Anonymous edits have been disabled on the wiki. If you want to contribute please login or create an account.

Wolfenstein 3D

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D cover
Developers
id Software
Publishers
3D Realms
Mac OS MacPlay
Browser Bethesda Softworks
Engines
Wolfenstein 3D engine
Release dates
DOS May 5, 1992[1]
Mac OS (Classic) 1994
Windows August 3, 2007[2]
Wolfenstein 3D on Wikipedia
Castle Wolfenstein 1981
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein 1984
Wolfenstein 3D 1992
Spear of Destiny 1992
Return to Castle Wolfenstein 2001
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory 2003
Wolfenstein 2009
Wolfram (unofficial game) 2012
Wolfenstein: The New Order 2014
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood 2015
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus 2017
Wolfenstein: Youngblood 2019
Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot 2019
RealRTCW (unofficial mod) 2020

Key points

Can run on virtually any computer
Wolfenstein 3D source code was released in 1995, making the game very mod friendly.

General information

Official Wolfenstein series site
3D Realms Wolfenstein 3D page
Wolfenstein Wiki - A detailed wiki for every Wolfenstein game made.
The Wolfenstein 3D Dome - Collection of mods and utilities.
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions
Laz Rojas' Wolfenstein 3D for Mac site - Perhaps the only mod site for the Mac version of the game. PC users will find little use of this place unless they have both ECWolf and are lucky enough to have the Mac game data.

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
DRM details are not known
Released in either the Original Missions (1-3) or the Nocturnal Missions (+ 4-6) editions.
DOS
Retail
DRM details are not known
Released in either the First Encounter or the Third Encounter editions. The Third Encounter is just a conversion of the 6 PC episodes.
Mac OS
Official website
DRM-free
Windows
Amazon.com
Icon overlay.png
Windows
GamersGate
Icon overlay.png
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Comes bundled with Spear of Destiny. Not available for purchase in Germany.[3]
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Windows
A web browser version is also available. Contains episodes 1-3. Some legacy options have been removed.

Version differences

Mac OS version of the game contains additional levels from Super Nintendo version and improved textures/sprites. Like the SNES version it also has two additional features that somewhat change it's gameplay from the original PC version. The first being that the game includes the console versions' custom weapons, the Flame Thrower and Rocket Launcher. The second is that it only has forward facing enemy sprites, meaning you cannot sneak up on guards and they also will not patrol the halls. The last one is often considered to be more detrimental as it completely removes any stealth aspect from the game, arguably transforming it into a "run-n-gun maze shooter". The Mac version however, unlike the PC version, was designed for modding; custom levels (referred to as Scenarios) were readily selectable from the episode menu.[4]

DLC and expansion packs

Both the Nocturnal Missions and Third Encounter were originally released as expansions for a short while before being released as separate, self contained, extended versions of the game.
A standalone followup is available in the form of Spear of Destiny.
Name Notes
Wolfenstein 3D: Super Upgrades Map compilation pack, available as freeware on 3D Realms' Wolfenstein 3D page. Includes some utilities as well, including a map editor and random level generator called WolfCreator.
DOS

Essential improvements

DOS

Patch 1.1 can be fond here whilst 1.2 ("the elevator fix") can be found here.
Included with the Wolfenstein 3D source (downloadable here) is a version of the executable that uses a memory extender, called wolf.exe. Note however it requires RTM.EXE and DPMI16BI.OVL, which are not included, for it to run. If you have the data file from a version earlier than 1.4, you may need to download these patch files.
WolfMenu is a mod launcher/frontend for Wolfenstein 3D under DOS.
UltraWolf is an unofficial patch that adds Gravis UltraSound support to Wolfenstein 3D. Note it is not compatible with version 1.4.
Level maps are available for the base game and the Spear of Destiny expansion; helpful as the DOS version lacks an automap like the Mac version.

Source Ports

Name System Description
ECWolf Windows, Mac OS X, Linux Based on Wolf4SDL and ZDoom code, it provides many useful features such as better control binding, support for wide screen resolutions, and unlimited save slots and aims to provide a wide array of mod editing capabilities. It also supports Spear of Destiny and its two mission packs Return to Danger and Ultimate Challenge. Experimental support for The Macintosh Port is also available, see here for more.
WolfGL Windows, Linux An unofficial port of the game using OpenGL. It supports Spear of Destiny.
WinWolf3d Windows
NewWolf Windows
BetterWolf DOS Slight modification of the original DOS versions's source. Adds ability to strafe without having to hold down the strafe button as well as an optional auto map (inlace of the original weapon picture in the HUD) and crosshair.
Wolf4GW DOS Based on the special memory extended version of the engine released with the game source code. Effectively takes it a further step by turning the game into a 32-bit protected mode app by using a DOS extender. No binaries of this particular port are available; you're expected to build from source using the open wattcom compiler. It is recommended to use DOS32A as the extender instead of DOS4GW due to better stability. This project eventually evolved into Wolf4SDL and was more or less abandoned and forgotten.

DOOM Total Conversion

A fully featured doom total conversion based on the ZDoom Engine (including WASD Support and far higher resolutions can be found at the ZDoom Wiki

Texture Packs

CeeJay's hi-res patch a high res texture pack based on the Mac/Jaguar release. Requires ECWolf (see above).
Mac total conversion besides levels, it also has the Mac textures ripped and altered into a PK3 file (check the bottom of the first post). Enemy sprites are downloadable separately here.
Unnamed texture pack showcased in this video beside CeeJay's pack above.
FAITHFUL HD WEAPONS PACK improves the quality of the weapons whilst keeping them faithful to the PC version's design.
Macguar adds custom weapon sprites in addition to dual gatling guns and view bobbing.
Wolfenstein Sprite Fix Project not really a high-res pack, but does correct inconsistencies in the original PC textures. Somewhat redundant if you have a high-res pack.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

Template:Game data/rowTemplate:Game data/rowTemplate:Game data/row
System Location
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/2270/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game data location

Template:Game data/rowTemplate:Game data/rowTemplate:Game data/row
System Location
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/2270/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video settings

Template:Video settings

Input settings

In-game general control settings.
In-game general control settings.
In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
Local play
2 Co-op
Use the SplitWolf mod.
LAN play
Online play

Issues fixed

Lag/Low FPS (Steam DOSBox release)

Modify the wolf3d.conf file[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\base and open the wolf3d.conf file with a text editor (ex. Notepad).
  2. Set the fulldouble variable to false.
  3. Save the changes made to the file.
  4. Launch the game.

Can't play the Mac version on OS X

Use ECWolf[5]
  1. Setup a Mac emulator for the classic OS (or if you have the real thing, use that instead) and make sure you have your legally acquired MacPlay Wolfenstein 3D installed to the disk.
  2. Copy the data file and executable app and MacBin them.
  3. Rename the binary "wolf3d.bin" and the data file "wolflvls.bin", copy them to your OS X machine and drop them into the data folder for ECWolf.
  4. Also download this shim file and place it in the data folder with the rest of the files. ECWolf should now detect the scenario.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Software renderer
DOS video modes VGA
ExecutablePPC16-bit 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
Mac OS (Classic)

System requirements

DOS
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 5.0
Processor (CPU) Intel 286
System memory (RAM) 528 kB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 3 MB
Video card (GPU) DOS Compatible (VESA)
Mac OS
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 6.0.7
Processor (CPU) 25 MHz
System memory (RAM) 2200 kB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
Processor (CPU) 1.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2 GB
Video card (GPU) DirectX 7 compatible

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/2270/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (2270) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References