The DOOM 2 Beta Versions! In-depth look at EXEs & Maps

[@DoomKid]

Download the Betas of Doom1 and Doom2 here! doomshack.org/~doomkid/doombeta.zip Using DosBox, run PLAY.BAT in the D2BETA folder.

[@AndroidFerret]

Thanks a lot for your amazing videos ... Channels like yours where one of the reasons I created my own channel ...

[@stephensalex]

Hey, I don't mean to sound annoying but could you please tell me which WAD contains the original "raw"-looking Revenant sprites please?

[@DoomKid]

@@stephensalex Unfortunately, all that remains of those older revenant sprites is that lone screenshot

[@stephensalex]

@Doomkid Oh man that’s too bad. I think they look great.

[@TerrorLTZ]

so... Hagrid son is a doom fan? i love it.

[@timgoldberg3333]

You're a badass, Doomguy.

[@HardwareFahrrad]

@@timgoldberg3333 *Doomkid

[@Nikku4211]

When Hagrid be dropping babies in the Americas.

[@noahbuzelli4245]

12:07 funny that you mention those bars being there in doom2 1.666 cause i do remember them when i was much younger playing the old version straight off the disc

[@KamiJoJo]

Same here :D

[@TheTISEOMan]

The bars are missing because players were not realizing you could use them. They kept trying to find a switch that didn't exist. So ID just removed them from later builds.

[@Fuchsia_tude]

@@TheTISEOMan ...huh. I wonder how many playthroughs were stopped at the beginning of Map 02

[@meanmole3212]

​@@TheTISEOMan So does that mean I used to be a smart kid? My parents must have been super proud of me.

[@sirrh9812]

Haha i remember getting stuck on map 02 for ages because of those fucking bars lol no one playing the first time would assume that you can open them

[@Goldberg1337]

Having "Finding the Secrets" instead of "Into Sandy's City" really makes that map feel different! I also love seeing all the different texturing on these maps. Instead of techbase/ star port, it feels more like E2 or E3 style. More like demonic bases rather than human ones for the most part. I love all of this niche development stuff! Keep up the great work, sir! :)

[@Wobbothe3rd]

GREAT VIDEO!!! I remember seeing these in my childhood, my dad had illegal bootlegs in 94, but we deleted them once he got the full game. IIRC, there were some VERY INTERESTING exit screens from bootleggers when you'd exit to DOS...

[@lucaspuscasu]

Like what? Now i'm curious

[@NoName......]

You can't just leave us without telling what the exit screens were!

[@piegames2222]

@@NoName...... I'm guessing porn

[@Wobbothe3rd]

If you want to get an idea of what I'm talking about look into the warez scene in the DOS-era early 90s. From what I could remember there would be trash talking id software itself, trolling the user that they were going to hell (lol), "digital grafitti" of the BBS style. You kinda hard to be there... I was only about 9 years old at the time but I vividly remember realizing that that there was a whole hacker underworld on PCs, at the time I barely knew what the internet even was.

[@SirHattington]

I have seen many videos on Doom 1's early development. But almost never any Doom 2 stuff, very informative video.

[@AngelloProduct]

Glad to see an early version of doom 2 thanks. Decino would love watching this

[@Lugbzurg]

2:45 The mancubi used to fire completely different, green projectiles? I wonder if this contributed to the inspiration for the cyber mancubus later down the line? 18:33 "So, people sometimes complain that, I think by Map 08 or Map 09 you-" **gets drowned out by plasma gun** 21:33 And they remain buggy to this day, getting eternally caught on the air in Doom Eternal.

[@timyo6288]

i wonder if your mom gay?

[@crowbargaming9118]

@@timyo6288Timmy it’s your bed time

[@guynamederick]

The Mancubus using the Baron's sight sound over and over is quite amusing. Great video here, I kind of like some of the visuals done with MAP02: Underhalls but I guess they thought it looked too busy. And that scrapped version Dead Simple just shows that no one was immune to making a 1994 WAD during the time (Those kind of WADs of course)!

[@adamp9553]

22:54 The crushing in the pre-release map requires walking into the crusher as you would to stop it in the release map.

[@the_dark_one6052]

Great video. It was fascinating to see how they developed both the monsters through the different version as well as the map changes. As a newbie mapmaker I don't feel so insecure now about some rooms being garbage and reworking them or scrapping them completely. Glad they made the earlier levels easier too!

[@casualartist4202]

tbh, i haven’t played doom yet and don’t know much about it, but i still love watching your videos because i can learn more about the game itself, which not only lets me improve my own games with new techniques, but it also shows me how ID’s programmers were geniuses.

[@dentureadventure1490]

i love seeing the history of doom and how it slowly developed into the game we all love today. i really enjoyed the video!

[@DoomKid]

Thanks!

[@WastedScoundrel]

Looks like we finally got the old revenant and arachnotron sprites - how nifty! Also, I still really like your hair.

[@DoomKid]

Thank you!!

[@mattventures5009]

Oh hey! I discovered you through your little friendly debunking of the "Doom isn't 3D video" (Also RIP Ronnie) Nice to see Doom II's possible "press release version" if it ever had one like Doom. The asshole Mario 2 difficulty vibes and Temple aesthetic of Gantlet are my favorite parts of this version showcase.

[@franthehonest-eyes4883]

Very interesting, even the early version looks like solid fun! Thanks for making a video about this one!

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

I do love that the Super Shotgun is an oldschool coach gun, and that Adrian fully animated a reload sequence for it and all. There is definitely something cool about a double-barreled pump-action shotgun, however, which there actually exist some of in real life, and not all just as funny one-off builds by bored gunsmiths and tinkerers.

[@snake41411]

Wow I was like « yeah might be interesting » seeing the title and there I am 30 minutes later having the impression it was 5 minutes ago when I first saw ur video pop up. I guess once you start watching, you’re hooked. +1 sub great video man !

[@DoomKid]

late reply, but thank you!

[@glenchristie1915]

I actually prefer map 03 as a temple, as well as having Toxin Refinery's midi. This was very cool, awesome work Doomkid!

[@KamiJoJo]

I dare say that the textures from Doom 1 look better with the Doom 2 invironments? It's not perfect but it sure gives a better impression at times.

[@DoomKid]

I agree entirely

[@Mr.Honest247]

I always thought they looked the same.. there’s a difference??

[@godfist314]

@@Mr.Honest247 There are wall textures that are in Doom that don't exist in the doom2 Wad. Why they took them out I'm not sure. One that I do remember not appearing in Doom 2 was a wall texture that had brown skulls with a bit of blood between them I think? Also Plutonia has a few texutres that Doom 2 doesnt have! I like that they're all a bit different :)

[@lachousalle31]

Funny how the Lost Souls were buggy in this version and when you said "they never fixed these guys" made me think of how they're buggy in Doom Eternal.

[@BeavisOfArabia2nd]

That old super shotgun reminds me of the Scout's Scattergun from Team Fortress 2! Really like how it's pump-action too.

[@Arrowhead123]

Love your super in-depth vids. They're laid back, and extremely detailed. Keep it up! :)

[@DoomKid]

Thank you!

[@richardjohansson9749]

The mancubi screaming like a baron is hilarious

[@audiosurfarchive]

Damn, thought decino would do something like this, but now I see why he didnt. Very legit vid. Gotcha a new sub.

[@DoomKid]

Cheers!

[@lol6v860]

It's amazing how was the game in the beta, and watching your video makes me want to play it. You've just won a subscriber Doomkid

[@Stingrays110]

9:10 wait that blue in the beginning of e1m1 is supposed to be a carpet?? I always thought it was some kind of water spill or some shit.

[@bulldozer6781]

I really enjoy videos like this. You did a great job, man.

[@damsonn]

I didn't strafe run that well secret on map 2 back in the day (I didn't know that strafe running made you run faster at the time) - I just used that elevated platform that leads you to the teleporter as a run-up and just run straight across those stairs right into the well. Cool to see this early version, thanks for the upload!

[@chickensofdeath490]

Great video man! Love DOOM, just beat the DLC for Eternal today too!

[@DoomKid]

Well done!

[@paramite0915]

Nice video. In map03 you can in fact jump down the well without strafe running, you just have to pick a good line, but it took me years likewise to discover.

[@ZeroSorrow]

it is amazing how quickly game development goes by and how many changes can be made in such a short amount of time

[@JustAthel]

These are really impressive findings! I remember hearing about some beta doom 2 stuff but never to this extent :o

[@Lee_MCMLXXI]

According to Doom Wiki; "MAP10: Refueling Base is perhaps the oldest map that was nominated for use in DOOM II; it originally appeared in Doom v0.5, an early Alpha version of Doom, released in May 1993."

[@JeffBoen]

Speaking of the "well". Even though I knew about IDCLIP and had cheated into it pretty early on, I remember using DCK to look at the level, trying to figure out where the switch or teleporter was to get into it. It wasn't until then that I figured out that there was no switch and that you had to somehow run into it. Took me forever to figure out to strafe-run to do it. I miss those days.

[@russellbelew2604]

It's so interesting people saying you need to strafe run to me. I remember figuring out to just sprint using the raises bridge that leads to the teleporter. If you just sprint you'll make it to the well without needing to strafe run.

[@DJL3G3ND]

@@russellbelew2604 yeah lol, I keep wondering why people say that because Ive always just used that bridge for the run up. I dont think I even really heard of straferunning until watching this

[@VintageModernRemixes]

I've seen your posts on Doomworld for years but I did not know you make such fantastic videos. Great video. Subbed.

[@DoomKid]

Thanks a bunch!

[@kingderp1186]

Just stumbled on this. Great content. Very informative

[@DoomKid]

Thanks!

[@knuxenglish]

The reason the rev at 5:44 jumps when shooting could be that in the code the Rev actually moves up when shooting to have the rockets spawn higher. Also as seen in preview screenshots the old Rev sprites did have a different dead body sprite

[@DoomKid]

You're right about why they jump! It was a weird lazy workaround to get the rocket to spawn higher. Oddly, they still jump technically speaking in the final game - but it's for 0 tics, so we can't actually "see" it. Very weird!

[@Fazerjon]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this blast from the past - I'm 50 soon BUT still Love DOOM! ;o)

[@Fazerjon]

.....also just noticed the SLAYER -Reign in Blood poster on the wall behind you too! TOP MAN - my favourite/best thrash album of all time! JT

[@jnechaevskaya]

Awesome job, thank you!

[@DoombringerFPS]

I love these little dives into game development. Delving into the Doom Alphas back in the day made me appreciate Doom so much more, but also understand it better. What went in to it and how it worked. lovely trickle of excitement along the spine.

[@korozive3687]

Another great video. I'm Korozive on DooMWorlD forums and a huge fan. :o

[@Moth_of_Yuggoth]

Thanks for the video, I really enjoyed watching the beta maps. I like your commentary and gameplay. Cheers mate

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Just watched this again, it'd be neat if you showcased the rest of the levels some day, I know some of them are pretty different, the level which became Map 28 would REALLY change. The Revenant making a little hop when launching his rocket is probably based in how Romero has said that he wanted to add a monster like the Revenant because he thought it would be really funny, and that feature of them was either temporary or something he was voted down on.

[@DoomKid]

Good idea, I may do a complete playthrough soon!

[@alfiehicks1]

Actually, the revenant hop is still in the final game. It's a dirty trick to get the missiles to fire from the cannons' positions. Normally Doom can only fire a projectile from the centre of the enemy's body, so during the revenant's attack logic, it gets boosted into the air so that the centre position matches the height of the cannons. The only difference is that the final game instantly resets the position back to what it was, whereas in the beta, the position never gets reset.

[@TheYellowman2000]

thanks for the video doomkid

[@DoomKid]

No problem!

[@MullyWhizz]

At 5:38 , it looks like the pain elemental's death animation is different. In the final game, you can see the eyes/faces of the last souls he emits upon death, but it looks like they just referenced a regular explosion graphic for this. It seems at this point they weren't considering him spawning lost souls yet.

[@DoomKid]

Good eye!

[@heavyswomern]

looking into prerelease builds or assets of games always turns out super interesting to me. this and left 4 dead 2 are probably my favorite examples of beta stuff

[@doom_guy66]

I can't take mancubi with baron sounds seriously XD Good video

[@s4videos]

Fascinating. They really improved Dead Simple before release.

[@mansoorhameed7075]

It is sooooo refreshing to see someone making a video about DooM..... THAT ACTUALLY KNOWS SOMETHING ABOUT DOOM!!!

[@Gaia74]

the super shotgun is very strange xD awesome video doomkid!

[@Keldor314]

You weren't supposed to strafe run to get to that secret on map 3. You would go up on that narrow bridge to the teleporter that rises up, and use it to build up speed and jump directly into the well - no strafe running required.

[@Lyne_Taperz]

14:40 I was just about to comment that line and literally laughed my ass out when I heard that

[@pasi_patukka_muna]

Fun fact: the pebble texture in that beta map01 is still there, just out of bounds. Found out about it when making a silly doom wad called ikea doom

[@pasi_patukka_muna]

Another fun fact: there is a hidden exit in dead simple with a bfg. No idea why its there. Its behind a wall, not very hard to find. You can use idclip to get to the other side.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

As a modder and tinkerer, that big pack of Doom developmental content which Romero released has been just an absolute goldmine. Often when I get an idea to do something, I still hop into those folders and dig through them, to see if there's something in there I can use.

[@DrMurdercock]

Straight to Ultra-Violence. My man.

[@35andyman]

Great trip down memory lane there mate.

[@DoomVideoVault]

Strange take on some of the texturing and monster placement early on. Demons on MAP01? Chaingunner and Revenant on MAP02? Arachnotron and Arch-vile on MAP03?

[@DoomKid]

Yeah, the balance was all over the place originally. I think they were going for the "For Super Players" angle, like the Japanese Mario 2, but then they made it just slightly harder than Doom1 in the end and saved the extra challenge for Final Doom. (that's my theory anyway!)

[@endless_doom5337]

Going deep into the beta! Looking back at this more obscure versions of Doom really tingles my curiosity. Nice video, as always. Have you ever thought about making a video about some ''lost levels'' ? I can think of one; Waters of Lethe by Dr. Sleep but sadly was never finished or released. And of course the infamous Eric Harris levels. But would be really nice to know if there are any other ''lost'' WADs out there.

[@DoomKid]

Definitely a good potential idea for a video there, Endless

[@lakotacorff4012]

Some points: 1: IDK why but I feel like the wood room at the start of Entryway is supposed to be one of the big bathrooms you get at sport venures (probably the weird grey things look like rough representations of sinks). 2: I like the more temple-y Gantlet. Makes me think about how texturing was more of a second thought in development and levels just had whatever the designer felt like, in contrast to today where good texturing is integral. 2a: Now that I think about it, you could change the feel of several maps just by changing the textures (Mt. Erebus as a more conventional City, The Inmost Dens with Green Marble instead of Brown Bricks, Bloodfalls sticking to one theme, etc.) 3. I think the reason Revs jump when firing rockets is so they come out at the right vertical placement. They still do this in the final, and they're shorter than their sprite would lead you to believe so they have room to jump.

[@TheAwesomePandaLPs]

tbh I had no idea Doom 2 prototypes were available online, curious to see how the rest of the maps differ from the final versions. Map 10 especially, since that was a scrapped Doom 1 map ;o

[@DoomKid]

Oddly map10 seems to be the only map that crashes in vanilla!

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@DoomKid Can it be opened in any editor?

[@dodoguy]

10:56 the way he drinks water in sync with the music LOL

[@twelvnighngaming]

this is avgn in a parallel universe

[@vomitur]

hell yeah, dude

[@zenhaelcero8481]

16:33 Would it be possible to mod the game in such a way as to designate a monster spawn point, and tell the game to spawn a random monster there, based on a pre-drawn pick list (i.e. so a spawn point could create a mini-mastermind, arachnotron, imp, etc.)?

[@DoomKid]

Using Decorate, that would definitely be possible!

[@CZ-PC]

Awesome video

[@HardwareFahrrad]

The rocket sprite being used for the Revenants just looks SO MUCH BETTER for some reason. They really should've just kept it at that honestly. I mean it doesn't make much of a difference now but y'know.

[@CHAOSMOVEMENT]

True doom history! I still keep my old HP from 1994, fully upgraded to 32MB of RAM, DX4 100Mhz CPU, and two 500MB hard drives. I really enjoy playing games the same way I did when I was a kid.

[@TwistOfTransistor]

Lol video looks like filmed in 2010 (which isn't a bad thing). Nevertheless, great video!!

[@Azuris190]

Haha indeed, but thats why i like it :D It has a Soul!

[@wtfiswiththosehandles]

First time to this channel, and if this guy doesn't look like a typical "doom kid" then shave my legs and call me grampa... Great content, bro.

[@HardwareFahrrad]

Jesus man, the Beta Levels are SO MUCH BETTER. The original almost feels like such a terrible, watered down version of the game. Much more fun that way. Thanks for including the download man, you really made my day.

[@DoomKid]

I’m glad you like them, and I agree that they’re definitely better overall

[@HardwareFahrrad]

@@DoomKid Oh yeah

[@mattventures5009]

Yo little help? I'm not keen on this whole wad and SLADE business stuff. How do I fix the Arachnotron to not crash my game with its' missing frames? Thanks.

[@jonbourgoin182]

7:19 “i take wake up pills” Aka Adderall, which would be a performance enhancing drug in this case. Dude seems like an insufferable twat. Great video, man. Reminds me of old school KZbin.

[@daviddeltoro1808]

Love the channel. Just a suggestion, i'd love a video on the rich history of Doom modding and the early distribution of WADs. Like Aleins TC, how the fuck did Justin Fischer make that? What tools were available? Who made the first custom WAD? How did you even download/distribute them?

[@DoomKid]

This is a fantastic idea for a video.. Definitely going to work on that at some point soon.

[@daviddeltoro1808]

@@DoomKid Sweet dude, I'd love to see what you can do.

[@dyshoriasoftware6380]

So with the original SSG i actually think it fits more as a “super shotgun” than just a normal double barrel

[@VoidloniXaarii]

This was very interesting to see

[@ManDudeMcHumanGuy]

The arachnotrons seems pretty redundant when there is already a chaingun enemy. The beta also seems far less balanced, and more like an early Doom 2 wad with the less thought out enemy placement. Having Arachnotrons, Archviles, Mancubus, and Barons show up on map 2 just out there seems so unspecial. This feels less like an early version of Doom 2 and more like a demo showing off all of the monsters, since by level 2 you've seen most of the new monsters.

[@MonochromeWench]

The caution signs in Map02 look a lot like signs from keen5

[@adammclaughlin845]

I never even thought of looking up Doom 2 pre release stuff until I saw your video. Thanks mate! And thank God they abandoned the variable sound pitch, it's terrible!

[@dodger217]

The way you are recording like your in 2009 feels so nostlaguc

[@rblvdk]

The press version of first doom were amazing, i would liked be final version (but final version isn't bad)

[@zepeuf]

That's all very interesting :) But, the part of the screen with your head is way too big, it's interfering with what we're watching :) Thanks for the insight of doom's developpment !

[@thexdude]

Wow this is what Doomkid looks like? Coolio

[@Casketkrusher_]

Great research!

[@insaneprophet8664]

I know this is a really old video but i had to comment. Ive continually heard that you had to straife run to get into the well secret but back in the day i had the 1.666 version and it took a little time for me to figure it out, but after you raise the bridge to the teleporter out of the area you can just turn around and do normal run down the bridge and get over the gap and down into the well. I always thought that was the intended way seeing as how i never even knew about straife running till at least the early 2000s. Just felt like putting that out there 😀

[@insaneprophet8664]

Sorry, i just read through and multiple others have already said the same thing, its just always kinda drove me nuts every time i heard about straife running in there. Of everyone i even knew who played back in the 90s none og us had heard of strife running till much later.

[@DoomKid]

@@insaneprophet8664 I never knew what it was called, I always called it simply "running diagonally" back in the day, but I could tell it made you a bit faster. It wasn't until years later I noticed the (obviously intended) path of running straight on from the bridge that raises up!

[@chummy_lectern]

I had a stroke watching the Super Shotgun reloading in 1.5

[@DoomKid]

lmfao

[@OORrrin]

when i try to run it it says illegal command doom

[@DoomKid]

Try loading the included BAT file instead (I believe it's called D2beta.bat)

[@flameonoodle1172]

I personally like the old SSG sprite

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Someone did make a Chaingunner variant of the Arachnotron for ZDoom, I believe you can find it on Realm667 still. Also, the beta version of Dead Simple is so worthless, lol, it's good that they scrapped it and made a new one.

[@miesvaillanykyisyytta3252]

What is your opinion of Final Doom?

[@DoomKid]

I think they’re fun episodes. Plutonia can be a little uncomfortable to play, but I enjoy them overall.

[@america-san]

Nowni know why it's called the super shotguns

[@DaveKovalComedy]

it looks they used a lot of early doom 1 beta textures in the doom 2 beta

[@tobbyhappy3572]

Yes.

[@Matzu-Music]

In actuality, it appears to be using DOOM1's texture for the most part, as that specific TEKWALL texture, and that texture with the NO ENTRY on it only appears in DOOM1 edit: also the bars in MAP02 were removed because players never thought to just press use on the bars, resulting in players just being really confused. so they were dropped.

[@robertwalpole5376]

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if enemies were brought forwards somewhat to test how they function. Many of the DOOM 1 enemies might brought forwards to make sure that they hadn't broken code relating to that, then the new enemies could've been brought in more piecemeal to both ensure that they work, and to see if they balance well within the early-game. That could explain why Catacombs had fewer enemies; that was the level's intended difficulty, and the team could balance an easier level more effectively in that environment. Arachnotrons/Mini-Masterminds seem way too similar to Chaingunners in this version. I can see why they changed them to plasma guns in the final game.

[@amaruqlonewolf3350]

I think they knew about the difficulty that they were putting into the first map. If you'd remember, the first levels in DOOM also ran on a progression. E1M1 was miles easier than E3M8. It didn't hesitate to throw a bunch of cacodemons at you while you haven't even gotten a shotgun. So I'm pretty sure that within that same sense of progression, they thought that DOOM II would be most likely played by the people who have finished DOOM's episodes already. This'll also more or less justify the presence of strong weapons so early on in the game. First map hands you a rocket launcher, the second super shotgun, etc.

[@nightmarezer0507]

I heard the reason the bars were removed in Map02 was players couldn't figure out that pressing use on them opened them up.

[@Curlyheart]

Lol what dumbasses

[@watchmakerful]

MAP06: does the red door have the famous bug? MAP07: are tags 666 and 667 implemented in this version?

[@DoomKid]

The special tags for map07 weren’t in the engine yet, not sure about the 06 bug though

[@justexbelmondo667]

I love all the unused/beta content in doom 2,Is very cool see It in action.really good n cool video dude Funfact?: I remember for some reason some people in spanish speakers(i dont have idea it same thing in english or others communitys) community remember these strange gray bars in level 02 (the bars you need to press) strange Mandela effect?.Probably It occurs for the people download a recreation from Doom or bootleg Versions from Doom 2 iwad in strange sites Note:so sorry for strange words but i use my broke english

[@DoomKid]

Thanks for the comment! A friend first gave me Doom2 1.9 after I already had the bootleg 1.666, so when I saw the "real fixed" version without the bars, I thought it was the bootleg all along, lol

[@stephenhowe4107]

It is is really interesting, particular the early Doom maps. Ummm, MAP12. in its early form, it had a red key and this was removed. But if you try exiting the final room of the current MAP12 to the outside, it says you require a red key. So ID got rid of the red key but not the red key barrier, a bug. I asume the red key was in that small room where the Baron and Caco was located.

[@DoomKid]

Very interesting - I always thought the red locked door (the caco room) was to make it so you're permanently stuck in single player, but can escape in deathmatch!