New

[S1lent]

Hello, I've been a die-hard DOOM fan since it came out and I just recently took the time to look for some DOOM sites....man was THAT a rude awakening. I'm amazed at all the things you guys have done with the game and all the mods that I've seen screenshots of. I have DOOM(on floppy), Ultimate DOOM, DOOM II, and Final DOOM, along with the new collectors disc that has all the previews and info on the new DOOM 3. Anyways, I just wanted to say hi. My name is Brian, I'm 14 and live in Florida, USA. Like I said I've been a big doom fan for a long time now and I was wondering if there was anything I should know about the advancements of the game. I need something to break the tension until DOOM 3 comes out. Any mods you'd recommend? And alterations? and instructions on how to setup a mod? And new programs? etc.... THanks guys, hope to talk to you more on the forums.

[Epyo]

Newbies should always read the FAQ.

Ok now first of all, take all your doom iwads, that is, Doom.wad, Doom2.wad, plutonia.wad, tnt.wad,(those are just the ones you most likely have) and put them in the same folder. When you download a zip of a wad from somewhere, such as http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/ you should unzip the zip into this same folder where your doom iwads are. Also put your .exe's in there (like Doom 95, doom2.exe, doom.exe etc etc). If you're using doom 95 you can probably figure out how to play the custom wad files yourself, but for the other .exe's you need to go to start -> run, and type

c:\doom\doom2.exe -file thewadyouwanttoplay.wad

replacing c:\doom\doom2.exe with the proper location and program. Most source ports work the same way.

Source ports are .exe's that run wad files just like doom2.exe and all those. But they have game enhancements, bug fixes and et cetera. There's a source port in my sig, called "ZDoom". That's one of the best source ports, and probably the first one you should download.

EDIT EDIT EDIT: Liek woh you've been playing since you were 4 liek woh.

[Nmn]

If You're into cool looking sourceports try Jdoom-> doomsdayhq.com
It sports MD2 models, dynamic lights and more.
More Sourcepots? Check out Doomworld's section for sourceports. Most Popular are:
Doom Legacy, Jdoom, SMMU, Eternity, EDGE and ofcourse-Zdoom-the best.
For Mods-check out Doomworld's 10 Years of Doom-Top 100 Wads-Best of best from 10 years..
'sides, the command line for zdoom is also:
zdoom YourWAD (-file ain't so neccessary :-P)
Take Care

[S1lent]

Hehe, I was born in January 23, 1990. And thats nothing, I've been playing Wolfenstein 3d (still am) since I was around 2 or 3. Me and my dad played it together. He "steered" the guy and I shot nazis and opened doors. Then I moved onto TC's and Spear of Destiny. (I was playing both the original DOOM and wolf3d. I forgot when DOOM came out though. Was it 1994? Also, what is the "port" program thing you were talking about? If running TC's and wads are that much trouble, is there any program that can just "temporarily replace" them while I'm playing. That was I don't have to do all that file switching?

[Nmn]

What file switching are You talking about?!
The source-ports (correct me if I make a mistake :-P) are variants of the original executable (program) to run the original game. They are not so much variants, rather new applications based on the specific game's source-code. They need the data from the original game (in Our case one of the Doom IWADS: Doom, Doom2, TNT, Plutonia, or Freedom). Sourceports have a huge amount of imporvements (engine's limits extended, like VPO limit removal), new features (like lots of editing features allowing mappers to create their own source-port specific levels with cool new things, like ACS scripts, 3d floors).
To use a sourceport-download one, install it. Some ports locate the IWAD for You automatically-like JDOOM, some require You to put the IWAD into the port's folder-like Zdoom. In the latter one put any IWAD into port's folder and run Zdoom (if You have more than one IWAD the game will ask You which IWAD You want to choose). If You want to play custom wads/TC's/mods-simply drag and drop that WAD onto Zdoom's icon and it will load automatically and start Zdoom with the wad loaded (cool?).
I hope that sorts it out. pheew..

[Epyo]

Hmm no file switching. Let me make it really simple more complicated.

PART 1
Put everything doomy you own all in one folder. For instance, everything doomy I own is in C:\doom. Keep it all here for the rest of your life.

You will never have to do step one again for the rest of your life. Unless you wipe your hard drive or something.

Now soon you will be downloading tons and tons of files. Whenever you unzip them, put them in this same folder.

Ok now let's say you want to play Memento Mori. This is a 32 level megawad for doom 2. Download it here. (you don't have to if you don't want to, this is just an example.)

So now you are downloading. Wait a few minutes.

Whee ok it's done. Now unzip it into your doom folder. In my case, c:\doom. Memento Mori comes with:

1-A bunch of text files that tell you all about the coolness of the wad, and
2-2 .wad files. This is Memento Mori. The 2 .wad files are "mm.wad" and "mmmus.wad"

Now if you have doom2.exe then go to start, run, and type "c:\doom\doom2.exe -file mm.wad mmmus.wad" If you don't have doom2.exe, go to part 2 below, and then after that come back up here and type in start>run "c:\doom\zdoom.exe -file mm.wad mmmus.wad"

Yay whee we're playing memento mori.

PART 2
But wate! What the heck is a source port?!?!

Download http://www.zdoom.org/files/lars/63.cab This is a source port called "ZDoom" Unzip it into your doom folder (it's a .cab file, or "cabinet file" which is basically a zip file). Now double click it. Now pick your game. Now play. Liek woh now you know what a source port is!

Now go to the options menu and fool around with some options. Some wads are meant to be played in doom.exe or doom2.exe. These are "vanilla wads". If you are playing a vanilla wad, you probably want to go to gameplay options, scroll down, and turn off jumping, cause that's kinda like cheating. I mean think about dead simple from doom 2. there's the exit switch on the stair but you can't climb the stair. But if jump is on, you can climb the stair and end the level instantly. Cheat cheat cheat.

PART 3:
Usually zip files come with txt files and wad files. Sometimes they also come with a .deh file. Hopefully somebody else will explain deh files because I refuse.

Btw, the first shareware version of doom was released on December 10th, 1993.

[The Ultimate DooMer]

S1lent said:

I forgot when DOOM came out though. Was it 1994? Also, what is the "port" program thing you were talking about? If running TC's and wads are that much trouble, is there any program that can just "temporarily replace" them while I'm playing. That was I don't have to do all that file switching?

It came out in 1994 in some countries (like mine) but first released in 1993.

The "port" program is a "source port" - that is, an enhanced version of the original DooM, list is here. Some offer 3D-accelerated graphics (eg. JDoom) while others offer new game features (eg. ZDoom). All of them allow you to play in higher resolutions like any modern game. (the two examples given are generally considered the best in their fields)

The -file switch temporarily replaces the levels in the game with the wad you're playing, so there's no trouble with running them. If a wad comes with a .bat file (like many do) then it's even easier to run them. In any case, the wad's text file should tell you what to do.

[insertwackynamehere]

14 now 4 then, also :D I think SR was also 14

[S1lent]

Alright, you see, I have only played Wolfenstein 3D TC's so for that you have to do some file switching, or you just copy/paste the program's folder and over-wright the files in the copied folder. But let me get this straight....

In a TC...you simply show it where the .wad file is and then start the program and it will run DOOM for you?

[deathbringer]

S1lent said:

Alright, you see, I have only played Wolfenstein 3D TC's so for that you have to do some file switching, or you just copy/paste the program's folder and over-wright the files in the copied folder. But let me get this straight....

In a TC...you simply show it where the .wad file is and then start the program and it will run DOOM for you?

Yes, what you where talking about for Wolfenstien USED to be what you needed to do with doom (and still need to do if you want to use the original versions, such as doom.exe), with ports such as Zdoom, they "temporarily replace" the levels, monsters, sounds ect when you "tell it where the wad is". Or alternativley you can run programs like zdoom or whatever with no extra wads and play ordinary doom without the enhancements. Another beginners port is "Doom legacy", because it has a launcher that you can use to tell it what wads you want to run quickly and easily, but you cant have doom legacy and zdoom in the same folder, so put legacy in its own folder and stick doom.wad and doom2.wad into that folder with it (your downloaded wads can be anywwhere, cause you can tell the launcher where they are and it runs them)

[S1lent]

Thanks Deathbringer. I think I got it. If I run into any problems I'll probably figure it out....I'm good at that. If I can't I'll put up another post.

[UltraMarioMan]

Doomsday is good for playing too.