skyhawk Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 I am considering using Vavoom to run DooM, DooM II, Heretic and Hexen (game WADs for all these), but I would like to read some comments from current Vavoom users before I do so. More specifically, I would like to hear from users of the latest Vavoom version, 1.24. I am running Mandriva Free 2007.0, kernel 2.6.17-5mdv, on a Compaq Deskpro EN, Pentium III, 933 MHz. My graphics card is an Nvidia TNT2 Pro using the 2007.0 distribution's Nvidia driver. I already have a copy of the latest source code (vavoom-1.24.tar.gz). Additionally, I have downloaded libSDL1.2-devel-1.2.11-3mdv2007.0.i586.rpm, which the game-engine's developer has told me must be installed first in order to compile the game's source code. He pointed-out to me that just having the SDL run-time libraries installed is not sufficient. My first concern is overall stability of the game engine. My second concern is installation issues; I want a game engine that is relatively easy to install and maintain. To sum it all up, I am looking for one game engine that will run all the games I have mentioned in a reasonably stable manner. Comments, please. By the way, I have seen that Vavoom is now in version 1.7 beta development, but there is no news yet on when version 1.7 will see final release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2 Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 You can find vavomm and vavoom-vmdl in the repos, then install it with your package manager or urpmi. My personnel opinion on this; I think that the Doomsday engine is far ahead of the Vavoom engine, in both graphics and stability. There is also 'snowberry' to start it without any command line hassles. Also check out the new jdoom-resource-paks. I have compiled and use deng-1.9.0-beta3, but I see that deng-1.9.0-beta5 is now available. doomsdayhq.com I'm not sure that your Nvidia TNT2 Pro is going to handle the extra sprites and textures that 'can be used' with either of this engines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyhawk Posted July 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Vavoom user evaluations seem to be very scarce, leading me to believe that, although Vavoom has been in existence for seven years, it is far from being among one of the preferred Linux ports for DooM. I sincerely doubt, however, that it cannot be called an upcoming contender for one of the top spots. It might simply be that, because of its somewhat cryptic documentation, it poses some installation problems that most Linux users do not care to tackle. I found the following post, among others, at "The Linux Game Tome" website. =================== (START) QUOTED TEXT =================== Vavoom ... posted by GregLee @ 128.171.66.32 on May 6 2004 7:23 AM The games themselves -- Doom, Doom II, Doom III, Heretic, Hexen, Strife -- are great classics. And there are many variations on them around, as well. You need the "wad" files from the original games, but Doom, Doom II, and Strife wads can easily be found on the net. The Vavoom engine itself is a big software system, inheriting parts of previous efforts to make a free engine to run these great old games. It runs on several operating systems, including Win32 and Linux. Vavoom produces very nice, smooth, OpenGL graphics on my 2D-accelerated, not-very-fast, i810 chip, on a Linux system. Some bit-mapped fonts and pictures from the games look pretty cheesy, but the dungeon rooms and monsters themselves look very nice. I had no problem compiling, using the Allegro library or the optional OpenAl sound library. I did have a problem compiling against SDL using version 1.14 of Vavoom. But I fixed those problems myself and presumably the fixes will be in the next version of Vavoom. Using SDL, I can use both my joystick and all five buttons and the scroll wheel of my mouse, and all the controls are configurable. The documentation is minimal. Just playing the games is no problem, but using a network server or exploring advanced capabilities of the system may need experimentation or reading the source code. I certainly haven't figured it all out yet. I've had a lot of fun with Vavoom, but then I like to fiddle with programs. It's rough around the edges. There's a support forum, and questions there do get answers. =================== (END) QUOTED TEXT =================== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2 Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Vavoom user evaluations seem to be very scarce, leading me to believe that, although Vavoom has been in existence for seven years, it is far from being among one of the preferred Linux ports for DooM. I sincerely doubt, however, that it cannot be called an upcoming contender for one of the top spots. It might simply be that, because of its somewhat cryptic documentation, it poses some installation problems that most Linux users do not care to tackle. I don't understand what you are trying to say? Just do as root urpmi vavoom and give it a try. If you are happy with it, but want the latest version, it could be cleanly uninstalled. Then you could compile the latest version from source code. I am looking for one game engine that will run all the games I have mentioned in a reasonably stable manner. Comments, please. You asked for an opinion as to the best engine to play the WAD files you have, so I gave you my opinion. I have compiled and tested/played both engines that I have mentioned in my previous post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyhawk Posted August 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 What I wrote was not intended to contradict your post. I am following up on your suggestions. My intent in posting my last message was to present another man's opinion and to possibly generate additional feedback on this topic. One thing I do not like to do is to be on a continual search for the "best" software, be it games, or whatever. I like to choose what works for me and stick with it. I am not one of those people who changes Linux operating systems every week, just as an example. Your comments have been greatly appreciated and I hope you continue to offer your assistance in these forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyhawk Posted August 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 To update what I have already posted, I have decided that Vavoom best suits my system unit's capabilities, so I am now in the process of downloading all the components that will be necessary when I compile vavoom-1.24.tar.gz (source code). Vavoom installation is not a quick-and-easy job. Like an architectural "masterpiece," however, everything will come out perfectly in the end, if careful attention to detail is given to each component during the "building" process. So, if anyone is considering installing Vavoom, make sure it is exactly what you want, and then be prepared to give it hours and hours of your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyhawk Posted October 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 I installed Vavoom-1.24 from source code, along with the SDL development libraries. The installation went very smoothly, and it was not as time-consuming as I anticipated, because I did not include all of the optional libraries when I compiled the code. I have run Doom and Doom 2, thus far. They both run nicely, with enhanced graphics, and without any speed impairment. Vavoom has been called the definitive Linux port for Doom, Doom 2, Heretic, Hexen, and Strife. That assessment is absolutely correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamw Posted October 4, 2007 Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 I prefer prboom, as it's more accurate to the original Doom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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