Was there sprint in Doom 1?

[senox13]

I could have sworn there wasn't. To the point where I've played the game through more times than I can count in ZDoom and GZDoom with sprint turned off. But, I wasn't even born when the game came out so what do I know? So I'm asking the doom veterans out there: Was there a sprint/run key in the original, 1993 release of DooM 1?

[Maes]

Yes, Doom has always had a toggle-able RUN key. Never mind that modern source ports with their "Always Run" option have all but masked its existence.

[printz]

In other games, running was really inaccurate and dangerous to use near pits, so walking or even prowling were useful options. In Doom, running just isn't that coarse to even bother releasing shift. Maybe just near ledges...

[Maes]

With the default keyboard layout of arrows + Ctrl/Alt/Space/LShift, my middle finger was practically rooted in the LShift key whenever I played Doom ;-)

[Voros]

Weren't the Alpha versions of Doom supposed to have actual sprinting? Like for a short amount of time? I swear I read from somewhere that it did.

As for the OP, there is an run key. You actually won't need it for the first three episodes of Doom, but E4M2? You're going to need it.

[Koko Ricky]

I really don't miss having to hold down the shift button all the time back in the day...

[fraggle]

There is a trick using joyb_speed so that you can get "always run" with Vanilla Doom though.

[Gez]

There is a run key in good old Doom, but it's not a sprint key like modern games have. In modern games, you walk and then when you sprint you have a stamina bar that decrease quickly so your character can run for maybe five seconds and then he's out of stamina and must go back to walking normally. Sometimes with associated asthmatic wheezing sound effects.

In Doom, the marine is tireless and can run continually for days. The choice between walking and running is simply between two different movement speeds, slow or fast. There is generally no reason to ever use the slow speed, though. You drift a bit less so it can be better to navigate zigzagging tightropes like those in The Chasm perhaps.

[Da Werecat]

Navigating in cramped corridors can be annoying at top speed.

[shotfan]

Gez said:

There is a run key in good old Doom, but it's not a sprint key like modern games have. In modern games, you walk and then when you sprint you have a stamina bar that decrease quickly so your character can run for maybe five seconds and then he's out of stamina and must go back to walking normally. Sometimes with associated asthmatic wheezing sound effects.

In Doom, the marine is tireless and can run continually for days. The choice between walking and running is simply between two different movement speeds, slow or fast. There is generally no reason to ever use the slow speed, though. You drift a bit less so it can be better to navigate zigzagging tightropes like those in The Chasm perhaps.

There is another important distinction between running in Doom and in modern games: your can still attack while sprinting. Hence the run'n'gun tradition was born in Doom. id kept the sprint that way in Doom 3 as well, only that time it was limited (still, it was around half of minute of fast running, not this pansy five seconds or so, like in Half-Life 2; double facepalm award for that game, since the protagonist wears a powered suit that should give him MUCH longer sprinting, but screw it) The only other game I can remember that allowed for firing at top speed was the original Far Cry.
(also, the stereotypical "gun hugging" animation for sprinting in newer games is vapid and way too overused)

[Guest Unregistered account]

I remember reading on these very forums some posts by a guy who couldn't see why people played Doom still - they said that Doom wasn't "that fast", and it turned out it was because they didn't know the run button existed.

Imagine walking all the way around the game.

[wheresthebeef]

The console ports (at least on PS3 and 360) also have the same sprint. I believe the left trigger is what was used to sprint, so you basically always had your left finger holding down left trigger 99% of the time on those versions.

[BigDickBzzrak]

Gez said:

You drift a bit less so it can be better to navigate zigzagging tightropes like those in The Chasm perhaps.

Also, I've noticed that circle-strafing + berserk-punching is a lot easier when you walk.