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id Releases Open Source Wolfenstein 3D for the iPhone

Posted by Soulskill on from the ach-mein-leben dept.

An anonymous reader writes "id Software has released a port of the classic Wolfenstein FPS to the iPhone. Some of the coding was done by John Carmack himself, who also used original code combined with new code from Wolf3D Redux. The original code was open sourced years ago, and enthusiasts have been updating it, which made the port considerably easier for id. It's available in the iTunes App Store, but the source is available for free at id's website." Carmack also posted a detailed writeup about the decision to bring Wolf3D to the iPhone, including design notes and a few snippets of code. At the end, he says, "I'm going back to Rage for a while, but I do expect Classic Doom to come fairly soon for the iPhone." Kotaku got a chance to try the game at GDC: "It's not just a good reproduction of the original, it seems better."

12 of 232 comments (clear)

  1. a new index by caffeinemessiah · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Plus 5 to the 'nostalgic games' index of computing power that is cheaply available.

    --
    An old-timer with old-timey ideas.
  2. Wasn't that the.... by mark-t · · Score: 2, Insightful

    .... original FPS that started the whole trend?

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    1. Re:Wasn't that the.... by Enderandrew · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What really gets me is how Ultima Underworld never gets the credit it deserves. It shipped before Wolfenstein 3D, and was a better game to boot.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_Underworld

      You could look up and down, you could jump, swim, examine objects, interact with objects, there were RPG stats, etc. Gameplay was non-linear, and there was even an honest-to-goodness story. Lighting was dynamic, and there was even auto-map.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Spector

      Spector never gets the respect he is due either.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    2. Re:Wasn't that the.... by Zeio · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There was also a 486 DX 50, a fairly rare part which had a bus speed of 50MHz (not a DX2), and used to "OC" the VESA (VLB) local bus as well. This chip was seen in many EISA systems at the time and needed extra cooling.

      I had a buddy with a 486 DX50, and it was a fast system for the time, It was faster in a lot of ways than a 486DX2/66.

      The best was playing Wing Commander on these systems, it was way too fast :)

      --
      Legalize the constitution. Think for yourself question authority.
  3. So what? by Hatta · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Doom already runs on Rockbox. If the iPhone were an open platform, this would have happened a long time ago.

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    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  4. Your comment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Your comment is a comment

  5. Oh wow! Who gives a crap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Posting as a coward because I will get flamed about this no doubt, but does there have to be a slashdot article about every single application/game/whatever made available on the iPhone?

    I remember playing Doom on a Nokia 4 years ago, have played Wolf3D, Doom and Quake on Windows Mobile some time ago as well. And before that, I even played them all on a computer! Wow!

    Just because its now available for the iPhone does not make it news.

    Isn't this supposed to be "news for nerds, stuff that matters" ? Articles like this belong at "fanbois for Apple, stuff that's outdated". Real nerds don't use Apple.

  6. Re:I think the Wolf3D Redux guy made a big mistake by Paralizer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I thought the same thing. If he's still a developer, he really missed a huge opportunity. On the other hand, he can still say that some of his work was used in a commercial game for the iPhone, selected by Carmack himself, which is a pretty cool thing to be able to put on your resume.

  7. Re:So when... by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Or beat him with the club you used to kill the baby seal

    Just club him with the baby seal. It has a little more zest to it.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Re:$5 in the App Store, FREE from Cydia by Mr+Stubby · · Score: 2, Insightful

    To thank the maker for his work? This wasn't just a dirty port with an almost unusable interface like quake etc (last time i tried it it may have improved). Some work actually went into making it playable, the configurable interface and sensitivy lets you get it working just right for your style and it actually plays quite well. I've got no problems giving JC some pocket change for not just bringing the game to the iphone but actually making it fun/easy to play.

  9. Re:So when... by lxs · · Score: 2, Insightful

    IIRC there were plenty of Bad Fascist Gunners in Wolfenstein.

  10. Re:not free if you can't jailbreak by Blackdognight · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Come on people. Pay the $5. This is the exactly kind of behavior we keep asking for! They're releasing the source and not treating us like we're all thieves. Let's reward them for giving us the benefit of the doubt.

    Besides, if you could afford to buy yourself an iPhone or iPod touch, you can likely afford it. (Especially considering what ATT charges for data packages.)