Doom64 EX

From DoomWiki.org

Doom64 EX
D64NMImps.jpg
Standard Doom 64
Codebase Doom3D
Developer(s) Samuel Villarreal (Kaiser)
Initial release 2008-07-10 (15 years ago)
Latest release 2.5 (2014-02-17, 10 years ago)
Development status Inactive
Target Platform Cross-Platform
Available in English (United States)

Doom64 EX is a reimplementation of Doom 64 for Linux, macOS, Windows, and Nintendo DS by Samuel "Kaiser" Villarreal. It is based on Doom3D, though rewritten for OpenGL rather than DirectX, and includes many bug fixes from Boom and MBF. It aims to recreate the look and feel of Doom 64 as closely as possible, based on specifications obtained through reverse engineering, similar to how Kaiser also created SvStrife and Chocolate Strife. This was Kaiser's second attempt at recreating Doom 64 in a PC environment, following the Doom 64: Absolution TC released in 2003. Kaiser would later spearhead the official re-release of Doom 64 for modern platforms in 2020, rendering Doom64 EX largely obsolete.

Details[edit]

Doom64 EX is currently the only source port with support for the Doom 64 campaign through use of the Nintendo 64 cartridge's native data, along with a nearly 100% accurate recreation of the game's unique modifications to physics, balance, and rendering. Due to the drastic modifications made to the Doom engine for the original game and its PlayStation predecessor, it is difficult to support in any way other than through a port dedicated to the purpose.

Compared to the Doom 64: Absolution TC, the principal difference is that Doom64 EX uses the original data. A tool provided with the port can create a DOOM64.WAD IWAD from a Nintendo 64 ROM dump. Neither the ROM nor any instructions on how to obtain it are provided with the port, for copyright reasons.

Newer versions of the port add features which go beyond those supported by the original game, including precalculated light maps and a generic "nightmare" property that can be applied to any monster, resulting in nightmare monsters previously seen in the PlayStation version of Doom.

Version history[edit]

The first public version of Doom64 EX was released on July 10, 2008. The latest version is 2.5, released on 2014-02-17.

As of August 2018, the port was still in active, albeit slow, development. Changes since the 2.5 version include moving the development home from SourceForge to GitHub, compilation fixes for newer operating systems, and integration of the WAD conversion feature directly into Doom64 EX.

Following the announcement of the official remaster, no further updates other than a list of differences between its latest version and the 2020 remaster, as well as a notice of the February 2022 patch of the 2020 remaster, have been published.

Custom content usage[edit]

Doom64 EX, as with most other Classic Doom source ports, supports custom WAD files, including but not limited to mapsets and graphic replacement WADs. To date, it is still actively used for custom mapsets due to significant technical differences with the 2020 remaster.

External links[edit]

Source code genealogy
Based on Name Base for
Doom 64 Doom64 EX KEX 2
Doom3D Doom 64 (2020 version)
Doom64 EX Plus