While Xbox 360 and PS3 users have worked themselves into a veritable tizzy over downloadable content, PC users have been accustomed to having the lifeline of their favorite games extended far past their in-the-box values since the days of Doom - and even before that. What's more, we're used to downloading new levels, weapons, characters, and new episodes absolutely free of charge.
Big Download understands that a five-hour game can be extended by hundreds of hours via total conversions, brand new monsters, and weapons you've always wanted to see in your favorite title. In the spirit of extending a title's longevity beyond mere out-of-the-box expectations, MODmonday celebrates the best modifications for games new and old. Half-Life, Half-Life 2, StarCraft, Diablo II, Doom and more will all be represented here, ensuring a wide spread of mods available across every possible genre of PC gaming.
This week's MODmonday kicks off an extended examination of classic games and the mods that make them a blast to play in our modern day and age. We begin the series by inspecting the Doomsday Engine, a port that adds modern mechanics to Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, Heretic, and Hexen.
Port: Doomsday Engine
Developer: dengDevs
Download Link
Required Game: Doom, Ultimate Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, Heretic, or Hexen
Installation Instructions:
- Download Doomsday Engine.
- Unzip the contents of the zip file into a new folder.
- Dig out your old CDs for the game you want to play (listed above). If you downloaded any of the above games or the id Super Pack from Steam (and if you haven't, you really, really should), download the game(s) and locate the .WAD file(s), which can always be found in the respective game's directory.
- After installing Doomsday Engine, copy all .WAD files into the 'data' folder located in your Doomsday directory. Inside the 'data' folder are sub-directories for each game. Make sure to copy the .WAD files into the correct directory. For example, all of my Doom WADs (doom.wad, doom2.wad, tnt.wad, and plutonia.wad) are stored in C:\Games\Doomsday_Launcher\data\jdoom.
Running the Mod:
- Open the 'snowberry' sub-directory in your Doomsday Engine folder. For example, my path is: C:\Games\Doomsday_Launcher\snowberry.
- Double-click 'snowberry.exe'.
- Using the setup wizard, make sure that Doomsday Engine knows where to find each game's .WAD file.
- Configure your settings. The settings for an individual game can be configured by clicking on that game -- all game settings tabs are located on the leftmost side of your Doomsday Engine interface -- or, if you want all the games to share certain settings, use the Shared Settings tab.
- Start the game.
Additional resources such as remixed soundtracks and model packs can be found on the official Doomsday Engine website.
Browse the MODmonday Archive
--
Some classics age well, and some don't. When was the last time you unearthed your PlayStation and marveled at how well Moto Racer's aesthetics have stood the test of time? You probably haven't, because they definitely haven't. Though the Xbox 360 and PS3 will probably look decent when we dust them off for nostalgia's sake in 15 or 20 years, many old consoles will not, especially the early attempts at 3D as seen on the PSOne, N64, and SEGA Saturn.
Thanks to ports, many PC games don't suffer from this woeful affliction, this blight on our memories of simpler times and even simpler graphics. In the games industry, "port" is typically defined as a game's translation from one platform to another. For classic computer games, the definition is roughly the same. In this instance, a port is third-party software that spices up the aesthetics and gameplay mechanics to make sure classic games stay relevant when pitted against new, shinier titles.
id Software's Doom is arguably still quite attractive by today's standards. It has become slightly pixilated at the ripe age of 15, but overall, the game can still be played without receiving a headache for your efforts. But if you're of the mind that Doom requires a bit of an overall to hold your appeal in this modern age of Halos and orange boxes, the Doomsday Engine paints over Doom's jagged edges and blocky zombies with smoother graphics for those who crave the classic look, 3D models of Hell's minions and your weapons for a modern look -- or a combination of both.
I miss the DOS days as much as the next jaded adventure gamer, but one aspect of the daunting black screen and flickering command prompt that I do not miss is the use of command line parameters. Entering many of the commands that modified Doom's functionality always made me feel like a programmer due to their long-windedness and unnecessary complexity. Doomsday Engine modernizes these elements through the implementation of a smooth, user-friendly interface. Custom maps can be added using the Maps tab; graphical settings such as resolution, color depth, and texture options are found within the Display and Graphics tabs; and settings that should be applied to all applicable games such as graphics options and resource packs can be tweaked in Shared Settings. Other settings such as control schemes and screen HUDs can be fiddled with in-game.
Remember the ease of pointing your gun at an enemy in Doom, squeezing the trigger, and knowing you'd score a hit even if he was above or below your reticule? If you prefer a more precise, controllable method of battling demons, Doomsday Engine does allow for mouse aiming, something that didn't become an FPS necessity until 1996 ushered in Duke Nukem 3D and Quake.
Other mechanics we now take for granted such as jumping are also available, though a precaution is necessary for those who wish to use them: the Doom engine wasn't exactly optimized for mouse aiming, jumping, and other mechanics of that nature. Unless you choose to download one of the 3D model packs available from the Doomsday Engine's official website, you'll still be aiming at flat, two-dimensional sprites. They'll be smoother, yes, but because they're flat, the images will fold in on themselves when you scroll your mouse to aim at something higher or lower than your position. This often hides the sprites completely from view, but isn't difficult to overcome once you remember to keep it in mind.
If experiencing Doom, Ultimate Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, Heretic, and Hexen at 1600x1200 resolution is something you've always dreamed of, Doomsday Engine is available as a downloadable answer to your dreams. It manages to usher Doom into 2008 while still retaining the essence of a game that, even without mods or ports, is still a joy to play.
Developer: dengDevs
Download Link
Required Game: Doom, Ultimate Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, Heretic, or Hexen
Installation Instructions:
- Download Doomsday Engine.
- Unzip the contents of the zip file into a new folder.
- Dig out your old CDs for the game you want to play (listed above). If you downloaded any of the above games or the id Super Pack from Steam (and if you haven't, you really, really should), download the game(s) and locate the .WAD file(s), which can always be found in the respective game's directory.
- After installing Doomsday Engine, copy all .WAD files into the 'data' folder located in your Doomsday directory. Inside the 'data' folder are sub-directories for each game. Make sure to copy the .WAD files into the correct directory. For example, all of my Doom WADs (doom.wad, doom2.wad, tnt.wad, and plutonia.wad) are stored in C:\Games\Doomsday_Launcher\data\jdoom.
Running the Mod:
- Open the 'snowberry' sub-directory in your Doomsday Engine folder. For example, my path is: C:\Games\Doomsday_Launcher\snowberry.
- Double-click 'snowberry.exe'.
- Using the setup wizard, make sure that Doomsday Engine knows where to find each game's .WAD file.
- Configure your settings. The settings for an individual game can be configured by clicking on that game -- all game settings tabs are located on the leftmost side of your Doomsday Engine interface -- or, if you want all the games to share certain settings, use the Shared Settings tab.
- Start the game.
Additional resources such as remixed soundtracks and model packs can be found on the official Doomsday Engine website.
Browse the MODmonday Archive
--
Some classics age well, and some don't. When was the last time you unearthed your PlayStation and marveled at how well Moto Racer's aesthetics have stood the test of time? You probably haven't, because they definitely haven't. Though the Xbox 360 and PS3 will probably look decent when we dust them off for nostalgia's sake in 15 or 20 years, many old consoles will not, especially the early attempts at 3D as seen on the PSOne, N64, and SEGA Saturn.
Thanks to ports, many PC games don't suffer from this woeful affliction, this blight on our memories of simpler times and even simpler graphics. In the games industry, "port" is typically defined as a game's translation from one platform to another. For classic computer games, the definition is roughly the same. In this instance, a port is third-party software that spices up the aesthetics and gameplay mechanics to make sure classic games stay relevant when pitted against new, shinier titles.
id Software's Doom is arguably still quite attractive by today's standards. It has become slightly pixilated at the ripe age of 15, but overall, the game can still be played without receiving a headache for your efforts. But if you're of the mind that Doom requires a bit of an overall to hold your appeal in this modern age of Halos and orange boxes, the Doomsday Engine paints over Doom's jagged edges and blocky zombies with smoother graphics for those who crave the classic look, 3D models of Hell's minions and your weapons for a modern look -- or a combination of both.
I miss the DOS days as much as the next jaded adventure gamer, but one aspect of the daunting black screen and flickering command prompt that I do not miss is the use of command line parameters. Entering many of the commands that modified Doom's functionality always made me feel like a programmer due to their long-windedness and unnecessary complexity. Doomsday Engine modernizes these elements through the implementation of a smooth, user-friendly interface. Custom maps can be added using the Maps tab; graphical settings such as resolution, color depth, and texture options are found within the Display and Graphics tabs; and settings that should be applied to all applicable games such as graphics options and resource packs can be tweaked in Shared Settings. Other settings such as control schemes and screen HUDs can be fiddled with in-game.
Remember the ease of pointing your gun at an enemy in Doom, squeezing the trigger, and knowing you'd score a hit even if he was above or below your reticule? If you prefer a more precise, controllable method of battling demons, Doomsday Engine does allow for mouse aiming, something that didn't become an FPS necessity until 1996 ushered in Duke Nukem 3D and Quake.
Other mechanics we now take for granted such as jumping are also available, though a precaution is necessary for those who wish to use them: the Doom engine wasn't exactly optimized for mouse aiming, jumping, and other mechanics of that nature. Unless you choose to download one of the 3D model packs available from the Doomsday Engine's official website, you'll still be aiming at flat, two-dimensional sprites. They'll be smoother, yes, but because they're flat, the images will fold in on themselves when you scroll your mouse to aim at something higher or lower than your position. This often hides the sprites completely from view, but isn't difficult to overcome once you remember to keep it in mind.
If experiencing Doom, Ultimate Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, Heretic, and Hexen at 1600x1200 resolution is something you've always dreamed of, Doomsday Engine is available as a downloadable answer to your dreams. It manages to usher Doom into 2008 while still retaining the essence of a game that, even without mods or ports, is still a joy to play.
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