+=========================================================================+
|                      DOOM DEATHMATCH WAD RANKING                        |
|                      =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=                        |
|                        Revision Date: 07/15/94                          |
+=========================================================================+

            Compiled by: James Dicke & "Chainsaw Jim" Urbas
         Dedicated to all those who love to frag their friends.
                              =-=-=-=-=

It is a shame to see many of our favorite deathmatch WAD's getting very
low ratings from other reviewers... Why?  Simply put, they are reviewing
WAD's as stand alone games-- this was NOT the intent of most deathmatch
WAD's! Thus, this list was born: relative to deathmatch conceivability
only. Meaning that story, graphics, music, secrets, and cute tricks take
back-seat to the WAD's ability to host multi-player carnage.

This list is sorted by Game Play, Design, and then Type.
- Deathmatch Episodes follow individual map listing.
- Full legend and credits follow this list.

===========================================================================
   G = Game Play                       T = Type (Action/Hunting/Both)
   D = Design                          W = Weapons at skill 1 (0-4)
   # = Recommended Minimum # Players   M = Monsters at skill 1 (0-5)

G D Name      Map   Released  #T WM  Short Description and Comments
- - --------  ----  --------  -- --  ------------------------------
+ 9 markroom  E1M1   4-15-94  2A 30  Dark arena w/steps. -x
+ 7 ledges    E1M1   4-20-94  2A 34  Tunnels around a main room
+ 6 shadows   E1M1   4-11-94  2A 40  2 small rooms connected with halls -X

9 8 core      E1M1   5-30-94  4B 34  Vbig, square/symmetrical +G
9 7 butt      E1M1   6-17-94  3B 44  Wood arena, shadow snipers +SM -X
9 7 ledges3   E1M1   6-07-94  2A 34  2 rooms w/ledges, stairs, & elevators
9 7 peace     E1M1   5-18-94  2B 40  Based on Shadows
9 6 cor81     E1M1   5-31-94  4A 40  Corridors w/side rooms. Invs walls -X
9 5 corr2     E1M1   5-31-94  2A 40  VSml. Cross shaped. Light switch. -X
9 5 house     E1M1   5-28-94  2A 40  Simple house design, no furniture -X

8 9 markrm3   E1M1   6-13-94  2A 22  Staircases -x
8 7 shadows3  E1M1   5-17-94  2A 40  Updated shadows, cute- less playable
8 6 e2m1_joe  E2M1   7-14-94  2B 30  Three large elevators w/connecting halls
8 6 nova      E1M1   5-12-94  2A 32  Arena in outer ring. Passable walls -x
8 6 tourney   E1M1   6-27-94  4A 30  Central court yard w/snipe zones
8 5 circle    E1M1   7-13-94  2A 30  A circle w/guns in outside doorways. -X
8 5 fragday   E1M1   7-03-94  2A 40  Several big rooms, stairs, yard
8 5 stream    E3M1   7-01-94  3A 30  Compound built around a stream

7 + maverick  E2M1   6-03-94  3B 23  Limited ammo, Multi-Theme Map +C
7 9 bludlust  E2M1   5-12-94  4H 45  Tall center room, plus shaped
7 8 bludlst2  E1M9   5-20-94  4H 43  Star shaped, lots of suicide
7 8 jadml1m1  E1M1   4-07-94  2A 21  Dark central room w/sniper points -x
7 8 pentadth  E2M1   7-01-94  5B 30  5 Large Rooms w/ledges & elevators -X
7 8 tnplhome  E1M1   6-03-94  3A 31  Someone's nice home w/furniture
7 6 styx      E1M1   6-15-94  2A 30  Court yard w/bridge & sniper halls
7 6 octafrag  E1M1   4-26-94  3B 12  Center elevators & snipe zones -X
7 6 ultima    E1M1   5-02-94  2A 31  1Rm, Suspended Cross -x
7 5 clash     E1M1   5-23-94  2A 30  Symmetric w/center room, no Spec
7 5 cwwad     E1M1   6-08-94  5A 33  VLrg. Center room. Pyramid. Berserks
7 5 deathme   E3M1   6-06-94  2A 45  Large Sq w/pillars, barrels, windows +M
7 5 duo_1     E1M1   4-29-94  2H 30  Square area with outside corridor
7 5 hexxed    E1M1   6-06-94  2A 45  Simple Arena -x
7 5 swetdeth  E1M1   5-06-94  3B 35  Square room w/trench & hill
7 4 nasty11   E1M1   6-03-94  1A 21  Simple octagon w/weapons in center
7 4 steps3    E1M1   3-30-94  3B 33  Multi-rooms & snipe windows
7 2 t3        E1M1   6-25-94  1A 50  VSml. 4 doors, 4 rooms, 4 Weapons. -X

6 8 morehell  E1M1   5-06-94  4H 11  VBig.  Interconnected rooms. -Cx
6 7 fragyou   E1M1   6-25-94  3A 22  Court yard w/stairs & elevators
6 6 chase     E1M1   7-01-94  2B 34  Center room with side chambers
6 6 dethe1m1  E1M1   4-30-94  4A 31  A large house. +GM
6 6 dethmaze  E1M1   7-13-94  4H 32  A maze w/some darkness & sniper zones
6 6 spaz      E2M1   6-27-94  5H 45  2 Large Rooms, Perches & snipe zones
6 5 11bones   E1M1   4-11-94  2A 21  Center room w/halls & perches
6 5 flash     E1M1   4-04-94  4H 14  Side rooms with central pit & balcony
6 5 gore1     E1M1   4-18-94  4A 30  Large cavernous rooms (maze like)
6 5 speedoom  E1M1   6-20-94  2A 30  Square room with teleporters
6 5 spiral    E2M1   4-20-94  4H 34  Room w/spiral stairs + small rooms
6 5 the-keep  E1M1   5-08-94  4H 30  In the shape of a castle/moat/court
6 5 theta-4   E1M1   5-14-94  4H 30  Outside arena. Large rooms. +G
6 5 zzone     E1M1   4-20-94  2A 35  Big room w/perches
6 4 dmaze     E1M1   7-01-94  4H 30  Dark large twisting caverns
6 4 ledges2   E1M1   5-17-94  2A 34  Like Ledges, sloppy
6 3 avrax     E3M4   6-08-94  5H 40  Paths & Arenas. TonsOAmmo
6 3 dthbox    E1M1   5-04-94  2A 40  VSml room with weapons on pillars
6 3 grease    E3M1   6-24-94  2A 33  Inverted pyramid. One way-down

5 9 space     E1M1   5-27-94  2B 33  Several large room in outer space +GS
5 9 the_grid  E2M1   5-20-94  4H 23  SLOW. Lots of nooks & crannies
5 8 trench    E1M1   5-12-94  3A 21  Trenches to run around in outside
5 7 markrm2   E2M1   6-13-94  3A 22  Veritical floor maze -x
5 7 swig1     E1M1   7-01-94  5H 35  4 Rooms, 50 Rockets
5 6 afro      E1M1   4-19-94  4H 23  Large Complex level
5 6 flat-692  E1M1   6-07-94  2A 34  A house with furniture & yard
5 6 jadml1m1  E1M1   4-07-94  2B 22  Dark Ring with Powerups
5 6 warehse1  E1M1   6-13-94  5H 35  VBig. Boxes mazes & outside yard
5 5 bigbro    E1M1   4-19-94  5H 23  Large rooms. One "god" player -x
5 5 cross     E1M3   3-11-94  5H 34  Big complex w/many rooms
5 5 dspiral   E2M1   1-26-94  2A 43  Arena & spiral stairs in center -x
5 5 frgfst21  E2M1   5-02-94  5H 21  Hex room, spiral stairs, big court yrd
5 5 techbase  E1M1   5-31-94  4H 32  Large room w/crates + snipe zones -x
5 5 urbnbeta  E1M1   6-06-94  4B 32  Several big houses & yards
5 4 acheron   E1M3   6-10-94  4B 22  Many hex rooms & teleporters
5 4 dodge     E1M1   6-29-94  2B 45  Very dark. Square chambers w/Barons
5 4 jaredm11  E1M1   7-03-94  3B 40  Coliseum with side halls & teleports
5 4 xeno11    E1M1   5-24-94  5H 35  Many room complex w/outside area +G
5 3 cantrun   E1M1   6-27-94  4H 50  VBig, TonsOWep Repetitive -X
5 3 stolen    E2M1   7-01-94  4A 35  Based on Shadows. Bad lighting.
5 2 quirul    E1M1   7-01-94  4A 12  Large warehouse w/halls -X
5 2 rip2      E1M4   6-13-94  3B 30  Many caverns -X
5 1 canyon    E2M1   6-08-94  4B 32  Twisty canyon

4 8 coloseum  E3M1   6-08-94  3A 35  Circular room. Outside Secrets
4 8 deadzone  E1M1   6-07-94  5H 22  Arena & lift grid
4 7 thekeep2  E1M1   5-15-94  4H 20  In the shape of a castle/moat/court
4 6 dmat4     E1M1   7-01-94  3A 44  Large warehouse. LotsOBarrels
4 5 freedom   E2M2   5-12-94  4H 33  Halls & large caverns interconnected
4 5 sewer     E2M1   5-30-94  5H 32  Large open center circled by building
4 5 stairs    E1M1   4-30-94  6H 35  VBig. Lots of rooms & stairs
4 4 grrfy11   E1M1   4-16-94  3H 22  Large multi-room complex -x
4 4 pyramid   E2M1   5-11-94  4H 34  Pyramid with mazes.
4 4 quary11   E1M1   5-02-94  2A 33  Large pit w/trenches. -X
4 4 rampage   E1M1   5-16-94  4H 33  Large complex w/many small rooms
4 3 atica     E1M1   6-29-94  4H 12  Large maze w/outside area
4 3 horror21  E2M1   5-28-94  4B 45  Multi-room complex
4 2 pellejos  E1M1   7-01-94  3A 10  Large Square room with outer ring -X

3 6 castle    E1M1   7-12-94  5H 33  VLrg. Castle layout w/outside & moat.
3 6 longmtch  E2M1   4-21-94  4H 43  Lots of rooms, cages, secrets
3 5 djg21-1a  E2M1   3-28-94  5B 45  Rooms connected by halls
3 5 nitro2    E2M1   6-08-94  3H 23  Interconnecting rooms
3 5 pleasure  E1M1   5-10-94  5B 15  Huge stadium w/bleachers & lot -x
3 4 daemon2   E1M1   4-07-94  4H 25  Not a deathmatch specific.
3 4 upliftng  E1M1   4-17-94  4H 25  Halls, pits, & trees
3 3 hellbnd   E2M1   6-04-94  5H 30  Large multi-room complex
3 3 jal_dm1   E1M1   5-10-94  3B 31  Several large court yards + teleports
3 3 jeff-1-2  E1M2   3-24-94  4H 31  Large rooms some dark w/teleports
3 3 rings     E1M1   6-19-94  2A 12  Sq. Rings around a central block
3 2 dprison   E1M1   1-21-94  2A 45  All start in center room w/Baron
3 1 arena     E1M1   4-08-94  6A 40  Biggest room ever- Lots of HOM & equip

2 8 dethwalk  E2M1   4-11-94  2A 33  Planks on a green acid lake
2 8 quatro    E1M1   6-14-94  4H 44  VBig multi-level complex w/outside
2 4 lvnghell  E1M1   7-01-94  2H 33  Lots of large & weird rooms +M -X
2 4 pillars   E1M1   2-18-94  3H 34  Pillar room, Outside circle
2 4 sniper    E1M1   6-30-94  3H 32  Many connected rooms -x
2 4 softhell  E2M1   6-14-94  4H 35  Very big complex. Too many monsters
2 4 rock-it   E1M1   5-09-94  4H 35  Several Large rooms. Many Suicide

1 1 nitro1    E2M2   5-20-94  2A 30  VSml. Interconnected rooms.
1 2 stewbeta  E1M1   9-07-78  5H 45  Outside lake & tower (lots of HOM)
1 3 tnspires  E2M1   4-07-94  2A 10  4 tall pillars surround by acid

? ? hockey10  E1M1   4-10-94  ?? ??  Patches EXE to play hockey
? 1 e1l1kp    E1M1   4-27-94  2? ??  Lg Hex Room
? 1 serpent   E1M1   5-31-94  3? ??  ?   E1M2 is Mod E1M2
? 4 surmont   E2M1   7-01-94  4? ??  (Not a DM) +G
? 6 frodo4    E1M1   7-05-94  4? ??  FrodosWAD 4.3; 1st try
? 7 death     E1M1   3-29-94  3? ??  2 rings


***************************** DEATHMATCH EPISODES *****************************

G D Name      Map  Released  #  Comments
- - --------  ---  --------  -  ----------------------------------------
7 4 dmatch1   E1    6-27-94  2  Original 9 map deathmatch episode.
5 6 halls1-9  E1    6-28-94  3  Halls of Death episode. 9 maps -Cx
6 5 xfire     E1    7-12-94  4  Original deathmatch episode.

8 8 dmsmall1  E1    n/a      2  Markroom, Ledges, Shadows V3, TnCross2
7 7 dmsmall2  E1    n/a      2  Ultima, Clash, Jadml1m1, Styx, Hexxed, Speedoom
                               Nova, Corr2

************************ MODIFIED ID LEVELS (Unrated) *************************

G D Name      Map   Released  #T WM  Short Description and Comments
- - --------  ----  --------  -- --  ------------------------------
? 0 bobworld  E1M1   4-01-94  -- --  Modified E2M1
? 0 darkness  E1M1   3-26-94  -- --  Modified E1M1
? 0 dd        E1M1   7-14-94  -- --  Modified E1M1
? 0 death     E1M1   4-26-94  -- --  Modified E1M1; Extra monsters
? 0 dmatch    E1M1   3-29-94  -- --  Modified E2M1; Black
? 0 e1l5ko    E1M1   4-15-94  -- --  Modified E1M5
? 0 e1m1dal   E1M1   3-14-94  -- --  Modified E1M1
? 0 e1m1osk3  E1M1   3-14-94  -- --  Modified E1M1
? 0 e1m1osku  E1M1   3-09-94  -- --  Modified E1L1; for deathmatch
? 0 e1m5_djs  E1M1   3-30-94  -- --  Modified E1M5
? 0 e2m9mh    E2M9   3-30-94  -- --  Modified E2M9; Brighter
? 0 hunte1m1  E1M1   3-14-94  -- --  Thing Modified E2M2
? 0 hunte1m2  E1M1   3-14-94  -- --  Thing Modified E3M2


*********************************** OLD WADS **********************************

G D Name      Map   Released  #T WM  Short Description and Comments
- - --------  ----  --------  -- --  ------------------------------
- - 11inhell  E1M1   4-07-94  -- --  OLD; use MOREHELL
- - daemon    E1M1   4-07-94  -- --  OLD; use DEAMON2
- - halls2    E1M1   5-17-94  -- --  OLD; use HALLS1-9
- - shadwad   E1M1   4-11-94  -- --  OLD; use SHADOWS/SHADOWS3
- - hockbeta  E1M1   3-31-94  -- --  OLD; use HOCKEY10
- - tncross   E1M1   3-27-94  -- --  OLD; TnCross2 is corrupt, use DMSMALL1


******************************** UNABLE TO TEST *******************************

G D Name      Map   Released  #T WM  Short Description and Comments
- - --------  ----  --------  -- --  ------------------------------
? 1 dmatch11  E1M1   3-30-94  3- --  *crash* Big Dark Plrs Cyb; -xmD
? 1 deadly21  E2M1   3-28-94  4B 30  *crash* Walls + LotsOWeapons
? 3 death     E1M1   3-30-94  3- --  *crash* Square w/teleports
? 6 spunk     E1M1   4-12-94  4- --  *crash* Several big rooms
? ? ss27bet2  E2M7   5-10-94  -- --  *crash* MultiTheme, Unfinished
? ? e1l5ko1   E1M5   3-11-94  -- --  *crash* Modified E1M5 ?
? ? scream    E1M1   7-12-94  -- --  *crash*

7 6 tncross2  E2M1   4-05-94  2A --  * corrupt WAD * (Use DMSMALL1)
- - ray       E1M1   6-07-94  -- --  * corrupt WAD * Made for looks
- - comcon    E1M4   5-29-94  -- --  * corrupt ZIP *
- - toe       E1M1   5-18-94  -- --  * corrupt ZIP *
- - logo      E1M1   1-18-94  -- --  * corrupt ZIP *
- - tek       E1M1   4-20-94  -- --  * corrupt ZIP *
- - tower2    E3M1   5-22-94  -- --  * corrupt ZIP *
- - steps1    E1M1   3-30-94  -- --  * corrupt ZIP *
- - steps2    E1M1   3-30-94  -- --  * corrupt ZIP *
- - ee2l1     E2M1   2-26-94  -- --  * corrupt ZIP *
- - horror    E1M1   5-28-94  -- --  * corrupt ZIP *


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ratings Legend:

   G = Game Play               D = Design         # = Recommended Minimum
How Fun And Addicting      How Interesting/Clever      Number Of Players
-------------------------  ----------------------  ------------------------
+ = Play til Dawn          + = A Piece Of Art      6 = WAY TOO LARGE
9 = Near Perfect           9 = Amazing             5 = Huntin' w/4 players
8 = Great--Play 1-2 hrs    8 = Fascinating         4 = Hopin' w/4 players
7 = Excellent--A favorite  7 = Interesting         3 = Hopin' w/3 players
6 = Very Good--30-60 min   6 = Above Average       2 = Hopin' w/2 players
5 = Average - Good         5 = Average             1 = A Frag every 10 sec
4 = OK but flawed          4 = Below Average           even with 2 players
3 = A diversion - 10 min.  3 = Poor                0 = WAY TOO SMALL
2 = Boring after 2 min.    2 = Ugly
1 = Painfully boring       1 = A Bad Joke          ? = Untested
0 = Utter shit             0 = Vomit
? = Untested               ? = Untested

T: Type      A=Action, H=Hunting, B=Both, -= Who knows
W: Weapons   0=Pistol/Fists, 1=Shotgun, 2=Chain, 3=Rocket/Plasma 4=BFG
M: Monsters  0=None, 1=A few, 2=Several, 3=Lots, 4=Big&Bad, 5=Barons/Cyber

Comments:
 +G means new graphics, +S means new sounds,     +M new music added
 +C Cooperative Exit,   +T text background story
 -X has no exit,        -x has an unmarked exit  -Cx coopertive exit

==========================================================================

WHERE CAN THESE ARENAS BE FOUND?
--------------------------------
You should be able to ftp most of the wads from infant2.sphs.indiana.edu in
the directories contained within /pub/doom/wads or the /pub/doom/incoming
directory.  A big thanks to Barry Bloom and Jim Hicks, whom maintain
infant2 for all us die-hard doomers!

We have only taken the time to review WAD's in which the authors have
expressly designed for deathmatch play or we were asked to rate it as
such.  No effort was made to review WAD's based on original id levels as
id has expressed they did NOT want people to modify their levels.  It
should be noted that Episode 1, Map 1 and Map 5 of the shareware DOOM
are also fine places for deathmatches.

If you have written or know of a deathmatch arena that isn't on the list,
or just a map good for deathmatching, let us know, and well add it.


DISCLAIMER:
-----------
A low rating (on our scale) doesn't imply a bad or unplayable WAD-- just
that its not a fun deathmatch WAD.  Do to the limited time we can devote to
each WAD and the fact that most of our play-testers are partial to action
based WADs, this list may be slightly skewed in that direction.

All WAD's were tested on skill level 1, with 2 or 4 players in DOOM 1.2.

We're not infallible.  Many of the above ratings came from second hand
sources.  If you feel a WAD has been rated too harshly or highly, let us
know, and we'll re-evaluate it.


TOURNEY LOCATIONS/WINNERS:
--------------------------
We would love to see the world's DOOM tournament winners play each-other to
have a true world championship.  To help facilitate this, we're listing the
location of regional tourneys and the last known winners.  If you know of a
tourney in your area that hosted 25 or more people, please tell us!

 SOUTHERN:  Austin Virtual Gaming-- Austin, TX     (512) 478-5544
            [email protected]
  (6/18/94)    1st:  DOOMGods             (John Romero / Shawn Green)
               2nd:  Vibrant Killers      (Sean Gallagher / Rob Haig)
               3rd:  Cutters              (Greg and Kelly)
               tie:  Boyz-n-the-Hell      (Kip and Ian)

 MID-WEST:  Virtual Gaming Center-- Milwaukee, WI  (414) 476-1514
            [email protected]
  (7/2/94)     1st:  Shawn Crain          ([email protected])
               2nd:  Aaron Criger         ([email protected])
               3rd:  "Chainsaw Jim" Urbas ([email protected])

 IRC - TCPDoom Tourney (see below):
               1st:  Phallus            fallonjb95%[email protected]
               2nd:  Jay Cotton         [email protected]
               3rd:  Erik "Echo" Olson  [email protected]

WEST COAST: ???
EAST COAST: ???
   HAWAII: ???
   CANADA: ???
       UK: ???
AUSTRALIA: ???

Note: The IRC-TCPDoom Tourney is a competition between internet users
with computers connected directly to the internet via ethernet.  For
more information on participating in the IRC-TCPDoom Tourney, contact
[email protected].


WHAT MAKES A GOOD DEATHMATCH WAD?
---------------------------------
A tough question to answer since there are so many playing styles out
there.  We'll just give some basic tips that we've found the majority of
players to prefer:

  - Keep the map relatively small.  A map that is too large is both slow
    on many machines and very hard to find frag-meat.  If you can't get a
    frag at least every 3-5 minutes, you're map is too big.

  - Do not include suicide traps or ooze.  These become unfair as people
    kill themselves to restock on ammo.

  - Avoid placing too many or too powerful monsters.  Monsters can be
    turned off-- so you should include some, but a CyberDemon does NOT
    make a good deathmatch.  Too many monsters also slows the game down on
    slower machines.  Once nice trick we've seen is in a couple of WAD's is
    to put monsters in cage.

  - The BFG should only have one or two shots or not be placed in the game
    at all.  A good deathmatch can be ruined by an overloaded BFG.

  - Many of the better deathmatch WADs contain sniper zones, shaded areas
    (not too much darkness), and good weapons placed in spots easy to
    target anyone running after it.

  - Take care with triggers that work fine in single player, but in
    multiplayer, allow one player to become trapped by another's actions.
    An example of this are triggers that stop moving floors.  Any
    "once-only" type triggers are also suspect.

  - Avoid being sloppy.  Correct any HOM (believe it or not people still
    use version 1.2) or missing textures.  Make sure to include a marked
    exit.  Beta test your map (let others do so) before releasing it.
    Anything worth doing is worth doing well.


ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
------------------
A lot of work has gone into this listing but since there are new WAD's
released daily, we'll try to release updated versions of this at least once
a month (probably more).  We welcome any comments, corrections, and
especially any ratings YOU want to submit.  Send them to _BOTH_ authors.

James Dicke   [email protected]   or   EXEC-PC: JAMES DICKE
  - DOOM Fanatic.  As an employee of the Virtual Gaming Center he finds
    time to talk to many deathmatchers that aren't on the internet.

    [SHAMELESS_PLUG_MODE_ON]:  The Virtual Gaming Center (Milwaukee, WI)
    use several networks of fast computers with 27" screens and special
    controllers (steering wheels, etc) to play multi-player games
    IN-PERSON.  The VGC is also host to the Mid-West DOOM Tournaments.
    You may contact them at [email protected] or (414) 476-1514.

Jim "Chainsaw" Urbas   [email protected]
  - DOOM Fanatic.  Current projects:  wc - Wad compiler; tool to help
    developers integrate new graphics into WAD files.  Deathmatch
    Compilations DM_xx_xx.ZIP; several 9 level episodes containing the
    best deathmatch maps, optimized for use in a single episode (namely:
    DMSMALL1 and DMSMALL2).  Also working on a new solo episode with Brant
    Katkansky, author of NUCLEAR.WAD.

Special thanks to these play-testers:
  Jonathan Dye, Dan Kaufman, Jeff Kolowitch, Chris Leffel, James Mitchell,
  Dan Middleton, Paul "Doctor" Novotny, Bryan Peterson, and Terry Wilson.

And of course a big thanks to all the folks at id software!

[END]

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