Is it OK for me or anyone else to like and prefer DOOM Registered over Ultimate DOOM?

Right now my Favorite Game of All Time is DOOM II. I'd immediately dethrone it and replace it with DOOM I if it weren't for one thing: I just don't like Ultimate DOOM.

I don't hate Ultimate DOOM, I'll play it, I just don't like it because Episode IV, IMHO, is not consistent with the rest of the game at all, presentation-wise and even gameplay-wise because of the difficulty.

The other problem is that speedrunners, co-op players online, and even some source ports, treat Episode IV as an absolute necessity and require you to play and go through it in addition to the other 3 episodes. Because of that, it feels like I'm not allowed to go back to DOOM Registered v1.9 (which to me is the perfect and complete version of the game) and like or prefer it over Ultimate DOOM.

If I WAS able to like or prefer DOOM Registered over Ultimate, then I would most definitely make DOOM I my Favorite Game of All Time! No contest. And Thank God for whoever created that downgrade patch making it easier to go back to DOOM Registered!

So, like the title says, is it OK for me (and anyone else who shares my thoughts on this) to like and prefer Registered over Ultimate? I love DOOM, I just don't wanna be called a weirdo for liking what most people out there would deem an "inferior" or "incomplete" version of the game. To me it's not, but to others it might be...

sorry budy but international law requires you to like and prefer the ultimate doom, depending on your jurisdiction you could easely be prosecuted and jailed with no chance of bail

we may in fact have to turn you over to the authorities to avoid being treated as acomplices

Here is some advice for life in general:

Do not give a fuck about what other people think about you regarding your preferences. Even if they think you are a weirdo because of what you like, that is not your mistake, it's theirs.

Seeing that id offered Ultimate as a free upgrade even for Registered users at some point, I was sort of expecting the opposite reaction: someone complaining that it's not fair to those who bought Ultimate Doom, perhaps IN ADDITION to Registered.

You'll have problems with some pwads that use the EP4 sky, but otherwise there's not much downside to having only registered Doom. Anyway you can make a separate pwad with just that sky (or replace it with another flat), and it's pretty easy to relocate maps from E4 slot to any other one. Might have to watch out for that one special linedef though:
http://doomwiki.org/wiki/Tag_666

RexFesto696 said:

So, like the title says, is it OK for me (and anyone else who shares my thoughts on this) to like and prefer Registered over Ultimate?

Yes. What ever one likes is what one likes.

Is there evene anywhere you can still get the 3 episode Doom wad? (legally, of course)

I don't recall the terms and conditions of Ultimate Doom being that you're required to play that fourth episode.

MetroidJunkie said:

I don't recall the terms and conditions of Ultimate Doom being that you're required to play that fourth episode.

I tried to skip playing E4 once and got a call from John Romero at 3AM threatening to make me his bitch if I don't.

rileymartin said:

I tried to skip playing E4 once and got a call from John Romero at 3AM threatening to make me his bitch if I don't.

Well, we know now that that isn't much of a threat...

I went ahead and made DOOM Registered my Favorite Game of All Time.

Actually, when I wrote that above sentence just now, I realized that DOOM I has been my Favorite a lot longer and many more times than DOOM II. In fact, DOOM I was the second game I ever declared my Favorite of All Time way back in 2006 (after Gauntlet Dark Legacy). And guess what? It's ALWAYS been Registered, not Ultimate. I didn't even consider making it DOOM II until sometime in 2012.

But thanks for the replies. Now I feel better about myself.

P.S. I do have DOOM Registered and Ultimate DOOM backed up and archived in two seperate ZIPs. One has DOOM Registered, DOOM II, and DOOM Shareware and is titled "DOOM Classic". The other has Ultimate DOOM, DOOM II, and Final DOOM and is rightfully titled "DOOM Collector's Edition".

I don't care much for episode 4 Thy Flesh Consumed, I think the last time I played through it was a few years ago. The first three episodes are best.

I feel like Thy Flesh Consumed is generally regarded as rubbish anyway.

I kind of like E4M2 (except for the strange placement of the Cyberdemon), but yeah. The episode sticks out like a sore thumb.

Well I wouldn't say E3 was better than E4.

E4 is extremely out of place and the title screen is screwed up. I too prefer the registered version of the game.

RexFesto696 said:

I went ahead and made DOOM Registered my Favorite Game of All Time.

Wait, why is this important?

I can see preferring registered Doom in the sense that you won't play E4 for the reasons that have been discussed.. but I gotta ask.. why would you actively downgrade an Ultimate Doom iwad to registered when you could just.. not play E4?

Personally I like E4, better than E3 in my opinion.

OP just likes the original, unedited Swastika floor pattern from the Registered version more.

RexFesto696 said:

The other problem is that speedrunners, co-op players online, and even some source ports, treat Episode IV as an absolute necessity and require you to play and go through it in addition to the other 3 episodes. Because of that, it feels like I'm not allowed to go back to DOOM Registered v1.9 (which to me is the perfect and complete version of the game) and like or prefer it over Ultimate DOOM.

What source ports 'force' you to play it? It's still a separate choice in the menu and can be skipped and ignored just as easily as the first three episodes.

So if there is a problem, it's entirely of your own making, considering that the upgrade is available free of charge. As has been said, if you don't like it, don't play it. But complaining about problems that come from not having the UD IWAD (like not being able to play mapsets that contain a fourth episode) is just - well - dumb.

Didn't Ultimate Doom also add that switch and green pool shortcut to E1M1 as "canon"? Maybe that's why speedrunners said that Ultimate Doom is a "must".

I sometimes prefer earlier versions of wads, books, movies, etc and somehow I'm still alive.

YES, it is ok for you to like anything you want. You don't have to not like something just because it caters to popular beliefs. You are a free man.

However, at the risk of repeating what has already been said, you can chose to just not play E4 if you don't really like it. You don't necessarily need to downgrade your version, unless you have some special case of OCD and don't like seeing a 4th episode or something on your screen that is :p

It's definitely weird to like less of something good when the extra part is optional, and even weirder to look to strangers for approval.

schmerr said:

I feel like Thy Flesh Consumed is generally regarded as rubbish anyway.

I must have been out of the loop because I never noticed this. The difficulty curve is completely stupid in it (as in, if you aren't a pistol starter you are out of luck) but I love it. I'd just recommend newcomers to put it on the side until they have done Doom 2 at least.

MusicallyInspired said:

I kind of like E4M2 (except for the strange placement of the Cyberdemon), but yeah. The episode sticks out like a sore thumb.

I love this level, it's a little beartrap of awkward platforming and few places to hide.

Graf Zahl said:

What source ports 'force' you to play it? It's still a separate choice in the menu and can be skipped and ignored just as easily as the first three episodes.

Risen3D. It doesn't accept DOOM Registered, only Ultimate.

If you don't like E4, just ignore it. For me, E4 is as good as E3, maybe a bit better.
Your opinion may differ, but it's still a part of Doom and it should be treated accordingly.

It's slightly weird, although I can kinda understand that. I'm no big fan of E4 and it's nice to have the clean, original title screen as well.

Aquanet said:

I love this level, it's a little beartrap of awkward platforming and few places to hide.

Agreed, very fun map to play! Probably in my top 3 from the first Doom.