Chapter 19: DOOM, DOOM II, and Ultimate DOOM

On December 10, 1993, id Software established a new standard for computer gaming with its first shareware release, the highly anticipated 3D combat action game DOOM. Voted the 1994 Game of the Year by both PC Gamer and Computer Gaming World, DOOM is touted as the single most installed piece of software ever-an indication of its intense popularity with gamers worldwide. Using seamless, textured environments, the game is played in a three-dimensional rendered maze where realistic lighting, sound effects, and other animated features add to the overall experience.

Less than a year later, on "DOOMSDAY," October 10, 1994, the record-breaking DOOM II: Hell on Earth was released for sale. Considered as both the commercial version of DOOM and its sequel, the game presented players a new scenario, even more realistic 3D graphics, twice the demons, and more weapons. In 1995, The Ultimate DOOM hit the retail stores. Offering players the original 27 levels found on the shareware version of DOOM, this commercial version also included a brand new episode with nine additional levels. Also that year, Master Levels for DOOM II was released and extended play with 20 additional, independently designed but id-supervised levels. Through all its releases, the DOOM series has continued to perform well beyond expectation.

The Scenarios

DOOM

Players take on the persona of the sole survivor of a space marine detail. Sent to Phobos, a Martian moon, the detail's mission was to answer a garbled distress call from a remote facility of the Union Aerospace Corporation where the military had been conducting secret projects in inter-dimensional travel. The message warned of something evil coming through the gateway. Players must face the horror with only a pistol and the hope of finding better weapons inside the station where the rest of the detail has apparently died.

DOOM II

Having survived the Martian moon, the space marine returns to Earth only to find a situation far worse than that on the Phobos. On Earth, there are more demons both in number and variety, and the fate of humanity rests squarely on the shoulders of the intrepid space marine who must clear the way for the remaining few humans alive to transport off the planet and to safety.

Weapons and Enemy Targets

Weapons

Each version of the game allows different weapons, or combinations of weapons, from the overall arsenal used in the series. Weapons which are used include: the space marine's fist, pistol, shotgun, super shotgun, chain gun, chain saw, rocket launcher, plasma rifle, and BFG9000 ("Big Fraggin Gun").

Enemy Targets

As with the weapons, each version of the game features different creatures bent on impeding the space marine's progress through the various game levels. These creatures include: undead or former humans, undead human sergeants, brown thorny imps, horned demons, spectres, lost souls, fire-breathing cacodemons, plasma flinging Barons of Hell, rocket-shooting cyberdemons, large robotic shooting spiders, chain gun toting undead human sergeants, Hell Knights, smaller shooting spiders, bad tempered skeletons, and fiery spirits.

Secrets, Hints, and Cheats

Those who prefer the advantage in a game, or simply find themselves stuck and needing assistance to advance through the games' levels, should refer to the Official DOOM and DOOM II FAQ. Written by Hank Leukart, the document provides an invaluable resource for exploring (on paper) the DOOM that awaits players in the game.

A whole section of the FAQ is devoted to cheats and spoilers answering questions like: What command line parameters exist?; Where are the DOOM secret levels?; Where are the secret doors in DOOM?; How many enemies are in the entire game?; and, of course, What are the DOOM cheat codes?

Obviously, this is way too much information to reprint here, particularly since the FAQ is easily attainable online. A hypertext version may be found at http://doomgate.cs.buffalo.edu/docs/FAQ/doomfaq/. In the spirit of generosity and to whet the taste for more, however, here's a cheat code to get things rolling. Simply type: idbehold (Get it? id behold.) A menu of six letters will then appear representing a variety of defensive gear, attributes, or aids-"S" (Strength), "V" (inVulnerability), "I" (partial Invisibility), "R" (anti-Radiation suit), "L" (Light amplification visor), and "A" (full Auto-mapping). Choose and proceed.

Keystrokes: Making Moves

For an action-packed game, DOOM requires very little dexterity on the keypad for a player to score well. Place one hand on the arrow or directional keys, and use the other hand to press the Control key and the Spacebar. In this position, you're poised to shoot up the place.

Obviously, the arrow keys move the character through the game: up = forward, left = left, right = right, and down = backward. Alt-left arrow and Alt-right arrow move the character side to side. The Control key fires the weapon which is currently in use, and the Spacebar is used to open doors and manipulate switches. The number keys change the weapon in use-players select from the various weapons they find and pick up along the way. The Tab key shows the map, and the Escape key returns players to the game's menu.

Types of Play and Resources

DOOM supports stand alone or individual play, as well as two different multiplayer action options. Multiple players can either combine forces to scour the mazes and fight the monsters as a team, or they can go it alone and combat one another (in addition to the monsters) in the DeathMatch mode. Multiplayer action is possible via direct serial connection (or null modem), a modem connection, or a network connection. In fact, the only thing required to play DOOM (v.1.6 or greater) via modem is two players with identical (registered) versions of the game. However, as with most things, there are steps players can take to increase their enjoyment level and decrease their frustration levels when attempting to launch a multiplayer game. To aid in this effort, The Doom2 Modem Information Page (http://www.sscf.ucsb.edu/~duncan/doom/index.html) provides players step-by-step assistance in connecting themselves (and their friends) for local DOOM action.

In order to enjoy DOOM over the Internet, players must go beyond the basic programming provided by the game and seek out additional resources. One such resource is a handy piece of freeware called iFrag. The TCP/IP Internet DOOMer's FAQ written by Scott Coleman and Jay Cotton discusses the installation and use of the program, and points to where the program can be downloaded. (A hypertext version of the Coleman/Cotton document can be found on the iFrag FAQ page http://dirac.bcm.tmc.edu/ifrag20.html) Though a direct Ethernet connection is best when using iFrag, acceptable levels of play can be achieved with 28.8Kbps modems.

To explore other options for multiplayer DOOM fun, check out the section of this book on Network Gaming, Chapter 13. DWANGO (http://www.dwango.com/enter.html), the Kali service (http://www.axxis.com/kali/), and XBAND PC (http://www.xband.com) all support DOOM action in one form or another.

For additional DOOM-related resources refer to the Web and Usenet newsgroup sections of this book Chapters 4 and 11 respectively). There are a number of Internet sites offering relevant material and interesting insights into the game. Among these resources, perhaps the first place any player should look in searching out additional DOOM bits and bytes is Piotr Kapiszewski's DoomGate collection found at http://doomgate.cs.buffalo.edu/. The downloads, documents, and forums offered will prove a valuable asset to anyone interested in advancing in skill and knowledge of the game. To get the official word on DOOM, players can visit the id Software corporate site at http://www.idsoftware.com/ and to find quick answers to otherwise plaguing questions, again, The Official DOOM and DOOM II FAQ is available at http://doomgate.cs.buffalo.edu/docs/FAQ/doomfaq/.