In a surprise update, Bethesda has added support for fan-made mod Add-ons, increased frame rate, and quick-saving to both Doom (1993) and Doom 2’s latest rereleases on all platforms, including mobile and Nintendo Switch. The Doom and Doom 2 update released for free today on Switch, Xbox One, PC, PS4, iOS, and Android, allowing for 60 FPS play and more. In this guide, we’ll cover the big additions from the update and provide the full Doom and Doom 2 update patch notes.
Doom and Doom 2 Update | Add-on support
While these updates make a ton of changes to both games, the most significant is the introduction of Add-on support. This allows players on any platform to download fan-made “WADs” and “megawads” (level packs), professionally quality tested by Bethesda. This could essentially allow for a continuous stream of free DLC for both games. Bethesda has already highlighted one of the Add-on packs coming to Doom Classic: SIGIL, a WAD released in 2019 by original Doom designer John Romero. At the time of the update’s launch, TNT: Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment are available as Add-ons for both Doom Classic and Doom 2, and No Rest for the Living is available for Doom 2.
ALSO: PSA: Doom Classic and Doom 2 on GOG and Steam aren’t receiving the latest updates
To download Add-ons, players need to sign into their Bethesda.net accounts in either game’s menu and select “Download” on the Add-on they’re interested in. Each Add-on can then be switched on and off (allowing players to switch between Add-ons or back to vanilla Doom) by selecting “Toggle Activation” and exiting back to the main menu. While players need to be logged into a Bethesda account to download the Add-ons, you can safely play offline once it’s downloaded without worry of being kicked from the game.
Doom and Doom 2 Update | 60 FPS support & graphical changes
With the update, both Doom Classic and Doom 2 now support 60 FPS play, up from their original 35 FPS. This should help things look and run more smoothly, not only because of the higher frame count, but because 60 FPS aligns better with most modern consoles’ 60 Hz refresh rates.
In addition to the frame rate increase, Doom and Doom 2 now have a new aspect ratio option to stretch the display to a 4:3 aspect ratio, more closely matching the games’ original look. Several other graphical changes have been made, like two new lighting settings adjusters and a more minimalistic split screen HUD. Notably, the games are now displayed in 640×400 resolution on the Nintendo Switch in order to allow for 60 FPS play and better battery life (presumably in handheld mode only).
Doom and Doom 2 Update | Gameplay and quality-of-life improvements
Finally, the updates introduce several changes that should make playing both games a smoother experience. A quick-save system allows for less interruptions during tough sections, a level select lets players choose which stages they want to play without clearing previous ones, a weapon carousel speeds up weapon swapping, and weapons have been mapped to the D-pad for even faster swaps. All of these changes are detailed in Bethesda’s official patch notes and FAQ below.
Doom and Doom 2 Update | Full patch notes
Dear Doomers,
We’ll be deploying an update today for Doom & Doom II on all platforms that includes Add-on Support including John Romero’s SIGIL, 60FPS, Added Aspect Ratio Options, Quick Save and Load, Level Select, plus a ton of QOL features and performance optimization.
Patch Highlights
Add-on Support: Add-ons can now be downloaded and played from the main menu. We will continue to add content that is a mixture of official Doom and Doom 2 add-ons, as well as some of the best community episodes and megawads released for the original Doom games. We’ve curated the initial list and will be asking you guys for your picks for best community made wads soon! Check out the FAQ below for more info!
60 FPS Support: For the first time, Doom and Doom II now run at 60 FPS on all platforms, instead of 35 FPS as in the original releases.
Added Aspect Ratio Option: Stretches the display vertically to match the original 4:3 aspect ratio that the game was intended to be played in.
Added Quick Save and Load: Pause the game, and press R/R1/RB to immediately save where you are, and unpause the game. Load your quick save by pausing the game and then pressing L/L1/LB.
Added Level Select: Pick an episode, map, and difficulty of your choosing, and immediately play on it without having to clear the previous levels first.
Added Weapon Carousel: You no longer need to cycle through every weapon to get to the one you want. Press Previous or Next Weapon to highlight the weapon you want, and it will swap immediately to the selected gun.
Added Quick Weapon Select: The Directional Pad can now be used to quickly swap between weapons.
- Up: Shotgun and Super Shotgun
- Right: Chaingun
- Down: Rocket Launcher
- Left: Plasma Gun
Added Overall Brightness and Level Brightness: Turn up Overall Brightness to make the colors brighter, but if that isn’t enough, you can also raise Level Brightness to change the brightness of the lights in the world.
Added Random SFX Pitch Toggle: Turn off randomized sound pitches during playback, which was a feature present in early versions of the original Doom release.
New split screen HUD: A minimal HUD will be used when playing split screen multiplayer. The bottom status bar is removed, allowing more room for the game to be displayed in.
Changes
Changed Health Graphics: The pill has been changed into a green plus, making the graphics closer to their original appearance.
Changed Wolfenstein Secret Level: Enemies in the Wolfenstein level have been restored to the original DOS release. The original textures and enemy audio have been re-added to the level, but with [censored] references removed.
Performance Optimization
- Several optimizations to Doom’s software renderer have been made in order to better support 60 FPS and increase battery life.
- Game rendering resolution on Nintendo Switch version now displays at 640×400 to support 60 FPS and improved battery life.
- Improved behavior when starting the game out of sleep mode. There still may be cases that cause the game to lock up after awakening.
- Sped up various UI animations to make navigating through menus quicker.
Fixes
- Fixed an issue from the original DOS release where map objects would not correctly track the player after loading a saved game. This also fixes an occasional crash with loading a save game with an active BFG projectile.
- Fixed an issue where the game would skip ahead several tics after unpausing.
- Fixed an issue where attract mode demos would desync, causing demo playback to deviate from the original DOS release.
- The trophy for “When I’m With You” for beating every level on Nightmare in co-operative mode has been fixed and will now be awarded properly.
Technical Info
- XB1 Patch Size: 508 MB (Doom Fresh Install) / 503 MB (Doom II Fresh Install) / 454 MB (Doom from live patch)/ 460 MB (Doom II from live patch)
- PS4 Patch Size: 381.504 MB (Doom NA & EU SKUs) / 377.152 MB (Doom II NA & EU SKUs)
- Switch Patch Size: 378.536 MG (both Doom / Doom II)
- Android Patch Size: 343 MB (Doom) / 399 MB (Doom II)
- iOS Patch Size: 365.5 MB (Doom) / 352.2 MB (Doom II)
- PC Storage Size: 382 MB (Doom) / 378 MB (Doom II)
Known Issues
- Due to the new features included in this patch, the min spec for iPhone has been updated from iOS 11 to iOS 13. If you are unable to update to the latest patch, please install iOS 13.
- I own the game on iOS, but don’t have an iOS/iPad OS 13 capable device. Can I still play the game?
If you own the game, you can still play the previous version of the game on iOS 11 and 12, but won’t be able to play Update 3 until you have an iOS/iPad OS 13 capable device. If you have uninstalled the game, you can reinstall the previous version from the “Purchased” tab in the App Store. - The Doom II Achievement/Trophy “The City” (Beat all the city levels – MAPS 12-20) does not unlock when taking the Secret Exit in MAP15: The Industrial Zone in the Single Player Campaign. Workaround – If you’re gunning for that trophy, please elect to skip the secret exit in MAP15: The Industrial Zone and you should have no problem getting it after completing MAP20.
