I like ZDoom, but...

[Draconio]

This is not a ZDoom bashing thread. I've more or less found ZDoom to be my best option for playing Doom on, but there are a few things about it that have been annoying me a little, and I'd like some suggestions for any possible way to amend them:

1: "Allow jump" and "Allow mouselook" always default to "on" when I run the game. Is there any configuration I can set to make them default to "off" every time? I could just unbind those keys but I'd rather not. And setting them to "off" every time is a bit tiresome.
2: When invulnerable, I don't get knocked around when hit. Is there a way to reinstate the old behaviour of this?
3: If a rocket hits the floor in front of me, it knocks me upwards a bit. Is there a way to disable this?
4: Projectiles hit decoration objects instead of passing through them. I realize this has to do with the removal of actors being infinitely tall, but I have that compatibility option on. Is there a way to return the old behaviour?
5: AFAIK, Archvile doesn't create ghosts. As a matter of fact, it seems like the crushing of corpses into pulp is removed completely, they simply disappear. Is there a way to return ghosts or at the very least, crushed bodies?
6: Projectiles are transluscent, is there a way to make them drawn solid like in the original? (Not really a problem)
7: Blur sphere acts a little differently. I kind of like the change, it makes it a bit less useless of an item, but it would be nice if there were an option for the old behaviour. (Not really a problem)


Before you go suggesting to use a different port, here are the features I want to have:

- Fully Windows compatible
- Doesn't mess with Windows sound volume settings
- Doesn't crash often
- Able to see walls if you're directly against them, even in the dark
- Uncapped framerate
- Software rendering
- Damage / blood on walls (I can do without it)
- Can run in windowed mode (I can do without it)

[Dron]

4. Go to the compatibility menu
6. "r_drawtrans 0" in the console

And alot of the stuff you want to have is already in there like damage/blood on walls, software rendering, and uncapped framerate

EDIT: Are you using the latest version?

[Draconio]

Dron said:

And alot of the stuff you want to have is already in there like damage/blood on walls, software rendering, and uncapped framerate

EDIT: Are you using the latest version? 2.0.63

Yes, I am. The list at the end was stuff I would want in a different port if someone was going to reccomend something else, it's a list of things I like in ZDoom...

Thanks for the pointers.

[Dron]

Draconio said:

The list at the end was stuff I would want in a different port if someone was going to reccomend something else, it's a list of things I like in ZDoom...

Oh, sorry I didn't read it correctly

[Graf Zahl]

Draconio said:
2: When invulnerable, I don't get knocked around when hit. Is there a way to reinstate the old behaviour of this?

That's a known bug that has been repeatedly reported. Hopefully it will be fixed in the next version but considering the past track record concerning this particular issue I have some doubts.

3: If a rocket hits the floor in front of me, it knocks me upwards a bit. Is there a way to disable this?

No, unfortunately not.

4: Projectiles hit decoration objects instead of passing through them. I realize this has to do with the removal of actors being infinitely tall, but I have that compatibility option on. Is there a way to return the old behaviour?

Restore their original height with Dehacked.

5: AFAIK, Archvile doesn't create ghosts. As a matter of fact, it seems like the crushing of corpses into pulp is removed completely, they simply disappear. Is there a way to return ghosts or at the very least, crushed bodies?

The missing crushed bodies are a bug that has been fixed but not released.
Due to the way ZDoom handles crushing monsters ghosts are not possible. The gibs are a separate object that cannot be revived.

6: Projectiles are transluscent, is there a way to make them drawn solid like in the original? (Not really a problem)

r_drawtrans 0 will make them opaque. But be prepared for other anomalies when this is done.

7: Blur sphere acts a little differently. I kind of like the change, it makes it a bit less useless of an item, but it would be nice if there were an option for the old behaviour. (Not really a problem)

They have the behavior of the Shadowsphere from Heretic. There is no compatibility option and AFAIK it isn't planned either.

Before you go suggesting to use a different port, here are the features I want to have:

- Fully Windows compatible
- Doesn't mess with Windows sound volume settings
- Doesn't crash often
- Able to see walls if you're directly against them, even in the dark
- Uncapped framerate
- Software rendering
- Damage / blood on walls (I can do without it)
- Can run in windowed mode (I can do without it)

If you want to have something closer to the original I suggest PrBoom. Except for the uncapped frame rate and the damage/blood on walls it has everything you need.

[Draconio]

Graf Zahl said:

Restore their original height with Dehacked.

Is there a patch already made for this, or will I have to do it myself?

Graf Zahl said:

r_drawtrans 0 will make them opaque. But be prepared for other anomalies when this is done.

What sort of anomalies?

Graf Zahl said:

If you want to have something closer to the original I suggest PrBoom. Except for the uncapped frame rate and the damage/blood on walls it has everything you need.

What version? I remember there was a good PRBoom version, then there was one that had a lot of bugs. I'm also not sure if it had the same sound volume problems I was having with Eternity.

[Grazza]

2.2.4 is the current stable version, and is the best one to use. (Or you could use Budko's modified version of it).

2.3.0 is at present just an experimental version.

[Use]

Are demos made with 2.2.3 compatible with 2.2.4?

[Grazza]

Should be, yes. I've never known of any to fail.

Most demos recorded with it use "complevel" though, so you wouldn't expect those to fail. I don't know how it is if the default compatibility level (-1) is used, but I'd be surprised if it didn't work.

[Draconio]

Grazza said:

(Or you could use Budko's modified version of it).

Is there a full list of the differences between this version and the official one anywhere?

[Grazza]

I don't think so, but I think this list should be accurate:

In -complevel 0, you get GF50 or GB50 gametics (like in the original game), rather than GF49/GB49.

Demo playback:
Using -warp in the command line starts playback at a specific level (only works for multi-level demos, obviously)
Using -skipsec n in the command line starts playback n seconds into the demo
Using -framescapture in the command line makes a video
You can use a walkcam during playback
You can skip to the next level during playback (in a multi-level demo)

At all times:
You can vary the gamespeed in-game. This works when playing normally, recording or when watching a demo. This should not be used when recording, unless it is a TAS demo (since it is a cheat).
There are various options for automating strafe-50. This is of course a cheat, and should only (perhaps) be used for recording a TAS demo.
You have the option of disabling palette changes on damage, bonuses or powers.
You have the option of being told (Zdoom-style) when a secret has been found.
If you choose the Boom-style HUD, then you can choose to have extra information displayed: the time elapsed so far, the current gamespeed, and additional information about how many kills each player has made.

When recording:
Using -recordfrom in the command line enables you to start recording from any point within an existing demo. This in effect gives you a savegame at any point of your choosing. (This could be a useful feature when you just want to play normally - just be recording for the purpose of using this feature in case you die.) Obviously, any demo recorded with the benefit of this feature is a TAS demo.

Summary:
These extra features are of most use when watching demos or recording TAS demos, or if you want to convert a demo into a video. But to my mind, the fact that it restores the proper running speed is reason enough to use it. Otherwise, it doesn't break anything in the official version (or isn't intended to - I'm not aware of any incompatibilities).

PS: You may need to download an extra file in order to use Budko's prboom (a library of some sort). I spent a while trying to find what it was called, but to no avail. Anyway, if when you try to run it, it says that it needs a particular file, just do a Google search for the file it mentions.

[Quasar]

Could you explain these volume problems better? Keep in mind that Eternity itself doesn't mess with any Windows settings. SDL does, however, and there is nothing I can do to fix that. The SDL guys have been extremely complacent about fixing any issues in SDL_mixer. Hell, last time I checked it wasn't even updated for the newest SDL version.

If there were a better free software sound library, I'd use it in an instant, but AFAIK, there isn't one. FMOD's license and their general attitude toward free software aren't acceptable to me.

[Draconio]

Here's the thread I posted when I was having Eternity sound problems. This was a while ago, so I'll admit it's possible that it was fixed and I didn't get word of it.

[myk]

Hmm, no wonder I've never had issues with PrBoom's music sound volume on this machine...

I use TiMidity, for which you can modify the sound volume through the menu... but using Window's MIDI you can't (it uses Windows' setting no matter what.)

But Eternity does not have a MIDI sound volume slider, even though it does support TiMidity itself through SDL.

[Graf Zahl]

Quasar said:

If there were a better free software sound library, I'd use it in an instant, but AFAIK, there isn't one. FMOD's license and their general attitude toward free software aren't acceptable to me.

Then good luck. After hours of searching I haven't found anything better. Keep in mind that writing professional quality software requires a lot of time and effort and most people who do it want to get something back in return. What's your problem with FMOD anyway? The license clearly states that it is free for non-commercial applications. And even for commercial use it is ridiculously cheap in contrast to the work that had to be done if you wanted to do it yourself. I had to work with libraries that cost 10 times as much and had much less use.

Especially regarding sound software, I have found so much crap out there (probably more than for any other type of software out there) that I am just glad to have one decent library I can use.

[Quasar]

I tried re-enabling the MIDI slider for Eternity a couple of versions ago, but using it causes the MIDI pan setting to jump to hard left. This is clearly some kind of really stupid bug in SDL_mixer. Setting the MIDI volume shouldn't affect the pan setting at all. Because SDL_mixer also doesn't provide any native MIDI pan API functions, there's no way to work around it by forcing the pan setting to center. I'm pretty sure WinMBF will have the same problem, so don't use the MIDI slider in it :/

As for FMOD, it's not free software and I want to support free software. I'm still not so sure it's legal for linking against GPL programs, and at the least it's crippling, since its stipulations would place restrictions on what you could do with the code without being forced to rewrite a large part of it. Also, there were some things I read on its official website that I didn't like.

[Graf Zahl]

Quasar said:

As for FMOD, it's not free software and I want to support free software.

Then you won't get any decent sound library!

I'm still not so sure it's legal for linking against GPL programs,

I don't see any reason why not. FMOD is just a DLL so nothing of its code becomes part of your program and it's interface is openly documented.

and at the least it's crippling, since its stipulations would place restrictions on what you could do with the code without being forced to rewrite a large part of it.

The only restriction would be the prohibition of making profit without paying for a FMOD license (but that could be circumvented if there was an alternative sound code available.)

Also, there were some things I read on its official website that I didn't like.

What precisely?


If you are so concerned about GPL issues I think the best solution would be to separate the entire low level sound code into a separate DLL and then provide one that is completely free and one that uses FMOD as a separate download. In that case FMOD wouldn't have any impact on Eternity itself but it could still profit from FMOD.

[Bashe]

Draconio said:

What sort of anomalies?

Well, without translucency, stealth monsters, instead of fading in and fading out, will basically pop up and then disappear since they depend on translucency for the fade effect.

[Graf Zahl]

Bashe said:

Well, without translucency, stealth monsters, instead of fading in and fading out, will basically pop up and then disappear since they depend on translucency for the fade effect.

And don't forget translucent walls, decals and every other translucent stuff.