Compatible IWAD
An IWAD - short for Internal WAD - is the main resource file for a Doom-engine game, containing all the game's original sounds, levels, and graphics. ZDoom needs an IWAD file in order to play; without one the ZDoom engine has no game data to use.
Contents
Supported IWADs
Notes:
- Some file names are links to a page on the Doom Wiki where you will find checksums for known versions of the concerned file.
- Some files have conflicting names; ZDoom provides you with possible aliases. Note that an IWAD is actually identified by its content rather than its name. Also, any archive format supported by ZDoom can technically be an IWAD.
Commercial games
Game | Name | File name | File aliases | Notes and download links |
---|---|---|---|---|
Doom (Registered) | doom.wad | Commercial game: buy on GOG.com; buy on Steam | ||
The Ultimate Doom | doom.wad | doomu.wad | ||
Doom "BFG Edition" | doom.wad | bfgdoom.wad, doombfg.wad | Commercial game included with Doom 3: BFG Edition ( buy on Steam) | |
Doom II | doom2.wad | Commercial game: buy on GOG.com; buy on Steam | ||
Doom II "BFG Edition" | doom2.wad | bfgdoom2.wad, doom2bfg.wad | Commercial game included with Doom 3: BFG Edition, also loads nerve.wad ( buy on Steam) | |
Final Doom — TNT: Evilution | tnt.wad | Commercial game: buy on GOG.com; buy on Steam | ||
Final Doom — The Plutonia Experiment | plutonia.wad | |||
French Doom II | doom2f.wad | Commercial game, available at Doomworld/idgames | ||
Heretic (Registered or Commercial) | heretic.wad | hereticsr.wad | Commercial game: buy on Steam | |
File:MiniHexenLogoIcon.png | Hexen (Full) | hexen.wad | Commercial game: buy on Steam | |
Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel | hexdd.wad | Commercial game: buy on Steam | ||
File:MiniStrifeLogoIcon.png | Strife (Full) | strife1.wad | strife.wad | Commercial game, also loads voices.wad: buy on GOG.com; buy on Steam |
Strife: Veteran Edition | sve.wad | Commercial game, also loads voices.wad: buy on GOG.com; buy on Steam | ||
Chex Quest | chex.wad | Commercial game no longer sold |
Free-to-play games
ZDoom will detect any of those present in its search path and let you choose at startup which game to play (if it doesn't, see the FAQ). In addition to them, some "total conversion"-type mods, such as Wolfenstein 3D TC, can be played as their own IWAD; however since they are not detected as such by ZDoom, you need to use the -iwad command line parameter.
In order to play a custom level designed for any of the above games you have to have that particular game's full IWAD (loading PWAD with shareware, demo or teaser versions is disabled). If you do not have the necessary IWAD, or if you have an old, unpatched version of the IWAD in question, you will get an error message on startup. (But often old versions are accepted too.)
The IWAD file(s) should be placed in a directory where ZDoom will find them. This includes the same directory as the ZDoom executable, as well as those pointed to by the DOOMWADDIR environment variable. You may also configure other directories for ZDoom to search in the zdoom.ini file. On Linux, the directories $HOME/.zdoom and /usr/local/share are checked by default. Finally, if you have bought a supported game from GOG.com or Steam, ZDoom is able to find the IWADs directly in their installation folder and you do not need to move or copy them to ZDoom's folder.
Obtaining IWADs
As noted aboved, some IWADs can be downloaded freely; however most "full" games are not and must be bought from one of the following sources:
- GOG.com
- This store offers downloadable versions of Ultimate Doom, Doom II: Hell on Earth (bundled with Final Doom and the Master Levels for Doom II), and Strife. The Final Doom version offered is the later Anthology version, which fixes many mapping errors (such as the infamous missing key in TNT MAP31).
- Steam
- This store offers downloadable versions of Ultimate Doom, Doom II: Hell on Earth, Final Doom, Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders, Hexen: Beyond Heretic, Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel, and Strife; as well as the Master Levels for Doom II which is a set of PWAD, not an IWAD.
- Warning: following the release of Doom 3: BFG Edition, the Master Levels are no longer available to purchase individually but can be bought as part of the Doom Classic Complete Pack.
- Note: The version of Hexen: Death Kings available on Steam is not patched. You need to download and apply the Death Kings 1.1 patch first. (The "readme.txt" file it tries to patch has been renamed readme-dk.txt by Steam, but is not important.) All other IWADs from Steam are fully patched.
- Amazon.com, eBay.com, etc.
- Second-hand copies of the original games can be found on such sites.
- Flea markets, used-games bins in brick-and-mortar stores, etc.
- It's mostly a matter of luck, but they can still sometimes be found this way.
See also
Important Information
Heretic has issues as support is not finished yet, but the game recognizes this as a valid IWAD nonetheless.
As of this writing, FREEDOOM has entered a Phase 1/Phase 2 branch, which means the IWADs will need to be renamed to doom.wad/doom2.wad, until a new version of 3DGE comes out that will patch this issue.
You can also launch a DOOM 1 or DOOM II PWAD with any IWAD that 3DGE can find at the time, but textures might not display properly, as well as certain sounds/enemies/etc. However, since DDF contains all of the entries for all commercial IWADS, you might get a question mark in place (of say, the Chaingunner) if you are doing this method. This does not apply to IWADS. For example, if you are running a PWAD with MAP01 with the DOOM IWAD loaded, 3DGE will display HELL ON EARTH as an additional episode - though textures will be missing (see below).
If you launch 3DGE with DOOM.wad (the executable will assume DOOM 2 takes precedence) with doom2.wad in the same directory, then you can play both DOOM and DOOM II together (Doom 2's episode appears as HELL ON EARTH), and even use (for example) the DOOM 2 Super Shotgun in the first game. You can also freely warp between MAP/EXMX slots - this also works with TNT and PLUTONIA if they are loaded with Doom 1. PWADS that are for DOOM 2, for example, will load with the DOOM 1 IWAD, but certain textures/patches/monsters will not be present that are a part of DOOM 2 (unless the two IWADS are loaded together).