Previous news

The announcement:

As many of you may be aware, the master DOOM, Quake and Unreal community archives at ftp.cdrom.com were closed last month. See this open letter for background information:

http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?show=220 

We have now implemented our contingency plans for a replacement master site, and are ready to re-open the archives.

Our thanks go out to Walnut Creek and Digital River for hosting the archives on ftp.cdrom.com since late 1994, to all those who offered assistance during the transition (in particular IHETS), and further to all of you in the community who are making this all worth doing.

3D Gamers is now hosting the Community Archives for the DOOM-, Quake-, and Unreal-engine games. Please see

http://www.3dgamers.com/about/archives.html 

for further detail, some of which has been extracted in the information below, and for live hyperlinks to the archives.

The new master server for the archives is

ftp://archives.3dgamers.com/ 

and the new primary download server is

ftp://3darchives.in-span.net/

(kindly provided by IHETS).

We strongly recommend that you use the primary download server or one of the mirrors listed at http://www.3dgamers.com/about/archives.html  for all downloads. The FTP addresses for the primary download site are:

ftp://ftp.fu-berlin.de/pc/msdos/games/idgames//  (DOOM-Engine) 
ftp://3darchives.in-span.net/pub/idgames2/  (Quake-Engine)
ftp://3darchives.in-span.net/pub/unreal/  (Unreal-Engine)

The only one of the three archives that is actively maintained is idgames/, which contains user contributions for the games DOOM, DOOM II, Heretic, Hexen and Strife. It is maintained by Ty Halderman. Feel free to upload your contributions to

ftp://archives.3dgamers.com/pub/idgames/incoming/ 

Uploads may be difficult while we work to relieve the load that the master is currently under. So far only a few of the old mirrors have switched over to the new master server, but more are expected to follow once the old master archives have been removed completely.

Thanks again for your patience during the transition. Let's go play.

-----
Ty Halderman ((email removed))
Frans P. de Vries ((email removed))

But once v1.23 is released and stable, we'll have no more excuses.  Daedalus is pretty tight right now, and it shouldn't take much to cap it off, do final testing, and release it.

So, go bother Randy (just kidding, Randy)

 Meanwhile, though we appreciate the effort to tell us our links don't work, don't bother.  You might be able to go to one of the mirror sites by using this link and look for our themes/TeamTNT directory.  Not really sure if that list is current either, since we can't get to the main site any better than you can, but it's a starting point.

But once v1.23 is released and stable, we'll have no more excuses.  Daedalus is pretty tight right now, and it shouldn't take much to cap it off, do final testing, and release it.

So, go bother Randy (just kidding, Randy)

 Meanwhile, though we appreciate the effort to tell us our links don't work, don't bother.  You might be able to go to one of the mirror sites by using this link and look for our themes/TeamTNT directory.  Not really sure if that list is current either, since we can't get to the main site any better than you can, but it's a starting point.

The project now has a real name, Daedalus: Alien Defense. Since this project is a sequel to the Icarus saga, which was named "Icarus: Alien Vanguard," it made sense to keep it in the family.  At this point, they're defending themselves rather than attacking us, too.  It all makes sense, in a strange DOOM-like way...

The Punch Team (a concentrated group of team members doing final tweaking) are now in charge of the rest of the work on the project, and there are some dedicated playtesters getting started as well.  That doesn't mean we're done, or that we have a release date in mind, but it's a pleasant plateau of progress.

Interestingly, some people in the community seem to think that our Hub One release back in December '99 was all there was to this project.  Hardly.  That was a mere hint of what is to come, and in fact there have been some interesting changes made to the Hub One levels as well.

We're still working hard and heavy on Doom2000, and it'll still be released in all its glory one of these days or weeks or...  Some of us have had some personal life priorities that came first, but for the most part we're back on track now.  Still no dates.  We don't do dates.  So don't ask about dates.

Now, back to work....

Here's the link:  zdoom117c.zip  Spelled out, that's

http://zdoom.notgod.com/ftp/old/zdoom117c.zip

Actually, we were hoping for a total meltdown of the Internet so we wouldn't have to work so hard at the end, but so much for that.

Hub One is 7 levels, all nicely integrated as if it was a big huge level.  If you haven't played Hexen yet, it's a pretty cool way to hook a theme together.  Well, it still is, even if you have played Hexen.  That really doesn't have anything to do with it.

So, what's in Doom2000: Hub One?  7 levels (yeah, we said that already) and hundreds of new textures, new music for the levels, new sounds, a thematically associated solo play experience (Mom didn't send me to college for nuttin').

It's only for ZDoom, and you need at least version 1.17c to play it.  We actually have only designed and tested it for that version, so though later ones may work, we haven't got  enough of a clue to reassure you.

There could be a bug or three left, since we ran out of time at the end.  Still, it's better to have a preview than nothing at all, and the full release will come storming to your PC in a couple of months, with appropriate modifications to the Hub One levels.  If you're impressed at all with Hub One, you'll be simply thrilled with the full build.

For those who don't understand hyperbole and think we're egotistical to talk this way about how great Doom2000 is, get a clue and have fun.

Go Get It, as we've said before about stuff.

Okay, enough maudlin prose.  We have a problem.  It's about 22 days until we have to get Doom2000 out, and quite frankly there's no way we'll get it done and done right.  This means three things:  we're being realistic,  we're going to have to shift our focus a bit, and  you'll still get something to play.  We're not mean.  Okay, we're mean, but we're going to be nice this time.

Doom2000 takes advantage of ZDoom (Hexen) hub structures, so here's the plan...  We'll release Hub One (otherwise fondly known as "Out of the Trashcan and Into the Fire") by the end of the year.  

This doesn't mean it'll take a long time to get the rest done, since most of it is in really good shape, but it will give us time to guarantee that you'll get a TeamTNT-quality product.  The final release will come fairly early next year, and will be a full release of all of Doom2000, including the Hub One "preview" release, possibly changed a bit by then.

Thanks for your patience, sorry for any inconvenience, all our operators are busy helping other surfers, come again, and have a nice day.  Oh, and no, we're still not going to show you any screenshots.  Told you we were mean.

Note that if you're a player, you won't care about this at all.  If you're a developer, it gives you certain freedoms to use Boom source in your project, per the GNU Public License.

The original plan was to release several levels plus the resource file, as a TeamTNT release.  But between Real Life and the Doom2000 project, it's been dragging on too long.  So here's what we've done. 

We released the RETRES (Return Resources) wad, which is used with our levels and is available now for you to use in your own levels as well.  Go to the Return web page for full details and links to the files.

Individual level authors, so far from TeamTNT only, but not restricted to that, have released 4 levels.  There are many more in the hopper, and we hope to see submissions from everyone, not just TeamTNT folks.

We've got an online form you can fill out to submit your Return-based levels to us, and we'll not only index them but also put them on cdrom.com in our special Return directory.  The Return has become much more than a TeamTNT product--it's now a community effort that you can all participate in.

Get the resource wad and dust off the editors.  It's time to make the Doom Community live again.

We might sneak a bit more information under the fence in a month or so, though, just to get the hit count up on this page.

The Ultimate Invasion project,
which was really always a private project by Paul "Moe" Fleschute and some friends, will continue its activity separately.  We'll still give them a place to put a web site and other TeamTNT facilities for meetings and project stuff, and most of the team members are also TeamTNT folks, but it won't be an official TeamTNT project.

TeamTNT will only have one active project at a time from now on.  Having 3 at once has been too much conflict, has caused delays in all 3 projects, and has drained a lot of team energy that should have been spent on our real project, Doom2000.  Moe will have his Invasion web page updated in a few days--the link is above under the "Friends of TeamTNT" section.

Since id Software GPL-released 
their DOOM source, we've been approached by folks to get us to do the same with the Boom source. 

We've done so, and it has been uploaded to cdrom.com.  See the Boom pages for links.

There aren't any feature or code changes to the game--it's all about the licensing and what you can now legally do with Boom source code.  The 2.02 version was our last version, as we already stated about a year ago.  

From our Boom FAQ:

I want to use BOOM in a game of my own.  Is that legal?

Yes, within the specifications of the GNU Public License (GPL).  From the "ABOUT.TXT" file:

This release of BOOM does not involve any changes in the binaries or
sources from the v2.02 release, it is simply a relicensing of BOOM
under the GPL. The old license file DOOMLIC.TXT has been replaced by
a new one, COPYING, copied verbatim from the pages of the GNU
organization (Free Software Foundation). This was undertaken only
after permission had been obtained from all copyright holders: id
Software, Chi Hoang, Lee Killough, Jim Flynn, Rand Phares, and Ty
Halderman.

The main purpose of relicensing was to clear the path for works derived
from BOOM to also relicense under the GPL if they wish.

Note that this license only applies to this executable engine and its
sources. All artwork, sounds, music, and other intellectual property of
DOOM is not affected by this license.

Any questions regarding the license for BOOM should be sent to:

Jim Flynn

This license change only applies to BOOM, not its derivatives (such as MBF, PRBoom, etc.) unless those authors also so specify.

The Return has had its final build for the initial release, and beta testing (private, sorry) is beginning.  Here's what's going to happen...  We're releasing 7 levels ourselves, plus the resource WAD file (it's a slightly enhanced version of the Eternal resources).  Here comes the cool part:   we're releasing the Eternal / Return resources for you to use on your own levels to your heart's content--just give us credit where due.  We'll even have a separate area on cdrom.com for your Return levels and we'll announce and index them on our site.    We've got some new screen shots too--go check 'em out.

How about Doom2000?  Sure, might as well tell you about that one too...  We've just done build 1, with 5 levels in progress.  We have several sounds, over 100 textures and mini-stories for the hubs defined.  It's looking pretty good but we don't want to get you too excited.   You know how you all got when id registered the doom2000.com domain, making up your own stories about what that meant (it's no longer a domain, BTW, if that tells you something).  Just sit back and relax--it'll be good when it's done.

The only thing we want is expert level authors for the Doom2000 project, and we need them now.  See the application page for specific details about what we need, and if you can make the cut, let's see what you've got to offer.

Well, Dave Razor is the new name of our hero in Doom2000, suggested by "Nechuta".  We're getting in contact with the winner now to be sure we got a valid email address on the submission.

The prize, you ask?  Well, we're going to be making some cool TeamTNT/Doom2000 T-shirts for our project members, and one of those will go out as a special prize for this contest.  Of course we won't be having those shirts made quite yet, so it's kind of a future promise.  Gonna have to trust us...   At least one person's going to be eager for us to get Doom2000 done... :-)  We were considering a trip for 4 on the QE2's Millenium cruise, but that's about $43,000 per person so we chose the T-shirt instead.

We whittled the whole list of 75 or so submissions down to the top eight and then the Doom2000 project team voted on them.  Dave Razor came out on top at 59 points, followed by Dixon Blake at 53 (close second), then Kan Drykis, Nick Freeman, Kerry "Deathstorm" Sundstrom, Picfar Rudgard, Dhaisan Dreigan and Tor bringing up the rear.  Thanks to all who participated, even the ones who didn't read the rules.

Doom2000 level building starts tomorrow.  All levels have been defined and level authors have signed up for their initial ones.  There has been lots of general discussion and further development of the alien language too.   You didn't think that 3-character Doom2000 logo was just a graphic did you?   It really means something.  This is going to be cool.

See if you're clever enough to participate in the contest.

TeamTNT created Boom as a stable base for the editing community to use for new levels as well as for other coders to use as a base for their engines.  ZDoom has used many if not most of the ideas, enhancements and bug fixes that we put into Boom and reflects exactly what we had in mind.  Since we will no longer be enhancing Boom, it is with pleasure that we endorse ZDoom as the heir apparent of the DOOM "Source Ports" for general use.  See other entries in today's news for details of how we'll be using it.

Thanks to Randy Heit for a job well done, and to all the other folks he credits with ideas, code and techniques he has incorporated.

Ultimate Invasion will not be heavily modified from the current 99-level plan, but will make use of some of the per-level features and internals. 

Doom2000 will be a considerably enhanced product over what would be possible with Boom or DOOM alone.  Since design has just begun on Doom2000, it's difficult to say how extensively all of the ZDoom features will be used, but you can bet it will be a great product because of it.

The Return will remain a Boom-designed set of levels.

That makes 147 DM-only levels from TeamTNT, to go along with our 128 Solo/Coop ones.  And there's always more to come...

Keep your eye out for this one to be released within about a month.

We see this as a perfect opportunity to use the Ragnarok story and features that we've already planned and worked with, to make both the OGRE engine do what we need and to use the flexibility of OGRE to make Ragnarok what we really wanted it to be.  All this will be without the headaches of DOOM limitations, even though it's better than it was because of the various source ports.  OGRE is a different engine though, and Ragnarok will make the perfect test case for building a better engine.

For more information, including the first full 8 chapters of the storyline (which is about half of it), select the Ragnarok link above.  We will also be sharing some screen shots over the next few weeks, to give you a flavor for the huge effort that has gone into it so far.  We are far from abandoning the project.

The Open Gaming Resource Engine project has been launched.  This is a manifestation of the "Merger" project among members of leading DOOM source code projects, and will be an open source project.   Instead of another proprietary closed programming effort, this is a chance for the entire DOOM community to be involved in the next engine.  It will be an unprecedented approach to engine, utilities, level and graphics creation, and much more.  Rather than expound in this announcement, we'd like to direct you to the home page of the OGRE project, at:

    http://www.teamtnt.com/ogre (defunct address--link removed)

Much more information is provided there on all aspects of the project, or at least as much as we know now.  Members are joining and contributors are making themselves known.  Initial architecture and design is being determined now, and open discussions will be taking place as we progress.  We will have frequent updates and sharing of information on the site, so even if you don't plan to participate in the project directly, you can stay tuned.  We'll have a discussion forum as well, though that's not ready yet.  The Ogre has landed...

Version 2.02 of PRBoom for Windows (Win95/98/NT) is now available.  This port of Boom 2.02 was done by our own TeamTNT member Florian "Proff" Schulze and therefore is now an official supported port of the product.   It has high resolution (up to 1600x1200 even) and IP-type multiplayer ability.   Give it a try!  Source is available.

Reclamation now has 26 levels done or nearly done, and another batch of screenshots is waiting for you. 

Many fixes have been implemented, some more obvious than others if you don't go look at the list of changes.  Or just go get it if you're impatient.

Here's a sampling if you don't want to link to that page:

Firelines, another kind of "slime trail," are a thing of the past.  Blockmaps for big maps are calculated much faster now.  Slowdowns underwater have been fixed.  Sound persistence in sectors now carries across savegames.   Improved network code--those jerky games in earlier Boom versions shouldn't be a problem now.  Final DOOM episodes now show the right map names and intermission texts.  BEX allows named bit fields for monster characteristics (huh?).   Par times parsing fixes in BEX. Stair building code improvements.  There's more--go look at it.

Something maybe a bit more obvious when you're starting up a game:

You don't have to put -file or -deh or -loadfile on the command line any more if you don't want to.  Instead of:
  boom  -file   abc.wad  def.wad  -deh  abc.bex  xyz.deh  -playdemo   mydemo.lmp
just type:
  boom  abc  def   abc.bex  xyz.deh  mydemo.lmp
Boom is smart enough to figure out what's going on by the file extensions (none means it's a wad file).  Just drag a wad onto Boom in Windows and it'll start playing.

Also, just supply -warp on the command line without any map number, and Boom will go to the first map in the loaded pwads.  No more going around trying to figure out where that level loaded.  Like:this:
  boom otherwad -warp

Last version, you say?

Yes, this is expected to be the final version using the Boom source code base.  The new work we're going to do is all going to be on the as-yet unnamed merger engine.  That doesn't mean we're throwing away what we learned so far, but it does mean that we're rethinking the engine in more general and effective ways and will be moving forward instead of being locked into working on Boom forever.   It's a relief.

And the source?

Available right now.  Just Go Get It.  Enjoy!

We think so anyway.  Boom 2.02 has been stable in testing and we think we're about ready for a release.  A few more items have been added to the list of stuff we've fixed in this, our final release of Boom..

As you well know by now, we don't update the page every time we make a level, and give you empty screenshots of work in progress.  We have 22 levels of Reclamation now in the current build, most either finished or undergoing final review and tweaking.  Using Boom has been a real eye-opener and you're going to see some effects you never thought about before.  We'll put up 3-4 screenshots every week or two, and the first batch is ready now.

There's some new life in the old project...  We're still a long way from ready with this one and experimentation continues on several fronts but there have been some interesting discussions and activities lately.  It's been converted to Boom, and further source mods are being designed.  New members have joined too.  Just in case you thought we'd forgotten...

A new release of BOOM is due in a week or three (probably mid-late October) and there's now a list of 30-some fix and enhancement areas that will be part of version 2.02.  Read and drool.  Note that this will be our last update to the current code base.  All future engine work will be done on the merged engine project.