What is the most convenient way to load wads.....

What is the most convenient way to load wads, that doesn't include having them all over your desktop. How do you load wads?

Hobomaster's Doomlauncher.

I put all my PWADs in one folder, double-clicking any wad automatically runs it in Zandronum.

I drag n' drop wads onto the executables. For some ports that don't support that, I've got batch files I can drag onto instead, e.g.

cd \Games\Doom\crispydoom
crispy-doom.exe -iwad doom2.wad -nocheats -merge %*

Same as Doomkid, though when I use PrBoom I open the .exe and choose what PWAD I want to open.

tab completion

I'm using ZDL for ZDoom, GZDoom, and even PrBoom+

For me all wads in one folder which is in my DOOMWADDIR environment variable, then just shift click a command window open at the ports root and type it out. I'm used to it so it's fast. Since I mostly use zdoom i also have a million batch files for my commonly played ones. I didn't even know you could drag and drop til this year.

Double-clicking wads (my default program for executing them is Zandronum), or right-click -> Open in program... -> select port, or putting the wad into the port's directory and using command line when I'm about to record demos.

I have a folder with all pwads, than I copy the one I want to play in the zdoom folder (or whatever other port) and drag the wad(s) on the port exe.

There's a DoomWadManager, it allows you to select priorities in wads and supports a variety of modern sourceports.

I just double click on the cocksuckers.

If they are for Doom(1), I swear and then use a command line (normally adding -shorttics for great justice). What ever happened to that prb+ feature request I always meant to make for smart iwad selection?

Another fun way to load wads (esp. ones that need oddball iwads) is to load a demo for that particular wad (yeah, double click on it), and then start a new game. Viola! (as they say).

*.BAT script files on windows
*.sh script files on linux

soner du said:

*.BAT script files on windows
*.sh script files on linux

Pretty much both my GOTO methods for anything (heh, see what I did there? I'm a funny man... eh, ok, I'm out).

Drag/drop, usually on ZDoom in my case because:
a) It pretty much runs anything WAD-related.
b) I'm too lazy to check if it's Choco-compatible first and don't want my fucking game to explode midway through just because of sector-soup details.

Double-clicking opens 'em up in GZDoom Builder, where I'll get a better idea of what port it's designed for. Then "testing" is just an excuse to play it.

ZDLauncher.

I know there's a thread for controversial opinions already, and that everybody is free to do as he chooses, but it seems ridiculous that this -practically essential- part of Dooming hasn't been solved looooong ago.

Many still have trouble getting PWADs to work, others choose convoluted methods, and some people even bother making scripts for launching specific PWADs. OK, for a few you really like I can understand the latter, but there are people who claimed they made one for each PWAD. Seriously?

drag and drop, via ZDoom. And organize all my wads in folders and subfolders.

nxGangrel said:

And organize all my wads in folders and subfolders.

I wish I could do this and actually have a competent level of organisation. I just have a folder called "WADS" on my desktop, divided into "Not Shit", "Doom Junk" and "Record These".

Drag and drop, simple and easy.

BaronOfStuff said:

Double-clicking opens 'em up in GZDoom Builder,

For some strange reason, when I double-click, it opens GZD Builder, but does not open the map in it. I have to open it selecting it in the "open map" menu.

That's perfectly normal. Say a WAD has more than one map; is GZDB supposed to just know which particular one you want to see? (Then there's the whole engine/IWAD deal too.)

Edit:
Unless you mean you have to explicitly select this option from the menu bar up top. If that's the case then I don't know what's going on there.

BaronOfStuff said:

That's perfectly normal. Say a WAD has more than one map; is GZDB supposed to just know which particular one you want to see? (Then there's the whole engine/IWAD deal too.)

Of course. With crowdsourcing/artificial intelligence/social network and geopositioning analytics and shit. Welcome to the 2010s maaaaaaaan [/sarcasm]

I use rocketlauncher. Sadly it takes me forever to scroll since I have over 300 wads and pk3s. Doom Retro (which is a very nice vanilla style source port, better than chocolate doom imho) also has a built in launcher where you can go into whatever folder you like and select multiple wads.

Gothic Box said:

Doom Retro (which is a very nice vanilla style source port, better than chocolate doom imho)

You do understand the purpose of Chocolate Doom, right?

[portname] -file [wadname]

BaronOfStuff said:

is GZDB supposed to just know which particular one you want to see?

No, but it should be supposed to ask me which map I want to open.

Like when you open a multi-map wad.

BaronOfStuff said:

I wish I could do this and actually have a competent level of organisation. I just have a folder called "WADS" on my desktop, divided into "Not Shit", "Doom Junk" and "Record These".

Actually since I don't play wads often I just have a (sub)folder I stuff all of them in, but I separate the levels I worked on, and working on, as well as other levels not created by me in the subfolder with the finished ones made by me (if it's a CP). If that makes sense.

BaronOfStuff said:

http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2015-08/5/17/enhanced/webdr03/enhanced-29832-1438808554-1.jpg
You do understand the purpose of Chocolate Doom, right?

"Unlike other ports which attempt to fix the bugs in the original engine and add new features, Chocolate Doom deliberately attempts to behave as identically as possible to the original Vanilla Doom." - Doom Wikia

...Oh boy am I stupid.
Let me just go hide in this here hole for a few millenia...

IDE

The easiest way is probably to use something like hobomaster's launcher (I use zde as a lightweight wad launcher).

What I actually use is an excel sheet that generates batch files with menus so that I can really easily pick wads and record them if I want.