How do i play Wads that people have made?

Topic

Doom(2).exe and most (all?) source ports allow you to load files using the -file parameter in the command line.

For example:
doom.exe -file myWad.wad

You can also check the documentation of your favorite source port for more info.

I dont understand :(

Download a sourceport
Make a batch file like that says:
sourceportname.exe -file thewad.wad
like zdoom.exe -file darken2.wad
Some sourceports come with frontends, others play wads once You drag them to the port's icon-like Zdoom-just drag the wad onto Zdoom's icon.
Did I mention You must have the wad in the port's directory?

Here's an example:

Consider that you're using the sourceport ZDoom (download files 63.cab and 63a.cab and extract them in a folder with the Doom/2 wadfile). A sourceport, in case you don't know, is an enhancement of the original Doom engine that adds "modern" features to the original game engine (in ZDoom's case, it adds mouselook and sloped surfaces among a shitload of other cool features).

Anyway, considering that you have ZDoom, select "run" from the start menu in Windows 9X/XP/2000, click "browse" and select the directory where you have ZDoom installed (with the original Doom/2 wadfiles - very important as the game won't work without). The directory's path will appear in the white field in the "run" window, e.g. "c:\mygamedirectory\myzdoomfolder\zdoom.exe".

Note: make sure you've moved the custom wad you want to play to your ZDoom folder otherwise it can't find it.

Now, assuming you have a custom wadfile called "coolcustomwad.wad", simply add "coolcustomwad.wad" to the abovementioned directory path, e.g.:
"c:\mygamedirectory\myzdoomfolder\zdoom.exe coolcustomwad.wad".

And it should load the custom wad just fine.

You can usually just drag-and-drop the wads

Alternatively, you can also create a shortcut to the executable and add the paramaters in the "target" box. I prefer this method when recording demos.

I still dont understand what you are saying i am a complete newb to all this

And i am using z doom

Let's say your wadfile is... lol.wad

type this

zdoom.exe -file lol.wad

With zdoom you can just drag the wad file onto zdoom.exe

Ok i got it now i know what to do i was just a little confused

Best way is to right click the .wad file, select properties, in the section "opens with" browse to zdoom.exe or whatever source you want to run it with, click "always use this program to open this file". Now all you need to do is double click on a .wad file and it will run.

Or get yourself a Wad Launcher program.

I still say the best way is from the run box as this lets you load dehacked patches, game settings etc. as necessary

create a new textfile in the directory with zdoom, the iwad and the wad you want to run (lets say its lol.wad still). Open the text file and type

zdoom.exe -file lol.wad

save the file, but change its extention FROM .txt TO .bat (disable "hide file extensions for known file types" in your windows folder options if you havent already), now double click on the bat file to load the wad!, to play different ones, create a new .bat file using the same process, or right click on the one you made and go to 'edit', then change the wad name to the one you want to play.

Also, some ports dont give you an Iwad choice (doom.wad or doom2.wad) when you start them, in that case use this

zdoom.exe -iwad doom.wad -file somedoomwad.wad

or

zdoom.exe -iwad doom2.wad -file somedoom2wad.wad