Projects that in one way or another aim to modernize a classic, or try make it more playable on modern machine, or just try to expand on things (like gzdoom does)
what other projects are out there in a similar vein?
I find this a little difficult to search for, even with specific terms (i tried finding myself)
The Mario 64 PC port is a pretty impressive feat, basically a complete open source reverse-engineering of the N64 game which you can then compile as a native binary (using you own copy of the ROM (legally acquired, of course) for the assets) with QoL improvements such as 60fps, wide-screen, high-resolution, free camera movement, and more. Plenty of different versions out there, I liked Render96ex.
idk man, 14 steps seems a little much for a game i dont really like the control of, 14 steps to install a game and make it run as a lot in general honestly
You can install Mods to change the controls, for normal analog camera, Mouse and keyboard support or the mod that changes Mario's Moveset to the Mario Odyssey Moveset
It definitely required a little bit of technical knowledge, though that was on Linux, I believe there's a Windows version which might be a bit more beginner-friendly. There are also other forks of the project which might be simpler to start with.