Difference between revisions of "Demo"

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==Built-in demos==
 
==Built-in demos==
If no game is begun immediately when launching [[vanilla Doom]] (either from the in-game menus or by using [[command line arguments]] to specify a starting level or external demo), three built-in demos soon begin to play repeatedly, evoking an arcade game. The demo levels are:
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If no game is begun immediately when launching [[vanilla Doom]] (either from the in-game menus or by using [[command line arguments]] to specify a starting level or external demo), three built-in demos soon begin to play repeatedly, evoking an arcade game. The demo levels in Doom are:
 
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! Demo

Revision as of 17:32, 25 May 2006

A demo is a recording of a game session that can be played back using the game engine. Internally, it is a sequence of tic commands, keeping track of just the input control states during each frame. Thus, a demo is much more compact than a full video recording would be.

Built-in demos

If no game is begun immediately when launching vanilla Doom (either from the in-game menus or by using command line arguments to specify a starting level or external demo), three built-in demos soon begin to play repeatedly, evoking an arcade game. The demo levels in Doom are:

Demo Shareware Doom version 1.666 Doom version 1.9 Doom II version 1.9
DEMO1 E1M3: Toxin Refinery E1M5: Phobos Lab MAP11: Circle of Death
DEMO2 E1M5: Phobos Lab
(multiplayer)
E2M2: Containment Area MAP05: The Waste Tunnels
DEMO3 E1M7: Computer Station E3M5: Unholy Cathedral MAP26: The Abandoned Mines

When a GUI launcher, such as the Doom95 front end, is used to start the game, the launcher usually warps to a selected level and the built-in demos are bypassed. They can still be viewed, however, by choosing END GAME from the appropriate menu.

The built-in demos are stored in lumps in the IWAD file named DEMO1, DEMO2, and DEMO3. A PWAD can replace a built-in demo by including a lump with the same name, although an engine crash often results if the new demo is incompatible (see LMP).

Ultimate Doom plays the same three built-in demos as Doom, along with a fourth one called DEMO4 which takes place in E4M2: Perfect Hatred.

Final Doom contains the following built-in demos:

Demo TNT: Evilution The Plutonia Experiment
DEMO1 MAP01: System Control MAP17: Compound
DEMO2 MAP12: Crater MAP10: Onslaught
DEMO3 MAP13: Nukage Processing MAP12: Speed

Automap mode cannot be used while a built-in demo is playing.

Player demos

Players can record demos of their own game sessions. This is done using the -record <name> command line argument, which places the recording in a file named <name>.lmp in the Doom program directory.

A recording can subsequently be played back using the -playdemo <name> command line argument, where <name>.lmp is the name of the recorded file.

This recording facility allows players to compare their skills in single-player mode (see Speedrun). It is also possible to record multiplayer games.

Demos can usually be played back only with the source port used to create them. See LMP for additional details.

See also