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DOOM: Ripping and Tearing After All These Years
Grimthwacker
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
REQUIRED VIEWING!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8yc5bnOrScOn December 10th, 1993, a small development team from Texas released a shareware demo of their newest game, simply titled "Doom", a first-person shooter that would go on to be one of the most successful, influential, and controversial games in history. Roughly one year later, they followed it up with Doom II, embracing the "bigger, bettter, badder" mantra while still holding onto everything that made the original successful. Other entries would follow, from ports to expansions to new games carrying on the simple "shoot everything that moves" mentality.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the game, which has been carried on by one of the most devoted and talented fanbases ever, making volumes of new maps, modifications, and other ways to keep Doom fresh and enjoyable. Their passion for the game, and mine, has not waned during all that time; in fact, with people coming up with new programming tricks and lots of creativity, the fire has never burned brighter. This thread is meant as a celebration of all things Doom, its creators, and all the fans who never fail to impress. Join me as I share all the great new ways to blow the crap out of Hell's minions that I've discovered over the years.
Amazing Modifications
Here are some of the most innovative, technically impressive, and just plain fun to play mods for the game I can recommend:
Brutal Doom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89iszJNcKQw
Of course, I would be remiss in not mentioning one of the most inspired mod ideas ever: Take Doom's gameplay, amp up the carnage and challenge, and proceed to revel in the display of the Doom that Jack Thompson warned us about. This mod single-handedly (literally - it's the brainchild of a talented Brazilian modder called Sgt. Mark IV) revolutionized the way Doom is played - your weapons are more powerful, capable of shredding enemies apart (again, literally), and the Berzerk pack grants you the ability to finish off enemies with gruesome, health restoring flourishes. Of course to balance things out the enemies are faster, more aggressive, and generally deadlier, so staying on your toes is imperative.
Project MSX
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s8oGz0TUHY
If Brutal Doom perfected everything that was great about the vanilla game, then this mod by the eponymous Mag Sigma X is an excellent example of how to modernize it without sacrificing the core gameplay. Essentially Doom by way of Crysis, you have a super suit with a recharging shield (health restoration still requires you to procure and use portable health kits) and an auxiliary power supply which allows you to sprint at blinding speed, power up unarmed attacks, jump higher, and charge up thrown grenades for greater destruction and blast radius. There's also a really fun arsenal of weapons that are all satisfying to use against a more beefed-up roster of enemies. Great for megawads or single maps.
Crossfire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raViyYYjnuE
A unique new way to play from modder Se7eNytes, Crossfire combines a health and stamina system not unlike Metal Gear Solid 3's with a persistent leveling/"perk" system. While your health regenerates to an extent when not suffering damage, you need to apply medkits to fully restore it, and use rations to refill your stamina which depletes while sprinting. Scoring kills and picking up bonus items gives you experience that you can use to level up one of five attributes like Fallout's S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system - each level gives you an extra benefit like faster reloading and applying medkits, faster health regen, automap awareness, or reduced recoil. Add to this an arsenal that is basic but effective and you have a nice alternative when playing a megawad or decent sized map pack.
Accessories to Murder
A mod by noted Doom armory master WildWeasel, this is actually based off an impressive-looking sprite set made by a guy who goes by the handle "DoomNukem" for use in Brutal Doom before stopping. The two collaborated together to make a full mod revising the arsenal while adding Weasel's signature clip-based ammo system for most of the weapons. It's surprisingly fast paced and great for all around Dooming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89iszJNcKQwOf course, I would be remiss in not mentioning one of the most inspired mod ideas ever: Take Doom's gameplay, amp up the carnage and challenge, and proceed to revel in the display of the Doom that Jack Thompson warned us about. This mod single-handedly (literally - it's the brainchild of a talented Brazilian modder called Sgt. Mark IV) revolutionized the way Doom is played - your weapons are more powerful, capable of shredding enemies apart (again, literally), and the Berzerk pack grants you the ability to finish off enemies with gruesome, health restoring flourishes. Of course to balance things out the enemies are faster, more aggressive, and generally deadlier, so staying on your toes is imperative.
Project MSX
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s8oGz0TUHYIf Brutal Doom perfected everything that was great about the vanilla game, then this mod by the eponymous Mag Sigma X is an excellent example of how to modernize it without sacrificing the core gameplay. Essentially Doom by way of Crysis, you have a super suit with a recharging shield (health restoration still requires you to procure and use portable health kits) and an auxiliary power supply which allows you to sprint at blinding speed, power up unarmed attacks, jump higher, and charge up thrown grenades for greater destruction and blast radius. There's also a really fun arsenal of weapons that are all satisfying to use against a more beefed-up roster of enemies. Great for megawads or single maps.
Crossfire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raViyYYjnuEA unique new way to play from modder Se7eNytes, Crossfire combines a health and stamina system not unlike Metal Gear Solid 3's with a persistent leveling/"perk" system. While your health regenerates to an extent when not suffering damage, you need to apply medkits to fully restore it, and use rations to refill your stamina which depletes while sprinting. Scoring kills and picking up bonus items gives you experience that you can use to level up one of five attributes like Fallout's S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system - each level gives you an extra benefit like faster reloading and applying medkits, faster health regen, automap awareness, or reduced recoil. Add to this an arsenal that is basic but effective and you have a nice alternative when playing a megawad or decent sized map pack.
Accessories to Murder
A mod by noted Doom armory master WildWeasel, this is actually based off an impressive-looking sprite set made by a guy who goes by the handle "DoomNukem" for use in Brutal Doom before stopping. The two collaborated together to make a full mod revising the arsenal while adding Weasel's signature clip-based ammo system for most of the weapons. It's surprisingly fast paced and great for all around Dooming.
Notable Maps and WADS
Of course there's no shortage of new levels to muck around in, ranging from intricate and well-designed to straight up in-your-face combat fare. Here are some of the better ones I've had the pleasure of playing through:
Team TNT's catalog: Eternal Doom 1-3 and Episode 4, Icarus: Alien Vanguard, and Deadalus: Alien Defense: The mapping team so good that id made one of their megaWADs commercial (Final Doom's "Evilution" episode), these folks make large, complex, very time-consuming levels, but they're so enjoyable you probably won't mind the time sink. At the very least play Eternal Doom.
Winter's Fury by Pyroscourge (a.k.a. Starscream): A tense, surprisingly well-scripted story-heavy mapset that crams a lot of action inbetween narrative bits, this arctic-themed excursion hits the sweet spot for those looking for more than just "Demons have invaded, KILL THEM ALL!". Great level design and atmosphere using ZDoom's graphic trickery.
ZDoom Community Project Take 2: A single map, but a huuuuuuge one with new weapons, enemies, and outstanding design. Everything flows very well and combat is often white-knuckle - in short, one of the best pure Doom experiences available right now.
Reelism: A clever, addictive take on the wave-based score mode, this gem keeps things interesting with its signature gimmick: adding random effects, weapons, and enemy spawns at the beginning of each round. It's silly, challenging, and just too ridiculous not to include here.
Hadephobia: A recent megawad that does a great all around job in terms of level design, combat flow, and speed. Very well worth checking out.
Doom 64 - The Absolution: A total conversion of one of the most underrated Doom games out there, this is actually a faithful recreation of Doom 64 built from the ground up using the Doomsday source port (you still need the Doom II IWAD to run it). It's not 100% accurate, but does include all the bells and whistles that a source port offers like mouse look/aim, quicksaving/loading, and other stuff. Other than actually playing the N64 version (or using a new port that requires the Doom 64 ROM - not going into that for obvious reasons), it's the only way to experience the game out there.
Of course I'll be adding more stuff when I get around to it, but this should be plenty for you folks to start out with. . . Happy Dooming to all! Winter's Fury by Pyroscourge (a.k.a. Starscream): A tense, surprisingly well-scripted story-heavy mapset that crams a lot of action inbetween narrative bits, this arctic-themed excursion hits the sweet spot for those looking for more than just "Demons have invaded, KILL THEM ALL!". Great level design and atmosphere using ZDoom's graphic trickery.
ZDoom Community Project Take 2: A single map, but a huuuuuuge one with new weapons, enemies, and outstanding design. Everything flows very well and combat is often white-knuckle - in short, one of the best pure Doom experiences available right now.
Reelism: A clever, addictive take on the wave-based score mode, this gem keeps things interesting with its signature gimmick: adding random effects, weapons, and enemy spawns at the beginning of each round. It's silly, challenging, and just too ridiculous not to include here.
Hadephobia: A recent megawad that does a great all around job in terms of level design, combat flow, and speed. Very well worth checking out.
Doom 64 - The Absolution: A total conversion of one of the most underrated Doom games out there, this is actually a faithful recreation of Doom 64 built from the ground up using the Doomsday source port (you still need the Doom II IWAD to run it). It's not 100% accurate, but does include all the bells and whistles that a source port offers like mouse look/aim, quicksaving/loading, and other stuff. Other than actually playing the N64 version (or using a new port that requires the Doom 64 ROM - not going into that for obvious reasons), it's the only way to experience the game out there.
Sterica on
+15
Posts
Hail to the King, baby.
also i may have bought an awesome doom tshirt recently (the colors in this pic look all fucked up, they look way better in person)
also there is some fucking awesome collectible stuff in the Doom store at bethesda right now. definitely tempted to get the icon of sin print.
and if it wasnt $200 i would entirely buy this miniature set.
Steam: BrocksMullet http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197972421669/
I need to get that bitchin' Icon of Sin t-shirt if only for posterity.
Also: best shotgun animations in any fps game ever.
Edit: Can't have a DooM thread without...
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
I went hunting for these for a while, they are super expensive now
Lunatic: A five-level pack set on the moon with a lot of fast action and a great finale set to Europe's "The Final Countdown". Worth the price of admission for that alone.
Simplistic Evil: Another five leveler that puts the focus on easy-to-navigate maps filled with loads of combat. Tough, but not frustrating.
Yeah, twenty years is a long time, but just think how much older and wiser you are now! :P Seriously though, twenty years' worth of fan support still going strong today is a testament to how well this game holds up even now.
Those were the fucking days.
I'll never forget the first time I played multiplayer Doom in more than just a 1v1 capacity. Blew my damn mind.
Fast forward 15 years, and my son finds a copy of DooM I had for the Nintendo DS (maybe it was Gameboy advanced). He plays the heck out of DooM himself, cementing his love for all things FPS and video games in general.
Fast forward another few years. My son and I are in our game room, playing Co-op games a little bit on my Xbox 360. Due to my job and his school schedule we really don't get to play games together much anymore. We are about to shut it down for the night as I am scrolling through my games list and he sees DooM. "I love that game," he says. "Me too," I replied, and a slight grin come across my face. "You know, your dad was pretty good at this game back in the day," I tell him as I fire it up.
We spent the next several hours digging through the first episode and every secret it had. We killed demons, still jumped at some of the scares, and "accidently" fragged each other a couple of times for a laugh. After the final monologue rolled at the end of episode one I smiled at him one more time as I shut it down (it was now at semi-bad parenting levels of lateness for the night). “That was fun, dad!”
The cats in the damn cradle.
Bonus feels:
Bonus Bonus:
Steam/PSN/XBox Live:LutExIV
Also a whole shitload of wads.
... last winter bought the id megapack during steam christmas, so, I also have them on steam now.
That's alot of Doom.
I still enjoy Club Doom. I remember my uncle buying/returning copies of Final Doom for PSX until he got one that had Club Doom on it.
Good ol' super secrets.
Is there a way to set controls in Doom/II in Steam? I love the mouse aiming, but I HATE how it moves forward/back. I'd rather just be able to turn with the mouse. Or even set the controls in a way I want. (I realized this morning that I bought the Doom megapack during the last winter sale.)
I really suggest using a sourceport for playing Doom and Doom II. WinDoom is cancer that causes cancer.
If you really want that vanilla, original Doom feeling then use Chocolate Doom. If you've only ever played sourceports or if it's been a while since your DOSDooming days you should fire this up and experience that original Doom feeling again. You'll be amazed at the differences, mainly in lighting, but there's other stuff too. I really love it, it's pretty much a permanent installation on my computer along with zDoom and gzDoom.
It's pretty balls-to-the-wall. Also lots of fun with Brutal Doom. Works fine in gzDoom too, so I imagine a branch of that like Zandronum will work too.
I'll try this out more tomorrow, but definitely cool so far! Thanks for the heads up on that stuff, @Drake. I'm gonna have to get used to KBAM'ing it up again in this one. I am ruuuuuuuuusty.
For a modern sourceport experience I suggest either GZDoom or Zandronum. GZDoom is a workhorse but isn't very user friendly in some respects. Zandronum will offer the most user friendly experience, with full multiplayer support. My personal favorite for multiplayer Doom is ZDaemon. Lots of fun can be had with either one.
And it's about two more hours til the official birthday (in my timezone anyway), I'll probably ring it in with some Knee Deep in the Dead, possibly Brutal Doom style Doom The Way Id Did through Chocolate Doom for extra wayback feels.
There was a kid at my school. He was full of shit and lied about lots of stuff, but he kept going on and on about Doom (even mentioning a bunch of shit that wasn't in the game, like grenades) and eventually let me have the shareware. The kid was full of shit, but it was indeed a cool game. I would have been around 10 or so. I played the utter shit out of that shareware (it came on two 3.5 disks!). I even had my parents buy me a 900 page book about editing Doom. 'course it didn't help given I had the shareware, so I eventually had them buy me Ultimate Doom. (I was going to send away for Doom via the mail, but my dad, in a fit of awesomeness, just went "let's go to the store and see if they have it." Thanks dad!)
I played the holy hell out of that game; got Doom II and played the holy hell out of it. This was seriously the #1 thing I did on the computer for like two years. I even got a couple of those cheapass addon disks that add a billion new user levels. I tried out mapping (I did have a ginormous book on editing Doom) though I never got very far. I think the most I did was try to make new guns in DeHackEd (A program that modifies the doom executable and allows you to modify weapons and monsters. Huge back in 1995). Ironically, I think I always played with cheat codes; because I was a kid at the time.
Anywho, Duke Nukem 3D came out, then we got a new computer and I could play Quake, then Quake II, and then Half-Life and Doom was kind of a distance memory.
Then John Carmack released the source code for Doom.
I hung out at ground zero of the new modding community that popped up in the wake of the source code release; watching people port it from Linux back to DOS; building 3D accellerated ports, and generally expanding the game in ways id probably never even imagined. With the source ports, I finally got around to playing through doom without cheating and that's the way I prefer to play games these days. I tried to get into modding before (I had been part of a couple failed mods before; the Reptiles TC for WarCraft II and "Kill the Man with Toad" for Half-Life) so I tried again. The first thing I got into was trying to build a new weapon; a flamethrower (I love me some flamethrowers, ever since Marathon). It seems weird now since I barely did anything.. No wait, I think I did the website; but anyway I befriended a programmer and an artist and we got a beta running, but eventually it just ran out of Steam. I later tried my hand at mapping again, and even released a CTF map (twrbeta1.wad has sadly disappeared from the internet; ah well.). Eventually I grew out of the Doom community again. But I'll always remember those two sections of my life revolving around a super awesome game.
As for Doom 3; I wasn't a fan. But we don't need to get into that.
EDIT: Holy shit I found it http://www.gamers.org/pub/idgames2/planetquake/captured/ctfdoom/twrbeta1.zip
Man, I was a DORK at 16
Also, I tried Reelism for a bit last night. At one point I was shooting bees at what seemed to be the little gray dudes that come out of the UFOs that land in south Alabama.
Bees. Little gray alien dudes.
Can't wait to fight the Dog Pope.
I'd argue with you on how it isn't remotely brilliant, outside of some of the tech, but let's not shit up this thread with an ancient and unproductive discussion.
Everytime I reloaded that gun the words 'and another' rushed through my head because the syllables perfectly aligned with the animation. As though it was intended.
id just knows how to make satisfying shotguns I think. It's like they've tapped into the primal human urge to propel buckshot out of a metal tube at high velocity and watch those pellets impact into something.