TNT: Evilution

 

TNT: Evilution | TNT.WAD

Team TNT

The Doom community is no stranger to controversy, and one of the earliest big messes in its history is the row over TNT: Evilution. What began life as a free mod for Doom II, one of the earliest 32-level megawads (at a time when such huge projects were limited to the likes of Memento Mori) was, at the last minute before it was due for release, snapped up by id Software for a commercial release. The bulletin boards that the community lived on at the time understandably exploded into a sea of flame. After all, it's a bait and switch, isn't it? Promise a free product then at the last minute delay it for another six months so you can sell it instead.

Of course, nearly 30 years later none of that matters anymore. What does matter is that the id Software-mandated further development time led to some dramatic tweaks in the game, from extended testing to, it's my understanding, the outright removal of some maps, with replacements hurriedly being built. (At least one of these cut maps has resurfaced under the title of "No Mercy.") Just how much different the wad would have been without these changes is unknown; in general, Evilution is a bit of a mixed bag, especially compared to its far more slick companion piece, The Plutonia Experiment.

Evilution's story is something of a rehash of the original Doom's. You're Doomguy, once again, but now you're put in charge of a whole contingent of Marines, tasked with providing beefed up security as a reformulated UAC works to rebuild the teleportation project at a new base on the terraformed Jovian moon of Io. When the first portal opens, spilling out a bunch of Hell's denizens, the Marines go to work, and the invasion ends within a couple of minutes. A few months later, the supply ship arrives early, only it's not the supply ship but a large, monstrous hellship that drops an entire invasion's worth of monsters directly onto the base. Chaos ensues, and you, having gone for a walk around the base's perimeter, are the only survivor.

As it adopts a lot of Doom 1's basic plot, so too does it adopt much of its aesthetic trappings, leaning heavily on a broad range of techbases as you work your way through the Io complex. It's apparently at least partially self-sustaining with some manufacturing facilities and a system to maintain an Earth-like habitat, but for the most part it's a pretty non-descript series of techbases with the occasional hidden demonic temple deep underground. Towards the end things start looking a little more Hellish, though whether you actually go to Hell again or if it's the slow subversion of the base taking hold is unclear. The two big exceptions to this paradigm are the secret levels; the first sends you to an Egyptian-style pyramid, with some new textures to match -- a theme that has been revisited a couple of times, most emphatically in Evil Egypt -- while the second gives you a preview of Plutonia with a flooded jungle cabin kind of deal.

I said earlier that Evilution is a mixed bag, and I stand by that. While there are some great levels -- I really like Ty Halderman's levels "Wormhole" and "Shipping/Respawning" but I super don't care for the one he did with Dario Casali, "Mill," and I'm kind of lukewarm about all of Drake O' Brien's maps. With such a big mapping team in the early days of Doom modding, quality and style are all over the place, and where one level might be clean-looking and well-detailed, the next might look like a barely-dressed-up 1994 map. To say nothing of some weird ideas like the infamous torch puzzle on MAP30, or the use of mandatory secrets and hidden passages.

Ultimately I like Evilution. It's harder than Doom II, in part because of all those damn hitscanners, but it's also got a solid identity that -- almost in spite of itself -- it generally sticks to through the entire game, with level design that, while not quite on the level of Duke Nukem 3D in terms of presenting a believable space, still has the occasional touch of DoomCute here and there, especially in Ty Halderman's contributions. The new textures are a mixed bag -- some look great, others are pretty obviously whipped up in MSPaint (but still decent-looking in the right contexts) and some just look badly adapted to Doom's palette. The music is generally pretty banging, though there's only so many songs, and there's a lot of repeats and reuses of Doom II music. Luckily, some enterprising musicians over on Doomworld gave us the Evilution MIDI pack. (If you're looking for a version that doesn't replace any of the music that Evilution ships with, only the repeats and Bobby Prince tracks, I made such a thing available here.)

Also, full disclosure: I played through Evilution using the associated weapon set from Final Doomer+. I'll give that mod a full review some day, but the TNT set is actually really fun to use and works well with Evilution's gameplay. I also used Shades of Doom, which allows you to create your own monster reskins (behavior is otherwise basically the same) to give Evilution a little more of its own identity. (The SMG Guy replacement for the chaingunner is at least thematically consistent with the Final Doomer+ TNT set, too.)

You should give Evilution a play. Not just because it's part of Final Doom, but because it's a decent campaign in its own right from an interesting era in Doom history.

 

 

 

 

MAP01: System Control

Tom Mustaine

Tom starts us off light with an opener that's smaller than "Entryway" but a little more action-packed. As MAP01s go it's kind of unremarkable for its small size, but the secrets require just an atom of cleverness to acquire and it does have a fun ambush at the very end. If nothing else, the sheer amount of hitscanners for the level's size gives you a hint about what you can expect going forward.

MAP02: Human BBQ

John Wakelin

A significantly larger -- and tougher -- outing, "Human BBQ" is somewhat thematically incoherent, leaning largely towards a nondescript base with a marble garden that will present your biggest threat as hordes of demons and cacos may catch you off guard as you look for the button to progress. The real fight, though, is the baron room, a secret area accessed by the blue key that will cough up the super shotgun if you can survive -- and telefragging the barons is a good way to do that. Just be ready to run back to the overlook area multiple times if you want to grab all the secrets.

MAP03: Power Control

Robin Patenall, John Minadeo

A largely symmetric, circular map that revolves around a central structure accessed via teleporters and more action in the side rooms. Pretty much a straightforward techbase, but exploring everything requires understanding the teleporter system. I'd also be extremely careful about stepping on strange teleporters because you might be put into a fight you can't win from that direction.

MAP04: Wormhole

Ty Halderman

Ah, Ty Halderman. While today he's considered one of the elder statesmen of the Doom community at (least until his passing in 2015) he got his start as founder of Team TNT and mapping for various Team TNT projects. "Wormhole" is probably his most famous map from Evilution, a small, but creepy little lab with some maintenance tunnels in the back. Find the right spot and you'll drop into a mysterious cave with a portal in it that doesn't seem to go anywhere, until you realize that the lab feels subtly different... It's a really cool little nightmare that sticks out as far as typical Doom levels go.

MAP05: Hanger

Jim Dethlefsen

Definitely not the same kind of cakewalk as Doom's E1M1, this one is chockablock with hitscanners and monster closets. The narrow corridors have their own vibe (especially once they culminate in a mysterious temple area,) but it's the control room with its power windows overlooking what I'm assuming is a landing pad that poses the greatest threat what with all the incoming fire from across the way.

MAP06: Open Season

Jimmy Sieben, Ty Halderman

A dangerous, dimly-lit power plant full of zombies and other bullshit. The computer room maze is frightening in its way, but most of the level requires a lot of backtracking with switches and keys. The standout fight to me is probably the reactor area itself -- Jimmy and Ty are kind enough to give you a radsuit before you enter, which should give you some leeway if you fall off the walkway when the cacodemons come at you. Also, a single step forward should bypass that arch-vile fight at the end if you really don't want to be bothered, which is an odd way to finish the level. Fun map tho.

MAP07: Prison

Andrew Dowswell

The back half of episode one kicks off with a prison compound. The grounds are pretty saturated with bad guys, but the prison proper is a terrifying ambush with enemy fire coming from the cells all around you. Dowswell is generous enough to give you an invulnerability secret, but getting it may be a bit difficult. The final area isn't dangerous, just mind your step.

MAP08: Metal

John Minadeo

John Minadeo throws an absolute horde of hitscanners after you in this boxy dark grey maze. It's a brutal firefight from the catacomb maze in the beginning all the way through to the big vat room at the end. There's some elements of this that seem to anticipate Quake's design ethos a little bit, for example the cool staircase with hanging supports.

MAP09: Stronghold

Jimmy Sieben

If you thought the last map had too many hitscanners, here's a whole bunch more. It's a proper Dawn of the Dead up in here with every room featuring massive crowds of zombies -- sometimes more than once -- with plenty of imp and pinky support. One of the tougher encounters involves a line of monster closets spilling out imps and chaingunners to trap you between them and some assholes up on a staircase.

MAP10: Redemption

Tom Mustaine

Tom gives us a nice, aesthetically pleasing little techbase that again seems to anticipate some of Quake's design ethos. It's probably better suited as a deathmatch level for its size and general looping structure, but the actual combat here is pretty low-key compared to the last two levels, even with the courtyard full of baddies and a stream of imps and barons warping into the yellow key room.

MAP11: Storage Facility

Dean Johnson

A more cramped version of Doom 1's "Containment Area," this is a largeish warehouse where each room looks like my storage unit for how overloaded with boxes it is. To get there you have to work your way past first a security checkpoint and then the loading dock area. The warehouse itself is labyrinthine and just when you think you've cleared it another horde of monsters -- including a couple revenants and an arch-vile -- show up to ruin your day.

MAP12: Crater

Jim Lowell

Jim Lowell gives us a quasi-realistic facility set into a crater; the starry sky overhead gives a nighttime feel that's typically been absent from Doom. A hidden sewer access will let you approach various rooms from a different angle, but there's really no safe way to grab the soulsphere, especially if you don't kill the local Barons first. Some really cool visuals, like the Doom 64-esque dark mini-maze lined with strip lighting to cast enemies into silhouette, or the walkway that passes by a large nukage-fall before connecting you back to the sewers.

MAP13: Nukage Facility

Brian Kidby, Ty Halderman

A pretty standard techbase with a large outdoor area and a courtyard. Some of the design aesthetics hint at a nuclear waste processing center, but it's pretty much a hub-and-spoke deal with a large nukage vat in the center. Lots of hitscanners (that old refrain again) but the outdoor area offers a big firefight with lots of snipers, imps, pinkies and a few revenants and mancubi for spice. The storage vats at the end offer another fight, but due to its layout you can very well aggro everyone and wait for them to come to you. And if that weren't enough, a rather non-threatening Cyberdemon pops up in one of the early rooms, but he's easily ignored or tanked with a nearby invuln.

MAP14: Steel Works

Robin Patenall

A gloomy steel mill occupied by an army of zombies. With the dark, vaguely depressing atmosphere and low-key music I'm reminded of Marathon's "Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!" -- a dark, gloomy furnace area that seems to have some sort of purpose for the ship (and coinciding with a major downbeat note for the storyline.) This one's more about the journey than the destination, as once you've fought your way through the machine room, the power press room, the furnace, all the way to the red key, you'll have to do it all over again in reverse, though you do have the choice of whether to deal with the spider sooner or later.

MAP15: Dead Zone

William D. Whitaker

A big, somewhat liminal installation in the middle of a large crater. It's probably safer to fight your way inside and use the building for cover against the threats prowling the yard, but it's up to you how to approach it. As isolated as the building is, it still possesses some secrets, and it may be worth hunting for them as Whitaker finally gifts you the BFG, sitting there tantalizingly atop the pillar.

MAP31: Pharoah

Dario Casali

If you're playing this before Plutonia this will be your first taste of Dario Casali, but it's actually fairly different from his Plutonia stuff, thematically and gameplay-wise. He treats you to an Egyptian expedition (remember to check the supply boxes!) with some really cool architecture, unique texturing, and neat visuals like the floating Cyberdemon summoned into the great hall. I like the little trick with the arachnotron statues only activating in pairs as you unlock more of the map. The shotgunner horde at the end may have you tearing your hair out.

MAP32: Caribbean

Dario Casali

Now this is more like the Dario we know and love. The sunken wooden structures and overgrown vibe is like a preview of the vaguely tropical settings of Plutonia, but the map is kind of split between two large buildings with their own plumbing systems. It's pretty peaceful at first until you raise the blue bridge, at which point a horde of assholes will show up to ruin your vacation. Where's Duke Nukem when you need him?

MAP16: Deepest Reaches

Andre Arsenault

A somewhat creepy adventure map involving exploring a series of caves, deep inside of which are hidden evil temples and ruins. There's some cool bits here like the red key tease and the yawning canyon across which a bunch of skellies and friends heckle you. It's a big map with lots to see and do and kill.

MAP17: Processing Station

Tom Mustaine

A straightforward base map -- a series of stairways and hallways looping around a couple of corporate gardens and fountains, hinting at a more real-world purpose than is typical for Doom levels. It's a stand-up fight from end to end with lots of commandos and other zombies, accompanied by imps, revenants and other bullshit. Not much in the way of memorable fights, just a lot of room-clearance.

MAP18: Mill

Dario Casali, Ty Halderman

Ty and Dario give us a sprawling industrial level making heavy use of dark grey metal textures. It's a lot of running back and forth with some distinct areas like the hot room in the south east and the workroom that serves as the map's finale, with lost souls popping out of vents as a horde of zombies start marching from teleporters scattered around the room. The standout fight to me is probably the telegraphed commando ambush as you head back along the segmented hallway towards the red door. Honestly, kind of a misfire from these two.

MAP19: Shipping/Respawning

Ty Halderman

While Doom is what I spend most of my time with as far as doomer shooters go, I always find myself coming back to Duke Nukem 3D and other Build Engine games. A big part of that is because I have a healthy appreciation for realistic or semi-realistic environments -- what some might call DoomCute -- and Ty Halderman's cute little logistics facility is a pretty decent early example. From the computer lab near the start to the conveyor belts in the main warehouse to the little loading dock with the truck trailer, it's got some of the strongest sense of place in the whole game. Combat is pretty fun, too, good mix of imps and zombies wandering the halls and rooms. Don't fuck with the nukage barrel storage or you'll trigger a whole mess of spawning enemies, hence the name. God, what a cool level.

MAP20: Central Processing

Drake O'Brien

The bulk of this level is a large base with some office space and techy stuff; the finale, in contrast, is a sprawling canyon adventure that requires doubling back along different tiers several times before finally reaching the exit. Lots of tough combat, with some particularly annoying chaingunner sniper fire in the outdoor areas.

MAP21: Administration Center

Drake O'Brien

Drake drops us in a sinister office building, a large boxy structure with four offices in the corner, a massive poisonous vat in the middle. Snipers line the outer hallway and trouble lurks in the corridors that divide the offices proper. There's a lot of secret passageways and little nooks and crannies that you have to plumb to progress, making the whole place feel like it's been hiding secrets for some time. The finale is a lot more freewheeling, with a massive horde coming at you from across a field while you're stuck in a recessed area looking for a way out.

MAP22: Habitat

Christopher Buteau

I don't know what everyone's complaining about; I like this map. It's a weird one to be sure -- there's an overall unfinished vibe to it, the sewers clogged with zombies aren't likely to be to everyone's taste, the vaguely abstract outdoor sections aren't pleasing to the eye, the archie with no cover is a bad move, and the hidden blue key will infuriate many. But I think the bulk of it is interesting, with some neat visuals (the sewers have some cool contrast to go with the carnage, and I really like the nukage effects, especially once you lower the big metal vat and the nukage starts flowing into it.) It's not the best map there is, but Buteau (whose only other map is the much-praised "Shuttlecraft," the first map from TNT's later project, Icarus: Alien Vanguard) clearly had an idea in mind of what he wanted to do, the execution just needed work.

MAP23: Lunar Mining Project

Paul Turnbull

Much shorter than some of the maps we've been through lately, "Lunar Mining Project" is a largely circular archeology lab with a semi-realistic layout, some cool ruins in the center, and a warren of caves beneath the lab. It's a pretty slick level for 1996, with some neat cave textures (I really like the use of midtextures to make it feel like you're stepping through narrow passages) and fun combat. I really like the creepy subterranean temple with the invulnsphere.

MAP24: Quarry

Dean Johnson

Like "Deepest Reaches" but smaller, "Quarry" is the last stop before we transition from the Io base to the demon ruins that we've been seeing hints of here and there. It's not a great map, to be clear -- it's cramped, and the encounters generally aren't very fun. But it's mercifully brief, and I do appreciate the continued use of rocky midtextures.

MAP25: Baron's Den

David "Mentzer" Hill

Another stringy cave map like the last one, this one is a lot of open-air chambers connected by narrow tunnels. Enemy is a good mix of zombies (mostly shotgunners), imps, fliers, and other mid-level enemies. Surprisingly there aren't a lot of barons, despite the name; but they do show up towards the end, when you wind up in a dimly-lit series of corridors with marble baron faces on the wall. Toughest fight is probably the one with the revenants firing rockets at you from atop a pair of lava vats while you've got other shit to deal with.

MAP26: Ballistyx

Mark Snell, Jim Lowell

A dark labyrinth seemingly on the borderland with hell itself; while it's not as much of a stringy mess as some of the preceding maps, it still has its stringy moments, mostly in the narrow clutch of dark corridors in the center of the map. Some cool encounters, like the prison just outside the subterranean machine room and the teleport that drops you into a cage with a whole cliffside's worth of enemies throwing shit at you. Fun map, if a bit backtrack-y.

MAP27: Mount Pain

Drake O'Brien

Now this is a level I can get behind the hate for. There's two halves to this level; the first half is a large maze of mostly wood and stone, with a sizeable contingent of zombies and imps. The toughest part is probably the poisonous slime tunnels, as you have to balance timing a series of radsuits with killing the imps that lurk within. Once you actually get to the eastern half of the map, prepare to deal with a bunch of bullshit, ranging from the swarm of lost souls pouring from the titular volcano to some particularly annoying revenants on the columns in the outer courtyard.

MAP28: Heck

Milo Casali

A slick, clean map from Milo Casali, "Heck" is basically a remix of "The Spirit World" and the weird marble blood maze in "The Courtyard" from Doom II. Starting off hot in the center of the map with revenants yelling at you, you'll have to visit three branches to grab three keys, each with their own thing going on. I really like the horde of Pain Elementals that pop out of the marble boxes when you go to get the yellow key.

MAP29: River Styx

Jimmy Sieben

Starts off with a narrow blood river canyon -- hence the name I guess -- before turning into a massive hellish temple crawl with distinct features such as the monster-filled gallery and the lava chamber that doesn't actually harm you. There's a lot of arch-viles here and they have a nasty tendency to be in difficult spots to deal with, but with caution and preparation they're easily handled.

MAP30: Last Call

Jimmy Sieben

For Evilution's finale, Jimmy Sieben gives us a short adventure map, beginning with the infamous torch-and-teleporter puzzle before leading us through a series of combat scenarios, none of which are particularly threatening except maybe the revenant room if you don't have enough rockets (and at this point you should have plenty.) I like the run-up to the boss room, but I'm not particularly a fan of how the brain hole is misaligned with the texture -- if you're playing without mouselook, you're pretty much required to stand on a narrow step and hope your rockets connect. Otherwise, a neat finale with a rather mysterious cliffhanger in the ending text...

 

-June <3

 

We’re thinking in time
That you’ll move down the line
And represent the business in hell

 

 

Part of a series on Classic Doom

Doom	The Ultimate Doom
Doom II: Hell on Earth
The Master Levels	No Rest for the Living
Final Doom
TNT: Evilution	The Plutonia Experiment
Doom 64	The Lost Levels