Home Gaming Doom 1 and 2’s re-releases just got a whole lot better thanks to a hefty patch

Doom 1 and 2’s re-releases just got a whole lot better thanks to a hefty patch

2 min read
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A-Doom-with-a-view

If there was one thing that Bethesda’s re-re-re-re-re-re-release of classic DOOM games had proved, it was that these old dogs still had plenty of bite in each chambered shotgun barrel. Sure they may have hailed from an era wherein connecting to the Internet required listening to your landline phone have a seizure, but hot damn the core basics of run ‘n gun action was still here and kicking ass.

To a point of course.

On the visual side of the equation, something was off with Doom 1 and Doom 2. A Doom with a view but one that looked shoddy to the trained eye, these classics ran at a level that was hampered by capped frame-rate issues, piss-poor lighting and scaling issues. There was more to it, but developer Nerve had their work cut out for them on the post-launch support of the two games that shaped an entire genre.

That work has definitely been done. If you own the game then boot it up and download the latest patch which introduces a LOT of positive changes. Here’s the full list, from Bethesda’s email to my fingers, your eyeballs to a comment about true 4K:

Doom

Add-On Support 

Add-ons can be downloaded for free from the main menu for both DOOM (1993) and DOOM II. We’re launching with an initial batch of Add-ons, but we’ll be in touch with players soon for suggestions on the best WADs to include in the future.

60 FPS Support 

For the first time, DOOM (1993) and DOOM II now have native 60 FPS support on all platforms, up from the original games’ 35 FPS. 

Quick Saves 

While paused in DOOM (1993) or DOOM II, simply press R/R1/RB to save your current position. Should players need to load up that spot again during play, they’ll just need to head back to the pause screen and press L/L1/LB.

Quality-of-Life Adjustments 

DOOM (1993) and DOOM II have been decked out with an arsenal of new options and quality-of-life adjustments, including a Quick Weapon Select feature, improved Level Select function, added Aspect Ratio and Brightness options, a new split-screen HUD and more.

The end result is a chunky retro blaster whose ancient DNA is ripe for manipulation via more community-created add-ons that Bethesda themselves will curate from through the player community. You can even grab John Romero’s unofficial fifth Doom episode Sigil, if you want to see what the master is capable of many years after he first made a name for himself in the industry.

The end result is so far a fantastic one: A classic pair of games, reborn and returned to now be the definitive versions of themselves.

Last Updated: January 10, 2020

3 Comments

  1. [inb4 true 4k]

    Reply

  2. Sean Carbutt

    January 10, 2020 at 11:05

    I bought the collection for the PS4. This update is for all platforms.

    https://bethesda.net/community/topic/369943/doom-doom-ii-patch-notes/2?language=en

    Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    January 10, 2020 at 11:25

    these classics ran at a level that was hampered by capped frame-rate issues, piss-poor lighting and scaling issues

    And yet it’s still a 100 times more fun than some AAA games using the best technology available

    Reply

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