Master Levels for Doom II

Moby ID: 5287
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Compiled by id Software in response to various commercial Doom wad collections like D!Zone, the Master Levels for Doom II was intended to be the largest mega-collection of additional Doom maps (the "Maximum Doom" collection), plus twenty new official maps (the "Master Levels").

The "Master Levels" are twenty stand-alone maps from independent level designers commissioned by id. There is no overall campaign or an attempt to tie the levels together, though some of the levels from the same designer do have a connected story of their own.

"Maximum Doom" is a collection of 201 .wads (map packs with varying numbers of levels inside) for the original Doom and 1,629 wads for Doom II, leading to the package's claim of 3,000 total new levels. These wads are not commissioned by id or made by professional designers, and no claim is made as to these being the "most popular" or "best designed" homebrew levels available. The maps were gathered from various free or FTP sites on the Internet; however, the time and dial-up cost for a player to find and download the same collection of .wads themselves would have been substantial.

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"Attack" and "Canyon" maps by
"Black Tower", "Bloodsea Keep", "Mephisto's Mausoleum", and "The Express Elevator To Hell" levels by
"The Catwalk", "The Combine", "The Fistula", "The Garrison", "Subspace" and "Subterra" levels by
"Geryon", "Minos' Judgement", "Nessus", "Vesperas", and "Virgil's Lead" levels by
"Titan Manor" and "Trapped on Titan" levels by
"Paradox" level by

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Average score: 4.4 out of 5 (based on 22 ratings with 1 reviews)

"Come crawling faster, obey your master!"

The Good
Master Levels for DOOM II is a collection of 21 (20 regular + 1 secret) new custom levels, which serve as a sort of mission pack for DOOM II.

"There are tens of thousands of free custom levels out there, why would I want this?" some of you might be wondering. Well, the only thing that truly distinguishes these maps from the rest is their official status. They were made by six people (including Tim Willits) who were specifically chosen by id Software for this project.

The levels were tested and approved by id Software, and could thus be considered to be part of the DOOM canon. This is something that the hardcore fans of the series would surely appreciate.

Due to its nature, it is hard to evaluate the Master Levels as a complete product, therefore I will say a few words about each mapmaker's work.

Tim Willits, who later became a part of id Software as lead designer, made two maps - Attack and Canyon. Their style is fairly close to the look and feel of DOOM II - you could think they were "leftover" maps from the game's development. They are fairly good maps, equally well-suited for single and multiplay. "Attack," being the first wad file in the list (alphabetically) also plays perfectly as an introduction to the Master Levels, so I definitely recommend you play this level first.

Tom Mustaine made only one level (Paradox), yet it is a rock solid map. Again, it plays fairly well in single or multiplay.

John Anderson (a.k.a. Dr. Sleep) made five maps, drawing inspiration from Dante's Inferno. They are mostly non-linear, fairly challenging, and with a predominant Hellish theme.

Jim Flynn made two maps (Titan Manor and Escape from Titan), which seem to be part of one storyline. They focus on being challenging and having some more unusual architecture.

Christen Klie made six maps - they are close to DOOM II's original style, yet they also try to introduce some new and unusual architecture, perhaps even some eye candy.

Last but not least - Sverre Andre Kvernmo (Cranium). His five maps are my personal favorite. They are large, hard, and built with a lot of imagination. He really tried to use some of the DOOM engine's tricks and create some more unusual environments. The map "Mephisto" is the perfect conclusion to the Master Levels, and I recommend playing it last.

Overall, the Master Levels fit pretty well into the world and atmosphere of DOOM II and are thus an experience no hardcore Doomer should miss.

The Bad
The most annoying thing about the Master Levels is that they are so disjointed. The levels come in 20 separate files and there is no clear order or structure to the whole thing.

I really think the this would have been a more appealing product if the levels were combined into one whole custom episode - it could even have a storyline of some sort.

"Maximum Doom" is, basically, shovelware. The maps were just piled together, without even checking them for bugs or compatibility. It looks and feels sloppy.

The Bottom Line
With the overwhelming number of free high-quality levels online, the Master Levels are a territory reserved for the most dedicated DOOM fans - the people who don't want to miss even the slightest facet of the DOOM experience.

But even if you do not consider yourself a true DOOM maniac, the levels are still fun to play and offer a good opportunity to test and improve your combat skills - either in solo or multiplay.

DOS · by Gatekeeper (290) · 2014

Trivia

Development

According to one of the contributors, Christen Klie:

  1. id accepted as many maps as an author could submit - provided id had time to review them, and provided the maps met quality standards. I seem to recall id wanting to publish 20 maps in total, but that might not have been a hard figure.

  2. We were all paid a flat-rate fee for each map. Same fee across the board.

  3. It wasn't clear until the end of development whether the Master Levels would be presented as a mega-wad or as stand-alone levels. I personally was hoping they'd be combined into a mega-wad.

  4. Apologies, as I don't recall what the other authors' intentions were regarding map order. I'm pretty sure Sleep had an order in mind for his levels, and I know I had an order in mind for Subspace and Subterra - which were to have been followed by a map called Subderma, which I didn't get time to make.

(Source: Doomworld forums, 2008)

DOOM-IT

Master Levels for DOOM II contains a shell program named "DOOM-IT" from which the various new level .wads are loaded. It also features networking/modem setups, automatic recording of level plays ("demo" recordings), and other useful features. It was written by Chris Badger for id Software, and does not appear to be available outside of the Master Levels for DOOM II release.

Rejected level

Tom Mustaine's first submission to the Master Levels was a map inspired heavily by Doom II's MAP14 ("The Inmost Dens"). However, id's American McGee (the original author of MAP14) rejected Mustaine's map, claiming that it wasn't original enough ("go make some of your own geometry!", McGee supposedly said). Mustaine promptly created the map "Paradox" instead, which got successfully accepted.

Secret level

Master Levels for DOOM II actually contains 21 maps - "teeth.wad" by Sverre Andre Kvernmo contains a secret level titled "Bad Dream."

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by CheshireCat.

Macintosh added by Corie Curcillo. Windows added by DarkDante.

Additional contributors: Ledmeister, ixfd64, Havoc Crow, BurningStickMan, Patrick Bregger.

Game added November 5, 2001. Last modified January 22, 2024.