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noshutdown

"best" sourceport for dos?

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well i know the word "best" can be controversial, so i would explain my idea a bit:

i play with prboom+(hi andrey) on my current computer and it generally gets the job done, but i also want a dos sourceport to run on my retro games rig. i want something similar to prboom, with following requirements:

1.accurate vanilla doom behavior like chocolate and prboom, especially vanilla doom demo compatibility
2.limit removing
3.boom wads compatible
4.higher display resolution than default 320*200 vga, 640*400 or 640*480 would be nice
5.optimized game performance, the faster timedemo the better, so i can play on monsters intensive maps like hr2-playground

boom may come to mind first since its the ancestor of prboom, but its development ceased much earlier than some other dos ports, with some bugs remaining unaddressed, so there could be better options. can you suggest some that meets my requirements?

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Bloodshedder said:


thats a good idea, i'll give it a try when i have time.
is this the latest dos version? and is its vanilla demo compatibility as good as prboom? how fast is its performance compared to other dos ports?

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noshutdown said:

is this the latest dos version?


I think so. Eternity was one of the last ports to abandon DOS but even it did a long time ago. 11 years ago sounds reasonable.

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I'd say MBF is the last original DOS port that didn't go the route via Linux Doom, is that right?

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There's also CDoom, if you want a DOS port with a different twist. From my understanding, it's based on MBF and it has its own "sector over sector" extensions. I never saw maps using the sloped and destructible geometry features, though.

Maps for it are also scarce, often made or converted by Carlos himself (some are former Eternity maps).

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To a similar note, what would you say is the best Doom editor for MSDOS? I see many of them listed but which would be better suited to, say, an Android tablet for messing around with level ideas when away from a computer? It has a physical keyboard in its case so that won't be a problem.

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Never_Again said:

The top two DOS editors were DCK and DETH (depending on who you asked). Can an Android tablet run DOSbox?

Even the PSP can run Dosbox. Slowly. I have played Battlechess and Commander Keen on my PSP :-D

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Never_Again said:

The top two DOS editors were DCK and DETH (depending on who you asked). Can an Android tablet run DOSbox?



It does. Shame there isn't really all that much support for Linux as far as Doom editors go, I imagine that might run better since it wouldn't technically be emulating it like it is with DOSbox. I tried to get Eureka but it kept giving me error after error as I tried to dpkg it.

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Never_Again said:

Can an Android tablet run DOSbox?

Yes. I have AnDOSBox for a few bucks. Maybe there are also other DOSBox variants available now. Unfortunately you'll have to somehow customize the controls to work right with the mouse/keyboard-centric desktop interface of the editor. And there's also the lag, as portable devices are weaker than full desktop computers to run DOSBox.

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If you want bug/limit removal and editing features, I would go with SMMU or Eternity, as they seem to be the last DOS successors of Boom. If you want a slightly less purist but still enjoyable and very featureful experience (including TCP/IP multiplayer), go with Legacy. Though I use ZDoom, I don't recommend the DOS version, as it seems to have been more of an afterthought port of the Win32 version of the time iirc.

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MetroidJunkie said:

To a similar note, what would you say is the best Doom editor for MSDOS? I see many of them listed but which would be better suited to, say, an Android tablet for messing around with level ideas when away from a computer? It has a physical keyboard in its case so that won't be a problem.


If you want a good Doom gameplay experience on Android to bypass DOS, go with Beloko's port which includes Prboom+, GZDoom, and Chocolate Doom.

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MetroidJunkie said:

I tried to get Eureka but it kept giving me error after error as I tried to dpkg it.

What error messages? Did you try

apt-get install eureka
?

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The apt-get install says the package has no installation candidate and, after installing the deb, it says I need a higher version of libfltk than it has (Requires 1.3.1 while this is 1.3.0-8) and apt-get update doesn't help. It suggested apt-get -f install but all that does it remove Eureka.

mdmenzel said:

If you want a good Doom gameplay experience on Android to bypass DOS, go with Beloko's port which includes Prboom+, GZDoom, and Chocolate Doom.


I already have that, but it doesn't exactly come with a map editor.

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MetroidJunkie said:

The apt-get install says the package has no installation candidate and, after installing the deb, it says I need a higher version of libfltk than it has (Requires 1.3.1 while this is 1.3.0-8) and apt-get update doesn't help. It suggested apt-get -f install but all that does it remove Eureka.

You are trying to install the package from "testing" on a system running "stable", right? This won't work as easily as you might expect. Please search for "APT pinning".

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Bloodshedder said:


hello
i tested both boom2.02 and eternity3.31b7dos, with a few demos, the outcome is rather disappointing:

doom2 30uv1402: eedos passed, boom went desync and died as early as map02.
hr2 map32 uvmax: eedos passed, boom went desync and died.
sod map28 uvmax: both ports crashed at loading the map.
sod map32 uvmax: both passed, but eedos is much slower than boom.
sod map30 uvspeed/uvmax/nmspeed: boom passed all three, eedos went desync and died in uvmax and nmspeed.
newest eternity release passed all demos above though.

are there any other dos ports that can play all "boom-compatible" wads, and has better compatibility for both vanilla and boom demos?

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^^ Edge1.28 is the last dos compatible build? Also, 1.28 is the first limit removing edge build? As for demo playback and vanilla accuracy, hmm.

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Can't say for sure which is best...

Top choices IMO seem to be "Man's Best Friend" and "Boom".

Think "Boom" is more of a literal "Doom" upgrade. It seems to get to the point (fix bugs, improve compatibility, extend limits, etc), without adding things that aren't really "Doom". For some reason it seems like a classic among source ports, but you might not like that.

"Man's Best Friend" seems the most innovative IMO. It's really fun, different and just adds a lot of depth and possibility to "Doom". I don't know of any pwads that take advantage of it, which is really unfortunate (honestly who wouldn't want to play "Doom" with an animal partner kicking some demon ass?).

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noshutdown said:

are there any other dos ports that can play all "boom-compatible" wads, and has better compatibility for both vanilla and boom demos?

Speed of Doom is not "BOOM compatible." It requires a limit-removing port with higher than BOOM capabilities. Eternity did not acquire the ability to run maps like SoD MAP28 until much later.

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noshutdown said:

are there any other dos ports that can play all "boom-compatible" wads, and has better compatibility for both vanilla and boom demos?

Not really.

The 'one engine fits most' capability of PrBoom/-plus didn't really come into existence as far as I know until after dos development ceased.

All boom-compatible means on recent works is they use boom features and test it in an engine like modern EE or PrBoom-Plus, which has much much higher limits than boom 2.02. Really we should be designating them as boom+limit removing, sadly it is guess work at first glance to know if a boom wad will actually run in boom 2.02.

Heh, reminds me.. I think deathz0r years back when doing the news stuff chronicles would reject "boom compatible" wads with "DOES NOT RUN IN SPECIFIED SOURCE PORT" after trying to actually play them in boom 2.02. lol.

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Hahahaa. Maybe "prboom compatible" should be used ? :-D

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If mappers did that they'd get endless questions whether their mod would be compatible with ZDoom and Eternity.
With Boom, at least, most users know that these days it denotes a standard, not a source port.

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