Doom
GZDoom · originally by id Software
The modder-friendly OpenGL and Vulkan source port of the Doom engine that runs Doom, Doom II, Heretic, Hexen and Strife from your own game data, plus thousands of mods.
- Source
- ZDoom/gzdoom
- Site
- zdoom.org
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Stars
- 3.1k
About
GZDoom is a feature-centric source port for all Doom-engine games, based on ZDoom, adding an OpenGL and Vulkan renderer and powerful scripting capabilities. It is the port most of the Doom modding scene builds for: ZScript, DECORATE, dynamic lights, high resolutions, mouse look and modern controls, while still playing the original campaigns faithfully.
The source code is GPL-3.0; id Software released the Doom source in 1997 and GZDoom carries that lineage along with contributions from the ZDoom and GZDoom teams since 1998.
No game content is included. GZDoom needs the IWAD (the main data file) from your own copy of a supported game. It recognises the Doom and Doom II releases sold today on Steam and GOG, including the Unity, KEX and BFG editions, and the free Freedoom data if you own nothing.
- OpenGL and Vulkan rendering at any resolution
- Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, Heretic, Hexen, Strife, Chex Quest and more
- The home of the Doom mod scene: ZScript, DECORATE, dynamic lights
- Free Freedoom data works if you own no game
- Windows, macOS and Debian/Ubuntu Linux builds
What you need
The port contains none of the game. These come from your own copy and stay on your machine.
An IWAD from your copy of Doom, Doom II or another supported game
The main data file of a supported game, for example doom.wad or doomu.wad (The Ultimate Doom), doom2.wad (Doom II), tnt.wad and plutonia.wad (Final Doom), heretic.wad, hexen.wad or strife1.wad. The Unity, KEX and BFG editions sold on Steam ship doomunity.wad, doomkex.wad, bfgdoom.wad and their Doom II counterparts, all of which GZDoom recognises. The shareware doom1.wad and the free Freedoom files (freedoom1.wad, freedoom2.wad) also work.
GZDoom identifies IWADs by their contents, not just their name, and searches your Steam library folders on its own. Source of these fingerprints
Setup
- 1
Extract the downloaded archive into a folder of your choosing (on Debian or Ubuntu, install the .deb package).
- 2
Copy the IWAD from your copy of the game into the GZDoom folder, or leave it where Steam installed it; GZDoom searches the Steam library folders itself.
- 3
Run gzdoom. If it finds more than one game it shows a picker; choose one and play.
- 4
To play a mod, drag its .wad or .pk3 onto the executable or add it with -file on the command line.
Questions people ask
- Is the GZDoom download safe?
- Yes, as far as provenance and integrity can be proven. The download on this page is GZDoom's own GitHub release (g4.14.2), pinned to a SHA-256 in Recompiled's public lockfile, so you can confirm the file you received is byte for byte what the project published. GZDoom is open source, so anyone can read what the program does. Hash the file on the Verify page before you run it.
- Is GZDoom legal?
- Yes. GZDoom is an open-source reimplementation of the game's engine, and the download contains none of Doom: it reads the game from a copy you already own. What is not legal is obtaining a ROM or disc image you do not own, and Recompiled never hosts or links to one.
- Do I need the original game to play Doom with GZDoom?
- Yes. GZDoom contains none of Doom, so you need a copy you already own: An IWAD from your copy of Doom, Doom II or another supported game. The What you need section says exactly what to supply. Nothing you supply leaves your machine.