Few gamers probably know about ZDaemon, and probably even less have tried it. Here's a look at a game flying under the radar.
ZDaemon is client/server based on Doom 2 which is most similar to the Quake series than any other game. It shares many weapons(SG, SSG, RL, plasma, chaingun, etc), and even some engine tricks on movement(wall running, strafe tricks). ZDaemon has very low system requirements, and decent unlagged netcode(56kers/sub 200 pingers are fairly competitive). It comes with a custom server browser which has built in chat, buddy system, server favorites, and a nice autodownloader to find all the files you need to play on servers. ZDaemon doesn't require extensive config editing nor is it as aim based as most modern DM games.
ZDaemon has a robust community with a strong co-op component. I find co-op to be the most newbie friendly mode of all(it's how I originally got into it), and I still play it from time to time. There are many very large and monster packed co-op wads(wads can be anything from a map pack, to a mod). ZDaemon also has a strong duel, FFA, and CTF community. TDM is usually only played in clan wars.
CTF to me is the greatest aspect of ZDaemon. I find it to be on another level gameplay wise than everything else. There are many tricks, tactics, and strategies that can be used. From SSGing your team mate in the back so he can run away with the flag faster or using bodies to block a chokepoint, CTF rewards teamplay and stratagems. Postions such as rusher, runner, defender, midfield are all played over a variety of maps. Anyone familiar with Q3 CTF will probably greatly enjoy ZDaemon CTF.
Let's look over elements of Doom 2 gameplay. It features easier to pickup movement than any Quake game but still has a decent amount of skill involved. Standard movement tricks are wall running(fastest way to move, only works on perfectly north/south walls), rocket jumping and SR40/SR50 movement. SR40 movement is moving roughly at 45 degree angle using forward and one strafe key. SR50 movement is similar to SR40, except it's a bit faster and you need a bit of a cfg setup to do it properly. I use the following in my zdoom.ini:
[Doom.ConsoleAliases]
Name=+sr50l
Command=+strafe;+left;+moveleft
Name=-sr50l
Command=-strafe;-left;-moveleft
Name=+sr50r
Command=+strafe;+right;+moveright
Name=-sr50r
Command=-strafe;-right;-moveright
[Doom.Bindings]
shift=+sr50r
z=+sr50l
To use SR50 then you would do forward, one strafe key, then also the matching SR50 strafe key. SR50 is 141% of normal run speed while SR40 is 128%. SR50 also locks your movement into a straight line. To turn you need to drop out of it.
Other modes of movement are wall running, and rocket jumping. Wall running can be done a few different ways but the fastest is SR50ing along a wall. Rocket jumping is a bit harder than in Quake series, but similar. Since the RL has a bit of delay on firing you need to time it well.
ZDaemon standard weapons are fists, chainsaw, pistol, shotgun(SG), super shotgun(SSG), chaingun(CG), rocket launcher(RL), plasma gun(PG), and BFG. Most are comparable to their counterparts in the Quake series. Weapons are almost always set to stay after pickup. For being such a blazing fast game in many ways Doom 2 weapons have fairly hefty switch times. It is also worth noting that Doom 2 weapons don't require pixel perfect aim, so Doom 2 is less pure aim heavy than the Quake series. Special mentions to SSG, and BFG below.
SSG is the most used, and general purpose weapon. While SSG is mainly a short to medium range weapon it can be used over long distance as well. ZDaemon usually doesn't have much long distance combat.
BFG is in theory the strongest weapon in the game but it's charge up time before it fires gives it a considerable weakness. Certain players are also very adept at dodging it. Most new players have a hard time learning how to use the BFG. An indepth FAQ is
here.
The BFG does damage on a direct hit, but it also projects a damage cone from your body when the blast goes off. The damage cone is aimed in the direction you fired, not where you are facing when the blast goes off.
Items don't feature prominently in Doom 2's gameplay where the argubly dominate many other DM games. Duel in particular is very item light, on most maps items are only taken once then never respawn. This leads to duels between close players almost always being close in score. A few CTF maps use items to good effect but they are not critical to winning except on a few. For the most part ZDaemon modes don't have many items on the maps nor do they respawn.
ZDaemon has a legacy of OS(old school) gameplay. I am no expert on either OS, or NS(new school) gameplay but I know people in the OS camp can be a bit picky. Some OSers will even argue against the use of crosshairs(tape on monitor cheat FTW). CTF which I think is the best way to play ZDaemon is generally NS(allows mouse look, jump, crosshairs, etc). OS is still influential as most official duel and TDM matches are likely to be played without mouse look making people rely on autoaim for up/down aim. Perhaps hardcore ZDaemon players can comment more on this, but to me the biggest OS vs NS difference is mouse look.
The official ZDaemon.org forums run some tournaments, but there are also other notable tournaments such as the
IDL. The
IDL runs a draft each season, has a structure similar to the NFL, and is 3v3 CTF. It is currently in pre-season for it's second season. I also know of a large duel tourney(ZDDL) in the works but there are not many public details yet.
A few other things worth mentioning:
-Players need to make an account to play.
-There is a rudimentary experience/stat system.
-Gameplay can be random due to SSG/BFG spread, weapon damage tables, or spawns.
-A global ban list is kept to ban cheaters.
-There is a small tricking community.
-More serious players generally hang out in clan channels(or irc.oftc.net mentioned below).
To me it's clear you can see how the Quake series evolved from Doom 2. While this article is made to be informative it's also meant to try and get people interested in ZDaemon. There are decent sized communities in North America(IDL is all NA players), Europe, Australia, and South America. You can usually find a game of any type at almost all hours. This is one of the main reasons I switched over to ZDaemon.
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Def.
Pez and it has already received judgements like "The best QW movie I have ever seen". While remembering the last big QW movie, Kyu One, that says quite a lot.
There is lots of new in game content in this video interview. Apart from new maps you will see how the Medic can heal team mates or his invincibility mode. You will also see the invisibility mode of the Spy and some Engineer related stuff.
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quadV|A_Spec
UT2004
