Virtual Reality Doom WAD Viewer for Google Cardboard

[komojo]

Here's a cool thing I just made:

 

 

I recently discovered the Google Cardboard API which supports virtual reality on mobile devices. I can't really afford a high-end virtual reality setup, but I saw that the cardboard headsets cost a few dollars so I decided to give it a try. It only does rotational head tracking (no positional movement), but it's a lot more accurate than I thought it would be!

 

I've worked with wad files a little bit in the distant past, so I decided to see if I could make something that would show a .wad file at full scale and let me look around to see it from all angles in 3D. I wrote a new graphics engine from scratch rather than using any of the actual Doom code.

 

It took a while, but I finally managed to get wad files to show up at a decent frame rate on my 3-year-old phone. Here are some screenshots showing it in action:

 

 

Features:
- View .WAD files in a virtual reality environment
- Add additional PWADs to change graphics and add more levels
- Compatible with most vanilla Doom engine WADs
- In-game map accessible from bottom menu
- Miniature 3D wireframe view
- Enable or disable gravity and collision detection
- Switch between stereoscopic 3D and full-screen 2D

 

Download:

If you have a compatible Android device, you can download it from the play store --> HERE <--

 

Installation Instructions:

This app requires external .WAD files which are not included.

If you're reading this, I'm sure you know where to get wad files. If you need something to test with you can download Freedoom from https://freedoom.github.io/download.html or use the files from a compatible game such as Doom, Doom II or Heretic.

 

Copy the files to a folder called "wads" on your device (it should be created when you launch the app) and then load them from the VR menu. Make sure the app has storage permissions.

 

To use the VR mode, you must have a viewing device with a trigger input.

 

WAD Compatability:

This doesn't support other WAD formats besides the vanilla Doom engine, but I've tested this with a few popular vanilla mods, and a lot of them are supported. Here are some of the ones I've tried:
- Aliens TC (ATCLEV.WAD / ALITCSF.WAD)
- Star Trek Doom (NCC1701.WAD)
- Star Wars Doom (STARDOOM.WAD)
- Duke 3D Hollywood Holocaust remake (DUKEHH30.WAD)
- Chex Quest
- Batman Doom (BATMAN.WAD)
- Various other level replacements

 

These mostly work, but there are some wads that currently have graphical glitches! More info below:

Spoiler

For example, when I tried to run Ghostbusters Doom (GBDOOM2.WAD) it looked like this:

I thought it was a bug in my engine at first, but then I opened it up in GZDoom Builder and looked at the node viewer mode:

Huh. I guess that explains it. Turns out, some wad files just have corrupt nodes and won't work by default. This also happens in Batman Doom and Star Wars Doom to a lesser degree.
I moved a vertex back & forth and it regenerated the nodes:

so when I went into the level again it looked like this:

At some point I'm probably going to have to make my own node builder. Until then, just be aware that some wads will have this issue (as of v1.01) You can work around it by rebuilding the nodes manually.

 

Bugs & Device Compatability Issues:

I made this in my free time and I've only been testing this on my own phone, so it probably still has a few bugs and might not work on all devices. If you run into an issue, post it here and I'll do my best to respond!

 

Other features I might add in the future:

- Player-controlled teleportation (from the auto-map or the 3D view)
- Controller input
- More graphics options
- Better-looking menus
- Sample wads included
- Interactive easter eggs in the main menu
- I'll probably make it open source eventually

 

If you get it to work on your device, let me know what you think! What are some interesting WADs I should check out in VR?
 

[Danfun64]

This is pretty nice, especially for being done from scratch. The only comment I have is that there are actual doom source ports (Doomsday and GZ3Doom) which support VR

[ukiro]

This is great, I actually really prefer the more sightseeing type of experiences in VR as opposed to hardcore gaming. BUT: It crashes on on launch on my Samsung S8.

 

[Havoc Crow]

Man, this makes me wish I had a VR device.

 

Quick suggestion: allow the player to turn off the "player start" and "teleport destination" sprites, to increase immersion.

 

Also worth noting is that for TCs like Batman Doom which use DEH files, the sprites corresponding to the different thing types may have been switched around, which results in odd things when viewing the maps in your app (e.g. boss sprites drawn in place of regular enemies). It might be nice to allow the program to read the DEH file somehow to reflect the actual in-game sprites. Or just give an option to turn off all sprites completely. 

 

Quote

What are some interesting WADs I should check out in VR?

Also:

- Deus Vult and Deus Vult 2, full of excellent vistas.

- Vrack2

- run buddy (because of how big it is)

- Gravity (especially map 2!)

 

I don't remember if they all use the vanilla engine though.

Edited February 25, 2018 by JudgeDeadd

[Reisal]

Why are you using a screenshot using Freedoom on the app store page?

[SaladBadger]

is this a problem? I don't understand your concern.

[komojo]

On 2/23/2018 at 10:30 AM, ukiro said:

It crashes on on launch on my Samsung S8.

That's too bad. I'll see if I can figure out why that's happening. For what it's worth, I've been developing it on an HTC One M8 phone.

 

As for the Freedoom screenshots, there's an existing Google Cardboard Doom port called DVR that did that in the app store, so I followed their example. Even for a free app, it's better to not use copyrighted material in the advertising, so that's pretty much what Freedoom is made for.

[ukiro]

13 minutes ago, komojo said:

That's too bad. I'll see if I can figure out why that's happening.

 

Let me know if you want me to debug anything—I have Android Studio installed.

[komojo]

I took a bit of a hiatus from working on this but I'm back with a small update. I just updated the app to version 1.1 and there are a few improvements.

 

I'm pretty sure I figured out why it was crashing on some newer devices, so that should be fixed now. I also added a few more features in this version.

 

There are a few more options:

 

You can now teleport from the auto-map (now I'm surprised I went for so long without this feature)

 

You can also choose to teleport around the map rather than moving. I added this feature to help reduce motion sickness, but it's also convenient for getting around quickly.

 

If you tried this last time and it didn't work, give it another shot because it's probably working now.

 

From equinox.wad

 

From steeptown.wad

[elend]

First time I am seeing this. Very great idea actually, even though I am running iOS. Gotta try this on one of my friends' phones.