I agree that low-res vanilla Doom 1 & 2 aren't very nice to look at, but as mentioned, through a source port like ZDoom, it's probably the FPS I have the most fun with and keep returning to.

Sure, no problem. Firstly I have all my IWADs in one folder (in the root of the GZDoom installation folder) then I have a separate folder for each addon (also in the root of the GZDoom installation). So for example, I have a folder named EternalDoom. I do still use the provided Addons folder, but only for generic addons, like alternative music addons and the No Rest for the Living addon for Doom 2.

I then put a Saves folder inside each addon folder (e.g. EternalDoom\Saves). Inside each addon folder I put the WAD file (e.g. EternalDoom\ETERNAL.WAD).

To launch the game I used the command line via a .bat file. For instance:

START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file EternalDoom\ETERNAL.WAD -config EternalDoom\gzdoom.ini -savedir EternalDoom\Saves\

This way I can have separate .ini settings for each addon (as in some I'll use a vanilla rules like no jumping, whilst others may have jump enabled because they were designed for the newer GZDoom functions or come with their own functions like Brutal Doom does) and a separate Saves folder for each addon that is stored in with the rest of the addon's files. I also use separate saves folders for the different main games, too. They are in <GZDoomRoot>\Saves\<GameName>\ (e.g. \GZDoom\Saves\Doom2\). Specifying the save folder in the command prompt is useful because Ultimate Doom, Doom 2, TNT, Plutonia, Master Levels all use the same gzdoom.ini file, but have separate save folders as the command line overrides the save folder in the ini (although it is left blank for me anyway).

In fact, in some cases I use the command prompt functions to give me a rudimentary prompt, such as to ask which game to play (such as with Brutal Doom the .bat file prompts for which IWAD to use). I copied this from some DOSBox games from GOG. Don't know if it will show correctly here due to the characters it uses but here is my primary Play Doom.bat file (spacing will not show correctly here unless a fixed width font is used, but the command prompt window does that by default anyway):

@echo off

setlocal

cls

ECHO ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ&Iacut e;ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ&Iac ute;ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ&I acute;ÍÍÍ»
ECHO º ------------------------------------------ º
ECHO º 1) The Ultimate Doom º
ECHO º 2) Doom II: Hell on Earth º
ECHO º 3) Master Levels for Doom II º
ECHO º 4) Final Doom - TNT: Evilution º
ECHO º 5) Final Doom - The Plutonia Experiment º
ECHO º 6) Doom II: No Rest for the Living º
ECHO º ------------------------------------------ º
ECHO º 7) Exit Program º
ECHO º ------------------------------------------ º
ECHO ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ&Iacut e;ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ&Iac ute;ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ&I acute;ÍÍͼ
ECHO.
ECHO Choose an option [1-7]:
choice /c 1234567 /n
if errorlevel 7 goto exit
if errorlevel 6 goto e6
if errorlevel 5 goto e5
if errorlevel 4 goto e4
if errorlevel 3 goto e3
if errorlevel 2 goto e2
if errorlevel 1 goto e1

:e1
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom.wad -config gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\Doom\
exit

:e2
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -config gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\Doom2\
exit

:e3
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file Addons\masterlv.wad -config gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\masterlv\
exit

:e4
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\tnt.wad -config gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\TNT\
exit

:e5
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\plutonia.wad -config gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\Plutonia\
exit

:e6
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file Addons\nrftl+.wad -config gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\nrftl+\
exit

:exit
exit


Eventually I will extend my GZDoom installation a bit further to tidy it up even more, like separating the GZDoom files from the .bat files, but it suffices for now.

I went the batch file route a long time ago, then I found ZDL. I still use 3.1a without issues.

Sweet. I'll have to give that a try when I get the chance. Probably later tonight or tomorrow.

Didn't think of adding No Rest for the Living to gzDoom. But I found the instructions online, so I'll be extracting that from D3 BFG, heh. And found my old Master Levels CD the other night, so I'll be adding that in as well. Master Levels, here I come. =)

Flynn

Edit: Running into some problems using the bat file. Since we're way off topic here, I'll start a new thread.

Edit 2: Figured out the problem. I was never great at batch scripting and made a silly mistake, heh.

Okay, so I have everything set up and I think it turned out quite nicely. =)

I made four folders under my gzDoom directory:

* Addons - These are the extra level sets such as Alien Vengence and Doomed Space Wars.
* Configs - Configuration files for gzDoom separated by game (d1, d2, etc.).
* Iwads - Main WAD file for each game (Heretic, HeXen, Doom, Doom 2, etc.).
* Saves - Saved games, also separated by game (d2_nrftl, doom, hexen, etc.).

It took a bit to figure out how IF ERRORLEVEL worked properly with CHOICE, but once I did, I came up with the following batch file based on what you had posted earlier (spacing is off of course):

@echo off
setlocal

:main
cls
ECHO ==============================================
ECHO o ------------------------------------------ o
ECHO o Choose Your Game: o
ECHO o ------------------------------------------ o
ECHO o 1) The Ultimate DOOM o
ECHO o 2) DOOM II Menu o
ECHO o 3) Final DOOM - TNT: Evilution o
ECHO o 4) Final DOOM - The Plutonia Experiment o
ECHO o 5) Chex Quest o
ECHO o 6) Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders o
ECHO o 7) HeXen: Beyond Heretic o
ECHO o 8) HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel o
ECHO o 9) Strife o
ECHO o ------------------------------------------ o
ECHO o 0) Exit Program o
ECHO o ------------------------------------------ o
ECHO ==============================================
ECHO.
ECHO Choose an option [1-9, 0]:
choice /c 1234567890 /n
if errorlevel 10 goto exit
if errorlevel 9 goto e9
if errorlevel 8 goto e8
if errorlevel 7 goto e7
if errorlevel 6 goto e6
if errorlevel 5 goto e5
if errorlevel 4 goto e4
if errorlevel 3 goto e3
if errorlevel 2 goto e2
if errorlevel 1 goto e1

:e1
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom.wad -config Configs\d1-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\Doom\
goto main

:e2
goto d2m

:e3
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\TNT.wad -file IWADs\tnt31.wad -config Configs\d2-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\FD_tnt\
goto main

:e4
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\plutonia.wad -config Configs\d2-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\FD_plut\
goto main

:e5
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\chex3.wad -config Configs\cq-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\ChexQuest\
goto main

:e6
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\heretic.wad -config Configs\he-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\Heretic\
goto main

:e7
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\hexen.wad -config Configs\hx-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\Hexen\
goto main

:e8
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\hexen.wad -file IWADs\hexdd.wad -config Configs\hx-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\Hexen_DKotDC\
goto main

:e9
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\strife1.wad -file IWADs\voices.wad -config Configs\st-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\Strife\
goto main

:d2m
cls
ECHO ==============================================
ECHO o ------------------------------------------ o
ECHO o DOOM II WADS: o
ECHO o ------------------------------------------ o
ECHO o 1) Hell on Earth + No Rest for the Living o
ECHO o 2) Alien Vengence o
ECHO o 3) Console DOOM o
ECHO o 4) Daedalus o
ECHO o 5) Eternal DOOM o
ECHO o 6) Icarus o
ECHO o 7) Master Levels for DOOM II o
ECHO o 8) Space Wars o
ECHO o ------------------------------------------ o
ECHO o 0) Return to main menu o
ECHO o ------------------------------------------ o
ECHO ==============================================
ECHO.
ECHO Choose an option [1-8, 0]:
choice /c 123456780 /n
if errorlevel 9 goto main
if errorlevel 8 goto d8
if errorlevel 7 goto d7
if errorlevel 6 goto d6
if errorlevel 5 goto d5
if errorlevel 4 goto d4
if errorlevel 3 goto d3
if errorlevel 2 goto d2
if errorlevel 1 goto d1

:d1
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file Addons\nrftl.wad -config Configs\d2-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\d2_nrftl\
goto d2m

:d2
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file Addons\av.wad -config Configs\d2-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\d2_alva\
goto d2m

:d3
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file Addons\consoledoom.wad -config Configs\d2-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\d2_cndm\
goto d2m

:d4
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file Addons\daedalus.wad -config Configs\d2-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\d2_daed\
goto d2m

:d5
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file Addons\eternal.wad -config Configs\d2-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\d2_eter\
goto d2m

:d6
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file Addons\icarus.wad -config Configs\d2-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\d2_icar\
goto d2m

:d7
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file Addons\zdmlmenu.pk3 -config Configs\d2-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\d2_mslv\
goto d2m

:d8
START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file Addons\spacwars.wad -config Configs\d2-gzdoom.ini -savedir Saves\d2_spwa\
goto d2m

:exit
exit

So, after playing a game, it returns back to the menu you were in originally so you're ready to play another. =)

Flynn

Nice, glad it worked for you. Have to say, though, I did steal the batch script from some of GOG's DOSBox games where they do the same thing.

Interesting touch with the reloading of the menu on exiting GZDoom. I might steal that.

However, I do have a question. Any reason why you have a separate config file for each of the IWADs? The gzdoom.ini has separate configs within one file for each game, so I've only ever needed one gzdoom.ini for the main games, I just use extra ones for the addons (Brutal Doom, PSXDoom, EternalDoom, AlienDoom, etc) as they may add additional features and controls that I don't want affecting the primary games.

Oh, and have you heard of HACX? It is another IWAD and it is now freely available. I've only played through the first level, though, so don't know how good it is.

I could consolidate them more. I was mostly just using separate configs to control things like whether jumping was available or not. As far as I know, the only IWADs I have that specifically enable jumping are Strife and HeXen.

I'll have to check out HACX. I'm just getting back into DOOM games after several years away, so I'm still searching out new levels to play. =)

Flynn

And that is fine because GZDoom natively supports that in the ini file as Strife and Hexen are IWADs so they have their own config sections. I.e. The IWADs each have their own key setups and such within a single ini file. They have headers like the following:

[Doom.Bindings]
[Heretic.Bindings]
[Hexen.Bindings]
[Strife.Bindings]

So separate controls works for IWADs with a single ini file. But when you use addons like Brutal Doom, that's when I use separate ini files as they will re-use some of the standard bindings and settings for which I don't want them overwriting my primary settings and hence specify their own ini file.

HACX is a full game originally released as a paid addon for Doom 2, but later become free. It was also very buggy. The company that made it closed down in 1999, Since then, it appears to have fallen into the hands of the community and HACX v2 has been created and freely downloadable with many fixes implemented. It is also an IWAD now, no longer a PWAD addon file. You can find it here: http://drnostromo.com/hacx/

Well, I don't recommend Eternal Doom IV. It clearly is WIP and unfinished (it only claims to be a 7 level demo with a full megawad planned, but years have passed and no sign of it).

Firstly, the game starts on MAP08, and the map command in the console can cause the mouse to freeze up due to how the mod gives custom in-game cutscenes to provide information. If you want to start the game without risking freezing up the mouse, then you can use the following command line:

START gzdoom.exe -iwad IWADs\doom2.wad -file EternalDoom4\ed4_rfo1.wad -config EternalDoom4\gzdoom.ini -savedir EternalDoom4\Saves\ -skill 1 -warp 8 -warpwipe

Note that I specify difficulty here too as the game starts as soon as GZDoom starts.

Then, on playing through the first area after the Hub (The Crypts I think it was called) I ended up in a situation where the game wouldn't let me open a door until I had picked up all of the weapons, but the area I was in required dropping into a pit that you can't get back out of, so having missed a single weapon I was then stuck unable to progress. Not a great impression, and hence not recommended. I did choose the other path from the Hub too, but that was really difficult, so I guess you are meant to do that later once you've got your weapons.

Yeah, I picked up HacX and Strain from the site. Both look pretty good. I played through part of the first level of each, to get a feel for them. =)

Flynn

I hadn't spotted Strain, in with the other small PWADs. Being a full 32 map set I'll give that one a try too.

Running Eternal in DOSbox gives an option to patch backgrounds, including starry skies.

I wonder if those are the patches that fail in GZDoom then with the Unknown Patch error? I think they were all regarding textures, too, so it would seem possible.

EDIT: Quick search suggests there is meant to be a moving starfield, so maybe these are moving image patches that some source ports don't cater for?

Turns out you are supposed to be able to jump and crouch, as well as swim underwater, in Eternal Doom IV. Jumping may well have got me out of that pit in order to backtrack to find the missed weapon.