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Domain: doom3.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to doom3.com.
Stories · 21
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Are Older Games More Satisfying?
Kwirl asks: "While the computer and console gaming industry is growing at a remarkable pace, the focus is usually on better graphics as opposed to stronger gameplay and plot development/story arc. I personally have several titles (Sims2, Half-Life2, Doom 3, MSFS2004, Unreal 2004) sitting on my shelf that were amazing games, but just couldn't hold my interest for long enough to really be considered a worthwhile investment. In the last couple of years I had thought that the answer to my gaming needs would come in the form of MMORPG's. I have purchased and played many of them, but all seem to come to a stagnant point where I recognize that only addiction would drive me deeper into the game, and not better gameplay (Dark Age of Camelot, World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, Everquest II). In truth, I have found myself spending more time playing old MUD's (TorilMud, Medievia) again, or even amusing web-based games ( KingdomofLoathing, PimpWar, NeoPets). I am curious to know how many other people here find themselves walking intentionally backwards along the technological timeline of games for your personal expenditure of free time? What games/sites do you feel give you the best return of satisfaction versus time spent playing the game over the long haul?" -
DOOM: The Boardgame
Ant writes "And I thought I had seen it all from DOOM world. Nope, there is a boardgame! It is for 2 to 4 players, playable in 1 to 2 hours, based on the groundbreaking DOOM 3 computer game by id Software. Seen on Blue's News." There's also Frag, which IMHO isn't a very good boardgame. The Doom game looks like it might work, though. -
Game Industry Bigger Than Hollywood
Ant writes "This SF Gate story says stacks of new releases for hungry video game enthusiasts mean it's boom time for an industry now even bigger than Hollywood. The $10 billion video game industry, which generates more revenue than Hollywood, has never released so many highly anticipated blockbuster titles in a single season. It started in August with the game title Doom 3, followed by The Sims 2 in September, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in October, then Halo 2, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Half-Life 2 last month. In November, sales of video games rose to $849 million, an 11 percent increase from the same month last year and up 77 percent from October, according to the industry research firm NPD Funworld. The industry set a milestone last month when Microsoft's Halo 2 -- a sequel to a futuristic game with an elaborate plot that pits humans against invading aliens -- surpassed Hollywood's opening-weekend movie box office record in just one day of sales." -
Missing the 'Whole' Point in Game Development
An Anonymous Reader wrote to tell us about Walter Kim of the Ludonauts. He has an interesting argument about game design: "many videogame developers, particularly the Western ones, approach their craft with far too much of a hard-headed pragmatism, a nuts and bolts mentality about development that has, consciously or unconsciously, extended itself to design. What you end up with are a bunch of games that, while they may exhibit a great deal of cleverness on the level of individual level design, are stitched together with about as much finesse as duct tape." -
Linux Doom 3 Client Released
CrusadeR writes "id Software has released the Linux client/server binaries for Doom 3. An installation/FAQ page has been setup; there's also a torrent tracker for the various files." -
Doom3 1.1 Patch Released
Rogerpq3 writes "The first non-beta patch for DOOM 3 has been released. The patch addresses many issues found in multiplayer and single player portions of the game. It also adds a Win32 dedicated server executable. You can download the patch at: FileFront, Doom3HQ, FileShack, Worthplaying, and GamersHell." -
Accelerated PowerPoint?
darkjohnson writes "If you're looking for an excuse to offer your manager to approve that high end graphics card so you can play Doom 3 at full tilt (on your 'breaks' ;) you might want to check out the Instant Effects' technology as it has the first product (OfficeFX) that justifies upgrading your display hardware so you can do a POWER POINT presentation of all things. Especially true if you're the one stuck with the duty of making them look good. I saw this at Siggraph and was not only impressed with the look but the number of people packed into the booth to see it demoed, competing side by side with real time 3D game renders and high-end effects software." -
Doom 3 Mod Seminar Hits QuakeCon
Thanks to HomeLAN Fed for details from today's Doom 3 modding seminar held at QuakeCon, with "id Software programmers Robert Duffy and Jim Dose, animator Fred Nilsson and intern Robert Harris in attendance." On the question of the Doom 3 SDK release date, "Duffy said they were aiming for sometime next week but added, 'Don't quote me on that'." Other interesting tidbits include vehicle modding ("Even though the gameplay doesn't lend itself to vehicles, Doom 3 does support vehicles and when the SDK is released a sample map will be included that will have a six wheeled buggy in it"), as well as level-of-detail issues for modders ("Most of the artwork in the game started as a 3D model and things like character models had over 1 million polygons before they reduced them down to be used in the game. id plans to release exporters for programs like Maya and some sample character models for the game in order to help mod artists with their work.") -
Marine Finds Duct Tape on Mars
mhore writes "It seems that one of the biggest complaints about Doom 3 has been resolved. Thanks to Glen Murphy, you may now use your flashlight and weapon at the same time, thanks to the ingenious 'Duct Tape' mod! While some may think this ruins the game play, I disagree and think it is worth noting." There's plenty of other Doom 3-related coverage over at PlanetDoom, including a pointer to a new IGN review, which PlanetDoom considers "a lot more fair and balanced than some of the reviews we've seen so far", with an overall 8.9/10 score. -
G-Phoria Awards Showcase Psychonauts Deal, Anna Nicole
Thanks to GameSpot for its article discussing G4TechTV's recently filmed 'G-Phoria' videogame awards show, due to be shown on August 6th, in which, according to the reporter, "Carmen Electra... and her rocker-husband Dave Navarro played it up as hosts of the second annual awards show, but in reality, the event was overshadowed by the first appearance of the final version of Doom 3 at the postshow party." IGN PS2 has more information on the winners, including "Ryu Hayabusa of Ninja Gaiden fame (Favorite Character), Tony Hawk's Underground (Alt Sports Award), Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (Best Innovation), and Viewtiful Joe (Best New Franchise). The ultimate award, Game of the Year, went to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic." GameSpot's article also reveals that "sources [at the awards] let on that Majesco had picked up Tim Schafer's Psychonauts and will publish the game in early 2005", and elsewhere, Anna Nicole Smith's cosplay attempts (Ivy from Soul Calibur II, Farah from Prince Of Persia) were another 'highlight'. -
Castle Wolfenstein Returned To, Again?
Thanks to PlanetWolfenstein for its forum post revealing id Software's CEO Todd Hollenshead has indicated a sequel to Return To Castle Wolfenstein is being created, as his interview on G4TechTV show Pulse included his indication that the sequel is "currently in development by an 'outside studio'." According to the forum post: "There was no mention of the engine it would be on, but i'm guessing the Doom 3 one will be most likely", and rumormongers are pointing to the Splash Damage website, where the UK developer behind Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and contributions to Doom 3's multi-player mode is hiring, since it's "started production of a new full game based on the cutting-edge Doom 3 engine... in a continuation of our successful collaboration with id Software and Activision." -
Doom 3 Web Site Now Operational
thrash242 writes "After much re-re-re-rechecking, the official Doom 3 site finally has some real content, instead of just 'Coming soon' - it also confirms the August 3rd ship date. Woohoo!" -
Doom 3's Release Date; Quake Turns 8
LehiNephi writes "Apparently, GameStop has an updated product page for long-awaited PC FPS Doom 3, along with the note: 'Official launch date of August 3rd, 2004 confirmed!', although the official Doom 3 site hasn't yet been updated, sporting just a 'coming soon' notice. [Blue's News also has further info, noting 'that the British Board of Film Classification has a DOOM III Listing with a rating for the game, a seeming indication that they've already been able to review all its content'.]" In related news, Ag3nt writes "One of the biggest leaps in PC gaming technology, Quake, celebrated its 8th birthday yesterday, according to an AmpedNews piece - there's also a birthday note on John Romero's homepage." -
John Carmack's Test Liftoff a Success
brainstyle writes "Space.com is reporting that John Carmack of Armadillo Aerospace (and who apparently has some game design hobby) has had a successful launch of the prototype of its entry in the X-Prize. From the article: 'I had tried several algorithms on the simulator before settling on this one, and it behaved exactly the same in reality, which is always a pleasant surprise.'" -
Halo, Doom Sequels Rated - By Psychic
Friedenfelds writes "Xbox Nation magazine asked a psychic to predict reviews of Doom 3, Halo 2, and a bunch of other big Xbox games - the results are pretty funny." Among the games rated by "a bona fide soothsayer" are Halo 2 ("I see a lot of partnerships in the cards... there's a third in the works, but no one knows this yet. You'll enjoy it, but it's not great for any relationships you're in") and Doom 3 ("The review of the game, by the people... it's not going to play out as well as people expected. Maybe there was too much expectation.") -
DOOM III This Summer
Crusader writes "Activision and id Software have issued a press release announcing that DOOM III will be released this summer. A Linux client has also been in development alongside the requisite Win32 version." -
Xbox-Exclusive Games a Growing Trend
securitas writes "The New York Times Technology's Michel Marriott reports (free reg. req.) on the growing trend of developers making Xbox-exclusive games, bypassing the Sony PS2 and Nintendo GameCube. Microsoft is 'playing catch-up on the console' with some notable examples of Xbox-exclusive (or Xbox-first) console games that include Doom 3, Unreal Championship 2, Advent Rising and Full Spectrum Warrior. Marriott interviews Todd Hollenshead (id), Mark Rein (Epic), J. Allard (Microsoft), and Donald Mustard (Majesco) among others that include Sony and THQ. The question is, will gamers follow the developers' preferences? Sony's dominance in the next game console wars could be toppled if they do. 'If Microsoft can woo more developers to Xbox, the balance of power in the next round could change.'" -
Hardware Manufacturers Making PC Gaming Too Elite?
Thanks to AVault for its editorial discussing whether PC hardware/graphics card manufacturers are fragmenting PC gaming too much with constant hardware upgrades, thereby "making it a sport for only the serious few." The author argues: "With the impending release of Valve's Half-Life 2 and id's Doom 3, we're looking at the first required hardware upgrade in gaming history... the reported minimum requirements for these two heavy hitting titles include fully DirectX9 compatible video cards. This demand excludes all low-end and many medium-level computers out there today." He discusses the "partnership" of "hardware manufacturers turning over reference equipment that won't see the retail market for some time to software developers to use in the creation of their games", and queries the "expensive process of habitual upgrades" by suggesting: "If everybody turns to an Xbox or a PlayStation for entertainment, who's going to need new PC equipment?" -
IF Quake Takes Fragging To Whole New Level
Thanks to ShackNews for pointing to the impressive technical feats showcased at the unofficial IF Quake page, which bills itself as "...a port of id Software's Quake 1 engine to the Inform programming language." The site includes riveting in-game screenshots, and the FAQ page has important info on bugs with this genuinely playable, downloadable Alpha release, noting: "IF Quake interfaces directly with the Quake engine, which was obviously not designed for [this advanced] output. The errors you see related to audio and OpenGL are due to the fact that the engine is being tricked into thinking it's running normally." Rumors that John Carmack will be switching Doom 3 to this impressive new engine are yet to be substantiated, however. -
Doom 3 Vaporware no More
gilxa1226 writes "The waiting will soon be over... I was browsing Best Buy's website, and saw a preorder for Doom 3. It looks as though the release date is 4/1/2004. Doom 3.com also has info on presales." -
Doom 3 - Definitely Worth The Wait?
Thanks to 1UP for their borderline-gonzo article discussing how the extended wait for Doom 3 is affecting opinions of it. The naysaying author of the piece argues that id's FPS sequel "...possesses many appreciable graphical highlights, [but] much of its beauty comes from techniques that are rapidly becoming standards. Normal mapping and dynamic lighting are nothing new, and companies like Ion Storm Austin and Crytek are proving that anyone can do it." He goes on to stake out his position clearly: "I am certain Doom will be great fun for what it is, but I just don't know if fans of the original and its Serious [Sam] inspiring style will dig something paced so radically different. I am also unsure of whether or not action gamers... will buy into a title that seems to lack the excessive fiction, approachability and interactivity that drive practically all of today's modern games." Update: 11/27 17:18 GMT by S : There's also a new mini-interview with John Carmack regarding Doom 3 over at CGW.
