Difference between revisions of "Sega Saturn"
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[[Image:Saturn Doom.jpg|thumb|A screenshot from the Saturn version of [[Doom]]]] | [[Image:Saturn Doom.jpg|thumb|A screenshot from the Saturn version of [[Doom]]]] | ||
| − | The port removed all of the colored lighting | + | The port removed all of the colored lighting and reverberation applied to sound effects, and the sound effects are played at a lower sample rate, causing them to sound slower and lower in pitch. In addition, the animated fire sky that was featured in some levels was replaced with the cityscape sky texture featured in levels 10-20 of the PC version of Doom II, even in stages taking place in [[Hell]]. |
The [[status bar]] received another redesign, which is still fairly similar to the PlayStation iteration. In an interesting twist, the various monsters throughout the game move and attack slower than other ports, and the player can attack faster, especially during bouts of in-game slowdown. The end-of-game Cast of Characters sequence only runs through the monsters once before skipping back to the title screen. Many of the ambient music tracks were removed as well, causing them to repeat more often as the player progressed through the levels. Also, the fireball burst sound effect is not present, and is instead replaced with the rocket explosion sound. Although available in the European version, the [[deathmatch]] and [[cooperative]] [[multiplayer]] modes were not present at all in the North American version. | The [[status bar]] received another redesign, which is still fairly similar to the PlayStation iteration. In an interesting twist, the various monsters throughout the game move and attack slower than other ports, and the player can attack faster, especially during bouts of in-game slowdown. The end-of-game Cast of Characters sequence only runs through the monsters once before skipping back to the title screen. Many of the ambient music tracks were removed as well, causing them to repeat more often as the player progressed through the levels. Also, the fireball burst sound effect is not present, and is instead replaced with the rocket explosion sound. Although available in the European version, the [[deathmatch]] and [[cooperative]] [[multiplayer]] modes were not present at all in the North American version. | ||
Revision as of 09:35, 23 July 2015
Doom for Sega Saturn was released for the Sega Saturn video game console, published in North America and Europe by GT Interactive, on March 26, 1997. This version was a port of the PlayStation version and was developed by Rage Software. As such, it features map from both Ultimate Doom and Doom II, with the extra levels and sound design of the PlayStation version.
Due to a rushed release and the poor 3D graphics capabilities of the Saturn console, which had been designed with the idea that 2D games would remain the dominant format for several more years and was extremely difficult to program due to its parallel co-processor design, this port is notorious for its poor frame rate, having issues nearly on par with the 3DO port. It also lacks many of the novel features of its predecessor on the PlayStation, cut either because of hardware limitations or lack of development time.
Changes
The port removed all of the colored lighting and reverberation applied to sound effects, and the sound effects are played at a lower sample rate, causing them to sound slower and lower in pitch. In addition, the animated fire sky that was featured in some levels was replaced with the cityscape sky texture featured in levels 10-20 of the PC version of Doom II, even in stages taking place in Hell.
The status bar received another redesign, which is still fairly similar to the PlayStation iteration. In an interesting twist, the various monsters throughout the game move and attack slower than other ports, and the player can attack faster, especially during bouts of in-game slowdown. The end-of-game Cast of Characters sequence only runs through the monsters once before skipping back to the title screen. Many of the ambient music tracks were removed as well, causing them to repeat more often as the player progressed through the levels. Also, the fireball burst sound effect is not present, and is instead replaced with the rocket explosion sound. Although available in the European version, the deathmatch and cooperative multiplayer modes were not present at all in the North American version.
Problems
The game was widely noted as being a rushed port with a very inconsistent frame rate depending on how much on-screen movement is present (e.g. in larger rooms, or with many monsters on screen, the game will become choppy, and in smaller, tighter rooms with only one or so monsters present, the game's speed will be much faster). This affects the game's controls, as the marine's reaction time is lessened when the game is slower (it will take longer for a controller command to register). The frame rate is consistently lower than the PlayStation version even at its best, and has been compared unfavorably even to the Sega 32X version of the game in this respect.
The information on the back of the box also contained numerous errors. The game promises "60 levels of brutal, bloody, pulse-pounding action", when 59 are actually present; the European release amends this sentence to say "over 55 levels...". Both the European and North American versions had screenshots that were taken from the PC version of Final Doom. In addition, both releases stated the game supported 2 players via linkup; however, this feature was missing from the North American version and only present in the European version. The box for the European version however incorrectly states the game is 1 player only.
Japanese release
On July 11, 1997, the game was released in Japan. This build was slightly more optimized than the previous North American and European releases and hence runs a bit faster, though still slower than the PlayStation version. It also includes the multiplayer features of the European release. Some of the music tracks were reordered in this release to more closely match the track order of the PlayStation version.
It was distributed in Japan by Softbank Corp under publishing license from Midway Games (because of former Williams Entertainment PlayStation conversion rights) and GT Interactive.
Music
The dark ambient soundtrack composed by Aubrey Hodges for the PlayStation version is recycled for this port. However, some songs are missing and therefore the level assignments of tracks varies widely as compared to its predecessor. See the main article on the soundtrack for more information.
External links
- Information about the port on ClassicDOOM.com
- Video footage of the North American release
- Video footage of the Japanese release
- Video footage of the European release
| Source code genealogy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Based on Doom for Sony PlayStation |
Doom for Sega Saturn | Closed source |
