Windoom Frequently Asked Questions **FAQ**
Dean L. Wiley - September 17, 2001
[email protected] (if needed)
*****Contents
General Information
Question List
Questions and Answers
******
************* General Information *************
This document is to help you get all the information you might need about
windoom. It was created after the demise of the project in order to reduce
email bombardment. To the time of this writing it is semi-accurately
estimated that the windoom/doom4win project has been downloaded and used
10,000-14,000 (+/-500) times, with email response after 1998 numbering
4,800 general thanks, enjoyment, feature add request; 3,000 bug report,
support request (counts of course estimated and rounded).
************* Question List *************
What is windoom (or doom4win)?
Why the name confusion?
What is Doom?
What do I need to run windoom?
Where do I get the files?
Why does this game not play when I install it?
Where do I get support?
How do I install this (executable and help only)?
How do I install this (setup version)?
What is the Front End?
When I run windoom it kicks me out and then the keyboard doesn't work?
I get a (X) message box that I can't read and the sound/music stops?
What are the command line options?
What are the console commands?
Can I jump?
How do you look up/down like Quake?
I downloaded a Total Conversion (TC) and it does not work?
Why is there 'source code' and what does it do?
How do I install and compile the source?
Can you add [name a feature] or help me code it?
Can I take over the windoom project and maintain and update it?
************* Questions and Answers *************
What is windoom (or doom4win)?
windoom is a port of the Doom engine from id Software designed
specifically to work with Microsoft's Windows 95,98,Me (and maybe) NT/2K
operating systems. The game Doom was released by id in 1995 to run on
DOS computers.
The main features or reasons for 'porting' Doom to windows was to make
the game:
1. Easy to play in the Win9x platform.
2. Increase screen resolution (the original ran only at 320x200).
3. Add a console
4. Add CD music
The original source port and name 'windoom' was created by Bruce Lewis.
In 1998 I branched the code and called it doom4win.
Later in 1998 Bruce asked me to retake the name windoom and take over
the project because glDoom and many other things were taking his time,
as well as his mentioning he liked all the fixes and enhancements in
doom4win.
Why the name confusion?
The first really usable version of the Doom engine for Windows was
windoom 0.94 by Bruce Lewis. In accordance with id Software's public
source code release Bruce made his source code available with his
project. I took the code and immediately started optimizing and fixing
things more to my liking, the main reason was the midi (original music)
didn't work in windoom. As things got working I asked Bruce if he wanted
to incorporate my code into his etc and he said he would rather not. So,
I named my version doom4win (version 1.00) and continued fixing and adding
features that myself and others wanted.
After some amount of months I was offered to put doom4win at
www.doomworld.com and did. Soon after Bruce asked if I wanted to take
over the windoom project, so I renamed doom4win back to windoom and up-ed
the version to 1.10 or 1.00 (I don't remember).
Gosh, blah blah, anyway the progression of the project was basically:
Bruce Lewis: windoom 0.94, windoom 0.96
Dean Wiley: doom4win 1.00 to 1.10
Dean Wiley: windoom 1.10 to 1.11
Dean Wiley: windoom 2.000 (doom 2000 project never came to life)
Dean Wiley Final: windoom 2.001 (named/version for the year)
What is Doom?
Doom is a First Person Shooter game made/sold by id Software (see:
http://www.idsoftware.com). It was the first really intense First Person
Game that came out for PCs. (see Wolfenstein 3D, which was fun but not
as incredible as Doom)
What do I need to run windoom?
1. You need some version of Doom (
http://www.idsoftware.com)
2. You need a computer that runs Microsoft's Windows 9x or NT operating
system with Direct X installed.
* Note: Doom was hand optimized to run on a 386 computer, and windoom
is hand optimized to run on a 486 or better.
Where do I get the files?
windoom is available at DoomWorld -
http://www.doomworld.com listed under
the source ports menu, or directly at:
http://www.doomworld.com/doom4win
* Remember: you need a version of Doom to play, you can get the shareware
at
http://www.idsoftware.com
Why does this game not play when I install it?
You have to have an original Doom .WAD file in the same directory/folder
as windoom to play. For example:
you download and install Doom shareware 1.9 from id and install it to
c:\doom
you download and install windoom (setup version) to
c:\windoom
now you MUST go to your DOS PROMPT and type
copy c:\doom\doom1.wad c:\windoom[enter]
or, open windows explorer, look in the C:\Doom folder, click ONCE on
Doom1.wad and select Copy from the Edit menu; now click in the left
pane on C:\windoom so it is highlighted and select Paste from the
Edit menu.
Where do I get support?
This is it from now on, I don't know if I'll answer too much more email.
Read this FAQ and the help file.
How do I install this (executable and help only)?
When your web browser asks you where to download/save the file, make a
new folder (C:\Windoom) and save the file there. Then open Windows
Explorer, locate the new folder and Double-Click on the file.
Next read above how to copy a .WAD file to the windoom directory.
How do I install this (setup version)?
1. Download the file to somewhere temporary (c:\windows\temp).
2. Open Windows Explorer, find the temporary place you put it and Double-
click the file. This will extract the setup files.
3. Still in Windows Explorer, find the temporary place again and Double-
click the Setup file.
When setup is finished read above how to copy .WAD files to the windoom
directory.
What is the Front End?
Because Doom was designed for DOS all of the options for Doom have to be
typed in. The Front End was created to eliminate alot of typing. By
selecting options such as resolution in the front end, you don't have to
modify shortcuts or type long command lines for windoom.
When I run windoom it kicks me out and then the keyboard doesn't work?
This 99.99999% of the time happens when there is no .WAD file in the
windoom directory. To fix this you must:
1. Read above how to get a .WAD file into the windoom directory
2. Remove the windoom.ini file
(easiest: Start...Find...Files or Folders...windoom.ini...Find Now.
click once to select, press delete on the keyboard, answer yes)
I get a (X) message box that I can't read and the sound/music stops?
This was a doozey to figure out. Some sound cards have a strange midi
problem with Microsoft Windows. This bug is fixed in version 2.001.
1. download version 2.001 and install to your windoom directory
2. make sure (sheesh) that you have a .WAD file in there
3. run windoom and at the intro screen exit windoom
4. Open Windows Explorer...look in windoom folder and double-click the
midilist.txt file.
5. Inside this file is a list of midi (music) devices installed on your
computer, they will be numbered and then named
0,Microsoft Sound System
1,XG Synth Device
2,Another Device maybe
3,Yet Another
4,Man if you're down here you have too many sound cards
6. Close the midilist.txt file and add
-mididev 0
to your windoom command line (put it in the additional options area
of front end)
7. Run windoom, if the sound problem continues change the device number
until it stops.
Go to 6 above and change the 0 to 1 etc and keep trying.
If you use up all your numbered devices and windoom still gives the
message box and won't play sounds or music I guess try another computer,
sorry.
What are the command line options?
(9.17.2001 god there's a hundred, I'll fill this in later)
What are the console commands?
(9.17.2001 fill this too)
Can I jump?
No, it was promised, and probably would have been easy to add, but I never
got around to it. In the game(s) from id you didn't have to.
How do you look up/down like Quake?
You can't, Doom was a monstrous advance in computer 3D when it happened,
but looking up and down was not part of the package.
I downloaded a Total Conversion (TC) and it does not work?
There are alot alot alot a zillion user .WAD files out there for the Doom
machine. I tested about 50 different TCs and .WAD packages with great
success. However!, there was a doom modifying program out there called
deHacked that was required to play some TCs (such as Wolfendoom also at
DoomWorld). I never got deHacked code added to windoom so those mods,
wads and TCs that tell you how to deHack the executables won't work.
Most important: You have to have a registered or release version of Doom
(such as Doom, Final Doom, Doom ][) to play "user wads." The shareware
version (doom1.wad) will not allow you to play user mods. I left this
code the way id made it to help support id in making more great games
(see Quake, Doom3, etc).
Sub-note: I will not answer email how to set the variable that makes
windoom run as registered to play user mods etc without the official id
wad files. You'll just have to work that out on your own.
Why is there 'source code' and what does it do?
There is source code because this is a public domain program and
programmers can take the code and compile into newer, better, bigger
programs. Or learn how to make new games or play sounds through DirectX.
What source code does for game PLAYERS is NOTHING. If you just like
playing doom get the programs and leave the source alone, it will confuse
you badly.
What source code does for PROGRAMMERS is lets them change the program
itself. Example, someone might get in there and make the mouse wheel on
modern computers cycle thru weapons, or add jump or whatever.
How do I install and compile the source?
Download the source file (wds2001.exe) to a project directory
c:\doomsrc
Uncompress the file with winzip(use folders) or go to the msdos prompt
and type CD\doomsrc[enter] and then wds2001 -d[enter]. You must use the
-d to restore the -d[irectory] structure.
Next open up microsoft visual C++ 5.0 or above and open the windoom
project file located in the project directory you created. Tell MSVC
to compile and you'll get about 500 warnings (don't bother with them, I
didn't) and a new windoom.exe in the release directory.
Can you add [name a feature] or help me code it?
I don't think so anymore. I've erased the source from my hard disk and
I just don't have the time.
Can I take over the windoom project and maintain and update it?
If you wish to, show me a new version with something new in it and it's
yours.
