Download this Press Release Version of Doom (2.5 MB)
Download the TSR program which lets you run it on any date
View the Release Notice which came with this version
This version requires a command-line password, -pressrelease, to be entered, or it will not work.
It was programmed to stop working after October 31, 1993. Recall that the 0.99/1.0 shareware version of Doom was released on December 10, 1993.
To help, Lee Killough wrote a TSR program which fakes the system date to allow you to play the game on any date, without actually changing your system's date.
To use the TSR, unzip it into the installed directory of a Press Release of Doom, overwriting 3 .BAT files and adding a FAKEDATE.COM file. The .BAT files will then supply the needed password, as well as run FAKEDATE.COM before and after Doom is run, to fake the system's date. The system's date will return to normal when Doom finishes.
None of these three levels contain a BFG, to my knowledge (despite one being put in E3M5 in the later versions), but by messing with the wad, or by typing the AMO cheat, you can see it.
The most interesting thing about this version is the different BFG -- it causes many fireballs to come out in many directions. See screenshots.
Fireballs ricochet off of floors and ceilings.
This version still has the Doom Alpha TITLEPIC, although it is not displayed during startup.
Lost souls are silver-colored and are not flaming (see screenshots). However, they can attack at any distance, just like the Arch-Vile in Doom II.
The player's plasma gun shoots green plasma, which looks the same color as a Baron's plasma in the final versions of Doom, but there are also small Imp-like fireballs that shoot out.
A Soul Sphere gives the player 100% health and an "extra life," instead of 100% extra health.
Damaging sectors can be totally harmless at certain skill levels, but dangerous at others.
There are many different looking artifacts than in the later versions of Doom, but they are usually nothing more than artifacts. The number of items picked up is kept track of.
There is a reference to a m:/data/e1m1.wad file in the .EXE. I hacked the .EXE, and replaced 'm' with 'c', and then tried to stick a file in c:/data/e1m1.wad, but it seemed to have no effect. Maybe a special command-line flag needs to be used, for this file to be read.
I also noticed that a SOUND.CFG file could be read in from the Doom directory, but everytime I tried to create such a file with any data it in, it caused Doom to crash with a traceback (register dump etc.). This may simply due to there not being any sounds in the iwad.
There is a lot of music/sound code in the executable, including a lot of compiler debugging symbols having to do with sound and music (and GUS), but whether it can actually be used is questionable.
The Baron's fireballs are different than in the released version -- they're round plasma balls with green, yellow, and orange colors.
The Cacodemon fireballs come from below their mouth, not right from it, as in later versions.
Something else I tried is the -file parameter. It is in there, but it doesn't work correctly. If you try to load a level, you still get the original level but with -I think- a screwed up blockmap. You and the monsters can walk through walls. Every monster will wake up instantly and start shooting at you. The screen fills up with projectiles and after a while Doom slows down to a crawl.
When you take an invisibility sphere, the screen becomes all white, like when you're invulnerable in real Doom. Also the light amplification visor turns the screen *greenish*. This is actually more realistic, but it looks pretty ugly.
Have you also noticed that the imp fireballs look a bit like the later Arachnotron plasma balls? Another thing: in the old shareware version (1.0) I found some *unused* fireball sprites, they appear to come from the old BFG/Plasmagun. I guess id forgot to strip it.
On demo map 2 (E2M5) there are some triggers that don't work correctly, so you can't finish the level. There are two *doors* kind of shaped like a mouth, they should open by lowering the floor, but the ceiling raises instead.
I just hacked the .wad file and put in a BFG right at the player 1 start :-) For some reason it didn't work on E1M2: the BFG showed up alright, and I could grab it but it had no ammo in it. I then put in some cells next to it, but I couldn't pick them up. In the other maps it worked fine. Maybe this is an early protection from getting the BFG in the shareware version?
(But you can type AMO, and then the BFG works on E1M2 -- Lee)
F10 is the key used to make screenshots with -devparm, instead of F1.
Pressing G on the automap toggles a grid.
By pressing ENTER a player can talk to player 1, 2, 3, 4, or to all players. Recipient is indicated by following the ENTER with a 1, 2, 3, 4, or SPACE for all.
Most other keys do the same things as in the released versions of Doom, if their functions are implemented yet. For example, F toggles follow mode in the automap, and Alt is the strafe key.
See the official Release Notice for more information on keys.
Other interesting screenshots: