Popular FPS ‘Doom’ is Now Playable on Apple Network Server
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An old joke says that the classic first-person shooter game Doom has been run on everything except a potato. There is a long list of devices that enterprising developers have been able to get to run Doom. Thanks to an enterprising blogger, you can add the Apple Network Server to that list.
Apple sold the Apple Network Server for a short time, from 1996 to 1997. The machines, which were sold for over $10,000 at the time, were designed to run IBM’s AIX operating system rather than any of Apple’s operating systems. The servers were the last non-Mac computers that the Cupertino firm offered.
Now, blogger Cameron Kaiser has figured out how to get the popular game up and running on Apple’s old hardware. He recently shared a blog post detailing what needed to be done to get the game running as natively as possible, meaning he didn’t “cheat” by using NetBSD, Linux, or NCommander AIX Doom.
Apparently, NCommander was discounted out of hand, as it required AIX 4.3, while Apple Network Server only offers support for an older version, AIX 4.1.5.
What is Doom?
For the three of you among my readers who don’t know what Doom is, here’s a refresher course. Doom started life as a shareware game for the IBM PC, which turned into a media franchise. The original game was created by John Carmack, John Romero, Adrian Carmack, Kevin Cloud, and Tom Hall. The game and its numerous sequels primarily focused on the exploits of an unnamed space marine operating under the auspices of the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC), who is forced to fight demon hordes and the undead to save Earth from an apocalyptic invasion. The game is considered to be a pioneering first-person shooter, creating a popular genre that has spawned hundreds, if not thousands, of imitators.
Over ten million copies of Doom and its sequels have been sold, and the game has spawned numerous sequels, novels, film adaptations (the first of which starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), comic books, board games, and more.
How Doom Was Ported to Apple’s Ancient Hardware
To get the game running on an Apple Network Server, which was a 500/132 model with a 200 MHz PowerPC 604e, 512 MB of parity RAM, and 1 MB of DRAM for video, Kaiser started off with Doom Generic.
He installed AIXPDSLIB as the compiler, then created a version of Doom Generic using a Makefile to run over remote X. After much tinkering, the game could finally be played using Apple Remote Desktop.
A working version of Doom was eventually running on the Apple Network Server’s CRT, although he later switched that out for an LCD panel.
Kaiser has made the source code and precompiled builds for 24-bit and 8-bit color available on GitHub, so if you happen to have an Apple Network Server lying around, you can try it out.
What Other Devices Can Run Doom?
The Apple Network Server is just the latest device enterprising developers have been able to get Doom running on. Many of the devices don’t exactly use the technology you’d think of when wanting to play Doom.
The game has been officially ported to several computing platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, and even ancient 8-bit computers like the Commodore VIC-20 and the Commodore 64. It’s also found its way onto game consoles like the Sega 32X, the SNES, and the Atari Jaguar.
Doom has also been made to run on other devices, including the iPod classic, a Kindle Touch, an air fryer, a digital photo frame, and many others. Heck, there is even a version that runs in Google Sheets. More information about the various devices Doom has been successfully run on can be found on the Can It Run Doom website.
The list of Apple devices that can run Doom includes the Apple Watch, a MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar, and the Apple Lightning to HDMI adapter.
