Sega 32X
From DoomWiki.org
The 32X version of Doom was published by Sega in 1994. The game features seventeen maps from the first two episodes and therefore lacks the BFG9000 (which only appears in the third episode). However, it is still documented in the game's manual, plus the number "7" still exists on the status bar. A cheat code can give the weapon to the player, showing that it was coded in even though it does not appear in any of the maps. This version also has no multiplayer mode.
The game disappointed many fans since it did not play in a full screen, was missing many maps from other versions of the game, and only had the front sprite for the monsters. Because of this, there is no monster infighting in this version.
Due to poor use of the YM2612 FM synthesis chip in the Sega Genesis, this version's soundtrack is noticeably inferior to that of other versions. Also, many sound effects are missing. As with the Jaguar version, the maps have been edited and the game does not feature the cyberdemon, spiderdemon or spectre (however, unlike the BFG9000, they are not mentioned in the manual). There is also no way to save games, although there is a level select option that allows the player to start on any of the first fifteen maps.
If the player cheats while playing or uses the level select option, they will not see the real ending to the game and instead be presented with a DOS prompt (C:>) after completing MAP15. The game manual incorrectly states that the game will then warp the player back to MAP01 to try again without cheats, however, this does not happen.
Like in the Jaguar version, circlestrafing is not possible in this version due to the use of a "strafe on" key rather than separate left and right strafe keys.
Contents
Technical aspects
The Sega 32x version of the Doom IWAD uses the same wall texture format as the Atari Jaguar port: the "patches" are a in headerless, row-major, raw format, with the first 320 pixels repeated at the end. The TEXTURE1 lump contains dimension information for each texture, which are otherwise ambiguous (for example, both DOORBLU and CRATINY are 1344 bytes in size, but one is 8x128 pixels, while the other is 64x16 pixels.
The palette is stored in a lump named PLAYPALS instead of PLAYPAL. It contains a total of 15 palettes, instead of 14. The first 14 are unmodified, the last one is a palette with a blue tint. The COLORMAP lump contains 64 light levels, instead of 32+2.
Audio data and UI graphics (font characters, status bar, title screen pictures, and so on) are not found in the IWAD.
Map list
The map list consists of the first two episodes of Doom, minus the Tower of Babel (the cyberdemon, like the spiderdemon, is not included in the game). Most of the levels have been retextured and simplified to require less resources; many of the Deimos levels have even undergone severe cuts compared to the PC originals. Curiously, the final and secret levels are numbered 23 and 24, leaving a seven-level gap in the enumeration, which might have been originally intended for the seven levels of Inferno that do not contain monsters absent from this port (E3M1 to E3M7, leaving E3M8 and E3M9 out, like the Jaguar version of the game).
- MAP01: Hangar
- MAP02: Nuclear Plant
- MAP03: Toxin Refinery
- MAP04: Command Control
- MAP05: Phobos Lab
- MAP06: Central Processing
- MAP07: Computer Station
- MAP08: Phobos Anomaly
- MAP09: Deimos Anomaly
- MAP10: Containment Area (Amputated of several areas)
- MAP11: Refinery
- MAP12: Deimos Lab
- MAP13: Command Center (Amputated of several areas)
- MAP14: Halls of the Damned (Amputated of several areas)
- MAP15: Spawning Vats (Amputated of several areas)
- MAP23: Fortress of Mystery
- MAP24: Military Base
Bugs
- Some status bar face graphics are flipped left to right with respect to the originals, so that when the Doomguy takes damage, the part in his hair appears to jump from side to side. [1]
- Rockets face the player when launched.
Images
Box art for the U.S. 32X version of Doom
Box art for the PAL 32X version of Doom
Box art for the PAL 32X version of Doom
A screenshot from the 32X version of Doom
Quotes
I spent weeks working with Id Software’s John Carmack, who literally camped out at the Sega of America building in Redwood City trying to get Doom ported. That guy worked his ass off and he still had to cut a third of the levels to get it done in time.
What amazes me now is that with all that going on, nobody at Sega was willing to say "Wait a minute, what are we doing? Why don’t we just stop?" Sega should have killed the 32X in the spring of 1994, but we didn’t. We stormed the hill, and when we got to the top we realized it was the wrong damn hill.
- Scot Bayless, Senior Producer at Sega of America[1]
See also
References
- ↑ "Retroinspection: Sega 32X". Retro Gamer Magazine 27 May 2010.
External links
Source code genealogy | ||
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Based on Jaguar Doom |
Doom for Sega 32X | None |