So, I just recently bought Ultimate Doom, and as I have a particular way I'd like to have the game set up, I was hoping to see if I could get some help.
Basically, what I'd like is to create several copies of the game so that I have:

- One version of the game as close to the original experience as possible (I presume this would be just the game as-is),
- One version of the game modded for a more modern experience (From what little I know of modding Doom, I'm guessing people will say to use GZDoom),
- Numerous copies of the game (likely also using GZDoom) that each correspond to a specific mod or level(s)

Is this time-consuming and unnecessary? Likely, but this is how I want to do it, so if anyone has any tips or suggestions, please let me know.

(I apologize for any issues or awkwardness with this, as it's my first time making a topic here.)

1. If you're looking something more closer to the original experience through a source port instead of using the pre-included DOSBox, then I suggest using Chocolate Doom since it aims to be close to vanilla as possible compared to other source ports. If you don't mind some enhancements, some of which are left up to you to use, Crispy Doom or PrBoom+ are also a good alternatives. Doom Retro also features widescreen support and some fixes of its own and an option to main vanilla Doom behavior, plus better controller support than the other ones mentioned aside from GZDoom.

2. For a more modern experience with Doom, then using GZDoom (https://zdoom.org/downloads) is highly recommended as it allows for a host of improvements and better controller support than the other source ports above. There are some mods recommended on PC Gaming Wiki (see below) that provides a more modernized experience yet remain faithful to the original gameplay for the most part. The mods I recommend for strictly vanilla gameplay are the Minor Sprite Fixing Project (fixes various sprite errors and oversights), Blood Fixer (enemies will bleed the appropriate color), Widescreen Status Bar (highly recommended for playing the game in widescreen in GZDoom), Thy Flesh Consumed Intermission Map (fixes a left out intermission map screen for The Ultimate Doom), Patch93's SC-55 Soundfont (improves the MIDI music quality), and the hi-res Doom Sound Pack (improves the sound effects) or Sound Calking (same as hi-res Sound Pack but with extra unique sounds for enemies). You can also combine your Doom IWADs together into one with WadSmoosh though I'm not sure if this will break some mods.

• pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Doom_(1993)

3. it is possible to use different *.ini files with GZDoom for different purposes, but will require using the "-config <config name>.ini" and have those individual config files to autoload different mods. A launcher such as ZDL, Doom Launcher, or Doom Explorer are recommended for managing configurations, mods, and command lines between them. It is possible to use multiple copies GZDoom if you want to separate mods in this fashion and thankfully you don't need to copy your Doom IWAD files into the GZDoom folder if you have the games installed from GOG or Steam since it will detect those IWADs for you.

Thank you. This has actually made me rethink how I want things set up now - for some reason, I expected this to be harder than it is.
Looking through the links you gave, I have a few new questions:

1. Just to see if I'm understanding correctly, IWADs are WAD files that come with the games (i.e., doom.wad), while PWADs are WAD files for mods, right? If not, is there a way to differentiate them outside of just trying to run the game?

2. I get that GZDoom can find the IWADs for Doom and other games if they were gotten through GOG or Steam, but what about mods? Can I just throw all my mods into one folder and set the game to look at that folder, or is there more to it than that?

3. Are there any advantages of going with a specific launcher - Doom Launcher seems like the best, but I'm obviously not well-versed with something like this.

4. This is more a personal question, but which mods would you recommend (aside from Brutal Doom, since there's already a few topics on it here)?

Sorry for the late reply, I didn't see the notification on this thread show up properly, here are my answers to the best of my abilities.

1. Yes, "IWADs" are basically the games themselves and the data they are stored in, while "PWADs" are basically the mod files. Generally a lot of newer mods use the *pk3 format since it's easier to manage files within the PWADs with an archiving program like 7Zip, though many older mods or some recent ones are in the WAD format, but you usually should be able to tell them upon looking at the mod's profile page.

2. You can but you'll have to load the desired mod files yourself manually or autoload them into the config file of GZDoom. Under the section [gamename.autoload], you can add a variable "Path=<path to mod file>.*wad/*pk3" for each file you want to use. e.g. Having D4D and Gmota on one folder called "mods", and if I wanted to load Gmota, I'll have to find the main *pk3 for Gmota and run that with GZDoom and a compatible game.

3. I haven't used much launchers myself to be honest, I just make separate *bat files for certain mods or config files I want to load into GZDoom, but I have used a little bit of Doom Explorer and it seems to have some nice features such as servers for multiplayer and having multiple configs for different source ports and mods, but it can be a bit cumbersome to get used to when loading mods or configs if you don't get them right.

4. My recommendations are:

• Batman Doom - Aside from the awesome premise of playing as Batman in Doom, it was one of the more technically impressive mod for its day. This can be a problem to play on GZDoom but a fan-made patch was made to fix issues it.
• Gmota - A fun mix of various Doom games made into a hodgepodge of arcade styled action.
• DemonSteele - A metal and anime-inspired mod that basically turns Doom into a first-person Devil May Cry of sorts.
• Smooth Doom - A modernized take on Doom's visuals and animations but retains vanilla gameplay for the most part.
• Beautiful Doom - Similar to the above but with more advanced visual effects and physics-based gibbing effects.
• D4D - A mod that takes Doom 2016 and turn it into a retro-ish demake into the classic Doom games. Lots of options and features but might be too heavy for some. Death Foretold is something of a more streamlined successor to this mod with a drop-based upgrade system.
• PSX Doom Total Conversion - A total conversion aims to recreate the PlayStation Doom onto the GZDoom engine and using its modernized features. I have a guide on Steam on how to set this one up.

The most important mod if you want to play normal Doom/Doom 2 without the sprite errors:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/62403-doom-2-minor-sprite-fixing-project-v19-release-updated-12718/

Pirate Doom – pirate themed partial conversion with many levels

The Adventures of Square – standalone total conversion – one of the best free games, although only two of three episodes are completed.

Shadow of the Wool Ball & Rise of the Wool Ball – total conversions that are Wolf3d/Rise of the Triad inspired. You play a hedgehog and the enemies are cats.

Edit: HocusDoom is also a great total conversion, but it's still a work in progress.