All right, you MacDoom fraggers, listen hard! Sure, you've got Doom II, and they've got Doom II... but they still have the original three episodes of Doom, and you DON'T! You've been craving the action of Knee Deep In The Dead, been dying to surf The Shores of Hell, and would sell your soul to tour the Inferno. You've been cooling your heels, sitting on your joysticks (well, hey, have you ever looked at a Gravis MouseStick II sideways?), waiting with held breath for the conversion for The Ultimate Doom to be released.
Conversion? Why wait? You're a MAC user, for frag's sake! Anything's possible! We Mac users don't WAIT for conversions... we MAKE them!
Here's a little secret that the good people at Lion Entertainment probably don't want you to know (they probably have a nice, juicy conversion deal all set up)... the mechanics for playing Doom I are already built into your Macintosh Doom II engine! Don't believe me? Let's try an experiment or two.
First, open up your copy of Apple Computer's "MoviePlayer." It's part of the basic QuickTime package. Now use it to go into your Doom II "Music" folder, and open the "E1M1.MID!" file. Press the play button when the window pops up. All of you who have envied IBM Doom for so long recognize it... it's the background music for the first level of Knee Deep In The Dead!!! ALL of the music for the original Doom is right there, in your Doom II "Music" folder!
Now, let's get even more insidious. We'll be using Apple Computer's "ResEdit" for this one (which can be found on most online services... try to get version 2.1.3). Open up the "Doom II" file with it... this is the actual Mac Doom engine. In the window, you will find an icon labeled "PICT." This is where major graphic screens are stored for programs to reference in Macintosh programming (side note to Mac programmers: does the CODE resource resemble the IBM program code? Is there a program that could be written to have DeHackEd patches affect this code the same way they affect the IBM DOOM.EXE file? ResCompare, maybe?) . Double-click on the PICT icon, and you will find the major PICTs for the Doom II engine. Scroll down to find PICT #150. Hey, is that what I think it is? Double-click the picture to get a closer view. Yep... that's the Doom I title screen! Right here, nestled in Mac's Doom II!
So, now, here's the big secret:
1. Rush right out and buy the IBM version of The Ultimate Doom CD-ROM (do NOT borrow it from your friends. They have a name for people like that..."pirates." And what are you doing hanging around with some Bill Gates ass-smootcher, anyway?)
2. Most CD-ROM drivers, like the one included with my Apple 600e CD-ROM, and also FWB's CD-ROM ToolKit, will allow you to read IBM-formatted CD-ROMs the same way PC Exchange will allow you to read IBM-formatted floppies. Slide in the CD, rube! It'll be called "DOOM_SE" on your desktop. Open it up.
3. Open the "DOOMCD" folder. In it you'll find a file about 12 megs big called "DOOM.WAD." Drag it into your Doom folder (let's see 'em try THIS with Windows '95!).
4. For convenience sake, after it's copied to your hard drive, you may want to set the filetype so that Doom II more easily recognizes it. The File Type for Doom II WADs is ".WAD" and the File Creator is "idSW" (there's a program out called WADtyper that will do this for you automatically just with drag-and-drop. Saw that term in a Windows '95 ad).
5. There are two ways to play Doom:
5a. Double-click the "DOOM.WAD" icon, if filetyped correctly.
5b. Boot up Doom II. When the id or Lion logo screens come on, press the "S" key (for single-player play) or the "M" key (for multiplayer). Press the "Load WAD File..." button, and select "DOOM.WAD." Press the "Start Game" button.
6. Frag away!!!
I have tested several WAD files designated as for Doom I only (usually because they're programmed to replace one of the three episodes), and they all seem to work fine.
There IS a caveat, however... I have yet to find a way to get Episode IV: Thy Flesh Consumed, to work using the DOOM.WAD... even when I have run the CD unpacking routine using SoftWindows 1.0 (yes, Virginia, there is both a Santa Claus and a use for SoftWindows 1.0. Anyone sending donations for this file so I can get the $100 "upgrade" to Version 2.0 can e-mail me at maxiezeus@aol.com for my address. Hey, I had to try). I can only assume that this episode is included in the DOOM.WAD file, but the ability to run it is built only into the newest versions of the IBM DOOM.EXE file. Now, to the programmers at Lion: work on getting US an upgrade patch to let us do the same!
Just as a side note... to all those growing old and feeble waiting for a Mac-based Doom WAD editor, both WADED and DMAUD work with SoftWindows 1.0 running in DOS mode. Not at what you, I, or Insignia's box would call "486 speed..." but it'll do. Just be sure to use the "-q" switch when patching with DMAUD (no SoundBlaster support in SW, dontcha know. Sure ya do).
Another side note, to all of you with IBM friends: go down to Radio Shack, and grab yourself a Null Modem adapter and a serial Gender Changer. Take that serial cord out of the back of your modem and plug it that Shack-brick, sonny. Now stick all THAT into HIS serial port. Deathmatch-mania!!! (although, for some reason, my friend and I can't seem to get Deathmatchs between my Power Mac 6100 and his 486SX to run at speeds greater than 9600 baud. If you've tried this link-up before, and it doesn't work, set both machines for 9600 baud... it'll probably fly now. I think 9600 baud is the top rate of the Mac serial port, but I can't be sure. Any info would be appreciated. DON'T call Doom Tech Support about this kind of link... I called Domino's afterwards, and they knew just as much as tech did, and they deliver Cokes to boot)
I don't know if releasing this info will classify me as one of the first official MacDoom gurus, or brand me hunted by a Lion,... all I know is that I'll sleep better knowing there are Macintosh users all over the world... Knee Deep In The Dead. Happy Fragging!
