QuakeCon Doom III Keynote Panel Discussed

Thanks to HomeLanFed for their article reporting highlights from the Doom III keynote panel at QuakeCon, which featured id CEO Todd Hollenshead, lead designer Tim Willits, programmer Robert Duffy and lead animator Fred Nilsson. They discussed how "making a map for Doom III is a lot more of a collaborative effort than in previous Doom games because of the level of detail", and mentioned that "both Linux and Mac OS X versions of Doom III are moving in close development with the PC version... they will have Mac and Linux files available for download when Doom III is released for the PC... An actual Mac retail box for Doom III is a possibility but a Linux retail release is unlikely." They also confirm Doom III for Xbox is being converted by Vicarious Visions and "will be basically the complete experience that PC gamers will get."

Comments

Why not one box for all?

[Nicolai Haehnle]

From the article:

Duffy said that both Linux and Max OS X versions of Doom III are moving in close development with the PC version and Hollenshead said that they will have Mac and Linux files available for download when Doom III is released for the PC for people who run those operating systems. An actual Mac retail box for Doom III is a possibility but a Linux retail release is unlikely.

This thing gets me every single time - why don't they just put the Mac and Linux binaries into the same box as the Windows binaries?
It's not that difficult to realize that a standalone Linux retail box will likely flop (well, a game like Doom 3 might be the exception to prove the rule). Mac games are a slightly different beast, but a Mac retail box still isn't going to be significantly more successful.

So why not put everything into a single box? It's been successfully done with UT2003, and everything's there in the case of Doom 3. So what's the problem? I simply don't get it.

Re:Here's something I don't get

[edwdig]

You're forgetting, on the Xbox it's running at 640x480, where you'd probably run it at 1024x768 or higher on your PC.

Also keep in mind you can get a big performance gain by coding for a fixed hardware platform rather than trying to make something that runs on thousands of possible configurations.

Re:Woohoo?

[Gherald]

Some do. I think its great news. I may be getting ready to be rid of my XP box once and for all...

Re:Here's something I don't get

[NerveGas]

... but without programmable vertex shaders and the like, you're still not going to get all of the graphics, especially the shadows - which have always been touted as one of the largest parts of the game's experience. Even dropping to 640x480 won't help there. That right there would seem to contradict their statement.

steve