DOOM, DOOM II Re-Releases Get Major Update

The recently re-released versions of DOOM and DOOM II have been updated to support 60 FPS, add-ons like John Romero’s SIGIL, an aspect ratio option, and many other new features.

Here’s the rundown from Bethesda:

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Add-on support. You can now download and play add-ons, including John Romero’s SIGIL, from the main menu of both games.

60 FPS support. DOOM and DOOM II can now run at 60 FPS on all platforms for the first time ever, instead of 35 FPS as in the original releases.

New aspect ratio option. Now, you can stretches the display vertically to match the original 4:3 aspect ratio that the game was intended to be played in.

New Quick Save and Load. Now, you can pause and immediately save the game where you are, un-pause, and load quick saves using controller combos.

New Level Select. You ca now jump between episodes, maps, and difficulty levels with having to clear the previous levels first.

New Weapon Carousel. Instead of cycling through every weapon to get to the one you want, you can select Previous or Next Weapon to highlight the weapon you want, and it will swap immediately to the selected gun.

New Quick Weapon Select. The D-Pad can now be used to quickly swap between weapons.

New Overall Brightness and Level Brightness controls. You can configure the overall brightness to make the colors brighter or darker and separately configure level brightness to change the brightness of the lights in the world.

New Random SFX Pitch Toggle. The randomized sound pitches during playback, a feature of early versions of the original DOOM release, can be disabled.

New split screen HUD. When playing split-screen multiplayer, the games will now display a minimal HUD in which the bottom status bar is removed, allowing more room for the game to be displayed in.

Improved Health Graphics. The health pill has been changed into a green plus, making the graphics closer to their original appearance.

Improved Wolfenstein Secret Level. Enemies in the Wolfenstein level have been restored to the original MS-DOS release, with the original textures and enemy audio (but minus the [censored] references).

Performance optimizations and other fixes. Bethesda says that it has many other optimizations and fixes to the games.

As you may recall, Bethesda re-released the original DOOM and DOOM II on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS last June. It also re-released the original DOOM 3 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

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  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    09 January, 2020 - 4:08 pm

    <p>DOOM 1/2 on a console?</p><p><br></p><p>LOL</p><p><br></p><p>Cute. Really cute. Also cute how they somehow have to fix all these issues with 25 year old games. I just use ZDoom and it's perfect.</p><p><br></p><p>It's also perfect running in DOS on real hardware.</p><p><br></p><p>And no DRM. And no Bethesda. <em>ESPECIALLY NO BETHESDA.</em></p><p><br></p><p>I mean, if I shoot a pinky, I want it to fall down dead, not tweak out and start flying around because the shitty physics engine decided to freak the hell out.</p>

    • ianhead

      09 January, 2020 - 9:54 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#511381">In reply to jimchamplin:</a></em></blockquote><p>It is true that these ports from Bethsoft are some of the worse ways to play the Doom series on modern machines. The number of high-quality source ports out there is pretty staggering and there's pretty much one to cater to every taste – I find myself alternating between GZDoom for its modernisation of the engine and its fantastic mod support, and Chocolate Doom for that pure '93 nostalgia.</p>

      • jimchamplin

        Premium Member
        10 January, 2020 - 3:42 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#511441">In reply to ianhead:</a></em></blockquote><p>I haven’t heard of Chocolate Doom before, but it looks nice!</p>

  • sean8102

    10 January, 2020 - 12:20 am

    <p>Sad that the PC release of this version is only on the Bethesda.net launcher. Those that already bought Doom and or Doom II on Steam or GoG don't get it. And before people start talking about source ports, yes I know there are fantastic source ports. But the point is people that bought the game on Steam and GoG should get free access to this version just like you do if you own or buy these games on Bethesda's launcher. You get the classic DOS version and the "2019" version.</p>

  • Patrick3D

    10 January, 2020 - 9:45 am

    <p>Considering the original games only supported a maximum of 29 frames of animation per sprite, you're not going to really get any benefit out of a higher framerate.</p>

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