Versions of Doom and Doom II

The following is a list of the changes between different versions of Doom and Doom II. A complete official list of changes is unavailable, as changelogs were not included in later releases. Some comparisons of the executables and IWADs were done to check for changes.

v1.0
Version 1.0 shareware was released December 10th, 1993.

This is the initial release of Doom. Internally, the game lists this as version "0.99".

It is possible to play the 1.1 registered IWAD with this version, one must rename this wad to "doom1.wad", it also mentions that this is the "commercial version" in the startup screen, rather than registered.

v1.1
Version 1.1 was released December 16th, 1993.


 * The first registered release of Doom.
 * First appearance of gamma correction, which is either ON or OFF
 * A more stable version of the DOS extender (DOS/4GW)
 * Sound Blaster 1.0 support
 * Textual changes:
 * 1.0 episode 1 ending text had "buy" instead of "play" in the "To continue the DOOM experience, play The Shores of Hell.."
 * The "This version is NOT SHAREWARE, do not distribute!" text was added.
 * Many more, including capitalization, spelling corrections and additional error messages.


 * Serial mode play was added.
 * The command line parameters: -send and -receive were added.

v1.2
Version 1.2 was released February 17th, 1994.


 * Rewritten sound code
 * Modem/null-modem support. This release saw the network code split into external "drivers", providing a modular network system.
 * PAS-16 stereo support
 * First appearance of Nightmare skill mode.
 * Mouse and joystick can be used in the menus
 * Gamma correction mode was expanded to include five settings.
 * Improved joystick calibration
 * Multiplayer text macros
 * Multiplayer "-left" and "-right" options no longer work.
 * Textual changes:
 * "CENTER the joystick and press button 1:" was added, changes to other joystick messages were also made.
 * "I_StartupSound: forking sound daemon." in 1.1 was changed to "I_StartupSound: Hope you hear a pop."
 * "OpenSocket: ..", "ListenForPacket: .." and a few others were removed.

Bug fixes:


 * Fix for the broadcast packet bug which caused many networks to suffer decreases in performance.
 * Runs under Windows
 * Z_Malloc error
 * IRQ 2 works
 * Savegame slots 5 and 6 work
 * Switches and platforms work when reloading from a saved game.
 * Network play no longer locks up when using a sound card.

v1.3
There are 2 known versions of this executable, a first level and second level beta. Id Software has stated that these releases were unauthorized, this is probably because these executables had partial support for Doom II (which was being developed at the time).

First level:

Second level:
 * Improvements to MIDI and modem code.
 * Additional PAS console information.
 * Could load doomr.wad (commercial mode, what would become DOOM2.WAD)
 * Textual changes:
 * "malloc in I_InitNetwork failed" was added.
 * "program loaded at: 0x%p" was removed.
 * "Game mode indeterminate" was added and "Adding external file %s." was removed.
 * "registered version." was added.
 * "Do not distribute!" was added when in commercial mode.


 * -wart parameter was changed to support loading from MAP** files, also located in m:/cdata/ (including E*M* files)
 * The command line parameters: -regdev and -comdev were added.
 * -regdev loads these files: c:/localid/doom.wad, m:/data/texture1.lmp, m:/data/texture2.lmp, m:/data/pnames.lmp and c:/localid/default.cfg
 * -comdev loads these files: c:/localid/doomr.wad, m:/cdata/texture1.lmp and m:/cdata/pnames.lmp
 * It is understood that these parameters were used to aid in the development of Doom and Doom II into 1 unique executable, "regdev" would have meant "registered development mode" and the "com" in "comdev" would have meant "commercial"

v1.4
Version 1.4 was released 28th June 1994.


 * Support for 14.4 and 28.8k modems
 * Improved null-modem/modem support.
 * Improved version of setup:
 * Phone number list
 * Database of modem control strings
 * Addition of a level warp key (F1)
 * Allows up to 8 sound channels to be selected.


 * Addition of Deathmatch 2.0 (altdeath mode)
 * First inclusion of the Doom FAQ.
 * Multiplayer demos can be recorded.
 * Recorded demos no longer end when the player dies or at the end of a level. The 'Q' key must be pressed to end a demo.
 * Addition of the '-maxdemo' command line argument.
 * Addition of multiplayer "spy" mode (F12 key).
 * PWAD files can no longer be used with the shareware version.
 * Maps can be reloaded using the IDCLEV cheat code when map editing on a LAN (????)
 * Response file support.
 * AWE32 support.

Bug fixes:


 * [Projectile]]s no longer trigger linedefs.
 * More than two people can play over a network without crashes
 * Sound problem fixes
 * Fix for a bug with the PS/2 mouse
 * Savegame bug fix, where player saves a game under a door, restores it and presses the use key.
 * Difficulty can be selected when starting a null-modem/modem game.
 * '+' and '-' can be typed in multiplayer chat mode
 * Map bug fixes

v1.5
Version 1.5 was released July 8th, 1994.


 * Rewrite of the null-modem/modem support (SERSETUP).
 * Improved GUS instrument mapping file.
 * Increased savegame buffer size.

Bug fixes:


 * Help screen mentions the gamma correction function.
 * Bug with response file fixed.
 * Bug when using a baud rate greater than 38,400 bps in null-modem/modem games fixed.
 * Deathmatch bug fixed where items reappeared but could not be picked up.

v1.6
Version 1.6 was released 3rd August, 1994.

The registered version appears to be "semi-official", the patch was created by Eric Yick Leung and was distributed around various newsgroups, the WAD file has changed since 1.2 and is not reported modified by the game executable.


 * ENDOOM had changed, text was added by Eric, calling himself a "DOOM-GOD" and John Romero a "Chicken", a reference of the former also appears on a newsgroup thread
 * All demos are different, but are recreations of earlier demos. DEMO1 is almost the same, DEMO2 is a multiplayer/cooperative demo, possibly of Leung and Romero playing and DEMO3 is another recreation, that desyncs towards the end.

v1.666
Version 1.666 was released 1st September, 1994. ("666" is a reference to the Number of the Beast.)


 * Addition of the "-timer" command line option.
 * Doom FAQ updated to version 5.8

v1.7

 * Various WAD changes.
 * DeathManager! was not included in this release.
 * readme.exe file was re-included.
 * No readme.txt file.

v1.7a
Differences from 1.7:
 * From Doom2p17.txt dated Tuesday, November 08, 1994 (Archived inside of doom2p17.zip, official patch to upgrade from Doom II 1.7 to 1.7a).


 * Various level design bugs. (HOM, see through walls, etc.).
 * Sound code changes.
 * Re-appearance of DeathManager! version 1.1
 * ENDOOM lump had a phone number change.

v1.8

 * Doom FAQ updated to version 6.666

v1.9
Version 1.9 was released 1st February 1995.


 * See also The Ultimate Doom.