Beating Doom... for real, this time.

[skaar]

I've been playing through Doom on XBLA recently. I mean, it's not like I haven't played the crap out of Doom back in the day. Growing up, I remember optimizing the hell out of my system and friends' systems to get that little bit of extra EMM memory so we could have a mouse driver loaded in game... or even more amazing - RUN DOOM FROM IN WINDOWS.

But I realized something. I never really did beat the game. Sure we dicked around in it for hours, we had IPX deathmatch games up the wazoo, even co-op... but we never went all the way through.

So the past few days I've been playing through Doom for real. And there's a lot more game then I ever really gave it credit for. No cheats, no codes. I'm done 3/4 of the episodes (was #4 in the original game or from that expansion?) and having a blast.

For many of you this is a big "duh" - Doom's a great game. But I'm getting the warm and fuzzies playing through it again for real - finally. And at least this time I've actually paid for it... ;) I think Doom was probably one of the most pirated games in history.

But holy crap - I miss my Gravis Ultrasound. The music sounds like bad SB16 midi. The least they could have done was use some decent patches for midi!

Anyway, off to start episode 4!

[roushimsx]

Man, I still remember the first time I really managed to beat Doom on Hurt Me Plenty. It was on a 486SX 25MHz laptop w/ 4MB of ram and I beat it using the damn keyboard. I couldn't even imagine trying to do that now that I've been spoiled by years and years of using the mouse and keyboard.

Great times. I never was too huge on Episode 4 (it came later as part of Ultimate Doom)..I'll always remain partial to the first episode (since it's the one I played the most frequently). Tons of awesome memories. Your post really makes me want to fire it up and take another stab at it. Hell, maybe in DOSbox instead of using a sourceport, even.

[AllSchoolGamer]

yeah doom was a favorite of mine growing up but i never did finish it without the aid of cheats. funnily enough my favorite version of doom at the moment is on my mobile phone..its a turn based version and lots of fun...ive gone through that 1 a few times.:rockets:

[Sosage]

What a weird coinci-dink...I also started playing through DOOM on XBLA and feel the exact same way. =)


Man, I still remember the first time I really managed to beat Doom on Hurt Me Plenty. It was on a 486SX 25MHz laptop w/ 4MB of ram and I beat it using the damn keyboard. I couldn't even imagine trying to do that now that I've been spoiled by years and years of using the mouse and keyboard.

I was thinking about this as well. All the Halo practice is making SP Doom a much quicker game (I remember creeping around every corner as carefully and slowly as possible on keyboard back in the days). It's almost an entirely different, yet still highly enjoyable, game.

[kaedesdisciple]

Absolutely agree, the original Doom was and is a great game all on its own. Not using cheats makes the game very interesting, and does heighten that fear factor as you turn each corner and open every door.

As far as Ep 4 (Thy Flesh Consumed), that was added for the Ultimate Doom. I did not care too much for Ep 4 as it didn't seem to have that glue holding it together that the first three had.

[kedawa]

There's a level in either Doom II or Ultimate Doom called Perfect Hatred. I can't recall the level number, but it has confounded me for at least a decade across multiple versions of the game.

[lynchmcgahee]

There's a level in either Doom II or Ultimate Doom called Perfect Hatred. I can't recall the level number, but it has confounded me for at least a decade across multiple versions of the game.

This is probably the hardest Doom level among the first two games. If anyone can survive E4M1 and E4M2 on UV without dying, you are an absolute master of the game.

[FrakAttack]

I've beaten Doom on several platforms, starting with the SNES, but never the original PC version. Never could get the hang of mouse/keyboard controls in FPSs. Currently halfway through XBLA Doom on Nightmare, thanks again to handheld controllers.

[Haoie]

Have a blast. Literally.

And you can give Doom 2 a go after this.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[James8BitStar]

Up until last year, I had never finished Doom without cheats either.

on Hurt Me Plenty its tough. Ultra Violence is a challenge, and Nightmare is impossible. Doom 2 is about the same, but when you get to Final Doom... whoa nelly. Thats a doozie even on the easiest settings. I still haven't conquered it.

To answer one of the OP's questions: Episode 4 was added during the game's final patch. It wasn't part of the original game (but I'm glad to have it anyway).

[Volcanon]

Anybody play the various "improved doom" things out there? ID released the source code years ago and people have made various improvements.

Marathon is still beter :devilish:

[Damaramu]

Yeah, I've played the Doom mod that uses actual polygons for the environment and higher res textures. It also has light sourcing and keyboard/mouse controls.

Check it out HERE (http://www.doomsdayhq.com/).

[roushimsx]

I've never been able to stomach the awful, low quality poly models that the various sourceports use. Whenever I play one, I make sure that they're disabled. All of the other gee-whiz effects (lighting effects, bridges, high resolution texture support, etc) and whatnot are nice, but poorly animated and modeled weapons and actors don't do it for me. It saddens me that people play Duke Nukem 3D with those shitty models too, thinking that it's somehow an improvement.

...now the Classic Doom remake in Doom 3 (http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Classic_Doom_for_Doom_3) (Knee Deep in the Dead), that's a different story.

[skaar]

I was always a keyboarder up until I started playing Action Quake 2 (A mod for Quake 2, obviously)

Another thing that's been amusing me is getting achievements for playing through the game - there's something weird about that. SOTN felt the same way...

Are they doing Doom 2 on XBLA?

[Sosage]

I especially don't like the new DOOM mods that incorporate mouselook...who the hell wants to play Doom like that?


Are they doing Doom 2 on XBLA?

We can only hope...

[roushimsx]

I especially don't like the new DOOM mods that incorporate mouselook...who the hell wants to play Doom like that?

You know, if the WAD is built to take advantage of the modern doom engine features and its inclusion makes sense, then I'm down for +mlook Doom... but for all of the older maps and considering the Y axis was straight up autoaiming anyway, I'm totally cool with just using +mlook on the X.

Duke 3D's level structure totally works with +mlook, though (even with the auto vertical aim). Use jonoF's port to properly perspective correct the sprites when you look up and down and you've got yourself a tight little package right there.

I think I'm going to go blow through Kneed Deep in the Dead real quick and then kick around the idea of starting up a game of Batman Doom. That WAD kicked some serious ass.

[FrakAttack]

Mouse/keyboard controls? Real men play Doom with arrow keys and Ctrl :guitar:

Even worse. I've only had a PC for a couple of years, so most of my gaming history comes from arcades, consoles and Atari computers.

[kedawa]

There's no reason not to use a gamepad to play the pc version, if one is so inclined.

[Steven]

Personally, to me there are little things more satisfying in this hobby than beating a game A to Z. It's rewarding because of the effort and time invested... and some of these games truly were meant to be experienced inside out... like Doom.

Glad you enjoying it. It was (and still is) one hell of a game, pun intended.

Been eons since I played it though. Long live Doom :)

[kedawa]

Are the GBA Doom ports any good?

[Pantechnicon]

When I got my first 486 PC in 1994 I bummed a friend's copy of Doom II, so this was my first exposure to the game, and I beat it without cheats. A year later I did the same thing with the full version of Doom I.

This set a precedent for me, anyway, as beating the main campaign or story is all I ever do in most FPS's, as I don't really have the time or interest in full-blown online battles. So it's still a little surprising that some people buy a game like this and go straight to the online multiplayer options versus the standalone play, but I guess this shouldn't be surprising either. Whatever torques your bolts.


Are the GBA Doom ports any good?

I played through GBA Doom II last year and thought it was mostly a good adaptation. Graphically I was surprised at how well it worked on the GBA and have no complaints about that. My only gripes were that I thought strafing would have been a better use of the shoulder buttons than weapons cycling, and the complete absence of multiplayer :hmm:. My above objections to multiplayer notwithstanding...you've got to at least have the option for GBA linky deathmatch! Seriously...:shameful:

[skaar]

So after putting a few hours into it - I've decided.

Episode 4 really sucks.

I'm tempted at this point to declare victory over Doom since I've beaten 1-3 and episode 4 was more of a later add-on. Combine that with the fact that there has been NO fun had at all in Episode 4, it feels more like punishment to play than anything.

Very disappointed.

So, what do you all say? Is beating 1-3 beating Doom? Am I just a pussy?

Because really, episode 4 sucks. Now I just want Doom 2.

[James8BitStar]

Skip Ep 4 if you want, but I don't get all the hate for it.

[roushimsx]

So, what do you all say? Is beating 1-3 beating Doom? Am I just a pussy?

Because really, episode 4 sucks. Now I just want Doom 2.

Yea, as long as you beat 1 - 3 then you can say you beat Doom...you just can't say that you beat Ultimate Doom. I had a similar problem with Killzone: Liberation... I forced myself through the main game but couldn't bring myself to suffer through the atrociously designed final boss fight in the expansion, so I shelved that shit and considered the main game "complete".

[Volcanon]

Ep4 is definately a chore. Horrible level design and endlessly spawning enemies for the lose. It was even a chore to finish using invincibility and walk through walls.

I found the best-designed levels in Doom 1 were in ep1 and it all went downhill from there.

[cyberfluxor]

I've only had the shareware copy containing episode one. The cool thing is you can still use the WAD editors and make your own episode off the shareware. As for beating it, I did complete it a few times about a decade ago on all but the hardest difficulty without cheats. It always made me mad that when you teleport at the very end you find yourself stuck in hell and all cheats turn off so you're forced to die. I have still yet to play Doom with a mouse. Ultimate Doom has been temping still but just haven't pushed myself to go back through the Doom levels when Doom is still available for play on my consoles (N64, PSX, SAT) and my complete Doom2 for PC has been played through a dozen times.

Last MaGFest they had a Doom 2 LAN setup with 6 computers for 3v3 CtF and FFA DM. It was my first time playing any Doom game with a mouse as I still need to play Doom 3. :-/

[skaar]

Reading back through the posts I realized it was at that Perfect Hatred level above I had decided to give Doom the finger. E4M2. Maybe I'll revisit it again in the next few days.

Cyberfluxor: Nice Commander Keen avatar ;)

[megasdkirby]

Doom is, for me, a classic.

It's rare that a game can be played over and over again, and never loose it's "edge". I can play it a million times, and I never get bored of it.

It has this ambience that is unique yet spooky. The way the game plays is phenomenal.

Even today, I can pop in almost any version of Doom and stay stuck playing it...until the very end.

The game is wicked awesome and will always be a classic in my book.

[Berserker]

So, what do you all say? Is beating 1-3 beating Doom?

Definitely.

Awhile ago, having nothing better to do I grabbed ZDoom (http://zdoom.org), installed the game itself off of an old CD I had and started running through Doom. I wasn't out to break any records or anything, I just felt like learning the game like the back of my hand. Of course I'd already played the shareware episode countless times, and beaten the game a few times, but that was well over a decade ago.

So basically I just started going through the game, one episode at a time, beginning at the easiest difficulty while learning the levels, and then gradually ramping up the difficulty while learning how to deal with the monsters. I can run through the original three episodes in about half an hour, give or take.

Episode 4... I was intending to work my way to that once I'd mastered the original game, but I quickly found that it doesn't lend itself very well to this practice at all. In the first level, on the easiest difficulty, shortly after you start moving tons of shotgun guys and imps randomly teleport in, so it's difficult to learn the levels without cheating, which is something I wasn't there to do. The level designs are convoluted and confusing, etc... it just sucks. The episode was never part of the original game as I'd known it anyway, so I just skip it.

Contrary to how it may sound, running through the original episodes this way can be great fun. It's a good way to burn a half hour or so if you've got nothing to do, and also gets you familiar with a piece of gaming history. Eventually of course it starts to feel like an exercise, so I don't really run through it much anymore. Learning the levels is the part I find fun. I'm actually working my way through the original Quake right now...

[roushimsx]

I'm actually working my way through the original Quake right now...

Great, now I'm sitting here thinking about how much I enjoyed Episode 3 of Quake and how I kind of sort of really want to fire that sucker up right now. :(

[Berserker]

Great, now I'm sitting here thinking about how much I enjoyed Episode 3 of Quake and how I kind of sort of really want to fire that sucker up right now. :(

It's stood up surprisingly well. I have yet to play another game that's pulled off the same sort of stylistic balance and ambiance without going too far in one direction or the other -- medieval without being a full-on swords & sorcery game, futuristic without being cyberpunk or a space marine or something. Still strikingly gloomy, especially for a first-person shooter.

If you end up giving it a try, check out R1Q2 (http://www.r1ch.net/stuff/r1q2/). It's basically like what ZDoom is, only for Quake (stability/compatibility over graphical goodies, etc.)

[James8BitStar]

Quake rocks.

Funny thing is, just a year ago I would've said I hated Quake... but then I played through all four episodes back in January and quickly changed my mind.

Just recently got a new copy of Hexen (lost my original, and besides this one was boxed and included documentation). I'm gonna have me some FPS goodness as soon as I beat Zork Nemesis.

[megasdkirby]

Definitely.

Awhile ago, having nothing better to do I grabbed ZDoom (http://zdoom.org)...

Speaking of which, there was another "upgrade" that had awesome graphic textures, somewhat orchestrated sound, etc.

Problem is, I don't remember it's name. Any ideas? Would love to pop that sucker in this machine!

[Berserker]

Speaking of which, there was another "upgrade" that had awesome graphic textures, somewhat orchestrated sound, etc.

Problem is, I don't remember it's name. Any ideas? Would love to pop that sucker in this machine!

You're probably thinking of the Doomsday Engine (http://www.doomsdayhq.com/). It leans more towards the adding visual goodies end, with colored lighting and lens flares and particles. The textures and sounds aren't any kind of official upgrade, but more like fanmade addons people put together unofficially in an attempt to make the game more modernized. You'll still have to find these addons on your own and download them separately, but knowing what engine you use to play them will at least give you a sort of starting point.

The Quake equivalent to this would be engines like DarkPlaces (http://icculus.org/twilight/darkplaces/) and Tenebrae (http://tenebrae.sourceforge.net/), though I believe Tenebrae has been inactive for quite some time. Again, you'll have to download texture packs and things like that seperately. They're pretty effin' huge, too.

EDIT - Note to James8BitStar: Both ZDoom and the Doomsday Engine also work with Hexen, and other Doom engine games such as Heretic. (Apparently, only ZDoom works with Strife)

[Richter Belmount]

The original doom shall be forever really easy compared to the sequels (doom 2 and final doom). Its easy for me to say that throughout the years I have gotten used to playing really well at doom. Ever since being obsessed as a child. I played through every level I could get my hands on 3rd party expansions and retail. Since I didn't have internet back then to play the levels I played what I had avail to me. So I replayed every level on every difficulty and got pretty good.

So when you become adapt to the series and high levels of difficulty it makes the game really exciting. Just bum rushing every level to see how fast you can go through waves and waves of enemies is the shit. Most on here have tried but for those who haven't do yourself a huge favor and download Hell revealed wad for doom. One of the most famous and difficult doom wads out there.

[roushimsx]

http://images.roushimsx.com/id/Doom_End.jpg (http://images.roushimsx.com/id/Doom_End.png)

Well, Doom sure was fun again.

Played through Quake again as well and I just finished Scourge of Armagon today. Working on a replay of Dissolution of Eternity right now while slow cookin' Quake II on the side. Q2 is more enjoyable than I remembered it being while both DoE and SoA aren't quite as good as I remember.

Armagon's first mini episode is still every bit as awesome and there's some neat level designs in the following episodes, but the Shambler and Vore gets way, way too overused. Dissolution's new weapons don't do it for me like Armagon's :(

[James8BitStar]

Eh I thought the Shambler was overused in the original Quake as it was. Still, all in good fun. I remember freaking out in the last level of Ep4 when I was backtracking and discovered that I had opened a secret area containing a shambler. I was like "Oh **** and ****!!!"

Doom is awesomer though.

You know, here's a story from my experience that defines just how awesome Doom is:

I was playing the Shareware version. The Collector's Edition had just come out and I wanted to see if it was worth the ten bucks (I'm frugal ;)). So I was to.... E1M7 I think. I don't remember what difficulty level.

Anyway, I rounded this bend and there were these imps and shotgun dudes. There was no cover so I was heading back to the last room I was in... but just before I turned I saw a spark of a bullet hitting a wall or something, which didn't come from any of the guys ahead. So I turned.

And there was this group of imps, shotgunners, and those pink things that bite at you.

So I was in this slightly curving hallway, surrounded on both sides (sounds like an old war story, doesn't it?) and I did the only thing I could: I strafed left and right, turning every once in awhile, fired indescriminately, hoped for the best. And meanwhile they kept piling me, and each other--a few fireballs and bullets hit the wrong things and they started fighting each other as well as me, and I was just in the crossfire hoping not to get hit.

Somehow it came down to just me and this shotgun dude, who I pumped full of lead before he could take away my last thirty or so health points.

Then I promptly went out and layed down ten bucks for the Collector's Edition compilation.

... So, anyone else have any awesome Doom/Quake/any FPS whatsoever "war stories"?

[Magnum]

playing through doom again has inspired me to go back to doom 64 which i never had the patience for

now i just want to try a complete version of final doom. god i hope it comes out for xbla

[roushimsx]

Eh I thought the Shambler was overused in the original Quake as it was. Still, all in good fun. I remember freaking out in the last level of Ep4 when I was backtracking and discovered that I had opened a secret area containing a shambler. I was like "Oh **** and ****!!!"

Mission pack 1 makes you appreciate the level of restraint that id used in placement of the Shambler in the original Quake episodes :(

Those Overlord things from the last two missions of episode 1 in DoE make me miss the old Vores, though. God can they be annoying.

[SegaAges]

Stop making me want to play Hexen.

Way back in the day, every weekend one of my friends was allowed to rent 1 game from Blockbuster, and one time he had rented for like a month straight Hexen, but for N64.

Man that game was cool. Unfortunately, that is all I can remember from the game, is that it was cool.

Co-Op Hexen on N64 was where it was at back in the day.

[roushimsx]

Stop making me want to play Hexen.

You know, I recall enjoying Hexen II, but I'm sure it hasn't aged well at all. Guess I'll give the ol' sourceport (http://uhexen2.sourceforge.net/) a looksee anyway once I get around to given Hexen another shot.

I really don't foresee myself playing Heretic again...it had some interesting maps early on but really degenerated into tedium midway through. :( Heretic II was so. fucking. good though. Hmm, so...

[ ] Hexen
[ ] Deathkings of the Dark Citadel
[ ] Hexen II
[ ] Portal of Praevus
[ ] Heretic II

...and I still need to finish off Quake II and its expansions. Lordy lordy, I wonder how long this little project is going to take me. Hell, I wonder if I'll even be able to beat any of the above games or if they won't appeal to me the same way that they once did.

Fuck it, just for good measure, I'll add one more to the list:

[ ] Strife

Ahh yes, putting my 8800GT to good use.