Frequently Asked Questions

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General Questions

Why Odamex?

Odamex follows the philosophy of the free software movement. We feel that as a community we can make our software better. Since we feel so strongly about this belief we have chosen to release the Odamex source code under the GNU GPLv2 license.

Will Odamex support advanced features?

That depends entirely on what you consider advanced features. Odamex strives for full Boom compatibility and also has other enhancements over regular Doom such as mouselook and jumping (which can both be turned off on the server level). Due to license conflicts, all Hexen source had to be removed or replaced.

Requirements

What platforms can Odamex run on?

Odamex has been tested and has been confirmed to compile and run on the following operating systems and chipsets:

Intel x86

• Windows NT family (Vista, XP, 2000, 2003)
• Windows 9x family (98, 95, Me)
• Linux
• FreeBSD
• OpenBSD
• Solaris
• Mac OS X

PowerPC

• Mac OS X
• Linux

SPARC

• Solaris

If your operating system and chipset combination is not listed above, however, this does not necessarily mean that Odamex will not run on it. Odamex was designed with portability in mind, and it may very well run on your favorite system and we may not even know it. If you can get Odamex to compile and run on an operating system/chipset combination not listed here, please let us know.

Are there any set hardware requirements?

Not really. Given the software requirements being fulfilled, Odamex has run on pretty much everything we've thrown at it. If you can find a hardware combination that fulfills the software requirements but that Odamex will not run on, let us know.

What data files are required?

Odamex requires a resource file from Doom or Doom 2 in order to play online. The most common resource files needed to play are:

Resource	Title	Version	Availability
DOOM1.WAD	Doom 1: Knee-Deep in the Dead	v1.9	shareware
DOOM.WAD	Ultimate Doom	v1.9	commercial
DOOM2.WAD	Doom II	v1.9	commercial
TNT.WAD	Final Doom: TNT Evilution	v1.9	commercial
PLUTONIA.WAD	Final Doom: The Plutonia Experiment	v1.9	commercial
FREEDOOM.WAD	FreeDoom	v0.5	free

The version number is important. There are several versions of most of these resource files floating around, and resources from one version may not work with another, so for consistencies sake the latest version is assumed. If you have a copy of Doom Collectors Edition or a version of Ultimate Doom or Doom 2 that is for Windows 95, then you are using the latest version of those resource files. If you have a copy of Doom or Doom 2 for DOS, please patch your resource file to the latest version.

The following are free to download and use:

• FreeDoom - "The Freedoom project aims to create a complete Doom-based game which is Free Software."
• Doom Shareware - "The wad that started it all!" (v1.9)

Playability

What's up with this? I can't connect to some of the servers!

Since Odamex is still in alpha stages, updates to the codebase are frequent. There are some servers which are running out-of-date versions of Odamex, some that are running the latest public release of Odamex, and some that are running SVN versions of Odamex. We suggest that all servers and clients run the latest public (non-SVN) release of Odamex unless they are specificly marked as development servers. If you see someone running an older version, please contact the server maintainer.

Movement seems to be jerky. Watching people move from one place to another is like watching a slideshow!

Pardon our mess. =) As Odamex is still in development, we are still working on the netcode, and trying to find the best combination of smooth gameplay, reliability and exploit prevention. However, as you can probably tell, it's not quite there yet. Rest assured, as Odamex's development continues, the quality of the netcode will continue to improve until it is considered acceptable.

There seems to be some weird behavior in general. Odamex acts funny/disconnects me unexpectedly/crashes/other bad things.

Bugs, unfortuniatly, are a real and present part of software development. Odamex is no exception. The good news, however, is that you - yes you - reguardless of software development or prior experience, can help us track down and fix these bugs. Please read the section on Bugs for more information on how you can help.

Help! Everyone moves too fast and I get killed within seconds!

Please read the article about gameplay for a short introduction to Doom's very unique style of Deathmatch.

I am a veteran doom2.exe player. What does Odamex offer me?

With the default server configuration, Odamex offers a client/server multiplayer environment that closely emulates the standard gameplay mechanics created by id Software back in 1993 with the initial release of Doom.

I love enhanced gameplay and features. What does Odamex offer me?

Players who prefer an enhanced experience to Doom can play in teamplay modes, such as Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. They also have the option to jump and to use freelook to guide their vertical aiming on servers which allow it (see allowfreelook and allowjump).

Security

What is being done about the security of Odamex?

• Multiple master support has been added to protect our network
• All important communication paths have challenge/response spoof protection
• rcon_password uses MD5 digest so that passwords are not sent in plain text

How will cheaters be dealt with?

See the cheating page.

Development

When will Odamex be released?

There is currently no definitive date for a release. However, you can catch up on Odamex progress by reading the development roadmap and viewing the changelog.

I want to contribute to Odamex! What can I do to help?

There are many things you can do to contribute to Odamex. You could help by reporting bugs or by spreading the word around to your friends. If you are a programmer you can submit patches to the development team for possible inclusion in the next revision.

I found a bug! What should I do?

See Bugs for more information.

Misc

What does the name 'Odamex' mean?

The word Odamex is not necessarily an acronym. It is not represented as such anywhere in the application or this website. However, it was originally thought of as such, so included below are some ideas of what it could be:

• What fraggle says when he is trying to get X working in Linux. "<fraggle> oh, damn X!"
• "Oh! Yes! Fur!" as read in Russian
• Online Doom Multiplayer EXperience