Any fans of the classic first-person shooter DOOM who think the game could benefit from a fresh coat of paint are in luck. Although DOOM has lived on with several sequels and expansions, many gamers still long for the nostalgia of the original. A mod called "Beautiful Doom" refreshes the game's original graphics without compromising their classic appeal. The mod requires the GZDoom source port to run, but otherwise seamlessly improves the overall visual quality of the game while preserving its retro look.
A large percentage of the modern modding community cut its teeth on DOOM 2 when its source code was made public shortly after its release, which was an unprecedented move at the time. It offered its growing community of fans and future developers a prime opportunity to build and test out mods on a major mainstream title. As a result, the DOOM community has continued to thrive. Players are still picking up the dated but nonetheless classic original titles with current tech mods doing everything from giving the DOOM games improved controls to transforming them entirely into horror games. But some prefer to keep things as close to the original as possible, with mods that provide the sort of effects that the early technology of the 90s simply couldn't provide.
A modder under the alias Jekyll Grim Payne is one of those purists, who set out to keep DOOM in its original aesthetic, and enhancing the graphics and gameplay where possible. Their creation, the Beautiful DOOM mod, first began taking shape in 2008, but has undergone significant improvements and updates over time. The most current iteration of the mod, according to PCGamesn, shows many of the ways the mod works to polish the somewhat rougher edges of the original, from smoother environment textures and improved animations. It also adds special effects like smoke, fire, lighting effects, and animated blood and gore. Behind the scenes, weapons also benefit from smoother animations, and some enhanced guns are rebalanced, which, along with the original "vanilla" guns offer greater tactical freedom.
Apart from the improved graphics and animations, Beautiful DOOM (since it's running on the GZDoom source port) also features the ability to look up and down, which wasn't possible in the original. A few controls like the ability to jump, crouch, and slide also make the game more dynamic, and the gore addon makes it as bloody as any fan could possibly want — all while retaining the original DOOM's retro appeal. The faint of heart, on the other hand, will take some solace in knowing that the gore feature, along with any of the other elements, can be disabled, which is also good news for players who want to combine the mod with others. [Updated 25/03/21: This paragraph has been updated to more accurately explain the additions Beautiful DOOM includes.]
So players who want a polished version of DOOM can pick up Beautiful DOOM on Moddb or Github for free but must bear in mind that the mod is compatible only with GZDoom, not any other open-source port, and requires it to work. It can be combined with other mods if needed, but with over 13 years of development behind it to enhance every element of gameplay, what other mods are needed? For now, it's a great way to pass time until DOOM Eternal's upcoming DLC is finally released.
Source: PCGamesn, Jekyll_Grim_Payne, AndroidFerret ANIMALS'N GAMES/Youtube