Skip to main content

No real mod support coming to Doom, SnapMap is as close as it gets

Doom
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The original Doom was a fantastic game in its own right, but it’s often remembered as much for the mods and user-created levels that surrounded it as it is for its own gameplay and graphical innovations. That same level of customization won’t be supported in the upcoming Doom.

Doom will launch with a tool called SnapMap that will allow users to create their own levels for the game, but this is as close as the game will get to offering mod support, Bethesda’s Pete Hines confirmed in an interview with GameTrailers (via PC Gamer). “Everything that we’re doing on the mod side will be through SnapMap,” Hines said.

SnapMap will be available not just for the PC, but for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions as well. Obviously there will be some UI differences to allow console players to design maps with a controller, but all levels can be uploaded to Bethesda servers and shared cross-platform.

doom-snapmap-100590993-orig
Image used with permission by copyright holder

It isn’t yet clear how capable a tool SnapMap will be, but developer id Software is striving to make the tool easy to use while remaining feature-packed. “Give it to anybody and they can do simple stuff, but the complex stuff — all those things that used to be super-complicated — the idea is that there’s enough complexity and depth there that you can do all this scripting stuff, and make new gameplay modes,” Hines said.

With that in mind, it’s clear that SnapMap will have its share of limitations. “Some of the stuff we showed at E3 with the Foundry, where you’ve got these massive open spaces — SnapMap isn’t something that’s saying ‘here, build this cavernous interior space.’ It’s more like the stuff you saw in multiplayer — it’s tighter — you’re not worried about building an interior space that’s 30 stories high and half a mile across.”

No concrete release date has been announced for Doom so far, but the game is set to launch in early 2016. For more on SnapMap and Doom in general, see the full interview on YouTube.

Editors' Recommendations

Kris Wouk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
Doom Eternal stays old-school, won’t include microtransactions
Google Stadia DOOM Eternal

Doom Eternal, is an even more ambitious and ridiculous take on the formula Id Software established in the rebooted Doom. Once again, the studio will be sticking to its old-school sensibilities and leaving microtransactions out of the game

Creative director Hugo Martin revealed, by answering a question in a private Doom Facebook group, Doom Eternal will not have an online store for extra content when it comes out in March. Cosmetic items will be acquirable through players' experience, and nothing that affects gameplay will be earned this way. This means new players will be able to face off against enemies in the new "Battlemode" -- which pits one Doomslayer against multiple player-controlled demons -- without being at a disadvantage.

Read more
Doom Eternal hands-on preview: A fast-paced, bloody ballet
doom eternal hands on preview slicendice

Hell was razed in New York City as Bethesda and id Software invited members of the press to try their hand at the upcoming sequel, Doom Eternal. I played about three hours of the action-packed romp through hell and made it out with a few new details and a heap of optimism for the upcoming adventure.

The conflict between the Doom Slayer and hordes of demons has only escalated since the last entry to the series. You won’t only be working to dismantle demonic facilities on Mars, but diving into a Doom universe that includes the forces of heaven. You'll learn more about the Slayer’s origins while discovering all-new haunting locales. At moments, I felt like I was playing Diablo, but in first person.

Read more
Best PS5 SSD deals: Add more storage to your PS5 from $120
A 2TB WD Black

When the PlayStation 5 was originally released, it had the option to expand its internal memory, which was quite small at the time at a little under 900GBs. Of course, the issue is that there weren't any SSDs that worked on the new standard the PS5 was using, so even if you wanted to upgrade, you couldn't. Luckily, since then, there have been a lot of great SSDs for the PS5 that have been released, and upgrading its storage is pretty easy and can be done by pretty much anybody, provided they have a screwdriver. So, whether you picked up a PS5 from one of the PS5 deals or already have a PS5 and want to upgrade, be sure to check out the SSDs that will work great for your PS5 below.
Our favorite PS5 SSD deal

It wasn't that long ago that you'd have to pay well over $100 to get an SSD for your PS5, and often, it'd be slower than the pricier alternatives. These days, you can buy a Samsung 980 Pro 1TB SSD with heatsink for just $120 from Best Buy, thereby saving $45 off the regular price of $165. The SSD offers speedy performance while also having its own nickel-coated high-end controller to help deliver effective thermal control. It means it won't overheat and performance won't be compromised. Being a PCIe Gen 4 SSD, you get twice the data transfer speed of PCIe Gen 3 which is useful. Offering maximum read speeds of 7,000 megabytes per second, it's a good upgrade to go alongside your existing hard drive with 1TB offering plenty of extra space at a shrewd price.

Read more