Prefered Render mode?

[Kurogachii]

I was watching some gameplays of doom and noticed that the rendering modes were totally different from what i was using, i normally play with "Hardware Accelerated", but today i changed to Software Vanilla, i personally feel like it was a better change and made the maps much more moody, it's a change similar to the "texture filtering" option.

 

I'd like to know new preferences and tips from you guys so the doom experience can be more "old-school"

 

edit: and yes i'm a total noob when it comes to these kind of things lol

Edited June 3, 2021 by Kurogachii

[BeefGee]

Yeah, what you've noticed is basically that the lighting code in the engine was written for the software renderer (lights are just variations of the colour being drawn to the screen). Hardware renderers have different methods of drawing to the screen and this can affect the lighting, sometimes significantly. Ultimately it's personal preference though.

 

I go software renderer because the monsters are still visible in sectors that have a zero for their lighting value.

 

Basically, even if the mapper makes an area/room as dark as the engine allows you can still just see the monsters. My understanding is that this was the intended gameplay.

 

Also, the colour palette, sprites, and textures were all designed with the vanilla renderer in mind. So if you're a purist (a filthy opinionated one like me), or want the 'original' experience, the easiest way to achieve that is with the vanilla software renderer (or a close emulation of it).

 

However, not all modern sourceports have custom renderers which throw zero light sectors into complete darkness or fuck up the colours. You might have to experiment.

 

Turn off texture filtering (it looks objectively terrible in Doom) and use whichever renderer you like the look of or gives you the best performance.

 

There's no wrong way to play Doom.

 

[Murdoch]

I generally only play with hardware rendering if the mod requires it. It can look great, but there is no denying it brings into stark relief the flatness of sprites.

[Remilia Scarlet]

I greatly prefer hardware rendering with texture filtering.  I grew up with software rendering (it was the only option in '94 :-P), and once games with texture filtering came out, I was always envious of how they looked.  But I never could afford a 3d card until 2002.  So for me, a software look is going backwards in time to a less pleasant and not very nostalgic time period.

 

But at the end of the day, just use what you like unless some level requires a certain mode.

[Terraformer9x]

I usually prefer hardware rendering, however I wish there was a way to preserve the software behavior of how sprites are rendered, generally only because it can be jarring to see some monsters clipping into the ceiling because of their sprite being too tall.

[Wavy]

Hardware rendering in GZDoom using dynamic lights and with the "Software" light mode. Looks pretty and the dynamic lights look remind me of Quake. Though I still like the hi-res software renderer in ports like Eternity

 

Some screenshots:

Spoiler

 

[Biodegradable]

Hah I use the exact same settings, Wavy. I also like to use the Palette tonemap to replicate Vanilla's old colour limitations for that extra crispy look.

[Wavy]

12 minutes ago, Biodegradable said:

Hah I use the exact same settings, Wavy. I also like to use the Palette tonemap to replicate Vanilla's old colour limitations for that extra crispy look.

I used to use the palette tone-map, though I started to appreciate the truecolour aesthetics more as time went on, but to each their own =)

[Spectre01]

Yeah, Hardware with the palette tonemap is the best rendering option. It runs faster than Software and looks very similar. It also allows for proper AA and AF to improve overall image quality.

[roadworx]

definitely software mode. i feel like it's a lot more fitting than hardware not only due to it feeling a bit more doomy than hardware, but also because the fog effect makes it feel, as you said, moody. it makes darker areas actually dark without severely limiting your ability to see the monsters as well, which is a very nice bonus

 

i actually originally switched over to software because hardware was too bright - it kinda ruined what was supposed to be a creepy, atmospheric wad for me. simply changing the gamma settings isn't the best option because it kinda mutes areas that're supposed to be brighter, so software just seemed like the only good solution. once i began adjusting to it tho, i started to really prefer it. it has this retro vibe without completely degrading the image quality like playing in dosbox would, which kinda adds to the experience for me personally

Edited June 4, 2021 by roadworx

[holaareola]

Software for me, except when not possible. I love that fading to gray and increasing grittiness as things slip into darkness in the software renderer.

 

In GZDoom I've generally used the palettised tonemap option since I became aware of it. It gels the software-era art style and modern rendering effects back into some kind of consistent aesthetic. I turn it off for visual feast type maps like Lullaby though.   

[Hypnotik]

Software for sure. I like Doom like how I like my Chicken, Crispy.