The Darkening Episode 2 - MAP10: Plasmorgasm (Blind Ultra-Violence 100%)

Level submitted by anonymous.
Game: Doom II
PWAD: Darken2.wad
Difficulty: Ultra-Violence
Source port: DSDA-Doom 0.27.5 (-complevel 2)
Pistol start.
Blind (never played or seen the maps before).
All kills and secrets.
No saves.
Subscribe for more playthroughs!
Link to WAD:
www.doomworld.com/idgames/lev...
Link to source port:
www.doomworld.com/forum/topic...
Widescreen status bars:
forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php...
Doom minor sprite fixing project:
www.doomworld.com/idgames/gra...
Submissions overview:
submissions.decino.nl/
Flyover shots powered by Cameraman:
github.com/borogk/cameraman
My Doom settings, extended HUD and more:
decino.nl/downloads
00:00 Intro
00:12 Blind Run
16:41 Outro

[@ukirocom]

Oh hey! I recently found a build of darken2 on a floppy from the summer of 1998. We just took our time getting the release out, so most textures were made in 97-98.

[@proosee]

WOW, I'm surprised you had no issues reading 25 year old floppy, tbh.

[@ukirocom]

@@proosee I have more floppies and about half were unreadable, sadly. My earliest doom levels from 94-95 were likely on there.

[@proosee]

@@ukirocom damn, that's a shame, but I remember floppies being moody after couple reads, so I can't say I'm much shocked

[@DinnerForkTongue]

And here comes Ukiro with the steel chair! Seriously, man, big props for these community contributions

[@theshep]

Awesome!

[@Fronzel41]

Wow I can't believe people are still making maps for Doom 2 in the present year 2000. I wonder how long they'll keep it up.

[@ScaryBoredGuy]

They making these wads because DOOM will never become obsolete

[@smiffwilm]

In the year 2000.... In the year 2000!

[@weepingscorpion8739]

@@smiffwilm Conan O'Brien reference?

[@ChordxClient]

@@weepingscorpion8739absolutely

[@mapron1]

So glad decino have time to do uploads on regular schedule again! Hope your fatherhood doing well!

[@AB0BA_69]

When decino's kid was born he came out circlestrafing 😊

[@thor1829]

@@AB0BA_69 Real

[@mx0r]

It’s just a phase.

[@JustDiptych]

Nah, I can totally see the Quake II influence. Those industrial environments with lots of verticality, narrow walkways and environmental hazards? That's very Quake II.

[@user-gi1vg4ck1p]

The beginning area is certainly a Q2 reference (the doors shapes!) And a general idea of backtracking as new passages open on in already cleaned areas is very Q2, too.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

This looks so much like a preview of Eviternity and Back To Saturn X, it's unreal. If anything there is a whole lot of Anagnorisis to this map.

[@nathansyoutubeaccount]

Playing the old stuff is good. Gives the community our history.

[@thor1829]

True, there's plenty of good older levelsets (Alien Vendetta, Memento Mori 1&2, Icarus: Alien Vanguard, Scythe come to mind)

[@nathansyoutubeaccount]

⁠@@thor1829absolutely. Decino has played a lot of those but for sure spreading that “dark age” stuff from the 2000s is needed

[@lordpalandus11]

2:36 = Yes. The two secret levels in Eviternity utilize a lot of the textures found in this map.

[@popeyboy5108]

I love how you can casually talk about textures while killing monsters in a room where I'd be panicking!

[@dreadwanderer]

For an early 2000s wad it's damn good, I have it on my "to-Doom" list (admittedly low priority though).

[@anmuttSA]

I love this mapset and it's cool to see you play it! Sadly, I found this map to be one of the more forgettable in the set, although Wiles made two of the better levels in the set too (maps 05 & 08) so it's no knock on him as a designer. The wad's become something of a relic of the times and can easily be forgotten in the wave of amazing community content that's been produced in the years that followed, so it's nice to see it get some showing on a bigger channel. IIRC, esselfortium said that Darkening E2 was a significant influence in the early BTSX days. I strongly recommend Map 12 to anybody who hasn't played Darkening 2, it's designed by ukiro and is pretty devious and intricate. Probably one of my favourite maps of all time. It's only about 2% of the size of his Eviternity offerings, but it's a vanilla mapset after all. :^)

[@DinnerForkTongue]

Wassup an_mutt, glad to see you around! So in size it doesn't compare to Kenosis, but how does it measure up to ukiro's best map ever in design cleverness? Coz he's a smart fella when putting setpieces together.

[@anmuttSA]

@@DinnerForkTongue It's a very clever map in terms of its layout and progression, it feels ahead of its time in a lot of ways. It doesn't have as many set-pieces, obviously, but there are a couple moments that I love (and that I won't specify/spoil for you, if you decide to play it).

[@l9day]

It's got brown castles, it's got ochre fortresses, it's got sepia strongholds, the works.

[@erikziak1249]

Quite amazing for its time. Even almost a quarter century later, it is very modern.

[@kurtismcdeath6836]

Fun fact and im sure it will make some people mad at me but,on 2006 when i was looking for doom 3 to download it,instead i got an exe that just said DOOM3 and in it came the Darkening 2 plus doom 3 monsters and weapons and some creepy soundtrack. Clearly a bootleg doom 3 but i had a lot of fun and just recently i discovered good old wads such as this one. Thank you for the nostalgia.

[@Legatron17]

This really does look like a map from Eviternity 1 Episode 2 if it was made over two decades ago xD Though I do have to say that it held up quite well! Btw, I still have my hopes up that you'll play Eviternity 2 eventually 😉

[@eddiesalinas]

yes E2 deserves some Decino playthrough!

[@DinnerForkTongue]

​@@eddiesalinas He said he won't play megawads anytine soon, and Ev2 is a lunker among megawads. The only possibility I can think of for him playing it on the channel is by streaming, which doesn't sound bad at all.

[@eddiesalinas]

@@DinnerForkTongue :(

[@averagefearoftheocean3005]

i plasmorgasmed

[@jaymxu]

You smegmagasmd

[@gigaslave]

24 years is at least an epoch in Internet time.

[@kenhunt6659]

This is so mazelike, gives me TNT vibes, but the amount of custom assets and the music...definitely ahead of its time.

[@Olek54321]

When I saw the very beginning and you've mentioned, it's from year 2000, my first thought was about Quake. For me it looks at least a little quake-ish :D great WAD indeed! I would never say, it's 24years old

[@bholdr----0]

@9:05- 'As long as I'm killin' stuff, I'm making progress, right'? ...DOOM!

[@lordpalandus11]

14:11 = Haven't played quake 2 in a while eh? Its very quake 2 like. Lots of outdoor sections mixed with techbase. Lots of crates with symbols on them. Lots of rusted metal lifts to make the level 3d mazelike with tons of backtracking and verticality. Lots of lights and sparking ambience. Barren industrial hell-hole with dead foliage and dry ground everywhere.

[@Nob1ej0n]

5:15 Way to clutch out that single segment blind run from deep in the red! This was a really cool map. The start had some Quake 1 vibes. The later architecture and computer panels had some Quake 2 vibes. But the whole thing just had cool vibes all on its own.

[@The_Sadomasochist]

Gotta love that skybox!

[@barren__2546]

Decino is my favorite character in this Arc of the Manga.

[@RussianSevereWeatherVideos]

"Why do you blink?! Are you secret?!" - Decino, 2024

[@MrDepechefan1]

Wow, for a 2 decade old wad it still looks amazing and that midi slaps!

[@thor1829]

Wow, I didn't know that Ukiro worked on the Darkening! His work on OTEX is amazing! By the way, speaking of Eviternity, decino, are you going to do an Eviternity II playthrough?

[@zdibs]

This looked amazing. I kind of want to play the entire thing. Great map and great video!

[@Ironstarfish]

Keep up the videos!!!! We love them

[@LAMAROUX34]

woaw I love the custom use of textures in this map but sill keeping it doom like ! Happy that you reupload more often too !

[@worldoffood123]

Spyro music? Would definitely fit the era haha. Impressive detailing for 2000! Especially since it had to stay within vanilla limits.

[@AB0BA_69]

For a 24 year old map Plasmorgasm looks amazing. Good choice by the submitter!

[@lukebehrendsbro.]

That seems like a very challenging map to play here. I really do like this map with really cool details they put in. One of these days I have to play a ton of wad's for alot of Doom games that I need to think well within. In the mean time this was a fun video. Well done. 🙂👍

[@Dollar_Store_Cacodemon]

Not heard of this WAD myself. Looks really good if this map alone is anything to go by. I always love the use of custom textures to freshen things up too. I think I'll give this a try. 👍🏻

[@Runie549]

This level at least reminds me more of Marathon 2 than Quake or Quake II. Which is awesome, that game has some gorgeous alien aesthetics :D

[@Yucatecotactico275]

Decino I love your videos, greetings from Mexico :D

[@nmn5550]

Ouuhhh one of the absolute classics, loved it ever since it was released!

[@Aikisbest]

Wow, this looks amazing, and for a wad so old too :o

[@Azardea]

So glad to have you back again!

[@br0neh]

Another video already nice

[@BaNaNaRaMbO53]

I do associate this level with Q2, mostly the first and (maybe the one before) final levels with the red orange sky and the Strogg trapezoidal doors.

[@iguana9173]

This is a really cool wad.

[@georgeheilman885]

The map lived up to its title with the caco cloud at the exit. Pity you couldn't grab the BFG in time, but you still won.

[@Chunes3]

I'm so old I still think of this wad as modern -_-

[@Shiny_Silv]

i feel like that switch up on the wall for a secret felt quake- like as quake did secrets like that somewhat often

[@Markworth]

Without seeing anything except this video, I feel like this is the Quake 1 inspired predecessor to the Quake 2 inspired BTSX.

[@SatNightSpecials]

I recently finished this WAD and it's quite fun. I think it holds up better than some other famous WADs from the era (Alien Vendetta, for instance), partly due to the textures, partly because the level design generally avoids being obnoxious for the sake of difficulty. I wouldn't have chosen Map 10 as a highlight, though. The soundtrack is good too. This MIDI is by Sam Woodman, as was a lot of the music for Hell Revealed II.

[@RaketoQ]

nice Video !

[@CirclesandSounds]

I know that a blockade between myself and Doom in the 2000’s was Windows XP leaving Dos behind… and I was not aware of source ports in those years. It was a big change, and it really left Dos games (popularly) behind for years. I think the resurgence of Doom came with widely available source ports, easy access to high speed internet everywhere, DosBox type Dos emulators, etc. Also of course exciting things were happening in the 3D craze, which did NOT age gracefully like “2.5D” art filled games. I feel like that distinction also reflects a lot of popular opinions on CG and how films that used more organic means of VFX during that era aged much better than the most advanced CG at the time being overused. So DooM rose from the ashes victorious. Who is playing Quake 2 and 3 with great enthusiasm today? Some I’m sure, but nothing like DooM. 🤓🙃

[@guestheman]

Smashing through DooM levels as always! Now that’s the decino i know! Stay DooMer, not BooMer!

[@adinocc2042]

Nice map!

[@windwalkerrangerdm]

The map is really q2 inspired, hexagonal doors and the industrial area where you get the yellow key are clearly q2.

[@DARKLORD20097]

Also, I feel inspiration from Quake/Quake 2 in this one. It doesn't look/feel exactly like it, but some of the textures have similar style. I think it's cool, they were inspired by it, but didn't totally copy the style.

[@nangsanbhalangblah333]

Not bad for its time. Quite refreshing

[@carpediemarts705]

Gracias

[@Qoko88]

It's weird to have ignored this game for about 27 years and now come back, see all these relics got released meanwhile. This looks pretty amazing, though the tone in this map became a bit repetitive near the end. Design wise, love the idea of the yellow door jump over explored areas, but can also see some 90s tropes: progression-required damaging floors, a BFG secret that's kind of pointless unless you have lightning reflexes and no shortcuts / easy backtracking. All in all, enjoyable map to watch.

[@robertbeckman2054]

Quake 2 with the Strogg was the end of my love for I’d Software (except for RTCW).

[@DARKLORD20097]

This one looks really good for such an old wad. I will play it. Btw, started playing Doom exactly in the year 2000. It was my first video game ever, as the shareware version of Doom 1 was pre-installed on PC that my parents bought. I was 6. Didn't start playing custom levels until 2003 though, that's when we started to find those cd discs with a lot of shitty levels on them (but hey, that was good at the time... i wanted more doom and i've got it!). I quickly moved on to Serious Sam and Quake 3 around 2001-2002 as my "main" games, though, as well as many others (including many RPGs), only came back to Doom when I've got nostalgic... in like 2009, lol. But after that I never left.

[@rustyjames6131]

That MIDI really reminds me of something from Load/Reload era Metallica, but I can't put my finger on it.

[@alexeipino3994]

I say it does look like quake 2, at least the parts that dont have white walls, specially those diagonal doorframes and squiggly lifts

[@txcrix9236]

Classic Doom is so legendary it will never die. The old id crew had it made but then greed and lust for power took over.

[@KernelLeak]

_does the math_ I was 23 when that WAD was released... D: _instantly feels old_

[@Malefication]

Would you look at that! Another map with... kind of a thin set of stairs! The yellow key room ever so vaguely reminds me of some Quake 2 layout. I figure techbases with lots of boxes is the inspo from Q2 :D

[@TheRealNormanBates]

7:26 ah, got the rare 666!

[@iguana9173]

Very noice.

[@jmatki1217]

I’d like to see some Terry wads up in here

[@scottl.1568]

Did Cino just drop a Doom 3 reference? 😮

[@JangianTV]

Nothing screams 00s like SSG'ing a Baron to death! 👿 Gosh, 2000 AD - was only a 6 y/o nipper then! Wouldn't be til 2 years later when I first experienced Doom on the PS1. 😊

[@fisk0]

I don't quite agree that there's nothing Quake 2 about this - maybe nothing combat design wise, but the metallic grate textures, the orange sky and these curved walkways evoke Q2 for me, particularly the mine maps.

[@MrDopeKeen]

That area after the first lift looks more like inspired by the Tom Hall level in DooM 2

[@seansullivan7928]

GOOD evening Decinomy thingy changed to a mancubi

[@aanproduction1516]

early 2000's was the time of the most confusing layouts imaginable. Funny how most of them weren't even criptic, but just really hard to comprehend

[@wallbreaker9331]

Barons scare me even more since yesterdays Vytaan stream

[@shemsuhor8763]

This map seems insane for 2000. :O

[@CassSionnach]

i wont lie, as i wait for the submissions to run through so i can submit my first map, i get more and more demotivated since all of these maps are significantly better than mine in every way possible. i was particularly impressed with the other guys first map. maybe i should just try and make another map with the stuff i learned while making my first map. im not kidding when i say its my first btw, i literally made the map WHILE watching a ultimate doom builder tutorial. you can see the process of things added as i learned them the deeper you get in the map. might be to green for a submission...

[@decino]

It's not a competition!

[@fisk0]

I think the big Doom source port around this time would've been Doom Legacy. Newdoom was the big community around then, I'd say Doom was still pretty big at the time, but it was a time when every game had a modding scene, not like 2005 when every game was console first and barely let you change settings

[@Gheedish]

Monster jumpscare @ 16:32

[@sweetcreekcommunityco-op4395]

"Why do you blink!?!?! ... are you a Secret?" #MakeShirts

[@proosee]

Confusing map layout? Yup, definitely Quake 2 inspired 🤣

[@riba2233]

I think it aged quite well :)

[@eldandraken4850]

red screen gaming, powered by evil tomato

[@mancubwwa]

I dont agree with "nothing qake like" the esthetics in the begining definately gave me strong qake tech base vibes.

[@yntxrrr]

Is the background music here in 14/4? Maybe 14/8? Or is it just 3/4 with a pickup half-measure every 2nd bar?

[@createprince2093]

darken2 is so cool

[@Azturus]

Music ahead of its time? Dream Theater starter their "thing" 40 years ago :D

[@shemsuhor8763]

Debatable if DT was "ahead of its time" when Jethro Tull existed 20 years prior. DT often sounds quite lacklustre today when you go back and listen to their older tracks - except for stuff like Space Dye Vest or 6 o'clock that were more naturally technical and not solely vehicles for musical masturbation. Compared to something like Sugar Coated Sour which is still just as insane as the day it was released.

[@Admen73]

cool

[@asad5986]

I'm turning 23 this year, so this wad is older than me lol.

[@CTyler84]

2:17 Looks a lot like the parts near the end of Q2 to me, like the palace.

[@crimsonskull9276]

Plasmorgasm? Who the hell came up with this??!!

[@bryce8718]

00:28 SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UPPPPPPPPPP!

[@greenguykanoe2912]

Petition to change the channel's name to dadcino

[@Rajesh-Koothrappali]

Nah because I don’t love my dad and I love Decino

[@Tarles_X]

No.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

No.

[@ryankrueger8522]

No

[@umairdaniyal4357]

Okay, I think that sounds pretty good.

[@Muscleduck]

Impressive map and textures but confusing layout.

[@JoeyJoJoJoestarJuniorShabadoo]

I liked when you shooted the demons.

[@user-kw4qx4qu8c]

I don't know why, but early parts of this map looks like retextured Valiant level to me.

[@espnthefuture]

@decino suppose I play a game through emulator with a patch on the game that gives me some... extra help. But see um. I'm cheap. The patch costs more than I want to pay long term. If instead I hired a white hat hacker to backdoor into the computer could he see the code the patch is running enabling me to recreate it?

[@decino]

idunno

[@alexandersmith6140]

I see the Quake 2 somewhat. I also see a lot of Half-Life.

[@KogaSagara]

24 y ago??! lies! LIIIIIIIIEEEES!!!! TwT

[@almostmatt1tas]

Just gonna leave this here, this is a 14 year old Max TAS of this map by Andy Olivera. He goes for a lot of smooth and very satisfying gameplay (for example there are multiple 4-rocket Baron kills) rather than raw speed, which makes this a really satisfying watch. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2GViXdng7Gfhacsi=M-9ivO91VBna_EhQ

[@adre2194]

This map's pretty cute :3

[@TFYFTFI]

what the most optimized doom port when you get maximum performance than any doom port?

[@decino]

Helion is probably the most optimised under most circumstances, but it's still WIP and not all WADs are compatible yet. Both DSDA-Doom and Woof are considered the most optimised ports used for both competitive and casual play.

[@RobertGee101]

Can you tell me how the pumpkin family is doing?😊

[@decino]

All fine and dandy.

[@eugeniosabater8449]

Death Star dungeons at the start???? Also very much similar to Quaker 2 I guess!!!!Mmmm okay but change a bit those textures and put more white and less red lights!!!! Just a though though!!!!!