Reasons for still using ZDoom?

Hey guys,

a bunch of people still seem to play on ZDoom - is there any reason other than your PC not being able to handle GZDoom or does it haven any "hidden" advantages over GZDoom (and maybe other ports like PrBoom+)?
Just wondering - thanks!

One advantage is with ZDoom having a now finalized version, it means it's more viable to record demos, because they're not going to be made obsolete by a new version being released.

Compatibility with really old zdoom wads?

3 hours ago, jamondemarnatural said:

Compatibility with really old zdoom wads?

Compatible in what way?

Demos and even some pwads, made with really old versions of ZDoom, were not 100% compatible.

Bauul, however, is correct.

Using the latest ZDoom, I believe it was version 2.9 at the end of 2016, would be compatible with whatever you did with that version :D

One reason to still use ZDoom would be the feel and look of the renderer.

Have people been taking advantage of ZDoom's compatibility for demo recording? From what I've seen, that hasn't really taken off.

1 hour ago, Spectre01 said:

Have people been taking advantage of ZDoom's compatibility for demo recording? From what I've seen, that hasn't really taken off.

Because of the incompatibility between versions.

As newer versions emerged the new upgrades would drive the demos, recorded with a previous version, to desync.

Using only one specific version would have solved this, but that was not acceptable for many players.

12 minutes ago, Kappes Buur said:

Because of the incompatibility between versions.

I meant the final 2.8.1 stable release that will no longer cause desync. Sounds like that could be used to record ZDoom wads but it never caught on.

I think people still use zdoom because they need no less (1), no more (2):

1. Why they don't use demo-compatible ports:

ZDoom's movement, options to remove some annoying quirks of the original engine (like infinite height of actors), minor things that only ZDoom ports can offer (like loading the latest save file after death);

2. Why they don't use GZDoom:

No necessity for recent GZDoom features; they usually don't play with mods. Plus, with ZDoom you don't need to be up-to-date, it's finalized.

Or maybe it's just a plain matter of habit.

if a specific wad doesnt want to run on GZDoom, use ZDoom. thats why i have ZDoom.

some wads only work or work better on ZDoom as well [like Punch out Doom for example]

Zdoom 2.8.1 grants many many features while it's fast

But Modern Gzdoom grants even more features but I like software renderer and Gzdoom's software renderer is really slower than Zdoom's and I don't want it so.

And I mostly use Zdoom to play Boom-family wads but I seen its power in wads like portalgun for zdoom.

Gzdoom startup is slow (much longer than Zdoom's) and if I had ever wanted to test its new features, I'd waste many time on its startups

IMHO better to make good classic Boom/Zdoom/Eternity wads than 1994 garbage looking modern Gzdoom wads lol

Lower system requirements and compatibility with more ancient stuff would be some reasons, as GZDoom has lost some of it throughout the years.

Same for some wads that purposefully exploit glitches which have been fixed since, such as lilith.pk3, which exploited bugs in the render.

6 hours ago, seed said:

Same for some wads that purposefully exploit glitches which have been fixed since, such as lilith.pk3, which exploited bugs in the render.

This x1,998. IME the greater the author's achievement, the more rendering/scripting finesses were needed, therefore the more chance of incompatible changes later. I guess 99 percent of the community just moves on to the next big thing, like people watching a current sporting event or movie instead of a recording from years ago, so the developers are right to spend their time accordingly. But as a historian it makes me sad.

Although I mostly play vanilla, I see I have 31 ZDoom versions plus Parallels Desktop. :> Hopefully someday everything will be archived, just in case.

On 1/9/2021 at 11:49 PM, Deathclaw886 said:

if a specific wad doesnt want to run on GZDoom, use ZDoom. thats why i have ZDoom.

some wads only work or work better on ZDoom as well [like Punch out Doom for example]

and WildWeasel's nazis