Beginner's Guide for DooM 2 Multiplayer

Here is a complete guide of what ports are used in order to play DooM online, using Zdaemon, Zandronum, and Odamex, and how to install them.

Introduction

Even if DooM II was played through your typical phone line, or through Dwango at the time, new ways to play it have been done, thanks to its source code, released years ago.

Today, 3 ports are maintained to play DooM online: Zdaemon, Zandronum, and Odamex. Each port promotes his own way of playing DooM, so their purposes are completely differents one to another.

In this guide, we will give you what's needed for your port, the pros and cons, and their events.

Also, we'll give you a tool to help you finding all the servers for the 3 source ports, in order to play quickly: I call it Internet Doom Explorer.

Zdaemon

Zdaemon is a popular DooM port, despite its community dropping a little more every week, as the port becomes less and less maintained and polished by its developers (each release takes about 1/2 year/s despise all the bugs that can be found, website less "professionnal" than the other two).

Despite this important problem, the port has events every night, and is usually played for competitive games.

• Website Link: http://www.zdaemon.org

• Pros:

• + The most played port for DooM
  
• + The fun given by the cooperative maps, mods
  
• + The community behind
  
• + The competitive features for the port
  
• + The events done every day, with lots of diversity

• Cons:

• - The netcode, found to give an advantage to high-pingers and unstable connections
  
• - It is closed source.

• Events:

• - Frenchies' Chaotic Tuesdays[forums.zdaemon.org]
  
• - Wednesday Night Flags[forums.zdaemon.org]
  
• - Thursday Night Survival[forums.zdaemon.org]
  
• - Friday's Monster Mash[forums.zdaemon.org]
  
• - ZDaemon Sessions[forums.zdaemon.org]
  
• - Frag Your Brains Out[forums.zdaemon.org]

• Screenshots:

• Videos:

Zandronum

Zandronum (aka the new Skulltag), is DooM with a modern feeling (or for most of the players, a Quake 3 feeling), with extended modding capacities, total conversions done by the community (Megaman Deathmatch, Ghouls vs Humans), new game modes (Terminator, Skulltag), and even more.

In simplier words: It's GZDoom with a much more better network handling. Or for those who want to play Brutal Doom online.

The port is more played for its fun and cooperative gametypes, or for those who want to see DooM but pushed to its limits.
Please note that Zdaemon has lesser people because of Zandronum's popularity, increasing a lot.

• Website Link: http://zandronum.com/

• Pros:

• + Doom pushed to its limits (Brutal Doom anyone?)
  
• + The developers are open to community suggestions
  
• + The mods, giving new ways to play DooM
  
• + It is now Open-source, so you can help the developers fixing important bugs!

• Cons:

• - Some of the community: Some might find them childish, or immature.
  
• - The not-Doom Quake 3 feeling, especially on Competitive gamemodes (for some people).
  
• - It has the "too-many-dmflags-problem-that-making-a-server-is-a-pain" syndrome.
  
• - Not enough events a week.

• Events:

• - Friday Night Fragfest[zandronum.com]
  
• - Saturday Night Survival[zandronum.com]
  
• - Sunday Shenanigans[zandronum.com]

Odamex

Odamex is for most players, the only port that is most close to DooM's feeling, and the best competitive port for DooM. It is open-source, tournaments have been created, and the netcode is near to perfect, compared to other ports. However, the port is near to empty, but it is going to be changed very soon.

• Website Link: http://odamex.net/

• Pros:

• + It's. Frigging. DooM. The way we wanted.
  
• + Used for many tournaments, and even at the QuakeCon 2013!
  
• + Very smooth, perfect netcode, wow.
  
• + Port played for any machine, even the XBox!
  
• + Open-Source!
  
• + The HUD. Really.

• Cons:

• - Not a lot of people...
  
• - Still not that "polished" feel about some features, or might even be extremely unstable.
  
• - The usage of SDL.
  
• - The Cooperative gamemode is not that good at the moment.
  
• - Not a lot of events...

• Events:

• - Odamex Saturday Nitro[odamex.net]
  
• - Sunday Euro Thunder[odamex.net]

Organizing your Doom folder and using IDE

In order to be completely effective for your DooM play, let's create a Doom folder.

In this folder, make a folder for your wads, one for Zdaemon, another one for Zandronum, and again, another one for Odamex.


Put your DOOM2.WAD file (from your Steam\Steamapps\common\Doom 2\base folder) to your wads directory, the port files on their respective folder, and your work is done.

Now, let's talk about IDE.

Internet Doom Explorer (IDE) is the best tool in order to find easily populated servers in every Doom port. You can also go on IRC, chatting with other Doomers, creating servers, finding other wads easily, and so on.






Here is the tool in action:

• Download link: http://doomutils.ucoz.com/

Put the executables on your Zandronum folder (Most of the people use it instead of DoomSeeker), and run it.

You will only have to go to Options, and then Directories, and to set your wads directories and programs.

Also, go to "Optional Components", And enable Autoconnect on all IRC servers.

Now you're ready to play.

Other useful links

Here are some useful links for more Doom contents:

• Websites:

• Zdaemon's forums[forums.zdaemon.org]
  
• Zandronum's forums[zandronum.com]
  
• Odamex's forum[odamex.net]
  
• DoomWorld[www.doomworld.com]
  
• French Doom Community (CFD)[doomfrance.forumactif.com]
  
• Straff50 (French)[straff50.free.fr]
  
• Doom Staze (French)[doomstaze.free.fr]
  
• IDDQD (Russian)[iddqd.ru]

• Social Network Links:

• BaseQ Facebook link[www.facebook.com]
  
• TastySpleen Facebook link[www.facebook.com]
  
• Zdaemon, Zandronum, Odamex Events Facebook pages[www.facebook.com]

• Steam Groups:

• Odamex's Steam Group
  
• DooM Multiplayer

Conclusion

I hope that this guide helped you about how to install those Doom Source ports on your computer, and what are their main differences.

If it is still incomplete for you, that you need some additionnal information, please write it on a comment, so that I can add it.

Also, you can find me on zIRC @ [BaseQ]Ch0wW, or at #BaseQ (Zdaemon/Zandronum's IRC only).
You can find us too at our Facebook Page[www.facebook.com], My Personnal Twitter Page (@Ch0wW7) , and my Steam Account (Well, shouldn't be that hard to find).

If you want to see Doom Matches or content made online, please have a look at those videos:

Have fun, and see you soon o/ !

[Philomena]

Some people in the Zandronum community are part of fandoms, making them prone to drama.

[BaseQ | Ch0wW]

Well, if DooM was like Roblox, it would be called Zandronum.

Other than that, yep. A lot of people are purely immature, prefer to chat rather than playing, or most of the servers are brutal Doom-alike. (I've nothing against this mod, I just don't enjoy it)

[MadDog]

Half of the Zandronum community is immature trolls that talk a bunch of shit whether there winning or losing the duel the other half is mature and nice

[Philomena]

Wait, why you think Zandronum has a childish community?