[n00by question] How exactly do I install a WAD?

[Temjin]

>.< Please don't kill me too much, but how exactly do I install one? o.o;

[Job]

Just unzip the wad and drop it onto your respective Doom executable, be it a source port or the original.

[Kristian Ronge]

Or, alternately, if you want to do it the 1337 oldskool difficult way, you open up a command prompt, switch to the directory of your preferred Doom executable(s), with the PWAD unzipped into the same folder, and type "doom -file [Name of PWAD].wad". Note that if you're using ZDoom you'd type "zdoom" instead of "doom", or if you're using old doom2.exe you'd type "doom2" instead of "doom", and so on.

Some PWADs require some other type of installation, e.g. by altering the original executable and/or IWAD (doom(2).wad). It's a bad idea to try to install these PWADs though, unless you have a backup of the executables/IWADs somewhere.

HTH.

[Grazza]

Kristian Ronge said:

altering the ... IWAD

AFAIK, there aren't wads that require you to modify the iwad. If you're thinking of ones that require deusf, then you can use "deusf -app pwadname.wad", and that modifies only the pwad, and makes no change to the iwad.

Moreover, I have come across some pwads that don't work correctly with ports unless deusf is used on them.

Regarding drag/drop vs command line, there are some things you can't do by using drag/drop, so it's worth getting to know how to use the command line in any case. Drag/drop is great as a simple way to get started though.

[Kristian Ronge]

Ah, my experience of deusf is not what you'd call ... extensive. :-)

I just remembered reading in some PWAD .txt's that installing would alter the IWAD and that you'd have to make a backup of it. *shrug*

[Grazza]

Yes, I'm sure there were some where the textfile told you to modify your iwad (horrible). I'm just not aware of any where it was really necessary to do it that way.

[Deathmatcher]

Oh I remember those wads. Some old modifications came with huge batch files that altered the IWAD and restored it after playing.

[myk]

Yeah, because the other method, that just adds the stuff to the PWAD, was developed later.