I Dream Of A "doombox." Is This Possible?, Linux+Wine or other app w/retail games? Options

[FearlessYeti]

Admonition to avoid getting flamed or told where to stick my Xbox (lol):

Hello. This is my first post here. Since I registered yesterday morning, I have tried my best to search as doggedly as possible, read tutorials that looked promising as carefully as possible, and rifle through the FAQ and newbie chat forums with as much attention and determination as possible. I still have yet to find a specific combination of information that can definitively answer my questions.

I have read the rules, and have tried my best to search prior to posting even a single post here. I also have to say that much of what I've seen while carrying out this search has made me sort of intimidated to post at all. I understand the annoyance and frustration that new posters who are unwilling to search at all or do any research can cause. However, I also feel that there has to be some point at which questions get answered in a reasonable and polite fashion, and that that point shouldn't have to be when someone's question is super-specific or technical in nature, because that means it's not a newbie question. Everything should be considered in context (in my opinion).

I also know that what I'm about to ask is something someone should idealy ask once they are already familiar with a moded system, or with how to mod their system. I just don't want to spend money or waste energy towards an unachievable goal, that's all. Hence my asking before I begin.

So, with that said, I ask that you consider my questions without biting my head off, jumping down my throat, or otherwise getting on my case, because I have read the rules and have done as instructed in an effort to do what I'm supposed to do, yet I still don't feel any closer to the answers I'm seeking. So, if anyone thinks this is a needless or redundant post, then I do apologize, but please keep in mind that I did my best to find alternative sources of information before posting. Thank-you.

What I've gleamed from my reading/searching so far:

I know from having looked at them quite a bit today, that if I use the tutorials here (and elsewhere) and read up enough before getting started, that I can figure out how to mod my system in the fashion appropriate to what I'm hoping to do. I know that if I then have any problems or remaining questions or if something is still unclear, then I have this great resource/community to turn to, which is awesome. I have also gleamed from my searching and reading that it's possible to softmod the Xbox to run a Linux dist. and that while there are ways to run some Windows apps on the Xbox, the performance would be pretty awful depending upon what the app is. I know I can backup games to, and play games from, a hard drive. I know there are specific ways to mod the system which, especially where softmod vs. hardware mod are concerned, will determine whether or not I can still play my retail Xbox games from the drive after getting Linux to run if I choose to use Linux. I know it is possible to have some redundant functionality, i.e. having more than one BIOS to choose from, having more than one dashboard to select, etc. I know I can network my Xbox with my PC.

I feel that those are all sub-newbie questions that one should research before posting. I feel that anything more complicated than that which isn't explained in a FAQ or by searching (to the researcher's satisfaction, that is) should be fair game for posting in the newbie forum. I apologize in advance to those who don't share that view, and ask that they not read any farther. So here goes nothing...

What I don't know/What I'm actually asking:

I am one of those people who comes up with weird ideas, and then obsesses over them. Case in point: After playing and loving Lego Star Wars: The Video Game on my PS2, I made it my life goal to collect every real life Lego minifigure featured in the game (atleast, all those that actually exist) and make a Dex's Diner identical to that in the game using the Lego Digital Designer program, and then build that in real life with real Legos. I'm pursuing that as we speak, and I am crazy enough to do it lol.

So too it is of my new interest in moding. I am obsessed - obsessed! - with Doom. All Dooms. Old School Doom, Doom 64, Doom 3, TCs, WADs, etc. I love Doom. So, I dream of a "DoomboX." A DoomboX would be an Xbox with which can backup my retail copy of Doom 3: CE (which also includes Ultimate Doom and Doom 2 as you probably know) onto the hard drive, play that game from that hard drive, yet also run Linux and something like Wine that would enable me to run Final Doom, and perhaps even the Doom 64 TC that Doom Depot made (though that required DirectX 9, so I seriously doubt it).

So, all of this longwindedness comes down to two simple questions that probably have complicated answers.

1) Is this, either through softmoding, or by using an external HDD (as I saw someone suggest during my search), or by using multiple (or atleast specific) BIOSes or dashboards, even REMOTELY possible?

2) Likewise, are the original Dooms old enough to run even passably well with such a setup? Has anyone attempted that? If so, what was your experience like?

Much thanks to those who (if there's anybody who did lol) read through all this with patience. I apologize for the length of this post. I just wanted to be clear, and I wanted to make it understood that I am not just posting without having searched at all. I made sure I couldn't find the answer first.

For those who think I should have searched more before posting, then sorry, but it seemed unlikely that I would find a combo of information that could answer this in a definitive way. I don't know what else to tell those people. I stand by my post.

Thanks again.

This post has been edited by FearlessYeti: Apr 15 2005, 07:00 AM

[blagmaster]

damn thats a huge ass post

[munkle]

if you sumed it up people could propbably give you an answer, but some are to lazy to read like me

[FearlessYeti]

LOL, understood. No problemo. For those unwilling to read my long post, it can be summarized as follows.

Admonition:
I already searched, read tutorials, etc. and while they had alot of information that pointed me in the right direction, none of them combined the precise info I'm looking for in such a way that I could be sure of a yes or no answer. In other words, I'd appreciate not being flamed for asking this. It's a n00b question (which, or so I thought, was what this form was for) but it's one I need answered before I spend money, time, and energy on moding my system.

What I know so far from having read and searched:
I know I can softmod my Xbox and run Linux, I know I can network my Xbox to my PC if need be, I know I can play games from the HDD, I know it's possible to have multiple BIOSes and dashboards, I know that I might be able to run SOME very old Windows apps using Wine or something like it and Linux, but that the performance wouldn't be particularly stellar, and I THINK (based on what I read atleast) that based on how I go about moding (especialy when it comes to softmods vs. hardware mods) I either will or won't still be able to play my retail games from the HDD.

My question:
I'm a weird obsessive person who gets into all kinds of weird things. Example: Playing Lego Star Wars then setting out to build an identical Dex's Diner out of Legos to the one in the game. Stuff like that. I want to create a "DoomboX." A moded Xbox dedicated purely to Doom. I'd like to be able to run my Doom 3 CE (Xbox) from the hard drive, as well as have Linux and Wine or something like it run the original Dooms from the days of yore without losing the ability to do either one if I want to. I have retail copies of all of the above. Is this even remotely possible, in ANY way shape or form (including using an external HDD which someone suggested in the posts I researched, multiple BIOSes, etc. any way that it could be made possible AT ALL), and is Doom old enough that it would run atleast passably well?

That's all. Thanks.

[the snert]

That was a great post, and I wish I could answer it but I can't. Good luck getting your doombox!

[FearlessYeti]

I just really want to know if this will be at all worth my time if this is all I want to mod for. Is anyone able and/or willing to answer? I've continued my search since posting this and have come up zilch.

[deakphreak]

Still too long for me

[Thraxen]

There is already a program called DoomX for the XBox. I've got it on mine and it plays Doom 1/Ultimate Doom, Doom 2, and Final Doom just fine. There is also a work in progress port of Doom Legacy. I've not played with that one yet. Check out the Homebrew & Ported Games forum. And, yes, Doom 3 CE works from the XBox HDD just fine too. BTW, you can also play Quake (QuakeX) and Quake 2 (Quake2X) on your XBox as well.

[FearlessYeti]

Y'know, for all the reading I did (and was encouraged to do by the rules, FAQs, tutorials, etc. not to mention intimidated into doing by all the flames and derogatory posts I saw directed at other n00bs while searching) prior to posting this, I don't think my post is considerably long lol. BUT, as I really do need an answer, I will condense it even further.

1) I already read, researched, etc. etc. so I'd appreciate not having my head bitten off by more experienced members of this community, as I have not yet found a definitive answer to my questions.

2) I learned from that reading that I can install Linux on the Xbox, that I can have both Linux and normal Xbox retail playable backups on the same drive on different partitions if it's large enough, that I can network an Xbox to a PC, that moding software vs. hardware has quite a bit to do with whether or not I can do that, and so forth.

3) All I want to know (BEFORE I do any more research, buy any parts, or direct any further energy or time towards this) is if it's possible for me to run Doom 95 using Wine (or something like it) or Legacy Doom for Linux, and still be able to play my backed up Doom 3 CE from the same hard drive. That's all. That way I would essentially have every Doom ever on the hard drive. The only exception might be the Doom 64 TC at Doom Depot because it required DirectX 9.

If that's not short enough, then I give up.

[Slapster]

Not worth your time, great concept, but not worth your time. Do you know how power hungry Doom 3 is???

[FearlessYeti]

There is already a program called DoomX for the XBox.  I've got it on mine and it plays Doom 1/Ultimate Doom, Doom 2, and Final Doom just fine.  There is also a work in progress port of Doom Legacy.  I've not played with that one yet.  Check out the Homebrew & Ported Games forum.  And, yes, Doom 3 CE works from the XBox HDD just fine too.  BTW, you can also play Quake (QuakeX) and Quake 2 (Quake2X) on your XBox as well.

THANK-YOU. Lol.

[FearlessYeti]

Not worth your time, great concept, but not worth your time. Do you know how power hungry Doom 3 is???

I meant Doom 3 CE Xbox. I may be a n00b but I'm not insane lmao. Thanks, though.

[FearlessYeti]

Ok hang on. Aparently DoomX is illegal. I own Doom 95 so I'd rather go the Linux + Wine (or something like it) route, as I don't own Legacy Doom in any form.

So is this still possible? (See above posts for exact details of what I'm asking) Thanks.

[The*galloping*zebra]

All ported games on x-s are open source. The source code has been publicly released, so it is not illegal.

[Thraxen]

OK, DoomX is only illegal in the sense that it was compiled with the XDK (XBox Development Kit). The XDK is only supposed to be used to compile licensed software. So, yeah, it's technically illegal, but no one is going to come for you for using it. But DoomX uses the WAD files from the PC games. So if your fine using a DoomX to play games you legally own on the PC, then go for it. If you want to remain 100% legal then this is not the route for you. I've got no experience with Linux on XBox, so I can't help you there.