Question about the ps Doom

[Larzuk]

I just bought the ps version of doom today and started playing. First thing I noticed was that there seemed to be no music at all. Its all ambient like the N64 game. Also the sound affects are the same as the n64 version as well. Was there a reason for all of this or is there no real answer to why the original music was taken out?

Though I must admit I do liked how they blended doom 2 characters into the original levels. I dont like the fact they took alot of levels out though.

[Koko Ricky]

The sounds were beefed up for the PSX and N64 version by Aubrey Hodges, who also did the dark ambient music for both games. Many levels had to be taken out due to limited space. About 16 or so are missing alltogether. The use of dark ambient music was likely to give the game a more frightening atmosphere, whereas up tempo heavy metal music gives it more of an action feel.

[Nuxius]

There is music, it's just really quiet by default. I always found it best to set the sound effects slider to a little over half way to the right, leaving the music slider all the way to the right, and turning the volume on the TV up.

I imagine there were several reasons why they changed it. For starters, it's obvious they were going for a different feel (atmosphere) with PSX Doom, with the colored lighting and everything, and leaving the music the same as the original would have been out of place with the new decor. Also, it was a CD game, and at the time they were expected to have CD quality music, and chip tunes that sounded like they came from the NES/SNES era just weren't it. Of course, listening to half the licensed crap soundtracks that are in videogames nowdays, sometimes I yearn for the glorious SNES tunes of the past. But I digress. *sigh*


EDIT: Atch, GoatLord posted while I was typing this... whatever. :p

[Captain Red]

Ok, there's only so much PSX doom dissin' (ie any) I'm going to hear before I intervene.

The PSX mood was awesome. The music, the sound effects and the coloured lighting make it my favorite unmodified version of doom on any platform. It also an awesome example of what was groovy about console ports in those days. It's worth owning doom on more then one platform because they all had at least one cool new feature that the other versions didn't have (except the Snes version. Seriously guys, it sucked).

Compare it to this Gen (or even last gen) console ports. The only thing that makes Xbox doom 3 worth owning if you have the PC version is 4 player original doom split screen (can I get a 'FUCK YEAH'?). The actual game is exactly the same with one or two room missing :(

[Nuxius]

Who was dissin PSX Doom? Only thing negative anyone said about it was that it was missing levels, surely you can't think taking levels out is a good thing.

Anyway, I loved PSX Doom, my review on Gamespot is proof enough of that. :p

Also, I quite liked the SNES version. Certainly way better than the god awful 32X one. Now that one was bad. That and 3DO Doom, only good thing about it was the music.

[kristus]

In the intarweb age, splitscreen is a seriously obsolete feature.

[Captain Red]

Nuxius said:
Who was dissin PSX Doom? Only thing negative anyone said about it was that it was missing levels, surely you can't think taking levels out is a good thing.

I guess my fanboy senses where tinging for nothing =(.

kristus said:
In the intarweb age, splitscreen is a seriously obsolete feature.

Nothing will ever replace the split screen for "hey-guys-we-got-an-hour-to-kill-lets-play-some-co-op" convenience.

PS paying money to play consoles online is for spoiled rich kids and space terrorists.

[Vegeta]

kristus said:

In the intarweb age, splitscreen is a seriously obsolete feature.

With it you don't need to have two consoles to play the game with your brother or friends at your house. Also, it's very fun to comment the game with the other person playing without microphones or chat.

[Larzuk]

Well as of right now, Ive made it all the way to The Focus on doom2 on ultra violent. I must say the music fits better than the original doom2 music..

How many new levels are there anyways? Also Im thinking about geting final doom but Im wondering if its butchered up aswell.

[Richo Rosai]

Was it really space limitations that caused levels to be cut? I mean, we're talking CDs here, not carts.

I either read somewhere or theorized myself (can't remember which) that the levels were originally cut out and butchered to fit and run on the Jaguar and/or 32X carts and were just re-used for the PS and Saturn (and GBA iirc) Dooms because it was easier to do. As for the Doom 2 levels that were missing (notably Gotcha!), that's a mystery to me. Edit: Unless it was a design choice to save the Spider Mastermind for the last level (which would make sense now that I think about it, as Dis was cut and the SM was replaced by hell knights in The Crusher).

The SNES port didn't suck all that much, by the way. Nowhere near as badly as the 32X version.

[Stealthy Ivan]

Captain Red said:

Nothing will ever replace the split screen for "hey-guys-we-got-an-hour-to-kill-lets-play-some-co-op" convenience.

True, unless you have multiple computers in your house. :)God I love my LAN parties!!!

[Ledmeister]

Richo Rosai said:

I either read somewhere or theorized myself (can't remember which) that the levels were originally cut out and butchered to fit and run on the Jaguar and/or 32X carts and were just re-used for the PS and Saturn (and GBA iirc) Dooms because it was easier to do.

Yes, the 24 Jaguar maps were simply rubber-stamped into this port. The remaining 35 maps in PlayStation Doom are much better IMHO.
Also, some maps like Gotcha!, Chasm, and Living End were cut because it would slow the engine down to draw those large areas. It's the same reason why other big rooms on some other maps (frex The Crusher) are scaled down.
More about the maps in JagDoom and other console ports here.

[40oz]

The 32x version had gnarly music though.

[DeumReaper]

Larzuk said:
Also Im thinking about geting final doom but Im wondering if its butchered up aswell.

Beware, Final Doom PSX has much more missing in terms of levels. IIRC (don't have my passwords atm) there were only half of the total amount (~30, if u added from both iwads, check gamefaqs for the level list...); however, it does come with a good amount of master levels to redeem it. The engine is the same as the other PSX doom.

[Ledmeister]

DeumReaper said:

Beware, Final Doom PSX has much more missing in terms of levels. IIRC (don't have my passwords atm) there were only half of the total amount (~30, if u added from both iwads, check gamefaqs for the level list...); however, it does come with a good amount of master levels to redeem it. The engine is the same as the other PSX doom.

PSX Final Doom has 30 maps divided into 3 Episodes: 13 Master Levels maps, 11 TNT maps, 6 Plutonia. Most are decent copies of the PC originals.
Click for level list, general comparison to PC version, map images.

[Larzuk]

Thanks for the info. I wonder how it can go from 55 levels all the way to 30. Is the msuic the same way as it is in the ps doom?

[Captain Red]

Yeah, the music is in the same style, but mostly new tunes. to be honest, final doom for PSX is a little disappointing when compared to the first PSX doom. it's still more PSX doom goodness though.

[Koko Ricky]

I think PSX Final Doom was really something, because it gave you a unique console experience: Levels from Final Doom and Master Levels, levels you wouldn't otherwise have had the chance to play on your tv without some serious hacking. It also contained a handful of new ambient tracks on the first 8 or so levels.

[Nuxius]

Also, the framerate is typically worse (although more consistent) in PSX Final Doom.

Overall I liked PSX Final Doom, but it was disappointing that so few of the PC Final Doom's levels got converted over.

Larzuk said:

How many new levels are there anyways?

Hell Gate and Hell Beneath came from the Jaguar/32X versions, Twilight Descends, Threshold of Pain, The Marshes, The Mansion and Club Doom were new to PSX Doom.

GoatLord said:

I think PSX Final Doom was really something, because it gave you a unique console experience: Levels from Final Doom and Master Levels, levels you wouldn't otherwise have had the chance to play on your tv without some serious hacking.

Of course nowadays we have the X-Box/360 versions.

[DJShrimpy]

Nuxius said:

Hell Beneath came from the Jaguar/32X versions,

The Hell Beneath in PSX is the same as the PC version, I think you mean Hell Keep, which is a new map form the Jaguar version regardless of the PC map name.

[Nuxius]

Yeah, you're right, it was Hell Keep.

[Koko Ricky]

Final Doom PSX was the kind of thing I would play in the dark, with the sound turned up and my palms sweating bullets. Nowadays my Dooming takes up significantly less of my time, although every now and again I like to smoke a bowl and then blast through a level or two in the game, for a truly immersive experience.

[YMB]

GoatLord said:

Final Doom PSX was the kind of thing I would play in the dark, with the sound turned up and my palms sweating bullets. Nowadays my Dooming takes up significantly less of my time, although every now and again I like to smoke a bowl and then blast through a level or two in the game, for a truly immersive experience.

Dooming while high... tsk tsk.

[rich77]

Yeah, I liked the ps version. It was the first doom port I ever played. And I think it's cool that you can download the psxsound and psxmusic wads to use in zdoom/gzdoom.