Speaking of mods, there’s now official support for DeHackEd, a tool people have been using for years to modify the games. Another tweak adds an optional crosshair. According to id, enabling the feature can help some players who experience motion sickness when playing the games. There’s also a new timer next to the minimap that’s accurate down to the millisecond, which Doom’s passionate speedrunning community will appreciate. 

The iOS versions of Doom and Doom 2, in particular, got a lot of care and attention from id, with the studio adding new touchscreen controls, support for controllers and the option to play the game at 60 and 120 frames per second if you own a device that has a compatible refresh rate. Support for frame rates above 30 FPS is also available on Android and PC. 

There are almost too many changes to summarize in a short news article, so make sure to read the full changelog if you’re interested. And, no, you don’t need a Bethesda.net login to access the update. A patch like this is something that will keep people playing Doom and Doom 2 for many more years to come. It should also help those who weren’t around when the games were first released to experience a bit of video gaming history.

The quest to make devices play Doom has extended to gadgets inside other games. Reddit user uDrunkMate has succeeded (via The Verge) in playing Doom inside Minecraft thanks to a recently developed mod, VM Computers, that can run Windows 95 inside Mojang’s creative title. You need to order virtual computer parts and place an ISO into the right Minecraft subfolder, but it works. It’s even possible to play decently, although you probably wouldn’t want to to try a high difficulty level.

There are some compromises apart from having to play on a screen within a screen. It’s not going to have the frame rate you’d expect, and mods for Doom itself might be impractical. You can also forget about playing Minecraft inside Minecraft in the near future. Even running Windows XP or Ubuntu Linux is “laggy,” according to uDrunkMate, let alone a game meant for reasonably modern computers.

Engadget

The dread and helplessness many of us feel is a painful, yet perfectly reasonable, response to the mad times we are living through. But rather than giving in to your anger and doing something you’ll regret in real life take out that pent up aggression on invading demonspawn from hell. If you’ve got a Chromebook, you can pick up and play the OG Doom and Doom II games for free, at least for a limited time. Conversely, if you prefer a more cultured method of response, the Criterion Collection has released an archive of movies from black filmmakers for your free perusal.

Engadget

I for one take exception to the entire premise of the Pokemon series. But, if you’re the sort of gamer who enjoys pitting enslaved animals against one another in violent combat for your personal prestige and amusement, the first expansion packs for Sword and Shield drop in just 10 days.

Engadget

If you’re looking for a distraction while being detained and zip-tied in a police van for 9 hours because you committed the “crime” of being the streets 10 minutes before curfew, the Sega Game Gear Micro ain’t it unfortunately. Once October rolls around, however, these brightly colored, miniscule throwback systems can help you make it through the coming second wave of COVID-19 outbreaks, each with its own unique set of classic 16-bit titles.

Chromebook ownership has its perks, which includes offers on a rotating selection of apps and games. Now, Doom and Doom II are available for free on Chromebooks for a limited time. The offer isn’t available to every Chromebook user, so check the perks page to see if you qualify (via Android Police).

The Doom games are the classic ‘90s versions released by Bethesda (not the 2016 reboot), and they’re usually $4.99 each. It’s unclear how long they’ll be available for free, so you’ll probably want to act quickly. Other games currently available for free on Chromebook include The Elder Scrolls: Legends and Fallout Shelter, both of which are usually $19.99.

It’s been over 25 years since Doom was unceremoniously released on a university FTP server. And despite its age, the classic first-person shooter has become a mainstay, not just for gamers, but also for programmers. The game has shown up on a ridiculous amount of hardware, from ATMs to printer screens to iPods. Graphics and game development enthusiast Sylvain Lefebvre, though, has created a machine that only plays his custom port of Doom.

Lefebvre created a mini computer using a Cyclone V FPGA circuit board. These were originally meant to serve as the brains behind simpler electronics, but have also found a place in homebrew gaming, including the development of hardware-based emulation — companies like Analogue Interactive use FPGA chips to create products such as the Mega SG. Excluding the game itself, Lefebvre says it took 666 lines of code to get the “DooM-Chip” up and running, which is fitting enough for a game filled with demons and hellspawn.

Whatever you think of Doom Eternal right now, id and Bethesda are determined to spice it up going forward. They’ve hinted at what’s coming next for the hellish shooter, starting with a preview of the game’s first free update. The simply titled Update 1 release will tweak core mechanics in a number of ways, including “Empowered Demons” that throw a wildcard into single-player games. If a demon kills a player in the story mode, Doom tosses that creature into someone else’s game with upgraded stats. You may face a rude surprise in the middle of a seemingly ordinary level, although you will get bonus supplies and experience points if you avenge your fellow player.

Update 1 will also refine the multiplayer Battlemode with Denuvo Anticheat protection, an updated tutorial, Echelon Leveling for players who’ve reached the cap and a death report to help you out in the middle of a fight. And if you’re irked by some of the gameplay in solo story play, you’ll be glad to know there will be tweaks to “balance concerns and annoyances.”

Launching on November 22nd alongside the single-player campaign mode, Doom Eternal‘s multiplayer mode is a strictly 2-versus-1 affair. One player will take on the role of the Slayer, the iconic, green-helmed hero of the series. The other two players can pick between five demons, each with their own pros and cons. The Pain Elemental, for example, can fly but has low health stats, while the Mancubus serves as a tank.

Each side of the battle will have to think strategically to win. The Slayer can generate power-ups or health depending on how he or she kills the opponents, while demons can set traps and summon AI enemies to overwhelm the Slayer.

To win a match, the Slayer must initiate a 20-second countdown, which starts ticking when one demon is killed. If he kills the other demon, the Slayer wins. Otherwise, the first demon respawns with half of its health bar. All the demons have to do to win is kill the Slayer.

Doom Eternal will launch on Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and Google Stadia, with six Battle Mode maps on day one; more free downloadable stages will come later.

The requirement was ostensibly to reward members of Bethesda’s Doom Slayers Club for playing the original titles. While that’s a nice perk if you own the more recent Doom (or plan to get Doom Eternal), it’s a hassle if you just wanted a quick nostalgia trip.

There have been a few other complaints as well, such as the addition of copy protection, graphical changes (such as filtering that softens those 1993-era graphics) and apparent music tempo slowdowns on the Switch. That’s not including the removal of downloads for the old PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. It’s not a fiasco, but these clearly weren’t the straightforward ports some were expecting.

Quakecon 2019 is underway and one of the first big announcements from the event is that the first three Doom games are now available on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. You’ll also be able to carry around the first two entries in the classic FPS series on your iOS or Android device too.