Getting Doom working on my new machine

[MathsDevil]

Hello guys. I had a laptop that lasted many (around 8) years and had Doom and Doom II working just the way I liked them but that machine has packed it in and now I have a new All-In-One machine running Windows 10 and it is very pleasing in every way except I haven't yet worked out how to get Doom I and Doom II working as I want them.

I wouldn't have an issue, except that I enjoy designing levels that use the voodoo doll bug in all its glory and I like to do things in a vanilla-compatible way.

Having said that, the version of JDoom that I used on the old laptop kept monsters targeting when saved games were reloaded as well as supporting looking up and down.

Doomsday claims to keep the voodoo doll bug but I tested it on Ocd Doom 2 and the voodoo dolls did not trigger the linedefs. When I looked at the Compatability menu options, I could not see an option for that (included is the ability to toggle the ghost monster bug for example). If Doomsday can be adapted to support full functionality of voodoo dolls triggering linedefs, then I will be a happy bunny.

I have had a look at Chocolate Doom but found it is SO faithful to vanilla that monster targets are not saved in saved games, which I find disappointing.

Any thoughts?

[CapnClever]

PrBoom+ at its default compatibility level meets your requirements: monsters continue acting through a loaded game and voodoo dolls work as expected (it's where a lot of Boom trickery comes from).

[MathsDevil]

Thanks Capn, I'll get onto PrBoom+ later today and let you know how I get on! :-)

[MathsDevil]

Hi again, I have downloaded PrBoom+ and got it (partly) working.
I managed to drag and drop ocd-doom.wad onto the application to make it work.

However there are many issues:

1) The voodoo doll bug is now working but is inconsistent. Some linedef actions are activating properly and others are not.

2) I am a total noob as far as Command Lines or Frontends are concerned so I do not know how to specify the right complevel or put other commands in to the program. As I said, I only managed to drag and drop a WAD file onto the application.

3) Why is it that when I turn around in the game I also move instead of standing on the spot? What can I do about this?

Thanks again CapnClever, I have never started up my own Source Port before because 8 years ago my brother helped me set up JDoom on the old laptop and he lives abroad now.

[CapnClever]

MathsDevil said:

1) The voodoo doll bug is now working but is inconsistent. Some linedef actions are activating properly and others are not.

I've no mapping experience with voodoo dolls, so I couldn't tell you what works and what doesn't. You might want to ensure, if you haven't already, that every case works in something vanilla-driven, like Chocolate Doom or the original EXEs via DOSBox, to verify that the expected behavior in ocd-doom.wad is vanilla. Considering you were using some unknown version of JDoom from eight years ago, which wasn't necessarily devoted to vanilla compatibility, there may be some unique possibilities within it that can't be replicated elsewhere. If that's the case, you're out of luck.

If there does happen to be a break between PrBoom+'s and vanilla's handling of voodoo dolls, that's almost certainly something to be fixed with the -complevel parameter, as you have guessed.

MathsDevil said:

2) I am a total noob as far as Command Lines or Frontends are concerned so I do not know how to specify the right complevel or put other commands in to the program. As I said, I only managed to drag and drop a WAD file onto the application.

It's up to you what you want to learn with regards to custom usage. I don't use frontend launchers myself, but from what I tried Doom Launcher seems to be pretty easy to learn and set up. If you're interested in using CMD (Windows's native command line) instead, I will attempt to briefly describe the process:

1. Navigating to the folder you want from the command line is tedious, so what I recommend instead is opening up File Explorer, navigating to the desired folder (like PrBoom+), then shift-right-clicking on some empty space and selecting the "Open command window here" action. This will boot up CMD in that folder, which is handy. Alternatively, you can run CMD by searching it from the Start Menu, then use the "cd" command and type your way to the folder (using the TAB key after cd will auto-complete searches to the next level of folders, which is handy).
   
2. Once you're at the correct folder in CMD, all you'll need to do is type out the name of the executable and whatever arguments (and their respective parameters) you want. For example, starting PrBoom+ with ocd-doom.wad at Doom II 1.9 compatibility level would look like this:

   prboom-plus.exe -iwad doom2.wad -file ocd-doom.wad -complevel 2
   

   • The -iwad parameter specifies which of the official IWADs to start: I'm just assuming it's Doom2, but if it's Ultimate Doom or TNT or Plutonia just change the name to that. The -file parameter
     
   • The -file parameter specifies additional files to attach alongside the IWAD when loading the game, much like drag-and-drop does in File Explorer.
     
   • The -complevel parameter specifies the compatibility level that PrBoom+ will emulate. Most of the important ones are listed here, and for your purposes: 2 is for Doom II, 3 is for Ultimate Doom, and 4 is for Final Doom, so whichever vanilla state meets your needs should be used.
     

That particular command assumes ocd-doom.wad and doom2.wad are in the same folder as prboom-plus.exe: if they're not, you'll instead have to type out the full path to those files. Alternatively, navigate to the folder in File, Explorer, click on the address bar, and copy-paste the result to CMD. (Ctrl-V doesn't work in CMD, you instead right-click and select paste. If the address contains spaces be sure to wrap it in double quotes (i.e., "C:\Program Files (x86)\Doom" vs C:\Games\Doom)

If there is a particular combination of arguments you use often, you can expedite the process by using a batch file instead. The easiest way to create one is:

1. Create a text file where you want the batch file
   
2. Type out the command as you would on the command line in the text file
   
3. Rename the extension of the text file to "bat" (if you can't see the extension, start in File Explorer and select View > Options > Change folder and search options, then the View tab, and uncheck "Hide extensions for known types")
   
4. Run the file like you would an executable
   

If you're familiar with creating shortcuts, you can similarly use that and append the arguments in the target line.

MathsDevil said:

3) Why is it that when I turn around in the game I also move instead of standing on the spot? What can I do about this?

Sounds like you have some degree of vertical mouse sensitivity active. In PrBoom+ navigate to Options > Mouse Sensitivity, and then set the "Vertical" bar all the way to the left to disable it. You can also adjust the Horizontal and Acceleration bars if the speed of turning is off, and the Mouse Look bar if you choose to enable that.

[fabian]

MathsDevil said:

I have had a look at Chocolate Doom but found it is SO faithful to vanilla that monster targets are not saved in saved games, which I find disappointing.

Crispy Doom might be another obvious candidate, as it (attempts to) combine Choco's Vanilla faithfulness with advanced features (like, e.g. restoring monster targets from savegames). Just saying... ;)

[CapnClever]

fabian said:

Crispy Doom might be another obvious candidate, as it (attempts to) combine Choco's Vanilla faithfulness with advanced features (like, e.g. restoring monster targets from savegames). Just saying... ;)

Oh it does? Well dang, I should've just recommended that. Guess I was thinking more towards not-vanilla-but-maintains-compatibility, since JDoom was the original port and Doomsday is hardly vanilla.

[MathsDevil]

Thanks, I may have tried Crispy Doom as my next possibility but PrBoom+ is now more promising as on the Boom's Vanilla setting my Ocd-Doom voodoo doll tricks appear to be working! More testing is needed though.
Also, still wondering how to turn off autoaim, although I have got looking up and down working.
I may be rather busy in the real world but if there are further developments/questions I will post again.

[scifista42]

MathsDevil said:

Also, still wondering how to turn off autoaim, although I have got looking up and down working.

As far as I know, the "looking up and down" in PrBoom-plus is a purely visual effect that doesn't affect the vertical aim of weapons at all.

[fabian]

It is possible to enable direct vertical aiming in Crispy Doom as long as you don't record or play a demo or play a network game.

[scifista42]

I get a feeling that "vanilla compatibility" means something else for MathsDevil than for the rest of us. He just wants a specific vanilla-compatible trick (that he already used in his map) to work, otherwise he would prefer to have vanilla-compatibility-breaking advanced features available. In other words, a very specific compromise between actual vanilla compatibility and a lack of it. As ports typically focus on either keeping perfect vanilla compatibility, or fixing bugs and introducing features that break it, I think he will be extremely lucky if a port that fits his exact criteria actually exists.

[MathsDevil]

Hello Scifista, yes I appreciate that pure vanilla is Chocolate Doom. However I suppose for 8 years I got used to looking/aiming up and down and monster targets being remembered in saved games without really thinking of those features as not being vanilla.

I may use PrBoom+ in Boom's Vanilla mode for editing/playtesting anything technical with voodoo dolls, but Doomsday when I fancy playing other people's maps without autoaim.

On the other hand I may still try Crispy Doom!

[Maes]

scifista42 said:

I get a feeling that "vanilla compatibility" means something else for MathsDevil than for the rest of us.

Usually, that's when the "market" for a new source port/set of features is evaluated, and either somebody else picks up the glove, the proposer rolls up his sleeves and does it himself, or we all yuck it up and move on.