Carmack Expounds on Doom III

Rainier Wolfecastle writes: "Non-high-end-comp-owning geeks rejoice! GameSpot is reporting that John Carmack has confirmed that Doom III is Xbox-bound. Carmack said that id is totally commited to bringing the game to Microsoft's console with its visual splendor intact. Best of all, the game could be available on the Xbox as soon as May next year." And Warrior-GS writes: "John Carmack gave a two-hour presentation about Doom 3 and engine technology. GameSpy reports on the presentations and analyzes Carmack's comments and how they apply to the future of gaming. There is also a look at the demo of Doom III"

Comments

Whoops!

[dscowboy]

Funny, I thought MS created the XBOX to move gaming away from PCs. Turns out that PC games are keeping the XBOX alive.

Developers that only make console games will always make games for the PS2 because of the bigger market. Developers that make PC games however, will rarely make PS2 games, because the hardware is different and its difficult/impossible to port. PC games like Doom III and Morrowind will keep the XBOX alive simply because they aren't/won't be available on PS2.

It looks like MS's only hope of growing their market share to compete with Sony is to cozy up with the PC game developers. How ironic.

Re:Whoops!

[NanoGator]

"Funny, I thought MS created the XBOX to move gaming away from PCs."

No. They didn't create the XBOX to move games from PC's, they didn't do it to make Direct3D the de-facto standard, they didn't do it to make Windows a monopoly, they didn't do it to put a set-top box on your tv, they didn't do it to save the whales, and they didn't do it to demand one million dollars from the government. They created the XBOX to tap into the video game market and make money. That's all.

They made the XBOX PC-like so that PC-based developers would have an easy time transitioning to it. What makes a game system successful is a combination of number of games and quality of games. If a cool game for PC is already in development, you wouldn't have to fight too hard to make an XBOX port of it. GC, PS2, DC, etc don't have it so easy.

That's actually a really cool strategy to get a number of games onto a new system. The neat thing is that if MS follows suit with XBOX 2, then all the old games will still work. You could even make new games that work on the old hardware, but suddenly get better with the new hardware. That's brilliant!

Re:OpenGL

[CheechBG]

disclaimer: I do not own an XBox. I sell them, have played extensively with them, but do not as of yet own one.

I don't see the point of FPS's on XBox. Granted, I've played Halo, got through most of the beginning levels, but it still nags at me that I could be a order of magnitude better at it with a simle keyboard and mouse.

Now games like DOA3, NFL 2K3, stuff like that, rightly deserves to be on a console, it is easily (and in the case of the former, recommended for play) on a gamepad. Give me a keyboard and mouse option, and I'll be a happy guy.

Carmack out of ideas?

[Compuser]

Ok, so I am going to catch a lot of flack
for this, but his speech doesn't sound too exciting.
Sure you can write an engine with better
lighting, sure you can watch the cards get
faster and polygon count get higher, but where's
the jump in technology? I wish Carmack would
find something to revolutionize rather than
focus on incremental improvements. Just think
of what the guy could do if he focused on
modeling realistic physics or decent AI...

Re:API?

[NanoGator]

I doubt that department of MS would even care. Just because it's MS, doesn't mean that the XBOX department has any interest in 'evil plans to take over the world'. The goal of that department is to make money. If they sell a million copies of Doom III on the XBOX, then it doesn't matter if ID uses OPG, D3D, or Logo.

FPS on consoles

[forkboy]

Am I the only one that absolutely HATES playing an FPS on a console? I don't understand the popularity that games like Halo, Half Life and Quake have had on various console systems...it's just not the same level on control if you're not playing with a mouse and keyboard. Maybe I'm just too stuck in my ways to learn a new method of control, but I simply can't enjoy those types on games on consoles.

The only games I can enjoy on a console are platformers (Sonic, Jak and Daxter, etc), sports games, racing games, and fighting games (mortal kombat, virtua fighter, etc)

So, is it just a matter of getting used to the controls for FPS-type games on consoles or am I do I actually have a point?

Stop before writing that post!!!

[Brian_Ellenberger]

Before someone writes that smug, self-righteous, "there have been no gameplay advances in years" post let me head them off at the pass by saying two words.

Your wrong.

I can't believe the incredible about of really good and *different* 3d shooters I have played in the past 3 years. They are too numerous to mention. There is Counter Strike's complete revolution of internet play (buying weapons instead of them just laying around, asymmetric goals, mission based play, etc). There is System Shock 2's and Deus Ex's mixing of shooter and RPG. There is the Thief's series and Deus Ex's use of stealth (more in the Thief series obviously but you could go through a good bit of Deus Ex w/o firing a shot). One of my favorite 3d shooters of the past couple years is Jedi Knight II which is the most immersive games I have ever played. I felt like I was a Jedi. The list goes on and on.

So before you comment on the supposed sad state of gaming, try playing some games first.

Brian Ellenberger

Re:Stop before writing that post!!!

[Banjonardo]

You know, I don't mean to be a grammar nazi bitch or anything, but when you want to make a point so vehemently, please try not to mix up "your" with "you're."

It just takes the whole impact away.

Re:Of course you would be.

[WowTIP]

To the kid down the block who grows up using these controls, he will say the same thing about "clunky mice and keyboards" because they aren't what he grew up with.

Funny thing then that many old school fps gamers that at first were very reluctant to change from keyboard only to keyb+mouse, later did. They grew up with using only the keyboard, but as soon they started playing online (Quakeworld anyone?) they realized that they were no match for people who had made the switch. These guys complained about keyb+mouse being inferior, later when they was fragged into oblivion, some even went as far as calling keyb+mouse cheating. The majority made the switch though, many in silence.