Doom, Doom II updates out now (version 1.0.4)
Major updates are now available for Doom and Doom II on Switch. Both are now at version 1.0.4.
After installing the update, players can access a new add-ons section in the main menu. The TNT Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment can then be accessed, along with SIGIL which was created by John Romero as a celebration of the game’s 25th Anniversary.
Aside from the add-ons, Bethesda has enabled locked 60 frames per second, aspect ratio options, and more.
Here are the full details/patch notes:
Add-on Support: Add-ons can now be downloaded and played from the main menu. We will continue to add content that is a mixture of official DOOM and DOOM 2 add-ons, as well as some of the best community episodes and megawads released for the original DOOM games. We’ve curated the initial list and will be asking you guys for your picks for best community made wads soon! Check out the FAQ below for more info!
60 FPS Support: For the first time, DOOM and DOOM II now run at 60 FPS on all platforms, instead of 35 FPS as in the original releases.
Added Aspect Ratio Option: Stretches the display vertically to match the original 4:3 aspect ratio that the game was intended to be played in.
Added Quick Save and Load: Pause the game, and press R/R1/RB to immediately save where you are, and unpause the game. Load your quick save by pausing the game and then pressing L/L1/LB.
Added Level Select: Pick an episode, map, and difficulty of your choosing, and immediately play on it without having to clear the previous levels first.
Added Weapon Carousel: You no longer need to cycle through every weapon to get to the one you want. Press Previous or Next Weapon to highlight the weapon you want, and it will swap immediately to the selected gun.
Added Quick Weapon Select: The Directional Pad can now be used to quickly swap between weapons.
- Up: Shotgun and Super Shotgun
- Right: Chaingun
- Down: Rocket Launcher
- Left: Plasma Gun
Added Overall Brightness and Level Brightness: Turn up Overall Brightness to make the colors brighter, but if that isn’t enough, you can also raise Level Brightness to change the brightness of the lights in the world.
Added Random SFX Pitch Toggle: Turn off randomized sound pitches during playback, which was a feature present in early versions of the original DOOM release.
New split screen HUD: A minimal HUD will be used when playing split screen multiplayer. The bottom status bar is removed, allowing more room for the game to be displayed in.
Changed Health Graphics: The pill has been changed into a green plus, making the graphics closer to their original appearance.
Changed Wolfenstein Secret Level: Enemies in the Wolfenstein level have been restored to the original DOS release. The original textures and enemy audio have been re-added to the level, but with [censored] references removed.
- Several optimizations to DOOM’s software renderer have been made in order to better support 60 FPS and increase battery life.
- Game rendering resolution on Nintendo Switch version now displays at 640×400 to support 60 FPS and improved battery life.
- Improved behavior when starting the game out of sleep mode. There still may be cases that cause the game to lock up after awakening.
- Sped up various UI animations to make navigating through menus quicker.
- Fixed an issue from the original DOS release where map objects would not correctly track the player after loading a saved game. This also fixes an occasional crash with loading a save game with an active BFG projectile.
- Fixed an issue where the game would skip ahead several tics after unpausing.
- Fixed an issue where attract mode demos would desync, causing demo playback to deviate from the original DOS release.
- The trophy for “When I’m With You” for beating every level on Nightmare in co-operative mode has been fixed and will now be awarded properly.
Switch Patch Size: 378.536 MG (both DOOM / DOOM II)
What are Add-ons?
“Add-ons” refers to the free content we’re to rolling out to our latest releases of DOOM and DOOM II. These are some of the best professionally made and community content created for these games over the last 25+ years, all available to you, for free, on all six supported platforms.
But I already own DOOM and DOOM II on Bethesda.net! What happens to my existing installation?
If you already own those games on Bethesda.net, you’ll see two new games in your library – DOOM Classic (2019 Release) and DOOM II (2019 Release). If you’re just buying them for the first time, you’ll receive both the original DOS-based release and our new Bethesda.net enhanced versions, which include the new Add-ons menu.
Okay, so I see the newly added Add-ons Menu in the Main Menu… How does it work?
First thing is log into Bethesda.net. Once you’ve done that, go to Add-ons. Browse through what’s available and hit the “Download” option. Then press the “Toggle Activation” button to enable it. When you go back to the main menu, you’ll notice things have changed and you’re playing the new Add-on.
That seems easy. What Add-ons are available?
At launch we have some exciting ones for you. On both DOOM and DOOM II you’ll find TNT: Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment, the two map packs that constituted the retail Final DOOM release. Together those alone represent over 60 levels of gameplay! On DOOM, you’ll see SIGIL, an original campaign created by legendary designer John Romero. And with DOOM II you’ll also find No Rest for the Living, a map pack created by our friends at Nerve Software for the original XBLA release.
That’s a ton of free stuff!
I know, right?
Do these work with multiplayer?
Yes, they do! Split-screen time!
What about save games?
Yep! Including our new Quicksave and Quickload options. Don’t forget to save!
Wait, you said I need Bethesda.net to use Add-ons. What if I’m offline?
Good news! You only need to be connected to Bethesda.net to download Add-ons. Once they’re on your system you can safely disconnect. So on Switch or mobile, you can safely play in airplane mode.
Hey, I’m a WAD author. Can I upload my own files for release on consoles?
Because of the age of these games and the fractured nature of the DOOM community, we’re taking a different approach than some of our past cross-platform titles. Every Add-on we make available will be fully tested by our QA and verified to work on all platforms. That means you can’t upload them yourselves. But we’ve already begun tracking down members of the DOOM community to discuss releasing their Add-ons, and hope to release many more in the future. Stay tuned!
Did you make any engine enhancements to support Add-ons?
For Add-ons in this release we’ve added real-time MIDI playback. This allows for WADs that include custom music to have that played. Also, we’ve removed some of the engine limitations to allow for larger MegaWAD files to be loaded.
What’s the difference between Add-ons for DOOM vs. DOOM 2?
We’ve made the Final DOOM Add-ons (The Plutonia Experiment & TNT: Evilution) available for both games, but that’s an exception. Moving forward, Add-ons will be released for either game depending on what assets are required.
Can I make new Add-ons for these releases?
You sure can. Any tool that can create vanilla-DOOM compatible WAD files should work. Try DOOM Builder.
When will more Add-ons be released?
We hope to release more Add-ons on a regular basis over the next few months. Stay tuned!
