Game mode

From DoomWiki.org

In Doom multiplayer, the term game mode refers to different rulesets, playing systems and modifications that are employed to provide a unique type of gameplay for each hosted session. In traditional parlance, this refers almost exclusively to deathmatch and cooperative, which are the two game modes supported by the original game on release, and by far the most popular. Over time, and especially with the release of the Doom source code, new game modes have been added to various Doom multiplayer source ports, containing both original ideas as well as game modes popularized by online-focused first person shooter games such as Quake III Arena or Unreal Tournament.

Overview[edit]

As mentioned, the two most popular game modes are deathmatch and cooperative, which were both available since the release of the game and proved wildly popular in an era where not many games supported smooth online action as robustly as Doom did. Both of them supported up to four players, with the former pitting players against one another in a free for all, while the latter allows players to tackle levels against the monsters together. Through various launch parameters, certain game behaviors could be modified (such as, for example, the -altdeath altering some of the rules for deathmatch), but the ability to create brand new game modes was limited. One early example predating the Doom source code release was Deathtag, designed by Lance Lancaster (Aikman) and Craig Wessel (Talon) by creatively employing linedef specials to create an in-game score count.

After the source code release, work began on multiplayer oriented source ports, starting with csDoom and, later, ZDaemon, Skulltag and Odamex. These saw the introduction of many new game modes, notably Capture the Flag, Invasion and Last Man Standing.

Popular game modes[edit]

Deathmatch[edit]

Main article: Deathmatch

Deathmatch sees players trying to kill each other for frags. In the original game it supported up to four players, but in modern source ports many more can be supported, and different options can be toggled through the use of launch parameters and DMFlags. A variant called team deathmatch also exists which pits two or more teams against each other, instead of the free for all nature of normal deathmatch.

Cooperative[edit]

Main article: Cooperative

Cooperative features similar gameplay as when playing in single player, except that the levels may be tackled by multiple players. In a normal cooperative game, players will respawn upon death, but source ports later introduced a variant called survival where there are limited lives for each level.

Capture the Flag[edit]

Main article: Capture the Flag

Capture the Flag is a team-based game mode where two opposite teams, rather than competing over frags, have to instead seek out a flag item present in the base of the enemy team, and capture it by bringing it to the team's own flag in their own base. Played on specialized maps, it became massively popular when introduced to multiplayer source ports, and spawned a number of variants such as the Skulltag game mode on the eponymous source port.

Last Man Standing[edit]

Main article: Last Man Standing

Last Man Standing is in principle similar to deathmatch, with the key difference being that players start with all weapons, as well as 200% health and armor, and no items are present on the map. There is also no respawning, as each round ends when only one player is left alive. Because of its nature, the game mode is best played on large, open-ended maps. Team Last Man Standing also exists as an alternative to the free for all setting.

Invasion[edit]

Main article: Invasion

Invasion is similar in nature to cooperative, but is meant to be played on specialized maps which utilize scripts to generate enemy waves of increasing intensity and difficulty. After all monsters in a wave are killed, the next round commences, and after all rounds are cleared the map is completed. Horde Mode is a variant of Invasion present in the Odamex source port.

Others[edit]

Besides the aforementioned game modes, many more exist. For instance, additional game modes are available in the Skulltag source port, such as: Possession, Terminator, Domination and more.

Additionally, thanks to ACS scripting, entirely new game modes have been created, particularly on the Zandronum source port, that do not rely on already existing rulesets to be played, and in essence are self-contained within mods. Popular examples include All Out War, Who Dun It, ZDoom Wars, and several others.