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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..."
The Axis only has a severe map advantage on Battery. And I think that is offset with a longer spawn time. Most of the other maps are close enough that the difference is meaningless. Mind you 'map advantage' can translate into 'my team sucks' quite easily.
But more importantly is the bullshit XP system they've implemented. If you're playing a three-map campaign and you join towards the end, you're faced with opponents who have skills much higher than you. Don't even bother playing a six-map campaign unless you start from the beginning.
The XP system is one of the most innovative systems I've seen in recent online games. Also, you are not required to play campaign games. They have single map games that do not carry the XP through.
Though the worst is really the class imbalances. Medics (after they get enough XP) are too powerful. Likewise for panzerfaust wielders. Weapons like the machinegun, mortar, and flamethrower are only useful in a few situations. This leads to a game of relatively few types of players going against each other in what ends up as boring and routine gunfights.
I agree here, Mortars are worthless UNLESS you have good field ops of your team. I have seen mortar players that do quite well on each map.
There is nothing i like better than to sneak around behind an enemy 'build up' point and catch them all by surprise with a flamethrower.
"Mr. President, we cannot allow a mineshaft gap!"
Axis static defense strategies can nearly always be defeated by the proper Allied class mix and proper teamwork.
Medics (after they get enough XP) are too powerful. Likewise for panzerfaust wielders. Weapons like the machinegun, mortar, and flamethrower are only useful in a few situations.
High-rank medics are quite powerful, and a popular class choice, but medics alone cannot win a map. Their self-healing and adrenaline abilities make them no more powerful in a short sharp firefight than a top-rank engineer, who has bonus grenades and a flak jacket.
Panzerfaust soldiers are limited in several ways: the heavy weapons server cap, the low number of pf tubes issued per ammo box, slowness in moving with a heavy weapon equipped, and the class-specific-skill recharge rate. The latter two disadvantages are somewhat reduced as XP is gained, but only heavy weapons XP counts toward those. There's also the 2-second firing delay with the panzerfaust, during which the firer is quite vulnerable.
The machinegun is the cornerstone of playing defense, if you have some backup. The panzerfaust (or an engineer with rifle grenades) is how you defeat a well-placed machinegunner. The mortar is great if you have good field ops spotting, or if you have worked out bearings and elevations for your favorite firing points and targets in advance.
But more importantly is the bullshit XP system they've implemented. If you're playing a three-map campaign and you join towards the end, you're faced with opponents who have skills much higher than you. Don't even bother playing a six-map campaign unless you start from the beginning.
See, what you are missing is this: it's a team game. So you have opponents who are pumped up? You also have teammates that are buffed. You can make a valuable contribution to the team's success regardless of your current XP level, once you know the map well.
-- Jeff Paulsen