Marswar.wad - by Nathan Lineback 
ftp://3darchives.in-span.net/pub/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/marswar.zip

UV Max demos (100% kills and secrets) by:

Rich Sham (rjsams1@hotmail.com)
Graham "Grazza" Burgess (GKBurgess@compuserve.com)
Doug "Opulent" Merrill (opulent@cox.net)

	 Time	Source Port	Player
	 ----	-----------	------
Map01	 1:09	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map02	 3:41	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map03	 4:51	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map04	 4:52	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map05	 3:13	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map06	 7:01	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map07	 4:26	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map08	 5:35	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map09	 8:26	Legacy1.4	Rich	
Map10	14:53	Doom2		Opulent
Map11	 1:46	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map12	 5:57	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map13	 8:24	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map14	 9:01	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map15	 3:13	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map16	 5:31	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map17	 8:59	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map18	 7:33	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map19	 7:42	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map20 	 2:22	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map21	13:22	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map22	11:25	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map23	  :48	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map24	11:59	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map25	 3:04	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza
Map26	16:02	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map27	 6:20	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map28	10:04	Doom2		Opulent
Map29	11:40	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map30	 3:31	Legacy1.4	Rich
Map31	 3:00	Doom2		Opulent
Map32	 5:38	PrBoom2.2.4	Grazza

Playback info:
Legacy1.40 (which is what Rich used) is mostly compatible with Legacy1.41.  Grazza's PrBoom demos are recorded with -complevel 1 which allows for playback with Eternity3.3.1beta3 and Doom2.exe as well as PrBoom of course.
Legacy - http://legacy.newdoom.com/
PrBoom - http://sourceforge.net/projects/prboom/

Grazza added a batchfile to playback all the demos and to play each episode seperately.
If the wad, the demos, the batch files and all the executables you need (legacy 1.4 and prboom) are all in your Doom2 folder, then the batch files will work as they are, without modification. Otherwise, you will need to edit the batch files (e.g. in Notepad) to add in paths, or to change the executable if you want to watch the doom2.exe-compatible demos with eternity, glboom or doom2.exe. Remember that it is not a good idea to try to watch the Legacy demos with anything other than Legacy! Also, note that even watching the demos one episode at a time means quite a lengthy session. Have plenty of popcorn ready, or break them up to make shorter batch files.


Rich:

Initially, recording some lmps from the marswar megawad was done in an effort to have some fun and to support the Demo Forum at Doomworld.  This changed over time in that I found there were quite a few interesting levels to record, in addition to the fact Opulent suggested a demoset.  Soon Grazza and then Opulent joined in the effort. 

While marswar is not difficult for savegame-type play, the levels do offer enhanced opportunity for more challenging gameplay as speed increases. Some of them were quite enjoyable to record. I believe the author did a fine job on monster selection and placement which created an interesting variety of gameplay throughout. 

My focus, as stated above, didn't allow me the opportunity to improve these lmps to the degree I would have had I intended to send them to the DSDA.  That said, one thing lead to another and soon we had a 32 level demoset which we decided to add to the DSDA. 

Teaming with Opulent and Grazza was a fun and interesting experience. They are both quality individuals as well as respected players.  I believe you'll find their lmps very enjoyable.  



Grazza:

Marswar is quite a good megawad overall. Initially I was not at all impressed by it, thinking that a few maps were fun but it was mostly very uninspired stuff. I had also noted that the whole project had been inspired by the desire to make something that was anti-Microsoft, which hardly seems a good basis for Doom maps. However, as I started playing more of the maps, and looking at them more seriously, I grew to like the fun gameplay and the often clever design features. In fact, some of the early maps that I had initially dismissed as "clunky base-style" became favourites (e.g. map03 and map04). Gameplay is for the most part quite nicely balanced, and while there may often be a slight ammo surplus, it isn't presented to you on a platter - you often have to go out of your way to collect the extra items. This made the maps pretty interesting for Max runs. While it is not in general difficult to exit each map with 100% kills and secrets, doing so quickly and efficiently proved by no means simple. It often involved skipping lots of stuff and getting in the thick of some Tyson action.

I put a moderate amount of effort into each of my demos in this pack (typically 2-4 hours work on each - basically until I was at least fairly happy with it), and on the whole am reasonably pleased with the results. I hadn't previously done many Max demos, and feel I have learnt a fair bit in the process.
Map03 is probably my best demo of this collection; getting it under 5 minutes without missing any monsters involved several route changes and a fair degree of luck. Map04 was again tricky to get under 5 minutes, with careful ammo rationing needed. Map05 was one that immediately appealed to me. The run involves some tricky jumps; it's just a shame that after landing the last and most difficult of them I slightly went to pieces and the later parts of the demo are consequently quite untidy. Map06 was a lengthy run with lots of secrets and a somewhat annoying tower to climb.
Map08, unlike many in this wad, has quite a tight ammo balance, and some care was needed to get through it without any really slow spots. Map11 is a small violent map featuring a battle with a cyber. It only manages to knock about 360 points off my health/armour before it dies. Odd things can happen in this map, as shown in a speedrun that I also did (mw11-036).
Map16 is really odd. There is a giant floating toothbrush and huge washbasin. The run is fairly straightforward, even though I kept messing up quite an easy jump. Getting a decent time on Map19 mainly depended on working out a good route - it is quite a complex map, and visiting the areas in the right order is important. Map21 was the toughest of the ones I tackled - simply reaching the exit is quite a challenge, and ammo is in short supply throughout. Map23 is a silly little level (see the automap). Map25 is quite an easy map, where you can really push for a good time. Map32 is a BFG- and rocket-fest with lots of invulnerabilities.

I would like to thank my collaborators on this project. Rich sparked off the initial interest, and his 17 excellent demos form the backbone of this demoset. This project has also benefited considerably from Opulent's input and expertise; he has been a great supporter of the demos community over the years, and his speed and smoothness as a player are always a marvel to behold.



Opulent:

While not one of the best megawads ever, Marswar is surprisingly well-designed.  You look to play pwads that you would make yourself, and Marswar is just that. 

I was happy to be able to be part of the team on this demoset.
Grazza obviously has the Novikovian passion for recording DOOM demos and a wide appreciation of pwads in general.  Still haven't been able to tell what his best category is yet because he seems to be equally good at all of them.  And it's great to actually make demos with him for a change.  :) 
Rich is a legend in the Doom2 demoscene.  I had been casually playing DOOM for about a year before I became dedicated to it... there were about 5 quality demosites online back then.  One of those was his.  I never would have thought I'd be recording demos for a project with him after all these years.
I hope the 3 of us can manage to work together in the future on similar projects.  Thanks guys!  and thanks to you for watching!


Come join us at: http://www.doomworld.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=37
The Doomworld-DemoForum-Team tasks to make acceptable-quality maxdemos for the projects we choose.

http://www.doomworld.com/sda -- 11/2003