Tips for making GZDoom software mode look like PRBoom+?

[VanaheimRanger]

In the past couple of months I've been pretty much stuck using a controller to play Doom due to a bad mouse, which means I can't play on PRBoom+ only GZDoom.

 

I like the way Doom looks on PRBoom, so last night I created a separate installation of GZD for software mode to play vanilla and boom compatible WADs on.  The base settings look alright, I tweaked a few things, most notably changing the sky rendering to linear to keep it from stretching on the edges of the screen, and disabling dynamic lights and decals.

 

It looks pretty nice, but anyone here have any tips to make it look even more like PRBoom+?

 

EDIT: I should also mention that since I've been forced to use a controller, I have grown to enjoy it, so even when I get a better mouse I'll most likely keep using this setup.

Edited December 15, 2018 by guitardz

[Nine Inch Heels]

Disabling texture filtering may go a long way.

[VanaheimRanger]

Just now, Nine Inch Heels said:

Disabling texture filtering may go a long way.

Ah yes, I actually did this in GZD long ago, I can't stand the blurry look of the default GZDoom graphics.  Gotta have those crunchy pixels, lol.

[Gez]

Just to lift ambiguity, by "software" you do refer to the original, if tweaked, Carmack renderer that's still included; not the software shader lighting mode for OpenGL, right? Because texture filtering should be irrelevant for it, since it's not the OpenGL renderer.

 

One thing you can do is go to Display Options and find the "Classic Transparency" setting. Set it to "vanilla (forced)" to get back the opaque projectiles and lost souls. On the same menu, set "fake contrast" to "on", set fuzz effect to "fuzz", set rocket trails off, set blood and bullet puffs to sprites only, turn teleporter zoom off, set menu dim to 0, and I think that should largely be it.

[Bauul]

Another one is to ensure you're using Paletted Software mode not True Color Software mode for that authentic grimy look.

[VanaheimRanger]

13 minutes ago, Gez said:

Just to lift ambiguity, by "software" you do refer to the original, if tweaked, Carmack renderer that's still included; not the software shader lighting mode for OpenGL, right? Because texture filtering should be irrelevant for it, since it's not the OpenGL renderer.

Yes the software renderer, not the sector lighting mode.  And those are exactly the kind of things I was looking for, going to put them all to use, thanks :)

[VanaheimRanger]

1 minute ago, Bauul said:

Another one is to ensure you're using Paletted Software mode not True Color Software mode for that authentic grimy look.

Yeah I looked at the truecolor renderer, it still looks too modern.  

[cambreaKer]

you can turn off particles and decals

[Edward850]

If what you want is PRBoom+ but with controller support, Eternity might be what you want. It has full gamepad support for anything that works under SDL2, and has full uncompromised vanilla/Boom compatibility with an authentic renderer.

[VanaheimRanger]

7 minutes ago, Edward850 said:

If what you want is PRBoom+ but with controller support, Eternity might be what you want. It has full gamepad support for anything that works under SDL2, and has full uncompromised vanilla/Boom compatibility with an authentic renderer.

Nice, I will try it as well and see if I like it.

[vadrig4r]

I created a fresh install of GZDoom 3.6.0 and noted down which menu options one would have to change in order to more closely match the original game. The most important options are the compatibility options and the display options, and if you prefer the look of the original UI so are the HUD options and video settings. This is pieced together from observation, posts in this thread and others. There may well be some further tweaks—particularly in display options as I'm not too familiar with GZDoom's engine—but the end result is a pretty serviceable looking rendition of classic Doom. Of course GZDoom is designed as a powerful, expanded feature engine rather than for vanilla compatibility and faithfulness. I'm not advocating using a hammer to drill a hole, I just thought I'd list some options for people who might want to play a GZDoom-requiring WAD (or use a controller) and prefer the aesthetics and limitations of the original game. I also +1 Edward850's post recommending to check out Eternity, it too is a great port.

 

- mouse options
enable mouse in menus: no
show back button: off
- compatibility options
compatibility mode: doom (strict) // has major gameplay implications such as infinitely tall actors and wallrunning, fine for IWADs but depending on the WAD you may need to change this setting
- automap options
map colour set: traditional doom
show monster counts: as desired (not present in Doom)
show secret counts: as desired (not present in Doom)
show time elapsed: as desired (not present in Doom)
- hud options
    - scaling options
    messages: 5 // this was hard to judge and may depend on resolution, 5 seemed closest but the text seems slightly stretched relative to the original
    user interface scale: adapt to screen size
    status bar: scale to fullscreen
    fullscreen hud: scale to fullscreen
    - message options
    show secret notifications: as desired (not present in Doom)
    detailed save options: as desired (not present in Doom)
- display options
    - software renderer
    sky render mode: normal
classic transparency: vanilla (forced)
rocket trails: off
number of decals: 0
teleporter zoom: off
menu dim: 0.00 (or ~0.5 with pure black if menu legibility is a concern)
- video mode
render mode: doom software renderer
force aspect ratio: 4:3
forced ratio style: letterbox
resolution scale: scaled (nearest)
choose resolution preset: play around with the options, as this will depend upon your monitor and video card setup. try your native resolution with the above settings and you should end up with a 4:3 game view with correctly scaled messages, status bar and legible menus. you could also select a 4:3 resolution directly for mostly the same effect, or if you want the game to fill your native resolution simply set force aspect ratio: off.
- console commands
cl_capfps true // limits frame rate to 35 FPS
r_particles false // disables particle effects

[VanaheimRanger]

Okay I used a lot of the tips posted here and this is my current result.  Pretty satisfied.

And PRBoom+ to compare:

 

I also tired Eternity, which I liked initially, however, setting up my Xbox controller to work with it was giving me a headache (It wasn't recognizing it as an xinput device) here is how it looked:

And for good measure, GZDoom with OpenGL and all the fancy features (with Software sector lighting mode):