What If: Doom II Shareware

[TotalTS]

I've made a few mockup screens for Doom II, as it if was released as a Shareware.

I imagine it would last until map 08 or until the intermission text in map 07.
I add the the Help image clean if you are interested in using it.

Screenshots are from MobyGames.

 

[Chip]

that's cool! Cute idea!

[maxmanium]

That's cool, I like it! I don't think they'd show the final boss in the order screen tho.

[cambreaKer]

nice! reminds me of that one mod which seperated doom 2 into episodes like doom 1.

[TotalTS]

4 minutes ago, maxmanium said:

That's cool, I like it! I don't think they'd show the final boss in the order screen tho.

Thanks! Yeah I think that as well but I wanted it to look good. Also they been showing the Icon Of Sin since Doom 1 in the walls (as well as the Archvile). If anyone have another idea for a replacement I can change it.

[Lila Feuer]

@maxmanium They'd prolly just think it's a wall (which it is), not that it's suppose to be the final battle of the game. 7 levels would be pretty fair, would provide the SSG early (and it'd make more sense), while showing off the chaingun guy, revenant and hell knight monsters, while MAP07 I feel acts as a good final shot against the fatsos and arachnos.

[Uni]

I agree, this is a neat idea. 

[wheres the punk rock forum]

1-800-IDGAMES seems to be out of order but maybe my phone just sucks

edit: okay nvm my phone was being weird. the number's not out of order, it's just not ID Software's number anymore

[wheres the punk rock forum]

3 hours ago, maxmanium said:

That's cool, I like it! I don't think they'd show the final boss in the order screen tho.

yeah, like you gotta pull off that sweet reveal ingame

[Gifty]

I had an idea like this recently, I wanted to make an episode of levels that would imagine what a "shareware" episode for Doom 2 would look like.

 

Garsh, maybe I should finish that one of these days. 

[seed]

This would have definitely been cool, but Doom 2 chose to drop the episodic format that Doom had, so while it sure sounds good on paper, I don't know how it would've turned out.

[zanesix]

19 hours ago, cambreaKer said:

nice! reminds me of that one mod which seperated doom 2 into episodes like doom 1.

what mod was this?

[cambreaKer]

5 minutes ago, zanesix said:

what mod was this?

forgot the name sadly, but i do remember it was on the zdoom forums in the gameplay mods section

[DNSKILL5]

Nice! In my opinion, I feel that they would've likely done what they did with Spear of Destiny; making a 2 level demo instead of a shareware had they decided to do anything like that with Doom 2. 

 

 

[TheUltimateDoomer666]

19 hours ago, maxmanium said:

That's cool, I like it! I don't think they'd show the final boss in the order screen tho.

You may be surprised at how common it is for game developers to spoil the final boss in official previews or screenshots:

• Preview screens in the shareware versions of Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold, Bio Menace, Hocus Pocus, Realms of Chaos, and Duke Nukem 3D.
• A screenshot on the back cover of the US release of Sonic & Knuckles (not counting the extra/unlockable boss).
• A screenshot for the Steam release of Blake Stone: Planet Strike.
• Screenshots on the boxes for Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium PAK, and Duke Nukem 3D: Kill-A-Ton Collection.
• The blurb on the box for Quake's second Mission Pack (it says what the expansion's final boss is twice).

[Gifty]

46 minutes ago, cambreaKer said:

forgot the name sadly, but i do remember it was on the zdoom forums in the gameplay mods section

 

That was one of mine! Here, I've fixed the download links in case anyone wants to download it again.

[Chip]

Now we just need the Master Levels, Final DOOM, DOOM 64, DOOM 3, DOOM 2016, and DOOM Eternal. Other than that, I think we're good.

[zanesix]

6 hours ago, Gifty said:

 

That was one of mine! Here, I've fixed the download links in case anyone wants to download it again.

FYI, you didn't fix the links for the other 2 downloads. They lead to https://https// instead of just https://

[TotalTS]

8 hours ago, Gifty said:

I had an idea like this recently, I wanted to make an episode of levels that would imagine what a "shareware" episode for Doom 2 would look like.

 

Garsh, maybe I should finish that one of these days. 

If you're interested on doing a Shareware version, feel free to use/edit the images I've made.

[TotalTS]

7 hours ago, TheUltimateDoomer666 said:

You may be surprised at how common it is for game developers to spoil the final boss in official previews or screenshots:

• Preview screens in the shareware versions of Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold, Bio Menace, Hocus Pocus, Realms of Chaos, and Duke Nukem 3D.
• A screenshot on the back cover of the US release of Sonic & Knuckles (not counting the extra/unlockable boss).
• A screenshot for the Steam release of Blake Stone: Planet Strike.
• Screenshots on the boxes for Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium PAK, and Duke Nukem 3D: Kill-A-Ton Collection.
• The blurb on the box for Quake's second Mission Pack (it says what the expansion's final boss is twice).

Even in Doom Eternal the Icon of Sin was revealed in the last trailers before the release.

[Gifty]

1 hour ago, TotalTS said:

 If you're interested on doing a Shareware version, feel free to use/edit the images I've made.

 

Oops, fixed.

[taufan99]

15 hours ago, LiT_gam3r said:

DOOM 64

D64 is a console game. The most it'd get would be perhaps a kiosk demo.

[ZeroTheEro]

7 hours ago, InDOOMnesia said:

D64 is a console game. The most it'd get would be perhaps a kiosk demo.

At best it's going to be a three-level demo and no actual gameplay

[Job]

23 hours ago, Gerolf said:

Nice! In my opinion, I feel that they would've likely done what they did with Spear of Destiny; making a 2 level demo instead of a shareware had they decided to do anything like that with Doom 2. 

 

 

That's all they'd have really needed.

 

Imagine, back then, getting the SSG on Map02 and then when you hit the exit switch at the end of the level? You'd be on the phone ordering the full game, telling them to shut up and take your money so fast it'd make their eyes flash dollar signs.

[Mystic 256]

I feel a Demo could of worked if Doom 2 had a episode format

 

Episode 1 - Techbasey Maps with Dead Simple being the E1M8 Boss Map

Episode 2 - The Urban/Industrial maps from the middle of Doom 2 with a sort of Hunted-Esque Archvile maze as the E2M8 Boss map, it would be like a warped version of O of destruction where you start in the O in the center like usual but a maze surrounds it where the side sections would be.

Episode 3 - The Medieval-like maps from the middle of Doom 2 with harder doom 1 boss rush version of Gotcha as the boss map E3M8 with the final 4th room having you face the Barons, Cyberdemon, and Spidermastermind all at once

Episode 4 - The Abyss, the Cavernous, Hellish and Wooden maps at the end of Doom 2 with Icon Of Sin E4M8

 

some maps would have to be changed and/or added to fit the progression of 4 episodes and 36 maps

maybe they could have the SSG appear in episode 2 so you would have to get the full game for that