Can't get it to load

[WizardPepper]

It takes me to what looks like a loading screen, where it just sits. The screen is like a picture of Doom Guy and a demon.

[Phoenix7786]

Hmm. I'd strongly advise getting a free source-port to get the best gaming experience. Steam's version of these old-school FPS's is just some ♥♥♥♥♥♥, unstable DOSBox'd port. I'd grab a modern source-port like ZDoom, GZDoom, or Zandronum.

Why a modern source-port? They are free, fully customizable (imagine having WSAD movement and mouse-look like most current FPS's), and incredibly stable. They also open you up to free mods and fan-made content. If you're an old-school FPS, just Youtube Samsara, Doom II Stronghold, and Samsarahold to get an idea of what you're missing.

Running the source-port is as easy as downloading it then copying and pasting your Doom II WAD file into it (or you can manually direct them to where your WAD file is stored). I'm more than happy to help you if you need help.

[Soviet Commander]

Originally posted by Randy:

Hmm. I'd strongly advise getting a free source-port to get the best gaming experience. Steam's version of these old-school FPS's is just some ♥♥♥♥♥♥, unstable DOSBox'd port. I'd grab a modern source-port like ZDoom, GZDoom, or Zandronum.

Why a modern source-port? They are free, fully customizable (imagine having WSAD movement and mouse-look like most current FPS's), and incredibly stable. They also open you up to free mods and fan-made content. If you're an old-school FPS, just Youtube Samsara, Doom II Stronghold, and Samsarahold to get an idea of what you're missing.

Running the source-port is as easy as downloading it then copying and pasting your Doom II WAD file into it (or you can manually direct them to where your WAD file is stored). I'm more than happy to help you if you need help.

mind helping me out i recently bought it to try doom 2 out since i never got to play it as a kid and i also cant get it to load

[Phoenix7786]

Sure give me a minute and I'll edit this.

1. Alright first download a source-port. I only have experience with Zandronum so that's the one I'll discuss. Right now Zandronum's most current version is 2.1.2, just released July 19. It's available for Windows, Mac, and others as well.

https://zandronum.com/download

2. Run the installer. At some point Zandronum 2.0 will ask you to direct it to where you have your WAD files. WAD files are basically the "guts" of the various games it supports (Doom I WAD, Doom II WAD, FreeDoom WAD, Heretic WAD, HeXen WAD, Chex Quest WAD, etc). Assuming you have no other WAD files you can dig into your Steam-->Steamapps-->common and select that as where your WAD files are. If you want to plan ahead, you can place any WAD files in another folder and use that as the directory instead. I used to place WAD files directly into my Zandronum directory but that got very cluttered as time went on. If I insist on keeping my IWAD files inside my Zandronum directory, I use an extra folder just for that.

Chex Quest http://www.chucktropolis.com/gamers.htm
and FreeDoom https://freedoom.github.io/download.html
are both free IWAD's that are fully compatible with Zandronum.

3. Run Zandronum. It'll bring you to a screen which asks you which IWAD you want to run. You already own Doom II, so it'll display Doom II as a possible candidate. Depending on any other IWAD's you own, it'll display those too. Again if you want more I listed 2 free ones. Loading an IWAD loads the game, in a nut-shell.

4. Assuming you loaded Doom II, you should see the game load up just fine like you normally would. Zandronum's options are quite flexible and there's lots of neat stuff in here. Just be aware that there are a lot more controls that can be set here since Zandronum supports quite a few games. Many of them won't be any of any use in Doom (the secondary-fire key for example has no use in native Doom) but a game like Heretic or HeXen may very well use lots of those. You can freely enable crouching or jumping even though Doom didn't normally allow it. This could allow you to "cheat" levels by being able to sneak under openings you weren't meant to or make jumps and skip past areas. If you want the vanilla-style Doom then you can just unbind anything you don't like.

5. Since you can freely aim in mouse-look, you might want to enable a cross-hair to help you see. Options-->Display Options-->HUD Options will bring you to the crosshairs section, as well as letting you adjust how much of your HUD appears. As an old-schooler I like my mug, my inventory count, my health, and my armour. Other players might want a minimalist HUD that has far less clutter.

This next part might be a bit beyond the scope of what you're asking for, but I can give you an idea of how to run 2 sample mods. The first is called Brutal Doom, http://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom/downloads

which adds lots and lots of features. Roughly speaking, it's a gorier version of Doom but there's so much more. Guns reload; enemies take damage relative to where they've been shot; the secondary-fire mode affects most weapons; custom weapons are added (for an example your pistol is replaced by an assault rifle); berzerk packs enable you to do stuff like throw explosive barrels and literally rip enemies apart. There's way more so you can read the full list here http://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom/features/list-of-brutal-doom-features

If you downloaded it, you'd simply double-click on Brutal Doom and then select which IWAD to load over it. If that doesn't work, try putting it with your other IWAD files. In Brutal Doom's case, Doom I, Doom II, and FreeDoom are fully compatible with it. FreeDoom is actually interesting in that if I'm not mistaken Brutal Doom loaded into FreeDoom will actually restore the sprites back to their Doom equivalents.

Another really popular mod is Samsara, http://www.moddb.com/mods/samsara/downloads which is sorta like Smash Brothers meets old-school FPS's. The author has faithfully recreated characters and their native weaponry from a plethora of old FPS games and makes them fully-playable. Ever wanted to fight through Doom as the guy from Wolfenstein? Feel like taking the Doom Marine to Chex Quest's world and blowing them to Hell? Even rivals from other games like Duke from Duke Nukem and the Security Officer from Mac's Marathon series (before Bungie made Halo they cut their teeth on Marathon) join the fray. Even if you don't own the games the characters come from they're still here. Running Samara is as simple as double-clicking it and selecting which IWAD to load. Samsara is compatible with Doom, Doom II, Heretic, HeXen, Chex Quest, and FreeDoom.

[[AU] Tabris:DarkPeace]

Use this Modern Source Port (PrBoom OpenGL 3D)

1) Get: http://sourceforge.net/projects/dooms-19-winx64/

2) Copy DOOM2.WAD into the PrBoom folder using the [Open Folder...] button.

3) Delete DOOM1.WAD once done.

4) Enjoy DOOM at 500fps++ without sound stuttering issues, etc. without borders in 16:9, 16:10, and other resolutions.

Update Note: You may need to edit glboom.cfg to set the resolution.

For example the # Video settings section of the glboom.cfg file might look like this after the edit.

# Video settings
videomode "OpenGL"
screen_width 1920
screen_height 1080

[Soviet Commander]

Originally posted by Randy:

Sure give me a minute and I'll edit this.

1. Alright first download a source-port. I only have experience with Zandronum so that's the one I'll discuss. Right now Zandronum's most current version is 2.1.2, just released July 19. It's available for Windows, Mac, and others as well.

https://zandronum.com/download

2. Run the installer. At some point Zandronum 2.0 will ask you to direct it to where you have your WAD files. WAD files are basically the "guts" of the various games it supports (Doom I WAD, Doom II WAD, FreeDoom WAD, Heretic WAD, HeXen WAD, Chex Quest WAD, etc). Assuming you have no other WAD files you can dig into your Steam-->Steamapps-->common and select that as where your WAD files are. If you want to plan ahead, you can place any WAD files in another folder and use that as the directory instead. I used to place WAD files directly into my Zandronum directory but that got very cluttered as time went on. If I insist on keeping my IWAD files inside my Zandronum directory, I use an extra folder just for that.

Chex Quest http://www.chucktropolis.com/gamers.htm
and FreeDoom https://freedoom.github.io/download.html
are both free IWAD's that are fully compatible with Zandronum.

3. Run Zandronum. It'll bring you to a screen which asks you which IWAD you want to run. You already own Doom II, so it'll display Doom II as a possible candidate. Depending on any other IWAD's you own, it'll display those too. Again if you want more I listed 2 free ones. Loading an IWAD loads the game, in a nut-shell.

4. Assuming you loaded Doom II, you should see the game load up just fine like you normally would. Zandronum's options are quite flexible and there's lots of neat stuff in here. Just be aware that there are a lot more controls that can be set here since Zandronum supports quite a few games. Many of them won't be any of any use in Doom (the secondary-fire key for example has no use in native Doom) but a game like Heretic or HeXen may very well use lots of those. You can freely enable crouching or jumping even though Doom didn't normally allow it. This could allow you to "cheat" levels by being able to sneak under openings you weren't meant to or make jumps and skip past areas. If you want the vanilla-style Doom then you can just unbind anything you don't like.

5. Since you can freely aim in mouse-look, you might want to enable a cross-hair to help you see. Options-->Display Options-->HUD Options will bring you to the crosshairs section, as well as letting you adjust how much of your HUD appears. As an old-schooler I like my mug, my inventory count, my health, and my armour. Other players might want a minimalist HUD that has far less clutter.

This next part might be a bit beyond the scope of what you're asking for, but I can give you an idea of how to run 2 sample mods. The first is called Brutal Doom, http://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom/downloads

which adds lots and lots of features. Roughly speaking, it's a gorier version of Doom but there's so much more. Guns reload; enemies take damage relative to where they've been shot; the secondary-fire mode affects most weapons; custom weapons are added (for an example your pistol is replaced by an assault rifle); berzerk packs enable you to do stuff like throw explosive barrels and literally rip enemies apart. There's way more so you can read the full list here http://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom/features/list-of-brutal-doom-features

If you downloaded it, you'd simply double-click on Brutal Doom and then select which IWAD to load over it. If that doesn't work, try putting it with your other IWAD files. In Brutal Doom's case, Doom I, Doom II, and FreeDoom are fully compatible with it. FreeDoom is actually interesting in that if I'm not mistaken Brutal Doom loaded into FreeDoom will actually restore the sprites back to their Doom equivalents.

Another really popular mod is Samsara, http://www.moddb.com/mods/samsara/downloads which is sorta like Smash Brothers meets old-school FPS's. The author has faithfully recreated characters and their native weaponry from a plethora of old FPS games and makes them fully-playable. Ever wanted to fight through Doom as the guy from Wolfenstein? Feel like taking the Doom Marine to Chex Quest's world and blowing them to Hell? Even rivals from other games like Duke from Duke Nukem and the Security Officer from Mac's Marathon series (before Bungie made Halo they cut their teeth on Marathon) join the fray. Even if you don't own the games the characters come from they're still here. Running Samara is as simple as double-clicking it and selecting which IWAD to load. Samsara is compatible with Doom, Doom II, Heretic, HeXen, Chex Quest, and FreeDoom.

thanks man im happy that i cna finally play this game

[Phoenix7786]

Glad to hear it's working :D Feel free to ask me any questions I'll help you as best I can.

[rob213]

Randy... I dont know you, but THANK YOU! these instructions also helped me out... I appreciate it...

[Phoenix7786]

Hey I am glad to be of service :D Thanks for the appreciation you've shown :D

[AmethystViper]

I know this has been addressed with source ports, but the problem with the way Doom is packaged with is Steam is that it uses an outdated version of DOSBox and by default settings uses double-buffering when that has been known to cause problems with DOSBox.

[Phoenix7786]

Steam's version of DOSBox is just ♥♥♥♥♥♥ in general.

[Umbrrr]

I am currently having the same problem here.

[Wali Abeed]

Originally posted by Randy:

Sure give me a minute and I'll edit this.

1. Alright first download a source-port. I only have experience with Zandronum so that's the one I'll discuss. Right now Zandronum's most current version is 2.1.2, just released July 19. It's available for Windows, Mac, and others as well.

https://zandronum.com/download

2. Run the installer. At some point Zandronum 2.0 will ask you to direct it to where you have your WAD files. WAD files are basically the "guts" of the various games it supports (Doom I WAD, Doom II WAD, FreeDoom WAD, Heretic WAD, HeXen WAD, Chex Quest WAD, etc). Assuming you have no other WAD files you can dig into your Steam-->Steamapps-->common and select that as where your WAD files are. If you want to plan ahead, you can place any WAD files in another folder and use that as the directory instead. I used to place WAD files directly into my Zandronum directory but that got very cluttered as time went on. If I insist on keeping my IWAD files inside my Zandronum directory, I use an extra folder just for that.

Chex Quest http://www.chucktropolis.com/gamers.htm
and FreeDoom https://freedoom.github.io/download.html
are both free IWAD's that are fully compatible with Zandronum.

3. Run Zandronum. It'll bring you to a screen which asks you which IWAD you want to run. You already own Doom II, so it'll display Doom II as a possible candidate. Depending on any other IWAD's you own, it'll display those too. Again if you want more I listed 2 free ones. Loading an IWAD loads the game, in a nut-shell.

4. Assuming you loaded Doom II, you should see the game load up just fine like you normally would. Zandronum's options are quite flexible and there's lots of neat stuff in here. Just be aware that there are a lot more controls that can be set here since Zandronum supports quite a few games. Many of them won't be any of any use in Doom (the secondary-fire key for example has no use in native Doom) but a game like Heretic or HeXen may very well use lots of those. You can freely enable crouching or jumping even though Doom didn't normally allow it. This could allow you to "cheat" levels by being able to sneak under openings you weren't meant to or make jumps and skip past areas. If you want the vanilla-style Doom then you can just unbind anything you don't like.

5. Since you can freely aim in mouse-look, you might want to enable a cross-hair to help you see. Options-->Display Options-->HUD Options will bring you to the crosshairs section, as well as letting you adjust how much of your HUD appears. As an old-schooler I like my mug, my inventory count, my health, and my armour. Other players might want a minimalist HUD that has far less clutter.

This next part might be a bit beyond the scope of what you're asking for, but I can give you an idea of how to run 2 sample mods. The first is called Brutal Doom, http://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom/downloads

which adds lots and lots of features. Roughly speaking, it's a gorier version of Doom but there's so much more. Guns reload; enemies take damage relative to where they've been shot; the secondary-fire mode affects most weapons; custom weapons are added (for an example your pistol is replaced by an assault rifle); berzerk packs enable you to do stuff like throw explosive barrels and literally rip enemies apart. There's way more so you can read the full list here http://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom/features/list-of-brutal-doom-features

If you downloaded it, you'd simply double-click on Brutal Doom and then select which IWAD to load over it. If that doesn't work, try putting it with your other IWAD files. In Brutal Doom's case, Doom I, Doom II, and FreeDoom are fully compatible with it. FreeDoom is actually interesting in that if I'm not mistaken Brutal Doom loaded into FreeDoom will actually restore the sprites back to their Doom equivalents.

Another really popular mod is Samsara, http://www.moddb.com/mods/samsara/downloads which is sorta like Smash Brothers meets old-school FPS's. The author has faithfully recreated characters and their native weaponry from a plethora of old FPS games and makes them fully-playable. Ever wanted to fight through Doom as the guy from Wolfenstein? Feel like taking the Doom Marine to Chex Quest's world and blowing them to Hell? Even rivals from other games like Duke from Duke Nukem and the Security Officer from Mac's Marathon series (before Bungie made Halo they cut their teeth on Marathon) join the fray. Even if you don't own the games the characters come from they're still here. Running Samara is as simple as double-clicking it and selecting which IWAD to load. Samsara is compatible with Doom, Doom II, Heretic, HeXen, Chex Quest, and FreeDoom.

Thank you a lot for the helpful guide

[Phoenix7786]

My pleasure :)

[Hans Brotmeister]

Originally posted by Nick Blu:

It takes me to what looks like a loading screen, where it just sits. The screen is like a picture of Doom Guy and a demon.

Maybe it's a dumb question, but did you press escape to bring up the menu?

[[AU] Tabris:DarkPeace]

It normally loads a cycle of DEMO1,2,3 playback if it works after the title screen, even if you press [Esc].