If you appreciate the work done within the wiki, please consider supporting The Cutting Room Floor on Patreon. Thanks for all your support!
This article has a talk page!

Proto:Doom (PC, 1993)/Doom 0.3

From The Cutting Room Floor
Jump to navigation Jump to search

This is a sub-page of Proto:Doom (PC, 1993).

Dooma 03 title.png
Notice the somewhat hilarious titles given to the dev crew.
Download.png Download Doom 0.3
File: Doom0 3.zip (587 KB) (info)

Compiled on February 28, 1993, this version has much more added and contains many things described in the scrapped concept document known as the Doom Bible. However, what is added is in a very incomplete state. Because of this, it tends to be very crash-prone. The read-me dubs this version as a pre-alpha. The odd thing about this particular prototype is that it was not discovered and spread until August 3, 2015. This is because it was not distributed to testers, but rather to game programmers of the time.

Changes from 0.2

The Doom 0.3 "Alpha Control Panel", a very barebones menu.
Items appearing in the floor.
The "High-Color" graphics mode as it appears on unsupported hardware.
How the above screenshot would appear on supported hardware.
  • The engine can now render areas with different floor and ceiling heights, and different light levels.
  • CONFIG.LMP is made, storing the screen size, detail level, and floor/ceiling detail level, as well as a prototype high score table with six entries attributed to "Id Software".
  • The frame rate is set to 70 frames per second.
  • A spinning 3D title screen has been added, but it was removed from the final game.
  • A menu is in place, but it is nothing like the final version and can only do basic things such as selecting a level.
  • Dots appear along the bottom of the screen, displaying the framerate like -devparm does in the final game.
  • Alongside the Shotgun from the last build, the Bayonet, Rifle and Machine Gun are all selectable and can be fired.
  • Enemies still cannot be damaged, and they still walk in place.
  • Exits are present, but do not work.
  • The palette has been reordered from 0.2 to match the final game's ordering, with a few ranges still unfilled. Some sprites still use the older palette, however, making them have the wrong colors in game.
  • A high-color graphics mode has been added, but it requires specific hardware such as the Sierra Hi-Color DAC. This uses the COLORS15 lump in the WAD file, which contains 15-bit color values for each light level, rather than indexes into a 256 color palette. Most hardware and emulators don't support the 15-bit color mode needed, and will therefore display wrong.
  • An ANSI error message is present, but it was also not kept in the final build.
  • The 'use' key is implemented as ALT, but has no use in this prototype.
  • Items now spawn, but are rendered incorrectly and appear in the floor.

Controls

  • Esc - Go back to Menu/Game.
  • 1 to 9 - Go to level # (in the main menu).
  • Q - Quits.
  • Arrow Keys - Move.
  • Control/Pause - Shoot.
  • Alt - Strafe.
  • Right Shift (w/ arrow keys) - Run.
  • 1 - Bayonet.
  • 2 - Rifle.
  • 3 - Shotgun.
  • 4 - Machine Gun.
  • Q - High Quality.
  • W - Medium Quality.
  • E - Low Quality.
  • R - High-color mode.
  • T - Causes the player to turn in order to measure the rendering frame rate.
  • P - Start a profile (written to profile.dat); pressing it a second time causes Doom to create a profile file and quit the program.
  • A - Full screen.
  • S - Regular (helmet view).
  • D - Reduced (small helmet view).
  • Z - Full texture mapping.
  • X - No ceiling texture mapping.
  • C - No ceiling/floor texture mapping.

HUD

Alpha 0.2 Alpha 0.3 Final
DoomPCtechdemo-normal.png Note the automap displaying only the linedef's the player's seen. Begs the question why this was functional but not health or ammo readouts. Doom HUD.png

The large helmet HUD remains and is only slightly more functional than before. The top-left element now tracks your weapon, although it doesn't update unless one changes HUD modes. It is also worth noting that the HUD weapon display order is off-by-one, as the rifle takes two slots instead of one due to its bayonet. The HUD is stored differently in the WAD, being stored in chunks instead of the previous prototype's single image. Much more impressively, the automap is functionally implemented in this build.

A new, smaller HUD has also been implemented, which can be seen by pressing 'A' to activate Fullscreen mode. It is non-functional, only showing static stats like the helmet. The 'D' key can be pressed to activate a reduced view mode, similar to the final game's window sizes.

Weapons

At this point, most of the weapons are rough outlines of what they should be. It is worth noting that the HUD weapon display order is off-by-one, as the rifle takes two slots instead of one due to its bayonet.

The featured weapons are the following :

Bayonet

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 bay view1.png Doom_fist.png

A short-range bayonet at the end of the rifle. Replaced later with the fists. Neither an HUD Entry nor a pickup sprite is present in the game's files, therefore its damage and RPS are unknown.

Rifle

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 rif view.png Doom pistol.png

A semi-automatic rifle which is equipped on spawn and has no pickup sprite, just like the final's pistol, which replaces it. According to the HUD, it does 5 damage per shot and has a RPS of 2.

Shotgun

Alpha 0.2 Alpha 0.3 Final
Doom 0.2 Shotgun.png Dooma 03 sg view.png Doom Shotgun.png
Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 SHOTA0.png Doomshotgunfinal.png

The Shotgun's view sprite has been expanded and redrawn slightly compared to its previous incarnation, it won't be modified again until the final game. According to the HUD, it does 25 damage per shot and has a RPS of 1.

Machine Gun

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 mg view.png Doom Chaingun.png

An automatic firearm which takes the place of the final's chaingun. According to the HUD, it does 5 damage per shot but has a RPS of 6.

It also has an early pickup sprite, left as a simple gradient.

Missile Launcher

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 ml pickup.png Doomfinalmissilelauncher.png

The Missile Launcher's pickup sprite is still a simple gradient.
This weapon isn't implemented in this build, but due to the off-by-one error, its HUD entry can still be seen in-game, where it boasts a hefty 50 damage per shot with a RPS of 3.

Dark Claw

A lump can be found detailing its HUD entry, but it cannot be viewed in-game without game files modifications. Its damage and RPS are both listed as "??".

It also has a sprite pickup image in the game's files, but nothing else is present in this build. The pick-up sprite is also colored incorrectly by default, since the sprite was initially drawn with 0.2's palette.

BFG 2704

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 BFG pickup.png Doombfgfinal.png

The BFG has a rough, gradient pickup sprite.
A lump can be found detailing its HUD entry, but it cannot be viewed in-game without game files modifications. It would have done an hefty 99 damage per shot and would have a RPS of 1.

Chainsaw

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 chainsaw pickup.png Doom Chainsaw.png

Only a rough, gradient pickup sprite is present in the game's files.

Knife

A pickup sprite for a knife is present in the game's files, grouped with the other weapon pickup sprites rather than the item pickup sprites. It is also different from the dagger sprite, which was a score item in the press-release.

Pistol

A pickup sprite for the Pistol makes its first appearance here before disappearing entirely in later builds. Its sprite is located with the other weapon pickup sprites, suggesting that it was intended to be a weapon at that point.

The marking at the top is part of the sprite.

Items

Alpha 0.3 Final
Doom 0.3-CLIPA0.png DoomCLIPA0final.png

While the clip itself would be refined in later builds, it ultimately was redrawn to be upfront.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 SHELA0.png Doomfinalshells.png

The shotgun shell pickup is a loose pile of shells, similar to the sprite used in later prototypes for the larger shell pickup.

Alpha 0.3 Final
DoomProto0.3Missle.gif Doom Rocket.png

The rocket in this build is more reminiscent of an artillery shell rather than a missile. There are two different colors of the sprite, probably meant to be two different types of ammo.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Apparently conventional batteries are enough to power energy weapons. Makes more sense.

The 0.3 build's energy cell is simply a battery rather than one that looks like actual ammo.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 STIMA0.png DoomSTIMA0final.png

The Stimpack used a very different graphic, an elaborate blue syringe.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 MEDIA0.png DoomMEDIA0final.png

The Medkit has a very preliminary graphic.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Demoalphasoul.png Doom SOUL.gif

An early sprite for what would eventually become the soul sphere. Tom Hall proposed the jar shape in the Doom Bible if a sphere was seen as too reminiscent to Wolfenstein 3D, but the sphere won out.

Alpha 0.3 Final
ARM1A0.png ARM2A0.png ARM3A0.png ARM4A0.png FinalARM1A0.png Doommegaarmorfinal.gif

Some crude sprites for four different types of armor exist, as opposed to the final's two types of armor. The Doom Bible did mention four types of armor, Duty, Guard, Battle, and Demon armor. The Demon armor is likely the red armor seen here.

Doom 0.3-DAGGA0.png Doom 0.3-RECEA0.png Doom 0.3-BIBLA0.png Doom 0.3-CGEMA0.png
The treasures make their introduction here, but their art would be refined in the following build. They don't do much at this point. The treasure featured here are a dagger, blood receptacle (or chalice), an unholy Bible, and a candle.

Dooma 03 SHI1A0.png Dooma 03 SHI2A0.png Dooma 03 SHI3A0.png Dooma 03 SHI4A0.png Dooma 03 SHI5A0.png
A collection of sprites for a never implemented set of shield pickups.

Dooma 03 POWAA0.png Dooma 03 POW1A0.png Dooma 03 POW2A0.png Dooma 03 POW3A0.png Dooma 03 POW4A0.png Dooma 03 POW5A0.png Dooma 03 POW6A0.png Dooma 03 POW7A0.png Dooma 03 POW8A0.png Dooma 03 POW9A0.png
10(!!!) graphics for various unknown power-ups, possibly placeholders.

Monsters

Demon

Alpha 0.3 Final
Doomtechdemodemon.png Doomfinalversiondemon.png

The Demon's sprites remain the same as in Alpha 0.2.

Imp

Alpha 0.2 Alpha 0.3/Final
Glowing like a jack-o-lantern... *lol* O SHI-!

The Imp's sprites have been updated, removing the orange mouth and eyes, and will remain the same in the final game.

Lost Soul

Alpha 0.3 Final
LostSoul04.png Doom 1 1 SKULA1.png

Lost Souls appear for the first time in 0.3, with a completely different look from the final game. Of note, is that Lost Souls are the only enemy in this version that has a full sprite set, with attacking and dying animations present in the .WAD. All other enemies only have their standard walk cycle present.

Baron of Hell

0.3 Prototype Final
Doom 0 2 BOSSA1.png Doom BOSSA1.png

The Baron of Hell also hasn't been updated since 0.2.

General Artwork

Decorations

Doom 0.3 Wolfenstein 3D
Dooma 03 BARLA0.png W3d finalgreenbarrel.png

This decorative barrel was reused from Wolfenstein 3D, modified slightly to remove its shadow.

Doom 0.3 Wolfenstein 3D
Dooma 03 FLG2A0.pngDooma 03 FLAGA0.png Wolf 3D Flag.png

These flag graphics are redrawn from the Wolfenstein 3D flag decoration.

Doom 0.3 Wolfenstein 3D
Dooma 03 PUDLA0.png WOLF3D SPR STAT0.png

This puddle graphic was reused from Wolfenstein 3D.

Dooma 03 COLMA0.png
This decorative column also appears in the files.

Walls

Alpha 0.3 Final
WALL00 1doomalpha.png DoomWALL00 2alpha.png DoomWALL01 7alpha.png DoomWALL01 8alpha.png DoomWALL01 9alpha.png DoomWALL01 Aalpha.png DoomWALL01 Balpha.png DoomWALL01 Calpha.png DoomWALL00 3alpha.png WALL00 1doomfinal.png DoomWALL00 2final.png DoomWALL01 7final.png DoomWALL01 8final.png DoomWALL01 9final.png DoomWALL01 Afinal.png DoomWALL01 Bfinal.png DoomWALL01 Cfinal.png DoomWALL00 3final.png

Several of the walls had tiny little alterations, mostly to remove green and white spots.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 W11 3.png Dooma 03 W11 5.png Dooma 03 W11 7.png Doom WALL21 3.png Doom WALL21 1.png Doom WALL21 5.png

W11_3, W11_5, and W11_7 have been renamed WALL21_3, WALL21_1, and WALL21_5 respectively. The blue paths have been changed from a gradient to a solid color, and the paths themselves were made more complicated.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 WALL06 1.png Dooma 03 WALL06 2.png Doom TP2 1.png Doom TP2 2.png

The 'WALL06' set has been renamed 'TP2' and has been modified and expanded.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 WALL07 1.png Dooma 03 WALL07 2.png Dooma 03 WALL07 8.png Dooma 03 WALL07 9.png Doom SW19 1.png Doom SW19 2.png Doom SW19 3.png Doom SW19 4.png

The 'WALL07' set has been tiled differently and the brown set was changed to gray.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 30 WALL09 1.png Dooma 30 WALL09 3.png Dooma 30 WALL09 5.png Dooma 30 WALL09 7.png Doom SW11 1.png Doom SW11 2.png Doom SW12 1.png Doom SW12 2.png Doom SW11 4.png Doom SW11 5.png

The 'WALL09' set has been tiled differently and renamed as 'SW#'.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 WALL08 4.png Doom SW15 3.png

'WALL08_4' has been renamed 'SW15_3' and has been tiled differently, with the pipes replaced with a standard wall segment.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 WALL08 3.png Doom SW17 1.pngDoom SW17 3.png

'WALL08_3' had both of its detailed segments modified and reused for a few textures in the final game.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 WALL03 1.png Doom WALL03 1.png

'WALL03_1' had a kick plate added to the bottom.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 COMP01 1.png Doom COMP01 1.png

'COMP01_1' was expanded.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 COMP01 5.png Doom COMP01 6.png

'COMP01_5' was renamed 'COMP01_6' and expanded.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 COMP01 6.png Doom COMP1C 6.png

'COMP01_6' was renamed 'COMP1C_6' and expanded.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 30 W11 1.png Doom WALL03 4.png

'W11_1' was renamed 'WALL03_4' and was brightened slightly.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 AG128 1.png Doom AG128 1.png

'AG128_1' was modified, tiling the gradient in the middle.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 AG128 2.png Doom AG128 2.png

'AG128_2' was also modified.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Dooma 03 W13 8.png Doom W13 8.png

'W13_8' had its stainless gradient edges trimmed and was otherwise compressed horizontally slightly.

0.2 Prototype 0.3 Prototype 0.4/5 Prototype Final
Dooma 0.2 WALLBB 2.png Dooma 0.3 WALLBC 2.png Dooma 0.4 PLAT1 1.png Doom PLAT2 1.png

'WALLBB_2' was slightly modified in 0.3 and renamed WALLBC_2. It was later turned into PLAT1_1 in 0.4, then PLAT2_1 in the final game.

Alpha 0.3 Final
It needs something... Much better.

The exit sign was given a gradient.

Alpha 0.3 Final
DoomEXIT2alpha.png DoomEXIT2final.png

This bezel has slightly more subtle shading in the final.

Dooma 03 BCAB 1.png Dooma 03 BCAB 2.png Dooma 03 SCAB 2.png Dooma 03 SCAB 1.png
Very primitive cabinets.

Dooma 03 PI01A0.png Dooma 03 PI02A0.png Dooma 03 PI03A0.png Dooma 03 PI04A0.png Dooma 03 PI05A0.png Dooma 03 PI06A0.png Dooma 03 PI07A0.png Dooma 03 PI08A0.png Dooma 03 PI09A0.png Dooma 03 PI10A0.png Dooma 03 PI11A0.png Dooma 03 PI12A0.png Dooma 03 PI13A0.png Dooma 03 PI14A0.png Dooma 03 PI15A0.png Dooma 03 PI16A0.png Dooma 03 PI17A0.png Dooma 03 PI18A0.png Dooma 03 PI19A0.png Dooma 03 PI20A0.png Dooma 03 PI21A0.png Dooma 03 PI22A0.png Dooma 03 PI23A0.png Dooma 03 PI24A0.png Dooma 03 PI25A0.png Dooma 03 PI26A0.png Dooma 03 PI27A0.png Dooma 03 PI28A0.png Dooma 03 PI29A0.png Dooma 03 PI30A0.png Dooma 03 PI31A0.png Dooma 03 PI32A0.png Dooma 03 PI33A0.png
Lots of pipes.

The following walls appear in most prototype, but not in the final game.

Some metal rusting from grey to brown.

Patches for "STAR" textures.

Some pillars.

Textures for living quarters, including filing cabinets, lockers, what look like coffee machines, and assorted tech doodads.

Unused steps for unbuilt stairs.

Variants of the wall-mounted lights.

Metal panels displaying numbers 1 through 4.

More stripey-blue walls, one with a light.

Red equivalent to the blue techno-stucco seen in the final.

A drain texture for the floor.

Small gray crates stacked like this exist in the final, but not brown.

Flats

Alpha 0.3 Final
Doomsewagealpha.gif Doomsewagefinal.gif

'SEWAGE1-3' was renamed 'NUKAGE1-3' and was completely redrawn.

Alpha 0.3 Final
Doom 0.3-CONS1 1.png Dooma 03 CONS1 3.png Dooma 03 CONS1 5.png Dooma 03 CONS1 7.png Doom-CONS1 1.png Dooma 04 CONS1 3.png Dooma 04 CONS1 5.png Dooma 04 CONS1 7.png

These consoles were finished in the next build, with a gradient, more generic screen, and less colorful lights.

Alpha 0.3 Alpha 0.4 Final
Why does he get all the cards? Any new games tonight? They're all too busy on the BBS anyway.

Flat 20 has a greater resemblance with the texture from the next alpha, rather than the bland texture in the final game. In 0.4 the cards received some additional detail and were spread out through the whole texture.

Alpha 0.3 Final
DOOMFLOOR1 7alpha.png DOOMFLOOR1 7final.png

'FLOOR1_7' had its three lights unified into one lightbar.

Alpha 0.3 Final
DoomFLOOR4 1alpha.png DoomFLOOR4 1final.png

'FLOOR4_1's pattern was given a darker outline.

Alpha 0.3 Final
DoomFLOOR3 3alpha.png DoomFLOOR3 3final.png

'FLOOR3_3' had its pattern removed.

The rest of these flats begin to appear in later builds starting here, but not in the final game.

Diagonal consoles reading either "OFF" or "ON".

Variations of the blue carpeting with beige paths on them. Some of them seem to have a grey trim, but they're incomplete, as the Doom engine can't rotate textures and they only point leftwards and upwards.

Grey floors with hard-to-see outlines of tech stuff.

Various shades of brown floor with varying shapes and outlines.

Grey tile flooring made of "L"-shaped blocks.

A tech panel... without any tech. Would make for a good toaster.

Wood paneling. Wooden textures like these would later appear in Doom II: Hell on Earth

A large "2". Similar numbers appear on the sides of UAC crates in the final.

Maps

This early version contains 9 official, accessible maps. Levels E1M4-E1M7 and E1M9 are only near-identical stub levels, consisting of a single empty room, while the other levels are very early drafts of the final's maps.

All levels have no traces of demonic textures unlike some of the final's, as the map order was changed further in development.

There are also several more maps not mentioned in the game's README file, accessible by including their name as a parameter for the executable file.

Stub Levels

All stub levels have one marine present, with the exception of E1M9, which has 3 marines standing.

Hmmm...
To do:
What are the differences to the final's levels?

E1M1

This level is an early version of the final's E2M7.

E1M2

This level is an early version of the final's E2M2.

E1M3

This level is an early version of the final's E2M3.

E1M8

This level is a very early version of the final's E1M2. It has no monsters or objects in this build, and the textures in the 0.3 build were completely changed for the final build.

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9

The spawn area is roughly similar to the final's, barring the door behind the player spawn which has yet to be added.

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9
Dooma 03 e1m8 spawn corridor.png Doomf 19 e1m2 spawn corridor.png

The corridor in front of the spawn area did not have a room on the left yet.

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9
Dooma 03 e1m8 spawn rightarea.png Doomf 19 e1m2 spawn rightarea.png

The right side of the spawn area is pretty bare compared to the final build : there is neither pillars nor doors on the right, making this area a dead end.

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9
Dooma 03 e1m8 spawn leftarea.png Doomf 19 e1m2 spawn leftarea.png

The left side is less bare, but not by much. The pillars and doors are absent from this build, and the console in the background was replaced by a small room containing ammo and health.

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9

The armor alcove at the end of the spawn area has a different layout for this build : it was originally supposed to connect to the area past the red door in a dark corridor.
For the final build, this connection was scrapped and the area past the red door leads instead to a slime-filled dead end.

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9
Dooma 03 e1m8 reddoor.png Doomf 19 e1m2 reddoor.png

The final build requires the player to find the red key to open the door, and to remotely open the entrance to the maze on the left. Those two tasks are not implemented in this build, and the player can go freely to these areas.

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9
Dooma 03 e1m8 maze.png Doomf 19 e1m2 maze.png

The entrance to the Doom 0.3 maze is roughly similar to the final's...

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9
Dooma 03 e1m8 maze layout.png Doomf 19 e1m2 maze layout.png

...but the maze's layout is entirely different from the final's. Not only it was redone between those builds, but the final build's maze is strictly angular compared to the early build's curvy corridors, as shown in the comparison above.

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9
Dooma 03 e1m8 reddoor end.png Doomf 19 e1m2 reddoor end.png

The Doom 0.3's small room was replaced by stairs in the final.

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9

This area was completely redesigned for the final's build. This build sports two paths which rejoin shortly after, and the right path is further split into two paths which rejoin themselves with the left path. This somewhat unjustified redundancy is eliminated in the final build, replaced by slime.

Doom 0.3 Doom 1.9
Dooma 03 e1m8 slime end.png Doomf 19 e1m2 slime end.png

The ambush room at the end was significantly darkened and heightened in the final build, and the windows were put higher up to use the added space.

MENUMAP

This level is used for the 3D menu, right after the 3D spinning intro. This level can be accessed using the command "doom menumap". When accessed, it is shown to be identical to the stub levels mentioned above.

THESTORE

This level is unused in this build, but can be played using the command "doom thestore". Accessing it shows a single room with some placeholder textures, which doesn't seem to match any of the further build's level's rooms.

SHAWN2

This level is unused in this build, but can be played using the command "doom shawn2". The name refers to ID employee Shawn Green. Accessing it shows a map draft which doesn't seem to match any of the final's levels. This map has few variations in ceiling and floor height, and long, empty corridors.