What's the difference Between Software Mode and True Colour SW Rendering in GZDOOM?

[DoomSlayer69]

What's the difference between Software Mode and True Colour SW Mode in GZDoom? And which one should I use?

 

I heard that True Colour SW Mode has more than 256 colours or something, but I don't understand what that means? What are the colours for the regular software mode then?

 

Any answers will be appreciated,

Thanks.

Edited May 31, 2021 by DoomSlayer69

[Gez]

You should use whichever mode you like most, that's why it's an option.

 

 

The original software renderer is limited to the 256 colors in the palette. Truecolor mode, obviously, isn't. Some people prefer the paletted output, others prefer truecolor, everyone's free to use what they like best. I would only recommend to use truecolor mode for maps that actually do a lot of things with colors, for example if you want to play Void & Rainbows or Shadows of the Nightmare Realm or Threshold of Pain, then it's probably better to use truecolor. For vanilla or Boom mapsets, on the other hand, either choice is fine, depending on your personal preferences.

[Teo Slayer]

Here's the Doom Software

Here's the True Color

 

The difference is no big, but the only difference is that the True Color has better colors than the Software. And if you ask me with which one you should play, I would say Hardware accelerated. It makes the graphics smoother and the lightings are better.

But hey, play with whichever you want, there's no problem :P. You can play Doom however you want :)

[DoomSlayer69]

19 hours ago, Teo Slayer said:

Here's the Doom Software

Here's the True Color

 

The difference is no big, but the only difference is that the True Color has better colors than the Software. And if you ask me with which one you should play, I would say Hardware accelerated. It makes the graphics smoother and the lightings are better.

But hey, play with whichever you want, there's no problem :P. You can play Doom however you want :)

Wow thanks for the explanation!

I used to use hardware accelerated but I wanna try a different render mode because Hardware Accelerated makes levels like Doom 2's Map02 Underhalls too dark, especially in the part where you get the blue key, it's so dark that it's nearly impossible to see, maybe it's an issue with my monitor.

 

Anyway, thank you for the answer!

[DoomSlayer69]

22 hours ago, Gez said:

You should use whichever mode you like most, that's why it's an option.

 

 

The original software renderer is limited to the 256 colors in the palette. Truecolor mode, obviously, isn't. Some people prefer the paletted output, others prefer truecolor, everyone's free to use what they like best. I would only recommend to use truecolor mode for maps that actually do a lot of things with colors, for example if you want to play Void & Rainbows or Shadows of the Nightmare Realm or Threshold of Pain, then it's probably better to use truecolor. For vanilla or Boom mapsets, on the other hand, either choice is fine, depending on your personal preferences.

Thanks for the explanation, I'll probably use the True Colour SW Renderer.

 

Thanks!

[Teo Slayer]

4 hours ago, DoomSlayer69 said:

Map02 Underhalls too dark

You can set the Doom Legacy. It makes it brighter