I would like to organize a community Doom 2 Deathmatch game (potentially a series if the first one goes well). I’m aiming for 2:00 PM EDT (18:00 UTC) today, May 24th.
Preparation
Source Port (Odamex 12.2.0)
While a number of Doom source ports inherit the networking code from the original game, this network code uses a P2P architecture designed to run over IPX and LAN networks. It has many limitations and is not very practical for casual games.
There are a number of ports designed specifically for multiplayer with a client/server architecture. The “active” ones are Zdaemon, Zandronum, and Odamex. Of these, Zdaemon is proprietary and only supports Windows. Zandronum supports Linux, but has a hard dependency on FMOD, which makes it a nuisance to build.
Odamex on the other hand is fully GPL licensed and lacks this dependency hell, plus it is available as a FlatPak, in addition to Windows installers and some distro packages. So we will be using Odamex 12.2.0
(Heads up, the Odamex website still links to 12.1.0 for some reason. This version uses a network protocol which is not compatible with 12.2.0. You can grab 12.2.0 from the Github Releases page (all platforms), FlatHub (Linux), or possibly your distro package manager (mainly looking like Arch 🤏️, Gentoo 😎️, and Nix 😐️).
Files
You will need a copy of doom2.wad. This is the file from the commercial game which contains all of the maps, textures, sprites, audio clips, music, etc. It is easy to find back-ups on the Internet in case you’ve scratched your retail CD, or you are unable to read the file from your retail CD because computers don’t have CD drives anymore. Technical support may be available on Matrix for people who are struggling to insert their CD into the computer.
A few different versions of this file have existed. Version 1.9 (1995) is the latest. The correct MD5 / SHA256 sums of this file are 25e1459ca71d321525f84628f45ca8cd /10d67824b11025ddd9198e8cfc87ca335ee6e2d3e63af4180fa9b8a471893255
OdaLauncher
Odamex includes a program called OdaLauncher. This is a GUI application which serves as a server browser / configuration tool. Specifically, you need to point it to odamex(.exe) (the game itself), and a directory where you store your .wad files (including doom2.wad, in addition to the unzipped .wad files of whatever map set we’re playing).
Map set / Rules
I have an inkling to keep things simple and just run the DWANGO 5 mapset, but I am completely open for suggestions. Brit11 is also a solid option. Keep in mind, the maps must be vanilla/boom/mbf compatible. A lot of maps designed for Zdaemon, Skulltag, or Zandronum use advanced Zdoom / Hexen features which are not available in Odamex. This limitation doesn’t impact the majority of deathmatch maps though.
The Odamex client has an included feature which will download .wad files from well-known sites, so as long as you have doom2.wad, the other wads should be fetched automatically if you don’t have them.
As far as rules go, 25 frags, no time limit seemed to work well. Difficulty is set to Nightmare (as customary for multiplayer).
Server
The server is running at phobos.matapacos.dog, or you can also find it in the server list as “Hexbear Community Deathmatch”
Not gonna join this but man if you guys run quake 3 or counter strike 1.6 at some point I would be so in
cs1.6 is the real balkan gaming experience
if this gets greenlit i seriously hope y’all allow no-steam players cause that’s the eastern european way to play. i’d be down only if pirated clients are supposed
also i’d be down for quake 3. i kinda suck at it but i love adding homer simpson, sephiroth and lego minifigures to fight each other
1.6 on cs_assault so i can sit in the vent with a riot shield bein an absolute menace
my experience was being shat on because my favorite map was cs_italy
monthly Hexbear game nights when?
Is doom 2 the first one where you can actually look up and down?
You can’t look up or down in Doom 2, but it is a feature added by several modern ports (and then optionally disabled again for gameplay compatibility / ruleset reasons). It is an optional feature in Odamex. I will probably leave it off considering the maps weren’t designed with this in mind (it is available in spectator mode though).
Mechanically, Doom 2 is identical to the original, except there is a double barrel shotgun and a few extra types of monsters. By the time both games matured, they shared the same exact
.exefile which enabled extra features depending solely on which game data file (‘iwad’) was loaded.doom 2 is known for not having freelook like doom 1.
games like heretic/hexen (games made in a modified version of the doom engine) and duke nukem 3d (i know, controversial. i like the dukem due to the gianni shitposts) had vertical view movement but they used a method that made the game look like it melts and morphs. quake 1 ended up getting that good camera movement
Descent had free look in 95, but it sits in a weird middle ground between FPS and flight sim.
oh shit descent
music is boppin (which is how i know about that game, since a person who posted the whole general midi soundtrack made a heavy tf2 ytpmv. never played it)
Nothing quite matches the sheer chaos of Doom deathmatch. Fun shooting with y’all. -Spie
was fun playing with ya. can’t wait to play again, i say, hopefully. yes this is the only image i have of the spy from tf2
Is it okay to try and join even if you’ve never played classic doom against another player and you’re only good at a single, very different game (account name unrelated)?
Yes. Multiplayer Doom plays like Celeste. You will die a lot of times, but be back on your feet in a split second. There are no punishing / demoralizing cool-down periods. You don’t even need to wait for your corpse to hit the floor. Most of the fun is running into situations you know will get you killed, and taking as many people with you as you can.
i will get pissed off due to the fucking strawberries and if i do not get them a nagging voice in my head will tell me i suck and many many harsh things
LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Why isn’t this an emote?
i do not feel like adding it in c/emojicons but i really want more doomguy in my life
N
There is a relevant animated doom marine gif but I am not going to post it.
if you post it, the sega 32x ost plays. it’s gonna stink real bad
edit: oh so it isn’t the doomguy funny butte. still have to make you all know of the sega 32x doom port. it got decompiled and is pretty cool now. even got the srb2 treatment!
TAINER
WIIITH
NOoOOooo
OOuuuUPENNING
(i watched too much joel. that fucking bit from the sa2 streams got stuck in my head)
I’m really curious what younger players who haven’t played much Doom think about the multiplayer experience compared to more modern shooters. Game mechanics, pace, all that.
This was my first time playing anything Doom and I think it’s amazing. Granted I haven’t played any modern shooters in several years but compared to the shooters I have played this was so much faster than anything I had experienced before. The spawning can be chaotic as fuck but you get back into it so fast that it doesn’t feel bad when you get instantly killed. Not being able to look up and down made stairs frightening lol. Guns all feel good and the once in a while opportunity to try and chase someone down with the chainsaw was very entertaining. I’d definitely like to see this again in the future, and I’d like to try some of the other game modes if there are enough people for it.
We hit 11 players at one point. If we’re able to muster those numbers, a 5v5 CTF is extremely fun (because of the pace specifically. CTF is a dreadfully boring slog in a lot of slower games). I have never tried any of the Odamex CTF maps though.
I will for sure try and be there if you host CTF!
i only played for like 10 mins and i’m not that young (my first fps games were cs 1.6 and quake 3), all i’ll say is i like the idea of gaming with hexbears but i’d prefer if we played something along the lines of those two games 😬 maybe xonotic?
was kinda neat hearing doomified version of NIN songs tho
You’ll really be able to tell the average age on this site if it was cs 1.6 lmao
Someone has to record this just so the final cut has some of the most obscure forum jokes of all time.
I just set up demo recording but I didn’t capture any of the “test” games.
i forgot to record. i’d edit it like a 2000s kill montage
If I was home I would definitely do this
I got correct wads and would be happy to dump them in the matrix chat if anyone needs
I don’t know what matrix is, but it’s the wad associated with version 1.9 of Doom II - Hell on Earth if anyone else is having trouble
Thanks for mentioning the version!
That’s way too far past midnight in my timezone, otherwise I’d be so there. Any chance of another one that’s slightly more antipodean-friendly?
The time is adaptable. More likely to be pushed back up to about 6 hours (e.g. 8 PM east coast, 5 PM west coast). If the timezone is too fucked, the server latency probably won’t be acceptable either. The server I set up is located in Toronto.
Yeah fair point about the lag. Don’t move it on my account but if it ends up being later anyway I’ll try to drop in and see if I can deal with it.
The server I set up is located in Toronto.
laughs in lives-in-the-GTA low-ping happiness
Cabbagetown heads rise up
I’m down! Haven’t played Doom deathmatch in like 30 years. I remember being pretty good. Hope I’m not rusty. I wonder how long it will take the young’uns who don’t have much classic Doom experience to figure out which gun is the best sniper rifle.
I just installed the 12.2.0 flatpak on my Fedora linux laptop, it works perfectly, no tweaking required.
The whipper snappers are used to playing Call of Duty or Halo where you sprint at a pace of about 0.5 miles per hour. They are not prepared.
Hey now, I played some Quake free-for-alls! Granted I couldn’t stay alive for any amount of time, but still.
Fuck, I might just be down to do this. I actually work a half day tomorrow.
yep i noticed the timezone issue. it’ll be midnight for me too
hel yea I’ll try to join from my laptop for a bit
