v2026.04.02/emulators/prboom.yml

emulator: PrBoom
type: libretro
core_classification: game_engine
source: "https://github.com/libretro/libretro-prboom"
upstream: "http://prboom.sourceforge.net/"
profiled_date: "2026-03-24"
core_version: "v2.5.0"
display_name: "Doom (PrBoom)"
cores: [prboom]
systems: [doom]

notes: |
  PrBoom is a Doom source port based on MBF (Marine's Best Friend), itself
  derived from Boom. The libretro port plays Doom, Doom II, Final Doom,
  FreeDoom, and custom WADs/PWADs.

  The core requires prboom.wad, a small engine data WAD containing internal
  resources: font glyphs, palette, colormaps, sine/tangent tables, gamma
  tables, menu graphics, and a null sprite (TNT1A0). It is NOT a game WAD.
  The file is generated at build time by the rdatawad tool from raw PPM
  graphics and LMP lumps (see Makefile.prboomdata), but ships pre-built
  in the repository root.

  Without prboom.wad the core falls back to hardcoded internal defaults
  (d_main.c:1073-1074), so the file is technically optional but expected
  for correct rendering of menus, HUD digits, and extended features.

  File search order (libretro.c I_FindFile, line 1742):
  1. WAD directory (same folder as the loaded game WAD)
  2. system/prboom/ subdirectory
  3. system/ directory directly
  4. Parent folders of WAD directory (recursive, if enabled)

  The core accepts .wad, .iwad, .pwad, and .lmp extensions. Game IWADs
  it recognizes (d_main.c:133-145): doom2f.wad, doom2.wad, plutonia.wad,
  tnt.wad, freedoom2.wad, doom.wad, doomu.wad, freedoom1.wad,
  freedoom.wad, doom1.wad.

  The src/ directory contains a second, larger prboom.wad (228743 bytes,
  md5 23afd6143cb1ffec99a46755f9209ea6) which is the upstream PrBoom
  original. The root copy (143312 bytes) is the libretro-specific build.

files:
  - name: "prboom.wad"
    system: doom
    description: "PrBoom engine data WAD (fonts, palette, colormaps, tables, menu graphics)"
    required: false
    hle_fallback: true
    size: 143312
    md5: "72ae1b47820fcc93cc0df9c428d0face"
    sha1: "5f4aed208301449c2e9514edfd325fe9dead76fa"
    crc32: "a5751b99"
    source_ref: "d_main.c:1069-1078 (PACKAGE .wad load), libretro.c:1742-1784 (I_FindFile search), config.h:46 (PACKAGE=prboom)"
    notes: "Searched in system/prboom/ then system/. Falls back to internal defaults if missing, but menus and HUD may render incorrectly without it."