Hey bfosterjr,
as I'm currently working on packing all those nifty games for my
RT Desktop Store, i was wondering, because you did it with the doom port here:
Do you think it would be ok to include the game files for all the games, where one can find a shareware installer? Adding your disclaimer of course, saying that I will remove the game files from the packages if someone objects?
I guess this is a somewhat gray area?
Greetings,
Fasin
P.S.: Thanks for all those great ports! So many i didn't really see until i started packaging them. I hope you have already taken a look at my store client and put it to good use
If it's actually shareware - that is, licensed for free (gratis) non-commercial redistribution - that would *probably* be fine, but I'd still be hesitant unless the license very explicitly allowed re-use of the game files. Also, bear in mind that the demo/shareware data files for some of the games don't work properly with clones or ports meant to run the full game.
For doom and its source ports, the entire game content goes into 1 file. All doom source ports to date have been backward compatible with original content files including PrBoom. Although some do add new features, PrBoom has additional scripting that can be added to wad files that will cause the wad to be unloadable in non boom compatible ports.
Doom 1 does have a shareware demo available, it only includes the first of the games 3 episodes (there was a later release called ultimate doom with a 4th). Doom 2 didnt have a shareware release. Hexen and strife did have shareware releases. Check the external links
http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Shareware for the shareware installers. If you install them you should be able to rip the wads from there, although the installer is 16 bit so wont run on 64bit windows.
Doom 1 and 2's full versions are available on steam and you can just use DOOM.WAD (note lack of 1) or DOOM2.WAD from those just fine in source ports.
I personally have Ultimate Doom, DOOM2 and heretic wad files, although they are not shareware versions so I'll be keeping hold of those, sorry.
I cant find the exact license terms for the doom wad files anymore though so I would be cautious.
Installation of wad files from a legit game copy to a source port is as simple as copying DOOM.WAD from the root directory of the original game (which itself is in another folder on the steam release as the steam version is the original dos version wrapped in DosBox) and sticking it in the root directory of the source port. Run the source port, done.
GzDoom is my favourite doom source port, although has an OpenGL based renderer instead of the classic software one.
Another option is freedoom.
http://www.nongnu.org/freedoom/
It is an open source wad file that doesnt require original game files to run. Aims to recreate doom 2. Just stick their wad in PrBoom (which does fully support it, think freedoom actually targets PrBoom).
