Bethesda ported the first two Doom games to Android (and consoles, and PCs) late last year, as part of the 25th anniversary of the franchise. The re-release had a rocky start, especially with a required online login, but that and other bugs have been ironed out. Now the ports are getting feature updates on all platforms, including Android.
The headline feature is support for custom WAD files, which is how the Doom community created and shared their own levels back in the day. While a variety of popular WADs will be available for download in-game through Bethesda.net, you can also copy them to the game's storage folder. On Android, that's located at /Android/Data/com.Bethsoft.DOOM/files/WADs.
"Because of the age of these games and the fractured nature of the DOOM community," the company wrote in a forum post, "Every Add-on we make available [through Bethesda.net] will be fully tested by our QA and verified to work on all platforms. That means you can’t upload them yourselves. But we’ve already begun tracking down members of the DOOM community to discuss releasing their Add-ons, and hope to release many more in the future."
Only WADs created for the original Doom and Doom II games are compatible, but even features like custom sound should work, as Bethesda has added real-time MIDI playback to the game. Some of the WADs already available for download include TNT: Evilution, The Plutonia Experiment (both part of Final Doom), SIGIL, and No Rest for the Living. SIGIL was created in 2019 by legendary game designer John Romero, and No Rest for the Living was made by Nerve Software for Doom II's release on the Xbox Live Arcade.
Other technical improvements include a 60FPS mode, aspect ratio options, quick save/load, a level select inside episodes, a weapon carousel, a quick weapon select on the D-Pad (when playing with a controller), and other features. It's nice to see what originally seemed like a half-baked port continue to be improved, though if you're looking for an engine overhaul, third-party upgrades like zDoom are still better options.
