CapersOnSalad

Been on a retro computing kick lately. Just love learning about obsolete hardware, and software and seeing it brought back to life or re-examined in the modern day. Doom had such a big impact, yet I don't see it talked about a lot in this specific context. There's many technical videos examining Doom itself (ex. decino), but not so much the means to play it. Here's some I found, was wondering if there are any others out there. LGR's Doom retrospectives: these vids make a more blanket statement, but they do describe the experience of playing in the 90s as well as early shovelware and stuff like that. He also did a video on Doom 3, and another of that game running on weird hardware but that's a different subject. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bl33_J3B-s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNtHwWVXbDI&t=205s Tech Tangents setting up the three-monitor mode with real hardware: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3NQQ7bPf6U&t=604s MVG describes the porting process of Doom to the SNES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqP3ZzWiul0 PhilsComputerLab benchmarking Doom on a 386: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQEHHc1q06c&t=240s Attach any videos you like or share your opinions on any linked. Thanks for reading!

DOOM II has better levels than Ultimate Doom. Doom 1 essentially pumps monsters into a corridor or closet and expects all the fun to come out of blasting them. Doom II's levels, while not as consistent, are way more experimental with the game's capabilities and I'd argue is a larger inspiration to Doom mappers than Doom 1's levels were. The Chasm, Tricks and Traps, Dead Simple, Gotcha, Icon of Sin. They all vary in quality but are way preferable to UAC base number 5. The only thing that helps Doom 1 stick out is the aesthetic of Romero's levels; the rest aren't bad, but they're holding back in creativity. That being said, Spawning Vats and Containment Area are a bop.

Holes leading to different floors like in MAP02 or MAP05. I like the pseudo room-over-room feel and it gives a level another layer of architectural complexity.

Blur - Chemical World (Reworked)

Cartman: The Good Ending

Maybe that is it. I don't think it's an invalid desire though. Just because something isn't popular doesn't mean there's no demand; plus, a lack of accessibility also hampers gauging what popularity a feature like this could have in the first place. Sure, modern gamers don't value couch co-op (though it is a big part of some popular games), but I'm referring to Doom players specifically; people who are willing to mess with source ports so they can curate their own experience. Maybe split-screen would be a solution to a problem players didn't know they had, or maybe it'll be met with apathy. I think it's worth a shot either way.

It seems to me like a catch-22 problem. The game is really fun in cooperative, yet there are not a lot of ways to do it locally. Better to just do the regular setups or play something else when it comes to MP. Regardless, I hope with time the concept catches on. Doom never gets old alone or with friends, and I think a more convenient setup would help bring more people to the community. The official port is great, but there's so much more on offer. EDIT: Thanks for the port suggestions!

Is it wrong to say that couch gaming has never been a priority for Doom source ports? I'm not trying to pass off some ill intent on behalf of port devs. All I'm saying is that with how productive the community is, I'm surprised it hasn't been done earlier. By effect, they locked themselves to the desktop. Again, no intent. I even told you that I don't believe it's an inherent thing, it's a result of circumstance.

The fact that the Steam Deck is not a traditional console is part of my point. There has been a proliferation of mini PCs and handhelds that are designed to mix the two experiences. Not to mention that consoles like the Xbox Series S/X allow app sideloading, which further brings this generation closer to PCs. It's not as simple as you make it out to be. Source ports can be experienced in more ways than ever, and that reveals how inaccessible they can be.

I disagree. The Doom community has outgrown a lot of things over the years. Launchers have replaced command lines, vanilla limitations are a thing of the past, and the game has been ported to everything imaginable. I find it hard to believe that the Doom community is inherently shackled to the desktop, especially since the lines between console and desktop continue to blur.

Got a Steam Deck a couple of months back and wanted to play some Doom with my partner using the dock and some controllers I had lying around. There's a plethora of source ports available on Linux, yet none of them offer anything to accommodate a couch-gaming experience. That's not to say that some of them don't try, but they do it in a very half-baked way that makes it seem like more of an afterthought. Some issues: UI that requires kb/m Finicky gamepad implementation Annoying launchers Complicated installs/no flatpak NO SPLIT-SCREEN On a desktop, this usually isn't an issue. Hell, with Doom Launcher, I got everything I could ever want on the PC. But Doom is such a simple and accessible game, so the fact that one of the most active fan communities has locked itself to the desktop for decades is shocking to me. I would say GZDoom is the best luck I had as it's easily accessible from flatpak and despite having one of the most expansive UIs in history, is relatively easy to navigate with a controller. GZDoom however, requires the console to start a multiplayer session and has no split-screen which I find surprising given that it's packed with features everywhere else. I tried Doom Legacy, which has had split-screen for years, and oh boy. I know that port is infamous for being complicated to install on Windows, but I figured that since the developer was such a Linux stan it would be easier and...no. Oh no. Now there is the Unity port, and it is an absolutely fantastic version of vanilla Doom. But anyone who says the split-screen on that thing is acceptable is living a lie. For those who don't know, here's how Bethesda thinks Doom, a game from 1993 that looked acceptable at 320x200, should look for local multiplayer: Now imagine this image on a 16:9 television several feet away, and you get the idea. Even worse, the Unity port doesn't offer LAN play, so there's really no way of getting around the problem... Let me just put it like this: it took me 2 hours of tinkering to try and fail at getting an acceptable version of Doom split-screen. It only took me 2 minutes to get exactly what I wanted in Sonic Robo Blast 2. Couch gaming needs some love here.

I wish you well. It really does get better. Our minds are much more malleable than we're led to believe.

I would love to. Skies are what I'm struggling with the most atm. Thanks for the answer.

The metal pillars bordering the UAC sector are not though, and they are covered by sky.

But why is it not obstructing in some screenshots?