Saturday, September 1, 2012

After over a year since the first public beta release, ZDaemon 1.09 has finally been officially released. The popular online multiplayer Doom port features many netcode improvements, as well as a massive number of bug fixes, features, and enhancements. Some of the changes include:

• Improved client prediction and networking code with less bandwidth consumption, providing a much smoother experience even with high latency.
• A wide array of new demo features including: a flexible new demo format; new playback controls such as pause, rewind, and fast forward; and a free-roaming camera mode during playback.
• A new "Picture-In-Picture" view when spectating duels.
• Built-in voice chat, allowing players to communicate more easily.
• Enhanced display options, new fonts, and a customizable scoreboard.
• Support for up to 50 players on a single server.
• New Double Domination, King of the Hill, and Instagib game modes.
• Complete Heretic support.
• Greatly improved support for ACS, including libraries and LOADACS.
• Many other editing features, such as non-restricted polyobjects, portals, and the new PATCHINF lump, which allows patching pre-existing maps.
• New DMFlags for increased fidelity to vanilla Doom behavior.

After a development time of almost two years, it is finally done. The Refinery has reopened; relive the classic experience, the fast-paced action with a essence of Doom 3's creepy experience - the best of both sides. So what is it? It's a reinterpretation or remake of Doom's original E1M3, heavily inspired by KDiZD. The whole map has been enlarged, restructured, new areas have been added, old ones enhanced and the whole thing has been turned into something more real and atmospheric. Expect something totally different in a place that you already know to a very good extent. You can download the pk3 over at the Realm667, get your doom.wad warmed up (not Doom 2 compatible), and start up your GZDoom for a experience that pushes the engine to its limits.