This year I’m doing a charity run for Extra Life to help kids at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Extra Life Game Day is this week, November 7 to 15. To go with my fundraiser, I built something for everyone to play: Wolf3D Reloaded.
It’s Wolfenstein 3-D and Spear of Destiny rebuilt as a 32-bit DOS game, with things the 1992 original never had: four-player co-op and deathmatch over the internet, twice the resolution, distance shading, and sound effects that don’t cut each other off. It comes ready to play on Mac, Windows and Linux: download, double-click, done.
And it’s free, whether you donate or not. If you enjoy it and can spare a few dollars for the kids, the donate link is at the bottom. If you can’t, enjoy the game anyway.
What’s new
Multiplayer, finally
Up to four players, co-op or deathmatch. Pick Network Game from the main menu, and the host sets the episode, map, skill, frag limit and whether enemies show up. Everyone else picks Join a game and types the host’s address.
Only one machine needs to be reachable: the host’s, or a dedicated server. W3DRSERV relays games without playing in them, and there’s a version for Mac, Windows and Linux below. Your friends show up as a brand new, hand-drawn BJ.
Twice the pixels
The game now renders at 640×400, twice the original resolution, and falls back to 320×200 by itself on slow PCs. Distance shading makes walls, enemies and floors fade into shadow as they get farther away; press S on the Change View screen to turn it off.
And the rest
- Sound mixing: up to 8 sound effects at once.
- Bigger levels: 600 enemies, 1024 objects, 128 doors.
- Optional textured floors and ceilings if you like that look: press F on the Change View screen.
- Ready-made packages with the DOSBox Staging emulator built in, and a floppy installer for real retro PCs.
Underneath it’s still the Wolfenstein you remember.
Download
Free, no strings attached.
Play the free shareware episode now
Episode one is included. Download, open, play.
Own Wolfenstein 3-D or Spear of Destiny?
These versions use your own game files: the first time you start one, it asks for the folder they’re in (from Steam, GOG or the original disks).
Wolf3D Reloaded
Spear of Destiny Reloaded
Run a server
W3DRSERV, the dedicated multiplayer server:
For real DOS PCs and your own emulator setup
The programs zip has WOLF3DR, SOD3DR, WOLF3DRS and the server for DOS. The floppy is a 1.44 MB install image with the shareware episode.
First launch: the apps aren’t signed by Apple or Microsoft, so your computer will ask once. On a Mac, open the app, click Done, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. On Windows, click More info and then Run anyway.
Should you donate to Extra Life?
Short answer: if you can spare a few dollars, yes. Here’s why.
Extra Life is the gaming fundraiser of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. People play games and their friends sponsor them, and the money goes to their local children’s hospital. Mine supports Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio. Hospitals spend it on treatment and care, pediatric equipment, and care for families who can’t pay, often wherever the need is greatest right now.
- It stays local. Your donation goes to a children’s hospital in my community, not somewhere abstract.
- Any amount helps. Five dollars is a fine donation.
- It’s tax-deductible in the U.S. Children’s Miracle Network is a 501(c)(3) charity.
- It’s optional. The game is free whether you donate or not. Nothing is locked, now or later.
My fundraiser
I’m raising money on Tiltify through social media, livestreams and a video series about retro games and physical media. My goal is $2,000 over the next six weeks.
Stretch goals
If we blow past $2,000, I’ll keep building. Each stretch goal adds a new multiplayer mode to Wolf3D Reloaded:
- $2,500: I’ll add capture the flag to the game.
- $3,000: I’ll add multiplayer treasure hunting to the game.
Like the rest of the game, both modes will be free for everyone, whether or not you donated. Here’s where it stands right now. It updates live, and each goal lights up when we pass it:
- $2,500 Capture the flag mode $2,315 to go
- $3,000 Multiplayer treasure hunting Locked
Don’t have spare cash? Sharing this post helps too.
Credits
Wolfenstein 3-D is by id Software, built from their 1995 source release under its limited-use licence, so Wolf3D Reloaded is free and can’t be sold. The 32-bit port is by Moritz Kroll and Chris Chokan, with Open Watcom and DOS/32A work by Tobias Karnat. Multiplayer, graphics, sound and the rest by YeOldPress. The packages include DOSBox Staging.
