Trying to save Doom in final levels...

[guyinthecorner]

Hi I'm new etc.

Whenever I try to save my game on the last or so level of both Final Doom and Doom 2 it saves, then when I go to load it Doom freezes. Is this just something the Doom creators did to make it harder or is my computer screwed?

[Naked Snake]

Try using a source port. Look in the FAQ for some.

[guyinthecorner]

Uh, yeah... As I said I'm new.... Port?

[Amaster]

Hmm, that sounds pretty strange. Im inclined to believe that there's something wrong with either your save game file, or your copies of Final Doom and Doom2. Did you try merely reinstalling?

[sargebaldy]

I don't think I've heard of this error before... are you using doom2.exe or doom95?

Maybe you saved with too many monsters in the game and it overloaded? Still, that would be new to me...

[Grazza]

Was this on map30, after the boss shooter had already spat out a lot of monsters? That could overflow the save game buffer. (And if you've got to that point, then it's probably too late for a save to be of much use). Otherwise, this sounds very odd indeed, assuming you're using doom2.exe.

[Naked Snake]

Dude, you just download the port (it's usually in an archive, you know, .zip or .cab, etc., powerarchiver.com), put it in the same dir (c:\doom2\ put doom.wad from c:\doom\ in there, or whereever you store Ultimate Doom) and from (c:\final doom\ or whatever, get tnt.wad and plutonia.wad and put them in c:\doom2\).

Then get Zdoom from http://www.zdoom.org/files/lars/53.cab - at this time, 53.cab is current. Put the contents of 53.cab into c:\doom2\. If you have Heretic and Hexen installed, you can also place heretic.wad, hexen.wad and hexendd.wad into c:\doom2\. Then Zdoom will ask you which IWAD you care to use when you launch (choose to ALWAYS select this).

Then you will be able to play those games.

Also remeber to set up your controls and video card settings, this should be the first thing you should do. Next, if you want, you can find out some of the nifty stuff in the options.

[sargebaldy]

You're a little too eager to suggest using a port BBG... Ports are often a sloppy solution to a simple problem. He doesn't have problems running doom.exe. He didn't say "I have XP and Doom runs really slow and the sounds don't work!". A port is not a solution to his problem, it's just an alternative option to avoid being in the situation he's in. It's like telling someone to switch from 98 to XP because they can't find up to date sound drivers.

[guyinthecorner]

Thank you to everyone with their suggestions. Although I am inclined to agree with sargebaldy and grazza. Both stages it freezes on are the stages when there is that little box thing and a shitload of monsters come from everywhere. Good call fellas.

And just for the record I use XP and this happens on Doom 2 which I got off kazaa and final doom which I purchased for 20 bucks.

[Graf Zahl]

There is a bug in the original Doom.exe which can cause a crash when the boss shooter is in a level. It saves its target spots in a list when it awakes but this list isn't saved and not re-initialized after loading a game. So the data in it will most likely be corrupt after loading a game of such a level. Almost all source ports fix this bug.
If you absolutely want to play with Doom.exe, don't save on a level with a boss shooter! It's the only way to avoid crashes for sure.

[guyinthecorner]

Fair enough, thanks. Boss Shooters are those big heads who shoot boxes I'm guessing? If so then it doesn't matter as they are only in the final levels of doom 2 and final.

[sargebaldy]

If you're using XP, I'd highly recommend a port as vanilla Doom just doesn't run right on that OS. I have XP and I know I don't like using it for than a minute at a time. Here's a list of standard ports:

High compatibility, less graphical enhancement:
Eternity: very compatible with the original exe, an excellent purist's port
PrBoom: another purist port, except it defaults with recoil and a recolored status bar

Medium compatibility, medium graphical enhancement:
ZDoom: the most popular port. doesn't have demo support and modifies some vanilla effects to randy's vision. offers high resolutions and slopes, amongst other things. also available in gl flavor.
Doom Legacy: offers gl support, 3d platforms, higher resolutions but also is somewhat lacking in the compatibility department, losing support for vanilla demos and for voodoo dolls.

Low compatibility, high graphic enhancement:
DoomsDay "jDoom"
VaVoom
i think these two are hideous myself. if you want these you may as well be playing another game. that said, give them a try if doom isn't pretty enough for you.

[Nanami]

Well it sounded good until you stopped being informative and said "these sux lol" =P

[guyinthecorner]

Thanks guys, much more helpful than most internet users. Anyway this thread seems to have cleared stuff up for me. So anyway, hello im shane. Introduce yourself- name and rank...

[Grazza]

guyinthecorner said:

Boss Shooters are those big heads who shoot boxes I'm guessing?

The "boss" is actually two separate "monsters".

The boss brain is Romero's head on a stick. When it is killed, the level ends. It is defenceless and does nothing. It is only protected (in map30) by the fact that it is tricky to get your rockets to damage it.

The boss shooter is invisible and cannot be damaged. It shoots out monsters (determined by Doom's random number, so it appears to the player to be completely at random), which appear at predefined spawn points.

The monster on the wall is just a graphic.

The boss brain and boss shooter can be used independently of one another. Sometimes you see maps where the boss brain is used simply as a means of ending a level, and in some a boss shooter is used, but there is some other means to exit the map (such as an exit switch, exit linedef, or an "exit on health <10%" sector).

Regarding that list of ports, I don't see that Zdoom and Legacy are any more or less "compatible" than jDoom (I presume that refers to how similar the game physics and monster behaviour are to the original game). Zdoom has some compatibility settings that jDoom lacks, but changes some other things that jDoom doesn't.

[Graf Zahl]

Grazza said:

Regarding that list of ports, I don't see that Zdoom and Legacy are any more or less "compatible" than jDoom (I presume that refers to how similar the game physics and monster behaviour are to the original game). Zdoom has some compatibility settings that jDoom lacks, but changes some other things that jDoom doesn't.

In terms of gameplay I'd say jDoom is more compatible (it hasn't practically changed anything about the game's behavior, it seems to be concerned with rendering improvements only.) But in terms of rendering tricks ZDoom has a definite advantage as it can display all those hideous GL-breaking tricks (Why do some mappers still use them? Such maps always have so many problems that they screw up more often than not...)

[Quasar]

Graf Zahl said:

But in terms of rendering tricks ZDoom has a definite advantage as it can display all those hideous GL-breaking tricks (Why do some mappers still use them? Such maps always have so many problems that they screw up more often than not...)

That's the main reason we put 3DMidTex lines in Eternity -- they let you do stuff you couldn't even do with pseudo-3D hacks, and without any weirdness like open sectors.

[Enjay]

sargebaldy said:

ZDoom: the most popular port. doesn't have demo support...

Just to be clear. Doesn't support demos recorded with the original exe. Does support demo recording and playback of it's own format. No guarantee demos will be compatible from one version to the next.

[Enjay]

Graf Zahl said:

In terms of gameplay I'd say jDoom is more compatible (it hasn't practically changed anything about the game's behavior, it seems to be concerned with rendering improvements only.)

I don't know why people say that so often. For me, aside from maybe EDGE, JDoom is the port that feels least like the original to me. And I don't mean because it's all shiny and purdy. I mean it feels different, very different.

[Grimm]

That's because you're silly.

Seriously, I can't understand why this bugs you.

[guyinthecorner]

Thanks everyone. Mew question, I'm trying to play Doom2 over the net with that ZDaemon thing but whenever I start a game it says my Doom2 wad is wrong. I've downloaded some patch which is suppose to fix it but after I use the patch the file size for the wad file is different to what the patch setup thing says it should be.

[Amaster]

Do you have a warezed version? If not, then your wad is probably borked for one reason or another. Reinstall I suppose.

[guyinthecorner]

Heh, I've reinstalled about 10 times, doesn't work.

The situation is I'm using a doom 1, 2 and final doom pack I got off kazaa. I have the real version of final doom... Soooo...

[Amaster]

So maybe you should buy them so you wont run into problems. Otherwise, suck it up.

[guyinthecorner]

There surely must be another way...

Maybe somebody chould send me a "message", a very "substantial message", if you know what I mean.

[Torn]

asking for warez is bad.

[Grazza]

Yes, and could easily get you banned on the spot. I suggest you remove that warez request immediately.

[Sephiroth]

sargebaldy said:

I don't think I've heard of this error before... are you using doom2.exe or doom95?

Maybe you saved with too many monsters in the game and it overloaded? Still, that would be new to me...

nope it has always dont that with me. once there is too many it will fail