Favorite Source Port? (Multiple Choice Poll)

[Graf Zahl]

The crux of the matter is that as a pure standalone no engine could survive. This has nothing to do with its quality or its feature set but with a mindset among mappers who only see "Port X has low download numbers, so it's not an appealing target for me." It's very hard to make this mindset go away, people just seem to assume that users won't download another port to play their mod. This isn't true, of course, there was a pronounced spike in Eternity downloads after Heartland's release, so people definitely downloaded the engine to play this mod.

But it doesn't change that having the port support a subset of another port's feature (if doable with a reasonable amount of effort, of course) to play some of its maps may actually give a popularity boost if it couples this support with some other appealing features of its own.

 

It surely worked when I added Doom Legacy support to GZDoom in the early days to play some of the big-name Legacy mods, most notably Nimrod and HTH2. The general reception I got for this move was overwhelmingly positive.

 

[roadworx]

On 9/12/2022 at 2:35 PM, segfault said:

It still doesn't change the fact that getting into Doom modding is way more tedious and obtuse than it needs to be if you're not already knee-deep in PC game modding, and maybe the technical barrier to entry can be lowered a bit so more people can enjoy all the cool shit that's been and is being made. That's my point.

...nnno it's not? while there's definitely a certain level of technical skill you need in order to play pwads, it's honestly significantly easier than with many other games. even with something with an enormous modding community and its own mod launchers like skyrim, you oftentimes have to do a shitload of tinkering in order to get stuff to work and iron out compatibility issues. that's not at all the case with doom; all you need to do is drag and drop a file, and play on the compat that the author has specified.

Edited September 16, 2022 by roadworx

[yakfak]

chocorenderlimits unlocks a secret game mode where you can always teleport back to the most complicated scene on the map and looks 100% like doom with no authorial decisions in particular <3 best port by a mile. no. 2 = DSDADoom for supporting stuff I care about

[heliumlamb]

currently woof and crispy doom for most of my playing, i'm mostly testing in chocolate these days. eternity for the sake of it and portals. i've got them all set up to a 200p resolution, either 4:3 or 16:9 at 35 fps because i'm well on, if not already entirely on the path to becoming a dang luddite.

 

woof at 200p, .90 gamma with brightmaps on is the the best looking doom has ever been on an lcd imo, and might even look better on on a crt set to that. fullscreen endoom is also a lowkey top tier feature.

 

zdoom and chocolate doom were my main ports from 2006ish-2022. my most subjective nitpicks are a direct result of how detrimentally stubborn i am about my mouse input. i havent been able to get it "right" in prboom or its derivatives at any point in the past 15 years. it just isn't granular enough. i remember it still being too fast with the slider all the way down even. my most recent attempt to set it puts me between 2 different values on the sensitivity slider, too fast and too slow. (disclosure: has not bothered with any cfg)

[ChopBlock223]

7 hours ago, roadworx said:

...nnno it's not? while there's definitely a certain level of technical skill you need in order to play pwads, it's honestly significantly easier than with many other games. even with something with an enormous modding community and its own mod launchers like skyrim, you oftentimes have to do a shitload of tinkering in order to get stuff to work and iron out compatibility issues. that's not at all the case with doom; all you need to do is drag and drop a file, and play on the compat that the author has specified.

I agree vety strongly with this. Modding Doom and playing Doom mods/levels is incredibly easy to do compared to many other games famous for being moddable.

 

Not every game has the luxury of convenient and easy to use sourceports like Doom does, nor featuring such wide and shared compatibility.

[StodgyAyatollah]

I use DSDA-Doom almost exclusively since it does everything I want and does it well. I have Chocolate Doom in case I want a big hit of nostalgia but almost never use it. GZDoom for total conversions that I never end up playing. It's also an older build because newer ones only display black & white on my system and I can't be bothered to try and troubleshoot something I never use. I have Eternity installed from when I downloaded Heartland but couldn't get the mouse sensitivity comfortable to me so I never even played that with it. I've used several others regularly over the years like crispy, prboom+, International Doom back when it was Russian Doom, etc, etc but DSDA-Doom has replaced them all for me.

[eqagunn]

On 9/11/2022 at 10:07 PM, Gregor said:

I prefer DSDA myself.

But most people will use "Others" aka GZDoom. ;)

I was surprised not to see GZDoom as a voting option. I'm one of those people. Never even tried other ports. The customizability of it is the greatest appeal. The only thing I wish it had additionally are global bindings.

Edited September 17, 2022 by eqagunn

[Apprentice]

I began with ZDoom when it was still 19something* instead of 20whatever and since ZDoom has ceased development, I have been using GZDoom, Zandronum and other ports derived from ZDoom. I never really used any other port available and/or discontinued, not even Skulltag . . .

 

 

* and hosted on zdoom.notgod.com, don't remind him ;)

[DOEL]

DSDA Doom for singleplayer and demo recording

 

Woof for coop demos

 

Zandronum for multiplayer with awesome mods

 

[fai1025]

yeah what source port do you guys normally use

 

btw, I ask the same question on r/Doom on reddit, it's only been 2 days but i think the result is pretty obvious

Spoiler

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by fai1025
trying to make this a simple question and not start argument

[CasualScrub]

Most of the time I'm using GZDoom, since it can handle almost anything tossed at it and most mods use it. Otherwise if I'm going for a more oldschool classic experience I use Crispy Doom.

 

Also, I don't play multiplayer but if I did I'd use Zandronum.

[Sonikkumania]

GZDoom. If it weren't for modding and mapping I wouldn't care so much about sourceport.

[RHhe82]

3 hours ago, fai1025 said:

 

I ask this because I wanna fit my maps to the main stream

Wasn’t there a similar thread a week or so ago, with poll and all? That left GZDoom out, but answers revealed that it is a popular choice, but that on this forum answers might be more varied than in Internet in general?

 

If there was a map I really wanted to play, a map that doesn’t run in PrBoom/DSDA, I’d switch port to play it. (That said, I still haven’t played Heartland because I can’t get Eternity to ’feel right’). What I mean to say, I don’t think choosing source port based on popularity is necessarily the best choice.

 

Moreover, if you make a vanilla map, that even adheres to vanilla limits, every source port will run it, so I guess that’s the option for the widest audience. You don’t even need to concern yourself with source port popularity.

[Herr Dethnout]

Doom Retro for Doom (duh)

International Hexen a Herectic cuz it is related with Doom Retro.

For Strife I use Sprinkled Strife because is the only Strife Sourceport that is not Chocolate or Zdoom family source port I know (Pls we need a Strife Retro or International Strife)

And for complex things LZDoom (or GZDoom for humble people like me)

 

4 hours ago, fai1025 said:

I know probably 87% of the ppl gonna say GZDoom

not that it's wrong but I think it's pretty overrated imo

I don't think is overrated, but thanks to Brutal Doom made it pretty popular among newbies (I'm a example heh). Actually, thanks to Z/GZ/LZDoom is why Doom Community has gone more and more popular internationally (I think so lol).

Edited September 23, 2022 by Herr Dethnout

[Lucius Wooding]

Compatibility and not having to mess with settings much are very important features, not overrated. I can dial in one sourceport capable of playing mostly everything with my preferred hotkeys and settings without losing a seamless experience between wads. Otherwise you've got to go through this process multiple times and I don't find it particularly worth it. Especially so if I'm only downloading a port to play one wad; there's an abundance of maps out there and I'd rather just skip it instead of investing more time in setup/acclimation.

 

GZDoom probably has the best ease of use overall and most maps won't have any issue with performance. I don't even use many of the advanced features myself, I tend to be more of a traditionalist in terms of gameplay settings and don't play a ton of ZDoom targeted stuff or anything. I don't record demos of any kind, nor use mods outside the occasional dehacked patch or something. It's probably the most practical and useful port for one off playtesting, as it's normally plug and play and mappers benefit greatly from testing under the most common port if they don't have a ton of players. I also find the console feature very neat, being able to -resurrect during testing or practice runs in lieu of saving is very useful. I don't make a habit of using saves on most maps unless it's deliberate. 

 

I'd say 80% of my gameplay is done on an older build of GZDoom, since it's most convenient on my ancient 2013 mac laptop. Lately I've had neck/shoulder pain that makes using my desktop very uncomfortable, either for mapping or gameplay. For this reason, I'm a lot more likely to load up wads on a whim with it compared to my main alternative. I go for trying random stuff off the forums lately over playing seriously on important wads. I will say however, I think a lot of the default settings need changing to get a good experience for me. 

 

I also use PRBoom+ for anything I'm playtesting under complevel 2/9 or trying to deep dive into. I like it visually since I prefer true software lighting and it feels a bit more pro gamerish. But honestly, having to move a wad into a specific folder and populate the application's list manually to load it is not as easy as drag and drop. Also things like being able to use either arrow keys or mouse to navigate menus are quality of life features that it lacks. I find it to be a very good Doom experience, but it's more for when I want to legitimately complete a map or get the truest visuals. 

 

Now obviously more specialized ports have their place, some people lean on multiplayer or demo recording features and might lean towards those options as daily drivers as well. It comes down to habit in the end. 

[Razza]

I tried switching from gzdoom to prboom+ for regular gameplay, but the amount of shots i missed/ammo wasted because of the auto aim combined with the blockmap being fucky with hitscan weapons is too damn frustrating.

[Redneckerz]

3 hours ago, fai1025 said:

I know probably 87% of the ppl gonna say GZDoom

not that it's wrong but I think it's pretty overrated imo

Overrated, why? You aren't mentioning a reason.

3 hours ago, fai1025 said:

 

btw, I ask the same question on r/Doom on reddit, it's only been 2 days but i think the result is pretty obvious

  Hide contents

 

I ask this because I wanna fit my maps to the main stream

Dont you want to be the exception instead?

20 minutes ago, RHhe82 said:

Wasn’t there a similar thread a week or so ago, with poll and all? That left GZDoom out, but answers revealed that it is a popular choice, but that on this forum answers might be more varied than in Internet in general?

Yep, just fell off the page, which means an additional click:

 

20 minutes ago, RHhe82 said:

You don’t even need to concern yourself with source port popularity.

Map the way you want to map and use the port you want to use. This neverending fascination/concern which port should be targetted because popularity is so whack.

[Wyrmwood]

1 minute ago, Razza said:

I tried switching from gzdoom to prboom+ for regular gameplay, but the amount of shots i missed/ammo wasted because of the auto aim combined with the blockmap being fucky with hitscan weapons is too damn frustrating.

 

 If I'm using DSDA I leave free look off, turn on the cross-hair, set it for change color when targeting enemies. Works just the same as the Unity port I use on Switch. Feels a tiny bit cheaty in dark area's but saves those missed shots.

 

In answer to the op's question I mostly use GZDoom for ease of use, great controller support and some of my favorite mods like nash-gore, improved bright maps (glowy demon eyes) and timed auto-saver require it. Sometimes I like to play more classical style so pure vanilla or limit removing I'll fire up DSDA just for a change. So whatever you make I'm covered anyway, sure most people here use a few different source ports for various reasons.

 

 

[Metal_Slayer]

51 minutes ago, Herr Dethnout said:

I don't think is overrated, but thanks to Brutal Doom made it pretty popular among newbies (I'm a example heh). Actually, thanks to Z/GZ/LZDoom is why Doom Community has gone more and more popular internationally (I think so lol).

Making something more popular always draws the attention of people like clickbait Youtubers, unfunny memers and low effort modders, if anything the popularity of Brutal Doom made DOOM get a sequel because most people that play with those kinds of mods become bored and don't stay for long(even though it was supposed to be "a mod that makes Doom more enjoyable").

12 minutes ago, Razza said:

I tried switching from gzdoom to prboom+ for regular gameplay, but the amount of shots i missed/ammo wasted because of the auto aim combined with the blockmap being fucky with hitscan weapons is too damn frustrating.

Did you really played it or you just wanted to justify using mouselook without needing to admit you don't know how to play without it? Also, Blockmap making you miss a shot is something that usually only happens once or twice in a playthrough of a megawad unless it's intentional.

[StodgyAyatollah]

There was a thread like a week ago with a discussion on which format to map with. My opinion on the matter can be found there. 

 

[Herr Dethnout]

47 minutes ago, Lucius Wooding said:

Compatibility and not having to mess with settings much are very important features, not overrated. I can dial in one sourceport capable of playing mostly everything with my preferred hotkeys and settings without losing a seamless experience between wads. Otherwise you've got to go through this process multiple times and I don't find it particularly worth it.

It's one of the reasons why I love Doom Retro, aside the fact that you need to use a text editor to change de options or using Console commands (Hence his minimalistic aproach), it's actually pretty straightfoward. GZDoom can be overwhelming with all the options it has and sometimes, mods can change the settings I had, forcing me to setting up all again.

[Razza]

 

4 hours ago, Metal_Slayer said:

Did you really played it or you just wanted to justify using mouselook without needing to admit you don't know how to play without it? Also, Blockmap making you miss a shot is something that usually only happens once or twice in a playthrough of a megawad unless it's intentional.

Don't really see why you feel the need to be so rude here. I started playing doom like 14 years ago, and a good chuck of that was using dosbox, so i'd say i DO know how to play without mouselook. i just like to actually be in control of where i aim thank you very much

[nobleflame]

PrBoom+UMAPINFO mostly (comp 2, 9), with GZDoom for map sets that require it. 

 

Thought about DSDA and Woof, but haven't made the switch yet.

[choppychoppy]

zdl with gzdoom

 

 

 

[Solmyr]

Crispy Doom, DSDA Doom, and LZDoom for testing purpouses during map development.

 

As of now i mainly use Crispy Doom for regular play. 

 

Zandronum for multiplayer.

 

So you said you want to map for a mainstream audience? This place is pretty much "vanilla/limit removing boom" land, so you'll have plenty of potential players if  you aim at those formats. Although there's still audience for any map format and any source port you choose to target.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Solmyr

[Stupid Bunny]

Wow finally after 29 years somebody has thought to ask this question

 

I default to Crispy Doom, use Eternity for Boom (or Eternity) format maps, and GZDoom for anything UDMF or ZDoom or whatever. I used to use PRBoom+ a lot more but I don’t like infinitely tall actors and now just use it for compatibility testing purposes. Oh and I always use vanilla DOS Doom when playing The Sky May Be

 

Anyway I’ll be back for the favorite map, favorite monster, and “my opinions on Brutal Doom” threads due any time now 

Edited September 23, 2022 by Stupid Bunny

[MFG38]

16 hours ago, Lucius Wooding said:

not having to mess with settings much

 

Except you do have to mess with the settings quite a bit in GZDoom if you want it to not look like shit.

[Nightmare2989]

Gzdoom for me i like to use mods and please don't shoot me and a controller as gzdoom can support a controller

[Lucius Wooding]

22 minutes ago, MFG38 said:

 

Except you do have to mess with the settings quite a bit in GZDoom if you want it to not look like shit.

 

Although texture filtering is an absolute sin, I didn't find it that difficult to turn it off. However I find it unnecessary to perform setup on more source ports that are completely extraneous and only offer a slim set of bonus features and I'd never use. I spent the 5 minutes one time and now I can play everything with more or less my preferred graphical and control settings. Don't act like making GZ look decent is some kind of massive enigma; it just has defaults that purists don't like. And it should, since it covers a far wider set of mapping features than most source ports, a lot of which are designed for those not looking for a vanilla look for their maps.

[Noiser]

This again?