The Great GZDoom FAQ Guide V0.1

Created: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30

Written for: 3.2.5
Current Version: 3.3.0

=============
Intro
=============

This guide is a collection of common problems and solutions that I've seen involving GZDoom while browsing the net.

These instructions are written for menu navigation, unless it's impractical.

Single quotes ('') are used to direct menu navigation, while bracers "[]" are used to indicate notes.

These instructions have been written for GZDoom 3.2.5, but it may work on other versions and forks such as Zandronum.

============
Essential
============

Before you read further, go to 'Options > Display Options > OpenGL settings > Texture Options > Texture Filter Mode' and set it to None (Linear Mipmap). If 'High Quality Resize Mode' in this menu has anything other than "Off", disable that too.

What did you just do, you ask? GZDoom, for some retarded reason filters sprites to make them less pixelated by making them more blurry. By today's standards, Doom is technologically ancient, so no matter how much sprinkles you put on it, it's still going to look like shit. Removing the filtering removes the unnecessary eyesore.

However, you can improve the visuals through other methods:

	* Multisampling - Renders the game n times bigger than your current resolution. Found in 'Options > Display Options > OpenGL Renderer > Multisample'
	* Anisotropic Filtering - Textures further away from you render better. This is most notable on floor textures. Found in 'Options > Display Options > OpenGL settings > Texture Options > Anisotropic Filter'
	* Load lights and brightmaps - These add extra lighting around vanilla Doom's things (e.g. monster projectiles, candles). Note that it can sometimes go through map walls and has a performance impact in detail-heavy maps.
	* Graphical mods - There are mods that incorporate improved animations and particles such as Smooth Doom, Beautiful Doom and Dead Marine, which come with their own quirks.

============
Gameplay
============

Q: The keybinds are horrible!
A: Rebind them in 'Options > Customise Controls'

If you're using a mouse, you'll want the following actions bound. This will cover you for vanilla gameplay and mods with good programming practices:

Fire
Secondary Fire
Weapon Reload
Weapon Zoom
Weapon State 1
Weapon State 2
Weapon State 3
Weapon State 4
Use / Open
Move Forward
Move Backward
Strafe Left
Strafe Right
Jump*
Run
Toggle Run#

ALL Weapon Slots
Next Weapon + Previous Weapon @

Activate Item%
Next Item / Previous Item %

Toggle Automap

Open Console ^

* This will break the flow of majority of Doom maps. A general rule of thumb is that it's safe to jump when backtracking, but risky entering new areas. Use at your own risk.
# If you don't have Always Run on in Player Settings.
@ You'll need it for mods that have weapon bloat (e.g. Russian Overkill).
% For Heretic/Hexen compatibility. Most mods will allow individual keybinds to allow instantaneous activation of items.
^ You won't normally need the console, but it's useful for quick fixes, map loading and cheating.

Note that for the majority of gameplay mods, you will need to set extra keybinds which are usually found in this menu.

Q: I keep moving all over the place without touching my keyboard!
A: Go to 'Options > Mouse Options > Forward/Backward Speed > Set to 0.0'

Q: I move too slow!
A: Press and hold your Run key (default is Shift). Alternatively, go to 'Options > Player Setup > Always Run > Set to On'

Q: I can't aim vertically/I don't want to ruin my own suprise parties!
A: In Doom of yonder years, unbalancing one's neck was considered a cardinal sin, enforced by swift capital punishment. However, times have changed and while most embrace the three-dimensional freedom, some still cling to their classical views.

In other words, freelook can break maps, but this one is usually preference. You can set 'Options > Mouse Options > Always Freelook'. Along with this, set a crosshair by going to 'Options > HUD Options > Default Crosshair'

Q: I keep shooting myself with my own rockets when I'm at an edge!
A: While it's a feature without mouselook, enable it and alter the verticle autoaim angle with the console command 'autoaim 0' (default is 35). Do it through console, as the equivalent menu has no number labels.

Q: I hate having a seizure from item pickups/powerups ending!
A: (Unknown, probably a mod that'll fix it.)

Q: I hate how invincibility inverts the colors!
A: If you're playing mods that don't change items, Final Doomer's invincibility gives off a nice brown-orange tinge.

============
Interface
============

Q: I hate the mouse cursor!
A: Betray your bunny by going to 'Options > Mouse Settings > Cursor'.

============
Graphical
============

Q: Shit's too dark! (E.g. Doom 2 Map02, blue keycard room)
A: Change lighting settings in 'Options > Display Options > OpenGL settings > Preferences > Sector Light Mode (first option)'. Software, Legacy and Doom will provide brighter lighting than the defaults.

The default is Dark for some odd reason.

Q: Bricks are surrounding my gameview/I have no HUD!
A: Remove the bricks by zooming in with the equals '=' key, and return the HUD with the minus '-' key.

Note that you have two HUDs to choose from - the Statusbar and the Fullscreen HUD. The Fullscreen HUD is replaced by the Alternate HUD, if you enable it.

Q: My HUD is too small!
A: Go to 'Options > HUD Options > Scaling Options' and set the following options:

	* User Interface Scale - Adapt to Screen Size
	* Status Bar - Scale to Fullscreen
	* Fullscreen HUD - Scale to Fullscreen
	* Alternate HUD - 3, if using 1080p
	* HUD Preserves Ascept Ratio - Yes

Set all other options to 'Use Default Scale'

Q. I don't like the bricks on the fullscreen HUD
A. Use Peter's Sexy HUD. https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?t=54422

Q: Why do health items show pills instead of crosses?
A: You're playing on the Doom 3 BFG IWADs. The secret levels in Doom 2 have changed slightly, as well.

============
Audio
============

Q: The music sounds like shit!
A: The music for Doom was composed in MIDI format, aimed at the Roland SC-55 soundcard. While Windows has used a soundfont that mimicks it, it doesn't do the game justice.

In order to remedy this, first download a soundfont (I personally recommend Patch93's SC-55 soundfont, which can be downloaded here [https://www.mediafire.com/file/g6bmov62qmbky03/Patch93s+Roland+Sound+Canvas+V2.2+soundfont.zip]). You may need to unpack it with SFPack, which is downloaded here [http://www.personalcopy.com/sfpack.htm].

After that, you've got two options:

(Not sure if performance info is correct; I got it from zdoom wiki)
1. Use FluidSynth. It has less of a performance impact than emulation, but it has less control.
2. Use a MIDI emulator, such as VirtualMIDISynth. It has more of a performance impact, but you can export complete soundtracks to other audio formats, such as MP3's.

[Needs expanding, refer to Timidity.]

Q. After changing the sound device, audio won't play/stops playing after changing windows!
A. Restart your sound 'Options > Sound Options > Restart Sound'. (I'm looking for a permanent fix for VirtualMIDISynth and alt-tabbing myself.)

============
Misc
============

Q: Some of my mods are missing menus!
A: After version [3.1.0?], the syntax of menus changed, so some of them won't load properly. To fix this, either use an earlier version of GZDoom or download/create a compatibility patch [how?].

Q: Return partial invisibility to its original, worser state:
A: In console: compat_invisibility 1

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Information gathered from Doomworld, ZDoom wiki and the good folks from /doom/.