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bradharding

DOOM Retro v5.3 (updated March 3, 2024)

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What I don't like about this source port:

- Frame rate locked to 35 fps
- Very dark with no ability to increase brightness
- Mouse sensitivity feels very weird and seems to accelerate when moving the mouse fast. Small movements feel weird and cause me to miss nearly all distance shots.
- No ability to customize controls

Wait... why does anybody use this source port again? Odamex does this retro styled Doom better in almost every conceivable way.

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You can customize some controls by modifying the configuration file ... but not all controls so far. The only thing I really miss is my "right mouse button = use/open" I use in other ports...

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RUSH said:

What I don't like about this source port:

- Frame rate locked to 35 fps
- Very dark with no ability to increase brightness
- Mouse sensitivity feels very weird and seems to accelerate when moving the mouse fast. Small movements feel weird and cause me to miss nearly all distance shots.
- No ability to customize controls

Wait... why does anybody use this source port again? Odamex does this retro styled Doom better in almost every conceivable way.

You're sadly way off the mark, this port looks and feels a lot different to Odamex.

If you want a more new school port with uncapped framerate etc then yeah, forget about this one, this is a fork of Chocolate Doom, more streamlined with several aesthetic differences.

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Hmm ok my bad. I just don't see why anybody would use this over ZDoom or Odamex.

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RUSH said:

Hmm ok my bad. I just don't see why anybody would use this over ZDoom or Odamex.


It's just a different flavour of Chocolate Doom. A personal thing that someone has chosen to share with us. You've also got to remember that the port itself is only a few months old and it has come on leaps and bounds since it was first shown.

Personally, I always like to see a new source port as they all offer something different while retaining the core of Doom. :)

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RUSH said:

Hmm ok my bad. I just don't see why anybody would use this over ZDoom or Odamex.

For starters ... it looks totally different...

Also, you're seeing everything through your eyes, for example, Odamex is used mainly for faithful multiplayer, not for single player. It's not even one of the popular ports.

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RUSH said:

- Frame rate locked to 35 fps

Just like the original DOOM.


- Very dark with no ability to increase brightness

Press the F11 key. Just like the original DOOM, and every other source port out there.


- Mouse sensitivity feels very weird and seems to accelerate when moving the mouse fast. Small movements feel weird and cause me to miss nearly all distance shots.

Mouse handling is the same as Chocolate DOOM. Mouse acceleration can be disabled in doomretro.cfg.


- No ability to customize controls

Again: doomretro.cfg.

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Ehh I guess I've just been way too spoiled with all the other source port features and accessibility. Kudos to whoever still plays Doom this way...

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RUSH said:

Hmm ok my bad. I just don't see why anybody would use this over ZDoom or Odamex.


It's a testimony time:

I like ZDoom, but it steered a little bit too much from the core. Not that it's bad itsefl--I use it and enjoy it, but for new WADs with all them new features and stuff. When it comes to classic levels it feels not right. And that's the place where Doom Retro comes into the picture.

I like the attention to the detail, like different palette (with additional saturation in 1.5) which gives the feeling from the old Doom. New LCDs display quite differentely comparing to CRTs. Or transparency--in advanced ports you can turn it on but only for whole element, while in Doom Retro sprites has been adjusted, for instance in soul sphere it looks more natural. And then there's blood in right colors (green and blue, apart from red). Or more intensive red on switches. It's actually a case of Exactly What It Says On The Tin--it's refined Doom. I think it works, because it's in hands of one person with a precise vision. It's an author's (auteur's?) project.

You don't like it? Cool. What is awesome about Doom, it's that everyone can find their own source port of choice. And there's no need for any kind of hostility.

Doom Retro is quite young project and still under a heavy development. Feedback is a good thing, but let it be a constructive feedback.

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^
Indeed.

Doom Retro has now actually replaced Chocolate Doom for me. I use GZDoom for the fancy stuff and Doom Retro for the older school stuff. One advantage for me is that I can use my controller (and DR even has rumble support - take that GZDoom!)on both ports on my telly without any finicky adjustments.

PS: @ Brad: Is there any chance of supporting 5.1 surround sometime down the line? That would be cool. :)

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Krazov said:

...lots of positive stuff...


This. Thanks again, Krazov! :)

Average said:

^
Indeed.

Doom Retro has now actually replaced Chocolate Doom for me. I use GZDoom for the fancy stuff and Doom Retro for the older school stuff. One advantage for me is that I can use my controller (and DR even has rumble support - take that GZDoom!)on both ports on my telly without any finicky adjustments.

PS: @ Brad: Is there any chance of supporting 5.1 surround sometime down the line? That would be cool. :)


Hmmm... 5.1... Well, I have been working on SDL2.0 support, which does allow 5.1, so maybe it'll make it into DOOM RETRO v1.666, whenever that will be...

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Is there a way to bind the right mouse button so that I can hold it to run? If not, how do I turn always run on? I absolutely hate having to hold shift or any other key to run, I'd rather have it on the mouse or just have it enabled by default.

Pretty cool otherwise. A launcher would be great too, like where I could select which level I wanna play, unless I'm just being a dummy and missed it.

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Yes, use capslock as plums said. As for the launcher, if you run doomretro.exe without any command-line parameters, a launcher will appear.

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I don't get a launcher, unless I'm using the wrong term. Like the window that pops up when you run zdoom, lets you choose skill, start level etc.

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Doom Retro has simpler launcher, but if you are acustomed to ZDoom, then you can use ZDoom Launcher. Both ZDoom and Doom Retro use the command line parameters, so they are compatible on that field. I use it to manage all my source ports and WADs.

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I have a couple more 'small requests' if that's okay. Well, three actually!

1: Is it possible to make the rumble feature a little more pronounced? I'm using a Logitech F710 and while using rumble in emulators and the like it's quite forceful. In DR it's a little weak. A short, sharp burst would be nice.

2: Would it be possible to have a toggle option that would allow for the Doom 64 'key required' sound? You know, when you try a door the key icon on the HUD flashes? Well, in D64 there's a little noise that plays too. That too would be nice.

3: Lastly, another Doom 64 inspired thing. A menu option to choose between the vanilla chainsaw and the D64 chainsaw. I requested that it be added to Gifty's Smooth Doom mod and he graciously added it. I really enjoy it. The D64 is so much more fun. It's the most useless chainsaw design ever... unless you're mowing down demons from Hell!


So, those 3 requests plus the above 5.1 request brings the total up to four but if you implemented them I'd be your best buddy-mate-pal in the world. Promise!

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Average said:

I have a couple more 'small requests' if that's okay. Well, three actually!

1: Is it possible to make the rumble feature a little more pronounced? I'm using a Logitech F710 and while using rumble in emulators and the like it's quite forceful. In DR it's a little weak. A short, sharp burst would be nice.

2: Would it be possible to have a toggle option that would allow for the Doom 64 'key required' sound? You know, when you try a door the key icon on the HUD flashes? Well, in D64 there's a little noise that plays too. That too would be nice.

3: Lastly, another Doom 64 inspired thing. A menu option to choose between the vanilla chainsaw and the D64 chainsaw. I requested that it be added to Gifty's Smooth Doom mod and he graciously added it. I really enjoy it. The D64 is so much more fun. It's the most useless chainsaw design ever... unless you're mowing down demons from Hell!


So, those 3 requests plus the above 5.1 request brings the total up to four but if you implemented them I'd be your best buddy-mate-pal in the world. Promise!


Thanks for your suggestions, Average!

I actually do own a Logitech F710 (as well as Xbox 360 and One controllers). When implementing the rumble feature I thought I couldn't get it working on the F710, and so left it for another time. But now you've mentioned it, I've tested it again and can feel a slight rumble through the stupid thing. When doing a rumble effect, you pick a value between 0 and 65536. The values I've chosen when you're injured or fire a weapon are fine for the Xbox controllers, but they need to be almost doubled to get the same sort of result on the the F710. I'll make a fix soon.

As for the DOOM 64 features: in short: no. The key sound might be nice, but there's already the player "oof" sound when you try to open a door you don't have the key for. For the chainsaw suggestion, I think its beyond the scope of this port. For a mod these ideas would be fine, but I feel they deviate a bit too far from Vanilla Doom. Thanks again, though! :)

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With regard to rumble on the Logitech controller I may have a small insight. I don't own any of the F series but I do own the prior controller offerings from Logitech, the cordless and corded Logitech Rumblepad 2. When I use the corded version in a Playstation emulator the rumble is very much present and forceful. When I use the cordless one on the default driver settings I don't feel any rumble at all come through. However, if I go into controller properties in the control panel and go to the tab for force feedback there's a slider which I can move over to 150-200%, which makes the rumble come through on the emulator (albeit still less forceful than the corded controller on default settings).

Obviously Logitech made their wireless controllers have less pronounced rumble with a mind toward battery life. I can't say for sure if the F series drivers still have a force feedback slider in the controller properties but it's probably worth checking.

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SuperflyJohnson said:

With regard to rumble on the Logitech controller I may have a small insight. I don't own any of the F series but I do own the prior controller offerings from Logitech, the cordless and corded Logitech Rumblepad 2. When I use the corded version in a Playstation emulator the rumble is very much present and forceful. When I use the cordless one on the default driver settings I don't feel any rumble at all come through. However, if I go into controller properties in the control panel and go to the tab for force feedback there's a slider which I can move over to 150-200%, which makes the rumble come through on the emulator (albeit still less forceful than the corded controller on default settings).

Obviously Logitech made their wireless controllers have less pronounced rumble with a mind toward battery life. I can't say for sure if the F series drivers still have a force feedback slider in the controller properties but it's probably worth checking.


Thanks for the info. It seems that the slider in the "Logitech Profiler" is only for DirectInput mode, and it only goes up to 150%. So changing back to XInput mode and using the controller: there's no change. After some further playing around with the code I've found I can increase the rumble event values and still get decent response from both the F710 and Xbox controllers, so I'll just do that.

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Hi all! I've just released v1.5.1 of DOOM RETRO. This release contains a whole bunch of small tweaks and bug fixes. As always, visit doomretro.com to download and a full list of changes.

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Thanks for replying and thanks so much for tweaking the rumble on the F710. I'm off to try it out right now!

Just a heads up and I probably should've mentioned it earlier. I use a Bluetooth keyboard on my PC and I always play with autorun on. As there's no flag in the menu or cfg file that I see I have to turn it on every game with the caps lock key. The caps lock doesn't turn off when I close Doom. I presume it's to do with the Bluetooth... Using a Logitech k811 keyboard and internal Bluetooth on my Asus Z87 Pro mobo. Not usre if it's worth your time fixing but thought I'd mention it anyway. :)

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Average said:

Thanks for replying and thanks so much for tweaking the rumble on the F710. I'm off to try it out right now!


You're welcome! Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

Just a heads up and I probably should've mentioned it earlier. I use a Bluetooth keyboard on my PC and I always play with autorun on. As there's no flag in the menu or cfg file that I see I have to turn it on every game with the caps lock key. The caps lock doesn't turn off when I close Doom. I presume it's to do with the Bluetooth... Using a Logitech k811 keyboard and internal Bluetooth on my Asus Z87 Pro mobo. Not usre if it's worth your time fixing but thought I'd mention it anyway. :)


jUST TESTED IT MYSELF, AND CAPS LOCK ISN'T TURNING OFF FOR ME EITHER. :/

Thanks again, I'll look into this as well.

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Just barely a week since the last one, but already a small but meaty point release, DOOM RETRO v1.5.2, is available for download! This version includes several obligatory bug fixes, as well as a couple of welcome new features. It may be downloaded here, and the changes are as follows:

  • Monster targets are now completely restored upon loading a game, regardless of whether they were targeting the player, or they were infighting.
  • A Boss Brain no longer needs to be in MAP30 for the monsters it spawns to telefrag the player.
  • A bug has been fixed whereby monsters were allowed to be above or below other monsters after teleporting, when normally they wouldn’t be.
  • Improvements have been made to the position of some elements in the menu and HUD.
  • Optimizations have been made to the loading of maps, and the lighting of the player’s weapon.
  • A bug has been fixed whereby the game could crash when trying to draw the player’s weapon in pitch black areas in some instances.
  • A bug has been fixed whereby the CAPSLOCK key was not being turned off when quitting the game.
  • Pressing CAPSLOCK during a game will now display an ALWAYS RUN ON/OFF message. If when quitting the game the CAPSLOCK key is still on, it will be turned back on the next time DOOM RETRO is started.
  • In the previous version of DOOM RETRO, the default video driver was changed from Windows GDI to DirectX to help in improving performance in fullscreen mode. If DirectX wasn’t installed, DOOM RETRO would exit with an error. Now, if one video driver fails, DOOM RETRO will try the other driver before exiting with an error.
  • All in-game messages are now output to stdout.txt, whether messages are enabled or not.
  • Whenever the player or monster is killed, a message is displayed in stdout.txt.
  • Minor changes have been made to a few messages.
  • A bug has been fixed whereby DOOM RETRO would exit with an error if the IDDQD cheat was used to resurrect a dead player.

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I would never think of playing Doom Retro, or any other game for that matter, with Xbox 360 pad but-- well, it happened. Workmate borrowed me his and after some fighting with pairing it I started to play. Mind you, last time I used pad was circa about 1997. It left such bad taste that I was avoiding those way of handling game controls.

I was surprised how natural it came to me. After some early adopting and adjusting sensitivity (I had to lower it much 'cause it was too fast for me) I didn't have to look at pad, and I wasn't messing with the buttons. I still took more damage than I would with mouse plus WASD, but I still managed to make UV-max on "Doom II" first four levels without dying, or even saving. But enought about me.

Mostly I was curious about force feedback, and I wasn't dissapointed--all went smooth and I felt the power of guns, and chainsaw vibrating on its slow gear is a good marker of a weapons cycle.

And in general, I feel mo' smoothness of Doom Retro. Good job with optimization. Maybe it was the magic of the pad, but I didn't notice capped frameset this time.

I have small bug also, but I shall send it via email as it comes in a form of a screenshot.

[Edit: I was of course using Doom Retro 1.5.1.]

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Nice new release. It's good to have autorun remembered on next boot. I wonder if the same could be done for follow mode on the automap? Speaking of which I have remapped my previous and next weapons to my shoulder buttons but when I'm on the automap the left button doesn't zoom. The right shoulder is fine. Not sure if it's user error or bug. Just thought I'd mention it.

Also, I was wondering if it would be possible to be able to remap the pause function to a gamepad button, at all? I like the option of pausing so that I can kill the music when my phone rings. :)

Anyway, great work as always. Thanks. :)

EDIT: Sorry if I'm always asking for 'improvements'. It's just that I really like the source port and just want to tweak it a bit more to my tastes. :)

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Average said:

Speaking of which I have remapped my previous and next weapons to my shoulder buttons but when I'm on the automap the left button doesn't zoom. The right shoulder is fine. Not sure if it's user error or bug. Just thought I'd mention it.


Just checked this out. It does work if you set it correctly. The values you need to set gamepad_nextweapon/gamepad_prevweapon to are rightshoulder/leftshoulder. If you set it to something else such as rightbutton/leftbutton you'll get unexpected results (which I'm guessing is what you were doing :) ). So, this leads me to implement the following:
* Allow rightbutton/leftbutton to be used (and maybe RB/LB as well).
* Handle when invalid values are used.
* Also noticed if you zoom in automap with these buttons, your weapon changes as well, which shouldn't happen.
So thanks for this!

Sorry if I'm always asking for 'improvements'. It's just that I really like the source port and just want to tweak it a bit more to my tastes. :)


No problems at all! I appreciate all your input! Sorry if I don't implement all that you suggest... I'm kinda picky! :P

Which brings me to your other suggestions...

Remembering automap follow mode: Not in the same way as autorun. I think its better that when starting a new map, follow mode is always reset to on. But one day I will get around to saving the state of follow mode in savegames.

Remap pause key: I want to avoid allowing the menu functions to be remapped. Something I've considered in the past is to lower volume (and possibly pitch) of music by a certain amount when a menu is displayed.

Thanks again, Average!

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Hi all!

For all those playing at home, if any of you use Twitter or Facebook, even just a little bit, please follow/like/whatever DOOM RETRO's accounts on each. Both are updated several times a day with both DOOM-related tidbits, and the latest changes to DOOM RETRO's source through GitHub.

Twitter: twitter.com/doomretro
Facebook: facebook.com/doomretro

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