What are some sourceport features you can't live without?

[prfunky]

9 hours ago, Jacek Bourne said:

Have you heard of decohack?

Yes.

But it doesn't work around the issue of DeHackEd where you have to replace something else.

DECORATE is basically unlimited in how much stuff you can add. At one point, I was going to

convert over to Zscript but there are some issues with things not coming out the same so I

stick with DECORATE and let the engines that interpret it convert the code internally to Zscript.

As for the argument, "blank doesn't work across non-Zdoom-based ports". Quit it. It works in

my Zandronum and I mostly live there even if I dabble in all the other ports from time to time.

If somebody writes up a map/wad and states, "This is made for Doom Legacy", or "This is made

for Odamex", do you know what I do? I run it in Doom Legacy or Odamex like the readme.txt

told me it would work. I map (mostly) for Zandronum and usually test in LzDoom as well as

ZDoom 2.8.1. I'm never taking advantage of anything that has been written since 2.8.1 so I'm

pretty much guaranteed my stuff will work. I don't test in GzDoom because the versions of those

I have are nearly as ancient as ZDoom 2.8.1 and my crappy hardware (by most peoples'

measures) won't run modern GzDoom. I, however, am perfectly happy with my old hardware.

I didn't pay for a lot of it. Some was given to me a long time ago; others were found in the trash.

And then there's stuff that I built over a decade ago.

 

I have mapped for vanilla. I have mapped for PrBoom+. I've even mapped for ZDaemon. I

prefer to not live in those spaces though. I'll probably be banned from Doomworld now for

this heresy...

 

[Cilian]

I can play the dos version so none that I really require. But I still prefer having higher res, fps, being able to change keybinds for anything including cheats and quick demo restart

Edited April 20 by Cilian

[Jacek Bourne]

59 minutes ago, prfunky said:

Yes.

But it doesn't work around the issue of DeHackEd where you have to replace something else.

 

Not in mbf21. You can add new stuff in mbf21 and considering the listing of formats you named, this is one yet to be tried.

 

1 hour ago, prfunky said:

I have mapped for vanilla. I have mapped for PrBoom+. I've even mapped for ZDaemon. I

prefer to not live in those spaces though. I'll probably be banned from Doomworld now for

this heresy...

 

Don't be so dramatic. If you prefer to use zdoom based ports that's perfectly fine. I'm just making sure you know all of the options available to you as zdoom ports have only one major drawback. That being the generally poor demo compatibility. But if you don't care about that then it won't matter which you use. Just don't expect as many people to speedrun your wads.

[prfunky]

1 minute ago, Jacek Bourne said:

 

Not in mbf21. You can add new stuff in mbf21 and considering the listing of formats you named, this is one yet to be tried.

 

 

Don't be so dramatic. If you prefer to use zdoom based ports that's perfectly fine. I'm just making sure you know all of the options available to you as zdoom ports have only one major drawback. That being the generally poor demo compatibility. But if you don't care about that then it won't matter which you use. Just don't expect as many people to speedrun your wads.

 

I don't feel I'm being dramatic in the least.

I've been around here long enough to see what a loaded question like that is going to entail from a mile away.

It's just that EVERY single time somebody chimes in to me about DeHackEd stuff, it's all about them wanting

me to make maps for THEIR port of choice. Poor demo compatibility..., how should I put this?...

Asteroids do not concern ME Admiral.

What do you think is the reason I map for Zandronum, and before that, Zdaemon?

Deathmatch.

Know anybody doing demo recordings of speedruns on deathmatch wads?

Oh, I EXPECT people to speedrun my wads beginning with you!

Try your hand at Monsta BBQ. I believe it's one of only three single-player focused maps I've ever released.

See? Two of us can make it all about me.

MBF21, I think that's the newest religion.

Before that, the big religion was the cult of UDMF.

Convert, convert!

"just making sure you know all of the options available..."

What, are ya selling me life insurance?

 

Want to see what a hellscape I've created for people to play in?

Try one of my Mo'Tanky Enemeesh servers

 

 

[Shepardus]

2 minutes ago, prfunky said:

Know anybody doing demo recordings of speedruns on deathmatch wads?

 

[prfunky]

8 minutes ago, Shepardus said:

Spoiler

Argent Agent created a topic in Speed Demo Submissions Decay created a topic in Speed Demo Submissions Decay created a topic in Speed Demo Submissions Chuckles_troll created a topic in Speed Demo Submissions

 

 

Friggin hilarious!

Asteroids still don't concern me...

 

[Meerschweinmann]

Nearly all source ports offer the minimum i need to play DOOM today, but one thing i won't miss:

 

The port must contain the ability to do coop multiplayer.

DOOM with friends is far more fun.

[Jacek Bourne]

1 hour ago, prfunky said:

I don't feel I'm being dramatic in the least.

I've been around here long enough to see what a loaded question like that is going to entail from a mile away.

It's just that EVERY single time somebody chimes in to me about DeHackEd stuff, it's all about them wanting

me to make maps for THEIR port of choice. Poor demo compatibility..., how should I put this?...

Asteroids do not concern ME Admiral.

What do you think is the reason I map for Zandronum, and before that, Zdaemon?

Deathmatch.

Know anybody doing demo recordings of speedruns on deathmatch wads?

Oh, I EXPECT people to speedrun my wads beginning with you!

Try your hand at Monsta BBQ. I believe it's one of only three single-player focused maps I've ever released.

See? Two of us can make it all about me.

MBF21, I think that's the newest religion.

Before that, the big religion was the cult of UDMF.

Convert, convert!

"just making sure you know all of the options available..."

What, are ya selling me life insurance?

 

Want to see what a hellscape I've created for people to play in?

Try one of my Mo'Tanky Enemeesh servers

 

Let me put it this way. I noticed that you didn't mention decohack or mbf21 in your original post so I asked about one of them which led asking about the other. I wanted to know if you knew about these tools and if so, why you chose zdoom over them. This is the reasoning behind my questions. I'm not interested in some random bullshit about conversion. You seem to be much more concerned with some perceived idea that I'm interested in forcing dehacked on you and thus have reacted quite dramatically. My short statements have been met by paragraphs as well as some rather dramatic statements. I'm not interested in whatever conversion nonsense you stated above. I just wanted my questions answered. Although the answer I got is more detailed and less encouraging than I expected. And no I'm not going to speedrun your wads as your last post has rather turned me off the idea.

[Adam Oker]

On 4/19/2024 at 2:47 AM, Logamuffin said:

Or just ones that you really really like having. A couple for me:

 

- A (good) fullscreen hud. I don't like the statusbar because it makes me feel like 20% of my screen is being obstructed for no reason. One of my main complaints with DSDA-Doom is that the fullscreen hud is terrible..

- Higher resolution/widescreen support. I've tried playing at 320x240 and I just can't do it. I live in 2024 and I need widescreen.

- Either rewind or quicksave/quickload (both are good, allows me to savescum harder :P)

- Statistics/level table. Don't know why, I just like my dumb stats to appear on my Doom Launcher page...

- Colored blood.

Realistic Freelook

[ALilGrayBoi]

On 4/19/2024 at 12:19 AM, Jacek Bourne said:

Just type idclev and then the map number.

Too lazy for that

[kaleb.]

33 minutes ago, ALilGrayBoi said:

Too lazy for that

how is typing "idclev 04" harder than "nextmap" lol

[JoJo_BadDoom]

I've had a think about this - I've played around with a good number of Doom sourceports by now. I would like to think I've got a good handle on what works for me as a player. They've all got their positives and negatives, for sure. I'd say in general I prefer a vanilla-ish experience, but I do appreciate the expansion to the Doom formula that more advanced sourceports can give. Overall, I think the following is a list of must-have features, at least as far as I'm concerned:

 

• Compatible with doom2.wad

[kevansevans]

Zscript, or scripting in general. I definitely understand the philosophy of constraint breeding creativity, but I know mine’s at best when I’m given a lot of freedom and flexibility.

 

Would love to dabble in other source ports if they had a just as robust scripting api in it.

[realjohnmadden]

Colored numbers (like Boom) and widescreen high-res rendering. Colored numbers make it far easier to see how much health I have than the mugshot, or reading the health number itself, and high-res rendering makes it possible to actually see things from far away.

[Tango]

I have grown quite partial to zdoom automatically loading from my last save upon death instead of starting the level over, though I know I could emulate this but just binding a quickload key…

[Vermil]

Higher resolution's

Uncapped FPS

Infinite height removal

Full screen hud

 

 

[roadworx]

i can play doom2.exe on an old shitty pc, so...none, i guess lol

[aRottenKomquat]

The ability to play Doom.

[Logamuffin]

3 hours ago, JoJo_BadDoom said:

I've had a think about this - I've played around with a good number of Doom sourceports by now. I would like to think I've got a good handle on what works for me as a player. They've all got their positives and negatives, for sure. I'd say in general I prefer a vanilla-ish experience, but I do appreciate the expansion to the Doom formula that more advanced sourceports can give. Overall, I think the following is a list of must-have features, at least as far as I'm concerned:

 

• Compatible with doom2.wad

Of all the "I just want to play doom lmao" jokes in this thread, this is the best one.

[liPillON]

the ability to load pwads from zip files has become a must for me since I started hoard- I mean organizing my collection of mapsets

I mantain packages for the pwads I plan to revisit more often, adding umapinfo lumps, widescreen assets, various fixes etc, all tidied up in dedicated zips

 

 

second most important thing is setting view and weapon bobbing independently (it helps with motion sickness)

 

 

the third would probably be graphical qol features such as brightmaps and support for resolutions higher than 400p

[Johnny B. Getgoode (The Guy)]

Big one is mouselook. Might be considered sacrilege, but I like being able to move my virtual head up and down and target enemies accurately.

[YeOldeFellerNoob]

The ability to run the game.

[idbeholdME]

Unlimited Lost Souls

Fixed blockmap bug

Option to remove infinite height

Unlimited FPS

Unlimited saves with detailed save game info

[peach freak]

I largely play on Chocolate Doom, but the thing I'd want the most is probably an active kills/items/secrets count, since you may not realize playing vanilla you didn't 100% a map until you exit the level and see the intermission screen.

 

Also, I have fun customizing the Automap colors on some source ports.

[Kristian Nebula]

I like that Gzdoom has the "resurrect" command, so you can just revive yourself where you died instead of loading the game. It's kind of cheating in a way, like having infinite extra lives but sometimes it's better than quickloading. 

[kaleb.]

5 minutes ago, Kristian Nebula said:

I like that Gzdoom has the "resurrect" command, so you can just revive yourself where you died instead of loading the game. It's kind of cheating in a way, like having infinite extra lives but sometimes it's better than quickloading. 

I know DSDA and Nugget/Woof lets you resurrect by doing IDDQD after you die

[Devalaous]

1 hour ago, Kristian Nebula said:

I like that Gzdoom has the "resurrect" command, so you can just revive yourself where you died instead of loading the game. It's kind of cheating in a way, like having infinite extra lives but sometimes it's better than quickloading. 

 

The best thing about doing that, is all the monsters roaring angrily the moment you get up, as they are cheated out of a kill. I usually die immediately in a flurry of fireballs before I can move.

An alternative console command is 'buddha' which gives you a special god mode where your health wont fall below 1, so you get all the gameplay feedback of red pain flashes, grunts, face bloodying, picking up health kits etc, without the stress of losing minutes to hours of progress to a mistake; its a great way to revisit wads already conquered for a chill experience.

[roadworx]

1 hour ago, Devalaous said:

An alternative console command is 'buddha' which gives you a special god mode where your health wont fall below 1, so you get all the gameplay feedback of red pain flashes, grunts, face bloodying, picking up health kits etc, without the stress of losing minutes to hours of progress to a mistake; its a great way to revisit wads already conquered for a chill experience.

this is also very useful for playtesting if you're looking for how you should be balancing health/armor in a map. you could probably also use dsda's rewind for the same purposes, but i find that buddha allows me to figure out how spread out health and armor pickups should be and how many of them there need to be much easier, because instead of rewinding so you avoid damage, you can figure out how much damage someone is typically gonna be taking by how often you find yourself at 1%

[ObserverOfTime]

I've recently taken a liking to DSDA-Doom's "show living enemies" feature / cheat. It makes cleaning up the last stray enemies on a given map a much more straightforward experience. Have you ever gotten to the end of a map only to find that you killed 78 / 80 enemies, and just can't find the last 2 to get 100% kill completion? No problem, no more running in circles trying to find the enemies. This feature is obviously much more handy in large and non-linear maps compared to vanilla-ish maps, but hey, I love it. It also helps to identify broken or not triggered closets / teleporters and the likes as well.

 

Maybe "can't live without" is a bit too strong of a sentiment, I can totally live without. But every time I play in another source port I'm wishing I had access to this feature, so there's that. It has made my random wadarchive adventures actually bearable because a lot of those ancient wads have a pretty random design philosophy, if they have one at all. Being able to quickly identify if I skipped a fight or two near the end of a map has become that much easier with this particular feature, and it allows me to go back and search for the trigger if I'm aware. It certainly beats having to open the map in an editor and doing some quick reverse engineering (though in some instances that's still necessary, because I'm daft).

 

Then there's also the cheat codes that centre the automap around undiscovered secrets / enemies / items without directly revealing them, that's the kind of help I sometimes desperately need to get it done. AFAIK those are DSDA-Doom exclusive as well. All in all this source port supports me in the way I want to play the game, while running a fine line between IDDT (too much help) and no help at all.

[rita remton]

12 hours ago, roadworx said:

this is also very useful for playtesting ...

i agree! i use cheatcode [buddha2] to avoid being telefragged; then give myself 10000 health, and 10000 for every ammo type. this way, i could find out how much health points are needed to survive the map section, and the amount of ammo used. if my health is above 9900 (basically i only used less than 100 health points and thus did not die) after the encounters in the map section, i then add more monsters or change the monsters attack strategy to surpass the 9900 threshold.
___

sourceport features that i can't live without:

1. should have crosshair (sorry, i have very bad aim), preferably an "up chevron" (gzdoom does not have one but allows custom made ones, so i made one myself).
2. mouse-freelook enabled. i would like to fully admire the map's architecture.
3. automap should be enabled and all linedefs required for navigation can be seen. if the map flow is excellent however, i usually don't even need to open the automap because the map's layout would guide me from objective to objective.

that's all. tq.

Edited April 21 by rita remton