Know of any quality obscure Doom clones?

[HQDefault]

I'm just curious. I'd like to hear if there are any FPS's chasing Doom's success that were actually half decent. Could be an interesting way to spend a weekend.

 

EDIT: When I say "Quality", perhaps I should specify that I don't mean great. I mean something more like "above average".

Edited October 29, 2020 by HQDefault

[Noiser]

Heretic, Hexen, HacX, Strife, Chex Quest, Rise of the Triad, Dark Forces, Witchaven, Powerslave. Descent is also kinda doom-ish.

None of these are really obscure though. There are some weird ones that may not be your cup of tea, but I like them for what they are: Mars 3D, Hades 2 and Quiver. There are also Wolf3D clones like Corridor 7, Blake Stone and Nitemare 3D. Again, not for everyone, but if you like Wolf3D you will probably enjoy them as well.

Edited October 29, 2020 by Noiser

[AinuTheTaken]

Wolfenstein 3D for Super Nes... Not bad.

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

Obligatory Super 3D Noah's Ark mention.

[Zillah]

'Obscure' and 'Quality' are usually two words when put together mean something underrated and wonderful.

In terms of doom clones, it's quite the opposite.

[D4NUK1]

"Total Conversions" it's also valids?

My take is some olders one like the Aliens wads-

Edited October 29, 2020 by jamondemarnatural

[Murdoch]

  On 10/29/2020 at 7:28 PM, HQDefault said:

I'm just curious. I'd like to hear if there are any FPS's chasing Doom's success that were actually half decent. Could be an interesting way to spend a weekend.

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Obscure, yes. Quality... not so much. Someone mentioned Corridor 7 above. That was actually intended to compete with Doom in spite of running on a modified Wolf3D engine. I remember an ad for it at the time of release "Prepare to Meet They Doom" with meet crossed out and the word "beat" written above it. They unfortunately forgot a key ingredient to competing or indeed beating Doom and that was "not being complete trash".

 

Honestly, the half-way decent and good "Doom clones" as they were called at the time are pretty well known - Heretic, Strife etc. The obscure ones are obscure for a very good reason.

[inkoalawetrust]

  On 10/29/2020 at 7:56 PM, Noiser said:

Heretic, Hexen, HacX, Strife, Chex Quest, Rise of the Triad, Dark Forces, Witchaven, Powerslave. Descent is also kinda doom-ish.

None of these are really obscure though. There are some weird ones that may not be your cup of tea, but I like them for what they are: Mars 3D, Hades 2 and Quiver. There are also Wolf3D clones like Corridor 7, Blake Stone and Nitemare 3D. Again, not for everyone, but if you like Wolf3D you will probably enjoy them as well.

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I wouldn't call Hexen and Strife Doom clones, they are pretty different in premise and gameplay even if they are based on (licensed forks of) the Doom engine, Heretic I'm not too sure though but I've heard that it's pretty similar to Doom but with heavier fantasy elements so it could probably count.
But Chex Quest uses a barely modified licensed Doom engine fork that just has some really specific and weird changes (Such as apperantly allowing for longer text strings to be displayed.), but is otherwise Doom with different sprites and HacX is literally a DeHackEd TC so those are definitely clones.
No idea about the others or what they even are, ROTT is that game that runs on an expanded Wolf3D engine right ? I don't think that specifically counts as a Doom clone as much as it does maybe a Wolf3D clone, or a pimped out Wolf3D.

My addition to the list of Doom clones would be Marathon, which was a Mac OS game made by Bungie which is very blatantly copying Doom, and from what I've read here and there it was basically Doom for Mac users.
 

Another one I've heard of is some obscure Chinese Doom clone that was never released called Mars 3D, IIRC some custom actors and a texture set on Realm667 actually even use modified and unmodified assets from it.
 

 

[Murdoch]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:02 PM, inkoalawetrust said:

ROTT is that game that runs on an expanded Wolf3D engine right ? I don't think that specifically counts as a Doom clone as much as it does maybe a Wolf3D clone, or a pimped out Wolf3D.

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Yes ROTT uses a heavily modified Wolf3D engine.

In my opinion, Doom clones is a bit unfair but I think it is the only term they had at the time because Doom had made such an impact it was the only viable point of reference. It is a bit like calling all platformers Mario clones. To me, the only true Doom clone is in fact Heretic. Because while it does have a ton of original ideas and themes, so much of it is conceptually ripped straight from Doom. For example, but for the Fire Mace all of the weapons are very very close to their Doom equivalents.

[Noiser]

  On 10/29/2020 at 9:00 PM, Zillah said:

'Obscure' and 'Quality' are usually two words when put together mean something underrated and wonderful.

In terms of doom clones, it's quite the opposite.

Expand  

I gently disagree. I think some of these are even better than Doom itself (despite not being as relevant to the gaming history).

Changing a bit the topic, I don't get why people tend to be so harsh with "clones", especially on youtube. The same happens when people talk about Sonic-like mascots - always with disdain, despite some of them being quite awesome like Jazz Jackrabbit, Aero the Acrobat 2 and Socket. They lack originality? Maybe a bit, but some are still creative in other ways and add new ideas or mechanics to something that is already considered great. It's a win-win situation for me.

 

  On 10/29/2020 at 9:58 PM, Murdoch said:

Obscure, yes. Quality... not so much. Someone mentioned Corridor 7 above. That was actually intended to compete with Doom in spite of running on a modified Wolf3D engine. I remember an ad for it at the time of release "Prepare to Meet They Doom" with meet crossed out and the word "beat" written above it. They unfortunately forgot a key ingredient to competing or indeed beating Doom and that was "not being complete trash".

 

Honestly, the half-way decent and good "Doom clones" as they were called at the time are pretty well known - Heretic, Strife etc. The obscure ones are obscure for a very good reason.

Expand  

Nope. Corridor 7 was in development prior to Doom, but when Doom was released they decided to use that to bring attention to the game. A very poor marketing decision indeed, but that doesn't mean the game is bad because of it. Unfortunately some nitpicky youtubers like Civvie gave it a bad reputation despite being a pretty decent game at the time. Forgettable? Sure. But still decent imo. Most people who like to trash it saw his video but never played it - or are people who doesn't care for wolf3d clones as a whole.

If you want a wolf3d game that really tried to compete with Doom, you should take Rise of the Triad instead.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Noiser

[Murdoch]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:16 PM, Noiser said:

Unfortunately some nitpicky youtubers like Civvie gave it a bad reputation despite being a pretty decent game at the time. Forgettable? Sure. But still decent.

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I played it at the time of release and thought it was atrocious. 

Edited October 29, 2020 by Murdoch

[Noiser]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:21 PM, Murdoch said:

I played it at the time of release and thought it was atrocious. 

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Do you like games like Wolf 3D?

Edited October 29, 2020 by Noiser

[Murdoch]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:23 PM, Noiser said:

Did you like games like Wolf 3D?

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I played Wolfenstein 3D not long after it was released and loved it. Still holds a nostalgic place in my heart though I am unlikely to play it a lot ever again. Wolf3D was polished and consistent, in spite of the comparatively primitive tech. It was still mind blowing at the time.

 

Corridor 7 was ugly, glitchy and just not fun to play.

Edited October 29, 2020 by Murdoch

[OniriA]

  On 10/29/2020 at 7:28 PM, HQDefault said:

Know of any quality obscure Doom clones?

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Yes, there is a really special one which rarely anyone knows about.

 

  On 10/29/2020 at 7:28 PM, HQDefault said:

I'm just curious.

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You should be, just wait until you find out..

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

[HQDefault]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:02 PM, inkoalawetrust said:

Another one I've heard of is some obscure Chinese Doom clone that was never released called Mars 3D, IIRC some custom actors and a texture set on Realm667 actually even use modified and unmodified assets from it.
 

 

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This one seems kinda interesting. Wonder if there's a translation floating around...

[Noiser]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:26 PM, Murdoch said:

I played Wolfenstein 3D not long after it was released and loved it. Still holds a nostalgic place in my heart though I am unlikely to play it a lot ever again. Wolf3D was polished and consistent, in spite of the comparatively primitive tech. It was still mind blowing at the time.

 

Corridor 7 was ugly, glitchy and just not fun to play.

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Well, that's fine. In my opinion, the game is better than Wolf3D in any conceivable way. 

It have a lot of interesting mechanics for the time: computer terminals, alarms, shape shifting aliens, infrared, mines, teleporters, health chambers, powerups, pickups on walls and levels that requires kill counts to proceed. Visually, It was also one of the first shooters to use textures that glows on the dark (brightmap-like) and it would be the first to feature transparent walls if it was not Doom. The later version also have multiplayer support (deathmatch) and an option to randomize enemies every time you start a level.

Not a game that deserves all that bashing imo and I'm pretty sure it was made with a lot of love. You can see more interesting trivia about it here, including an interview with one of the authors.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Noiser

[xvertigox]

Here's a reasonably comprehensive list of Doom Clones / retro FPS games out there:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

1st Wave:

Battlezone +
Castle Master +
Cybercon 3
Cyber-Cop
Eye Of The Beholder
Faceball 2000
Hovertank 3D
Midwinter +
Mobile Suit Z Gundam - Hot Scramble
Space School Simulator - The Academy
Star Cruiser
Terminator 2029
WaxWorks
Xenocide

2nd Wave:

Alien Cabal
Bad Toys 3D
Blake Stone +
Bloodshot - Battle Frenzy
Bobenstein 3D (Demo)
Catacomb +
Corridor 7 + 8
Depth Dwellers
Escape From Monster Manor - A Terrifying Hunt For The Undead
H.U.R.L.
In Extremis
Isle Of The Dead
Ken's Labyrinth
Lethal Tender
Mr. Pibb: The 3D Interactive Game
Nerves Of Steel
Nitemare 3D
Operation Body Count
Pathways Into Darkness
Robocop 3
Super Noah's Ark 3D
Terminal Terror
The Fortress Of Doctor Radiaki
The Terminator - Rampage
Thor's Hammer
Ultima Underworld +
William Shatner's Tek War
Wolfenstein +

3rd Wave:

Alien Trilogy
Alien vs Predator
Alpha Storm
Ashes To Ashes - Feeding The Fires Of War
Assassin 2015
Blood
Cybermage - Darklight Awakening
CyClones
Damage Incorporated
Descent +
Disruptor
Doom 64
Duke Nukem 3D +
Eradicator
Fate (Demo)
(GZDoom) Action Doom 2
(GZDoom) Blasphemer
(GZDoom) Chex Quest +
(GZDoom) Doom +
(GZDoom) Final Doom +
(GZDoom) FreeDoom
(GZDoom) HacX
(GZDoom) Harmony
(GZDoom) Heretic - Shadow Of The Serpent Riders
(GZDoom) Hexen +
(GZDoom) Strife
Immercenary
In Pursuit Of Greed
Jumping Flash!
Kileak - The DNA Imperative
Killing Time
Legend Of The 7 Paladins
Necrodome
Outlaws
PO'ed
Powerslave/Exhumed
Prime Target (Demo)
Quarantine +
Quiver
Rebel Moon +
Redneck Rampage +
Rise Of The Triad
Robotica
Shadow Warrior +
Star Wars: Dark Forces
System Shock
Terminator: Future shock + Skynet
The Elder Scrolls +
The Hidden Below
The Marathon Trilogy
Witchaven +
Wrath Of Earth
Zero Population Count
Zero Tolerance

Obscene Wave: PORNOSHOOTERS

Duke Screwem
Immoral Cumbat
Rodger Ramrod (Demo)

 

Key: Pluses (+) indicate sequels/add ons of the games that are included (that I know of). GZDoom runs MULTIPLE games. They all are ran the EXACT SAME WAY, check GZDoom's GAMESETUP.txt file. Demos are marked by (Demo) at the end of the game title.

 

[HQDefault]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:42 PM, xvertigox said:

Here's a reasonably comprehensive list of Doom Clones / retro FPS games out there:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

1st Wave:

Battlezone +
Castle Master +
Cybercon 3
Cyber-Cop
Eye Of The Beholder
Faceball 2000
Hovertank 3D
Midwinter +
Mobile Suit Z Gundam - Hot Scramble
Space School Simulator - The Academy
Star Cruiser
Terminator 2029
WaxWorks
Xenocide

2nd Wave:

Alien Cabal
Bad Toys 3D
Blake Stone +
Bloodshot - Battle Frenzy
Bobenstein 3D (Demo)
Catacomb +
Corridor 7 + 8
Depth Dwellers
Escape From Monster Manor - A Terrifying Hunt For The Undead
H.U.R.L.
In Extremis
Isle Of The Dead
Ken's Labyrinth
Lethal Tender
Mr. Pibb: The 3D Interactive Game
Nerves Of Steel
Nitemare 3D
Operation Body Count
Pathways Into Darkness
Robocop 3
Super Noah's Ark 3D
Terminal Terror
The Fortress Of Doctor Radiaki
The Terminator - Rampage
Thor's Hammer
Ultima Underworld +
William Shatner's Tek War
Wolfenstein +

3rd Wave:

Alien Trilogy
Alien vs Predator
Alpha Storm
Ashes To Ashes - Feeding The Fires Of War
Assassin 2015
Blood
Cybermage - Darklight Awakening
CyClones
Damage Incorporated
Descent +
Disruptor
Doom 64
Duke Nukem 3D +
Eradicator
Fate (Demo)
(GZDoom) Action Doom 2
(GZDoom) Blasphemer
(GZDoom) Chex Quest +
(GZDoom) Doom +
(GZDoom) Final Doom +
(GZDoom) FreeDoom
(GZDoom) HacX
(GZDoom) Harmony
(GZDoom) Heretic - Shadow Of The Serpent Riders
(GZDoom) Hexen +
(GZDoom) Strife
Immercenary
In Pursuit Of Greed
Jumping Flash!
Kileak - The DNA Imperative
Killing Time
Legend Of The 7 Paladins
Necrodome
Outlaws
PO'ed
Powerslave/Exhumed
Prime Target (Demo)
Quarantine +
Quiver
Rebel Moon +
Redneck Rampage +
Rise Of The Triad
Robotica
Shadow Warrior +
Star Wars: Dark Forces
System Shock
Terminator: Future shock + Skynet
The Elder Scrolls +
The Hidden Below
The Marathon Trilogy
Witchaven +
Wrath Of Earth
Zero Population Count
Zero Tolerance

Obscene Wave: PORNOSHOOTERS

Duke Screwem
Immoral Cumbat
Rodger Ramrod (Demo)

 

Key: Pluses (+) indicate sequels/add ons of the games that are included (that I know of). GZDoom runs MULTIPLE games. They all are ran the EXACT SAME WAY, check GZDoom's GAMESETUP.txt file. Demos are marked by (Demo) at the end of the game title.

 

Expand  

Oh.

Okay then.

 

Guess I'll flip through a few a these.

PS- You why did I have the title "Bony Member" for like 2 seconds?

Edited October 29, 2020 by HQDefault

[DynamiteKaitorn]

  Reveal hidden contents

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:42 PM, xvertigox said:

Duke Screwem
Immoral Cumbat
Rodger Ramrod (Demo)

Expand  

 

 

 

(Why is JonTron so quotable. XD)

[xvertigox]

Rodger Ramrod is just about as bad as you'd expect. I've got the demo and yeah, you run around doing exactly what you'd expect. I'm sure there's screenshots online but I'm not looking them up while at work or even posting them to DW.

[Zillah]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:16 PM, Noiser said:

I gently disagree. I think some of these are even better than Doom itself (despite not being as relevant to the gaming history).

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Which ones? We may not be on the same page here, but I'm talking about "obscure" doom clones. Not Duke3D or Blood, like Mars3D and Quiver.

[Zillah]

One "OBSCURE" but still fantastic Doom Clone is "Descent (1995)", but it's sorta it's own thing.

[Noiser]

  On 10/29/2020 at 11:05 PM, Zillah said:

Which ones? We may not be on the same page here, but I'm talking about "obscure" doom clones. Not Duke3D or Blood, like Mars3D and Quiver.

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Fair enough. I find Heretic level design way ahead of Doom, but that's not really an obscure game anyway.

[Zillah]

  On 10/29/2020 at 11:09 PM, Noiser said:

Fair enough. I find Heretic level design way ahead of Doom, but that's not really an obscure game anyway.

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Yeah, not really obscure at all hahaha

[Andromeda]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:46 PM, HQDefault said:

PS- You why did I have the title "Bony Member" for like 2 seconds?

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You get that title when you have 206 posts (for obvious reasons).

[taufan99]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:39 PM, HQDefault said:

This one seems kinda interesting. Wonder if there's a translation floating around...

Expand  

Community Releases sold a bunch of an English-translated version of it, along with some physical stuff such as a guide, etc. Since all the copies are sold out, it is now offered as a free download.

[AinuTheTaken]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:42 PM, xvertigox said:

Here's a reasonably comprehensive list of Doom Clones / retro FPS games out there:

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Jumping Flash

 

Expand  

You betcha.

[PeterMoro]

Halo: Combat Evolved

[Yandere_Doomer]

freedoom is a pretty good one, and its compatible with gzdoom and all of dooms mods, but you have probably heard of it by now

[Maggle]

  On 10/29/2020 at 10:16 PM, Noiser said:

Nope. Corridor 7 was in development prior to Doom, but when Doom was released they decided to use that to bring attention to the game. A very poor marketing decision indeed, but that doesn't mean the game is bad because of it. Unfortunately some nitpicky youtubers like Civvie gave it a bad reputation despite being a pretty decent game at the time. Forgettable? Sure. But still decent. Most people who like to trash it are the ones who just saw his video but never played it, or people who doesn't care for wolf3d clones as a whole (which is understandable).

Expand  

I played Corridor 7, it's not a good game. It runs at like 15 fps, you turn slower than an Abrams tank, and the level design is atrocious. It's wayyyy too maze-like, even by Wolf 3d standards, and has no sense of direction. There's also invisible force-fields that can burn you to death that you can't see unless you have your visor on a specific setting.