What is the best console version of DOOM?

[Anthony1]

I would have to assume it's the Atari Jaguar version, but I just wanted to double check with you guys.

I understand that the Nintendo 64 version of Doom called DOOM 64 is really almost a different game then the real DOOM from Id, so I'm not sure if that would qualify.

[Ed Oscuro]

Why not include the N64 version? I haven't played it, but it looks darn good.

Also, a number of ideas from the game mirror Tom Hall's original "DOOM Bible" game design sheet (his original design was story-oriented to a degree that DOOM ]|[ will reach, but DOOM and DOOM ][ don't even come close to, and perhaps it would have been deeper, if not as good as, the story to Marathon). Specifically, there's, well, some story, but there's also the build-a-weapon idea taken right out of that sheet.

I hear the GBA versions are quite good indeed.

The Super NES version plays awfully.

Still, a complete collection would be nice :D

[Zaxxon]

I think the N64 DOOM was made by Id but they updated all the graphics and maybe the levels. Jag DOOM is superior to the PC version in that it's in many more colors and had lighting effects not in the PC version and maybe the PS version, but it's lower resolution. IIRC the PS version has all the DOOM 1 and 2 levels, twice as many as the Jag version. I own the Jag version and had rented the PS version to compare and noticed this very wierd graphic glitch in the PS version. Every time I would turn, I noticed the lines in the bricks would not line up correctly and there be this strange shifting of the lines on the bricks, like they would slowly settle into place whenever you stopped turning.

[Arqueologia_Digital]

I think the Jaguar version is the best, then the 32X and finally the SNES. The N64 version it´s great, but very different from the original.

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh yes, the N64 DOOM is completely different in terms of levels (I've got the issue of Nintendo Power where they've listed all the level names + passwords; you don't see those names elsewhere).

It would have been absolutely awesome if they included Tom's original character names...but that was Rise of the Triad >)

[Anthony1]

I don't have a Jaguar right now, I hope to get one soon, but I can tell you that the Jaguar version of DOOM is freaking incredible on a RGB Monitor.

The colors and clarity of the game are just awesome!

Very detailed graphics for a console version.

The Playstation version is very good as well, but I think that the Atari Jaguar version might look somewhat better.


As for the Nintendo 64 version, I definitely want to get that one, but I don't want to play it, until I play the regular normal version of Doom again first.

I don't want to spoil the normal mood of the regular version.

[omnedon]

I've yet to see a console version of DOOM that didn't suck ass.

/me wonders if my computer gamer past is showing

:D

[Anthony1]

omnedon: Ok, if that is the case, then what is the best PC version of Doom?


Has Id ever gone back and redone the old game to make it look much better with the latest 3D Accelerator cards?

If I was going to buy a PC version of Doom, which one should I look for?


Thanks.

[Ed Oscuro]

Heh, I started as a computer gamer myself. I'm happy to have the original Duke Nukem 3D, Half-Life and System Shock 2 boxes. I really would like a bunch of 1993-1994 stuff: original Heretic, DOOM, Ultima Underworld and System Shock boxes, and then some pretty old stuff from the 1980s as well. I don't know why, but PC games in general just don't seem to get relegated to "classic gaming" status, but they do get "old" rather fast.

[digitalpress]

My vote is for the PlayStation version. It's brilliant. Get Final Doom too, and you've got pretty much everything ever commercially released on PC, good speed, all the music, etc etc etc.

Jaguar is 2nd.

32X is 3rd (better in the music department than Jag but it's also got a giant border around the playfield - sloppy).

Somewhere way way back in the pack is the SNES and 3DO versions. Awful.

The Game Boy Advance version is pretty nice, better than you'd expect. The game has also been ported for just about everything from pocket PC's to Dreamcast and NUON "homebrews".

[omnedon]

Anthony1- Google 'Jdoom' and 'DoomGL'.

Jumping, mlook, sourced lighting, all added to these Doom hacks, network play. Amazing stuff.

It's all about the mouse, and the multiplayer. I don't blame the consoles for trying, but DOOM lives on a a computer.

[Ed Oscuro]

Anthony1- Google 'Jdoom' and 'DoomGL'.

Jumping, mlook, sourced lighting, all added to these Doom hacks, network play. Amazing stuff.

It's all about the mouse, and the multiplayer. I don't blame the consoles for trying, but DOOM lives on a a computer.

But therein lies the problem...I played a bit of Jdoom and it totally destroyed the DOOM experience for me. It just doesn't look right unless it's pixelated, and I feel terribly cheap jumping up over chasms you used to have to run around, run at, and hope you'd make, replaced by a single button press.

[Anthony1]

Don't you need like a 3Dfx card to play DoomGL?

I have one of the cheapo GeForce cards. Like a Geforce MX 200 or MX 400 or something.


I plan on upgrading my entire PC for Half Life 2. But that's another story.

[kainemaxwell]

I'm gonna second Doom for the PSX with Doom 64 a close second place.

[Gunstarhero]

I say Doom 64 is the best version, with totally updated graphics, and many more fine details added to the game. It runs very smoothly and I didn't notice any slowdown or anything when I ran into a room full of bad guys. Jaguar Doom is the best port of the original PC game I've played, so I'd say Jag Doom is runner up to Doom 64.

[le geek]

I have to go with the PSX version as well. I like the 32x version as well. The Jag version may have been nice but locked up on my Jag at the time! >:(

[metal_head]

I have to go for the Playstation version as well....I think the lighting makes it prettier than the Jag version, and the sound is awesome.

N64 Doom is pretty cool too, but it aint really Doom! ;)

[norkusa]

Sure, Doom 64 is visually great, but did anyone else have a problem with the controls besides me? The way the controls are set up, you have to take your finger off the fire button (Z trigger) if you want to strafe left (L button) which severly limited your ability to shoot while dodging enemies. I thought this was the games only flaw but a big one at that.

PSX Doom is tops in my book.

[Arrrhalomynn]

Seems like nobody mentioned the Saturn version yet. Good! it's horrible.
Which is kinda odd, because the 32X version is awesome. I think it's better than the Jaguar one, but that might be, because of sound related problems with my Jaguar.

[BenT]

Warning, warning! Doom snob approaching!

This thread is silly. If you have a Pentium or better, then you should almost certainly stick to Dooming on your PC. Back in '95, my old P90 got a fairly consistent 35 fps (the highest framerate Doom can run at), which is better than any console port short of Doom 64. And only a PC can support mouse control, which is essential to unlock your full potential.

Better still, there are a variety of source ports available that take the Doom experience to the next level. I highly recommend ZDoom (http://zdoom.notgod.com) which is a non-GL source port for Win32 that supports a ton of thoughtful features. And for the purists, many features can be turned off. Don't want to mlook and jump? Toggle 'em off, and enjoy the high resolution and other benefits that ZDoom can offer. Or run in the original low-res. Whatever. ZDoom supports it. Get it, or something similar.

The only console port worth a PC owner's time, IMO, is Doom 64, which as mentioned is a completely original and pretty interesting product. Hard as hell, though.

[Ed Oscuro]

Warning, warning! Doom snob approaching!

It helps to be jaded, that's my motto ;)

Yes, zDOOM is the name of the port I've used; superior to jDOOM (isn't that J for Java?) and glDOOM. I liked it a lot, but playing with the high res, jump, and other options hurt my game. That said, I was playing DOOM 2, which can't hold a demonic candle (not even a baptismal candle, IMO) to the atmosphere of the original. Especially with the recycled levels. Yikes.

The mouse support, though, is a must. I got used to using Alt back when, but anything that keeps Alt + Tab out of my keystrokes is a blessing. I started playing DOOM a while back, eh, around 1997/8 or so with the ancient Windows port included in the trillogy package, and those two buttons--both legal keys in the game--were an annoyance when I forgot that it would switch out of the game. On the plus side, I knew even back then how to delete certain escape sequences :D

I find the many console ports to be interesting from the standpoint of "hey, they hacked the game for these screenshots, look at how many shotgun shells he's carrying" (250 on the Jag packaging, I believe) or the like. Overall, though, nothing beats playing on a real PC.

Then there's the little issue of MIDI audio. Newer MIDI cards have more instruments, but usually their onboard samples are annoying. I prefer to play DOOM on a PC with either an older sound card or some sort of onboard audio control program (and those aren't terribly good for your performance) that lets you alter the sort of instrument set you're using (forget the name...SoundMAX, I believe, is one such program).

[hydr0x]

i can only agree that the pc version is by far superior, btw u can play the original doom without mouse (for the guy who thought this ruined his experience) BUT the mouse is what makes all pc-fps superior to the console-fps (that is, if u don't have a mouse&keyboard for dc,gc,ps2...)

btw isn't there a doom port for the dreamcast? noone did mention it

[Ed Oscuro]

That person would be me. No, it was just the resolution, jumping and most importantly the music (not so bad in DOOM 2's level one if I recall).

Heh, I find it funny when people just post something "In Reply To the Guy whose post I read hmm half a day ago" and try to offer advice when they don't really get the point. I guess I'm different (I usually can remember the content of threads a few months old) but recently I've realized that when this happens I should be able to laugh at it.

Er, anyways. I'm okay with it, are you okay with me? o_O

Isn't there a DOOM port for Dreamcast? Well, you've got MAME for Dreamcast and so on; probably somebody or other has ported the game there. I don't think there was an official port; in fact, I'm fairly certain of it.

[BenT]

Doom was never released commercially on DC. It's only available via homebrew ports.

http://files.frashii.com/~sp00nz/Doom/index.php

[hydr0x]

lol ed i did read ur post about 2 minutes before i wrote my answer, i just wasn't in the mood to scroll down and look who posted it, i usually don't look at the poster, as it's not important who wrote something (unless it's a very important person) but what he wrote ;)

[hydr0x]

oh and of course i know the dc version is a homebrew but all of those 3D-accelerated doom versions also are :)

[bargora]

I agree with you, Ed, that an older sound card is way better for dishing out the Doom / ][ tunes, as the newer cards make the epic BGM sound rather cheesy. Most people would call you or me crazy for even contemplating such stuff, though. LOL

After playing Doom and Doom ][ for several years in the 90s, I never really got into another PC FPS. And I was a keyboard purist. The only time I ever got motion sickness from a videogame was the time I hooked up a mouse for some Doom. That was just wrong. I guess you turn too fast or something. And Quake? Vertical axis aiming? Whatever. I was not impressed, or I didn't have a hot enough computer, or something like that. So I never developed the whole keyboard/mouse tandem control ability. In fact, I never even seriously played another FPS until I got Unreal Tournament for my PS2, which utilized the dual shock controller to good effect.

Back to the topic, lately I've been playing Doom and Doom ][ on my GBA, and I have to say that despite the lower resolution, I prefer the Doom port, because it runs faster and more fluidly than the Doom ][. Which is probably a result of the lower resolution. Doom ][ does look nicer, but I don't think that really matters once you're zoned in to wasting the undead. And the slightly jerky nature of the framerate means that at times you either have to lower your turn rate or else deal with overshooting your aim. I noticed this in "The Focus", and it was irritating. You should die because YOU suck, not because the control is difficult. So I think that compromising the framerate for a higher resolution was a mistake from a playability standpoint. I mean, really, I almost think that high quality sound effects are more important than slight variations in graphical quality, once a basic creepy atmosphere has been established.

Also, yeah, the Saturn version isn't that hot.