Odamex

Odamex 0.5.0 is the first major version release in over two years and introduces dozens of bug fixes, new features, and useful optimizations for server administrators and players alike.

Improved netplay will be the most noticable optimizations for most users in Odamex 0.5. Default rate caps have been raised for both client and server which allows for bandwidth intensive coop games (Scythe 2 Map25 for instance) and large ffa games. In theory, a non-coop server with appropriate bandwidth would be able to host almost a hundred players without issue. While that may sound excessive, it just shows what Odamex is now capable of. Other changes made are related to various map and item/weapon desyncs.

A very important change for server administrators comes with reorganized cvars. Most server variables now begin with the sv_* prefix (not all however). An extensive listing of these variables and their usage can be found on the server variable page on the Odawiki. The logfile console command has been reimplemented for server and client. Servers can now also set a "Message of the Day" for connecting clients. More information on basic server settings can be found on the Odawiki.

Odamex 0.5.0 includes an improved server protocol as well as an updated launcher interface. The Odamex Launcher now includes graphical ping indicators and a server information window which displays version, revision, any dehacked patches running on the server, and all server variables.

There are way too many changes to Odamex 0.5 to describe them all here! Check out a more extensive list on the release page or the complete listing using our svn changelog.


There are still a few bad bugs affecting clients on Windows platforms, particularly Windows Vista and Windows 7. Despite many efforts to resolve these issues, we have not been able to come to any solutions. In light of this, here are some recommended work arounds:


Q: My mouse feels weird and seems to decelerate in Odamex. It makes it difficult for me to play sometimes, is there a way to fix this?

A: The Odamex team has been attacking this bug for quite a while and believe we are closing to fixing it, but have to provide workarounds for now. Odamex uses two types of video drivers on Windows, the default windib (gdi) and directx. Without going into too much detail, DirectX interprets mouse input independent of video resolution and, as a result, has proven to be much more reliable an option for some users. To set the Odamex video driver from gdi to directx from the Odamex Launcher, goto File > Settings, and locate the "Extra command line arguments" box. Inside the box type "-directx" without quotations.


Q: When I try to turn down the music, the sound turns off as well! How can I turn down the music without affecting sound volume?

A: Unfortunately, Microsoft changed the way midi and sound volumes are controlled in Windows Vista/7. Due to these changes, SDL cannot independently lower midi volume without affecting all wave sound formats. For now, the best recommended solution is to run Odamex without music at all. To do this from the Odamex Launcher, go to File > Settings, and locate the "Extra command line arguments" box. Inside the box type "-nomusic" without quotations.


The Odamex team would like to remind our users that the Odamex project thrives off of user input, particularly when it comes to resolving bugs in the engine. If you would like to be involved in helping Odamex's development move forward, please take a moment to sign up for the Odamex Bug Tracker. The team refers to the bug tracker to determine how development should move forward. If you come across something odd or broken that is not already listed or resolved in the tracker, please submit as much information as you can! Odamex can only succeed with the help of dedicated users!

If you are interested in tracking official Odamex news more easily, you can subscribe to updates in a variety of ways:

1) You can subscribe to the Odamex releases rss feed.

2) Subscribe to the new Odamex Mailing List, which will give you immediate updates on Odamex bugs and their status as changes occur. You can do this by signing up here or email odamex-bug-reporter-request@freelists.org with "subscribe" in the subject field.

3) You can receive email alerts on official Odamex releases (requires a sourceforge account or an openid).

   Over the past few months, Odamex development has come to a grinding halt as our lead developer and other notable people who worked on the code have been caught up with other things. The Odamex team is looking for someone to join up and be able to take the reigns on a project with so much potential. This person should have a solid grasp of C++ and, experience with net code, not easily defeated by frustration, and as a plus, knowledge of the Doom engine.

   Odamex is the most popular client/server Doom engine that is licensed under the GPL. Founded in 2005, Odamex still does many things that the other popular multiplayer engines do not, including but not limited to, on-the-fly wad loading (allowing for servers with an infinite number of maps in rotation) and wad downloading. Odamex has been ported to just about every platform that supports SDL, even including consoles like the XBox.

   Ultimately, I'm making the post because there is a significant player base looking for Odamex to be better. The players want it, but Odamex is not where it needs to be yet to support them. The engine is in a good position but still needs work put in to make it as great as it can be.

   As far as immediate concerns, Odamex needs to get to version 0.5. There's a list of bugs that we wish to have closed before 0.5 is released. We are seeking patches for all of these bugs.

   If you feel that you can help the Odamex project and its community, please contact me by email, through our message boards, or through irc (irc.oftc.net #odamex). There are many players that need your help!

The Odamex Bug Tracker Cleanup Initiative is back! The initiative is being revived in light of a clouded bug tracker which was being bogged down with duplicates and bugs which were already resolved. With the help of you, the user, we can aid the Odamex programmers by creating a healthier, more manageable project. This will certainly help speed up Odamex's development and growth.

Getting involved is easy! Read More...

The fifth, and likely, the last release in the 0.4.X series of Odamex, 0.4.4 introduces some important fixes for server administrators and players.

Odamex 0.4.4 comes with the usual code optimization and bug fixes, as well as improvements related to client/server sector desyncs and dehacked support.

The Odamex client comes with a few fixes which include weapon sorting issues, a working reimplementation of spynext in coop, server disconnects, and crashes which affected Linux users.

Important changes for server administrators are included in 0.4.4, including fixes for a variety of memory leaks which were found since the release of 0.4.3. Odamex 0.4.4 also corrects a crash which occured on win32 machines when using the "clearmaplist" command. It appears that the infamous bug which spawned random objects in capture the flag mode has potentially been resolved as well.

An additional cvar, sv_unblockplayers, allows server administrators to make it so that players may pass through eachother. This may be useful to prevent players from stopping forward progression by problematic players in cooperative mode.

The launcher received a significant number of fixes and optimizations since the last version, notably with improved Mac OSX support.

There's much more technical and smaller fixes in this release! Check out a more extensive list in the release page or the complete listing using our svn changelog.

The Odamex team would like to remind our users that the Odamex project thrives off of user input, particularly when it comes to resolving bugs in the engine. If you would like to be involved in helping Odamex's development move forward, please take a moment to sign up for the Odamex Bug Tracker. The team refers to the bug tracker to determine how development should move forward. If you come across something odd or broken that is not listed in the tracker, please submit as much information as you can! Odamex can only truly succeed with the help of dedicated users!

If you are interested in tracking official Odamex news releases more easily, you can subscribe to updates in a variety of ways:

1) You can subscribe to the Odamex releases rss feed.

2) You can receive email alerts (requires a sourceforge account or an openid).

3) Join the Odamex Facebook group.