================================================================= Pacific Media WorX MegaDoom II - Frequently Asked Questions ================================================================= This text file contains many of the Frequently Asked Questions about the MegaDoom II product. Please review this text file before contacting PMW with any technical questions about this disk or external Doom utilities or programs. This document has been prepared in a Question and Answer format. You will find the question listed along with the corresponding answer. QUESTION: Who do I contact for technical support? ANSWER: For general questions about MegaDoom II contact Pacific Media WorX. However, we are unable to provide technical support for the programs on this disk because of the incredible number of programs and because we did not program them. For specific questions about the individual programs, contact the original programmer through electronic Email or by telephone or surface mail. You will find that most if not nearly all of the programmers of the programs on this disk have explained how you can contact them in the documentation included with their programs. DO NOT CONTACT ID SOFTWARE ABOUT QUESTIONS RELATING TO THIS CD-ROM DISK OR THE MEGADOOM II PRODUCT. ID Software is not responsible for this product and will not, and is not capable of providing technical support for third party Doom programs. QUESTION: Can I use MegaDoom II with the shareware version of Doom or Heretic? ANSWER: No. We have prepared this disk to be used with only the registered version of Doom. If you have not purchased the registered version of Doom, contact ID Software at (800) IDGAMES to purchase your copy or visit your local software retailer. PMW will not answer any technical support questions regarding the use of this disk with the shareware versions of Doom I, II, or Heretic. QUESTION: I can't load the new levels using the Browser. How do I do that? ANSWER: You can't. The Browser is a utility which is meant to navigate files between your hard drive and the CD-ROM. QUESTION: How do I find programs on the disk? ANSWER: Each utility program is located in a separate directory and corresponding sub-directory. The names of the directory, indicate the use of the program while the actual directory that the utility or program is located in, will indicate the programs name. Does that sound confusing? Well let's try an example, suppose your looking for a loader program to use from the disk other then the ULTRALaunch interface we have included. You start in the "DOOM" directory where the Doom programs are located. You then go down to the sub-directory of Doom called "LOADERS." You then notice there are loaders for DOS, OS/2, and 4DOS. Well your running DOS so you want to enter the DOS sub-directory where you see the names of each program on the directory name. In this case we will choose the program EZ-Doom 23 which is a DOS based loader located in the directory \DOOM\LOADERS\DOS\EZDOOM23. QUESTION: Are there help files on the MegaDoom disk that will help me understand Doom? ANSWER: Yes. There is a large directory called "HELP" on the CD-ROM. It contains everything from tips and tricks for playing Doom to elaborate text files on how to make your own extra levels and graphics or add other accessories. We have made an extra effort to make sure that the documentation and help files on this disk are extensive. So please make sure you read through them if you have any problems. QUESTION: Should I make a backup of my Doom programs before I add other programs or utilities? ANSWER: YES! We STRONGLY recommend that you create a back up on a regular basis and save it in case a program or utility you add corrupts your Doom set up. QUESTION: Why should I make a backup? ANSWER: All of the programs on this disk have been written by third party programmers and developers and some may work with your Doom set up and some may not. We can NOT guarantee, because of the many different versions available and the fact that these programs have NOT been developed by ID Software, that all the programs on this disk will work with your version of Doom. If a program doesn't work, you may want to restore you original set up so that you know for sure that you are starting over again, from the same point. QUESTION: How do I make a back up? ANSWER: You can make a back up the same way you back up your hard drive or you can use any of the commercial programs available such as Fast Back etc. You can also use the DOS system backup and restore programs. We have also heard from many who use PKZIP available from Pkware Corp. and can be found almost anywhere in its shareware form. By using PKZIP, a user can backup into a ZIP file, the contents of their entire Doom directory, add their utilities or programs and when finished, delete everything but the ZIP file from the directory. Then un-zip the ZIP file which will put you back to where you started from. In our opinion, this is probably the easiest way. QUESTION: Are there different versions of Doom available? ANSWER: Yes. There are many different versions of the Doom engine (the executable file) available. For example, some people have version number 1.2, others may have 1.666 and others may have version 1.9. The difference in version numbers are the upgrades you may have installed and are available from ID Software or most public computer bulletin boards. Some of the programs on this disk will work ONLY with certain versions of Doom. We suggest that you check the documentation for each program and utility to make sure that BEFORE you install it, it will work with YOUR version of Doom. You will be able to tell which version you are running by looking at the bar at the top of your screen, when Doom loads. QUESTION: Do I need to upgrade my version of Doom? ANSWER: We don't know. Are you satisfied with the version you have? Does it work? Do you need to fix it if it "ain't broke?" If your happy with the version you have, and you can do the things that you want to do, why change unless you need or have to? QUESTION: Are the upgrades for Doom available on MegaDoom II? ANSWER: No. The upgrades are the property of ID Software and we did not ask for permission to include them so we did not add them to the disk. The upgrades are easy to find however and you should contact ID Software directly or look for them on your local computer bulletin board. As well, you can find the upgrades on all of the major on-line services such as CompuServe, America On-Line, and Prodigy. QUESTION: What is a WAD file? ANSWER: A WAD file is a file with the three letter extension, WAD. A WAD file in short, is a compressed graphic, text, and sound file, that the DOOM.EXE utilizes to run the Doom game. By changing WAD files, you can add other levels, graphics, and sounds. A WAD file can contain one or more levels depending on how the WAD was created. Some WAD files may contain only new graphics, some may contain just sounds or music. QUESTION: Where are the WAD files located on the MegaDoom II disk? ANSWER: The WAD files are located in the \DOOM\WADFILES directory. In that directory, you will find two sub-directories named "ATOL" and "MTOZ." WAD files names beginning with a letter from A to L will be located in the "ATOL" directory. WAD files names beginning with a letter from M to Z will be located in the "MTOZ" sub-directory. QUESTION: I noticed that next to each WAD there is another file with the same name but a TXT extension. Why is that? ANSWER: With each WAD file we have included a text file that contains basic information about the WAD and has been written by the maker of the WAD file. Sometimes the file is long and contains a lot of information, sometimes it doesn't. It just depends on how much the WAD file author wanted to say. QUESTION: Can I make my own WAD files and new levels? ANSWER: Yes. MegaDoom II contains the programs you will need to make your own new levels or any other Doom utility. Your mind and imagination are your only limits. QUESTION: I'm really impatient and want to play an extra level right NOW! How do I do that? ANSWER: Copy the WAD file you want to play directly to the directory of the program you want to play it in. I.E. Doom, Doom2, Heretic etc. From the DOS command line type: Doom -file wadfile.wad Substitute Doom for Doom2 or Heretic depending on the program and the wadfile.wad should be the actual name of the WAD file. For example, to play 1ON1.WAD in Doom 2, you would use the command line: Doom2 -file 1ON1.WAD QUESTION: I loaded my WAD files up but they didn't work. What happened? ANSWER: Did you remember to check which game or level your WAD file was programmed for? Did you make sure that the WAD file was for the version of Doom your trying to play? I.E. Doom 2 WADs with Doom 2 etc. Remember that each WAD has a programmed level built in. Such as with Doom I, a WAD file may be programmed for E2M1 which would make it the 1st level in the second game for Doom I. E1M9 would be level 9 for game one of Doom I etc. If you selected only the E1M9 WAD, you could not play that level with out first playing the eight regular levels of Doom first. Try to select a chain of WAD files for best results such as WADs programmed E1M1, E1M2, and E1M3, etc. QUESTION: Can I use Doom utilities with Heretic? ANSWER: Yes and no. Some of the programs in the Doom directory of this disk are fully compatible with Heretic. Please make sure that you review each programs documentation file before attempting to use any Doom product with Heretic. ONE FINAL WORD OF ADVICE FROM US, BEFORE TRYING TO ADD ANYTHING IN TO YOUR DOOM DIRECTORY OR DOOM GAME, MAKE A BACK UP FIRST! WE CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!