Favorite Source Port? (Multiple Choice Poll)

[DaniJ]

The unfortunte thing about jDoom multiplayer is that atm the client side prediction is not very hot, so unless your all playing with good connections you WILL see some strange things going on.

Multiplayer over LAN is pretty much flawless though.

Considering your priorities I would suggest you get a couple of ports. One to use for single player with great graphics and another to use with multiplayer.

[Gnarzuul]

Most of you here have way more experience with source ports than I do.
So, in the interest of learning, I'll ask you:

Which are the BEST, most RELIABLE Source Ports available?
If you list more than one, how would you rate them?
Specifically, I'm looking for Ports that work well on a variety of systems, with no (or a bare minimum of) hassles.

To tell you the truth, I've had nothing but bad luck with Source Ports in general. Zdoom crashes, Boom has no sound, Vavoom works (but crashes when I try it with Strife and Hexen) etc...

My preference in OS is Windows (we have Windows ME), but if you know of a classic DOS Port, I'll be interested to hear about that too.

Thanks everyone!

[Bashe]

Well, I'm not going to bash Windows ME, but hmmm...I use Zdoom, but since you're having trouble, try anything you can find in here. I'm sure you'll find something you like.

[myk]

Gnarzuul said:
To tell you the truth, I've had nothing but bad luck with Source Ports in general. Zdoom crashes, Boom has no sound, Vavoom works (but crashes when I try it with Strife and Hexen) etc...

I'll admit Boom's Allegro sound code is one of the worst... if you get it to run the sound volume is low and some sounds get messed up. If you haven't, try PrBoom v2.2.6 instead. Eternity is also similar, and Quasar ported MBF to Windows. Those can all function like Boom but are Windows native.

My preference in OS is Windows (we have Windows ME), but if you know of a classic DOS Port, I'll be interested to hear about that too.

It's true that newer engines in their latest incarnations have likely been tested more on Windows XP and might not be as stable on older systems, but make sure you don't have shit running in the background that might be causing conflicts.

Also, any DOS engine will work within Windows ME, so you don't have to start up DOS to use those.

As for DOS engines, you have ZDoom v1.17c (it's okay but has no music, and ugly z-clipping like Zdoom v1.22 does,) Boom or MBF (with lame sound as noted above,) some older versions of Eternity (though it's annoying that the Chaingunner uses the pistol sound... it sounds pretty lame) and SMMU.

[Grazza]

Gnarzuul said:

Which are the BEST, most RELIABLE Source Ports available?

There is no simple answer to this, since performance, reliability and suitability depend on your system (hardware and software) and your priorities/preferences. A few comments:

Try several. Check that their resources aren't conflicting by putting each port in its own folder (directory) together with the iwads (on that point, note that Zdoom and Legacy both use fmod.dll, and can refuse to work at all if they find the "wrong" version of this file).

Don't just accept the default settings. Go through the in-game menus and the config files and change them to suit your preferences. Read the documentation.

For ports that use SDL, you may need to download the most recent versions of SDL.dll, SDL_mixer.dll and SDL_net.dll. Some "issues with these ports" are actually just SDL bugs that have since been corrected. I believe Budko's PrBoom contains the current versions of the SDL files.

If you tell us what your preferences are, it will be easier to recommend which ports might suit you best. For instance, what is most important to you: superb graphics, behavioural compatibility with the original games and early engines, editability (including Boom and dehacked support) or additional gameplay and design options? Or are you just looking for a straight, unaltered Windows port of one of the DOS engines?

[Gnarzuul]

Thank you for the replies!

Well, I guess ultimately I'm interested in playability.
Which ports run the most wads, regardless of how the wad was
designed. I guess it's obvious that I'm new to this stuff...
I've been using good ol' Doom 95 for a while now, but I've run
into a few wads that need different source ports. Some good, some bad...but I still want to play them! Lately, I've been checking out Deus Vult with Legacy...and, fortunately, it's been running great.

Now here's the weird part: I'm sure you're all familiar with the infamous "Nuts.wad". Well, I'd like to play it. I tried Boom, but there was no sound. I've tried PrBoom, but for whatever reason, it won't load wads other than the Iwad. (I'll look at it some more tomorrow---I'm sure there's probably something I'm not doing right.)

I was curious if you all know of a "work horse" source port that runs everything (including Strife, Heretic, and Hexen).
I guess in the long run, I'll just have to try a whole bunch of source ports to see which ones work for me...

[sirjuddington]

Gnarzuul said:

I was curious if you all know of a "work horse" source port that runs everything (including Strife, Heretic, and Hexen).

ZDoom supports all those games.

[chaoscorp]

well
i tried today zdoom and zdaem0n(older code) and BOTH OF THEM ARE A SHIT!!!! They crash every second. My god!!! how´s about coding a new engine without crashes that support many IWADS(without limits).
I was making a new mod but im sick and tired of restarting ZDOOM and ZDAEMON all the time.
Do somebody of you know a similar engine to Zdoom?(that doesn´t crash!!! :(
I´m writing THIS to you for saying:

XP Pro+ Zdoom + PWAD = SHIT!!!!

Make a campaign (i don´t know ) against Zdoom!!!. Help me

Help me.... I tried Legacy but it has many bugs (but the CODE is stable).
HELP!!!!!!
HELP!!!!

[Piezo]

chaoscorp said:

XP Pro+ Zdoom + PWAD = SHIT!!!!

That combination should work perfectly. What version of ZDoom are you using? 2.0.96 is the current standard.

[chaoscorp]

i´m using the same version as you. 96 and it´s a shit!!! i´m so mad mood because of ZDOOM. I could use gun for shooting at Zdoom!

If i play in fullscreen , then it restarts my pc(it´s always different).
I´ve no viruses in my machine . My pc is clean and is updated. So... Zdoom is the problem.

[Piezo]

I'm afraid not. Something is seriously wrong, and it has nothing to do with ZDoom. It sounds like you have a bad RAM chip or something. Either way, ZDoom is not to blame for your problem.
Edit: troubleshooting error.

[myk]

chaoscorp said:
Do somebody of you know a similar engine to Zdoom?

You could try Eternity. In respect to added features and customizability it's like ZDoom, the difference it's that it takes a more purist view of the Doom code, or perhaps EDGE (quite customizable, but I'm not sure how stable it is currently.)

[chaoscorp]

Thx... But my conclusion is:

Doomsday = Best (But my computer is a trash. So i can´t use it)
CSdoom= Counter Strike Doom??? That´s not a good mix.
Zdoom = Crashes (Why???)
Zdaemon = nice and crashy
Eternety = ohhhh. What a good buffer overflow crash
PRBoom = Sssssoundddssss.... gooddddd
Boom = forget it

So the best useful source port for me is...... Tada!!!!

Doom Legacy:

Pro:

+3dfloors
+Fast and compatible code
+Water effects
+Dehacked Support
+Own basic script(easy)
+Play with a friend if you are bored

Contra:
-It crashes in opengl mode(thx to my graphic card)
-Bad Netcode
-You cannot put more weapons&monsters(That´s a nice shit.You can only replace)
-memfree cmd doesn´t exist.So it takes only 20MB from your memory.

[myk]

chaoscorp said:
CSdoom= Counter Strike Doom??? That´s not a good mix.

Heh, no, that stands for Client/Server. It's the predecessor of ZDaemon and Skulltag. Not really used nowadays since the other two are cleaner and more stable.

Zdoom = Crashes (Why???)
Zdaemon = nice and crashy
Eternety = ohhhh. What a good buffer overflow crash

These engines work fine for most people; if you can get some output from your system when they crash, someone might be able to tell you what is conflicting with them.

[chaoscorp]

let me tell ya something:

.....:::CSDOOM... That was a joke.

[Grazza]

chaoscorp said:

That was a joke.

Where is teh funney?

[iori]

Grazza said:

Where is teh funney?

not present unfortunately.

CSDOOM is a shit!@ I`m so mad mood cause of CSDOOM.

[Bashe]

If Zdoom and it's offspring are crashing for you, you should try and find something wrong with your computer, even if you think it's clean. It may not be, who knows.

Well, at least he said the best port to him was Legacy...it could have been "LEGACY IS BETTUR THEN EVARYTHNG!!@~"

[chaoscorp]

What do YOU all want?

LEGACY IS THE BEST PORT!!!!

[Scero]

Yeah, legacy is nice and all, but i am more of a EDGE person myself. I started modding for DosDoom quite a few years ago, and once you get used to DDF and RTS you really don´t want to trade that power away. It is to bad that the EDGE team seems to have a life outside the doom community, so updates are kinda slow. But hey! They are doing it for free, so im not complaining.

Although i do keep zDoom and Doomsday around for casual play. ZDoom for all the great wads (ACTION!) and doomsday for the eye candy (SITTERS!).

Just because legacy works for you dosen´t mean it "IS THE BEST PORT!!!!". It is for you perhaps, but the great thing about the fact that there are more than one source port means that everyone can find one they like modding for and playing with.

Im my opinion the whole discussion about which port is the best is pointless, since it is a matter of personal preference.

But i think we all know that the most popular one is zDoom since it works for most people, can do pretty nifty stuff, has slopes and runs on older hardware.


EDIT: After having read through the whole thread once again i realised that i have misunderstood the whole thing. Heh, the first two paragrafs do kinda sorta in a way relate to the original question thou....

[cycloid]

i prefer eternity, much more of a doom-like doom port, which zdoom isnt. zdoom feels more quake-like to me, which isn't neccesarily a bad thing it's just not my cup of tea.

for demo recording i use prboom or winmbf.

[insertwackynamehere]

chaoscorp said:

What do YOU all want?

LEGACY IS THE BEST PORT!!!!

are you trying to troll? why are you so against ZDoom, from your list before it sounds like most ports you try crash. how much memory do you have?

[Dron]

chaoscorp said:

What do YOU all want?

LEGACY IS THE BEST PORT!!!!

yeah, legacy is obviously better then zdoom. i mean it doesnt matter that zdoom runs for nearly EVERYONE and crashes for no reason for nearly everyone.

[Csonicgo]

zdoom used to crash on my viao- yet legacy ran. oddness.

[TheDarkArchon]

chaoscorp said:

Pro:

+3dfloors
+Fast and compatible code
+Water effects
+Dehacked Support
+Own basic script(easy)
+Play with a friend if you are bored

1. So does EDGE (which owns Legacy, IMO)
2. Someone doesn't use savegames.
3. So does every almost EVERY SOURCEPORT
4. It doesn't support the Boom extensions. 'nuff said.
5. It's also badly implemented: Most WAD managers can't access FS in the level header.
6. Online play >> Splitscreen

[DooMAD]

chaoscorp said:

-memfree cmd doesn´t exist.So it takes only 20MB from your memory.

The parameter for memory is simply:

-mb XX

where "XX" is the amount of memory you want to use.

chaoscorp said:

-You cannot put more weapons&monsters(That´s a nice shit.You can only replace)

From what I understand, you can also make use of things and codepointers from Hexen and Heretic, you don't necessarily have to replace a Doom item.

TheDarkArchon said:

4. It doesn't support the Boom extensions. 'nuff said.
5. It's also badly implemented: Most WAD managers can't access FS in the level header.
6. Online play >> Splitscreen

Legacy 2.0 is currently being developed, which will have BEX, ACS and new netcode, so those issues will no longer be a problem.

[Mindless Rambler]

Why has no one heralded JDoom as the best source port? It is.

[Bashe]

Mindless Rambler said:

Why has no one heralded JDoom as the best source port? It is.

In your opinion. Period.

[Grazza]

Mindless Rambler said:

Why has no one heralded JDoom as the best source port? It is.

Trollish pimping of ports will land you in Losers. Don't do it a third time.

In case you really don't get it:
Stating your preferences and your reasons for them: OK
Proclaiming something as objectively "best" without further comment, when it is a matter of personal preference and priorities: Not OK

[chaoscorp]

DooMAD said:

The parameter for memory is simply:

-mb XX

where "XX" is the amount of memory you want to use.



From what I understand, you can also make use of things and codepointers from Hexen and Heretic, you don't necessarily have to replace a Doom item.



Legacy 2.0 is currently being developed, which will have BEX, ACS and new netcode, so those issues will no longer be a problem.

And you think that "-mb" is a great implemented parameter???? Look at the code in visual c++ and you will see----> nothing----> that means that the Legacy just didn´t put that parameter for some reasons jet.
Nice
An for you all funny guys:
LEGACY IS THE BEST PORT!!!!
and Zdoom crashes .That´s for me the only reason that I changed(again) to Legacy.