The story of Doom's trip through the 90's is replete with confusing twists and turns, and certainly, the series of console released is among the most...well...bendy. Every single one looks different, feels different and plays different. I have been stuck on the Jaguar version for entirely too long, and I'm contemplating either taking a step back to the Hurt Me Plenty difficulty (essentially "average") or putting in a weapon code just once to get me past level 22, "Limbo". I died on "Hell Keep" and it's been insanely hard to keep starting over. I went back to "Tower of Babel" to pick up weapons and ammo, rather than trying to take it from a pistol start, but this game takes no freaking prisoners. All I can think about now is how the hell I'm going to get through this game on the Playstation and Saturn when the time comes, because those games put Doom II enemies into original Doom levels. So there are going to be Chaingunners as early as the second level (this should at least net me more ammo), a Revenant in "Computer Station" and "Containment Area" and Mancubi on the Cyberdemon level (just to name a few).
"Tower of Babel" and "Hell Keep" in this version of Doom are completely different from their counterparts in the PC version. They're both exceedingly simple levels and you go right from one to the next, because JagDoom is not split into episodes, it's one long playthrough. I like both levels, don't get me wrong, but WOW is this tough!
Neither of these levels appeared in the 32X version, and I can only assume that it was rushed way too much to give Id a chance to put them in. Looking back, the 32X experience was WAY easier than this.
One of the things that really causes me trouble in both versions is the lack of "circle-strafing". See, you can't turn and strafe at the same time because of the way the game is set up; I set my controls up so that I hold the "use" button and left or right to strafe. I mentioned before that this makes my marine grunt when he's strafing along a wall, but it also makes doors open and close if I'm standing in them. If they stay open, they just make the door opening sound effect again and again. It's really annoying. I seem to recall that this happened far less often on the 32X for some baffling reason.
I talked a bit about the sound in previous articles. It sounds kind of muffled. Upon closer inspection, my experienced ears tell me that it's recorded in a low bitrate. Has to be. I've downloaded many a song, and I can identify a very low bitrate pretty quickly. The sounds are also simplified, so there's no special pickup sound for soul spheres and other big power ups like on the PC. It's just standard "boop". Also, the Former Humans don't have all their death sounds. They moan, but they don't do the scream.
Graphically, I'm still really impressed. I noticed, however, that the shotgun barrel has more pixelated edges than I remembered. Looking back on the 32X version (via Youtube, since hooking it up and then hooking up the Jag again is too much for my lazy bones), it's the same. I should also indicate that in addition to the better tinting when you pick up Radiation Suits, Berserk Packs and Invulnerability Artifacts, even the pain flash when you're hit by an enemy isn't bright red. It's a nice toned-down tint.
The Jaguar controller, as stated previously, kind of sucks due to the tiny directional pad. However, it does offer a whole bunch of numbered keys so that you can choose your weapons without cycling through them, and Doom was even packed with an overlay that has the Doom logo on it and pictures of all the weapons that sit over the keys that bring them to bear. I damaged mine and subsequently lost it, so I've been playing without it.
It's the little things that make me want to play JagDoom.
It's nice that on the Jag you can actually cause some monster infighting. This comes in really handy in "Tower of Babel", which is basically a courtyard rumble complete with Barons and Cacodemons, the toughest baddies you're going to see in the Jag version. You hit a switch, run into the little room that opens up and hit another switch, run into another little room, etc.
This and "Hell Keep" are good new levels to add to the Doom collection. Certainly much better than the very first fan-made level created for the PC (perhaps because they were created by Id professionals themselves?).
The world's first fan-made PC Doom level was called simply "Origwad". It was released eight months prior to the 32X and Jaguar versions of the game, on March 7, 1994 (though not announced until the 9th). It was just two rooms. You get a Sergeant and a shotgun in the first room, then open the door onto another room with three Imps, two Barons of Hell and an exit switch. You don't have enough ammo to kill everything, and it's highly unlikely that you'll beat it by punching the Barons to death, although there are some pretty skilled Doomers out there who can likely pull it off. This custom level was, of course, followed by a slew of others, and custom levels in and of themselves offered a huge advantage over console versions of Doom.
1994 was a busy year for Doom, but this is not surprising since it was released for the PC in December, 1993. 1994 first saw editing utilities and fan-made levels, followed by Doom II, a separate strain of console releases and then Heretic at the end of the year. Each of these is its own thread, but give me time to advance to later years and I'll connect them. As of 1994, all I can point to is a tiny Doom II influence on the consoles in the form of textures.
Let's close out with an updated timeline, and hopefully next time I'll be playing SNES Doom! I only have to beat Limbo and Dis (Fortress of Mystery's name on the Jag).
Doom v1.0: December 10, 1993
Doom v1.1: December 16, 1993
DEU: January 26, 1994
Doom v1.2: February 17, 1994
Origwad: March 7, 1994
Doom v1.4: June 28, 1994
Doom v1.5: July 8, 1994
Doom v1.6: August 3, 1994
Doom v.1.666: September 1, 1994
Doom II: September 30, 1994
Doom v1.7: October 11, 1994
Doom v1.7a: November 8, 1994
32X Doom: November 14, 1994
Jaguar Doom: November 28, 1994
Heretic: December 23, 1994
Doom v1.8: January 23, 1995
Doom v1.9: February 1, 1995
The Ultimate Doom: April 30, 1995
SNES Doom: September 1, 1995
Doom 95: August 20, 1996
"Tower of Babel" and "Hell Keep" in this version of Doom are completely different from their counterparts in the PC version. They're both exceedingly simple levels and you go right from one to the next, because JagDoom is not split into episodes, it's one long playthrough. I like both levels, don't get me wrong, but WOW is this tough!
Neither of these levels appeared in the 32X version, and I can only assume that it was rushed way too much to give Id a chance to put them in. Looking back, the 32X experience was WAY easier than this.
One of the things that really causes me trouble in both versions is the lack of "circle-strafing". See, you can't turn and strafe at the same time because of the way the game is set up; I set my controls up so that I hold the "use" button and left or right to strafe. I mentioned before that this makes my marine grunt when he's strafing along a wall, but it also makes doors open and close if I'm standing in them. If they stay open, they just make the door opening sound effect again and again. It's really annoying. I seem to recall that this happened far less often on the 32X for some baffling reason.
I talked a bit about the sound in previous articles. It sounds kind of muffled. Upon closer inspection, my experienced ears tell me that it's recorded in a low bitrate. Has to be. I've downloaded many a song, and I can identify a very low bitrate pretty quickly. The sounds are also simplified, so there's no special pickup sound for soul spheres and other big power ups like on the PC. It's just standard "boop". Also, the Former Humans don't have all their death sounds. They moan, but they don't do the scream.
Graphically, I'm still really impressed. I noticed, however, that the shotgun barrel has more pixelated edges than I remembered. Looking back on the 32X version (via Youtube, since hooking it up and then hooking up the Jag again is too much for my lazy bones), it's the same. I should also indicate that in addition to the better tinting when you pick up Radiation Suits, Berserk Packs and Invulnerability Artifacts, even the pain flash when you're hit by an enemy isn't bright red. It's a nice toned-down tint.
The Jaguar controller, as stated previously, kind of sucks due to the tiny directional pad. However, it does offer a whole bunch of numbered keys so that you can choose your weapons without cycling through them, and Doom was even packed with an overlay that has the Doom logo on it and pictures of all the weapons that sit over the keys that bring them to bear. I damaged mine and subsequently lost it, so I've been playing without it.
It's the little things that make me want to play JagDoom.
It's nice that on the Jag you can actually cause some monster infighting. This comes in really handy in "Tower of Babel", which is basically a courtyard rumble complete with Barons and Cacodemons, the toughest baddies you're going to see in the Jag version. You hit a switch, run into the little room that opens up and hit another switch, run into another little room, etc.
This and "Hell Keep" are good new levels to add to the Doom collection. Certainly much better than the very first fan-made level created for the PC (perhaps because they were created by Id professionals themselves?).
The world's first fan-made PC Doom level was called simply "Origwad". It was released eight months prior to the 32X and Jaguar versions of the game, on March 7, 1994 (though not announced until the 9th). It was just two rooms. You get a Sergeant and a shotgun in the first room, then open the door onto another room with three Imps, two Barons of Hell and an exit switch. You don't have enough ammo to kill everything, and it's highly unlikely that you'll beat it by punching the Barons to death, although there are some pretty skilled Doomers out there who can likely pull it off. This custom level was, of course, followed by a slew of others, and custom levels in and of themselves offered a huge advantage over console versions of Doom.
1994 was a busy year for Doom, but this is not surprising since it was released for the PC in December, 1993. 1994 first saw editing utilities and fan-made levels, followed by Doom II, a separate strain of console releases and then Heretic at the end of the year. Each of these is its own thread, but give me time to advance to later years and I'll connect them. As of 1994, all I can point to is a tiny Doom II influence on the consoles in the form of textures.
Let's close out with an updated timeline, and hopefully next time I'll be playing SNES Doom! I only have to beat Limbo and Dis (Fortress of Mystery's name on the Jag).
Doom v1.0: December 10, 1993
Doom v1.1: December 16, 1993
DEU: January 26, 1994
Doom v1.2: February 17, 1994
Origwad: March 7, 1994
Doom v1.4: June 28, 1994
Doom v1.5: July 8, 1994
Doom v1.6: August 3, 1994
Doom v.1.666: September 1, 1994
Doom II: September 30, 1994
Doom v1.7: October 11, 1994
Doom v1.7a: November 8, 1994
32X Doom: November 14, 1994
Jaguar Doom: November 28, 1994
Heretic: December 23, 1994
Doom v1.8: January 23, 1995
Doom v1.9: February 1, 1995
The Ultimate Doom: April 30, 1995
SNES Doom: September 1, 1995
Doom 95: August 20, 1996
