THE PROBLEMS WITH DOOM II

DOOM 2: Hell on Earth was released only 10 months after Doom 1, but Id Software still introduced all-new Doom monsters like the Arch-vile, Revenant and Mancubus, and also the iconic Super Shotgun. However, Doom 2’s maps haven’t aged as gracefully as Ultimate Doom, TNT Evilution and Plutonia. These are the Problems with DOOM II. #DoomII #Doom #DoomEternal

[@francescoperi7810]

As a lifelong Doom enthusiast (40+ dude), I have trouble putting Doom2 in a critical perspective. It's like critiquing individual details of one's girlfriend in highschool. Impossible. Certain things have to be experienced and retained as a whole. The only thing I feel when I replay Doom2 two decades down the line is how *huge* everything was to us in the mid-90s, how every situation in the game, even the ones described as "bland", were totally unique, unprecedented, fearsome, and how they required an amount of improvisation and learning on the job that no younger player can even begin to imagine. We basically went from Sonic to Doom2 in the time it took to squeeze a pimple. Even the "bad" levels are tattooed in my brain, pixel by pixel, challenge by challenge. The Pit? Terrific! Downtown? Unforgettable. Monster Condo? One of the scariest memories... Of course now we have Sunlust and other gems of design, but Doom2, like Doom, did so many things right it's unfathomable. Eeeh, old man's rant over :)

[@Youngie761]

Thanks for this comment. I couldn't agree and relate more, especially when mentioning the maps. Back in those days Doom2 was the one you played and I always thought it got more interesting after Trick and Traps.

[@christiangottsacker6932]

I loved reading this comment.

[@ToABetterTomorrow]

Francesco Peri - Right on man! I could not have said it better myself. My obsession with Doom and Doom 2 began back in 1995 during my freshman year of college while I was living in the dorms. The original Doom series on PC was so epic and iconic that only those of us who were actually playing it back in the 90's can truly understand.

[@j1shin]

This!

[@user98xp]

Well said. Things escalated quickly in the 90s. We went from Wolf 3D in 92 to UT and Q3A in '99.

[@forgettablePyromaniac]

Every time he says "Doom Two(-e)", take a shot.

[@hardcoredoom5892]

Are you trying to kill us?

[@forgettablePyromaniac]

@@hardcoredoom5892nnnnnnooooooo...

[@feliperojas-doomride]

also new(-e) and Romero(-e)

[@MunkiZee]

You just heard an extra e? I heard about 7 vowels mashed together

[@du0lol]

It's like Banjo Kazooie

[@alexmoore3676]

The Chasm is so ahead of it's time, after 27 years it's time still hasn't come.

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

I have heard, from the man himself, that it was based on a nightmare he had. So maybe he just made his dream a little *too* real XD

[@De-M-oN]

I like Chasm. Its actually a cool idea with these thin ledges

[@christiangottsacker6932]

Why do you come? 😎

[@Lammero]

xD

[@SecretAgentMan00]

The Chasm was streets ahead!

[@beautifulmeeses]

I love everything new added in doom 2. Archviles, pain elementals, revenants, hell knights and of course the super shotgun. Seriously, nearly everything added in doom 2 has become a series staple.

[@ivanilayakimova2526]

Imps , Cacodemons .I remember this monsters .

[@TahirTheMan]

Oh god the pain elemental is still there?

[@ELFanatic]

I like everything but the pain elementals. Those can get thrown in the bin.

[@lucaspeixesanto5105]

being honest for me doom 2 kind starts felling boring around maps 9-13, while in the first doom i never felt bored in any map

[@kshmr_k9]

Based

[@lugbzurg8987]

So, largely the "Episode 2: Urban Environments" vicinity of the game.

[@ArcanineluvsU]

Exactly how I feel. I get to tricks and traps and I slowly start to lose interest.

[@AgainstTheeWickedlyMusic]

I'm glad I share this opinion with someone, I thought it was just me!

[@binho2224]

@@AgainstTheeWickedlyMusic You are not alone at all, so it seems. I feel the same way

[@user98xp]

After Tricks & Traps, every map is full of tricks and full of traps. It gets really tricky and trappy.

[@user-st2ti4wy1w]

Trick and traps are a scary level.

[@Gian04]

It's tricking and trappying time

[@SixtyFourJr]

​@@Gian04*tricks and traps all over the place*

[@WokeUpScreaming]

The level "Gotcha" is named so because the level before hand makes it seem like you need all three keys top complete but only need two. I spent a good hour trying to get to the blue key which I could see just out of reach. Suddenly realised that they'd pulled a fast one on me and I didn't even need it. To then finish the level and see "Gotcha!". That's my thinking behind it anyways.

[@strangevol5264]

Actually, you only need the red key! Just glide through the space, and bingo!

[@franciscoac9090]

There's an interview with John Romero where he says your should make your first level last, so it is your best one, I think that philosophy of placing your "best levels" first may explain the "quality dip" seen in Doom level designs. I remember the logic being that the first level is the one to make an impression, and that the first levels are the ones that most people are going to play, it probably comes from the shareware model too

[@lugbzurg8987]

I believe Shigeru Miyamoto has also issued the same sentiment as well.

[@toptier2800]

the quality dip comes because john romero designed first 7-8 maps and sandy designed the later ones.

[@MatheusGomes-ej3mr]

@@toptier2800 wrong. The first map designed by romero, if you play them from level 1 onwards is level 11.

[@TheShut1]

@@MatheusGomes-ej3mr Yeah I know, replying to 1 year old comment but top tier most certainly meant first Doom game, not the second one.

[@ELFanatic]

@@toptier2800 America McGee designed the majority of the earlier maps. Someone else already pointed out that Romero doesn't come in until map 11.

[@omarargueta2929]

I feel Doom 1 had more open ended maps to explore and because of that many of the map could even be ignored, while Doom 2 had somewhat more linear but more puzzly type maps, the problem is that due to the nature of doom 2 maps as the difficulty ramps up they become far more frustrating and even unfun, also it often feels like doom 2 had enemy placement ment to get you of guard and kill you with bigger mobs which can be frustrating too

[@sebastianaliandkulche]

This was shamefully also a problem with Plutonia, TNT and Master Levels as well. Im very glad Heretic existed since it solved practically all the issues i have with Doom 2, and Hexen managed to make bigger maps but without making it clunky to navigate. Hell, i wouldnt even complain if someone thinks Heretic is better than Doom 1.

[@hideshisface1886]

I must say this - Sandy's maps are amazing on technical level. Think about him as a toolmaker of sorts. He's got the editor and did with it things that didn't seem possible at first glance. With this, he created the tools, the very concepts and ideas that could be later used by other map makers. That alone is quite astonishing. I mean, come on - Tricks and Traps - the map that basically made Doom into a dungeon crawl, almost like in D&D. Or Dead Simple along with American McGee - perhaps the most iconic Doom 2 map. Sure, there are some weird things in Petersen's maps, some strange empty spaces, or not so great flow of some levels, like in Downtown - but looking back at it - seeing something like a city area was incredibly ambitious, and even if I don't exactly like this particular map, I simply must respect the effort and skill put in working around all the technical limitations. Because hey - we should not forget that technology was not what it is now and there was more than just engine limitations to consider at the time.

[@christiangottsacker6932]

His secret level on doom 1 with the barons and cacodemons was where the company learned about monster I fighting, so he claims.

[@lugbzurg8987]

As I understand, John Carmack was SO mad at him for making Mt. Etebus, thus effectively forcing him to improve the engine and push the technology to its absolute limits to render such large spaces.

[@garrettk7166]

@@lugbzurg8987 If that's true, bless Sandy for doing so. We got a better engine because of it.

[@D00000T]

You also really can’t hold the maps in doom 2 to a too high standard considering how the game’s development looked like. id were trying to do a lot at once back then with quake’s engine and development. Having only 9 people in your company (if I’m correct) work on 2 projects at once with one helping out with another company’s games isn’t gonna create great results

[@hideshisface1886]

@@D00000T Oh, true, but all things considered, maps in Doom and Doom 2 are in a very high standard. At the time of Doom's release, this type of game was still very new, and PC gaming was on a far more primitive level than consoles at the time in terms of gameplay. The gold standard of the... Proto FPS were clones of Wolfenstein, which were for all intents and purposes just glorified mazes. Even PC platformers at this time were mostly massive mazes and collect-a-thons. While Doom didn't completely deviate from this idea, there is a running theme to a lot of the maps, clearer variety. Much more custom and creative work than a simple re-arrangement of corridors.

[@mastermind4499]

I don't really know why, but I love downtown and hate Industrial zone and just rush towards the secret exit.

[@darrellgardner4561]

Downtown is a great idea, the game is called Hell on Earth and it is one of the only levels that is "clearly" an actual place. The problem is that it really lacks a sense of direction, so much so they had to put a giant "go here" arrow on the ground. I loved it as a kid, even though i always got lost. These days ive learned how to beat it in like 5 minutes so it isnt so bad.

[@IAmTyler100]

I feel like there's really something for everyone in doom 2, personally am a fan of of The Chasm for the tense atmosphere but find The Living End a bit too cramped for my liking

[@mastermind4499]

@@darrellgardner4561 yeah, I have the same feeling, I love the lack of direction on this map. Also I just prefer darker tone of this map.

[@mastermind4499]

@@IAmTyler100 I love The Chasm too. I also memed about it alot when people complained about DOOM Eternal platforming and that it doesn't belong in DOOM, I was like "hehe, do you remember The Chasm?"

[@OmegaTyrant]

I too hate Industrial Zone, mainly so on vanilla, as without mouse look, trying to snipe the hitscanners high up that you can't see is hell, and as a whole the map is pretty hitscan hell-lite. With mouse look I still don't like it and find it bland, but it becomes tolerable.

[@shark_vii]

I always figured that "Gotcha!" was named as such because the end of The Citadel looks like you're finally going through the Hell Gate, only to be teleported elsewhere for one final Earth map before actually going into Hell.

[@tiefighter3445]

Thats a good point actually.

[@zeroloid9762]

I must be some kind of genetic aberration, but I really enjoyed The Chasm. It was so unique and interesting that I forgave its frustrating everything.

[@FPMedia_]

LOL, I've softened up on it a little too.

[@Gurra88]

It's a speed runner's nightmare

[@hypnos9336]

I'm not a speedrunner or anything but I never had a problem with that level. I like the high ceilings and waterfalls of slime, it has a cool aesthetic. It's also not that hard to walk on the narrow platforms if you have any skill at all

[@lordterra1377]

By the standards of the time, The Chasm was a good game. Not sure why people are so hard in it. Yes it's not Quake but any young boy back then would be happy to get any new FPS let alone a true 3D one.

[@zeroloid9762]

@@lordterra1377 The level not the game, lol

[@wolfgangfrost8043]

Your complaint about the Chasm is 100% valid because I also generally only save after level completion, but... an F6 quicksave is a technically "non-cheat" loophole around those little annoyances.

[@De-M-oN]

But the ledges at the exit are much wider. kill the souls first and then just go to exit. Its not that hard there^^

[@chonchjohnch]

Save scumming is named as such for a reason

[@sebastianaliandkulche]

@@chonchjohnch Still isnt cheat if the game provides you with the save option (so no savestates).

[@contrabandresearch8409]

I also think the game heads downhill as soon as Tricks and Traps comes up. Downtown is why I think overall the levels in Doom II were a letdown. id did nothing with a demonic invasion of earth. The super shotgun and the new enemies all became classics, but the levels hold this game back. And looking at the levels one after another in this video show how they are overwhelming brown and drab.

[@independentthought3390]

Yeah, it's strange how Earth looks exactly like Phobos and Deimos. They didn't even bother with new textures. Doom 2 had potential, but it was just a cash grab in the end.

[@binho2224]

Sorry for a year later comment, but I feel exactly the same about Doom II. I finished Doom 1993 with GZDoom 4 times, 1 with just free aim and 3 with beatifull doom mod. Then a couple more times with other mods. But just 3 months ago I was able to finish Doom 2 and I was just pushing it as an acomplishment for myself. I tried so many times to finish it, but its when Tricks and Traps hits that the game starts losing me. The addition of the super shotgun and especially the new enemies is really nice, but the level design is either frustating or, most of the time, not fun at all. Do you know any mappack megawad made by fans for GZDoom that keeps the game insteresting?

[@contrabandresearch8409]

@@binho2224 A couple megawads I like are Whispers of Satan and Going Down.

[@binho2224]

@@contrabandresearch8409 thank you!

[@contrabandresearch8409]

@@binho2224 You're welcome.

[@VGamingJunkieVT]

Doom 2's biggest contribution is arguably to the modding community, since it's basically Doom 1 with more enemies and items. Granted, I also feel very nostalgic for some of the levels.

[@krakixel]

My main problem with DOOM2 is that the supershotgun BECOMES the workhorse of the player through the entire game. It trivializes a lot of encounters and makes some of the maps' fights just boring. And then yeah there's the issue of overworking Petersen to such a degree.

[@sebastianaliandkulche]

I feel like the super shotgun could work if it was like Quake double shotgun. Consuming two shells for double damage.

[@jateenkasan6351]

Its easy to be a armchair critic on Doom 2 20 something years later. Remember when this came out in 1994 it was new and unique. A lot of maps are experimental and level designers John Romero, Sandy Peterson and American McGee were trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t because it was that cutting edge. Its unfair to compare levels, because it kind of laid a foundation for future map designers to build on. You have to look at it as a whole package and that package is pretty awesome.

[@robbiea5040]

I was not a fan of the level design in Doom 2. Doom 1 had much better levels.

[@mikeg2491]

It’s just a hell of a lot of brown re-used textures everywhere. I think doom 64 was way better as a spiritual sequel.

[@Geekdom101]

wacky

[@DeanH92]

You remind me of that Geekdom guy from KZbin.

[@battlecry7851]

Oh, I had no idea that you were a Doom fan Geekdom. Awesome! Would you do some videos on the Doom lore if you are interested? 2016 and Eternal are especially ripe for some great videos.

[@De-M-oN]

for Icon Of Sin I would've preferred an entire new boss enemy instead of a wall texture..

[@lunareclipse2401]

same, i always thought it should've been a large baphoment-eque entity, with a body made of flaming brimstone n shit

[@alliebonesVODs]

I'm pretty sure "Gotcha!" is called that because the very first thing you do in the level is shoot a zombie from behind - a sorta "gotcha!" moment, and if you're not paying attention, you'll soon after begin to be shot in the back yourself, double-gotcha'd!

[@zachariaslupson3365]

"Doom Twooi"

[@MrErkkkk]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@brpadington]

Thumbs up for the Civvie 11 reference.

[@HeffboomKonijn]

Monster Condo with its music and gory visuals are creepy as hell. Love that map and decades later, that maps still makes me uncomfortable when playing it

[@user-st2ti4wy1w]

There is a library in Monster Condo.

[@CharcharoExplorer]

Its my favourite game exactly because of its experimental nature - it is a game that wanted to fuck with me and I appreciate that a lot. I love Doom 1 too, but its just that for me DOOM 2's design of gimmicks and playfulness and the middle finger at the player is what I like.

[@OpenMawProductions]

3:57 The reason it was an issue was because in Doom 1, though the level design was abstract it still FIT a progression of themes... That is until Thy Flesh Consumed came along and was just a medley of levels. E1 is a tech base. E2 is a tech base being consumed/overtaken by Hell. E3 is all out Hell, and where the levels start to become really abstractive and surreal. Even with E3 though, there was a sense of building towards the final conflict. Doom 2 tends to meander about during the middle of the campaign. I do, absolutely, agree that Doom 2 would have benefitted from retaining the episode structure. Indeed, it basically breaks down into three parts in terms of narrative. Starport-City to Hellish dimensions, to the deeper Hell sections.

[@thiagovidal6137]

Thanks for playing with texture filtering. Now I am diagnosed with eye cancer.

[@eupher2]

Refueling Base is one of the maps Tom Hall created for Doom 1 but it wasn't put in to the final game. If you play the Doom 1 Alphas it's of the maps in there.

[@TahirTheMan]

I consider DooM to be better than the sequel solely because DooM II is more hit-or-miss with its maps.

[@hayaokakizaki4463]

Am I the only person in the whole goddamn world who likes when Doom is a metroidvania? It sure feels like it

[@EthCirah]

To be fair tricks n traps was the first map that made me realise what was doom 2 compared to doom 1. Just in term of level designs, I remember back in 96 trying to do the curve at the end of the level on keyboard only and couldn't while spirinting. Now a day its quite easy with mouse & keyboard but gosh back in these only on keyboard it was a unique experience that no other game made me feel even now a day.

[@theretrogamers7690]

I enjoy Doom 2, but not as much as Doom 1. I just find it weird that Doom 1, the levels looked, and felt like the locations that they were supposed to be, however in Doom 2, it just feels like a weird avant garde mix of levels that do not corelate to one another.

[@sebastianaliandkulche]

Yeah, so strange really. You are in a city and latter BUM! You are in the middle of hell. I like how Doom 1 maps feels very progressive and natural, with hell elements appearing slowly through the game.

[@SuperAntichicken]

Doom 2's good maps are great, the bad maps are terrible. Overall it's lovely!

[@LouigiVerona]

I felt that this review could've been much more. You looked at levels in great detail, but no critical eye was cast at all on the monsters. Like, the unreasonable amount of hit points of the lost soul, which could've made the game so much less annoying. I also felt the analysis on some levels was superficial. Surprised that Downtown was singled out. I have recently replayed it and enjoyed it very much. I can provide a whole video, honestly, explaining why Downtown is an awesome and well thought through map.

[@itchywuss3511]

I played downtown for the first time and I was surprised that people hated it, it's my favourite level. I had no issue with the point of not knowing where to go because of the automap, and I felt like it gave the automap a much-needed purpose. Most people probably got lost in what to do next due to forgetting about the automap, which I did a first, but then I remembered about it and the level got a lot easier in knowing where to go, cooler and funner to play. I'd actually like someone to make a video that gives it some deserved love.

[@LouigiVerona]

@@itchywuss3511 Let's see if I can do it. But I also like it just fine without using the automap. Exploration is part of the fun for me.

[@rtpHarry]

My earliest doom memory is so 90s. We used to only have the internet intermittently, whenever a free AOL or Compuserve trial cd (or even disk sometimes) fell into our hands. The whole family used to sit around the computer to "go on the Internet". I remember us all sitting around the monitor, and looking on a doom 2 custom levels site. There was a was that was like 5mb or something, much bigger than normal levels. Some of the internet free trials were a number of mb traffic, so we had a mini family meeting about whether I could download the level! Haha, the budget was approved, I downloaded it, and then right near the end, it being dialup internet, the download failed! Disaster. And we were soured against trying again. I never got to play the mysterious level, and still to this day it pops up in my mind, wondering what it was and what I missed out on. I have no idea the name of it, and no chance of ever tracing it, so its just a memory that will always be kicking around :P

[@Bicloptic]

I’ve beaten Doom 1 multiple times. I’ve beaten Doom 2 once.

[@binho2224]

Damn, I tought I was the only one lol It's good I'm not alone

[@trevorbyrne4668]

I first properly played the classic Dooms in the late 90s, after the games had been out a little while. I played the first two Dooms and then the Final Doom stuff straight through, as though they were one massive game (I had the complete box-set thing for the PC). The only other time I seriously played the old Dooms again, about six or so years later, I again played through the trio in order, over a week or so. In that sense, I’ve never really been able to think of those three instalments as anything other than an exhilarating, scary and exhausting (but mostly scary and exhilarating) epic. If I *had* to separate the games and rank them, Doom 2 would be my favourite. I love the new creatures and weapons and to me it feels like Doom’s missing something until the super shotgun, Revenants etc show up. Oh, and thanks for the great videos, Mr FP. Enjoying the trip down a demonblood-stained memory lane. EDIT: Just wanted to add that I thought Downtown was cool. It’s weird, unfriendly, and otherworldly in a peculiar way (as opposed to the more obviously hellish levels like Erebus). Downtown feels uncanny, like a snatch of a dream, with shapes and architecture that’re sort of recognisable from the waking world but all smoothed off and undercut with wrongness... I loved the *height* of it and the swathes of open space. It might all have been due to accidents and limitations but it *works* for me, even so. I find that I’m at odds with your experiences of most of the Doom 2 levels, but I think your points are excellently argued and entirely valid. Even without a degree in Doom Science, your insights into what’s sound and savvy in Doom level design is... well, sound and savvy. But how these things are then experienced is of course subjective (as you recognise). I think the aesthetic, in a sorta ineffable way, means more for me (the aesthetic, that is, as divorced from a secondary - or maybe primary - ‘gamey’ functionality: y’know, stuff like certain textures being used to link areas or suggest pathways etc). There are weird cities or fortresses or arenas or catacombs or spirals (or one within another), sometimes coming in bizarre non-sequitur transitions in Doom 2, that I just kinda love. There’s this feeling of Lovecraftian non-Euclidean geometry or the hellish labyrinth of Hellraiser 2 that I find really intriguing and atmospheric, and which then hugely infused the gaming experience for me with loads of weird feels, making them scarier, more immersive and perturbing and finally more memorable. When I think of oldskool Doom and *that* strange vibe, it’s invariably Doom 2 I’m thinking of.

[@HQ_Default]

The only thing in this video I really disagree with is how critical you were of the 2 secret levels. Personally, I never saw them as particularly in-depth celebrations of Id's history... rather I think it's more like the developers being like "haha what if we put a wolfenstein level in as a secret." They're like the original shitpost maps. And I'm cool with that.

[@petrsauer8240]

still Lazy

[@sebastianaliandkulche]

To be honest, i think they were great inclussions, if not, even the highlight of the game, since they were more open than in the OG, and they are one of the few levels on the game that is open and lack any kind of shitty maze, with tons of enemies and action packed. The only thing that i dislike is that they lack other enemies from Wolfenstein 3d, but other than that, it was one of the few actually good designed levels of the game.

[@johnlewisbrooks]

Anyone interested in soft-locking the Doom game? Step 1, go to level E1M8. Step 2, leave as many pinkie monsters alive as possible. Step 3, kill the barons. Step 4, run outside as QUICKLY as you can and stand right next to the elevator you took to fight the barons. Step 5, with any luck at least ONE pinkie demon will come dawn when the star goes down. Step 6, go to the teleporter and activate the steps and trick the pinkie into going up it. Congratulations. You're stuck on Mars' moon!

[@J_Stamps86]

Monster Condo was always my favourite map

[@tiefighter3445]

👍

[@MarstedR]

28:21 I can never unsee that lol.

[@jth4242]

Tricks and Traps becomes way more interesting on a Pistol Start as you don't have the ammunition to deal with all pinkies and cacos together. You need to lure the pinkies to the cacos and have the bulk of them destroy each other. It's then also the first level where you need to deal with pinkies the berserker way because again, not enough ammo otherwise.

[@Gik1618]

Doom Tooey sounds like a fun game! Is it much different from Doom 2? xD

[@weaseln_hecktorplaysgames9625]

My problem is that there not enough creative lighting usage, like flashing lights in doom 1's E1 levels, it doesn't have enough environmental hazards like crushers or barrels, or environmental visuals like the "donut" elevator thingy and the levels all feel so different.

[@calamari6D616E]

The history of Chasm's speedrunning is fun

[@bucketzzz.]

I love the classic dooms more than the modern ones. As someone who mods the game and enjoys playing the mods and the amazing multiplayer servers from GZDOOM, it just like them more. I still like the modern dooms but I think I like the classics better

[@emin166]

I disagree but okay!

[@bucketzzz.]

@@emin166 I like your politeness, I’ve been bashed for this opinion by other doom players. Thank you my friend!

[@emin166]

@@bucketzzz. No problem!

[@sebastianaliandkulche]

The classics were just objectively better games, better controls (incredible being very old games), unique artstyle, better level design, better soundtrack and more revolutionary overall. The new Dooms are as revolutionary as any other COD....................................................................................................................................................................... So nothing.

[@zatozatoichi7920]

I have only one question: texture filtering whhyy? : D Okay, I have a second one: is this the way you normally talk (as in how you "pushing" certain words and consonants/vowels here and there) in everyday conversations? Not trying to be a dick or anything, I'm just honestly curious for a while now if this is for achieving a certain theatrical effect or this is just the natural you. Anyways, I agree most of your points, keep on playing this awesome game and keep on with the videos! Cheers,

[@FPMedia_]

This is older Doom footage that had laying about, and I have since turned filtering off. As for the voice, definitely not lmao. I don't actively put anything on, but I think this is just my "reading voice". I script all my videos, and this is the result of that.

[@zatozatoichi7920]

@@FPMedia_ Texture filtering: all forgiven. : D Yup, also crossed my mind that it might be something like that. Scripting (at least to a certain degree) is a nice thing for most people and for most content. Have you tried the keyword approach? I mean you are quite familiar with the topic you make a video/script about, so basically (almost, if not) all the knowledge is already in your head, so you use the script only to put order in the "chaos". Am I correct? How about writing down some keywords and/or thoughts only, not the complete monologue, and come up with the rest on the fly? Might take a bit of practice and a little time to be accustomed to this, but it might give you a more natural flow after a while. Or I'm just stupid and have no clue about this whole stuff. : D I don't want to dictate how you do things, it's just a thought, a friendly take on your content, nothing more; you might consider it or not. Would love to see your channel grow, especially since I don't think ~9k subs equals the effort you are putting in. : >

[@FPMedia_]

@@zatozatoichi7920 Thank you for the kind words, yeah my reading voice (aka my video voice) is very different to my normal voice lol. Without a script, I think my video quality would go downhill and if I did just use notes, I would have to edit the audio around a lot more. I'll probably have some videos where I have non-scripted parts (check my Quake 3 video as an example), but that's about it I think. I appreciate the comments :)

[@zatozatoichi7920]

@@FPMedia_ Yep, it might take more effort (in terms of editing and/or practice) to circumvent the fact that you are not that comfortable with the notes just yet, but it might also pay off big time in the long run, because the more you become a natural presenter, the more easily you can grab the attention of the potential audience. I think this is because the fresh viewers can identify with you more easily when they feel you are acting on a more casual/life-like manner while delivering your content; this is approaching professionalism from the other way around in my opinion. But I lay off with my rant now, it would be the best if I could start my daily work, even though I'm not that motivated to do so. : D Cheers,

[@valletas]

@@FPMedia_ i know you dont have it on anymore but why did you play with it in the first place Seriusly in genuinely curious why people play with it did you think it looked good? Or did you not know how to disable it initially? Maybe forgot? Really i want to know

[@epicness877]

Ive always loved suburbs slew of enemies enclosing and trying to psyche me out by teleporting in. Its honestly a crucial level for me, despite the murky mood

[@Destroyer_13]

I think you need to look at Doom 2 with 1994 eyes. At the time there was nothing better on PC than Doom 2. It had the super shotgun and more monsters. I DO agree with you about wishing Doom 2 had episodes instead of just all 32 maps all together. To me Doom 2 was a perfect sequel to Doom. The only maps I don't like in Doom 2 are The Factory and The Chasm.

[@sebastianaliandkulche]

Well, in 1994 there exist Donkey Kong Country, Eathbound, Super Metroid, Heretic, Final Fantasy 6, Daytona Usa, Doom 1, Stunts, or other games that i consider it much better overall. I agree that the super shotgun and the monsters were cool aditions and staple of the series, but the super shotgun was basically super broken and the new enemies werent exploited in some levels due to bad level design.

[@wolfgangfrost8043]

You actually inspired me today. I've been getting out of my responsibilities as a member of the United Aerospace Armed Forces. I've beaten Doom 2 on PS1 Ultra-Violence a thousand times, but not yet on original PC difficulty with Arch-Viles.

[@vansdan.]

Before watching I'll just say it's the best sequel and worst sequel ever.

[@TheSteakStyles]

Tricks and traps is honestly one of my favorite maps. Infighting never gets old

[@CaveyMoth]

26:27 My favorite Doom map of all time, because it actually resembles a town for once! And I love the shooting galleries of chain gunners and shotgunners.

[@dotcomgamingd5564]

problem 1: they made the pain elemental a thing

[@tiefighter3445]

Yes I hate that enemy. Such a waste of ammo.

[@illyay1337]

Dat map 09 music though! I find myself liking some parts of the Pit, but not so much others.

[@OmegaTyrant]

Shame that one of Doom 2's best songs got wasted on The Pit, but it did make the map more tolerable, and it would have been just hell to play through if it had something like The Focus' song on it.

[@ELEKTROSKANSEN]

What a wonderful channel, subbed, spreaded the word as much as I could. Great vids.

[@clydemarshall8095]

Maybe I'm weird, but I actually preferred Doom to Doom II mainly because I felt the maps in Doom II were too big and often took too long to finish. That said, I didn't grow up with the game and I'm sure if I did I would probably have been blown away by map sizes.

[@tiefighter3445]

YEAH I had got Doom 2 first and loved it but then my moms friend from work put the first Doom on our computer and I found myself playing it way more! Doom one has way more secrets and things to do it actually It feels way more experimental, it’s maze like harder to memorize then Doom two maps. and there were way more varied textures. Your right about Doom two making the maps too big sometimes with nothing really in it. I always felt The Suburbs could of used way more buildings to explore.

[@clydemarshall8095]

@@tiefighter3445 But I also really like the Supershotgun and the new demons in Doom II. Are there any mods that add them into Doom I?

[@sebastianaliandkulche]

While i dont think the big maps are a problem of Doom 2, and mostly because Doom 1 maps were very narrow to the point of feeling that im playing a 2d shooter sometimes, Doom 1 maps were never frustrating or bad designed, maybe except the 4th episode, but that episode is just an extra.

[@therealmahoushoujo]

Honestly, I find a bit of the opposite, it's not until about map 7 that I start properly enjoying Doom 2. That's not to say the first set of maps is bad or anything, but they've never really stuck out to me as much. I will fully acknowledge they're pretty damn solid and are a great introduction, but they're not the outright wacky Doom 2 we see later. Once Dead Simple hits, that's when the maps really stick in my mind. I really like Tricks and Traps, Refueling Base, The Inmost Dens, Suburbs, The Citadel, The Spirit World, and The Living End; they're the maps I tend to think of when I think Doom 2. And while inconsistent, the rest of the game is just a unique experience with levels that I think don't really feel like each other. They're flawed, some of them very much abstract and odd, but they have this charm to them that endears me to them. Downtown is all over the place and the arrow to tell you where to go is just bad, but the idea you could have an open ended town in the Doom engine led to some amazing levels later on. Gotcha was one of the best uses of monster infighting with a memorable scenario. Catacombs must have inspired the Casalis' sadism in some way with those firing squads. And The Chasm is a unique concept that mostly doesn't work, but when you understand it, you get some really cool speedruns. Plus, combined with The Living End, it does feel like the basis for really neat underground maps by other mapmakers. The only map I really don't like is Bloodfalls, but honestly, it comes down to the fact I always forget it exists. So yeah. Doom 2 does certainly have issues, but for all those issues, it remains very memorable to me. And to its credit, I've generally found it doesn't overstay its welcome. There's really no map I'm going "please end" (which I find to be the case with some maps in Evilution), so even the weaker maps don't drag things down too much for me. This game is certainly an experience, and there's still a lot I like even now, but yeah, there's no doubt a lot that doesn't hold up anymore.

[@E1itetube]

What about the reveille of TWO ENEMIES in Dead Simple? Did everyone forget how crazy it was to fight them on that map for the first time!?!?!?!?!

[@PunishedFelix]

This video actually provides very useful insight about game design and communicating with players.

[@PatrickvonMassow]

Very interesting to watch. When I played Doom to death in the 90s, I never judged the maps by their level design, but just searched for ways to beat them on nighmare skill level. I liked the ones than can be beaten by consistent playing and feared the ones that were dependent on luck, since they often ruined multi level runs.

[@kasrakhatir]

I agree with the episodic argument. We could've had some nice and detailed lore and artwork

[@podfuk]

Sandy Petersen wasn't just a mapper, he named all the demons, balanced all the weapons, had many new ideas (many from his RPG background)

[@jonbourgoin182]

26:19 Suburbs was the level that always crashed my ps1 when playing ps1 DooM. Get too many enemies on screen and you get “texture cache overflow “

[@De-M-oN]

Fortress of Mystery is epic if you encounter it the first time. It's so schocking to see being surrounded by barons in episode 2, together with the first time hearing the mouth for war midi.

[@voiceofreason2674]

Best video from a Doom Fan I have ever seen. you took it level by level with footage which is exactly what I’ve always wanted to watch

[@Mezziah777]

Dead Simple is also reused in Doom 2016. Don't recall wich exact level it was, but it was one of the later hell levels.

[@eightcoins4401]

Monster Condo actually has a secret that only opens for 1 minute after the map starting

[@ErdrickHero]

I honestly never noticed when I picked up the Super Shotgun... I remember Underhalls because on one of my first attempts at playing DOOM II I hit the invisible secret level switch while looking for secrets. Well before I actually solved the level. (It wasn't until years later I realized that you could sprint, and that it was required to get through the window in the building near the invisible switch).

[@epicness877]

8:01 idk, the hell knight being a literal reskin with different health makes it a little underwhelming, maybe not QUITE a throwaway, but definitely close

[@De-M-oN]

yes. Even same fireball. Everything the same. I would've preferred an entire new enemy instead.

[@De-M-oN]

@@soulsphere9242 nah its totally fine. The ai is not that intelligent, then they're very easily to make infight, they barely move. So they need at least more health and firepower to balance the ai weaknesses out. And you see in slaughtermaps you need hundreds of them xD

[@TheChewman2001]

I have never seen anyone with the balls to critique Doom 2 besides saying they prefer the first game. Nice job man.

[@pokedexter3337]

Another great video, my only real disagreement has to be on suburbs, It’s my second favorite Doom 2 level after courtyard.

[@danielduggan5405]

Actually, one of the most brilliant and important aspects of Doom at the time was its multiplayer modes. In the mid '90s, before they were fairly standard, our family had a LAN, which provided us with endless hours of multiplayer Doom and Doom 2. Many of the weaknesses of level design apparent in the single player game are fixed when played as multiplayer. For example, those small, shorter level such the super secrect level are among the best deathmatch levels and those massive ones are fantastic cooperative mode levels.

[@Fregler]

While I know it is sacriliege to bring up in some circles I must give Brutal Doom's retexture work of downtown a lot of credit to make it look more like a cityscape.

[@JoboGamezzz]

Gantlet works well as a mp map from my experience as it’s mostly just a rectangle with a few branching paths And honestly some of the teleported remind me of some of the halo ce mp maps

[@edgardeitz5746]

In a hack called "Doom 2: The Way Id Did", rather than to use Wolfenstein 3D levels for a base like the original game, the secret levels were instead recreations based on *Commander Keen!* Level 31 is a microcosm of episode 1: "Marooned on Mars", while level 32 is the "Well of Wishes" from episode 4 "Secret of the Oracle." The modders even went to the trouble of using Dehacked to create some new monsters appropriate for the levels; The yorps and gargs were made for level 31, and a Dopefish boss battle for level 32.

[@OmegaTyrant]

Disagree on quite a few levels, namely maps 2, 4, 5 (they're just boring and ugly to me), Inmost Dens (one of the few hitscan-heavy maps I enjoy), Industrial Zone (at least without mouse look, in vanilla I find dealing with high up hitscanners in massive areas to be horrible), Tenements (another boring and ugly map to me), maps 21-23 (I find these maps all awful), and Spirit World (my favorite Doom 2 map). Overall though yeah Doom 2's map design is really mixed, with the back half being especially spotty until you get to the final five levels before Icon Of Sin, who is an absolutely dreadful final boss. The IoS does have the defense of that mapmakers can make much more creative final maps with it than they could have centered around a traditional boss monster like 64's Mother Demon, but IoS maps always fucking suck to play and are a plague to megwads, so we would still have been better off if megawad makers were forced to do something different and maybe traditional instead of shoehorning in their own unfun IoS take at the end. Despite the disagreement on specific maps, it is interesting to see a competent map-by-map analysis of Doom 2. And while the base game of Doom 2 hasn't aged well on its own, it made an awesome base for map makers and perhaps the best modding scene out there, so it's one of my favorite games for that.

[@binho2224]

Although the level design becomes boring to me later on, I agree that there is no denying in Dooms 2 influence and importance to the modding community and gaming in general. There are thousands and thousands of mods out there and you can easily find something to ur liking, from maps to complete gameplay overhaul. There is absolutely no denying that Doom 1 and Doom 2 are timeless classics and still fun to play to this day.

[@womble1981]

They totally messed up the scale of the brick textures and windows in Doom 2. The weird scale is most evident in the Wolfenstein levels. I can’t understand it. The SS guards look like midgets.

[@lionocyborg6030]

I like The Pit for its music more than anything else, though Into Sandy's City was apparently intended for Downtown or Warehouse and would have fit there better. (hence the name) Downtown is fun for me thanks to the little underground tunnels and roof hopping but your points about it still stand as there's still a lot of fiddling around on the ground to do, not all the buildings look unique enough texture wise and it isn't clear where to go sometimes. Music is great though, like in the waste tunnels though Into Sandy's City may have been a better fit as above. Industrial Zone I agree with completely as it feels like Downtown act 2, with the lava fissure looking to me like a small 2.5D version of the fire tornado plaza in Sonic 2006's Crisis City (I played this game the same year as Doom 2 first). Doom & Marathon Eternal, ROTT 2013 & Brutal Doom Extermination Day would I'd see similar similarities in even for the most wack of reasons, a lot of which I made photoshop art of in Eternal's case. Wolfenstein...yeah. I like these maps but your idea for them is better. So far the closest I can think of is Brutal Doom ED whose latest build recreates LA Metldown & Red Light District from Duke 3D in GZ Doom (complete with actual Doom R34 in the bookshop video rooms which is exactly as you'd think) before doing a more Return to Castle Wolfenstein/The Old Blood themed super secret level. Gotcha feels like an upgrade of Mt Erebus if instead of a demon holiday resort in a volcano's lava lake (which I how I saw that map's buildings), it's instead on an earthbound volcano with a castle built on top of it with most of the lava replaced with boiling blood except a fissure to the north. The Chasm I love and hate: I hate it for the same reason everyone does plus they use nukage instead of lava but I love it for being an underground volcanic fissure in hell. Fix the tiny platforms and replace the nukage with lava and we're golden. Monster condo sucks. Very dark, tough monster encounters, hard to navigate your first couple of times playing and the tone of the music fits my mood when playing it. The Spirit world has great music, fun combat including cheesing two spiderdemons and there's lava everywhere, some of it harmless some of it not. The Living End is a better execution of the chasm but with blood instead of nukage. The Icon of Sin we all know is bad except for the John Romero Easter egg. Brutal Doom, Extermination Day and Doom Eternal all did a much better job.

[@terriblecertainity]

do you plan on doing a video on the doom 2 master levels? I feel those are very overlooked

[@FPMedia_]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4SZZnmaZ7Clf8k&ab_channel=FrozenParticle

[@terriblecertainity]

@@FPMedia_ oh, I somehow missed this. Thanks!

[@De-M-oN]

9:54 just cheese it by just touching carefully the linedef so that the lift goes down without you :D

[@emzee1148]

even in the 90s those city levels were bad tbh.

[@RetroDeathReviews666]

I've always preferred Doom 1 over 2 despite the improvements. Something about the levels just felt perfect in the original while in the 2nd one I kept feeling like it was all over the place and very inconsistent, as much as I loved it. Doom 1/Ultimate, and Doom 64 are forever my favorite games in the franchise. Great video, man.

[@someguystudios23]

Me when I see the title: "But wait, Doom and problems don't go in the same sentence!" *thinks about it* "yeah okay"

[@solidoptimus0129]

"Instead of Civvie's twits and great sense of humor, you replace with some Austrailian twat." So GManLives?

[@jonnykhatru]

Great video, very much enjoyed it. Although I must mention I'm not a fan of the filter you have on the graphics, it looks too softened to me. Anyways I'll be back for any more Doom videos you make.

[@guaceldono7231]

I personally love Downtown, but that may just be nostalgia. When I first played Doom 2 as a kid, Downtown was so cool to me, and I still enjoy it

[@itchywuss3511]

I played downtown for the first time and I was surprised that people hated it, it's my favourite level. I had no issue with the point of not knowing where to go because of the automap, and I felt like it gave the automap a much-needed purpose. Most people probably got lost in what to do next due to forgetting about the automap, which I did a first, but then I remembered about it and the level got a lot easier in knowing where to go, cooler and funner to play.

[@musthavechannel5262]

I thought I was going to get some Decino level analysis of mechanics, monster AI, monster health anomalies and map logic flaws but what I got was subjective analysis of all maps where one map is categorized as good just "for a strange reason". Not sure why I sat through the video(-e)

[@SableDrakon]

Sewer Count when, Frozen?

[@laxative_goofy]

i dont know if this isx in there but there arent any pictures at the end of a chapter and also its less violent

[@SparkyMK3]

24:03 What the heck is 'that' a reference to?

[@Destroyer_13]

why can't you keep the volume the same throughout the video? Like when it says the map names it goes super loud.

[@SirBlacknoiseIII]

I love suburbs and the courtyard. Most of the other large open levels missed the mark but having these huge areas with the enemy and projectile count to match the space felt great. Suburbs as a kid on ultra violence felt like a proto-slaughter map to me. I prefer doom 1 levels slightly more on average, but goddamn did I get bored plinking pinkies and cacodemons to death with single barrel shotguns a while ago.

[@Paul07791]

Great video. Regarding The Citadel, I like the idea of it and even layout but the way you get the Yellow key is more like a secret, very frustrating if you've forgotten how to get the bastard.

[@kered13]

4:28: But that's just GManLives!

[@tylerlondon5052]

Re: Tricks and Traps- you have to wonder how that Cyberdemon got in that room in the first place.

[@UnboxerofWorlds]

Never in my life have I thought there were any problems with Doom 2.

[@wymanrtaylor]

Including after having watched this video! And I’m not talking sh*t, I dig this channel. I just disagree about this one

[@UnboxerofWorlds]

@@wymanrtaylor Great game. Great channel.

[@sebastianaliandkulche]

Any game has problems.

[@edgardeitz5746]

Concerning the intro, the "Doom 2" specific monsters were supposed to be added to "Doom 1", but Id Software ran out of time to do it.

[@SimBol1216]

I'm surprised everyone likes The Crusher so much. The introduction of the Revenant feels underwhelming; he's in really tight quarters so you never get to see the full impact of his homing rockets. The Spider Mastermind feels absolutely wasted; she's such a badass and seeing her introduced so early and only to be killed as a joke is just irritating to me. Not to mention the rest of the level just feels... diffuse. There's no rhyme or reason to the design, which feels very unusual for American McGee. On the other hand, I *loved* The Inmost Dens - I think it's the strongest level in the game. Really well designed aesthetically, plus the hitscan fights keep you on your toes.