Domain: idsoftware.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to idsoftware.com.
Stories · 75
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Return To Castle Wolfenstein Source Code Released
geefau writes with news that id Software has released the source code to Return To Castle Wolfenstein (single player and multiplayer), along with Wolfenstein – Enemy Territory, under the GPL. The linked article notes that "these only include the game source code, not the graphics. You need the full games for those." -
id Software Demos Rage On iPhone, Releases Source Code For Two Games
glenkim writes "Kotaku has posted their liveblog of the QuakeCon 2010 keynote, with some big announcements by game developer and Slashdot regular John Carmack. Highlights include a video of the id Tech 5 engine (aka Rage) running on the iPhone 4G at 60fps, with claims that it also runs on the iPhone 3GS. Carmack noted that performance on the iPhone was able to 'kill anything done on the Xbox or PlayStation 2.' He also announced the source code release of two games, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. Also, Carmack finally admitted that Doom 3 was too dark!" -
Classic Doom Coming To the iPhone Next Month
Two months after releasing an iPhone port of Wolfenstein 3D, id's John Carmack brings an update to the similar effort underway to bring classic Doom to the iPhone as well. He provides some detailed information on the development process, and says they're aiming for a release some time next month. "One of the things I love about open sourcing the old games is that Doom has been ported to practically everything with a 32 bit processor, from toasters to supercomputers. We hear from a lot of companies that have moved the old games onto various set top boxes and PDAs, and want licenses to sell them. We generally come to some terms in the five figure range for obscure platforms, but it is always with a bit of a sigh. The game runs, and the demo playbacks look good, but there is a distinct lack of actually caring about the game play itself. Making Doom run on a new platform is only a couple days of work. Making it a really good game on a platform that doesn't have a keyboard and mouse or an excess of processing power is an honest development effort." -
id Releases Open Source Wolfenstein 3D for the iPhone
An anonymous reader writes "id Software has released a port of the classic Wolfenstein FPS to the iPhone. Some of the coding was done by John Carmack himself, who also used original code combined with new code from Wolf3D Redux. The original code was open sourced years ago, and enthusiasts have been updating it, which made the port considerably easier for id. It's available in the iTunes App Store, but the source is available for free at id's website." Carmack also posted a detailed writeup about the decision to bring Wolf3D to the iPhone, including design notes and a few snippets of code. At the end, he says, "I'm going back to Rage for a while, but I do expect Classic Doom to come fairly soon for the iPhone." Kotaku got a chance to try the game at GDC: "It's not just a good reproduction of the original, it seems better." -
id Releases Open Source Wolfenstein 3D for the iPhone
An anonymous reader writes "id Software has released a port of the classic Wolfenstein FPS to the iPhone. Some of the coding was done by John Carmack himself, who also used original code combined with new code from Wolf3D Redux. The original code was open sourced years ago, and enthusiasts have been updating it, which made the port considerably easier for id. It's available in the iTunes App Store, but the source is available for free at id's website." Carmack also posted a detailed writeup about the decision to bring Wolf3D to the iPhone, including design notes and a few snippets of code. At the end, he says, "I'm going back to Rage for a while, but I do expect Classic Doom to come fairly soon for the iPhone." Kotaku got a chance to try the game at GDC: "It's not just a good reproduction of the original, it seems better." -
id Software Announces Doom 4
spoco2 writes "The id Software site has announced that work has begun on the next sequel to their most famous game, Doom. Will they be able to resurrect the series after what many considered to be a serious misstep with Doom 3? Oh... and they're hiring for the team, so maybe you can steer them in the right direction?" -
Quake2 Ported to Java, Play Via the Web
casemon writes "Quake2 fans unite! Thanks to German software developer ByTonic software, you can now play Quake2 via the web with Jake2 a java port of ID Softwares seminal Quake2. ByTonic claims performance is similar to original C version. From the Jake2 website; "Jake2 is a Java 3D game engine. It is a port of the GPL'd Quake2 game engine from idSoftware. To use the Jake2 engine you need either the data files from the original game or from the demo version available for download from ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com." You actually don't need to get the data files, they've set it up to automatically download the 38Mb demo assets using WebStart. Just click the Play Now button and away you go. Most features supported, even multiplayer server!" -
Bill Gates' Doom Video From 1995
Ant writes "ReelSplatter.com has a copy of the video showing Bill Gates, dressed in a black trench coat and carrying a shotgun, within id software's Doom. The downloadable 11 MB 3.25 minute Windows Media Video (WMV) file (Putfile has a streaming copy) was used to introduce Windows 95 and DirectX at the Microsoft Judgement Day event on October 30th, 1995. Note: The DOOM game map is episode 1, map 2." -
Quake 4 Linux
Crusader writes "id Software has released the Linux client and server for Quake 4. There's a FAQ page with installation instructions, notes, and download links." -
Quake 4 Linux
Crusader writes "id Software has released the Linux client and server for Quake 4. There's a FAQ page with installation instructions, notes, and download links." -
DooM Remix Project - The Dark Side of Phobos
djpretzel writes "The Dark Side of Phobos is the latest in a series of site projects at OverClocked ReMix, which each provide unofficial, non-commercial fan arrangements of entire game soundtracks (Sonic 2, Kirby, Donkey Kong Country, and Super Metroid, to date). This latest addition covers id software's perennial classic, the original DooM, with 23 tracks by 19 artists. More information is available at doom.ocremix.org, or simply download the torrent with both mp3 and lossless FLAC, site unseen. Mars never sounded so good." -
Why Apple Makes a One-Button Mouse
IdiotOnMyLeft writes "There is a short article at Gear Live that tries to explain why Apple still sticks with a one-button mouse. It points out the fact that although it is perfectly possible to use a two-button mouse on a Mac for 7 years now, developers are forced to rethink their design approach and can't flood the right-click menu. No article of this kind would be complete without mentioning that users get confused with two buttons. There's a rumor that John Carmack once asked Steve Jobs what would happen if they'd put one more key on the keyboard." -
Doom 3 Now Supports Surround Sound
nukem996 writes "DOOM 3 v1.1.1286 for Linux has just been released. ALSA has finally been implemented so Linux gamers can finally play Doom 3 with surround sound! Along with surround sound support this release fixes a number of bugs. You can read Timo's release notes here. As usual the release is up on the idsoftware ftp server and there is a torrent." -
Doom 3 Now Supports Surround Sound
nukem996 writes "DOOM 3 v1.1.1286 for Linux has just been released. ALSA has finally been implemented so Linux gamers can finally play Doom 3 with surround sound! Along with surround sound support this release fixes a number of bugs. You can read Timo's release notes here. As usual the release is up on the idsoftware ftp server and there is a torrent." -
Doom 3 Expansion in the Works
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Doom 3 for Linux Released
edawg writes Linuxgames reports that "the Linux edition of Doom 3 has been released by ID Software. Although it didn't ship with a Linux version on the install CD, its still nice to see they release Linux binaries around the same time as their first game patch. Here is Information directly from ID Software." -
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." -
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." -
Is Open Source An Advantage For Game Developers?
chas7926 writes "OSNews.com is running an article that claims that the open source development model is not a very effective way to develop high quality games. Even the exceptions are not much of a threat to major label products. Does open source development only make sense for products like web servers and operating systems?" -
Doom 3 Hardware Guide Debuts
Nosf3ratu writes "Over at HardOCP, the boys have teamed up with id software again to publish the Official Doom 3 Hardware Guide. As the guide states: 'With the prospect of so many new people being brought into gaming by DOOM 3, there will likely be a lot of questions regarding the computer hardware needed to support it.'" -
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." -
Quake III Gets Real Time Ray-Tracing Treatment
Ozh writes "Did you ever wonder what you could do with a cluster of 20 AMD XP 1800s? Some German students and videogame fans did, and their answer has been what they call 'ray-tracing egoshooters', an entirely raytraced game engine which 'runs about 20 fps@36 GHz in 512x512 with 4xFSAA'. The first game to get this treatment is Quake 3 Arena : the screenshots look slightly better than the original 3D engine but the video (56 Mb, 3'19) is quite dramatic." -
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." -
Expert Opinions On Linux Gaming's Future
jg21 writes "Following on from yesterday's Slashdot coverage of the idea to launch a games-based Linux distro, LinuxWorld Magazine has held a Gaming Round Table involving Chris DiBona, Ryan Gordon, Timothee Besset, Gavriel State, and Joe Valenzuela about where Linux currently stands and how it will one day become a premier gaming platform. 'It became perfectly clear to me that most of the technological issues are already solved, and that the others won't take too long to fix once the game publishers really get into the mix,' reports Dee-Ann LeBlanc, Gaming Industry Editor for LinuxWorld, who coordinated the round table. Well worth reading." -
Urban Terror To Go Stand-Alone With Enemy Territory
RogeR writes "Silicon Ice Development, authors of the popular Urban Terror mod for Quake 3 Arena, will be porting their mod over to recently made modifiable PC title Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. They have been discussing this for a while now with id Software and Splash Damage, and have decided to move forward with their plans. Basically, this means Urban Terror will, when conversion is finished, become a free stand-alone game, using Enemy Territory's beefed-up Quake 3 engine. Oswald, the project manager, said: 'Those people who complained of legit keys or not being able to find Quake 3 - rejoice, you will be able to play'." -
Fountainhead Boss On Machinima Perils
Thanks to Machinima.com for their interview with Fountainhead Entertainment boss Katherine Anna Kang, in which the ex-id software biz person discusses their "independent production company that specializes in documentaries and animation... our specialty is Machinima" - that is, "filmmaking within a real-time, 3D virtual environment", often involving videogame engines. Kang laments: "I'm sad that Machinima isn't as popular as I thought it would be by today... the one thing that worries me is that Machinima will be seen as a hobby and not taken seriously, and that very much annoys me." She also mentions: "We may open-source an academic version of [in-house movie tool] Machinimation in the very near future." -
Romero And Hall Sign Up With Midway
Thanks to C+VG for confirming the rumors that John Romero and Tom Hall have been recruited by Midway, eliciting an official response that "the company has employed the talents" of the id Software co-founders, late of the partially ill-fated Ion Storm and the handheld developer Monkeystone Games. The article comments: "Of course, big names don't guarantee big games - Romero's Daikatana will forever remain in our memories, for all the wrong reasons - but it will certainly be interesting to see how Midway fares in this new Hall and Romero era." Update: 10/14 01:42 GMT by S : A report at GameSpot has an insider claiming Romero and Hall will be working on titles including an "already-in-the-works new version of Gauntlet" over at Midway San Diego. -
Carmack on New id Game, Game Theory
An anonymous reader writes "CNN/Money interviewed id Software wizard John Carmack at the recently completed QuakeCon. Among the topics discussed is Nintendo's recent announcement that today's games are too complicated and hard for players. Carmack, surprisingly, agrees, saying 'I agree strongly with that point of view, but I'm in the minority in the PC space. I want a game you can sit down with, pick up and play. [Role playing games], for example, got to where they had to have a book ship with the game.'" -
Doom 3 Deathmatch At QuakeCon 2003
SifuDave54 writes "There's a press release via Yahoo! reporting that id will bring DOOM 3 to QuakeCon 2003! - 'QuakeCon attendees will have the chance to play DOOM 3's four-player Deathmatch on a level co-developed by id Software and U.K.-based developer Splash Damage, Ltd. Splash Damage has most recently worked with id Software on Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, and will be co-developing DOOM 3's multiplayer levels.' I wish I could go..." -
.NET Version of Quake II
MSwanson writes "It seems that Vertigo Software has ported the Quake II source code to Microsoft's .NET platform. Not only did they add a heads-up display in the .NET managed version, but they also say that the managed version initially ran faster than the native version. After changing some optimization settings, the native version now runs 15% faster than managed .NET code. Still pretty impressive. Download the ported version along with source code at the Vertigo site." -
QExpo 2003 - Classic Quake Rebirthed
An anonymous reader writes "QExpo 2003 has opened its doors, and this week-long virtual fair is the center of activity for the classic Quake community. From July 5th to 12th, exhibitors will put new maps, mods and engine improvements on display for the online crowd. All work is based on the original Quake (Quake 1, NetQuake, QuakeWorld). Several competitions are scheduled throughout the week, including speed mapping, modding and running, and the expo builds on the experience of the successful 2001 event in a community which this year celebrates the 7th birthday of Quake." -
RTCW: Enemy Territory Full Version Released
bani writes "Following just a month after the test release, Enemy Territory has finally made a full version release! You can download the Linux and Windows versions for free, it does not require the retail Return to Castle Wolfenstein product in order to play. Hats off to Id+Activision+SplashDamage for giving the community such an excellent 3d FPS, for FREE!" Update by J : Id has set up a BitTorrent for the downloads. And if anyone needs a Mac beta-tester, I'm available :) -
New XCOR Rocket Engine Passes First Test
apsmith writes "XCOR Aerospace just successfully test-fired their new liquid oxygen/kerosene rocket engine. This is significantly more powerful than the engines used in the XCOR EZ-Rocket vehicle, and will be further developed for use in the Xerus suborbital vehicle. XCOR is one of the serious X-Prize contenders, and partly funded by John Carmack of Id and Armadillo Aerospace (Carmack's in-his-free-time X-prize contender)." -
Deathmatch for Dollars?
quixado writes "You Play Games is an online wager service where you can bet and earn money for each kill or injury to opponents. You can even cap how much money you can lose in a 24 hour period. Return to Castle Wolfenstein is the first title. The press release can be found here. More info here too. And they said that spending days on end playing first person shooters wouldn't pay off..." -
Commander Keen: 13 Years Later
16977 writes "I just noticed that Id Software is now selling downloadable versions of its classic titles Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons and Goodbye Galaxy. Although the game is over 10 years old by now, there is still a thriving community of Keen fans out there whose interest has not waned. We now have level editors for both Keen Vorticons and Goodbye Galaxy, unofficial Keen fan software, and of course the infamous Dopefish, which has by now made cameo appearances in well over a dozen computer games. However, we have yet to see Commander Keen: The Universe is Toast, the sequel to the previous Keen game that was planned but never made. With the original developers pursuing their own independent projects, it doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon. But in the meantime, die-hard Keen fans have been getting by, not unlike Farscape fans after their show was cancelled." -
Commander Keen: 13 Years Later
16977 writes "I just noticed that Id Software is now selling downloadable versions of its classic titles Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons and Goodbye Galaxy. Although the game is over 10 years old by now, there is still a thriving community of Keen fans out there whose interest has not waned. We now have level editors for both Keen Vorticons and Goodbye Galaxy, unofficial Keen fan software, and of course the infamous Dopefish, which has by now made cameo appearances in well over a dozen computer games. However, we have yet to see Commander Keen: The Universe is Toast, the sequel to the previous Keen game that was planned but never made. With the original developers pursuing their own independent projects, it doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon. But in the meantime, die-hard Keen fans have been getting by, not unlike Farscape fans after their show was cancelled." -
Commander Keen: 13 Years Later
16977 writes "I just noticed that Id Software is now selling downloadable versions of its classic titles Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons and Goodbye Galaxy. Although the game is over 10 years old by now, there is still a thriving community of Keen fans out there whose interest has not waned. We now have level editors for both Keen Vorticons and Goodbye Galaxy, unofficial Keen fan software, and of course the infamous Dopefish, which has by now made cameo appearances in well over a dozen computer games. However, we have yet to see Commander Keen: The Universe is Toast, the sequel to the previous Keen game that was planned but never made. With the original developers pursuing their own independent projects, it doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon. But in the meantime, die-hard Keen fans have been getting by, not unlike Farscape fans after their show was cancelled." -
Helms Deep Battle Recreated In Doom
Failure Guy writes "Its been over five years now since id released the source code to Doom. What have people been doing with the source in the time since then? Apparently, recreating the battle of Helms Deep!. Acclaimed mapper Cyb recently released his Helms Deep reenactment wad. You can find screenshots here." The IRC review on Cyb's site is ... mixed. -
Carmack Needs Rocket Fuel
Reality Master 101 writes "Saw an interesting post on the Experimental Rocket Propulsion Society BBS from John Carmack, who is working on an X-prize vehicle. Apparently he is having a lot of trouble getting Peroxide from the major suppliers, and is possibly thinking of helping someone set up a company to produce peroxide. With NASA's recent problems, there has been a lot of talk about promoting more private investment in rocketry. But how can it happen when the suppliers won't even sell peroxide to well financed, registered, X-prize teams? Anyone want to start a peroxide business?" -
Want To Make Video Games?
Invader Zim writes "Looks like Levelord, of Ritual fame, and some folks at id, and Ensemble Studios have teamed together with Southern Methodist University to create a new school for people that want to work in the video games industry. It's called the Guildhall. Also a story about it at GameTutorials." -
Doom Ported to Nokia phone
HellKrisp writes "UK based game developers WildPalm have released a port of id software's Doom for the Nokia 7650. Features of the port include audio support and bilinear filtering. The download weighs in at around 1.5MB as it is just the shareware version featuring only the first episode. The port was made using the source code publicly released by id software in 1997." -
Doom Ported to Nokia phone
HellKrisp writes "UK based game developers WildPalm have released a port of id software's Doom for the Nokia 7650. Features of the port include audio support and bilinear filtering. The download weighs in at around 1.5MB as it is just the shareware version featuring only the first episode. The port was made using the source code publicly released by id software in 1997." -
Game Engine Marketing Models Compared
death00 writes: "GameDev has an interesting story about the success of Garage Games Torque engine (the engine behind Tribes 2). I especially find it interesting to see the number of developers working on high-quality games based on the Torque engine. The basic premise is that Garage Games gives a full license of the Torque engine to a team for a project for $100 USD per developer. The only caveat is that you must publish any finished works through Garage Games. Perhaps id software might consider doing this with the Quake III engine once the Doom III engine comes out. From my understanding, the Quake III engine currently licenses for significantly ($250,000 USD) more than that. Instead of waiting 2 more years and GPL'ing the full source, why not license it for cheap after Doom III comes out, then GPL later?" -
Doom III Takes E3 Awards
Talinom writes "This has just simply gone too far. CNN has a story that tells how the video game Doom III by id Software has won the "Best Of Show" award at the E3 convention about one year before its release. Does this mean that Duke Nukem Forever is overdue for its "Game Of The Year" award?" The awards site is E3Awards.com. I don't see how they can give an award called "Best Action Game" to something that doesn't exist as a playable game, but then again looking at the past awards I see Neverwinter Nights won in 2000... in 2001... and in 2002. -
Doom III Takes E3 Awards
Talinom writes "This has just simply gone too far. CNN has a story that tells how the video game Doom III by id Software has won the "Best Of Show" award at the E3 convention about one year before its release. Does this mean that Duke Nukem Forever is overdue for its "Game Of The Year" award?" The awards site is E3Awards.com. I don't see how they can give an award called "Best Action Game" to something that doesn't exist as a playable game, but then again looking at the past awards I see Neverwinter Nights won in 2000... in 2001... and in 2002. -
Maverick Rocketeers Pursue Space Access
Mad.Scientist writes "This article at Space.com is about mavericks who are trying to lessen the cost of going into space. One of the companies, Armadillo Aerospace, is founded by John Carmack, who is also a founder of Id Software, and the brain behind games such as Doom or Quake. I just have to say, godspeed to all." Carmack is only one of the people mentioned in this story, but see our previous story for more on Carmack's rocketry habit. -
Doom III Officially Announced
Jacek Fedorynski writes "The end is near. First, id Software's site is updated for the first time since the Quake II times and now they officially announce Doom III!" If you recall, there were some screenshots released last year, but I don't think there's been much since then - these are probably out of date. -
Interview With id Software's Robert A. Duffy
LEXI writes: "Accompanying our recent first set of Q3Radiant Tutorials I had the chance to interview one of the programmers behind the editor and the new engine, Mr. Robert A. Duffy of id software. 10 questions asked, 10 answers given. Topics range from personal details, education, job description, over to the new engine and the new tools, to violence in games and George W. Bush. The English original can be found here; the German translation resides at this very spot. The interview should be interesting for as well the quake player desperately awaiting the new engine, as the fresh or old-school mapper." -
RTCW Single Player Demo & Linux Binaries
Ant was fastest on the mouse to report that Id Software has a single-player demo and a set of linux binaries available for Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Blue's News has some more information and a mirror. -
Quake 2 Source Code Released Under The GPL
Masem (and many others) writes: "The source code for Quake 2 is now available until the GPL license. The .plan file for John Carmack has the details." The Id Software site is of course slammed with demand for the code. Hopefully other mirrors will be available.