lets make this positive! How do you play doom? (sourceport, difficulty, wad preferences)

[fruity lerlups]

We had a heated discussion before, but lets make something positive to share how we enjoy doom?

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

>Settings that make you unusual?

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

>What kind of wads do you go for?

>What makes you play it the way you do.

Me. I play with dsda doom, I like the boom flavour but with expanded compatibilities and OpenGL, I play with OpenGL because i like to set the fov to 120 because lower FOVs give me motion sickness! I like to go for UV, but recently have warmed to playing harder stuff on HMP, playing through NoChance on HMP felt full flavored and more than a couple cuts above my skillgrade but let me experience some cleverly designed fights, but I like to experience a challenge. I usually go for UV-Max if its short and reasonable enough and when its something in my skill level, i'll try single segment it, but with some of the harder or more obtuse stuff ive been happy to just get to the exit.

I like slaughter and weird artsy stuff, and the oddity that mixes the two, generally I want something with a combat challenge but i love stuff thats aesthetically and tonally unique, one of my favourite things to play through of recent was Goodwad.wad. In general i like the sensory stimulus, feeling like ive overcome stuff and the vibe of the doom engine which is why I (but i dont criticize peoppe who like it) dont go for hardcore GZDoom stuff, i love being amazed at set piece combat and fantastic geometry and vibes achieved through those limits. Lets make this positive :3

[Kinsie]

Unless something else is required, I usually roll with GZDoom on HMP. I do a lot of fiddling with Gameplay Mods, but I typically eschew those when playing a mapset for the first time to avoid breaking anything. The only thing in my autoload is a "test map" I like to use when making my own mods.

 

My personal preference regarding mapsets in pretty much all classic FPSes is for short, punchy "coffee break" style maps that get in, present a fun and interesting challenge (maybe with a little bit of novelty to mix things up), and get out without wasting my time. Oh, and if it could look and sound really nice, all the better. :V

[NoNamedNN]

Source Port: GZDoom because its pretty, but i dont use texture smoothing that one is ugly
Mods: Sound Bulb, Smooth Doom, Fullscreen Huds, Nashgore Next, Tilt Plus, Universal Weapon Sway
Difficulty: UV, but i switch to HMP if it gets frustrating, No saves except in very long maps, always pistol start.

I don't go for 100% items secrets kills but i like to find and play secret levels.
I didnt play enough wads yet to have a preference, currently playing a megawad for the first time and its Memento Mori.

[Warboss_Gegguz]

Personal favorite sourceports are Crispy, Retro, and Woof! because I guess I have the brain of an old man and/or have a boy-crush of Fabian. I'm forced to use DSDA mostly for compatibility, but I wish it had the same vanilla options and strictness that Woof! and Crispy have (no forced transparency, infinite height by default, etc.) but I get that's not the goal.

 

Settings wise, again I go for as strict as possible, unless the level/author dictates otherwise. And Woof! is convenient for that since even when compatibility is set to something other than vanilla it has the option to just make it as strict as possible to vanilla-style gameplay.

 

Usually UV unless again the author states otherwise. I care way more about 100%ing levels than par times so I have my nose to the wall in most maps when I'm not searching around for every possible enemy. I try to Quicksave as little as possible, mainly to save time rather than scum it. That's also why I make myself play on UV though.

 

I like typically either stuff that's very vanilla/classic, or things that are artsy and experimental in architecture and visuals BUT are still Doom. I like slaughter maps, but I'm SUPER picky since I don't enjoy just being thrown a giant horde or random monster. There has to be a lot of clear planning and strategy behind enemy placement and choices for me to like it, so the strat isn't just "kill everything as fast as possible before it kills you". But Slaughter wads that understand this are some of my favorite WADs ever.

 

I guess I play the way I do because I like the authentic experience and I don't think Doom needs to try to be much more than what it always was. Ultimate Doom is literally my favorite game of all time, so why would I want it to radically change? Experimental visuals, architecture, and scripting are awesome when done well and not at the cost of the core gameplay (DIY, BTSX, AA, anything by Ribbiks, a lot of horror/atmospheric CPs, etc.), but at the end of the day I play Doom because I like Doom. Not that I'm saying "don't innovate" but rather "focus on making something that's fun to play before you obsess over pushing boundaries". That's kind of my game design philosophy overall though.

[yakfak]

hntr in the minimum required port, usually chocolate or dsda-doom. i prefer low res settings and think high draw distance, xtra brightness and visibilty all change the nature of the game in ways i'm not looking for

if i connect with the level (not whether it's exciting or objectively good, or whatever, just if i connect with it. like i see how amazing eviternity is and personally value probably a thousand wads over it anyway) i'll replay on higher difficulty

i like weird dark spaces, exhausting levels and new things done with old tools. bonus points for midis that fall within in my musical taste cos a lot kinda don't

but i also like new advances in mbf and eternity (despite having been accused of gatekeeping new mappers???)

[fruity lerlups]

1 minute ago, yakfak said:

hntr in the minimum required port, usually chocolate or dsda-doom. i prefer low res settings and think high draw distance, xtra brightness and visibilty all change the nature of the game in ways i'm not looking for

if i connect with the level (not whether it's exciting or objectively good, or whatever, just if i connect with it. like i see how amazing eviternity is and personally value probably a thousand wads over it anyway) i'll replay on higher difficulty

i like weird dark spaces, exhausting levels and new things done with old tools. bonus points for midis that fall within in my musical taste cos a lot kinda don't

but i also like new advances in mbf and eternity (despite having been accused of gatekeeping new mappers???)

mbf21 doesn't really gatekeep new mappers, the map functions are easy to access in UDB, but if youre talking dsdhacked, decohacked is super easy to learn, i leadnt it in a day

[bobbie424242]

I recently went back to playing Doom and I've been experimenting with modern ports, trying various up-to-date versions of

Crispy Doom, Woof, Doom Retro, DSDA, GZDoom and the official Unity port. Of all of these, I was only familiar with GZDoom.

Trying ports, getting to know their features (some of them unique) is great fun.

 

Although I enjoy some aspects of all ports, my favorite is still GZDoom as it can do almost anything.

I prefer playing with clear graphics at the native resolution of my screen (4K), with texture filtering disabled of course.

I also prefer playing with mlook, but I hate the distortion of software thus have to use hw rendering for perspective correction.

GZDoom is perfect for that and fast.

 

If I'm feeling nostalgic, I like to play in 4:3. I can easily configure GZDoom to render in 2880x2160 centered on a 16:9 4K screen and without scaling.

After being used to playing in higher resolutions, I have a hard time with 2x scaling found in some ports (although I really like Doom Retro). 4x would be the minimum for me. I have a hard time understanding people playing in 320x200 (ie Chocolate Doom), unless playing on a 14 or 15" monitor like back in the days.

 

I use fov 100 in 16:9 and always play in HMP because UV would probably be too difficult for me and a chore.

Currently I am playing "No rest for the living" for the first time and it has been awesome.

I plan to play many more WADs in the future.

[yakfak]

^ oh no, i meant someone had accused ME of gatekeeping by way of posting my preferences! not dsda/eternity

[Drum]

Usually Nugget Doom when I'm playing any Wads but I play with GZDoom if it's required.

I don't really play with any additional mods but if I'm playing with GZDoom I'll most likely play with Beautiful Doom.

UV most of the time but if it's too hard i go for HNTR or ITYTD.

I'm more of a purist when it comes to Doom mods. That's it.

[Wavy]

DSDA with the software renderer at 1080p, usually on HMP.

 

I would play on UV, but if I play a WAD for the first time, I fear I'd go in and get steamrolled lol. Also GZDoom used to my standard but I've been leaning more towards DSDA as making/testing mostly vanilla/Boom maps made me get used to ports of that nature, so I've just stuck to DSDA. GZ is still nice, ready and configured to my liking if I need to play something that requires it though.

 

As for WAD preference, I'm typically down for anything that isn't crazy difficult or a slaughter, but my usual goto's are WAD's with similar gameplay, difficulty, and even visual style to the vanilla IWAD's. Creative and unique geometry are also what pulls me in to a mapset. I also don't use many gameplay altering mods, but I'd like to play with one one day fully.

 

And maybe a small thing, but I also enable weapon centering when firing. I've probably just gotten used to it from using GZ for a long time, but it feels weird having it disabled like in vanilla. Even the console ports (not Unity) have weapon centering. I'm curious if anyone else feels the same.

Edited July 12 by Wavy

[DiavoJinx]

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

GZDoom

Sometimes the VR fork of GZDoom on my Valve Index, but Doom movement is too fast for me so I can only stomach it for a few short minutes. Still awesome in short bursts though.

I started with Doom Legacy in 1999 (colored lighting was freakin' amazing) and used Zdoom and Boom in the early 00s. (Just realizing how much I miss the old Cajun bots for some solo deathmatch action, hmmmm...)

 

>Settings that make you unusual?

Autorun is set it off. Always. There was no autorun in OG Doom, and autorun makes the games that much easier today.

 

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

HMP. The only exceptions are Doom 1 E1 on UV, and all co-op on UV.

I tend to play more like Wolfenstein 3-D (old habits...) -- clear out a room/hall before opening any doors that might introduce more chaos.  I don't enjoy slaughter maps, and I loathe arenas of chaos (literally all of Doom 2016 & Eternal; not designed for me). I'm methodical and cautious; I like when Doom is a little slower & creepy. Nothing beats first playing in 1994 and leaning forward and looking askew at the monitor to "look around the corner" for danger and realize -- well that was a silly thing to instinctively do, LOL.

 

>What kind of wads do you go for?

These days after playing literally hundreds of WADs, I'm most intrigued by a mapper's design (usually architecture) and effort put in. Environmental story telling ftw.  And I'm enamored with colored lights (see: Umbra of Fate by Alexa "YukiRaven" Jones-Gonzales!).
I prefer classic style maps; I appreciate maps designed with the guidelines of Sandy P & Romero in mind at their core.

>What makes you play it the way you do.
Definitely starting out with Wolf 3-D in the 90s before Doom 1's release set my FPS gameplay style as clear out a room/area before moving on; door-room-door-room...

Edited July 11 by DiavoJinx

[prfunky]

2 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

...stuff...

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

Mostly Zandronum; I usually have Hypnotoad90's Rocket Launcher 2.0 open on my desktop. From

there, I can drag and drop a wad file and select which engine I want to use (LzDoom, Zand, PrBoom+,

whatever).

 

>Settings that make you unusual?

I'm still a keyboard-only player after more than two decades of playing Doom. I like my published map

files to have monsters (they're deathmatch map files!). I prefer to read how to do something than to

watch a video on the topic.

 

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

Always testing my own stuff so generally UV but do test HMP and Can I Play, Daddy?

 

>What kind of wads do you go for?

Single map files of others mostly. And since hanging out in Wads & Mods forum, a ton of new mappers'

works. I'm actually not a very good player.

 

>What makes you play it the way you do.

Bad upbringing I guess. Used to waste a bunch of quarters in the arcades. Favorites were Tempest,

Mr. Do!, Sinistar, Robotron:2084, Defender: Stargate, Gorf and Tron. My kids had a GameCube so

back then played a bunch of Rampage World Tour.

 

[DoomGuy999]

Funny thing is I was just about to post a "How Do You Doom" thread today...

Simple. Load the wad in ultimate doom builder with zdoom. If it's too hard I select God Mode or no monsters and scout out a route. I play keyboard only. Sometimes I play cyberdemon mode where I give myself infinite rocket launcher ammo and 4000 health. The status bar shows only 999, which is why that's after my username. Also, I always play ITYTD. I use zdoom because gzdoom refuses to work on my computer.

 

 

[JadingTsunami]

Fun thread idea, I like it.

 

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

 

prboomX, often with this script from plums which evens out difficulty of hard maps. This is if I get tired of timewarping back and forward (similar to dsda rewind) through difficult sections.

 

>Settings that make you unusual?

 

For revenant-heavy maps, I make the revenant fireballs shoot-downable (via DeHackEd) instead of doing the endless homing rocket dance (just don't have patience for it).

 

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

 

Always UV. First I just go after it. If I die I usually timewarp/rewind. If I get frustrated I add the health script above. If there's a billion revenants then I use a modified version as mentioned.

 

>What kind of wads do you go for?

 

Mostly straightforward "classic Doom gameplay" stuff, either cl9 or limit-removing; I don't typically play the ultra-monster-heavy things with flashy combat arenas.

 

>What makes you play it the way you do.

 

It's what I like. Maybe not a satisfying answer but I am not sure there's much else to say. :)

[MFG38]

2 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

 

Usually dsda-doom. Other source ports for wads/mods that need 'em.

 

3 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

>Settings that make you unusual?

 

Nothing comes to mind here.

 

3 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

 

HNTR for a first playthrough, possibly higher on the rare replay. The way I engage with a map is kind of self-contradictory in that I like to take in a map's atmosphere as I play, but I also like to go through them fast, straferunning where I can etc. The speedrunning has very much crept its way into my casual playstyle. :P

 

3 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

>What kind of wads do you go for?

 

Ones that look cool.

 

3 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

>What makes you play it the way you do.

 

Not sure how to answer this one.

[Risana]

2 hours ago, Wavy said:

And maybe a small thing, but I also enable weapon centering when firing. I've probably just gotten used to it from using GZ for a long time, but it feels weird having it disabled like in vanilla. Even the console ports (not Unity) have weapon centering. I'm curious if anyone else feels the same.

Same here, it really throws me off since I don't normally use a crosshair.

 

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

 

- Woof/DSDA/GZdoom depending. Not really big with mods, I might play around with them but my Dooming is largely just WADs and maybe smooth doom.

 

>Settings that make you unusual?

 

- I wouldn't say anything is particularly unusual, but I'm very picky about my sensitivity being just right where a full sweep of my mouse pad is just under 1 full spin. So I get very particular having it just right, which the value varies on certain source ports.

 

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

 

- UV to start and if it feels tedious to die or simply too hard, I'll drop to HMP or come back to it at a later point. As for engaging, I just play through casually, see if I can find some secrets, and get kills. I don't worry about 100% kills/items/secrets though, not much gained for me to scour a map for the 3 enemies I missed out of 200 of them.

 

>What kind of wads do you go for?

 

- Huge fan of thematic based wads. Bigger ones like Ancient Aliens or even simpler single map themes like Frozen Time. Not a huge fan of slaughter but never delved deep into them yet so that could change.

 

>What makes you play it the way you do.

 

- I don't understand this question too well.

[xX_Lol6_Xx]

3 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

Nowadays my port of choice is Nugget Doom, pretty much does everything I need and has cool features. As per mods, none outside widescreen assets and perkristian's hq sound pack with some sounds I added in for the bfg, the plasma gun and the teleporters (which are from Doom 3 btw).

3 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

>Settings that make you unusual?

Let's see... I do have the viewbob configured to 50% and the weapon bob to 75% inside Nugget Doom, because otherwise I get really bad motion sickness with uncapped framerates. I guess that makes me unusual. Same for most other ports, if they even give the option to lower or turn off viewbobbing without making the weapon static.

3 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

 >What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

Hurt Me Plenty all the way, I usually take it slow on any given map and clear each area one by one unless I already know the route. Especially on big maps as I tend to get lost really easily, and that ensures I don't get bitten in the butt by a pinky while I try to dodge mancubus fireballs.

3 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

 >What kind of wads do you go for?

Hmm... I guess I just go for standard wads, I don't usually play slaughter maps as I tend to get bored with long fights that never seem to end, with some exceptions. I do like sandboxy maps so long as progression is clear, and of course mapsets with killer soundtracks, even if I die a lot in them as they tend to be pretty challenging.  

3 hours ago, fruity lerlups said:

>What makes you play it the way you do.

To be honest I don't really know.

[Plerb]

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

DSDA-Doom (and Zandronum for deathmatch)

 

>Settings that make you unusual?

I play with 800x600 resolution in windowed mode. idk if it's that unusual

 

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

HMP, pistol starting for WADs designed around it, and continuous if it isn't. I'll play on UV if something's either too easy on lower difficulties or I'm replaying something.

 

>What kind of wads do you go for?

Anything that runs in DSDA-Doom and doesn't JUST use the stock doom 2 textures (unless the gameplay is really good to compensate). I like pretty much all genres of maps, if it's well made I'll probably enjoy it.

 

>What makes you play it the way you do.

I first installed DSDA-Doom because I was interested in speedrunning at the time, I still kinda am but it's not something I do much right now, but it ended up being my favorite port in general and I stopped using Crispy Doom because it does all the same things but only supports limit removing.

[valkiriforce]

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

DOOM Retro, and sometimes Woof! as well. I do have some personal mods I created that I use if I feel like mixing things up with the monsters or weapons - they only change small things like sounds and graphics, but the functions are about the same.

 

>Settings that make you unusual?

I like DOOM Retro's ability to enable deep liquid and brightmaps. I think having that vanilla look paired with a few new touches really makes it a fun experience for me. I also really like being able to gib enemies with a point-blank super shotgun blast - I'm glad it has that option as a feature.

 

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

It really depends on what I'm playing - I've played all settings across the board except for Nightmare. Wads like Sunlust usually veer my attention to the lower settings, while more casual affairs can land me on the higher levels. Otherwise, I like a good challenge now and again - it really depends on my mood at the time.

 

>What kind of wads do you go for?

I do love classic-style Doom wads - abstract, clever traps, puzzling elements be it in combat or progression, or any other ideas that put it above the norm. I don't feel hard to appeal to, but the frequency of releases these days can make exploring new projects intimidating.

 

>What makes you play it the way you do.

My play style is typically fast and arcade-like - I like expending ammunition if the map authors are kind enough to provide as much, and being able to zip between enemies and solve a map's progression quickly can be fun and rewarding. It's strongly tied to how I play the original Doom games, and I've often tried to replicate that in my own way with my creations. I don't typically go for 100% unless I feel like exploring the map just for fun.

[stephyesterday]

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

Nugget Doom for casual play, DSDA-Doom for demoing/when a wad requires it. Realizing through this thread that nugget's a much more popular choice nowadays, which is cool. I also load the Doom 2 sprite fixing project with most things i play, unless it really doesn't play nice with the mapset, which is rare.

 

>Settings that make you unusual?

ok. so. This is no longer the case (my brain still struggles with it conceptually sometimes though lol) but I used to play with aspect ratio correction off once I obtained the cursed knowledge of its existence. Once i saw how the pixels were ever-so slightly wrong it drove me insane so I had to turn it off, I even increased the FOV to 100 so I could have the full 16x9 view. After fiddling with it countless times, coming across so many issues with it, and realizing that aspect ratio correction is truly the developer-intended look, I gave up and now play the game like a normal person, lol. more people need to account for it in their graphics and titlepics though, come on >:[

 

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

UV as my default, unless the wad I'm playing recommends otherwise. I always try to gun for the mapper's advice, as I trust that they know what they're talking about. As for map engagement, I try to pick apart every room and area's nooks and crannies for secrets as I go, but that still doesn't always go well as I often still exit maps without all secrets. All kills is something I always try my best to go for, though.

 

>What kind of wads do you go for?

I'm not sure. I'm not super picky, I love all types of doom gameplay- dungeon crawling, slaughter, platforming, puzzle-solving, even combatless story-driven experiences. I just love Doom and all the different ways people have designed gameplay within its canvas, so I end up going for anything that looks cool. For personal favorite gameplay styles, though, cramped & short microslaughter experiences are some of my favorite combat scenarios. Basically anything that requires you to control space in a very limited area. I've also become quite fond of platforming, and love the way mappers weave beautiful landscapes and worlds in maps with it as a primary focus.

 

>What makes you play it the way you do.

i like it :)

[RHhe82]

What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

 

I like DSDA-Doom the best: it suits all my needs, looks the way I remember Doom always looking like (although I know that's not really the case), it's slick and reliable. I love it, and only turn to other ports if WAD demands it. I've had romantic flings with Crispy Doom and Eternity Engine. Gameplay mods and me go our separate ways.

 

>Settings that make you unusual?

 

... I suppose I'm as average as they go! If I used freelook, I would use inverted Y-axis as I've always done my whole gaming life -- that might make me unusual in the eyes of others? :P

 

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

 

I tend to default to UV, but I fluidly switch to HMP and occasionally HNTR if the situation warrants it. That way great but difficult wads retain their replay value, and I go back to them on a later date for a happy reunion and higher difficulty. I also like my starts pistoly. Feels like a fresh start to a brand new day ^(almost)every time. 

 

>What kind of wads do you go for?

 

I don't think I'm picky! I'm currently playing Simulacrum which so far (after 4 maps) encompasses my favourite traits: punchy compact maps that provide challenge, but don't make me scrounge for stuff and commit for hours for one map -- and I also like its visual style, polished, slick, beauty to behold. But all in all, I still like almost anything from more retro stuff (I still play IWADs from time to time) to Skillsaw-type mapset (Valiant and Ancient Aliens are my first favourites), or longer adventure-type mapset (Eviternities, TNT: Revilution) to harder-to-the-core sets like Sunlust and lower-midtier slaughter.

 

>What makes you play it the way you do.

 

I don't know! I find it relaxing and satisfying. Or when the map stresses me, merely satisfying.

[Lippeth]

Quote

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

Other than the original exes in DOSBox, GZDoom gets the most use because of the type of mods I like to play and make, often running a dozen or so at the same time. Usually more subtle mods to energize the vanilla experience, but I'm not opposed to checking out anything interesting or novel. Though, every once in a while I'll update MSYS2/VS and check out the latest features of every port I can figure out how to compile.

 

Quote

>Settings that make you unusual?

Less unusual and more purist maybe. 4:3, 35Hz, resolution no higher than 640x480. I like to see those pixels really sparkle and twinkle! Maybe the most unusual things are that I like random sound pitching if the range isn't too wide, I almost always enable the compatibility setting for the silent BFG trick, and I own several hardware MIDI devices but often prefer Gravis Ultrasound patches instead. In GZDoom I manually set the automap's custom colors to match the original instead of selecting traditional Doom, just in case I want to make secret sectors cyan as a cheat.

 

Quote

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

I've been hardwired by the iwads to start at UV and work my way down if it's too aggressive. The way I play maps usually involves exploring the level and engaging in combat while looking for the exit switch, more often than not with the music as loud or louder than the sound effects.

 

Quote

>What kind of wads do you go for?

I don't deviate too much from classic styles that play similarly to the iwads, and I'm a sucker for Ultimate Doom replacements. I tend to replay the same few wads over and over, while slowly adding new ones that share a theme of not being too large or elaborate in architecture design. Seeing that a wad is vanilla compatible usually piques my interest, less for its actual DOS compatibility and more because the general size, style and flow of maps usually scratch my Doom itch. Honestly I still play the iwads more than anything.

 

Quote

>What makes you play it the way you do.

I still remember the magic I felt the first time playing Doom when it came out, and though I do sometimes explore different novelties and try to experience a wide range of fan creations, when I want to play Doom, I want it to be like Doom.

[ChaingunChaCha]

What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

Nowadays, DSDA. Unless a particular map I find intriguing uses say GZDoom.

 

Settings that make you unusual? 

Is 1440p 144fps weird for a classic game? If so, maybe that. Due to speedrunning, most other settings are prescribed by the run.

 

What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

UV, as I tend to do speedruns after my blind playthrough and speedruns are pretty much all on UV difficulty. This can depend on the author's recommendation but I usually do pistol starts and a record a blind, saveless run. But I'm pretty casual about my runs so if needed I'll save or rewind. I'm a super cautious player but recently trying to find a better balance of aggression and caution.



What kind of wads do you go for? 

I still have a soft spot for classics like Scythe 2, Eviternity and Valiant but recently favouring simple, cosy nostalgic wads. They are often recent but with old-school influences. Wads like Autophagy and Deathless. I'm not looking for too much pain or grind these days so wads on the easier side are preferred. (And these tend to be better for my speedruns as I'm new to that.)

 

What makes you play it the way you do?

I used to have a bad habit of quicksaving like every 10 secs so I forced myself to go down the single-segment pistol start and I ended up liking it. And settled for aiming for that as a goal, but not forcing it. I feel it is the best way for me to progress without frustration. But mostly, I must enjoy my time playing the game so I would always favour that over boxing myself into a style.

[TJG1289]

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

I use GZDoom. It's just the easiest for me. I did figure out Eternity for Heartland, started a Interception II playthrough with it, but went back to GZDoom after a map. I might try using DSDA, especially since I think I saw a WAD recently for Final Doom that needed it. I've only really used DSDA to test a map I'm making.

 

As for mods, I don't normally play with any. I do really like Corruption Cards, so I'll bust that out every once and a while. I did enjoy Brutal Doom, Project Brutality, and Trailblazer when I played them, but haven't touched any of those in a long time.

 

>Settings that make you unusual?

None, I keep everything default. I think even texture filtering (though I think I might have turned that off since everyone and their mother said the sprites looked better. It honestly never bothered me). 

 

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

I usually do UV. Most WADs I play through don't usually get too hard, so it's not normally an issue. Though if a map does give me a hard time, I either just keep at it, or cave in and God Mode it. I play continuous, so I don't want to go down a difficulty and lose all my weapons and ammo from previous maps. I do think my Doom skills are better than I expect. I never finished Sunlust, but I got to map 19 and don't recall facing anything that causing me a ton of trouble, just a lot of dying and retrying. I'm currently going through Simulacrum which I think may be similar in difficulty to Sunlust, and have hit a few hard maps, but I've still managed to get through everything so far. I think I'm on map 23 now? I also thought the latter half of Doom 2 In City Only was pretty tough (especially map 23), and the latter maps of Spectrum Descent were also a challenge. 

 

As for how I engage with a map? I usually try to clear out areas as I see them before exploring too far in. I'm more cautious so I usually try to take things out from relative safety than charging in. I'm checking the automap all the time looking for pink lines and secrets. I also save after every big fight. I don't like replaying things. It's a waste of time and I just want to get on to the next part. I try to get all kills and secrets on a first playthrough, but it's no biggie if I miss something. I will IDDT at the end of a map if missing things and determine whether or not I should backtrack to get them.

 

>What kind of wads do you go for?

Pretty much anything except the outrageously difficult stuff and full-on slaughter. If they pop up in a megawad, then I'll play them, but I won't download something like Junkfood or Sunder. I do like really visually striking maps. A good looking map does wonders for me now. Gameplay is still the most important thing, but the visuals are what usually leave the biggest impression. I think that's partially why Ancient Aliens is my favorite WAD. The visuals, theme, and color palate are my favorites that I've seen in Doom, and elevates a standard level to something I really enjoy. I've been playing PWADs for 20 years now. Combat has been refined so much, that I kinda know what to expect now on that front, so not much surprises me there. But visual design feels the most personal. I can look at a map's visuals and layout and tell who made it now. That's cool. On the combat front, I do like incidental combat the most. Though the whole combat puzzle aspect that Sunlust has popularized can be really creative and fun. I also really like city levels, so big exploratory maps are fun, but I need to be in the mood for something that non-linear.

 

>What makes you play it the way you do.

Idk, it's just how I play it. It's the most enjoyable way for me. 

[vanilla_d00m]

ZDOOM v2.3.1 (Somtimes I would use DOSBox v0.70)

 

I played and beaten all commerical wads.  Played alot of Unholy Realms, Icarus, Reverie, Genesis, Ultimate DOOM Part2 (Doom Odyssey) 

 

I go for wads (mods) with good music in them, I only really play the maps with good music when I try Unholy Realms, Icarus and all that stuff.

 

I play on Hurt Me Plenty only, I feel like its the balanced option.  Everything else felt too small, or tomany. 

 

I save alot, every couple of more steps.  I play this way because I feel more safer.  And with these settings.. I'm playing it the way it was in the 1990s.  Purist way. 

 

Full vanilla settings when using ZDOOM (8 sound channels, no rocket trails.. using screen melts etc)

 

No Interpolation, 22050 Sample rate etc....

 

Music: 9.0

 

Sound FX: 8.0

 

Randomize Pitches: Off

 

Cl_CapFps 1 (So I get around 35FPS, can't stand the smooth high FPS one for this type of game)

 

R_DRAWTRANS 0 (No see through transparent fireballs and other things) 

 

Vid_Fps 1 (I like seeing the FPS counter on the top Right)

 

misc/secret      NULL (To disable secret area sound effect)

 

640x480 Resolution (Sometimes I switch it, but this is what I use most)

 

Music Folder SC 88 PRO Ultimate DOOM (For running Ultimate DOOM with SC88PRO Synth music)

 

Music Folder SC 88 PRO DOOM II (For Running DOOM 2 SC88PRO Synth music)

 

Keyboard ONLY..

Edited July 11 by vanilla_d00m

[Foxstiel]

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

i usually use nugget doom, with no mods, sometimes gzdoom if i want to play gameplay mods.

>Settings that make you unusual?

Probably not unusual but i usually play with a different hud (nuggets alt hud), and keep weapon alignment to "centered" (it looks awkward when the weapon squats down when shooting)

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

Hurt Me Plenty if its a new wad, and Ultra Violence for the second playthrough. i sometimes try to find secrets and i try to kill most monsters but if its not worth it for the loss of ammo or the irritation, i just speed to the exit.

>What kind of wads do you go for?

Anything, that isn't ridiculously difficult, i usually like stuff that are, different? like ray mohawk 2 for its incredibly powerful arsenal and mostly laid back maps, abscission for its darker..corruptions of the usual doom 2 maps, or anything i find neat in the wad section here.

>What makes you play it the way you do.

I play it like that, idk

[Roebloz]

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?

Zandronum as my main port, LZDoom if a mod requires it (No GZDoom, I refuse.)

I sometimes use my own Chippy Doom if I play a vanilla WAD, though its just an edit of WinDoom, so not really a source port per se.

>Settings that make you unusual?

I play using WASD, and use , . as my strafing keys, and N and M as my fire keys. Keyboard only btw.

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?

Hurt me Plenty unless its Nightmare November, (Then guess which difficulty I go for) and then I engage by running headfirst into it, never saving, and then complaining when I have to go back to the beginning.

>What kind of wads do you go for?

Any map WADs really, but preferrably easier ones.

>What makes you play it the way you do.

My brain.

[ALilGrayBoi]

>What sourceport do you use, do you play with any mods?
gzdoom, after I finish a wad I replay it with goofy mods
 

>Settings that make you unusual?
I use free look (yes I know it can break wads, I don't care. I don't cheese maps)
 

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?
I play UV first, if its too much I go for HMP. i usually like to stick to a path and don't go secret hunting
 

>What kind of wads do you go for?
any wad that somehow catches my attention. usually wads that add new monsters
 

>What makes you play it the way you do
it all started in the Late Cretaceous period when on my pet T-rex I saw a copy of doom... 

[Ranger Qwerty]

>What source port do you use, do you play with any mods?
ZDoom is my favorite, I know GZDoom is better but I just vibe with the former, Crispy Doom and Woof! are also cool.

>Settings that make you unusual?
Re-read my previous answer

>What difficulty do you usually go for? And how do you engage with a map?
I have a habit of Picking Ultra-Violence, that was a bit of a problem when I was just starting out. I usually just hang around until I get bored and finish the map.

>What kind of wads do you go for?
Mostly "Vanilla" style campaigns, trying new things won't kill you though.

>What makes you play it the way you do?
I'm indecisive.

[Zerofuchs]

- PRBoom, I'm just so... used to it. I'll switch to GZDoom for gameplay mods or more complicated mapsets. I'll use vanilla-close ports on occasion but the standard for me is Boom.
- For the most part I play vertical off and autoaim on, there's a particular kind of feeling to a "classic" Doom play. But I'll make use of jump, crouch or freelook if a mod utilises them specifically.
- I'll pick UV and engage with a map by the seat of my pants, then maybe revisit it later. No problem with playing HMP but I may ram my head against and Ultra Violent wall when it would be sensible to drop a difficulty level.
- I like shorter maps for the most part as I tend to get bored if a map has me hauling about TOO much. Upper comfort zone would be around 25-30 minutes for a particularly interesting map, otherwise I'm more for 15 minutes or less, closer to 10 for most casual playing cases. Coffee break dooming is my preferred kind I guess.
I definitely like maps and packs that put a fair emphasis on interesting architecture and detailed or vivid texture work. My own creative efforts tend towards a much more neutral (bland) aesthetic and I appreciate that which contrasts it. 

- What makes a string as long as it is? How I play it suits what I enjoy, can't really explain it deeper than that. I will say a really solid OST is likely to pull me into a WAD as much as any gameplay or visual element.