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DOOM Retro is the classic, refined DOOM source port for Windows PC. It represents how I like my DOOM to be today, in all its dark and gritty, unapologetically pixelated glory. I have strived to craft a unique and cohesive set of compelling features, while continuing to uphold my respect for that classic, nostalgic DOOM experience many of us, after all this time, still hold dear.

DOOM Retro has been under relentless, meticulous development ever since its debut on December 10, 2013 commemorating DOOM’s 20th anniversary, and now, after so many years, I still have absolutely no intention of stopping. Its source code was originally derived from Chocolate DOOM but is now very much its own beast. It does include all the usual, obligatory enhancements that you tend to find in those other source ports out there, but it also has so many of its own cool, original ideas that continues to set itself apart.

DOOM Retro is and always will be intentionally minimalist in its approach, and so it does a few things differently. It supports all vanilla, limit removing, BOOM, MBF and MBF21-compatible maps and mods. In order to freely implement certain features, and due to the nature of DOOM demos, DOOM Retro does not support their recording or playback. There is also no multiplayer.

Written in C and released as free, open source software under version 3 of the GNU General Public License, DOOM Retro’s 110,000 or so lines of code are diligently maintained in this public Git repository and regularly compiled into both 32 and 64-bit Windows apps using Microsoft Visual Studio Community. Although next to no support is provided, DOOM Retro’s source code may also be compiled to run under both Linux and macOS.

The very latest version of DOOM Retro may be downloaded here.

• A smart, convenient WAD launcher is built in.
• Version 2.30.10 of the SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) library is used.
• A resolution of 640×400 (twice that of the original DOOM) is used, accommodating for any screen size while maintaining the correct 4:3 aspect ratio.
• A highly optimized 256-color software renderer is used.
• Every frame is scaled up onto the screen using hardware acceleration with either the Direct3D or OpenGL APIs.
• A widescreen mode is available, easily accessible at any time by pressing the + key, and with a choice of two different heads-up displays.
• Windowed and fullscreen modes are switchable at any time by pressing ALT + ENTER.
• A powerful and unobtrusive console is always available by pressing the ~ key, where all messages are displayed and all settings may be changed.
• The framerate is uncapped.
• Motion blur can be applied when the player turns around quickly.
• MUS, MIDI, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, FLAC and MOD music lumps are supported.
• There are several alpha, additive and per-pixel translucency effects.
• More blood is spilled when shooting monsters.
• All blood spilled leaves permanent splats on the floor.
• Cacodemons have blue blood, hell knights and barons of hell have green blood, and lost souls have none.
• Blood is spilled during melee attacks from monsters.
• Friendly monsters, including MBF-compatible helper dogs, may be spawned in a map using the spawn CCMD.
• Dynamic shadows are cast by monsters.
• Liquid sectors bob up and down.
• Objects are partially submerged and bob up and down, and the player’s view is lowered, when in liquid.
• Brightmaps have been applied to certain wall textures.
• Corpses are randomly mirrored.
• Corpses react to splash damage from nearby rockets and barrel explosions, smearing blood on the floor as they slide about.
• The screen shakes when the player is injured or a nearby barrel explodes.
• The player’s field of view can be between 45° and 135°.
• There are 10 darker gamma correction levels to accommodate for the brighter LCD displays of today (with a darker gamma correction level of 0.90 set as the default).
• There is a low detail mode that emulates the original 320×200 resolution.
• The various limitations of the original DOOM are either raised or removed completely.
• There is support for DeHackEd files and lumps, including those with BOOM extensions.
• DeHackEd support has been extended to allow for 2,910 additional states (numbered 1,089 to 3,999), 100 additional map objects (numbered 150 to 249), 100 additional sprites (numbered 145 to 244) and 200 additional sound effects (numbered 500 to 699). These extensions have since been adopted by a number of other DOOM source ports under the moniker “DEHEXTRA”.
• DSDHacked is also supported, allowing an unlimited number of things, states, sprites and sound effects.
• There is partial support for Hexen-style MAPINFO lumps.
• There is partial support for UMAPINFO lumps.
• There is specific support for SIGIL and SIGIL II by John Romero (that are automatically loaded if found).
• The maps E1M4B: Phobos Mission Control and E1M8B: Tech Gone Bad by John Romero are included. (These can be played by entering map E1M4B or map E1M8B in the console when a DOOM or The Ultimate DOOM IWAD is loaded.)
• There is specific support for the BFG Editions of DOOM and DOOM II: Hell On Earth, which include Nerve Software’s No Rest For The Living expansion (that is automatically loaded if found).
• There is also specific support for:
  • Freedoom: Phase 1 and Freedoom: Phase 2,
  • Chex Quest,
  • HacX: Twitch ‘n Kill,
  • REKKR and REKKR: Sunken Land.
• Maps with regular nodes, extended DeePBSP v4 nodes and extended, compressed and uncompressed ZDoom nodes are supported.
• PWADs may be placed in the autoload folder so they will be automatically loaded each time DOOM Retro is run.
• There are various rendering improvements, which include:
  • The removal of many “firelines” and “slime trails”,
  • The removal of “sparkles” along the bottom edge of doors,
  • Better drawn floors and ceilings,
  • Changes in height are drawn more accurately,
  • Smoother, slightly darker and dithered lighting,
  • Light is cast better on the player’s weapon,
  • A better and more consistent “fuzz” effect for spectres, and the player’s weapon when they have a partial invisibility power-up.
• The majority of “bugs” from the original DOOM have been fixed.
• A “vanilla” mode is available that allows you to easily compare the many but often subtle differences between DOOM Retro and the original DOOM.
• Keyboard support is improved:
  • The W / A / S / D keys are set by default,
  • The CAPSLOCK key can be used to “always run”.
• Support has been added for DirectInput and XInput controllers:
  • XInput controllers rumble when the player is injured, fires their weapon, or a barrel explodes nearby,
  • Controllers can be connected in the middle of a game.
• There is improved mouse support:
  • A mouse pointer is displayed that can be used to navigate menus,
  • A higher mouse sensitivity is possible,
  • Vertical mouse movement is disabled by default,
  • The mousewheel can be used to change weapons,
  • A mouselook feature where the vertical position of the player’s weapon is updated dynamically.
• Over 1,400 map-specific fixes for the official DOOM and DOOM II WADs have been implemented, which include:
  • Missing textures that cause floors and ceilings to “bleed”,
  • Incorrect textures,
  • Misaligned textures,
  • Monsters that are stuck in walls or each other.
• Comprehensive player and map stats are available.
• Significant changes have been made to the automap:
  • The automap updates dynamically as the player moves around the map,
  • The automap may be shown on an external display,
  • A rotate mode can be toggled on or off using the R key,
  • Solid walls are twice as wide and are drawn over other lines,
  • Secrets are drawn correctly as they are discovered by the player,
  • The path the player takes around a map can be displayed.
• Several improvements have been made to the menu and player messages.
• Screenshots have been enhanced:
  • Screenshots can be taken at any time using the PRINTSCREEN key,
  • Screenshots are saved as PNGs instead of the now obsolete PCX format,
  • Screenshots are the same size as the screen,
  • There is no limit to the number of screenshots that can be taken.
• Several improvements have been made to the monsters’ animations.