Source Ports

FreeDoom only consists of the assets needed to play the game. You'll also need to find a compatible game engine (called a source port) before you can play FreeDoom. There are a lot of good source ports out there, so here's a nice breakdown of what's available.

Of course, these engines are designed to play id Software's Doom and Doom 2, so they'll usually expect to run one of those games instead. Several source ports also try to recreate the experience of playing Doom when it first came out, which means they intentionally lack the fancier features modern shooters take for granted.

Let's take a look at what's out there, shall we?

Below are some examples of source ports that are out there today, including some useful information about how they handle by default. Some of these values can be changed, but not always. A few things to note are if the source port permits jumping and vertical aiming (which the original engine did not), if they try to autodetect installed games, and if so, which one.

Cherry Doom
Homepage:	https://github.com/xemonix0/Cherry-Doom
Autodetects Games:	Doom 2
WAD Selection:	Command Line
Runs Fullscreen:	Yes
Displays Border:	No
Uses WASD:	Yes
Default Use Key:	SPACE
Autorun Key:	CAPSLOCK
Secret Sound:	None
Allows Jumping:	No
Allows Vertical Aim:	No
Juicy Gore:	No

Cherry Doom is an example of a flexible source port, as it tries to recreate the look and feel of the original DOS game while also offering a HUGE number of configuration options, including the ability to bind cheats to specific keys.

Chocolate Doom
Homepage:	https://www.chocolate-doom.org/wiki/index.php/Chocolate_Doom
Autodetects Games:	Doom 2
WAD Selection:	Command Line
Runs Fullscreen:	Yes
Displays Border:	Yes
Uses WASD:	No
Default Use Key:	SPACE
Autorun Key:	Not available
Secret Sound:	None
Allows Jumping:	No
Allows Vertical Aim:	No
Juicy Gore:	No

This is probably the most well known "old school" source port. The name is a pun on how unmodified games are called "vanilla", and it mimics the original engine as closely as possible. Perhaps too closely for new fans.

Crispy Doom
Homepage:	https://crispy-doom.org/
Autodetects Games:	Doom 2
WAD Selection:	Command Line
Runs Fullscreen:	Yes
Displays Border:	No
Uses WASD:	Yes
Default Use Key:	SPACE
Autorun Key:	CAPSLOCK
Secret Sound:	None
Allows Jumping:	No
Allows Vertical Aim:	No
Juicy Gore:	No

Crispy Doom goes a step farther than usual with the old school charm, as you'll need to run a separate set up utility to change most of the options. Many enhanced features are also disabled by default.

Doom Retro
Homepage:	https://www.doomretro.com/
Autodetects Games:	No
WAD Selection:	Windows Open File Dialog
Runs Fullscreen:	Yes
Displays Border:	No
Uses WASD:	Yes
Default Use Key:	E
Autorun Key:	CAPSLOCK
Secret Sound:	Tinkling
Allows Jumping:	No
Allows Vertical Aim:	No
Juicy Gore:	Oh Hell Yes

Now this is one Hell of a source port. It plays like a modern game, with a splash screen, objects actually sinking in liquids, screen shaking when you take damage, and a number of other cool features - especially the gore. Not my favorite source port, but definitely a close second.

Eternity Engine
Homepage:	https://eternity.youfailit.net/wiki/Main_Page
Autodetects Games:	Yes, but nothing gets priority
WAD Selection:	Custom WAD selection menu
Runs Fullscreen:	No
Displays Border:	No
Uses WASD:	No
Default Use Key:	SPACE
Autorun Key:	CAPSLOCK
Secret Sound:	Whoop
Allows Jumping:	No
Allows Vertical Aim:	No
Juicy Gore:	No

Although this might look like a fancier source port, it's still trying to emulate how things played during the DOS era. This includes showing the text blurb after the game is exited, which is unexpected. On the downside, the in-game menu only responds to the keyboard.

Helion
Homepage:	https://github.com/Helion-Engine/Helion/
Autodetects Games:	Yes, but not FreeDoom
WAD Selection:	Command Line, but then select an official WAD to play.
Runs Fullscreen:	Yes
Displays Border:	No
Uses WASD:	Yes
Default Use Key:	E
Autorun Key:	No key, but it's an option
Secret Sound:	Zappy
Allows Jumping:	No
Allows Vertical Aim:	No
Juicy Gore:	No

Helion feels more clunky than the other source ports I've listed, mainly because it can't directly run FreeDoom. It also features a notably minimalist HUD and a crosshair to show you where you're aiming. One neat feature is that the crosshair turns red when you're pointing at a monster.

Odamex
Homepage:	https://odamex.net/
Autodetects Games:	Yes, but not FreeDoom
WAD Selection:	Command Line - but use odamex.exe, not the launcher
Runs Fullscreen:	No
Displays Border:	No
Uses WASD:	Yes
Default Use Key:	E
Autorun Key:	No key, but it's an option
Secret Sound:	None
Allows Jumping:	No
Allows Vertical Aim:	No
Juicy Gore:	No

Odamex is really designed for multiplayer games, so the launcher completely ignores the FreeDoom WADs. The client runs them just fine however.

Woof!
Homepage:	https://github.com/fabiangreffrath/woof/releases/tag/woof_14.3.0
Autodetects Games:	Yes (Doom 2)
WAD Selection:	Command Line
Runs Fullscreen:	Yes
Displays Border:	No
Uses WASD:	Yes
Default Use Key:	SPACE
Autorun Key:	CAPSLOCK + LSHIFT
Secret Sound:	Whoop
Allows Jumping:	No
Allows Vertical Aim:	No
Juicy Gore:	No

Woof is a bit of an oddball. Like Cherry Doom, there's a ton of fancy options (including the ability to bind cheats to certain keys), but the main feature is the ability to have friendly "helper dogs" run around and help you slaughter the monsters. The bad news is that the dogs aren't invulnerable, so dog lovers might not appreciate the implications of that.

Zandronum
Homepage:	https://zandronum.com/
Autodetects Games:	Yes (Last used WAD)
WAD Selection:	Custom WAD selection menu
Runs Fullscreen:	Selected at launch
Displays Border:	No
Uses WASD:	Yes
Default Use Key:	E
Autorun Key:	No key, but it's an option
Secret Sound:	Gong
Allows Jumping:	Yes
Allows Vertical Aim:	Yes
Juicy Gore:	No

There are two versions of Zandronum - one with Doomseeker, and one without. For single player games, the main difference is the presence of an announcer. This is my preferred source port, as it feels like the goal is to make things fun rather than strictly recreate the old experience.

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