Question: When did Doom first hit shelves?

Official versions of Doom

Official versions of ''Doom''
Doom is one of the most widely ported first-person shooter video games. Starting with the original MS-DOS PC version (released as shareware on December 10, 1993), it has been released officially for a number of operating systems, video game consoles, handheld game consoles, and other devices. Some of the ports are replications of the MS-DOS version, while others differ considerably, including modifications to the level designs and monsters, with some ports offering content not included in the original MS-DOS version.
After Doom's source code was released to the public on December 23, 1997, several source ports were created by fans to allow the original PC version to run on modern operating systems.
Personal computers
MS-DOS
Original version
Doom's initial release on December 10, 1993 was for MS-DOS and had 320x200 pixel resolution. The releases include:
1.0 (December 10, 1993) - Initial release. The internal program number reads v0.99.
1.1 (December 16, 1993) - Fixed some bugs in the 1.0 release.
1.2 (February 17, 1994) - Added support for modem play and new difficulty level called Nightmare.
1.4 (June 28, 1994), 1.5 (July 8, 1994), and 1.6 (August 3, 1994) were minor updates, and only available to testers.
1.666 (September 1, 1994) - Contained improved network code and a new version of deathmatch called Deathmatch 2.0. In addition, the swastika pattern in episode 1, map 4 was altered.[1]
1.7 (October 11, 1994) - Contained IWAD changes and lacked the DeathManager! front end multiplayer game launcher.
1.7a (November 8, 1994) - Contained sound code changes and included version 1.1 of the DeathManager! front end multiplayer game launcher.
1.8 (January 23, 1995) - Updated the Doom FAQ.
1.9 (February 1, 1995) - Final release.
The Ultimate Doom
On April 30, 1995, an upgraded version of the game, The Ultimate Doom, was released, which contained an additional fourth episode, entitled "Thy Flesh Consumed", in addition to the original three episodes, which are "Knee Deep In The Dead", "The Shores Of Hell", and "Inferno".
NeXTSTEP
This was the version that the MS-DOS product emerged from, since, at the time, id Software was using a NeXTcube for its graphic-engine development. This version is sluggish on anything below an 040 NeXTstation/cube (though it runs smoother with a higher amount of memory), and is missing sound, which was added on the PC side. With NeXT-Step based on i486 architecture, it ran smoothly under all conditions up to screen sizes of 400% with newer hardware. The version running on NeXT is 1.2, programmed by John Carmack, John Romero, and Dave Taylor.
OS/2
Doom was ported to OS/2 by an independent contractor, Jim Thomas, who was hired by IBM to port it and SimCity.[2] A successful version was demoed in 1994 running in an OS/2 PM window, and the last version, 2.19 beta, was released in 1997.[3]
IRIX
Doom was ported to IRIX during the summer of 1994 by Dave D. Taylor. It was designed to run on IRIX 5.2 and later. IRIX Doom was originally based on the unreleased MS-DOS version 1.5, though later updates were based on versions 1.6 and 1.8. No effort was made to take advantage of SGI's advanced graphics hardware, and like many other ports the game was rendered entirely in software.
Solaris
Doom was ported to Solaris in late 1994, and was designed to run with game files from Doom 1.8. In the readme, the port is credited to "Dave Taylor and the rest of the folks at id Software".  It runs on Solaris 2.4 and later. The distribution contained two versions: one for regular X11, and another for Sun DGA.
Mac OS
Doom for Mac was released on November 4, 1994. The Ultimate Doom, Doom II, and Final Doom were ported by Lion Entertainment and released by GT Interactive using a Mac OS launcher application to run original PC WADs. The Mac version runs on System 7 through Mac OS 9 and requires a 68040 or PowerPC processor. Although it can run in Classic under Mac OS X on Power Macs; Panther and Tiger cause graphic artifacts due to the later version of Classic having a double-buffered screen. In addition to an adjustable viewport, it supports rendering at low or high resolutions, and allows network play over AppleTalk as well as IPX.
Linux
Doom was ported to Linux by id Software programmer Dave Taylor in 1994. The last Linux Doom binaries were provided by id Software on October 13, 1996 through the company's ftp-server.
The source code to the Linux version of Doom was released by id Software on December 23, 1997 under a non-profit End user license agreement; it was re-released on October 3, 1999 under the terms of the GNU General Public License. The source code to the MS-DOS and Windows versions of the game was not released. This was due to copyright issues concerning the sound library used by original MS-DOS version and id Software having no access to the source code of the Microsoft Windows port.[4]
Microsoft Windows
The first version of Doom for Windows was released under the name Doom 95, on August 20, 1996. It was compatible with Windows 95 and up, and was able to use WADs from the MS-DOS versions. It also allowed users to set up multiplayer games much easier than in DOS. It was included with Final Doom. The port was project-led by Gabe Newell and other later founders of Valve Corporation.[5]
On September 26, 2001, Doom Collector's Edition was released, containing The Ultimate Doom, Doom II, and Final Doom. It was re-released on January 1, 2004[6] with added preview content for Doom 3. Some early versions of Doom 3 included the Collector's Edition and a small demon figurine as a bonus. The BFG Edition of Doom 3, released on October 15, 2012, includes The Ultimate Doom as well as Doom II.
On August 3, 2007, The Ultimate Doom, Doom II, and Final Doom were released on Steam. This release runs the original MS-DOS versions of the game using DOSBox, an MS-DOS emulator.
Acorn RISC OS
Doom was released for the Acorn Risc PC by R-Comp Interactive in 1998. Within a few months, a significantly enhanced version was delivered as an update called Doom+. That version runs on the older Acorn Archimedes computers and, apart from speed improvements, adds several features not present in the original DOS release.[7] It was made available including Doom, Doom II, The Ultimate Doom, Master Levels for Doom II, and approximately 3000 user levels released into the Public Domain.
Consoles
Atari Jaguar
The Jaguar version was published by Atari and was released on November 28, 1994.[8] This version has more levels than the SNES and 32X versions, and as many levels as the 3DO and GBA versions. It features 22 of the PC version's 27 levels, though many of them are simplified, plus two new levels (the levels titled "Tower of Babel" and "Hell Keep" are not the same as the PC levels of the same names).[9] Unlike the 32X, SNES, and 3DO versions, this version of the game display occupies the full screen, albeit with an opaque status bar at the bottom. The game runs at a fairly constant and fluid frame-rate. The levels use more complex lighting effects, but have less variation in floor depth and ceiling height. It lacks the Cyberdemon, the Spider Mastermind, and the Spectre. It is compatible with the JagLink 2-console networking device for two players to play deathmatch.[10] The Jaguar version does not have any music during gameplay, but plays the title theme and intermission music with new instruments. Game settings and progress through the levels are saved automatically, and the player can start a new game anywhere up to the last level reached. Instead of having to cycle through the selection of weapons, the player can select a weapon by pressing its corresponding button on the controller's number pad.[10]
Next Generation gave it four out of five stars and called it "Definitely the best Jaguar title we've seen so far."[11]
Sega 32X
The 32X version of Doom was developed and published by Sega and was released on November 21, 1994.[12] It features 17 of the 18 levels from the first two episodes, but none from episode three. This version lacks multiplayer support, does not play in a full screen, and only has the front sprites for the monsters. 10 levels are missing from the original version (twice as many missing levels as any other version of the game). A DOS prompt shows up after the credits roll if the player finishes the game either using cheats or starting from any level other than the first level, locking up the game.[13] Similarly, the secret level cannot be accessed in these scenarios. Due to the lack of the third episode, the BFG 9000 can only be obtained through the use of cheats. Due to poor use of the Mega Drive/Genesis YM2612 sound chip, this version's soundtrack is considered inferior to that of other versions, and many of the sound effects are missing. As with most mid-90s console ports, the levels come from the Atari Jaguar version. This version does not feature the Cyberdemon, the Spider Mastermind, or the Spectre. There is a level select option that allows the player to start on any of the first fifteen levels, although there is no way to save the game or settings.
In 1995, the 32X version of the game was given a score of 30 out of 40 by Famicom Tsūshin.[14]
Super NES
The Super NES version of Doom was published by Williams Entertainment and developed by Sculptured Software and released on September 1, 1995. Randy Linden, the head programmer, created a new game engine called the Reality engine for the port. The game makes use of the Super FX powered GSU-2 chip (often referred to as the Super FX 2 chip), and was one of the few SNES games to feature a colored cartridge: Doom came in a red cartridge in the United States; a black or standard gray cartridge in Europe; and a red, black, or gray cartridge in Australia.
The SNES version of Doom features all five of the PC version levels that were missing from the Atari Jaguar version, but is missing a different set of five levels instead, and, like the Sega 32X version, does not have any console exclusive levels. The levels included resemble the PC levels more so than other ports. This was also the only home console port of Doom released in the 1990s to feature all three of the original secret levels and boss levels from the PC version. Like the Sega 32X version, the player's heads-up display does not utilize the whole screen, and enemies are only animated from the front, which means that they always face the player. This renders monster infighting impossible, although it is possible for monsters of the same type to damage each other with projectiles. The floors and ceilings are not texture mapped, and this version of the game also lacks both battery back-up saves and a password system, meaning that each episode must be finished from the beginning. Multiplayer was only available if an XBAND modem was used, which included support for two player deathmatch. This version lacks the Spectre enemy (replaced with regular Demon monsters), though it does feature the Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind boss monsters that the Atari Jaguar, Sega 32X, and 3DO versions lack. In the North American and PAL versions, episode two cannot be played on the "I'm Too Young to Die" and "Hey, Not Too Rough" difficulties, and episode three can only be played on "Ultra-Violence" and "Nightmare" difficulties if one is selected from the game's episode select menu, though it is possible to play episode three on the "Hurt Me Plenty" difficulty if the player beats episode two on that difficulty setting. In the Japanese version, however, all three episodes can be played on any difficulty level.
The automap display takes advantage of the rotating and scaling abilities of the Super FX 2 chip, with the entire map spinning around the player's position rather than the player being portrayed with an arrow. Due to hardware limitations, no particles such as blood impacts, smoke, or bullet sparks are present. The chaingun is capable of single fire (although emptying one bullet still produces a doubled sound effect). Moreover, the shotgun does not fire seven individual shots as it does in the PC version, but rather functions like a hunting rifle. This allows the player to shoot (and be shot) from a distance using the shotgun with no decrease in power. This version of Doom features support for the SNES Mouse peripheral.
Reviews for the Super NES version were mostly negative. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave this version a score of 5.375 out of 10. Two of their reviewers said that it was "decent" but clearly inferior to other versions of Doom, while the other two felt it to be a poor game even without comparing it to other versions. They particularly criticized that enemies at a distance are too pixelated to be seen, making it "seem like you are getting hit for no reason at all". They cited the "outstanding" music as the one strong point.[15] A critic for Next Generation similarly complained that enemies are so pixelated at mid-distance or farther that they blend in with the backgrounds. He also criticized the graphics in general as requiring "constant squinting" to discern what is going on and called the controls "poor and sluggish." While acknowledging that creating a port of Doom for a last generation console at all was an impressive technical accomplishment, he concluded the port to be not worthwhile and gave it two out of five stars.[16] GamePro's The Axe Grinder instead stated that distant objects appear sharp and clear, and that it is objects which are close up which appear extremely pixelated. He gave the Super NES version a generally negative assessment, saying that the game is almost unplayable due to the unresponsive controls.[17]
PlayStation
The PlayStation version of Doom was published and developed by Williams Entertainment and released on November 16, 1995. This version spent six months in development.[18] It is one of the best selling versions of the game after the original PC version. It was re-released several times, first on the "Greatest Hits" range in the U.S., which requires that games have sold at least 150,000 copies there, and on the "Platinum Range" in PAL regions, which indicates that it sold over 600,000 copies in those territories.
Changes from the PC original include the removal of the "Nightmare" difficulty level, and the fact that progress is saved via passwords (given at the end of each level). The passwords also save ammo and health stats, but the numbers for them are rounded. This version features 59 levels in total; 23 levels from the PC version of Doom (edited much like the Jaguar and 32X versions), both of the levels designed for the Jaguar version, six new levels designed by the Midway team, five levels from The Ultimate Doom's fourth episode, and 23 levels from Doom II. Unlike the other 1990s Doom ports, all of the enemies from the PC version of Doom are included. However, the Arch-vile monster from Doom II is not present; according to one of the game's designers, Harry Teasley, this was because he had twice as many frames as any other monster, and the team felt that they "just couldn't do him justice" on the PlayStation.[19] There is, however, one new monster, the Nightmare Spectre. According to Teasley, this was included to add variety, and to take advantage of the PlayStation's capabilities. Two player deathmatch and co-operative multiplayer modes are available on the PlayStation if two consoles are linked using the original Serial I/O port, and each console has its own controller and Doom disc inserted.
Many textures were reduced in size due to technical limitations. As a result, the mug shot appears to be different from the one in the PC version; in fact, it is the same animated sprite, but squashed in from the sides. A small selection of new graphics and visual effects were introduced. These include sector-based coloured lighting, an animated, flame-filled sky, and a new animation for the player's mug shot, which shows the Doomguy's head exploding if the player character is gibbed.[18] For the first time, translucent Spectres are drawn without the cascade effect (including the darker-shaded Nightmare Spectres). The original music by Bobby Prince was replaced by a new score by Aubrey Hodges. The sound effects and voice-overs were also completely redone by Hodges, and, in parts of certain levels, echo effects were added. All of the story text is cut, save for the ending and second intermission from Doom II, the latter of which appears at the end of Ultimate Doom instead. A bonus level presented a level 'club doom' - with a nightclub filled with health potions and demons attacking on a dance floor and dance-cages.[20]
On October 1, 1996, a port containing levels from Master Levels for Doom II and Final Doom was released for the PlayStation under the name Final Doom. The PlayStation version of Final Doom has thirteen levels from Master Levels for Doom II, eleven levels from TNT: Evilution, and six levels from The Plutonia Experiment. Like the PlayStation version of Doom, Final Doom uses passwords. Unlike the PlayStation version of Doom, support for the PlayStation Mouse peripheral is available for Final Doom.
The PlayStation version was met with critical acclaim, with critics concurring it to be by far the best console version of the game to date. Major Mike of GamePro gave it a perfect score in all four categories (graphics, sound, control, and FunFactor), noting that it was not just a straight conversion but a drastically reworked and comprehensive edition with "enough new twists and turns to surprise even the most battle-weary Doom player". He applauded the inclusion of Doom II, the added levels, the much smoother graphics when compared to previous console ports, the clear sound effects, the "chilling" music, and the precise controls.[21] A reviewer for Maximum found the port's most worthwhile aspects to be the huge number of levels, the use of the shoulder buttons for strafing, and the "vastly improved" audio. He scored it 5 out of 5 stars.[22] A reviewer for Next Generation said the PlayStation version succeeded in "putting previous efforts for 32X, Jaguar, and especially Super NES, to shame" with its high frame rate, impressive lighting effects, responsive control, deathmatch capability, and inclusion of Doom II and levels from Ultimate Doom. He complained that the walls are "sticky" and that he was feeling burnt out on reviewing ports of Doom, and gave it four out of five stars.[23] Next Generation's 1996 overview of PlayStation games raised the score to a perfect five stars.[24] IGN gave it a 7 out of 10, citing the high frame rate, impressive lighting effects, use of the PlayStation Link Cable, and inclusion of Doom II content. However, they criticized that the game was becoming old (the review was published a full year after the PlayStation version was released).[25] GamePro awarded it Best PlayStation Game of 1995.[26]
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO version was published by 3DO and developed by Art Data Interactive, with assistance from Logicware, and was released in 1996.[27] It features the same level set as the Atari Jaguar version, as well as the same auto-save feature, but lacks multiplayer modes. This version runs in a small screen at a low frame rate, though it includes the option to shrink the screen size further, which allows the game to run faster and smoother. It lacks some effects found in other versions but has an updated soundtrack that features remixed and original music. The Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind are missing, though the Spectre (which is absent from the Jaguar, SNES, and 32X versions) is included. The 3DO version was originally a more ambitious project, intended to surpass the PC version, but after it was mired in development hell for two years, the programmer was contracted to create a basic port in ten weeks.[28] In December 2014, the source code for the 3DO version was released to the public.[29]
Maximum thoroughly panned this version for its lack of PAL optimization, large borders, choppy frame rate even on the smallest possible screen size, bland color palette, music which is lacking in atmosphere, and load times. They added that the frame rate and slowdown make the game too easy: "When large amounts of monsters arrive to beat the crap out of you, the game slows down to such an extent that you have ages to line up your shots and fire". With their only praise being for the intuitive and effective control configuration, they gave it one out of five stars.[30] GamePro called it "the worst console version of Doom so far", chiefly due to the choppy frame rate.[31]
Sega Saturn
Based on the PlayStation version, Doom was ported to the Sega Saturn by Rage Software and published by GT Interactive in 1997.[32] Though containing the same levels, enemies, structures, and most of the sounds effects and music from the PlayStation version, this port suffers a number of differences and setbacks; the frame rate is significantly lower, the animation is slower, the echoed sound effects and sector-based lighting are missing, the Spectre and Nightmare Spectre monsters do not have the translucent textures and instead are drawn in see-through sprites of regular Demon enemies, and the animated fiery skyline in certain levels is gone, usually replaced with Doom II's city skyline. The lead programmer on this port, Jim Bagley, later explained that he originally programmed a hardware-accelerated engine that would have performed on par with high-end PCs of the time, but id Software disallowed usage of the engine due to texture distortion caused by the rendering process, resulting in the final version using an entirely software-based renderer.
This version is compatible with the Saturn analog controller[33] and the Saturn mouse. However, the mouse cannot be used to strafe, access the automap, or manually change weapons (though as in all versions of Doom, the player character automatically equips a weapon when it is first acquired and switches to a different weapon if the current one is depleted of ammunition).
The packaging for the U.S. release contains a few errors, such as the game screen shots on the back actually being from the PC version of Final Doom, and it claims to be "deathmatch ready", when it is in fact only one player (the deathmatch and cooperative multiplayer modes are only in the Japanese and PAL releases, despite the fact that the Saturn link cable needed to play these modes had not been released in PAL regions[34]).
The Japanese release of the game has a slightly smoother frame rate compared to the North American and European versions, though still considerably lower than that of the PlayStation version.
The Saturn port was met with a generally negative reception, with most reviewers considering it far below the quality of the PlayStation version. The most common criticisms were the low frame rate[32][35][36] and lack of certain graphical elements seen in the PlayStation version.[32][36] Reviewer fatigue with Doom ports also continued to play a role; Jeff Gerstmann, rating it a 3.1 out of 10 in GameSpot, commented that "If I see one more Doom game released on any platform, I'm going to hunt down the people responsible and kill them slowly."[35] Sega Saturn Magazine awarded the port a score of 56%, with the reviewer describing it as a "breath-takingly bad conversion of a classic game", judging the game's poor performance to be inexcusable considering the Saturn's 2D rendering capabilities, and feeling that even the earlier 32X and Jaguar versions played much better, despite being released on less powerful systems.[32] GamePro was less outraged, judging that while the Saturn port is clearly inferior to the PC and PlayStation versions, it is enjoyable in absolute terms and "successfully mimics the PlayStation version in most categories - with the crucial exception of speed."[36]
Game Boy Advance
The Game Boy Advance version of Doom was developed by David A. Palmer Productions and was released on November 5, 2001,[37] and featured a level set identical to the Jaguar version, as the engine is actually a port of it.[38]
The Game Boy Advance version of Doom II was developed by Torus Games and was released on November 8, 2002.[39] It featured all the levels in Doom II, with the Industrial Zone and The Chasm levels actually being split into two separate levels.
Both GBA ports feature the same multiplayer functionality as the PC version. These were the first ports of Doom on a handheld device. Both Doom and Doom II received a much larger amount of censoring than other ports (monsters bleed green instead of red, and monster corpses disappear a few seconds after initial death; in both secret levels for Doom II, swastika flags and walls were replaced by stylized double-headed eagles reminiscent of Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Adolf Hitler's picture art was replaced by Wilhelm Strasse's picture art; no bleeding of the status bar face), and, because of this, received a Teen rating by the ESRB.
Xbox
The collector's edition of Doom 3, released in 2005, features ports of The Ultimate Doom and Doom II, including two new levels, "Sewers" and "Betray". They feature the same multiplayer as the PC version, however not through Xbox Live. All the PC levels for both games are included; however, the eight console-only levels which appeared on the Jaguar, PlayStation, 3DO, and Saturn versions are omitted. This port was programmed by Vicarious Visions. The expansion pack "Resurrection of Evil" also contained The Ultimate Doom and Doom II, as well as Master Levels for Doom II.
Xbox 360
On September 27, 2006, Doom was released for download on the Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360. The game has all 4 episodes from The Ultimate Doom plus online cooperative and deathmatch modes through Xbox Live. Like the Xbox version, it does not include any of the console-only levels which appeared in earlier ports. Supports 11 screen sizes, and has higher graphics resolution than any earlier console port. Due to a bug, the music plays at a slower speed. This port, programmed by Nerve Software, also credits Vicarious Visions and likely shares code with the Xbox version. There are no cheats in this version of the game.
In 2010, the game was pulled from the Xbox Live Marketplace because Activision, the game's publisher, no longer has the rights to maintain the game on the Marketplace, but as of January 20, 2012, it has been republished by Bethesda Softworks,[40][41] the same company that published the Xbox Live Arcade version of Doom II: Hell on Earth.
Both games are backwards-compatible with the Xbox One and can be purchased from the Xbox Store. They are also downloaded if the disc for Doom 3 BFG Edition is inserted into the console in lieu of the pack-in versions of the games included with that title, though the disc is required to play. They were also offered as a preorder incentive for the 2016 reboot.
PlayStation 3
Doom 3 BFG Edition contains The Ultimate Doom and Doom II: Hell on Earth. Later, Doom Classic Complete was released on the PlayStation Network which includes The Ultimate Doom, Doom II: Hell on Earth, Master Levels for Doom II, and Final Doom, the last two appearing for the first time in their entirety on a console.
Other devices
Tapwave Zodiac
A version of Doom II was released in 2004 for the Tapwave Zodiac, as well as a source port [42] that requires the original Doom WADs. This version includes all 32 levels from the original PC version, along with all the original enemies, music, weapons, etc. It also retains the option of switching between nine different screen sizes, including one which expands the first person view to fill the entire screen, and is the first console version of Doom to include respawning monsters in "Nightmare" difficulty mode.[43] It does not support multiplayer.
iPhone and iPod Touch
A port for iPhone and iPod Touch has been made available in Apple's App Store. It was programmed with oversight from Doom creator John Carmack, who had previous experience from an earlier port of Wolfenstein 3D to the iPhone. Initially, it featured Wi-Fi and Bluetooth multiplayer, but it was removed in a later update. It is also planned to support DLC. This port features all the levels, weapons, enemies, and sounds from the original game, and Carmack claims it to be one of the few ports of Doom that was designed to be completely functional in its new hardware environment. It is based on PrBoom.[44]
[45]
See also
List of Doom source ports



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