Doom 4-2 Alpha

• Very high frame rate, higher than the final version which is limited to ~35 FPS for timing reasons.
• Items can not be picked up.
• Monsters walk in place.
• Supposedly supports high-color on certain video chipsets (Doesn't work on anything I have)
• Weapon moves slightly, even when the player is not moving.

Monsters:

• Demon
• Imp
• Baron of Hell
• Early version of Lost Soul (Does not appear in levels, but the graphics are in there.)

There is an alpharead.me document file with this beta, with some info about the levels, but here are my comments about the levels:
 

E1M1 - becomes E2M7 (Spawning Vats) in the final Doom.  When you start this level, you may notice one thing that didn't make it in to the final Doom - office chairs! (well, I thought it was interesting). Except for a couple of rooms and many details, most of the level structure is here. Also, the space marines appear to be playing a game of cards.

E1M2 - becomes E2M2 (Containment Area) - The south side of the map is still just a rough layout.

E1M3 - becomes E2M3 (Refinery) - Mostly just a rough layout of the map.

E1M4 - becomes E1M7 (Computer Station) - After the beginning area, it is mostly just a rough layout of the map.
 
 

E1M5 - Becomes E1M6 (Central Processing) - Most of the bits of the level are there, but they are spread out around a large octagon shaped structure which was mostly eliminated in the final version.

E1M6 - Nothing, just a single small room.

E1M7 - Becomes E1M4 (Command Control) in the final version. This one is REALLY different, so different I want to show some screen shots:

First of all, the chainsaw is here (you cant pick it up). Its graphic is complete, but all of the other weapons are just crude shapes.
 

The next weird thing is that the areas to the left and right of the starting area are some kind of locker/shower rooms! and the Pink demons are in the showers!!!!
 

The moving platforms don't work yet, so by default you cant get to the upper areas. The player cant climb more than 24 map units, however I was so curious enough I found where this constant was stored in the DOOM.EXE and changed it. (Change the byte at offset 186759 (decimal) from 00 (hex) to 40 (hex))
 

Just before the maze like bit in the southwest corner of the map, I found a small room that wasn't in the final version with a couple of office chairs, imps, and a cone-like thing. I have no idea what it was supposed to be. Just weird I thought.

E1M8 - becomes E1M2 (Nuclear Plant) in the final version. Mostly a rough layout and there are a number of additional winding halls in the back of this level.

E1M9 - becomes E3M3 (Pandemonium). Seems much smaller and the hallways are narrower.

E1M10 - Not sure what this becomes, it could be the beginning of E2M4. The starting area looks similar. Its too different to be sure though. Here is the a map and a screen shot.
 

E1M11 - A big level full of winding hallways and crate mazes. Nothing very interesting, lots of empty rooms and dead ends. The alpharead.me states "Devoid of real levelness.  Forget all you have seen!" Unsurprisingly, this level is discarded.
 

E1M12 and E1M13?? These are mentioned in the the alpharead.me file, but are not present in this alpha.

And in retrospect, this is rather interesting. This is a non-functional bonus item that was discarded and not in the final version. However Skulltag, a modern doom port, uses this as a "spread" powerup.

Over all, this alpha doesn't really feel much like the Doom we all know. The levels seem brighter and to have a lighter atmosphere than the dark, scary levels that resulted from them.
 

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