Slashdot Mirror

An anonymous reader writes "John Carmack just confirmed during his QuakeCon 2011 keynote that the source code to Doom 3 will be released this year. The source drop will follow the release of their Rage game in October. Carmack has also challenged other game developers to release their old source code."

QuakeMaster33 writes "The first public footage of id Software's upcoming Quake Live title comes in the form of a collection of high definition videos from tournament matches held at QuakeCon 2008. The event held a 1v1 and CTF tournament with prize money totaling $25,000. Included in the video set is the finals match between the 17-year-old Belarusian Alexey "cypher" Yushanevsky and the American John "ZeRo4" Hill. All of the videos are available for download or streaming via Flash video. QuakeLive, which is currently in the public beta testing phase, is a free, web-based version of Quake III Arena which includes updated graphics and gameplay. On the developer front for QuakeLive, id has plans for custom maps, but mod support is far behind. On the Linux front, id Software's resident Linux guru Timothee Bisset is working on the project, so we can only hope that if the game becomes popular, a Linux client is also made available."

TomServo writes "This week registration began for Quakecon 2005, the largest LAN party in the western hemisphere and the largest free LAN party in the world. 3200 BYOC seats and over 400 tourney slots are up for grabs in a first-come, first-served registration. This year Quakecon will be Aug. 11-14 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas." And with previews of Quake IV evidently available, it's sure to be a popular LAN party too.

TomServo writes "This week registration began for Quakecon 2005, the largest LAN party in the western hemisphere and the largest free LAN party in the world. 3200 BYOC seats and over 400 tourney slots are up for grabs in a first-come, first-served registration. This year Quakecon will be Aug. 11-14 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas." And with previews of Quake IV evidently available, it's sure to be a popular LAN party too.

ruiner5000 writes "If you are not at lucky enough to be at this year's QuakeCon, then you might be wondering what John Carmack and crew are up to. Well, John is a father of a baby boy as of yesterday, so he was not here for his traditional talk on what id is up to. Instead, he appeared on pre-recorded video, followed by normal Q and A session with other id personnel. AMDZone has full coverage of the id keynote, including some pics for your enjoyment. If you want to know about the next engine, the Xbox, OS X, and Linux ports, id's standing on piracy, or Carmack's vision of game engines for movie rendering, then give it a read." S!: There's also continuing QuakeCon coverage over at GameSpy, including a long interview with Todd Hollenshead.

DrunkenTerror writes "Yesterday at QuakeCon, Nvidia debuted their new affordable GPU mentioned a few days ago on Slashdot. Dubbed the GeForce 6600 and 6600 GT, they differ from their higher-end brethren by having only 8 pixel pipes (unlike the 12 & 16 of the 6800 line), and appear to be limited to 128MB of RAM. Both GPUs support Shader Model 3.0. The 6600 GT sports fast GDDR3 RAM, while the 6600 appears to use plain-jane DDR. The GT also supports the oft-recently-discussed SLI, which could 'enable millions of users to experience the power of two GPUs in their system.' The best part, however, may be the price/performance. With a suggested street price of US$199, the 6600 GT runs at a steady 42 FPS in Doom 3, at high-quality 1600*1200." Reader aceh0 adds a few links: "Nvidia is announcing their NV4x Sub $200 Level graphics hardware today with the GeForce 6600 Series. The 6600 Series is feature complete with the 6800s and the differences come in the number of pipelines and memory configuration. SLI has trickled down to the 6600GT as well. Coverage is available at Neoseeker, Tech Report and PC Perspective as well as other sites."

Rogerpq3 writes "The battleground is set - it's confirmed that the 9th annual QuakeCon 2004 video game festival and tournament at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas on August 12-15 will host the first DOOM 3 deathmatch championship ever. Be there to game, hang out with 5,000 of your closest friends, and compete for $150,000 in cash and prizes in the NVIDIA QuakeCon 2004 Championship Tournaments. Online registration for QuakeCon 2004 has begun at www.quakecon.org, and the event is free to all attendees."

Rogerpq3 writes "The battleground is set - it's confirmed that the 9th annual QuakeCon 2004 video game festival and tournament at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas on August 12-15 will host the first DOOM 3 deathmatch championship ever. Be there to game, hang out with 5,000 of your closest friends, and compete for $150,000 in cash and prizes in the NVIDIA QuakeCon 2004 Championship Tournaments. Online registration for QuakeCon 2004 has begun at www.quakecon.org, and the event is free to all attendees."

Rogerpq3 writes "The battleground is set - it's confirmed that the 9th annual QuakeCon 2004 video game festival and tournament at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas on August 12-15 will host the first DOOM 3 deathmatch championship ever. Be there to game, hang out with 5,000 of your closest friends, and compete for $150,000 in cash and prizes in the NVIDIA QuakeCon 2004 Championship Tournaments. Online registration for QuakeCon 2004 has begun at www.quakecon.org, and the event is free to all attendees."

Thanks to CNN Money for its discussion of the games industry's drive to woo the most committed videogame players, as the article explains: "Hardcore gamers only make up between 20-25 percent of the industry's annual software sales, but the buzz enthusiasts create can turn a moderate hit into a monster." The piece discusses "mecca for the hardcore" QuakeCon, but reveals that "This year, most fans were hoping to get their first glimpse of 'Quake 4,' which is being developed (under id's supervision) by Raven Software. Unfortunately, they're going to have to keep waiting. id CEO Todd Hollenshead said there are no plans to show the game at this year's QuakeCon." According to Hollenshead: "We've been happy with what [Raven has] done, but it's too early to show... When we show the game, we want it to be something that's really impressive for the people who have been waiting for it."

viperstyx writes "'Pack the car, buy the airline ticket, or get a new pair of walking shoes - just do whatever it takes to be at QuakeCon 2004. The 9th annual QuakeCon video game festival and tournament storms into town August 12-15 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.' Thats right, it's official [and yes, its called Gaylord]. Registration for this year's 3000 persion BYOC (bring your own computer) LAN party (1000 people bigger than last year) opens April 14 at 9pm EST! I wonder if they'll need two BFGs this year?" Also worth noting is the fact that the Raven-developed Quake IV may be showcased this year, according to hints from id's Todd Hollenshead at last year's QuakeCon.

viperstyx writes "'Pack the car, buy the airline ticket, or get a new pair of walking shoes - just do whatever it takes to be at QuakeCon 2004. The 9th annual QuakeCon video game festival and tournament storms into town August 12-15 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.' Thats right, it's official [and yes, its called Gaylord]. Registration for this year's 3000 persion BYOC (bring your own computer) LAN party (1000 people bigger than last year) opens April 14 at 9pm EST! I wonder if they'll need two BFGs this year?" Also worth noting is the fact that the Raven-developed Quake IV may be showcased this year, according to hints from id's Todd Hollenshead at last year's QuakeCon.

viperstyx writes "'Pack the car, buy the airline ticket, or get a new pair of walking shoes - just do whatever it takes to be at QuakeCon 2004. The 9th annual QuakeCon video game festival and tournament storms into town August 12-15 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.' Thats right, it's official [and yes, its called Gaylord]. Registration for this year's 3000 persion BYOC (bring your own computer) LAN party (1000 people bigger than last year) opens April 14 at 9pm EST! I wonder if they'll need two BFGs this year?" Also worth noting is the fact that the Raven-developed Quake IV may be showcased this year, according to hints from id's Todd Hollenshead at last year's QuakeCon.

viperstyx writes "'Pack the car, buy the airline ticket, or get a new pair of walking shoes - just do whatever it takes to be at QuakeCon 2004. The 9th annual QuakeCon video game festival and tournament storms into town August 12-15 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.' Thats right, it's official [and yes, its called Gaylord]. Registration for this year's 3000 persion BYOC (bring your own computer) LAN party (1000 people bigger than last year) opens April 14 at 9pm EST! I wonder if they'll need two BFGs this year?" Also worth noting is the fact that the Raven-developed Quake IV may be showcased this year, according to hints from id's Todd Hollenshead at last year's QuakeCon.

viperstyx writes "'Pack the car, buy the airline ticket, or get a new pair of walking shoes - just do whatever it takes to be at QuakeCon 2004. The 9th annual QuakeCon video game festival and tournament storms into town August 12-15 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.' Thats right, it's official [and yes, its called Gaylord]. Registration for this year's 3000 persion BYOC (bring your own computer) LAN party (1000 people bigger than last year) opens April 14 at 9pm EST! I wonder if they'll need two BFGs this year?" Also worth noting is the fact that the Raven-developed Quake IV may be showcased this year, according to hints from id's Todd Hollenshead at last year's QuakeCon.

An anonymous reader points to a Wired News article discussing the harsh nature of professional gaming. According to the piece, "Professional gaming is in its infancy, providing few players with the means to live without any other job. Still, the competition for those sponsorships is cutthroat." Even for the elite team covered in the article, there are issues: "Game Point lost in QuakeCon's Wolfenstein finals, which cut their prize money down to $12,000. It was disheartening for the team, particularly since five members said the time constraints necessary to maintain this high level would most likely force them to retire." So, is pro gaming really semi-pro gaming? A player points out: "If you work for eight months and you divide up your hours, the amount of money that you make is minimal."

Thanks to Wired News for their article discussing PC hardware makers, and their marketing efforts aimed at gamers. The piece suggests: "High-stakes video-game tournaments may be all the rage, but the real fights occur behind the scenes, where companies spend millions trying to get their technology directly into the hands of gamers." It goes on to point out the big competitive gaming deals: "Nvidia... ponied up $125,000 for QuakeCon, $30,000 for the Cyberathlete Professional League's Unreal Tournament competition and $350,000 for the winners of the Make Something Unreal game-design competition... AMD spent more than $300,000 on this year's QuakeCon." And the largest LAN parties are now greatly sought-after: "The closed bidding and increased competition has forced companies to pour more money into these tournaments or face losing coveted sponsorships."

Thanks to CNET News for their opinion piece discussing why critics of videogame violence miss the bigger picture. They suggest: "What critics consistently miss is that gaming is very much a social and community activity. This is true every time two fifth-graders rush home from school to play "Zelda" together. But on a broader scale, gaming's socializing effects are even more evident at an event like QuakeCon..." The violent games angle is also discussed intriguingly: "Some research says violent games make kids act more aggressively... But that's what adrenaline does, regardless of the medium.... How that short-term spike translates into the rest of a person's life depends on the socializing effects of everyday influences such as parents and peer groups - including other gamers."

Thanks to GameSpy for their interview with Rick Johnson of Raven Software, the lead programmer on Quake IV. Although the game isn't being shown at QuakeCon this year (Todd Hollenshead of id says "Quake 4 and QuakeCon 2K4 sound pretty nice together"), more details are revealed: "Quake IV is primarily a single-player focused game which will be continued on a near storyline from Quake II. That's not to say that we won't have multiplayer, but our primary focus is currently the single-player experience." It's also confirmed that the game is using the Doom 3 engine, and elsewhere at the show, "Tim Willits of id mentioned that work is being done on vehicles for the upcoming Quake IV."

Thanks to EuroGamer for their new preview of id's Doom III from an Activision press event in the UK, where id lead designer Tim Willits and CEO Todd Hollenshead were demonstrating the latest build of the long-awaited FPS sequel. Hollenshead confirmed of the game: "We have no plans to release it this year", a new "physics patch" was shown (the writer suggests "the physics implementation seems to be quite young, suggesting it was 'bolted on' after the capabilities of the Source engine became apparent"), and the writer argues that "...for all Valve's fancy physics and cunning AI, the eye candy in Doom III is still a cut above." Update: 08/14 15:39 GMT by S : In a related story, HomeLanFed have initial impressions of the multiplayer Doom III modes, currently being demonstrated at QuakeCon in Dallas.

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..."

Thanks to The Phobos Lab, a Doom fansite, for their info, directly from John Carmack, that the minimum specs for Doom 3 will be "1GHz CPU, 256MB RAM, GF1 or Radeon 7xxx series card." There's no word yet on recommended specs to get the best fidelity, but sites such as NewDoom.com and The Phobos Lab are keeping a close eye on the situation, including an interesting but very unconfirmed rumor that "a Doom 3 demo [will be available] for public playing at this year's QuakeCon" - probably wishful thinking, although Carmack is scheduled to speak there, and it's possible at least some new Doom details will be revealed.

sYn pHrEAk writes "Monday, June 9th at 9:00pm EST has been announced as the opening date and time of registration for the world's best LAN party (is it a WAN party?). Last year's QuakeCon included over 1300 people and computers in the BYOC area and well over 3,000 attendees. This year there's $125,000 on the line through three official tournaments: Quake 3 1v1, Quake 3 CTF, and Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Frag ya there!"

CaptTrips writes "C|Net has an interesting article on the growing wave of LAN parties. Michael Duarte best puts it when he says "being able to play as a team, talk with the people next to you -- it's just a whole different aspect than playing online. For me, it's just more fun to put a face with the name of the person you're playing with." I agree!" This is a good excuse for us to link to QuakeCon. GameSpy has extensive coverage of the con - they've got some interesting screenshots and previews up.

TotallyUseless writes: "Pack your bags for Mesquite. The signup for Quakecon is up, and can be reached at the Quakecon website."