Doom 3
July 18, 2004 2:36 PM Subscribe
Doom 3 site goes live.
Already overhyped videogame site (with poor formatting in FireFox)
goes live.
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:03 PM on July 18, 2004
goes live.
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:03 PM on July 18, 2004
Great, now I have to get a new ass-spanking video card. Thanks a lot.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:06 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:06 PM on July 18, 2004
The trailer shows some great looking aspects of the new engine. I'm not sure if it was a CG scene or not, but there's a part where one of the zombiedudes gets shot and falls off a ledge, and bounces off shit on the way down. Fuck yeah.
posted by angry modem at 3:09 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by angry modem at 3:09 PM on July 18, 2004
According to the September, 2004 issue of PC Gamer magazine, a low end Doom 3 capable system includes :
posted by crunchland at 3:17 PM on July 18, 2004
CPU : 1.5GHz P4 or AMD equivalentA midrange system includes :
RAM : 512MB
Video Card : Nvidia GeForce TI 4800 or ATI Radeon 9500
CPU : 2.4GHz P4 or AMD equivalentAnd as far as the high-end goes, well, they said that "the game has settings that will make the game look even better on hardware that doesn't even exist yet (beyond just upping the resolution, like most games)." As far as a ballpark idea of an optimum system, they suggest :
RAM : 1GB
Video Card : Nvidia GeForce 5950 or ATI Radeon 9800 Pro/XT
CPU : 3.4GHz P4 or AMD equivalentMy machine just barely qualifies as a low-end machine. It might be cheaper just to buy an Xbox and be done with it.
RAM : 2GB
Video Card : Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra or ATI Radeon X800 XT
posted by crunchland at 3:17 PM on July 18, 2004
Ban Doom! I am not responsible for crappy midi, Apple plugins, or your conversion to Christianity
posted by WolfDaddy at 3:23 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by WolfDaddy at 3:23 PM on July 18, 2004
They sure took a lot of design elements from Diablo II.
posted by milovoo at 3:25 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by milovoo at 3:25 PM on July 18, 2004
I just wanted to mention how much I really like you guys and how proud I am to be a long-time member of this board. I thought it appropriate -- since 4 seconds after I get my hands on this beastie none of you will be seeing me for the next few weeks thereafter.
posted by RavinDave at 3:28 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by RavinDave at 3:28 PM on July 18, 2004
(with poor formatting in FireFox)
Wha? It's a flash site. How could it be poorly formatted in FF?
Also, after seing the trailer, I'd say it's far from overhyped.
posted by eyeballkid at 3:29 PM on July 18, 2004
Wha? It's a flash site. How could it be poorly formatted in FF?
Also, after seing the trailer, I'd say it's far from overhyped.
posted by eyeballkid at 3:29 PM on July 18, 2004
Very pleasing to look at, but also apparently devoid of any sort of personality or story. Maybe I'm kooky to be valuing these things in a first person shooter, but I just recently ended a jag of playing Half-Life, and while it's old by game standards, it was easily the best of the genre that I've ever played. The story was pretty low-key, but effective nonetheless. Doom 3 looks like it borrows heavily from Half-Life (one part in the trailer, where the narrator speaks of scientists meddling with other dimensions, and we see a tramcar enter an underground research facility made me snort) and I agree with a comment above, Diablo 2.
The genre has been done to death, and it doesn't look like Doom 3 brings in anything new except sharp graphics. Or am I missing something here?
posted by picea at 3:52 PM on July 18, 2004
The genre has been done to death, and it doesn't look like Doom 3 brings in anything new except sharp graphics. Or am I missing something here?
posted by picea at 3:52 PM on July 18, 2004
As the owner of a computer store, I plan on selling a buttload of upgrades after this one comes out.
posted by daHIFI at 3:54 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by daHIFI at 3:54 PM on July 18, 2004
My machine just barely qualifies as a low-end machine. It might be cheaper just to buy an Xbox and be done with it.
I think you'll do okay on your low-end machine, I tried the unoptimized alpha leak from a while back on a Radeon 9000 and while the framerate was crap it was still playable and looked great. It's not just a resource hog, it's programmed quite nicely to make everything look a lot higher poly than it really is.
And isn't the website terrible, like I don't mind flash if it's nicely done but I don't think the Doom III site uses it very dramatically.
The genre has been done to death, and it doesn't look like Doom 3 brings in anything new except sharp graphics. Or am I missing something here?
Sound, atmosphere. The leak was scary as hell, things just look different than any other games, the lighting is really neat. It had some real good scares in there, like rooms that seem empty but when you walk up to a mirror you see a monster coming behind you, and a monster bursting through pipes in a wall. The thing is like Resident Evil on steroids, I've never had such a feeling of apprehension playing a game. The couple advance reviews say the same thing.
posted by bobo123 at 4:00 PM on July 18, 2004
I think you'll do okay on your low-end machine, I tried the unoptimized alpha leak from a while back on a Radeon 9000 and while the framerate was crap it was still playable and looked great. It's not just a resource hog, it's programmed quite nicely to make everything look a lot higher poly than it really is.
And isn't the website terrible, like I don't mind flash if it's nicely done but I don't think the Doom III site uses it very dramatically.
The genre has been done to death, and it doesn't look like Doom 3 brings in anything new except sharp graphics. Or am I missing something here?
Sound, atmosphere. The leak was scary as hell, things just look different than any other games, the lighting is really neat. It had some real good scares in there, like rooms that seem empty but when you walk up to a mirror you see a monster coming behind you, and a monster bursting through pipes in a wall. The thing is like Resident Evil on steroids, I've never had such a feeling of apprehension playing a game. The couple advance reviews say the same thing.
posted by bobo123 at 4:00 PM on July 18, 2004
From WolfDaddy's link:
The game contains extreme violence, gore, ritualistic worshipping, Satanism, habitation of other planets God did not intend for us to live on, and the use of guns.
Why would god not intend for us to use the other 99.999...9% of the galaxy? Is this a fundie thing? Does Bush's 'man on mars' thing make Ashcroft nervous?
posted by bashos_frog at 4:01 PM on July 18, 2004
The game contains extreme violence, gore, ritualistic worshipping, Satanism, habitation of other planets God did not intend for us to live on, and the use of guns.
Why would god not intend for us to use the other 99.999...9% of the galaxy? Is this a fundie thing? Does Bush's 'man on mars' thing make Ashcroft nervous?
posted by bashos_frog at 4:01 PM on July 18, 2004
God did not intend for us to make websites either (it's not in the Bible people!), so the creator of bandoom.tk is probably going to hell.
posted by mkn at 4:14 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by mkn at 4:14 PM on July 18, 2004
Ban Doom! I am not responsible for crappy midi, Apple plugins, or your conversion to Christianity
They're playing the Scottish world cup football song from 1978 on the site..........memories of that lacklustre campaign are far more horrifying than anything doom3 can muster.
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:25 PM on July 18, 2004
They're playing the Scottish world cup football song from 1978 on the site..........memories of that lacklustre campaign are far more horrifying than anything doom3 can muster.
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:25 PM on July 18, 2004
doom was my first video game love. i played until my wrists were shot from punching the arrow keys. when doom 2 came out, my friend's 386 could barely handle it - we had to boot the machine differently to reserve enough RAM for it to run.
in front of me right now i have a shareware cd for doom and a full cd for doom 2. actual, somebody-bought-them cds with the id logo and all.
i wasted enough of my life playing this series, i'm going to see it through. my system qualifies as a low-end doom 3 machine (i just friggin' built it, not even a year old yet, and it's too slow? WTF??). here's hoping it's worth the wait... and that this release date is firm and not another vaporware promise.
posted by caution live frogs at 4:38 PM on July 18, 2004
in front of me right now i have a shareware cd for doom and a full cd for doom 2. actual, somebody-bought-them cds with the id logo and all.
i wasted enough of my life playing this series, i'm going to see it through. my system qualifies as a low-end doom 3 machine (i just friggin' built it, not even a year old yet, and it's too slow? WTF??). here's hoping it's worth the wait... and that this release date is firm and not another vaporware promise.
posted by caution live frogs at 4:38 PM on July 18, 2004
It's gold, it's done, it'll be in stores in two weeks.
I can't play it with my hardware. Ah well.
PCGamer mag has a review out already (which you can find scans of online if you look hard enough). They give it 94%. It rocks, apparently.
That said, this post sucks. Nyah!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:46 PM on July 18, 2004
I can't play it with my hardware. Ah well.
PCGamer mag has a review out already (which you can find scans of online if you look hard enough). They give it 94%. It rocks, apparently.
That said, this post sucks. Nyah!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:46 PM on July 18, 2004
The art direction and creature design seriously makes me laugh. It's so over the top cheesy and uninspired. It seems to me that the engine will be the big draw. I want to see what it could do out of the generic man-eating alien setting.
posted by Evstar at 4:57 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by Evstar at 4:57 PM on July 18, 2004
habitation of other planets God did not intend for us to live on
Doom 3 takes place on Europa?
posted by fatbobsmith at 5:01 PM on July 18, 2004
Doom 3 takes place on Europa?
posted by fatbobsmith at 5:01 PM on July 18, 2004
So where's Duke Nukem Forever?
The art direction and creature design seriously makes me laugh. It's so over the top cheesy and uninspired. It seems to me that the engine will be the big draw.
I can't wait until somebody makes a game with it.
posted by DaShiv at 5:36 PM on July 18, 2004
The art direction and creature design seriously makes me laugh. It's so over the top cheesy and uninspired. It seems to me that the engine will be the big draw.
I can't wait until somebody makes a game with it.
posted by DaShiv at 5:36 PM on July 18, 2004
Hypocrites!!!
- Remember: every sold copy of Doom 3 kills a puppy. So, for example, if 1 million copies are sold, and only 999,999 puppies die as a result, that makes the author a liar who will go hell!
- OMGWTF gimme dat evil stuff! Assuming that OMG stands for "oh my God", and "WTF" stands for "what the fuck" then the author has used the Lord's name in vain and will go to hell. Not to mention the foul language and "nigga" talk. Such poor moral standards will never be accepted in Heaven.
- Where's Jesus when you need him?! Doubting the eternal and omnipotent presence of Jesus - straight to hell.
- Hope you confessed before playing, because you're going straight to hell sinner. The author has cast judgement, disobeying "judge not lest ye be judged" - STRAIGHT TO HELL!
posted by Jase_B at 6:03 PM on July 18, 2004
- Remember: every sold copy of Doom 3 kills a puppy. So, for example, if 1 million copies are sold, and only 999,999 puppies die as a result, that makes the author a liar who will go hell!
- OMGWTF gimme dat evil stuff! Assuming that OMG stands for "oh my God", and "WTF" stands for "what the fuck" then the author has used the Lord's name in vain and will go to hell. Not to mention the foul language and "nigga" talk. Such poor moral standards will never be accepted in Heaven.
- Where's Jesus when you need him?! Doubting the eternal and omnipotent presence of Jesus - straight to hell.
- Hope you confessed before playing, because you're going straight to hell sinner. The author has cast judgement, disobeying "judge not lest ye be judged" - STRAIGHT TO HELL!
posted by Jase_B at 6:03 PM on July 18, 2004
stav.........i hope you dont link to this scan of the review or e-mail it to me either.
Or i will be VERY upset.
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:45 PM on July 18, 2004
Or i will be VERY upset.
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:45 PM on July 18, 2004
!CONTAINS SPOILERS!
THE WORLD-EXCLUSIVE FIRST REVIEW
You've waited years. Now the wait is over. PC Gamer was the only publication in the world to review Doom 3 a split-second after id declared it "Done." We thought we were ready...
Turn out the lights. Get the surround-sound speakers in place. And say goodbye to sanity for the next 20-odd hours. The guys at id Software are famous for delivering a game "when it's done" - and we're here to tell you that Doom 3 is not only done, it's mind-blowing.
X The game opens up with your arrival at Mars Research Facility of the massive United Aerospace Corporation. It's the year 2145, and you're a Marine newly assigned to the facility's security detail. For the first 15 minutes,you're not even issued a weapon - the action unfolds in a pace reminiscent of the opening of Half-Life, as you get oriented around the security building and watch some video primers on your new job and new home. In this opening act, you're familiarized with your Personal Digital Assistant, wich will be your invaluable interface throughtout the rest of the game. Using this handy gadget, you can download info from other people's PDAs as you come across them, adding codes, access keys, and emails that contain crucial information you'll need to progress through the 28 maps to follow. Here's what you really spen those first 15 minutes doing: gawking. This is your chance to absorb the full shock of magnificant graphics engine put to stunning use. The enviroments are huge-scale and packed with detail. The base is a convincing Mars Station - less a far-future design than a depressingly postmodern corporate park. It feels lived-in, too - from the skin mags scattered on the kitchenette tables to the nastiest in the public rest-room toilet bowls.
But no sooner do you get oriented with your gear - and with the very cool physics model that lets you rearrange just about any object in the place - then all hell breaks loose. Literally.
The base is hammered by a shockwave of satanic force, and immediatly discover that almost evryone around you has turned into a flesh eating zombie - with a mindless devotion to snacking on you. Worse yet, the base has been invaded by a horde of nightmarish demons. Cut off from your fellow Marines (and stalked by some of their well armed zombie versions!), you've got only a comm link with your still human Sarge to steer you to safety
DOOM AND THEN SOME
For those expecting a "classic" run and gun Doom gameplay, the biggest surprise may be just how substanial this game is. If you try to blaze through any of these 28 missions you WILL be humiliated. Instead the only route to access is a slow and steady one, sticking to shadows, searching every nook and crany for health, ammo, and access keys, and generally advancing as methodicaly as you can.
You've also got to figure out whats happening. As you make your way through the different levels of the base, the pilot is revealed via the PDAs you pick up, and in breif conversations with the few NPCs who werent "turned" by the satanic attack. To make your way through the inevitably sealed-off access doors between levels, you'll have to read through email that progressively reveals a conspiracy of apocalypse proportions - the nefarious scheme of phsycotic Dr. Betruger, UACs cheif scientist, who's perverted a teleportion to open up a portal into hell-like demension. (Oh and if you didnt notice Dr. betruger is also keen on transporting his hellion army to earth.)
Gear is an absolute premium. All the old Doom weapons are back, but preciously rationed, and with an ever windling supply of ammo for each. The shotgun is your basic in close sledge hammer, while the assault rifle is your best down hallway exchanges with armed zombie marines. The chaingun provides a heavy punch for those hectic occasions when you need to yell "LETS ROCKKKK!" The plasma rifle was my personal fav, dealin streams of fiery blue death, although it runs out of ammo quickly. The rocket launcher scores devastating hits at a distance, while the stock pistol is suitable for minor enemies and desperate last stands. (And as for the BFG 9000 - you'll have to wait a bit before you get to arm it, but the wait is well worth it.)
But theres no need to worry that Doom 3 is as slow as spliner cell - hardly a minute goes by without a furious exchange of hostiles with some manner demonic beastie, imps, Hellknights, and Archviles are all back to shock and awe you with viscerally jarring attacks, and the endless stream of zombies and scuttling nasties gives you plenty to chew on (and chew up). The gallery of grotesquerie is the product of almost limitless imagination for horors - spiders that make your flesh crawl, infant "cherubs" mutated with fly wings, and other unamable terrors that blight the corridors of the possessed base
TO LAUNCH A THOUSAND PC PURCHASES
Early in the game, you're tasked with sprinting outside the mars Facility ( with rapidly depleting air canisters) in search of the next airlock. It was here that i really started to notice what I was seeing was graphics superiorty that not even current hot tech showcases like Far Cry could match. Dust blew around the martian surface and the dull brown/red hue of the sand and the twisted metal of shredded structures all semed so perfectly plausible.
Each girder, door, and window adds tangible substance to each scene, and even th \e effect of your flashlight shinging into a drakened corner looks ridiculosly real - as the light floods through a room , swinging back andforth, shadows are cast perfectly; dust particles gently drift into the cone of the flash light , eerily visible. And these are just the basics of the enviroment: just wait until you enter the depths of hell, and dive into some of the later mass melees,\. Doom 3, with all due awareness of hyperbole, is the best looking game you've ever seen.
Not surprising you'll need a monster system to render these monsters in all their intracetly textured glory. But the ability to play Doom 3 with all its visual magic maxed out is really a good excuse to trade up. A P4 3GHzwith a Georce 5950- class card will see u through okay. One of our test systems had a geforce 6800 ultra and ran flawlessly at 1024x 768 with high detail. (A higher level of quality and resolution is available , but the PC to run it well isnt)nning with a geforce4 MX card and 512 Mb RAM, the texture detail was great, although the game was choppier in spots.
Bottom line: If Far Cry didnt convince you, then Doom 3 should - the time to upgrade to a next generation 3D chip , or even an all new rig, is now.
SOUND, FURY...AND SCARES
While I was expecting amazing graphics, it was the sound effects and sound design that had me reeling. Footsteps echo spookily down halls; monsters issue bloodcurling shrieks; every hallway has an audible drip of menace and dread. Doom 3 is the reason to own surround sound speakers. The collective impact of sound design on the whole expierience cant be overstated, adding to the urge to switch out ll th lights, close the curtains, crank up the voulume, and let yourself be scared s***less.
And you will be jolted right out of your seat. I'm not going to spoil any of the socks here, but there were at least four occasions where i lunged back in y chair. Lead designer Tim wiltis is inside your head like a phycologist - and just when hes let you think you can lower your guard, he sticks the psychic shiv right into your nervous system.
Even when the scares arent heart stopping , theres a constant, simmering anxiety at each and every step. You basically subjecting yourself to a 20 hour cariac episode. At times, death brought sweet, momentery respite from the fear drenched mayhem.
The zombie plagued space station is creepy enough , but about mid way through the game you make a teleporteraided detour to hell. The whole feel of the game changes utterly - if you thought you were in desperate straits before, you now find yourself in a balls shriveling nightmare netherworld. (With no weapons!)
It's all leading up to a knees knocking climatic spelunk into the archealogical ruins beneath mars base where you enter a final showdown against evildoers amid the remnants of a fallen martian civilization. As the massive fright lifter descends so agonizingly slowly into the darkness, you may find yourself as I did, cursing out loud at the grim hold this game has on you.
Does Doom 3 have any missteps maybe just one; its attemps at humor feel way out of place. there are a few lame running gagas: PDA spam and an uber-nerdy string of emails between members of a roleplaying club. (The spam gag actually becomes a puzzle that requires you jump out of the game and use you web browser to find a code. Huh?) In one appalling instance, you even even become privy in a tounge-in-cheek directive by arcvillian Dr. Betruger, advising hellions on the proper way to prepare virgin sacrifices. These limp jokes server only to dump me out of the games carefully calibrated dread machine.
But no matter: The rest is all dynamite. Doom 3 took me 23 hours to complete on the medium difficulty setting. (For all those who rumored that the game would be over in a few hours- you couldnt be more wrong.) And for those 23 hours, you will never expirience a dull moment. Or even a less than mesmerizing one. Doom 3 is a masterpiece of art form - staying true to the frantic legacy of the Doom series, while ambitiously reaching new hieghts and bashing down the doors of the next generation of PC shooter. The bar is raised. Lets see someone else climb over it- Dan Morris
posted by sgt.serenity at 7:13 PM on July 18, 2004
THE WORLD-EXCLUSIVE FIRST REVIEW
You've waited years. Now the wait is over. PC Gamer was the only publication in the world to review Doom 3 a split-second after id declared it "Done." We thought we were ready...
Turn out the lights. Get the surround-sound speakers in place. And say goodbye to sanity for the next 20-odd hours. The guys at id Software are famous for delivering a game "when it's done" - and we're here to tell you that Doom 3 is not only done, it's mind-blowing.
X The game opens up with your arrival at Mars Research Facility of the massive United Aerospace Corporation. It's the year 2145, and you're a Marine newly assigned to the facility's security detail. For the first 15 minutes,you're not even issued a weapon - the action unfolds in a pace reminiscent of the opening of Half-Life, as you get oriented around the security building and watch some video primers on your new job and new home. In this opening act, you're familiarized with your Personal Digital Assistant, wich will be your invaluable interface throughtout the rest of the game. Using this handy gadget, you can download info from other people's PDAs as you come across them, adding codes, access keys, and emails that contain crucial information you'll need to progress through the 28 maps to follow. Here's what you really spen those first 15 minutes doing: gawking. This is your chance to absorb the full shock of magnificant graphics engine put to stunning use. The enviroments are huge-scale and packed with detail. The base is a convincing Mars Station - less a far-future design than a depressingly postmodern corporate park. It feels lived-in, too - from the skin mags scattered on the kitchenette tables to the nastiest in the public rest-room toilet bowls.
But no sooner do you get oriented with your gear - and with the very cool physics model that lets you rearrange just about any object in the place - then all hell breaks loose. Literally.
The base is hammered by a shockwave of satanic force, and immediatly discover that almost evryone around you has turned into a flesh eating zombie - with a mindless devotion to snacking on you. Worse yet, the base has been invaded by a horde of nightmarish demons. Cut off from your fellow Marines (and stalked by some of their well armed zombie versions!), you've got only a comm link with your still human Sarge to steer you to safety
DOOM AND THEN SOME
For those expecting a "classic" run and gun Doom gameplay, the biggest surprise may be just how substanial this game is. If you try to blaze through any of these 28 missions you WILL be humiliated. Instead the only route to access is a slow and steady one, sticking to shadows, searching every nook and crany for health, ammo, and access keys, and generally advancing as methodicaly as you can.
You've also got to figure out whats happening. As you make your way through the different levels of the base, the pilot is revealed via the PDAs you pick up, and in breif conversations with the few NPCs who werent "turned" by the satanic attack. To make your way through the inevitably sealed-off access doors between levels, you'll have to read through email that progressively reveals a conspiracy of apocalypse proportions - the nefarious scheme of phsycotic Dr. Betruger, UACs cheif scientist, who's perverted a teleportion to open up a portal into hell-like demension. (Oh and if you didnt notice Dr. betruger is also keen on transporting his hellion army to earth.)
Gear is an absolute premium. All the old Doom weapons are back, but preciously rationed, and with an ever windling supply of ammo for each. The shotgun is your basic in close sledge hammer, while the assault rifle is your best down hallway exchanges with armed zombie marines. The chaingun provides a heavy punch for those hectic occasions when you need to yell "LETS ROCKKKK!" The plasma rifle was my personal fav, dealin streams of fiery blue death, although it runs out of ammo quickly. The rocket launcher scores devastating hits at a distance, while the stock pistol is suitable for minor enemies and desperate last stands. (And as for the BFG 9000 - you'll have to wait a bit before you get to arm it, but the wait is well worth it.)
But theres no need to worry that Doom 3 is as slow as spliner cell - hardly a minute goes by without a furious exchange of hostiles with some manner demonic beastie, imps, Hellknights, and Archviles are all back to shock and awe you with viscerally jarring attacks, and the endless stream of zombies and scuttling nasties gives you plenty to chew on (and chew up). The gallery of grotesquerie is the product of almost limitless imagination for horors - spiders that make your flesh crawl, infant "cherubs" mutated with fly wings, and other unamable terrors that blight the corridors of the possessed base
TO LAUNCH A THOUSAND PC PURCHASES
Early in the game, you're tasked with sprinting outside the mars Facility ( with rapidly depleting air canisters) in search of the next airlock. It was here that i really started to notice what I was seeing was graphics superiorty that not even current hot tech showcases like Far Cry could match. Dust blew around the martian surface and the dull brown/red hue of the sand and the twisted metal of shredded structures all semed so perfectly plausible.
Each girder, door, and window adds tangible substance to each scene, and even th \e effect of your flashlight shinging into a drakened corner looks ridiculosly real - as the light floods through a room , swinging back andforth, shadows are cast perfectly; dust particles gently drift into the cone of the flash light , eerily visible. And these are just the basics of the enviroment: just wait until you enter the depths of hell, and dive into some of the later mass melees,\. Doom 3, with all due awareness of hyperbole, is the best looking game you've ever seen.
Not surprising you'll need a monster system to render these monsters in all their intracetly textured glory. But the ability to play Doom 3 with all its visual magic maxed out is really a good excuse to trade up. A P4 3GHzwith a Georce 5950- class card will see u through okay. One of our test systems had a geforce 6800 ultra and ran flawlessly at 1024x 768 with high detail. (A higher level of quality and resolution is available , but the PC to run it well isnt)nning with a geforce4 MX card and 512 Mb RAM, the texture detail was great, although the game was choppier in spots.
Bottom line: If Far Cry didnt convince you, then Doom 3 should - the time to upgrade to a next generation 3D chip , or even an all new rig, is now.
SOUND, FURY...AND SCARES
While I was expecting amazing graphics, it was the sound effects and sound design that had me reeling. Footsteps echo spookily down halls; monsters issue bloodcurling shrieks; every hallway has an audible drip of menace and dread. Doom 3 is the reason to own surround sound speakers. The collective impact of sound design on the whole expierience cant be overstated, adding to the urge to switch out ll th lights, close the curtains, crank up the voulume, and let yourself be scared s***less.
And you will be jolted right out of your seat. I'm not going to spoil any of the socks here, but there were at least four occasions where i lunged back in y chair. Lead designer Tim wiltis is inside your head like a phycologist - and just when hes let you think you can lower your guard, he sticks the psychic shiv right into your nervous system.
Even when the scares arent heart stopping , theres a constant, simmering anxiety at each and every step. You basically subjecting yourself to a 20 hour cariac episode. At times, death brought sweet, momentery respite from the fear drenched mayhem.
The zombie plagued space station is creepy enough , but about mid way through the game you make a teleporteraided detour to hell. The whole feel of the game changes utterly - if you thought you were in desperate straits before, you now find yourself in a balls shriveling nightmare netherworld. (With no weapons!)
It's all leading up to a knees knocking climatic spelunk into the archealogical ruins beneath mars base where you enter a final showdown against evildoers amid the remnants of a fallen martian civilization. As the massive fright lifter descends so agonizingly slowly into the darkness, you may find yourself as I did, cursing out loud at the grim hold this game has on you.
Does Doom 3 have any missteps maybe just one; its attemps at humor feel way out of place. there are a few lame running gagas: PDA spam and an uber-nerdy string of emails between members of a roleplaying club. (The spam gag actually becomes a puzzle that requires you jump out of the game and use you web browser to find a code. Huh?) In one appalling instance, you even even become privy in a tounge-in-cheek directive by arcvillian Dr. Betruger, advising hellions on the proper way to prepare virgin sacrifices. These limp jokes server only to dump me out of the games carefully calibrated dread machine.
But no matter: The rest is all dynamite. Doom 3 took me 23 hours to complete on the medium difficulty setting. (For all those who rumored that the game would be over in a few hours- you couldnt be more wrong.) And for those 23 hours, you will never expirience a dull moment. Or even a less than mesmerizing one. Doom 3 is a masterpiece of art form - staying true to the frantic legacy of the Doom series, while ambitiously reaching new hieghts and bashing down the doors of the next generation of PC shooter. The bar is raised. Lets see someone else climb over it- Dan Morris
posted by sgt.serenity at 7:13 PM on July 18, 2004
a low end Doom 3 capable system includes :
CPU : 1.5GHz P4 or AMD equivalent
RAM : 512MB
Video Card : Nvidia GeForce TI 4800 or ATI Radeon 9500
It's an interesting question as to how the game will run on XBOX at all... XBOX specs are nowhere that good.
posted by clevershark at 7:30 PM on July 18, 2004
CPU : 1.5GHz P4 or AMD equivalent
RAM : 512MB
Video Card : Nvidia GeForce TI 4800 or ATI Radeon 9500
It's an interesting question as to how the game will run on XBOX at all... XBOX specs are nowhere that good.
posted by clevershark at 7:30 PM on July 18, 2004
Yeah, but I'm still waiting for the next Infocom game.
posted by substrate at 7:37 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by substrate at 7:37 PM on July 18, 2004
I never met a first-person shooter that interested me after I spent an hour on Castle Wolfenstein years ago. This one looks to be no different. Different strokes...
posted by rushmc at 7:37 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by rushmc at 7:37 PM on July 18, 2004
A couple of people have hinted at this, but no one has just said it outright. It doesn't really matter how well received this game is. ID makes most of their money off reliscining the engine to other companies. They are notorious for having almost nonexistent anti piracy measures. They want their games played and played out so people will see the engine and gasp over it.
posted by sourbrew at 8:20 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by sourbrew at 8:20 PM on July 18, 2004
Does this game run on havoc physics, or a physics engine of its own?
posted by Evstar at 8:55 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by Evstar at 8:55 PM on July 18, 2004
Yeah, I'm going to be a curmudgeon as well....watched the trailer and thought, "Eh, the same old thing with updated graphics." Games are all about gameplay, and I ran myself sick of FPS games years ago.
I don't think developers are milking the "stealth" genre as well as they could be. I could use more of that.
posted by Mach3avelli at 10:05 PM on July 18, 2004
I don't think developers are milking the "stealth" genre as well as they could be. I could use more of that.
posted by Mach3avelli at 10:05 PM on July 18, 2004
My favorite part is how everybody "knows" this game will suck based entirely on the trailer. A pox on all you nonbelievers!
posted by TungstenChef at 10:31 PM on July 18, 2004
posted by TungstenChef at 10:31 PM on July 18, 2004
stav.........i hope you dont link to this scan of the review or e-mail it to me either.
Sorry, sarge -- I'm at work, so I can't go mining for the link to the scans...looks like you found the review yourself, anyway....
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:02 PM on July 18, 2004
Sorry, sarge -- I'm at work, so I can't go mining for the link to the scans...looks like you found the review yourself, anyway....
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:02 PM on July 18, 2004
A bit of history to the uninitiated. Doom 3 has the story and characters it does because, well, that's the story and characters of Doom. The idea, for better or worse, was to recreate the phenomenon of Doom with cutting-edge technology.
I thought this was a big mistake at the time it was unofficially announced. It happened as a result of a mini-revolution among long-time Id employees at the conclusion of the Quake 3 Arena development. Led by artist Paul Steed, the revolutionaries demanded that the next Id project be a recreation of Doom. They surprisingly found an ally in cofounder and codewarrior John Carmack; but this iniative was strongly opposed by two of the rest of Id's owners, Kevin Cloud and Adrian Carmack (no relation), who between them own more than 50% of Id. Adrian Carmack is also a cofounder. Much animosity developed. John Carmack convinced, with arm-twisting, Cloud and Carmack of the merits of the idea; but part of the price was Paul Steed's job. He was fired.
Anyway, Id, besides creating the FPS, had also essentially created the online multiplayer game, as well as user mods of games. All the while, each of these innovations was paralleled by Carmack pushing the stae-of-the-art of the 3D graphics engine. In many ways, Doom 3, with its focus on single-player gameplay, and its retreaded storyline, seemed like very unwise move backwards.
What the employees at Id wanted and what they convinced Carmack of, was to recreate what was for many the once-in-a-lifetime gaming experience of Doom. With the possible exception of Half-Life, never before or since had a game so frighteningly immersed me in its virtual reality. I, like many others, would try to peek around corners by peeking around my monitor. I would be frightened out of my chair. A lot of this was the result of novelty—Doom was successful in this way because we'd never really seen anything like this before. (In anything larger than a relatively small viewport—I'd played Ultima Underground and System Shock, for example.) And Id has always been very weak on story and, frankly, gameplay. Doom had been the best playing game they'd created, and it succeeded through raw energy, not finesse.
So, to be successful, Doom 3 has to somehow recapture the excitement and experience of the first Doom, while meeting the expectations of the modern, much more jaded, gamer—a gamer for whom eye-candy is no longer much of a surprise. Hell, I personally didn't even think that Carmack could continue to stay ahead of the graphics software engineering curve, but it sounds like he has.
If you were a gamer ten years ago and Doom didn't blow your mind (not just the graphics, but the excitement of play), then I suspect that Doom 3 isn't going to excite you, either. What's interesting, though, is that these previews and reviews all seem to indicate that Id has succeeded at what they were attempting. Whether this will mean commercial success is another question. But they can afford a big flop, which this almost certainly won't be.
Meanwhile, I've mostly given up computer and console gaming, and haven't upgraded my graphics card in four years. This may be a problem.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:03 PM on July 18, 2004
I thought this was a big mistake at the time it was unofficially announced. It happened as a result of a mini-revolution among long-time Id employees at the conclusion of the Quake 3 Arena development. Led by artist Paul Steed, the revolutionaries demanded that the next Id project be a recreation of Doom. They surprisingly found an ally in cofounder and codewarrior John Carmack; but this iniative was strongly opposed by two of the rest of Id's owners, Kevin Cloud and Adrian Carmack (no relation), who between them own more than 50% of Id. Adrian Carmack is also a cofounder. Much animosity developed. John Carmack convinced, with arm-twisting, Cloud and Carmack of the merits of the idea; but part of the price was Paul Steed's job. He was fired.
Anyway, Id, besides creating the FPS, had also essentially created the online multiplayer game, as well as user mods of games. All the while, each of these innovations was paralleled by Carmack pushing the stae-of-the-art of the 3D graphics engine. In many ways, Doom 3, with its focus on single-player gameplay, and its retreaded storyline, seemed like very unwise move backwards.
What the employees at Id wanted and what they convinced Carmack of, was to recreate what was for many the once-in-a-lifetime gaming experience of Doom. With the possible exception of Half-Life, never before or since had a game so frighteningly immersed me in its virtual reality. I, like many others, would try to peek around corners by peeking around my monitor. I would be frightened out of my chair. A lot of this was the result of novelty—Doom was successful in this way because we'd never really seen anything like this before. (In anything larger than a relatively small viewport—I'd played Ultima Underground and System Shock, for example.) And Id has always been very weak on story and, frankly, gameplay. Doom had been the best playing game they'd created, and it succeeded through raw energy, not finesse.
So, to be successful, Doom 3 has to somehow recapture the excitement and experience of the first Doom, while meeting the expectations of the modern, much more jaded, gamer—a gamer for whom eye-candy is no longer much of a surprise. Hell, I personally didn't even think that Carmack could continue to stay ahead of the graphics software engineering curve, but it sounds like he has.
If you were a gamer ten years ago and Doom didn't blow your mind (not just the graphics, but the excitement of play), then I suspect that Doom 3 isn't going to excite you, either. What's interesting, though, is that these previews and reviews all seem to indicate that Id has succeeded at what they were attempting. Whether this will mean commercial success is another question. But they can afford a big flop, which this almost certainly won't be.
Meanwhile, I've mostly given up computer and console gaming, and haven't upgraded my graphics card in four years. This may be a problem.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:03 PM on July 18, 2004
Does this game run on havoc physics, or a physics engine of its own?
Its own. From what I played from the nearly year-ago leak the physics were the least impressive aspect of the game, though it's speculated that physics is one of the aspects concentrated on in the past several months.
Anyway, now that lots of games have Havok physics (Deus Ex 2, Painkiller) I've grown less impressed by it. Like it's still great, one of the guys working on Painkiller described how less immersive it was to go back and play an early Painkiller map with static chairs and stuff, and that Havok really draws one into game. Going through the early Doom 3 leak it felt like almost everything, chairs, tables, barrels, were all made out of concrete because they wouldn't move at all.
Hell, I personally didn't even think that Carmack could continue to stay ahead of the graphics software engineering curve, but it sounds like he has.
I'm surprised too that Carmack is aparently staying ahead of the curve, it almost seems like the technology is finally catching up to him. All this and he still has spare time to work on his rocket ship.
posted by bobo123 at 12:29 AM on July 19, 2004
Its own. From what I played from the nearly year-ago leak the physics were the least impressive aspect of the game, though it's speculated that physics is one of the aspects concentrated on in the past several months.
Anyway, now that lots of games have Havok physics (Deus Ex 2, Painkiller) I've grown less impressed by it. Like it's still great, one of the guys working on Painkiller described how less immersive it was to go back and play an early Painkiller map with static chairs and stuff, and that Havok really draws one into game. Going through the early Doom 3 leak it felt like almost everything, chairs, tables, barrels, were all made out of concrete because they wouldn't move at all.
Hell, I personally didn't even think that Carmack could continue to stay ahead of the graphics software engineering curve, but it sounds like he has.
I'm surprised too that Carmack is aparently staying ahead of the curve, it almost seems like the technology is finally catching up to him. All this and he still has spare time to work on his rocket ship.
posted by bobo123 at 12:29 AM on July 19, 2004
Doom 3 looks like it borrows heavily from Half-Life (one part in the trailer, where the narrator speaks of scientists meddling with other dimensions
Secretly, the Doom 3 story is the Doom story -- which means it predates Half-Life's story by a long shot.
posted by Jairus at 12:43 AM on July 19, 2004
Secretly, the Doom 3 story is the Doom story -- which means it predates Half-Life's story by a long shot.
posted by Jairus at 12:43 AM on July 19, 2004
IDDQD's for pussies. IDKFA never hurt anyone for a quick game, though.
posted by nthdegx at 5:15 AM on July 19, 2004
posted by nthdegx at 5:15 AM on July 19, 2004
IDCLIP
posted by armoured-ant at 5:33 AM on July 19, 2004
posted by armoured-ant at 5:33 AM on July 19, 2004
Looks very cool. I wonder if it will run on my P3 550? ha.
posted by corpse at 6:54 AM on July 19, 2004
posted by corpse at 6:54 AM on July 19, 2004
Is this the thread where we bash something we haven't even seen yet? Cool!
posted by bondcliff at 7:52 AM on July 19, 2004
posted by bondcliff at 7:52 AM on July 19, 2004
A midrange system includes :
CPU : 2.4GHz P4 or AMD equivalent
RAM : 1GB
Video Card : Nvidia GeForce 5950 or ATI Radeon 9800 Pro/XT
Is that a joke? The requirements for the game are so imposing that I would not buy the game at all and just pirate it -- why is someone going to spend $50 for a game that is not going to run correctly on their system.
That video card alone is $400.
posted by eas98 at 8:03 AM on July 19, 2004
CPU : 2.4GHz P4 or AMD equivalent
RAM : 1GB
Video Card : Nvidia GeForce 5950 or ATI Radeon 9800 Pro/XT
Is that a joke? The requirements for the game are so imposing that I would not buy the game at all and just pirate it -- why is someone going to spend $50 for a game that is not going to run correctly on their system.
That video card alone is $400.
posted by eas98 at 8:03 AM on July 19, 2004
Ideally Doom3 would have a level set in an agricultural dome on Mars where you really did have to S some P's. Then later you'd have to come back through the level and the P's would have rotted ISPOPD.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:16 AM on July 19, 2004
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:16 AM on July 19, 2004
That video card alone is $400.
In 6 months, it'll be half that. Programmers have always pushed the envelope. They are what keeps the computer market profit train chugging on the track. They are why we're all not still using EGA screens, 300 baud modems and typing into WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS. But that's no excuse for you to pirate software. Diamonds are expensive, too. But that doesn't mean it's ok to steal them.
posted by crunchland at 8:24 AM on July 19, 2004
In 6 months, it'll be half that. Programmers have always pushed the envelope. They are what keeps the computer market profit train chugging on the track. They are why we're all not still using EGA screens, 300 baud modems and typing into WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS. But that's no excuse for you to pirate software. Diamonds are expensive, too. But that doesn't mean it's ok to steal them.
posted by crunchland at 8:24 AM on July 19, 2004
You picked a rather unfortunate example—one which radically blunts the moral force of your argument, crunch.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:26 AM on July 19, 2004
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:26 AM on July 19, 2004
why? because the value of diamonds are artificially inflated? that $400 video is probably worth about $25 in parts. Regardless of the moral sketchiness of the diamond cartels, it's still not right to steal diamonds.
posted by crunchland at 9:08 AM on July 19, 2004
posted by crunchland at 9:08 AM on July 19, 2004
The genre has been done to death, and it doesn't look like Doom 3 brings in anything new except sharp graphics. Or am I missing something here?
here's the thing. Anytime a new id game comes out, you have to get a look at it because that's essentially what games will look like for the entire next technology cycle. if Carmack says 'shadows', then all new game engines have to at least have shadows. It's getting a look at the future. For anyone interested in that sort of thing.
posted by Miles Long at 11:25 AM on July 19, 2004
here's the thing. Anytime a new id game comes out, you have to get a look at it because that's essentially what games will look like for the entire next technology cycle. if Carmack says 'shadows', then all new game engines have to at least have shadows. It's getting a look at the future. For anyone interested in that sort of thing.
posted by Miles Long at 11:25 AM on July 19, 2004
that $400 video is probably worth about $25 in parts.
...and millions in R&D. More goes into pricing than material costs, obviously.
posted by ChasFile at 2:14 PM on July 19, 2004
...and millions in R&D. More goes into pricing than material costs, obviously.
posted by ChasFile at 2:14 PM on July 19, 2004
Im excited about this release but ..........half life 2 is comin.
posted by sgt.serenity at 8:20 PM on July 19, 2004
posted by sgt.serenity at 8:20 PM on July 19, 2004
Does this game run on havoc physics, or a physics engine of its own?
I love how a physics library has fanboys.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 2:32 PM on July 20, 2004
I love how a physics library has fanboys.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 2:32 PM on July 20, 2004
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posted by bitpart at 3:01 PM on July 18, 2004