Infinite berserk

[Valstra]

It seems that berserk powerup never ends in this version, and it persists even after a full game reload. Is there any way to avoid that, or should i never touch a bersker pack ever again?

[Thermal Lance]

The berserker pack lasts the whole level. This is normal behavior.

[Valstra]

Originally posted by Thermal Lance:

The berserker pack lasts the whole level. This is normal behavior.

Huh! That's funny i never knew that, playing Doom for most of my life. Thank you! :D

[AWMonopolyMan]

Yeah, it lasts almost 4 years in real time so that’s how they made it last until the end of the level.

[Merit66]

How did I not know this!?!?

[Seamus]

Because the manual listed it wrong and they never bothered correcting it

[AWMonopolyMan]

Originally posted by Seamus:

Because the manual listed it wrong and they never bothered correcting it

To be fair, saying it lasts nearly 4 years wouldn’t make much sense since once you leave a level, it turns off and your fists are back to doing normal damage. Making it last that long, was a simpler way to ensure it would last for the level you were on.

[Space Detective]

Originally posted by AWMonopolyMan:

Originally posted by Seamus:

Because the manual listed it wrong and they never bothered correcting it

To be fair, saying it lasts nearly 4 years wouldn’t make much sense since once you leave a level, it turns off and your fists are back to doing normal damage.

Or

They (whoever wrote the manual) could just say it lasts for the full level, because that's the practical effect

[opus132]

Maybe it wasn't supposed to last the whole level, it's just a bug they decided to leave in and pretend was a feature.

[Space Detective]

Originally posted by opus132:

Maybe it wasn't supposed to last the whole level, it's just a bug they decided to leave in and pretend was a feature.

If I recall correctly, there's no way it was unintentional: The way power-up duration is assigned, there's no "is permanent?" flag or anything, you have to manually assign it an absurdly long duration. You're not going to accidentally hold down the 9 key when you meant to put in a time period equivalent to 20 seconds.

It may've been a late change to the power-up however; made after printing of the original manual for DOOM I, though then that raises the question of why the later manuals also said it was time-based. Probably just a copy-paste job.

[AWMonopolyMan]

Originally posted by Space Detective:

Originally posted by opus132:

Maybe it wasn't supposed to last the whole level, it's just a bug they decided to leave in and pretend was a feature.

If I recall correctly, there's no way it was unintentional: The way power-up duration is assigned, there's no "is permanent?" flag or anything, you have to manually assign it an absurdly long duration. You're not going to accidentally hold down the 9 key when you meant to put in a time period equivalent to 20 seconds.

It may've been a late change to the power-up however; made after printing of the original manual for DOOM I, though then that raises the question of why the later manuals also said it was time-based. Probably just a copy-paste job.

To quote the manual of the time: “ Berserk Packs heal you, plus act as a super-adrenaline rush, enormously boosting your muscle power. Since you're already a pretty meaty guy, this enhanced strength lets you tear ordinary dolts limb from limb, and you can even splatter those demons without too much trouble.
However, you've got to use your Fist attack to get the benefit of the Berserk attack bonus. When you become Berserk, your screen will briefly turn red.
Duration: One Level”

According to Decino’s video on Doom Cheats when talking about IDBEHOLDS, he mentions it last around 122,713,351 seconds, which is roughly 3.891 years in real time. They intentionally made it a massive number so it wouldn’t run out in the natural progression of a level.

[verdeAntico]

Guys.. maybe I'm wrong, so just let me know:
in the original Doom 1 (and 2??) I think you can't return from the chainsaw to the fists.. so there was no point in having a whole level berserk because when you change to a gun you couldn't select your fists again..
But as I said, I'm not sure of it because I really was just a child in 1995-1998 when I think I had my first Doom experience.

[benakenobi]

Originally posted by verdeAntico:

...I think you can't return from the chainsaw to the fists.. so there was no point in having a whole level berserk...

Checked Doom shareware and you're right, press 1 and it's only chainsaw.

also checked Ultimate Doom (Dosbox package) and it's also permanent chainsaw
and Doom 2 finally gets to toggle between fist and chainsaw.

[SkankHunt42]

I didn't learn it lasts that long for the longest either. I assumed once the red went away so did the berserk

[Seamus]

Originally posted by verdeAntico:

Guys.. maybe I'm wrong, so just let me know:
in the original Doom 1 (and 2??) I think you can't return from the chainsaw to the fists.. so there was no point in having a whole level berserk because when you change to a gun you couldn't select your fists again..
But as I said, I'm not sure of it because I really was just a child in 1995-1998 when I think I had my first Doom experience.

Originally posted by benakenobi:

Originally posted by verdeAntico:

...I think you can't return from the chainsaw to the fists.. so there was no point in having a whole level berserk...

Checked Doom shareware and you're right, press 1 and it's only chainsaw.

also checked Ultimate Doom (Dosbox package) and it's also permanent chainsaw
and Doom 2 finally gets to toggle between fist and chainsaw.

You're both incorrect.

You can't change to fist when you have chainsaw. UNLESS you have berserk. Then you can toggle freely between them.

It's like that because there's zero reason to use non-berserk fist rather than chainsaw if you have the chainsaw.

[Phoenix]

Originally posted by Seamus:

It's like that because there's zero reason to use non-berserk fist rather than chainsaw if you have the chainsaw.

There are reasons. Here's three:

1) To throw an air punch to see if it wakes up demons. It's easier to hear how many and what kind over the noisy saw.
2) Tyson challenge.
3) Because sometimes you just really want to punch a demon, Berserk or not.