Game:

Doom (1993)

Duration: 6:30

240 views

12

Hey everyone, welcome back to another round of Doomage. The thing on the menu today is a new Ultimate Doom wad by ivymagnapinna called Forsaken Compound. This wad is an Episode 1 replacement intended for limit-removing ports, and is the author's first significant release. Forsaken Compound features a new palette, the incorporation of PSX/Doom 64 sounds, a pervasive sinister atmosphere, and a very skilful mix of horrorish and slaughter scenarios. As the text file notes, the environment is "a tech complex integrating itself into Hell. There's blood in the pipes, flesh in the machinery, and the walls won't take their eyes off you". Sounds great, so let's continue our exploration!

Basic info
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IWAD: doom.wad
Difficulty: Ultra-Violence (pistol start)
Map author: ivymagnapinna
Music: "Shhh, the Shadows Are Near" by decino
Port: DSDA-Doom 0.27.5
Compatibility level: 3 (Ultimate Doom)
QoL mods: Colored Blood, Ultrawide Statusbar, Black Gloves
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Additional notes
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Every storm is followed by a period of calm, and surely enough, 'Hellmouth' is the calm counterpoint to the pure brutality of 'G.R.I.N.D.E.R.'. It's a short and exceptionally moody techbase where you'll not only get to see more of Ivy's environmental storytelling but also hear decino's chops as a composer; always a welcome bonus. The discordant ambient of "Shhh, the Shadows Are Near" acts as a scaffolding for the narrative, with the infernal crimson pillars being the strongest and most prominent visual leitmotif. The brevity can be criticized from a map ordering point of view, but it's a misplaced kind of criticism. What's key to understand is that the length and difficulty of the map are secondary to the aforementioned narrative development and the building of atmosphere. As Ivy writes about the map, "Mainly inspired by Ichinichi's MAP05, I tried to take its texture theme and create more of a narrative with it. I always liked how the original E1 slows down into an easier but more atmospheric conclusion, so I tried to do the same". By that measure, 'Hellmouth' serves its role very well and is perfectly placed in the penultimate slot, powerfully suggesting that the boundary between our world and Hell is quickly coming apart and that Doomguy must do something about it soon. Where others have failed, we must succeed. Powerful stuff.

Secret 1: 1:51

Links
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WAD:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/144468-forsaken-compound-doom-episode-1-replacement/

QoL mods:

Colored Blood:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/118074-dsda-doom-source-port-v0243/?page=16

Ultrawide Statusbars:

https://github.com/NightFright2k19/doom_widehud

Black Gloves:

https://www.moddb.com/mods/universal-black-gloves-for-doom

Other Statistics