spent a full year on it on and off. Chris really saved the whole thing. Had it not been for him this had just been an average 60-level map set or less, or maybe just left in the gutter.

And since it came out I've tried to start another monster mod. Well, guess what. I'm trying to do so again. But I'm afraid that level 69 will remain a once-in-a-lifetime experience and will not be copycatted or mimicked. ATAW in an SDL port would be sweet. But I don't know who'll have the time to do so.

@Thomas While you have the right to have your own opinion of your own work, I (and others in the community for that matter) have repeatedly said that at least 90%, probably 95%, if not even more, of the stuff you release is good, very good, or even excellent, and completely worthwhile. Of everything you ever released under the name of Thomas, Quest for the General is the ONLY one I'd even start to think as to if it should have been "left in the gutter". And same goes for the releases you've made in the form of contributions to community projects.

ATAW is absolutely no exception at all, and it wouldn't be even if I completely took Level 69 out of the game. The fact that I focused so much on it doesn't mean the other 69 levels aren't (at least in a very vast majority of them) good, great, or even excellent levels. In fact, aside from one mazey level I cannot remember the number of but I think it was even worse than Level 9 of NovoWolf (but I understand if you feel you just must have that maze level in there somewhere, because you more than deserve that small piece of slack ), I do not recall a single one of the other 68 levels that I did not have an enjoyable experience playing. Rather, I only focused on that level so much cause it's so absolutely f*****g genius (IMO) that it makes even a normally excellent level seem perfectly ordinary in comparison.

Keep that in mind - the key term here is: "in comparison". It's like if I said a quadrillion (10^15) is very small in comparison to a googol (10^100). That would be absolutely true, but it doesn't mean that a quadrillion isn't still an absolutely massive number.

So Chris didn't "save it" at all IMO, simply because there was nothing that needed to be saved in the first place! He just took an already outstanding mod and injected something that managed to far exceed even it. His contribution would only have "saved" something that was otherwise mediocre or bad, and that certainly isn't ATAW.

Well it's a bit late so I don't think I can get the whole year in but I thought I'd move this on and attack some of 2006:

Dec 2006: Archives Vol. II - This is an ack set. Need I say more? Maybe there are one or two levels not up to far but I can't really fault most of his work.

Sep 2006: Spear of Destiny Mappack - This is by Megabyte, from KFH Games, who later did Klooni and SoD Reloaded. It's just 21 new levels but they were about the right length and designed well IMO. Played in one or two sittings and enjoyed. Two bugs however: The secret exit on Level 12 isn't properly floor-coded, and the Spear takes you to a place where you're stuck in a wall. Pretty silly bugs to have but I still enjoyed it a lot. I also haven't checked to see if they might have been fixed. Also Sep 2006: Archives Vol. I - Just look at Vol. II. Almost the exact same thought work here.

Aug 2006: The False Spear - WLHack again! This was quite buggy in DosBOX for me and the bosses were FAR too easy but I did manage to play it through, have some fun, and appreciate the obvious work that went into it. Also Aug 2006: Wolfenstein Reloaded - Just can't get into this with Dos, and that's probably because SoD Reloaded is with SDL and the running is slightly marginal. It looks like a good effort though. Make this SDL and I'd dig it in a moment. And there was a third award: Wolf-Extra III Parts 1-6 - Puzzle games by Poet. Haven't played them, probably should look and see if they're my type of thing. And they're in SDL too.

Jul 2006: Lost World Par 3 - Not a fan of anything in this series.

I'm leaving that all for now. Don't have time for more ATM, but tomorrow I should be able to do the second (or first, technically) half of the year as well as the yearly wrap-up. Just wanted to provide grounds to get some discussion started; even in this half year there was quite some nice stuff IMO.

The False Spear... Talk about underrated mods. What I wouldn't give to see that one ported to SDL one day. Or if only I could get my damn tower computer to run XP. Won't even boot!

2006 was one of the first years without that many releases, wasn't it?

I might be remembering wrong, but I think there was something in the way the graphics or some sort was handled in Wolf Reloaded that made it unable to be ported to SDL. The False Spear is one of my favorite mods of all time. One of the few mods where everything works perfectly. will always be in my top 5.

I have both volumes or Archives, and I don't think I've played False Spear before.

you should play False Spear Wizzie. It's a good WLHack mod.

WolferCooker wrote:you should play False Spear Wizzie. It's a good WLHack mod.

I've played The False Spear before and beaten it, but I warped. I've posted that I've found it impossible to find all of the keys on level 16, or whichever level. Then Andy, Dean, or somebody else posted back that he's beaten that level twice. I don't know if I can find the thread for it.

SDL.
That is all.

stathmk wrote:

WolferCooker wrote:you should play False Spear Wizzie. It's a good WLHack mod.

I've played The False Spear before and beaten it, but I warped. I've posted that I've found it impossible to find all of the keys on level 16, or whichever level. Then Andy, Dean, or somebody else posted back that he's beaten that level twice. I don't know if I can find the thread for it.

It's not in a secret but in a very missable corner. I know exactly what you're talking about! Took me a while too and then I thought, "why did this take me so long?". Well because while it isn't hidden you have to be really observant or it can fly right by the eye.

Second (technically first) half of 2006:

Jun 2006: Orb of Dilaaria - It only runs marginally is DosBox but SO much effort was obviously put into this. Most of what I have played is indeed fantastic and it is truly a TOTAL conversion. As ack did the mapping can't really go too wrong there. I'd give this more comments if I'd played more than just the first two acts, on only one of the possible solutions, and have been playing it on a rather fragmented basis as well, though I don't really know why because I don't see why I couldn't keep playing for longer.

May 2006: Crash Bandicot - Same author as Guns & Glory, this is one of his sillier mods with lesser mapping IMO.

Apr 2006: Sewer Town - I enjoyed the first couple of levels, but was super pissed when I hit some point in Level 3 where I could not kill the boss at all, so I don't feel right putting review commentary on this. Lot of potential I saw though. Also Apr 2006: Episode One Revisited - This is episode one of Executor's Sextilogy set, maybe before he knew he'd do more. At that rate it's a solid episode.

Mar 2006: medEvil - Don't really like Tricob's levels that much and he had some in here, but I recall having fun. The burn radius from fire is too high though IMO. This is available in SDL now. It's worth a try at least for sure. Also Mar 2006, not awarded because Brian made the levels, but Revival of Memories was released. It has really good levels with the original atmosphere and a slightly Mac feel. Really worthwhile. I only wish the musics had been changed, maybe ceiling colors also, but that's cosmetic. It is now in SDL too!

Feb 2006: Hotel Romanstein....... - Tries to be cute but just not fun. I've talked about this series already in the 2009/2008 awards.

Jan 2006: Nazi Operation - What better way to top the year off than a 60 level mod that was the first to go in his name too! Mapping is already pretty close to his current standard for the most part, thus quite good. And there were a few external contributors that made good work here, especially many of the secret levels aren't by Thomas. Level 27 is a disaster, but I just slapped an exit at the start so I didn't have to play it and forgot about it cause it's only one level in 60.

Overall, a year with a lot of good releases IMO. I think I must give Orb of Dilaaria the crown for the enormous effort and what seems a solid result. But there were a lot of good sets that were mostly just maps - Revival of Memories, the Archives, Megabyte's SoD set, and even Nazi Operation is still very Wolf3D like to name the biggest ones. A year with plenty to play, I'd say.

WolfForever wrote:Jun 2006: Orb of Dilaaria - It only runs marginally is DosBox but SO much effort was obviously put into this. Most of what I have played is indeed fantastic and it is truly a TOTAL conversion. As ack did the mapping can't really go too wrong there. I'd give this more comments if I'd played more than just the first two acts, on only one of the possible solutions, and have been playing it on a rather fragmented basis as well, though I don't really know why because I don't see why I couldn't keep playing for longer.

I've never played this. I remember downloading it when it came out and ran around for a minute or so in the first level. It is a true total conversion, and that's admirable, and if it ever should see an SDL port I'll give it a real go to see what the fuss is all about.

WolfForever wrote:Apr 2006: Sewer Town - I enjoyed the first couple of levels, but was super pissed when I hit some point in Level 3 where I could not kill the boss at all, so I don't feel right putting review commentary on this. Lot of potential I saw though.

This mod had lots of potential! Again, if ever ported to SDL I'll be on this in a minute. I just couldn't play it back then, my graphics driver apparently couldn't handle it.

WolfForever wrote:Mar 2006: medEvil - Don't really like Tricob's levels that much and he had some in here, but I recall having fun. The burn radius from fire is too high though IMO. This is available in SDL now. It's worth a try at least for sure. Also Mar 2006, not awarded because Brian made the levels, but Revival of Memories was released. It has really good levels with the original atmosphere and a slightly Mac feel. Really worthwhile. I only wish the musics had been changed, maybe ceiling colors also, but that's cosmetic. It is now in SDL too!

Revival of Memories. I remember asking Brian about this in mid-2005 'cause I'd been ogling the screenshots for eternity. He sent me a beta! The only beef was that the dog had to be replaced with something, and I suggested one of WSJ's Heer guards. Looking back it was a silly suggestion, not only because it got released in the actual mod, but also because it sticks out like a sore thumb. The maps, however, are top notch Brian class and this mod is really, really good. I had fun playing medEvil too. And yes, Tricob's maps are indeed an acquired taste. I really liked the graphics though, and this again proved a total conversion in every sense of the word.

WolfForever wrote:Jan 2006: Nazi Operation - What better way to top the year off than a 60 level mod that was the first to go in his name too! Mapping is already pretty close to his current standard for the most part, thus quite good. And there were a few external contributors that made good work here, especially many of the secret levels aren't by Thomas. Level 27 is a disaster, but I just slapped an exit at the start so I didn't have to play it and forgot about it cause it's only one level in 60.

Yes, level 27 blows, no doubt. Had fun making this mod though. The latter half of 2005 was a swell time! Mind you, levels 19 and 49 were made by Loki, levels 52, 54, 55, 57 and 59 were made by WLHack and level 58 was made by ack. I had no idea what to do with secret levels, so I just asked all the people I could find. The results were sweet. WLHack's maps bore the kind of simplicity and classic feel I wanted to approach myself. Hadn't it been for him I wouldn't have started original approaches the way I did. After Nazi Operation I might as well could've made mods with lots of graphical and sound changes.

Michael Collin was one hell of a guy. He had the naffest kind of humor... lol... But he was a good coder. In the end, Havoc took over, and cleared some things up. This was also when I discovered VDMSound, around New Year's Eve, so instead of releasing it on Christmas Day, it came out on January 1st, 'cause I had to find and replace all this music I suddenly could hear again.

I played Orb of Dilaaria, I wanted to cheat and didn't finish the game. Would consider giving it a try if it goes SDL. I don't remember the other mods.

Oh, and Romanstein. A serious WTMF?! to the nth degree.

Don't know what that means, but I despise all Hotel Romansteins. They are a total waste of space, not funny, made by some perverted Korean fuck using stupid graphics and lousy sub-par mapping. And how many have we... 9? 8? It's a ridiculous number.

*breathes out*

lousy sub-par mapping.

Can't compare subpar mapping of Romanstein mods to the ones Toti made. Spear of Toti and Toti's Return maps are GARBAGE. Even I can make better maps than him.

Never played Toti, just seems like a kid who knows how to code a bit (good on him) but then just the standard wall pack/MajikMonkee's Image World biz rest of the way. Mapping seems not an importance, as is tradition. Not very convincing. But who didn't use all that stuff at one point.

I dare you to check Toti's mapwork on Chaosedit or WDC. You'll be surprised how very basic he is with it.

I'd rather not. Inspiration is as low as it is!

LOL Thomas.

I'd say we analyze 2005 now...

As a first note, 2005 was just after EoD (which fortunately ran okay for me in Dos too!) came out in late 2004...so just about anything may have seemed like a letdown, especially early in the year. But these posts are to describe mods on their own merits. So timing of the release in coordination with another is not something that gets considered on here. And the EoD talk itself - that's obviously a 2004 matter, I'd prefer we don't jump the gun.

Nov 2005: Trench Warfare - I know it had a lot of hype and cool new features but I've not played it so can't and won't give an opinion.

Sep 2005: WolfenDoom II The True Depths of Hell - What a rip of a name. It isn't mapped anything special at all IMO and totally inferior to Areyep's set. In fact I might even be made if I was Areyep, for mocking my set's name with an inferior one.

Aug 2005: Mutant Blobs from Uranus 3D - Haven't played it but heard it's a short yet cute little set. Also Aug 2005: Resurrection of Heimzulhang by Ling Yan Li - Can't say I'd ever be interested in playing this. I'd rather stick with what WSJ made. Even though that wasn't his best set, Ling always seemed to do inferior knock-offs IMO.

Jul 2005: Operation Todpfad - Well mapped and fun, clearly a good effort. I remember I had a bug of some kind that I think related to ammo though. But it might just be me. I should give it another go, probably.

June 2005: Hitler Strikes Back - Doesn't do a bad job staying in the original style but levels much too small, simple, and easy IMO, though they are competent at least. And it has been moved to SDL, for what it's worth. But is it as good as Absence (same author)? Not even close!

May 2005: Double Trouble - This was obviously a very strong effort but I like playing on high difficulty and it crashes after Level 13 or so! What a waste of potential; I'm not sure if I am willing to take a lower skill or not. This really should have been caught and fixed like right away.

Apr 2005: Abandon 2 - Purgatory - A Thomas set under the Possum Trot name! I haven't played it but I'm not convinced that just because it's Possum Trot it can't be decent so I might give anything even from that name at least a look when I'm bored.

Mar 2005: Dunkelburg - I haven't played it, but it looks like extensive SoD level that ought to be decent.

Feb 2005: Project Wolfgeist - Another Possum Trot game, see Apr 2005 comments.

Jan 2005: Operation Mutant Strike 2 - Majik Monkee always delivers a rather quality production and this is one despite some repetition. It's now in SDL to boot as well. It is much more advanced than the first of the series, and some people think it's still the best even including OMS3. Should give it a more serious try. Also Jan 2005: A Long Walk Back - Have played hardly anything from Harry Mass Sr. so don't really want to comment.

Overall there was some decent stuff in 2005, but seems like a more lukewarm year compared to some. Not sure what I'd call best of the year. OMS2, Todpfad, and Trench Warfare are possibly in the running, but I have the feel Double Trouble could have been a shoe-in if its bugs were fixed. Nothing even close to EoD though, so it went at least a year as an unchallenged contender for best release to date.

WolfForever wrote:Nov 2005: Trench Warfare - I know it had a lot of hype and cool new features but I've not played it so can't and won't give an opinion.

I remember playing this and being blown away. Everything about it seemed to push the barrier we thought EoD had broken. Really, really great. BJ in uniform... Always wanted to implement that in a game of sorts. A total conversion yet again, totally outrageous and ahead of its time.

WolfForever wrote:Jul 2005: Operation Todpfad - Well mapped and fun, clearly a good effort. I remember I had a bug of some kind that I think related to ammo though. But it might just be me. I should give it another go, probably.

I remember begging Kyle Albert when he coded Wolfgeist for me about this game which then was temporarily shelved or hardly 'in progress' after a long break. I remember screenshots from the "Gretel's Castle" days (which is what it was called in early 2004 or earlier?) and being slightly disappointed with the final product, it seemed as if he wanted to replicate the AReyeP/MCS universe but that being said, it is a fun play and very convincing for a 14-year old. I was always jealous of his abilities, his strengths, his disciplines and his perfect English (my English being well below par then) 'cause he was younger than me... lol... But he was American, after all, so the language shouldn't have upset me. A fine, fine mod, and yes, I also remember an ammo bug of sorts. That must be fixable in some way.

WolfForever wrote:June 2005: Hitler Strikes Back - Doesn't do a bad job staying in the original style but levels much too small, simple, and easy IMO, though they are competent at least. And it has been moved to SDL, for what it's worth. But is it as good as Absence (same author)? Not even close!

I thought this was a refreshing, fun play, but yes, the maps were a bit short. Havoc never dug really, really large maps (he got pretty wiped out after testing Nazi Operation for me... lol...) but what bothered me the most was the fact that the ceiling colors weren't even changed! When he ported it to SDL I also mentioned that, and he said "Nah, leave it"... lol...

WolfForever wrote:May 2005: Double Trouble - This was obviously a very strong effort but I like playing on high difficulty and it crashes after Level 13 or so! What a waste of potential; I'm not sure if I am willing to take a lower skill or not. This really should have been caught and fixed like right away.

I think Ryan de Haast always had enormous potential, but bugs like that always stood in the way. I'm sure in our rich days of SDL and all, this could be fixed easily. I always wanted to play this. I've been ogling the sprites, walls and the sounds (oh! the new original sounds!!) for a while, always thought it a pity that it'd gone overlooked. I think 2005 was a year where everybody wanted to top End of Destiny, and quite rightly so.

WolfForever wrote:Apr 2005: Abandon 2 - Purgatory - A Thomas set under the Possum Trot name! I haven't played it but I'm not convinced that just because it's Possum Trot it can't be decent so I might give anything even from that name at least a look when I'm bored.

Feb 2005: Project Wolfgeist - Another Possum Trot game, see Apr 2005 comments.

Let me spare you the heartbreak and recommend you do not play these! Purgatory is based on Countdown to Disaster, the only Ragland game I never played, but the MAP and OBJDATAS were just lying around, so I thought "why the hell not?". Wolfgeist has textured floors and ceilings, animated sprites and tons of stuff that I had no idea how to handle back then in my infant days. Kyle Albert was a great sport though, taught me an awful lot on discipline, forum behavior and, of course, he helped me set up the code so I could code myself. After doing that for a while, I ended up with guards marching backwards and doors that kept opening and closing themselves. Spooked the hell out of me. Maybe I should find the code again. I never had any problems changing ceilings, music and scores, text, map name on Get Psyched! screen etc.

And yes, Ling Yan Li's mods have only appealed to me in the sense that they're monstrously huge, but they are indeed total ripoffs and overkills. He's a great guy though, LP'ing a lot on YouTube and keeping old subjects alive... lol... And, mind you, Schabbs 3000 blew my mind because it seemed like he'd cracked the VSWAP and map files.

I remember playing Double Trouble, I enjoyed it a lot. Todpfad sounds familiar... Trench Warfare I never finished, but looked nice. SLD VERSION PL0X.

How come this never got an award?!?

Operation Hidden Secret by Santeri Kiiski is something I bring up every now and then. In June, 2006, stuff such as this was rare. All original sprites with the only changes being ceiling colors and the episode flow left out (though it's only 10 levels) - a huge inspiration for me, personally, when I did WOLF. Truly worth checking out and shouldn't take more than a wink to port to SDL.

http://www.brlowe.co.uk/operhid.zip

I don't remember playing Hidden Secret. Double Trouble NEEDS to be ported to SDL, but it seems Haast isn't around anymore. Todpfad, by Kyle Albert, I like as well and should be ported to SDL.

Well it is that time...time for 2004 now...

And of course anyone on this planet knows what the most monumental release of the year was. I will cover it, and commentary about it is perfectly acceptable as usual. However, the year bought plenty of other rich work into the community. And these posts are to cover a year, not focus 100% on a single revolutionary release. So - please keep that in mind - and here goes as I show all the other quality 2004 had to offer as well:

Dec 2004: While this month says "NO AWARD", this was the month of, you guess it, EoD. And I know that it wasn't at all than Brian did not thing it was 100% deserving of getting a golden award, but rather that he chatted once that Areyep/MCS themselves requested not to get awarded. I think it had to do with some initial bugs and nothing else, but ultimately Brian is not going to go against the authors' choice. Anyways I'm not going to write paragraphs of thoughts on this as it is obviously one of the best things I have ever played and together with Spear Resurrection, THIS shows how to properly follow up Spear of Destiny, and clearly the poor graphics and designs, and half-baked efforts of he Lost Episodes fall so far behind in comparison that it is impossible to even compare them. Now this was released ten years after the Lost Episodes hit the shelves, so obviously a lot had changed, but that's why they say better late than never. I feel so lucky I managed to get this things to actually run fairly stable with DosBOX, because if there was one non-SDL mod that would keep me crying all night if I couldn't play it, this would be the one. The reasons why I like this so much are the same reasons numerous other members do, and they don't need to be rehashed. It is obviously a monumental release, a milestone in Wolf3D/SoD modding, and the best release of 2004. So with that being said, it is time to move on to the rest of the year, because there's definitely some stuff that would be criminal to overlook just because of EoD.

Nov 2004: Monkey's Image World - I'm sure it is a good graphics source but I don't feel proper reviewing something that doesn't have levels.

Oct 2004: Operation Mutant Strike - The first OMS, it is almost definitely the weakest one, and pretty repetitious, but it's still designed fairly solidly. Also Oct 2004: Paderborn - It's a Lakota Bucksnort set. Like I've said many time I don't think they're anywhere close to terrible but I don't find them special either.

Sept 2004: Operation Letzterschutz - Here's the first "gold" of 2004 going in reverse order other than EoD. I absolutely loved this game; it is a definite conversion, the theme is very consistent with excellent variances between all the episodes but equally excellent consistency within the episodes, and all the mapping, being it Majik Monkee or ack is rock solid as well. I have a hard time thinking of a way to fault this game because it all blends together and is done really, really well IMO. This is exponentially my favorite release involving Majik Monkee. Top it off with the fact that it's been converted to SDL too. Also Sept 2004: The Untold Story - Never looked into or played it, but I've heard stuff by MaX is more for effects.

Aug 2004: Secret Missions 4 - Was never a big fan of Joshua Weight's release because the mapping was nothing special at all. Also Aug 2004: A Time to Die - Another Lakota set. No need to restate opinions.

Jul 2004: HOS Special Edition (but really just the sequel to HOS) - The mapping, theme, etc. are all very solid and it is a true conversion but somehow I can't quite get into the HOS games as much as I think I should. Something seems missing, that I can't put a finger on at all. Still it is a very strong release all things considered. Also Jul 2004: ZW1 Phase One - Never played this at all, yet.

Jun 2004: Coming of the Storm - Pure, pure gold. This is far and away WSJ's best Dos release. Like Letzterschutz or EoD, it's very hard to think of how to fault it at all. If I had to say ONE thing, it would be that there aren't any secret levels. A total masterpiece just like everyone else has always said. It probably fits in top five and almost definitely top ten.

Apr 2004: Dead World Rising 2 - Never played this, somehow the Doom theme just didn't sound appealing in this case. Also Apr 2004: Operation Hundscheisse - Average and relatvely uninteresting mapping IMO (and TBH).

Mar 2004: Alliance of Powers - Absolutely one of the best levels only Spear sets ever released. I don't think it can be matched by anything other than possibly Spearmpixsod (which is actually much older) and this year's DHW SoD set. Two famed authors, that I will not list because they wanted aliases here, combined together to make something that rocks from start to finish and truly proves you don't have to touch the code to make something great. Also Mar 2004: The Anticipation - I'm sure anything by ack has to be good, but I question using SR as a base. It would have to be really super-outstanding to not leave a slightly negative impression when comparing it to SR itself. That said, I have not played it, though despite my comments I still might.

Feb 2004: There were two awards this month; once went to a set by Mario and another by Mega. They later paired up as a team, of course. I can't really give input because I haven't played either of these. Mario's is Project Verwusting, and Mega's is Project: Unzerstobarer Ritter (what a weird middle name). Maybe I'll look at them someday because perhaps they aren't as hardcore as the Mario/Mega combined efforts.

Jan 2004: Batman: Wrath of Mr. Freeze - I'm not a fan of ISJ's work, even though I love WSJ obviously. ISJ seems to make much, much less serious efforts. But maybe okay if you want a silly type of set.

Well we all know what the best release of the year is, but there is no doubt in my mind that Letzterschutz and Coming of the Storm are way, WAY up there and would easily be candidates for top release of the year otherwise. And then we also had Alliance of Powers, which I felt is truly just about the best mapset-only release you could possibly ask for. Add all that up with EoD and I think 2004 offered some real dynamite in every manner.

p.s. I have played Operation Hidden Secret. I fully agree it was very good and should have gotten an award.

This is crazy... how do all of you guys remember the name of the mods you've played? List after lista fter list!

WolfForever wrote:Sept 2004: Operation Letzterschutz - Here's the first "gold" of 2004 going in reverse order other than EoD. I absolutely loved this game; it is a definite conversion, the theme is very consistent with excellent variances between all the episodes but equally excellent consistency within the episodes, and all the mapping, being it Majik Monkee or ack is rock solid as well. I have a hard time thinking of a way to fault this game because it all blends together and is done really, really well IMO. This is exponentially my favorite release involving Majik Monkee. Top it off with the fact that it's been converted to SDL too. Also Sept 2004: The Untold Story - Never looked into or played it, but I've heard stuff by MaX is more for effects.

Letzerschutz is fantastic, indeed a true total conversion, though without more advanced coding changes. Always loved that one. Mäx made some real gory mods, Sensenmann and Northern Darkness too, extreme graphical talent on that guy. Too bad his work is often put aside due to the gory content.

WolfForever wrote:Jun 2004: Coming of the Storm - Pure, pure gold. This is far and away WSJ's best Dos release. Like Letzterschutz or EoD, it's very hard to think of how to fault it at all. If I had to say ONE thing, it would be that there aren't any secret levels. A total masterpiece just like everyone else has always said. It probably fits in top five and almost definitely top ten.

Coming of the Storm was a terrific mod. Always loved that one. If ever ported to SDL I can't come to think of any improvements.

WolfForever wrote:Apr 2004: Dead World Rising 2 - Never played this, somehow the Doom theme just didn't sound appealing in this case.

This was one of the last Wolf mods I played before my "rediscovery" of Wolf (I took a break from May to September) and therefore the last I played sans digitized sounds and music. I liked it then, but yes, it does seem well below par now.

WolfForever wrote:Mar 2004: Alliance of Powers - Absolutely one of the best levels only Spear sets ever released. I don't think it can be matched by anything other than possibly Spearmpixsod (which is actually much older) and this year's DHW SoD set. Two famed authors, that I will not list because they wanted aliases here, combined together to make something that rocks from start to finish and truly proves you don't have to touch the code to make something great.

ack and Ariel really compliment each others' maps quite well. This set is superb. Really need to play this again soon. I could do with some proper inspiration.

WolfForever wrote:Jan 2004: Batman: Wrath of Mr. Freeze - I'm not a fan of ISJ's work, even though I love WSJ obviously. ISJ seems to make much, much less serious efforts. But maybe okay if you want a silly type of set.

I like ISJ's Batman sets. Never was a classic comic book reading kind of guy, so this was my introduction to the Batman world. "Quest for the Amulet" is the only "serious" (in your words) mod that ISJ ever released, and that, my fwend, is very, very good.

End of Destiny, needless to say, is a brilliant mod and truly one of the turning points in Wolf history. No doubt about that.

NOW for those who did NOT get an award back in ol' '04...

OPERATION ZEITGEIST: http://www.belowe.com/opzeitnewdemo.zip Terrific mod with lots of code changes and a very unique feel. Whatever happened to the author I do not know, but I do know that my first comment on DHW ever was a pad on the back about this mod which he felt like starting up again. No one else replied.

PROJECT OMEGA: http://www.garjen.co.uk/ Very good original-type set.

SENSENMANN: http://www.belowe.com/ReaperMan.zip By Mäx. Gory as hell and quite creepy, but ZOMG it's quite good.

The Legacy of Kevin Cartosa by Rocketboy680, not good, but I played it anyway. It was fun to play, though.

http://www.wolfenstein3d.co.uk/ctcpics.htm <-- THE MOD THAT NEVER WAS: COUNTDOWN TO CHAOS... Look at them screenies!

SCHABBS, AN EVIL LUNATIC: http://www.belowe.com/schabbsael.zip Good set, varied and fun. Masterpiece? No. But a fun mod.

FRIEDL 3D: http://www.belowe.com/friedl.zip Original-type set.

REVENGE OF POOPDECK WILLIE: http://www.wolfenstein3d.co.uk/pdwres.zip Excellent stuff and very funny!

DEAD RECKONING: http://www.wolfenstein3d.co.uk/deadreckd.zip Some gory shit, but quite entertaining.

Dark_wizzie wrote:This is crazy... how do all of you guys remember the name of the mods you've played? List after lista fter list!

http://www.wolfenstein3d.co.uk/awards.htm plus we Wolfers do tend to remember what some of our favorite mods are called.

2004 happens to be a year in which I have legitimately played ALL of the four really great ones (EoD, Letzter, CoTS, and AoP). And coincidence or not, but they are from March, June, September, and December (or very close). So we got a real gem every three months in '04 that obviously culminated with EoD, when Areyep/MCS finally justfully completed the SoD story and made right of FormGen's half-*ssed disservices from ten years prior.

There was one other unawarded set in 2004 that wasn't mentioned and probably deserves it: The Map Making Mania Melee. I can't remember Episodes 1, 3, and 5, but I know I liked Episode 2, 4, and 6 (Chris Chokan!) a lot. So a good community effort.

EDIT: What a disservice I just did with Episode 1! That was Arielus and now I recall it and of course, I liked it a lot. So only 3 and 5 are the ones I didn't care for as much in that competition set.