Article Eleven in the Console Playthrough

I've gotten to the Playstation version at long last. Once hailed by John Romero as the "best Doom yet", I can actually say that it's well worth the replay. My articles make the most sense in sequence, as there are a lot of things that might otherwise seem out of place. So here's article 11: http://www.talesntangents.com/journey-to-the-future-of-doom-part-11.html

And here's the page where you can access 1-10: http://www.talesntangents.com/essays.html

Can't believe this hasn't gotten any replies yet.

Once again, short and to the point, but never forgetting the little things. Not mentioning the secret/exclusive levels are a bit of a bummer, though.

Don't worry, man. I'm not done! I'll post more about the same version in a week or two, with a bunch of insights into other versions and development as well.

I was a bit in awe when I saw that doom timeline list. My wow what where:

1) A whole editing package DEU was only released one month after? When did they found time to play the game, then read the WAD structure, make a whole CAD like tool, in such sort time?
2) In march we have OrigWAD (which as far as I know was hex edited, not editors used) and next month a much more improved deadbase (I think I have played this map before, didn't know it was so early) probably made with editor. But not as mindblowing as DEU being released in 1.5 month after the game. This isn't official tool is it? I think it's editor made from scratch.
3) Doom 2 only released half a year and some after Doom 1? What??? Ok, I knew doom 1 was released at 1993 and 2 at 1994, and the dates should be common knowledge for any doom fan, but didn't had a real perspective when seeing the dates together. They really pushed the development while version updates already happening on Doom 1? (Although I understand it's the same engine, and maybe some of the maps/enemies where already planned on doom 1, but didn't got included maybe, so they have many resources ready?). And ultimate doom was released much later than Doom 2? Hmm.. ok maybe I knew that, but it doesn't fit my mind, because I have Doom 2 after Doom 1 total in mind.
4) Also 32x before Jaguar doom but close. I was reading somewhere jaguar was the first console where doom ever got ported but isn't so.

p.s. Also I never noticed "CRY color mode, more light levels for everything (textures, weapons, sprites), advanced strobe light effects and blood splat actors." in Jaguar and I have original Doom in Jaguar but rarely played (the telephone controller is awful and there is no music). Where can I see some of that? What is CRY color mode?

Apart from an odd blast on the shareware, round my friend's house, Playstation Doom was my only Doom experience up until June 1999. I'd come to assume that the PC version was the same - it didn't feel right that there wasn't a Revenant on E1M1, and I spent ages looking for the "sector colour" option in Wadauthor. My first Arch-Vile encounter (in a level I'd made myself) was sheer panic, as I frantically ran for "water to put the fire out".

Another friend, who did have a PC, used to bullshit me, just agreeing with me when I talked about "the pain elementals at the end of Doom" (Lost Souls counted as kills on the Playstation), "Nightmare Spectres" and "Redemption Denied". Mind you, he also used to tell me you could flip cars in GTA on the PC, and gib people.

Also, I think those texture distortions were "standard" on the Playstation. You see them in almost every game on it, even ones designed for the platform, like Final Fantasy 7 and Runabout 2.

rabidrage said:

...hailed by John Romero as the "best Doom yet"...

Funny, the same disclaimer is on the Japanese Saturn Doom box, too, IIRC.

And as a huge fan of the Saturn, I'll just say if Romero ever said Saturn Doom (Japanese or not) was the best, he was off his rocker.

My guess is that Saturn Doom was originally going to be PSX Doom but on the Saturn, but then shit went bad. Like with the 3DO port.

Optimus: I'm going by the best available information with the release dates. I've checked the console release dates time and time again, so I'm pretty solidly certain of them--although there seems to be some confusion over when the 3DO version came out. Different sites say different things. With regard to DEU, yeah, it does seem pretty remarkable for it to have been made that quickly. But look here: http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Doom_Editing_Utilities. It says version 5.21 was released in May of '94. I don't know where I found the release date of the first version, unfortunately. 32X and Jag were under development at the same time, so that's why they were released so close to each other. They actually formed the template for all the console Dooms to come, excluding the SNES.

Deathbringer: Even the PS1 doesn't have a Revenant on E1M1--though there's a Chaingunner and a Pain Elemental. The first Revenant appears in E1M7. Still, I feel ya. My first experience was Doom on a friend's PC, then my first home version was the SNES. I got it the other way around and loved all the new stuff on the PS1.

Shadow Hog: Yeah, Romero was talking about the PS1. He had to have been. Saturn Doom was a port of PS1 Doom that ended up stripping a lot of the features that made it awesome.