Compet-n

The Compet-N database is the oldest website collecting demo recordings for the Doom games, as well as a select few add-on levels (Hell Revealed, Requiem, Memento Mori, Memento Mori 2, The Classic Episode and Alien Vendetta); its demos and players are generally considered to be among the best in the world.

Compet-N was founded by British Doom player Simon Widlake, probably in November 1994 (one month after the release of Doom II); the first demos were contributed by Sven "Dasa" Huth on 18 November 1994. It was originally hosted on an FTP server at a British university, but soon moved to cdrom.com. Many of the early Doom "gods" started participating during this time, submitting a large number of demos and filling the world-record tables.

In March 1997, when Widlake could not spare the time to maintain the site anymore, a temporary alternate FTP archive was started at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics by Istvan Pataki; it quickly became the main Compet-N site, and responsibility for it was handed over to Adam Hegyi in early 1998, when Pataki lost interest. Hegyi continues to maintain the site today.

Many of the veteran players retired in mid- to late 1997, but a wave of new players emerged in 1997-1998, obsoleting many of the older records; 1998 also saw the first ever Nightmare! run, done by Thomas "Panter" Pilger, and the inclusion of pacifist and Tyson styles.

The Compet-N FTP site had to move again twice in 1999; nevertheless, 1999 turned out to be the second most popular Compet-N year after 1996, with many new tricks being discovered including rocket jumps, Arch-Vile jumps, glides, slides and more. All Doom episodes had Nightmare! runs by this time, and NM100S was introduced as a category in 1999. In 2000, COMPET-N also started accepting cooperative demos.