Looking for some tips on quick LAN game setup

[supra107]

So, I've got an idea to make quick vanilla DOOM LAN games in class whenever we're not doing anything interesting, and I have a few questions about it.

 

First of all, I'm looking for a source port that can be easily deployed and started up with one batch file, both the server and the client. Crispy Doom does a good job at that, since it has the autoconnect function. But my problem is that it's not Boom compatible, and I would like to have that compatibility to avoid having problems with various deathmatch maps. PrBoom+ could be a great option, but it doesn't have the autoconnect option, and I don't want to mess with manually entering the IP address of the host, since the whole setup is meant to start quickly and easily.

 

That brings me to the second question: maps. I don't know any good deathmatch maps/map packs, so I'm looking forward to suggestions on that topic. Right now I'm using dwango5.wad, but I'm pretty sure there are better maps around.

[nWADDEN]

You can use internet-multiplayer based source ports that have compatibility with LAN (ZDaemon, Doomseeker) 

 

For the maps, you can look in the /levels/doom2/deathmatch section in /idgames.

[LadyVader1138]

Chocolate Doom is fairly easy to set up multiplayer. All you need is the computers to be on the same network/Wi-Fi.

Here's the official page on how to do Chocolate Doom multiplayer.

And I'm going to write an alternate guide right here:

 

To host the game:

1) Open the Setup Tool (on Windows, it is a separate file, on MacOS, it is available by clicking "Run Setup Tool", no idea about Linux)

2) Select "Start a Multiplayer Game"

3) Select your WAD, level, skill, co-op or deathmatch, etc.

4) Press Start to create the server.

5) When players have joined, press Space to begin.

 

To join the game:

1) Open the Setup Tool (on Windows, it is a separate file, on MacOS, it is available by clicking "Run Setup Tool", no idea about Linux)

2) Select "Join a Multiplayer Game"

3) Click "Find Server on Local Network"

4) Select the proper game.

 

 

Easy as pie.

Edited March 29, 2019 by LadyVader1138

[Doomkid]

I didn’t realise Crispy has an auto connect feature, that’s pretty awesome. For Crispy and Choco, which won’t do the trick for most wads, I always just used the included setup.exe to start the game on one PC and to connect on the other. Since all the PCs are on the same network, it’s easy as pie.

 

Even though it’s unnecessary for lan, I would still suggest Zandronum, ZDaemon or Odamex if you want to play Boom or even ZDoom DM wads. In ZDaemon for example it’s still quite simple, you run zserv and tell it what wad, game mode etc. then connect using the client on each PC. Using a server browser would make this even easier but it seems you’re going for a super-streamlined approach. The only ports I know of that are super easy to set up over lan are Crispy and Choco.

 

Either way, here are some fun DM wads: https://doomshack.org/recommended.html

 

 

[LadyVader1138]

If you do go with Zandronum, I recommend adding this to it. It's called Skulltag. It used to be it's own source port, but support for it died a while back. The main reason I am recommending it is that it comes with a few really good DM maps built in. I really enjoy "D2DM7 - Linguica's Lair". It's a good size map for a small number of players.