Good news for Blade of Agony when it comes to awards: After we made it into the Top 100 of ModDBs mods of 2017 (the voting is still going btw), I just discovered that we also got into the final rolling of PC Gamer's Games of the Year 2017 contest, which is amazing news for us developers. The final list is still not set but we are part of the contenders that the team then got together to argue over the winners and put together a final list that represents the best of PC gaming. We are honored to be part of this and we can't wait to see if we make it into the list of winners this year. More about this as soon as we get the news!

One week ago, Batandy streamed a session over Twitch showcasing his project Golden Souls 2 including a lot of never-seen-before footage and also some live mapping. I took the opportunity to watch it myself last sunday and had a lot of fun talking to the author and watching the video. For all those SNES/N64-nerds out there, who share the same enthusiasm to Batandy's mod, I really encourage you to watch the recorded version at Youtube (part 1 | part 2). The whole thing is about 2 and a half hours, but it's worth every second. If you are looking for some more material afterwards, just check the development thread over at ZDoom.org.

I will stop annoying people with myself being the greatest Batandy-fanboy of all time and just try to be as objective as possible this time. Well, erm... Golden Souls 2 author Batandy has posted some further screenshots and information about his project. Check the thread. ...I am so in love and I am a big fan of Madame Caco <3 Honestly, this is the reason why I am such a big fan of the Doom community. After 21 years, we still have fresh ideas, ambitious projects and awesome results that make you think "Damn, I have never expected it to be so cool!". Thanks Batandy, thanks Community and thanks to all the effort and help you are producing now for more than 2 decades.

After playing Golden Souls and Simon's Destiny you can't wait to proceed with something in the similar style? Then I have good news for you: Batandy has released another 3-map demo of his Golden Souls 2 mod a few weeks ago: Try 3 new levels and two brand new weapons! From the damp caves of Beautiful Bay, through the cold icicles of Rimy Residence, to the cozy skies of Strawberry Fields, there's plenty of content to give you a taste of the final release! Read more for the trailer:

Batandy, author of the famous Doom mod The Golden Souls 2 has currently initiated a mapping contest for all those people out there which are interested in winning a small prize and furthermore participate in the great crossover-game that takes a lot of elements from classic Super Mario games from the golden ages of NES and Super Famicom. The mod has lots of levels with different themes and aesthetics, it's part of what makes the mod interesting to play, and this time Batandy really wants to see what you, the community, can do, now it's your time to make something amazing and unique!
Giant watermelon map? Sure. Space gardens? Why not? Everything is possible. Sign up and check the prices!

Next to finishing the world map you can see in the screenshot, Batandy has also finally announced the release date of his amazing piece Doom: The Golden Souls 2 which is a charming mash-up between Doom and the Super Mario games from the 90s we all played and loved. Golden Souls 2 now rocks 38 completed maps, which is a bit more than the standard 32-map megawad. Currently Batandy is working on the final area and boss of MAP38, the seventh castle, and he will soon start working on World 8 "Hell", the last world. Yep, that's it, end of the line, only 5 more levels left to make. Check the dev thread and also sign up to his facebook page to not miss a thing in the future!

There seems to be a good favor for survival projects lately, and so Grymmoire joined the bandwagon. His project Hunted (alpha stages placeholder name) is a survival horror puzzle map set set on a seemingly abandoned space station. Our protagonist is awoken late at night by loud banging at their door, but no one is on the other side. Grabbing a nearby flashlight they set out to investigate and discovers that everyone on the station has mysteriously disappeared. Along the way the protagonist finds various anomalies that appear to have been set out just for them to find. It's definitely a different way of approaching the regular gameplay that Doom got famous for, so it's really worth checking out.

Quality total conversions (TC's) are far and inbetween. But total conversions that are good and a parody/comedic? Guzz: Ace of the ASS by TontonMayonnaise is what you are looking for. In this total conversion, set on the fictious European east country of Glaviota in the year 19XX, the space exploration complex sent Laïska, a young she dog into space for a test. The poor animal was sent to a certain painful death, starving in the depth of deep space.

But there is light at the horizon: there you go Guzz, the ace of the ASS (Alien Secret Service). To save the lady doggo and fell in love with her. Alas, she died at a young age (as every doggo would be,  if you think about it) and so you set off  Glaviotan secret lab to search for Laïska's DNA extract to make her alive again.

Its clear, Guzz: Ace of the ASS is a total conversion with a ridiculous premise, but it also harbors impressive cartoony spritework. Still a project in progress, Guzz stands among the more unique works to come out of the Doom community this year that isn't a full-on jokeWAD.

Be sure to keep this parody close to you, preferably just not near your ASS.

After the programmer of GZDoomBuilder MaxEd has vanished for uncertain reasons, people feared the worst as the latest release didn't cover various critical errors that made the mapping tool usesless to some of us. Good news is that ZZYZX took the duty on his own and started a new bugfix fork on which he takes care all the problems and seems to continue the development of GZDB. Whether or not MaxEd returns after a while, the community survives it all, thanks to the people who offer their help. Thanks kindly for your dedication ZZYZX, currently working with the new tool on my own - and it works!

Good news for all those GZDoom fanatics out there: The new version 3.3 has been released just a few days ago and it brings a huge list of additions and improvements to the engine, especially some ZScript and UDMF Mapping highlights for you, for example dynamic spot lights configurable in the UDMF map format or mod-defined aliases no longer permanently change CVARs. For a full list of changes and additions, check the release thread and get your copy of GZDoom 3.3 just now - it's worth every bit and byte.

I can still remember times when I launched my good old DOS map editor DETH (and later ZETH) for building my very first maps about 20 years ago. Times have changed and where DoomBuilder by CodeImp was one of the greatest heaps in the early 2000s, I would consider MaxEd's GZDoomBuilder as a similarly important milestone to the mapping community as it has been with it's original predecessor. The program is currently actively developed by its author and you can not only download it from the ZDoom thread but also report bugs and most importantly suggest new features. GZDoomBuilder supports any kind of sourceport and includes all those latest features for these ports, for example UDMF mapping in ZDoom and GZDoom, models and all the other crazy things. Mapping was never easier and faster, this is a promise. Enough the talk: Go get it and make yourself useful!

"Praise the Lord (among us people known as MaxED), a new version of the famous map editor GZDoomBuilder has been released. For those of you not familiar with the fork of CodeImp's DoomBuilder 2, MaxED is already working on this for several months and even years now, constantly adding new features and bringing the editor up to par with the development builds of GZDoom.

As a mapper I can definitely say that the program is the total perfection when it comes to usability and speed as MaxED incorporates requests and changes that come directly from the modding community. For a full set of changes and new features, check the development thread and get your download. You will never map the same!

Devianteist is actually one of the newcomer mappers in the community, not very well known yet but working on a project that looks rather promising entitled Half a Megaward. The mappack will be employing a unique transitional style, placing the player in a Tech Base that will then become corrupt by Hell, forcing them to fight their way back through the now warped level. Currently there is only one level, which is nearly finished, of the 8. It is rather difficult, but it can be played through with smart management of supplies and skill. The author says about himself, that he is not too great at DOOM, but you can play through this map in Vanilla GZDoom as well as several mods perfectly fine. In terms of look and style, it feels a lot like Doom 64 or PSXDoom, so if you are into this, you should definitely give it a try.

Darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour is close at hand, creatures crawl in search of blood to terrorize y'all's neighbourhood... Batandy, author of Doom: The Golden Souls 2 has just delivered a small halloween present for us all, another demo of his masterpiece mod which is a beautiful mixture of Mario 64 and Doom. You can download the 3-map demo at the development thread including a nifty and beautiful trailer that I have just posted here for everyone's lazyness.

Leave it to Revenant100, Doom Philosopher at night and Doom Connoisseur by day to come up with something as twisted as Hard G. The premise is simple: Gib as many enemies in the straight track that lies ahead and beat the clock: 1.22 is the time to beat.  Revenant100 made this on the premise of a Youtube video that stated that ''Gibbing should not affect Doom in any way''. Hard G is the result of putting this theory to the test.

Hard G: A Speedrunning Challenge requires a limit-removing port, -complevel 2 recommended. GZDoom users are advised to use the "Doom (Strict)" compatibility setting to provide correct monster behavior. So what more is there to say to this novel WAD? Beat the clock, beat an Imp or stare for the remainder of the day to its perfectly shapped butt-cheeks. Do not act weirded out when any bystander catches you drooling all over the desk.

Good news for all those Laz Rojas fans out there: I've recently posted some more screenshots of Realm667's very own WolfenDoom project entitled Blade of Agony. Shots are taken from C1M6, "Operation: Grabräuber" where B.J. is heading to Northern Africa at a german excavation site including all the evil Indiana Jones inspired traps. The project development is running quite well and promising so far and the team is growing while talented and gifted mappers, spriters and coders are joining the project. Expect some kind of demo in the next upcoming weeks, and until then, stay tuned and browse through the screenshots over at ZDoom.org, we are looking forward to your comments.

ReaperAA has released a new custom palette for Heretic. It has been created in about a week that changes/tweaks some of the colors that he didn't like much and felt that they needed an improvement. The main changes are to the blues and greens. And unlike some other palettes, he did not include any new assets. This palette should work with vanilla assets just fine and give you a very interesting new experience when it comes to the old classic gem.

Heretic-to-Hexen by deathzero021 is a mod for Hexen that brings Heretic's maps to Hexen. Maps were heavily modified to work with Hexen assets, as well as containing new features from Hexen and new map progression. All weapons and enemies have been modified in an attempt to balance the experience due to the differing map designs between games. Currently only the first episode is complete, although the other episodes are included in the menu and in the mod, they are not playable. The mod will be updated episodically as he completes them but it may be a while before Episode 2 is complete. For the first episode, check the development thread over at Doomworld.

CaptainToenail has recently released his latest version of the Heretic mod Quest for the Crystal Skulls. In this adventure, Corvus is confronted by a Heresiarch, a powerful minion of the Serpent Riders. This dark wizard has stolen three crystal skulls, using their power to open a portal to the underworld in the hopes of bringing about his master's return. Corvus must collect the remaining six crystal skulls in order to unlock the celestial path and confront the Heresiarch before it's too late. The mod is for GZDoom and features new monsters, a hub map system with 8 action-packed levels and a lot of new resources to discover.

ravage delivered an awesome Easter present a few days ago when he uploaded a new version of his Hocus Pocus Doom total conversion. Next to several bugfixes, you can also find new maps, new decorations & models and several other improvements that make the project even more perfect then it already is. For some screenshots and the download link to the files themselves just check the development thread over at ZDoom. On a personal note I want to thank ravage once again for doing this in such a brilliant way. Hocus Pocus has been one of my favorite DOS games of all time and this project brings the feeling and mood of these good old times back to me - thank you!

Just noticed that ravage has released another wip-version of his total conversion Hocus Doom which is a 3D-execution of Apogee's late 90's jump & run platformer Hocus Pocus. In this new version, 2 new maps have been added and also a lot of bugs have been fixed. Get the new version at any chance, the project is an amazin flashback to the good old shareware times.

Just noticed that ravage posted his next release candidate of his amazing Hocus Pocus Doom total conversion. Clock's ticking! Check the latest version with final fixes and additions at the official ZDoom development thread and be ready, we are almost there - the most anticipated release of 2019 is nearing.

Good news for all those fans of ravage's amazing Hocus Pocus Doom port for GZDoom: It's still alive, more than ever. The author has fixed a lot of bugs, improved a lot of features that makes the mod even more true to its original DOS counterpart and there are even some new levels. You can find the latest download version as well as some more information and screenshot in the development thread over at ZDoom.org - go get it!

Well, yeah, not the sidescroller from the early 90's but ravage's own approach in turning the old 2d game in a 3d environment - and man, it's so good at doing this. Hocus Pocus Doom has relatively the same features as the original Hocus Pocus. You complete maps by collecting all available crystals. However, you can also find red crystals that let you warp to secret maps at the end of the level. You are awarded points for finding treasure, killing enemies, and completing each map within a time limit. At the end of every episode your highest score will be recorded. NightFright pretty much put it in a nutshell with his review:

"After staying away from this until it had reached final release status (which was REALLY hard to do), I have now played the first few levels and gotta say you ABSOLUTELY nailed it. This is what I would have expected from an official 3D sequel made by Apogee themselves in the 90s if they had done one. Level design, enemy behavior, shooting (no hitscanners!), sounds, music... it totally takes you back to the old days while still delivering on the visual side. Of course you have a slight advantage if you played the original game since you recognize the game mechanics right away, but it's not like anybody who doesn't know Hocus Doom wouldn't get used to this within a matter of minutes. And it's still so addictive to collect all the treasure, no difference to the original at all. There's also a great visual variety throughout the episodes which cannot be praised enough."

Anyway, make your own experience, this release is top quality, and a definite winner of the Annual Cacowards - I'd bet!

Once in a while ravage is posting a new playable version or promising screenshots to the development thread of Hocus Doom, a 3D port of the 2D jump and run scroller. It is really impressive what he has achieved so far, not only because it's a "one-man-show" but also when it comes to sticking to the original. Check out the new screenshots and the latest playable beta from early october to get an idea.

Finally a new and promising Aliens mod for ZDoom is in development, and damn it looks impressive. Kontra Kommando already teases us with trailers and screenshots for a while now and what he came up with is awesomely atmospheric and feels like travelling back to the good old times when Sigourney Weaver was running through dark hallways only dressed in her pyjama. Aliens - The Ultimate Doom takes the advantage of many GZDoom features and makes the Xenomorphs a threat again. Check the official development thread, trailers and screenshots at ZDoom.org.

For all those fans out there who love good weapon- and gameplay-mods, you definitely should try Hexereticdoom's HXRTC Project. The project is an addon for exclusive use with Doom & Doom 2 games, that means it won't work correctly with Heretic, Hexen or Strife games. However, it's fully compatible with many classic custom Doom megawads that don't alter the gameplay, monsters and/or weapons in a critic way. You'll be able to play with HXRTC Project addon with megawads like Alien Vendetta, Community Chest series, Hell Revealed, Icarus, Memento Mori, Scythe, etc. Also you can use it with some auto-generated wads or megawads by Oblige or Obhack tools, so the fun can be almost endless! More information can be found at the development thread when it comes to videos, screenshots and features.

Working with soundblocking lines and sound environments in (Z)Doom was aways a pain and more like "try and error" instead of planning what monsters can hear when and where. boris (trivia: some people still know him as Tarin, one of the most famous and oldest members in the community) has recently released and updated his DoomBuilder 2 plugin Sound Propagation Mode which finally makes these tasks much easier. It visualises the way sound travels through a map and also shows what sectors are affected by a sound environment setting. For more information just check the official thread over at ZDoom.org

One of the greatest achievements in the Doom history was definitely TeamTNT's Icarus project. 32 maps in the same quality and style as we already know from Final Doom. Good things come to those who wait: Almost 2 decades after it's release, the mapper Eternal released a map pack called Icar2015 which can definitely be considered as spiritual successor - just with a bit more quality. The project has been posted by entryway and can be found here (as well as on /idgames). For some nostalgic retro feeling, grab the file and play it, this is gread Doomin'!

For those of you who have no idea what's WolfenDoom: Blade of Agony is all about, Icarus Lives has prepared a short and interesting preview video at his Youtube Channel - but feel free to be lazy and just watch it directly below. It gives a good overview of the mod itself and also delivers some very interesting feedback from a player's point of view who isn't active in the community itself which gives it a very neutral perspective. Thanks man for doing this, it's a great help for us.

Well, it's not worse as the title might suspect but actually id software seemed to have rushed the releases of Doom and Doom 2 in the early 90's. But the community doesn't forget nor do they forgive. A few members from the Doomworld community started a small project called the Doom 2 Minor Sprite Fixing Project which isn't that minor anymore being in progress for 4 years now. So what's the deal with it? Next to little problems like missing or transparent pixels on sprites and textures, people also started to improve the offsets for monsters (one famous example is the dancing Michael-Jackson revenant) and simply mirroring zombie sprites making them swap their weapons from one side to the other. A lot of things have already been resolved and this project is a "autoload" in my eyes if you play regular Doom. Take a look and give it a shot - or simply play it the way it was meant to look.

Invernovasion is a project by The_SloVinator, started back in April of 2018 Its  aim was to make an atmospheric wad with environmental story-telling, as well as implement plot & maps that connect each other via exits/starts. It has custom stuff from names of the maps to graphics, like intermission background, to custom ending text & of course music and feels very 1994'ish in a positive way. The author recomennds to read the included text files so I suggest doing so as well :) Have fun with this interesting trip to the past.

Back in the day I don't think people would have really gone for this whole "corporation as state" thing, but I guess back in the day they didn't have to deal with portals to hell ripping our dimension apart. When push comes to shove, if the throne is empty, somebody's going to go and sit on it. Just happened 200 years ago that it was the UAC. They call themselves a commonwealth now, their CEO a president, their shareholders are the public. All told they've done a decent job putting the pieces back together.

This is how the whole Interstellar Enforcer story starts. ReformedJoe has just uploaded a gameplay trailer of his wip-project and it's really nice looking stuff he got there. What is Interstellar Enforcer? In a nutshell, it is a mission based GZDOOM TC for DOOM II. Take doom, mix in a dose of unreal and turok, add a splash of metroid and maybe a little bit of system shock 2 and you'll not be far from the target. You play as an officer of the Interstellar Enforcement Patrol, tasked with policing the obscure fringes of humanities bustling space empire in the future of the DOOM II timeline. You generally do this by shooting things.

Iron Assault is a mech action game, designed specifically for GZDoom. It is based loosely on an obscure shooter released by Graffiti back in the mid nineties. Note that Iron Assault is a re-imagining, not a 1:1 remake of the original. It is heavily influenced by Heavy Gear 1, and Mechwarrior 4 (especially mercenaries).

Features

• Many customizable mechs with dozens of weapons and modules to choose from.
• Weapons from “light” 14.5mm machineguns to rapid fire 105mm rocket launchers.
• Modules add functionality to your mech, from jumpjets to advanced sensor pods that let you see threats up to kilometers away.
• A custom armor, damage and limb damage system.
• Custom weapon system, which will be familiar to those who have played mechwarrior games, most similar to mw4.
• Large scale maps packed with destructible objects and buildings. Almost everything within the bounds of a map can be damaged or destroyed in some way.
• Campaign spanning 5 different environments and a sim mode that lets you play campaign maps with random spawns or in a survival wave mode.

Since the release of v3.1 of "Blade of Agony" we have received numerous messages, comments and emails. Besides positive messages and words of support, we have also received a lot of opposition and disappointment.

"You have given up", "You have given in to the shitstorm", "You have lost my respect".

After more than 6 years of working on a project of the heart, these words of course hurt and disappoint us very much and after we had answered some of the comments on ModDB and by email, we now feel that an official statement is necessary to gain understanding and shed light on the matter.

The changes and mitigations we have implemented for version 3.1 do not stem from cowardice we have shown towards some users of the Doom community. Blade of Agony is a creative, free and artistic interpretation within the Wolfenstein universe. And as long as we are unpaid developers working on such a project in our spare time, it must be ensured that we realise our vision as we see fit. This is exactly the motto we have been working by for the last 6 years, releasing the last 3 chapters. So why the adjustments to v3.0 now?

As some of you know, the team around "Blade of Agony" consists of a colourful bunch from all over the world, including Israel and Germany. Wolfenstein 3D and swastikas have long been banned and punished in Germany in the field of entertainment. Since 2018, these laws have been defused, but games of this kind are still under the strictest observation by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (FOftPotC).

Although we as developers strictly condemn any form of discrimination, racial hostility, anti-Semitism and glorification of the Second World War, there were concerns on the part of various German gaming sites and news sources about whether we had not crossed a line with some content (including the depiction of a concentration camp, the explicit mention of affected population groups or the World's Fair in Paris with historical anti-Semitic content). From that point on, it was clear to us that we would have to reconsider the content in order to weigh up possible personal damage (for example a punishment from the FOftPotC if they deem the game unacceptable) from all the developers of the project concerned.

The Second World War was the most horrific conflict in our history, and we as a development team do not want to ignore, censor or even deny these atrocities. However, we have asked ourselves what position we are in as entertainers. Wolfenstein is and always has been a fictional scenario, so we have no duty to educate the people who play our game. We want to tell an exciting story. So our yardstick in defusing the game was "What content is necessary to achieve that and what content can we do without?"

Blade of Agony has been released in several versions before and as we changed, removed and added content from version 1.0 to 2.0 based on experience gained and advice received, this is an organic process that has now also taken place between 3.0 and 3.1.

While we can understand some of the disappointment, we hope players will understand why some changes had to be made and why we can no longer officially support v3.0, and ask that you do not share public links on our ModDB page. Of course, we have no influence on what happens in the private area.

We hope that you continue to have as much fun with Blade of Agony as we had during its development and we still wish you a good time.

Thank you,
Daniel Gimmer
and the entire Blade of Agony development team

Last year we had the big hashtag #TheDress which drove most of us crazy - well most of the girls according to some studies but anyway. 72% percent have been sure it is white and gold, and only 28% thought it was black and blue, where the latter had been the ones with a sharper eye. This year it will even get worse for us Doomers. abbuw started something that's even worse on the ZDoom forums, and we can already give it the infamous hashtag #TheArmor. Check the screenshot on the right and decide yourself: Is the armor green or is it grey? Is it green and looks grey because of the sector light color or is it grey and looks green because of the surrounding ambience? Using the color picker won't help you, so evil it is! Grey or Green? Good luck finding out!

The current coronacrisis (Covid-19) has led people to creative ideas. Varying from playing card games through Skype, to a Covid-19 mod for Doom to Isolation, a community project led by resident Aussie invader Jimmy and a plethora of veterans, including Pcorf, Gothic, Walter confetti, DynamiteKaitorn and more and with an exclusive TITLEPIC by none other than Harmony creator Thomas van der Velden. Isolation brings some big names and big guns, and you can join in on the fun!  So what is required:

TEXTURES:
Download d1gfxd2

Custom optional PLAYPAL: Download Isopal

• RULES / RESTRICTIONS:
  Short, breezy, light-hearted Boom (CL9) maps, please!
• NO USE of F_SKY1 permitted! The outside world is cruel and evil.
• Use of damaging NUKAGE1 mandatory. Use of radsuits encouraged!
• All health items must be placed on FWATER1. Wash your goddamn hands!
• Use of Cacodemons encouraged (use at least one please).
• BUILD TIME LIMIT: Please don't spend MORE THAN 12 HOURS on your submission!
• NO CO-OP STARTS. This is to be a single-player mapset only! You're supposed to be isolated, dummy.
• NO CUSTOM ASSETS except music.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:

Sat 28th March 2020 @ 11:59PM GMT.
The project release is scheduled for Wed 1st April 2020.

Play a part in Isolation, and show the world some mapping love in these tense times.

The mapper reflex17 has just released his new map Escape from Jabba's Palace in the official Doomworld thread. This level is a medium/large MAP01 replacement .wad that is loosely based on Jabba the Hutt's Palace from Return of the Jedi. Almost all textures in the map are from Star Wars: Dark Forces, the sequel Jedi Knight and its expansion pack Mysteries of the Sith. A few areas/details of the map were inspired by Misson 10: 'Jabba's Ship' from Dark Forces and the palace's location in the Star Wars: Galaxies MMO. If you are already hyped for Episode VIII, this is some interesting piece to shorten the time until December.

Ever wondered if there are people in Japan who play Doom? Well, not too many but there are actually a few who dedicate their free time to the greates first person shooter of all time. Taking a look at the screenshots, it seems a lot like people there aren't very common in the western communities and so the mapping style is different from what we know and what we might expect from yet another megawad with 32 maps. Anyway, the Japanese Community Project is exactly that: A low-threshold project, that anybody could participate, so the quality of the maps is varying a lot but it's definitely worth playing. So if you want to have some fresh air, get the file and give it a try. Domo arigatou.

Guess what? Episode 1 of Jazz Jackrabbit Doom has been uploaded for your turtle slaughtering pleasure! You are a rabbit with big guns and a bad attitude. All of Hare-Kind is in great danger, after finding out those terrible turtles you fought years ago are back again to make life miserable. Stop them before all (S)Hell breaks loose! What can be expected?

• 9 Maps!
• 2 bonus stages that'll give you extreme nostalgia! Good luck finding them!
• 2 secret maps of pure fun!
• 10 weapons
• Tons of goons to shoot!
• Tons of Easter eggs hidden through the episode!
• Allowed to jump, crouch and mouse look!