IDBEHOLDL and my failing eye sight!

[Fournaridis]

I have been playing Doom since it first came out. I remember installing Doom 2 on our computer and howling in dismay when our machine could hardly handle it. We finally got it to work and...well...the rest is history. That was almost 15 years ago!

Anyways - I've always kept Doom/Doom 2/Final Doom and hundreds of WADs on a flash drive. With every new computer I purchase, I always make sure Doom is the first program to run on it.

But, I have a problem. And, BEFORE you call it blasphemy, please, please, PLEASE hear me out and pretend that you were in my position. I mean, I imagine since you all post here, you must love Doom just as much, right?

My eyesight is beginning to fail me. Horribly. This terrifies me more than anything, as I'm an avid reader, writer and gamer.

Not a day goes by where I don't play at least ONE random level of Doom. The problem is, it's getting to the point where I can no longer see. At all.

I don't use cheats, but, I gave the IDBEHOLDL a shot - and, it really did help. Those light-amp goggles really work. It's a shame, because the lighting is what MAKES Doom. But, put yourself in my shoes. Either I play without the clever lighting....or, I don't play at all.

And, believe me, there's no way I could go without playing this game. With my eyesight being the way it is, I can NOT see anything - even when it's SLIGHTLY dark, in the game. Example : Doom 2 Map2 (Underhalls) is completely unplayable. I can't even see my gun, let alone the enemies in front of me.

So, here comes the question : is there any way I can bind "IDBEHOLDL" to a certain key on my keyboard, while I play? Or, am I stuck perpetually typing in "IDBEHOLDL" every couple minutes?

Sorry this is so lengthy and whiny, I just don't know what else to do!

[NiuHaka]

Glasses? Or are you literally going blind?...

[Fournaridis]

NiuHaka said:

Glasses? Or are you literally going blind?...

Slowly but surely, I am going blind.

I have several surgeries scheduled - however, in the meantime, I DO need something to do.

Is there any way this is possible?

[Jimmy]

You can hack the COLORMAP so that everything appears at full brightness. It's already been done but I can't remember where, sorry.

[Jodwin]

What port do you use? In prboom+ (at least) IDBEHOLDL lasts until you exit the level.

[Fournaridis]

Jodwin said:

What port do you use? In prboom+ (at least) IDBEHOLDL lasts until you exit the level.

I use zDoom, so, unfortunately, it only lasts for a couple minutes.

[TimeOfDeath666]

type this in console: (x is any key)

bind x "give infrared"

but the hacked colormap that Jimmy mentions would be better

[Fournaridis]

eternal slumber said:

type this in console: (x is any key)

bind x "give infrared"

but the hacked colormap that Jimmy mentions would be better

This works splendidly. Thanks for your help, really - thank you!

[Hellbent]

You can also load up a level you want to play in a map editor and select all the sectors and then use the +16 light increment feature to increase the light level for all the sectors in the entire level. Increase it by 3 or 4 or even 5 and you'll still get some of the varied lighting while most of the level will be bright. Do you have a map editor?

[Jodwin]

Hellbent said:

You can also load up a level you want to play in a map editor and select all the sectors and then use the +16 light increment feature to increase the light level for all the sectors in the entire level. Increase it by 3 or 4 or even 5 and you'll still get some of the varied lighting while most of the level will be bright. Do you have a map editor?

Well you could get a similar effect by increasing gamma.

[Creaphis]

Jimmy91 said:

You can hack the COLORMAP so that everything appears at full brightness. It's already been done but I can't remember where, sorry.

It's been done in the very first pwad uploaded to /idgames, ever.

I'm sorry to hear about your eyesight. Good luck.

[Koko Ricky]

Very sorry to hear about your eye sight, but I'm optimistic about the future of medicine. I remain confident that at some point you will be able to restore your vision.

[Reisal]

Any ZDoom based port that has the "Bright" sector lighting mode will help.

[Blastfrog]

Damn, that really sucks. Since you have surgeries scheduled, will they be able to repair and stop the blindness, or only slow it down? For your sake, I really hope the former. Get better.


Anyway, I'd recommend increasing your monitor brightness setting in combination with increasing Doom's gamma setting.

Since I feel bad for you, I'll make you a colormap that only fades to half brightness. Expect it sometime within the week.

[_bruce_]

I hope the surgeries can bring back some of your sight or at least stop the process!

Good luck.

[kmc]

It provides a grim outlook on our community that a man with a disability feels the need to provide a disclaimer like this. I wish you the best of luck with your surgery (:

[ultimatecarl]

Doom can run on freaking calculators now. Whenever we finally finish technology that can just beam stuff directly into your brain it'll have a Doom port within a week, being beaten only by a version of Linux. :P

[DeumReaper]

Sodaholic said:
Since you have surgeries scheduled, will they be able to repair and stop the blindness, or only slow it down?

My optometrist told me that if your eyesight keeps getting worse every year, you should only consider eye surgery when the blindness starts to 'slow down'(e.g. your prescription stops changing significantly from the previous year), so that after you get the surgery, it doesn't degrade rapidly from there.

[Blzut3]

There's also `r_visibility 255` in ZDoom. Not the same as the light amp powerup, but definitely brighter than normal.

[40oz]

I used to have a coworker that was temporarily blind until she got some surgery and was able to slowly recover. She just woke up one morning and couldn't see anything. She said it was without a doubt the most terrifying thing she ever experienced. I really hope for the best for you. Being a doom player myself, the thought of someone losing their sight and not being able to play anymore is a tear-jerker. I know most OpenGL source ports have a slider called "Ambient Lighting" when turned all the way up changes all the lighting to 255. Ideally the wad Creaphis linked to should be what you're looking for.

[Fournaridis]

I appreciate the well wishes - really, people - thanks. I know that this is like, my first post here, but I really didn't expect such a tight knit community to be so welcoming and accepting of someone new.

Thanks a lot, really.

With any luck, the surgeries should work just fine. The ONLY DOWNSIDE is that for several days afterward, I will LITERALLY have to keep my head facing down, 24/7.

Thank God I can still read books, and adjust my laptop screen accordingly!

Everyone's advice, help and instructions has been beyond helpful. Really, you all managed to solve my problem entirely! Thanks for being understanding!

[GreyGhost]

Good luck with the surgery, hope it goes well. I'm buying new glasses - which aren't cheap - and have finally admitted to myself that I need a pair of readers for the computer.