Possible features

[P41R47]

Hi, Brad! How you doing?

Surely you know about the recent atemps about explaining a non native english speaker about how to load pwads. And i found that, for the most part, we as a community take something as natural knowledge, like file handling, and other stuff that i don't recall right now. But well, i think that one of the clever things that make a port user friendly, is the possibility to change the ''open with'' option to that certain port. I tried this with DoomRetro but, or i'm doing it wrong, or it is not possible right now, so it is that possible? I think it will make things easier in general.

I think that drag & drop could be an interesting feature, but for certain, the ordering of the loaded pwads is really important, and drag & drop kinda make it impossible as it loads the file in alphabetical order, so i don't know if it will be a good idea.

Well, its just that, if is there is a possibility to change the ''open with'' option to DoomRetro.

Hope you are okay during this difficult times! See ya!

[VGkav]

"Open With" doesn't solve any problems. The proper way for users to load wads is to use one of the many launchers, like ZDL.

There you can have all your source ports and IWADs and you set the wad load order. Also, you can save presets. In ZDL you can also save zdl files that you can launch with a double-click. Like batch files.

[P41R47]

Those concepts you name, if someone who doesn't played Doom before read it, and if it not used to play much games, aside from the way we play by today, like steam launcher, gog launcher, and so, will not understand it at all. Thats the point of this kind of request, to find a way to make it easier.

I think that most newer players, that recently arrive to the Doom community, don't have the understanding of setting up launchers and all, or why they need it at all. I know that a person who is used to games might find a way around, but a person with average knowledge on PC stuff, file handling and other things, just want to play the downloaded pwad. If we can made wad files associated to DoomRetro and just double click them to launch them, it will be easy to understand.

As a community, if one said to set a sourceport, then a launcher, then the proper iwads, then the pwads, for us, accostumed to handle that kind of things, it is nothing, but i recently found that new people that wants to try the Doom we all love, doesn't understand much of what we explain to them, those are concepts we come to know with time, but new people just want to play. GZDoom comes to be the most popular, or the entryway, to most people, just because the interface and compatibility made is easy to understand. There zillions of tutorials about GZDoom, but just a few around for other sourceports. Aside from other aspects that might make it more appealing to modern players. Thats not the problem, what i'm trying to say is, seriously, why we would need a tutorial, or search for one, to play? A lot of people wants to try Doom, and i tell it for experience, as i tried to made a friend join the community, doesn't want to handle like 2 or 3 different sourceports. Think that you buy a game, and before playing, you had to search for what kind of settings and features you want on the game, and then download the proper engine with that features, learn to set it up, and so... its nonsense! Again, we are used to it, but most people not.

[dftf-stu]

I agree that once you stray outside of anything more complicated with DOOM it is quite a steep learning-curve for anyone who hasn't been actively in the community over-the-years to know what to do.

You want to play Plutonia? Simple, just pop PLUTONIA.WAD into the same folder as your source-port files, make sure no-other WADs are there, double-click the main EXE and it'll usually load. If not, the README files that come with that port usually do offer an example, such as:

• doomretro.exe -IWAD plutonia.wad

Want to play a level-set someone has created, that requires DOOM2? Okay, again, many ports with a GUI will simply let you drag both files onto the EXE and it'll work, or they will offer an example command-line in their README notes:

• doomretro.exe -IWAD freedoom2.wad -FILE example.wad

But recently I wanted to try playing some other WADs, with one example being DOOM Zero. How is any newcomer supposed to know you'd have to enter this?

• doomretro.exe -IWAD DOOM2.wad -merge -file DoomZeroHQMusic.WAD DOOMZERO.wad Widescreen.wad -deh DOOMZERO.deh

Or likewise, for "FreeDOOM in Plutonia":

• doomretro.exe -IWAD PLUTONIA.wad -MERGE -FILE FDDM0121.wad FDP_0121.wad -DEH FDDM0121.deh

Not to mention the order in which you load the .WAD files is specific too: I had no music in DOOM Zero until I put that WAD file at the start of the command, before the level set then the widescreen hack one.

It would help if when you download a PWAD, the TXT file that gets distributed for them actually stated the command you need to use for non-GUI based source-ports, but many don't. Or if the README files or online Wikis for such source-ports gave more-examples of command-lines than just how to play an official IWAD, or a level-set.