idTech 0

What is it?

Before id Software completely shook the video game industry at the foundations with Doom, they had been making money hand over fist with the release of a game called Wolfenstein 3D. Released in 1992, Wolfenstein 3D was a World War II-themed shooter that positioned itself as a sequel to a pair of popular Apple II games from the early 1980s, Castle Wolfenstein and Beyond Castle Wolfenstein. While it's not the first first person shooter, it was an important step in bringing the genre into the mainstream, with at the time impressive graphics and fast gameplay. While the engine it was built on has no official name, it is sometimes called "idTech 0" in keeping with the naming convention of later id Software engines. The engine is at heart very simple, levels laid out in a 10'x10' grid with a single floor and ceiling height and flat lighting, but tweaks to the engine for various games have added new features.

What's it matter?

While Wolfenstein isn't as famous or popular as Doom, it still maintains a thirty-plus year history with a small but dedicated following and a few very interesting engine licensees. There are source ports for some of these, too, allowing modern players to experience these games in an accessible fashion.

What do I do to play?

While not every idTech 0 game has a source port -- Shadowcaster for example does not -- there are still options for the bigger titles. While some installation processes may vary, for most cases, all you should need to do is find the appropriate source port, drop it in a folder, and make sure the game files can be seen and read by the executable.

What am I looking for?

Here are all the commercial games utilizing idTech0:

Hovertank 3D (1991)

A vehicular combat game where you pilot a hovertank and fight horrid mutants and rescue civilians in the midst of a nuclear war. Using the earliest version of idTech 0, the walls and floors are all simple colors. Developed for a small Louisiana-based software company called Softdisk, which employed most of the founding members of id Software, and Hovertank 3D was one of several games developed by id Software to complete contractual obligations (and likely to avoid being sued for "borrowing" Softdisk computers to work on their own games after hours.) 

 

Catacomb 3D (1991) GOG

Developed for Softdisk, this is a 3D sequel to John Carmack's early fantasy-themed 2D maze game Catacomb and The Catacomb, it's still rather primitive but features textured walls -- fancy! 

 

 

 

Wolfenstein 3D (1992) Steam GOG
Wolf Pack (best value) Steam

While it's nothing like the top-down stealth games that preceded it, it's still full of fast-paced Nazi-killing action with a legacy that has stretched on through the decades. It uses the name with the express blessing of the late, great Castle Wolfenstein developer Silas Warner. Originally sold in two parts, with the original three episodes and a prequel trilogy called "The Nocturnal Missions" sold separately, but every release since has included all six episodes. 

 

Catacomb Abyss (1992) GOG

After id Software completed their contract with Softdisk, the Catacomb series and IP was handed off to their former employers for a series of sequels that don't really add much to the engine but are fun games in their own right. Here's the first one, given away as shareware. 

 

 

Catacomb Armageddon (1992) GOG

The second part in Softdisk's Catacomb sequel trilogy. Originally only available via mail-order, it was released for the retail market by short-lived publisher Froggman under the title Curse of the Catacombs. 

 

 

Catacomb Apocalypse (1993) GOG

The third part in Softdisk's Catacomb sequel trilogy. Originally only available via mail-order, it was released for the retail market by short-lived publisher Froggman under the title Terror of the Catacombs. 

 

 

Spear of Destiny (1992) Steam GOG
Wolf Pack (best value) Steam

A prequel to Wolfenstein 3D, developed for the retail market and published by FormGen, revolving around the mythical spear that supposedly pierced the side of Christ on the cross, now seen as a powerful magical artifact that Hitler intends to use to win the war. Honestly it's a much more consistently solid experience over the original game. 

 

Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold (1993) Steam GOG

A sci-fi spy-themed shooter that plays similar to Wolfenstein 3D but features textured floors and ceilings, informant NPCs you can speak to, and vending machines. 

 

 

 

ShadowCaster (1993)

Raven Games' first shooter, it is a fantasy dungeon crawler that gives the player shapeshifting powers. It's the first game to utilize the Raven Engine, an updated version of idTech 0 developed by John Carmack, with height and lighting variation and sloped floors.

 

 

 

title screen mockup by Kinsie

Return to Danger (1994)

A sequel to Spear of Destiny developed by FormGen, this one features a brand new aesthetic compared to Wolfenstein 3D or Spear of Destiny but is otherwise pretty similar. 

 

 

 

title screen mockup by Kinsie

The Ultimate Challenge (1994)

The second of two Spear of Destiny sequels developed by FormGen, this one maintains the aesthetic change of Return to Danger but is not otherwise radically different.

 

 

 

 

Operation Body Count (1994) Steam GOG

Capstone Software made a lot of bad games. This is one of them, one of the earliest "tactical shooters" with a counter-terrorism theme. It's got a lot of really innovative ideas, the whole thing is just badly designed and held together with twine and a sick kid's dying wish. 

 

 

Super 3D Noah's Ark (1994) Steam GOG

This one probably shouldn't have been allowed to exist. Developed by "Christian" video game developer Wisdom Tree (a secular company that realized you could sell games to weird Christians who only bought Christian shit) it was originally an unlicensed Super Nintendo game that required another game to be plugged in on top in order to bypass the copy protection lockout. Originally intended to be a licensed Hellraiser game for the NES, believe it or not. 

 

Corridor 7: Alien Invasion (1994) Steam GOG

Another Capstone game involving an alien takeover of a government building. Better than Operation Body Count but that's not saying much.  

 

 

Blake Stone: Planet Strike! (1994) Steam GOG

A sequel to Aliens of Gold that follows up where the last game left off. 

 

 

 

 

Rise of the Triad: The HUNT Begins (1994)/Dark War (1995) Steam GOG
Ludicrous Edition Steam GOG
2013 remake Steam GOG 

A cult classic from Apogee Realms, it boasts a greatly expanded version of idTech0. It's still all very orthogonal, but features elevation, panoramic skies, dynamic lighting, fog, and other things. I'm lukewarm on the game itself but the soundtrack is flame. The shareware release, titled The HUNT Begins, is a rare case of the demo being a completely different, separate prequel to the main game. Aside from a remaster in 2023, it also had a remake in 2013. I've linked to both.

 

 

CyClones (1994) Steam GOG

A later Raven Engine game set in the (then) near-future. Has some interesting features like 3D bridges. 

 

 

 

 

Extreme Rise of the Triad (1995) Steam GOG
Ludicrous Edition Steam GOG

An official expansion for Rise of the Triad that adds 42 new levels, intended to be more difficult than the original game. Not very good. 

 

 

In Pursuit of Greed (1996)

Another Raven Engine came, this time developed by Mind Shear Software and published by Softdisk, which had convinced them to make the game on the basis of Softdisk having access to pre-alpha Doom code, which turned out to be the Raven Engine instead. Oops!

 

 

 

Popular source ports

BStone

A modern source port for Blake Stone. Supports both Blake Stone games.

CatacombGL

A GL-based Catacomb 3D source port. Still in beta, but supports all four 3D Catacomb games.

ECWolf

The most advanced source port (inasmuch as an idTech 0 source port can be considered "advanced.") The most popular and easy to use port with a lot of features. Pretty much the GZDoom of Wolfenstein 3D source ports. Supports Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny, and Super 3D Noah's Ark (which it comes bundled with on Steam and GOG.)

Hovertank3DDotNet

Probably the only Hovertank 3D source port out there, at least until CatacombGL adds support.

ReflectionHLE

Another classic-styled port. Supports Catacomb 3D and the Catacomb Adventure series, Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny, and Super 3D Noah's Ark, making it very versatile. Also features support for the little-known Commander Keen game, Keen Dreams.

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition Steam GOG

The official remaster of Rise of the Triad. Honestly, unless you're a stickler for super "authentic" experiences, this is probably your best bet.

rottexpr

A continuation of icculus' original Rise of the Triad For Linux source port (yes there's a Windows version.) Pretty straightforward port with a few nice features.

Wolf4SDL

A pretty bare-bones source port targeting a "classic" Wolf3D experience. Supports Wolfenstein 3D and Spear of Destiny. The original version ceased development at 1.9 but updates continue to be released under the same name.

xGreed

To my surprise, there is a source port for In Pursuit of Greed and this is it. Still in beta, but wow!

Where to get the games

Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold Steam GOG

Blake Stone: Planet Strike Steam GOG

GOG sells them in a bundle with Rise of the Triad. The Steam versions don't come in a bundle, but even separately they're far cheaper for some reason.

Catacombs Pack GOG

Includes Catacomb 1 and The Catacomb (John Carmack's 2D Catacomb games,) Catacomb 3D and the Catacomb Adventure trilogy. What a deal!

Corridor 7: Alien Invasion Steam GOG

CyClones Steam GOG

Hovertank 3D

Out of print. 

In Pursuit of Greed

Out of print.

Operation Body Count Steam GOG

 

Rise of the Triad (original release) Steam GOG

Barebones DOSBox release. Comes with The HUNT Begins, Dark War, and Extreme ROTT.

Rise of the Triad Ludicrous Edition Steam GOG

Remaster. Comes with all of the above, plus a ton of other stuff including the Return of the Triad ZDoom mod. Honestly, probably the better deal.

ShadowCaster

Out of print.

Super 3D Noah's Ark Steam GOG

 

Wolfenstein 3D Steam GOG

Includes Wolfenstein 3D and Spear of Destiny, but not the FormGen mission packs, making them effectively out of print.

Wolf Pack (best value) Steam

Includes all of the above, plus Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (the latter of which is free, but whatever.) No sign of the 2009 Wolfenstein game -- that one's out of print.

Return to danger

Looking for mods to play? Even these primitive games have some interesting user-made addons!

Blake Stone

Wolf3D.net A small collection of mods are available for both games.

Hovertank 3D

moddb.com Improbably, there are Hovertank 3D mods. Plural. There was also a mod illegally sold on Steam as a standalone game before being taken down.

Rise of the Triad

moddb.com A proper repository for ROTT maps doesn't seem to exist; nevertheless, here's moddb's section for it, which includes a couple old shovelware discs.

Super 3D Noah's Ark

moddb.com Even more improbably, there's a Noah's Ark mod. All I have to say is that nothing in that mod is in the Bible.

Wolfenstein 3D

Wolf3D.net Quite an extensive collection of mods.

moddb.com Most mods seem to go here these days.

The Wolfenstein 3D Dome More mods available here. Not really updated anymore.

The Wolfenstein 3D Vault Hosted by community elder AReyeP.

Ludicrous gibs!

Believe it or not, a few of these games feature multiplayer!

NukemNet

Features support for:

• Corridor 7
• In Pursuit of Greed
• Rise of the Triad (DOS version)  

Classic Gaming Arena

Features support for:

• Corridor 7
• In Pursuit of Greed
• Rise of the Triad (DOS version)  

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition Steam GOG

Features an in-game multiplayer menu.

Glossary

DECORATE

A modding feature included with ECWolf, based on the ZDoom language.

First Encounter

The shareware release of the Macintosh version of Wolfenstein 3D, comprised of three levels from Second Encounter.

Mac Family

Wolfenstein 3D's Mac release was the source of a rather robust community with its own ecosystem and identity, defined by higher-resolution art assets and two new weapons. In an oddity of the series' history (largely due to greed on publisher MacPlay's part, according to Laz Rojas) the Mac Family includes the Super Nintendo, Atari Jaguar, 3DO and Apple IIGS versions of the game. Interestingly enough, Spear of Destiny never got an official Mac family port.

Raycasting

Not a super important term today, but in the early 90s it was a cutting-edge method of presenting a pseudo-3D perspective in a 2D playing field at a reasonable speed, and is the primary feature of id Tech 0 and the many imitators since.

Second Encounter

The SNES version of Wolfenstein 3D was infamously censored beyond recognition to meet Nintendo's family-friendly policies. It also featured a semi-new campaign, consisting of about half of the PC version's 60 levels, heavily edited. Second Encounter is this edited 30-level campaign, ported by MacPlay to the Mac version (and thus uncensored) and misleadingly sold as the official Mac version of the game (despite being a different campaign.) Served as the basis for the Jaguar, 3DO and Apple IIGS versions. Sometimes confusingly referred to as Original Encounter in the 3DO and Apple IIGS versions of the game.

Third Encounter

The original DOS version Wolfenstein 3D campaign, slightly modified and ported to Mac. Originally sold as an addon to registered owners of the Mac version of the game (thus requiring that you own Second Encounter) before being sold in retail as a package with Second Encounter, this package sometimes being called the "Commercial Version." As you probably guessed, this marketing scheme was rather scummy and resulted in the game not doing well, only acquiring a dedicated fandom in spite of itself.

WL6, SOD, N3D, etc.

Game data files. These will definitely vary between games -- it's not like idTech1 where everything is more standardized.

Evil incarnate

This is a bit of a special section, as it's linked to early Doom and Wolfenstein community history. Beginning around the turn of the millennium, Laz Rojas -- a Hollywood polymath and major figure in the Macintosh Wolfenstein community -- released a series of recreations of Wolfenstein 3D and a few popular mods for Doom II, utilizing the features of the newer engine to add stuff such as textured floors, lifts that go down into dungeon areas, among other cute features that make the game feel a little more real. It's not for everyone, but it's a quaint alternate look at these classic games. It's since inspired a small cottage industry of Wolfenstein-in-Doom mods that has persisted over the years.

Laz Rojas' original Wolfendoom site The original home for Wolfendoom. Most of these will require a limit-removing source port; some of them come with creaky, ancient copies of Boom and thus require DOSBox. Aside from recreations of Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny (but not the FormGen expansions) and Second Encounter there are also new scenarios:

• Die, Fuhrer, Die!: A recreation of the third episode from Third Encounter.
• Treasure Hunt: adapted from a Macintosh Wolfenstein 3D mod.
• Halten Sie!: adapted from a Macintosh Wolfenstein 3D mod.
• Escape from Totenhaus: A remake of an earlier commercially-sold Macintosh Wolfenstein 3D mod.
  
• Astrostein: a remake of an earlier commercially-sold Macintosh Wolfenstein 3D mod. This one's about fighting Nazis in the future after they won the war! That's right, Laz Rojas beat Machine Games to it.
  
• The Portal: a standalone, original prologue to Astrostein.
• Operation Eisenmann: an original scenario about secret supersoldier projects.
• Operation Arctic Wolf: possibly the most well-known original scenario about attacking a Nordic subway base. Has had a number of updates over the years:
• Operation Arctic Wolf Special Edition: the original re-release, making major improvements as Laz deepened his understanding of DEHACKED.
  
• Operation Arctic Wolf Revisited: one of two competing remasters of the mod, this one seems more complete but is in active development. Requires EDGE-Classic.
  
• Operation Arctic Wolf Redux: the other remaster, this one is for GZDoom.
• Operation Seawolf: A remake set in Mike "impie" MacDee's Winter Agent Juno universe.
  
• Operation Rheingold: an original scenario about uncovering a secret SS plot. Sadly unfinished.

NightFright's Wolfendoom for ZDoom NightFright is a major force in mod preservation, repacking and updating mods for Doom and Duke Nukem 3D for new audiences and modern computers, and he's done the same for Wolfendoom.

Wolfenstein TC A much more faithful recreation of Wolf3D and the Spear trilogy, using GZDoom. The fidelity to the original games is actually quite impressive, and recent versions have been set up in such a way that they'll read the assets directly from your game data files rather than be packed in with the mod (as a means of avoiding copyright issues.)

Wolfenstein: Shadows of Destiny A new Wolfenstein 3D-styled mod for ZDoom family engines, inspired by classic Wolf3D mods and developed by the creator of the hit Abysm series. Retrieve the Spear of Destiny before the Nazis can use it to raise an army of the dead!

Wolfenstein: Machines of Death A sequel to the above, in which you retrieve the Holy Grail from the Nazis.

Blade of Agony An all-new standalone Wolfenstein story, inspired by later games in the series as well as Wolfendoom. A little *cough* controversial.

A couple of other idTech 0 games have gotten recreations in the Doom engine as well:

Catacomb: ABYSS for GZDoom While there are certainly easier ways to play Catacomb games these days, this remake in GZDoom is certainly an option.

Corridor 7 TC for Doomsday Like Operation Body Count, Corridor 7 has no source port, however there is a reasonably faithful recreation of the game available for Doom, running on an old version of the Doomsday source port. Arguably a better experience than the original.

Operation Body Count for GZDoom While this is neither a source port nor really a faithful recreation of the original game, let's face it -- you're better off playing this.

Return of the Triad for ZDoom/GZDoom A Rise of the Triad-themed standalone semi-sequel developed by Leon Zawada, who would go on to help make the 2013 remake, plus Bombshell, Amid Evil, and more. You can grab it separately but it's also included in Ludicrous Edition.

 

Further reading

WL1: The Starting Point An informative introduction to Wolfenstein 3D.

The Wolfenstein 3D Dome The most important Wolfenstein 3D resource and certainly one of the oldest websites in the community.

Wolfenstein 3D Wiki A modding-focused wiki that mostly covers Wolfenstein 3D but does have a few pages for other idTech 0 games.

Wolfenstein Wiki A franchise-wide wiki. Kind of a hot mess but that's Fandom dot com for ya.

WolfAddict Software A wiki article about WolfAddict Software, a shortlived -- but very influential -- company of modders that published "deluxe" (read: commercial) add-ons for the Mac version of Wolfenstein 3D. Laz Rojas was a founding member, but the outfit eventually went defunct in part due to legal issues with MacPlay and in part because founder Bruce Ryder ran into his own legal and criminal problems.