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Doom 3 Vaporware no More

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the get-your-lust-on dept.

gilxa1226 writes "The waiting will soon be over... I was browsing Best Buy's website, and saw a preorder for Doom 3. It looks as though the release date is 4/1/2004. Doom 3.com also has info on presales."

25 of 537 comments (clear)

  1. 4/1, eh? by i_am_syco · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...... APRIL FOOLS!

    1. Re:4/1, eh? by Alan · · Score: 5, Informative

      Erhmm... the ebgames page says it's ship date is 7/14/2004...

    2. Re:4/1, eh? by @madeus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You want us to die because we use a different date format? Isn't that a bit absurd?

      I expect it's not specifically related to the date format, but rather the quite astounding arrogance and destructive provincialism your demonstrating which is what's so objectionable.

      But you'd have to clarify that with the poster.

      Seriously YYYY-MM-DD is the only really agreed on format, and MM/DD/YYYY only gets the year out of place (its usually left off because it is normally obvious). DD/MM/YYYY, is just backwards; Nothing wrong with using it but I don't see the point in advocating it.

      YYYY-MM-DD us not merely 'the only really agreed on format' it's the ISO 8601 International Standard format for date notation. It is the most useful format for direct digital manipulation and more than that, it's a practical and symbolic political compromise between the predominant format in North America, and the predominant format in the rest of the world.

      DD/MM/YYYY is most useful for humans who use western left-to-right languages, this is why the western world (with the exception of North America) uses this format when writing dates.

      MM/DD/YYYY is useless screwup of a system used by North Americans that is neither optimal for digital manipulation nor for parsing from left to right.

      People who prefer MM/DD/YYYY are also the sort of people that prefer the Imperial System to the Metric System. IME, they also tend not to be programmers (for reasons that should be obvious). It's demonstrably inferior to both systems (both for digital manipulation and for manual parsing) and this is why it restricted to common use only in North America. Like the Imperial System, it's an anachronism best left in the past where it belongs (though, also like the Imperial System, it appears that people will continue to use it for quite some time, no matter how obviously inferior it is to avalible alternatives).

  2. Doom3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What with the leaked Alpha, numerous screenshots on every gaming site, I never really thought of Doom3 as vaporware. DNF is another story

    1. Re:Doom3 by Patrik_AKA_RedX · · Score: 5, Funny
      DNF is another story
      What do you mean DNF is vaporware? It's already for sale in Ukraine.
  3. To quote penny arcade... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow, what a great engine!

    I can't wait till someone makes a game with it.

    1. Re:To quote penny arcade... by ziggles · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Ya know, maybe I'm weird, but I like to play games before deciding they suck and their only redeeming feature is their engine. It's not like id has a track record of making crappy games. They may not be great innovators, but every game they've made has been of high quality. You may be bored of FPS games, but that doesn't mean they all suck.

      Personally, I could care less about whether a game is innovative. I just want a game that's well-made and fun. id has always delievered at least that much in the past.

    2. Re:To quote penny arcade... by fredrikj · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They may not be great innovators

      Bullshit. They invented the entire FPS genre.

    3. Re:To quote penny arcade... by AKnightCowboy · · Score: 5, Funny
      They may not be great innovators, but every game they've made has been of high quality. You may be bored of FPS games, but that doesn't mean they all suck.

      I have problems with id software continually releasing the same kind of "evil" dark games. Why can't they make something a little lighter? All the Dooms and Quakes concentrated on evil satanic monsters and nothing but mindless killing. As a Christian I have to wonder what this is doing to the children who end up playing these games behind their parents' backs (for example at a friend's house who has liberal parents or a single mom who is working hard to support the family). id should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such garbage. Why can't they make a good quality game about American soldiers hunting down evil terrorists?

  4. old news by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Informative

    the prorder shelf boxes have been in best buy for over 2 weeks now here in the midwest.

    but there is no promises as to when you are able to get your copy, so dont get your hopes up too much about it coming out very soon.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:old news by nekura · · Score: 5, Funny

      In the Best Buy I work at, we've had the pre-order boxes out since around the time I started working (mid-November). For some reason, a $10 price tag and the words "Preorder Only" add up to equal "OMFG DOOM 3'S OUT" in a lot of people's minds. God it's a bitch working software sometimes. =D

      --

      "Programming is like sex - one mistake and you'll have to support it for the rest of your life."
  5. First week of april, NOOOOO! by kryptkpr · · Score: 5, Funny

    I see what's going on here.. 4/1/03.. they're trying to make college/university students fail their 2nd term final exams! (usually the first through third week of April)

    --
    DJ kRYPT's Free MP3s!
  6. So what? by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 5, Informative
    Big deal - there's been a Doom 3 box at EB for awhile now. Just because a retail outlet says a product is going to be out on a date, doesn't mean much of anything - especially when it comes to a video game.

    This is completely meaningless. Stores put release dates out that are wrong quite often. Move on, move on.

    --
    I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
  7. Never was vaporware by klueless · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What about the E3 Demo? This thing was playable a LONG time ago.

    I'm pretty sure our doom "vaporware" existed only at games.slashdot.org.

    Regardless, a date is always nice, although it doesn't guarentee anything (even with pre-orders).

  8. No dates yet. by juhaz · · Score: 5, Informative

    Both stores linked from doom3.com state that:

    Please note: id Software has NOT supplied a release date for this title. We will provide a date as soon as one is announced. Pricing listed is an estimate and is subject to change.

    So anyone who has some specific date marked is just guessing.

    What's the big deal anyway? It's just a game.

    1. Re:No dates yet. by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is something wrong with you. Quake was both a groundbreaking title (being the first truly three dimensional textured FPS) and fun to play. Quake held my attention longer than any other game, before or since. In fact, I still play Quake even now. Its modular, extensible architecture and scripting language enabled it to be reborn countless times in countless forms. I remember how excited I was when the transparent water patch came out for gldoom. Likewise, I remember how excited I was that the game was playable on my 486DX33. Quake is one of the greatest games of all time, and will be remembered as such.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  9. GameStop and EB have varied Ship dates by suedehed · · Score: 5, Interesting

    EB says 7/14/2004, Gamestop says 5/3/2004 and BestBuy says 4/1/2004. Any bets on which date will realistically be the ship date?

  10. Large format trailer by embobo · · Score: 5, Informative

    I haven't slept for more then 24 hours but I didn't see a link to the large format trailer on the site so here it is:

    Slashdot Me

    Of course, I already grabbed it myself.

  11. Did you hear that wailing sound? by Dark+Lord+Seth · · Score: 5, Funny

    That was the sound of utter terror from ten-thousand Nvidia, Ati, AMD and Intel engineers who can now look forward to putting out a bleeding-edge new graphics card / CPU in less then four months. Expect casualties.

    --
    Hate me!
    1. Re:Did you hear that wailing sound? by Telex4 · · Score: 5, Funny

      That was the sound of utter terror from ten-thousand Nvidia, Ati, AMD and Intel engineers who can now look forward to putting out a bleeding-edge new graphics card / CPU in less then four months.

      And the spontaneous orgasms of thousands of Nvidia, Ati, AMD and Intel sales persons awaiting the gullible geeks desperate for a video card upgrade to enjoy the full splendour of a video game for > 300

  12. Re:It's vaporware 'till I can run it... by Gabriele+Capone · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They are simultaneously working on versions for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. I think most of their development is even done on Linux and I read somewhere that the demo at E3 last year may have also been running on Linux.

  13. Whimsical Release Dates by Keiran+Halcyon · · Score: 5, Funny

    I work at my local Best Buy very near the display which holds the Pre-Order for Doom 3. I looked in our system, and the date listed for Customer Fufillment (ordering out of stock or not released productsS) doesn't even match the 4/1/04 date. Everyone knows they just make up a date and use it for awhile, but 4/1/04 isn't even the first date set for Doom 3. It's changed at least twice since it sat on that shelf.

    Funny enough, sitting right next to it is Counter Strike: Condition Zero. It's release date has changed twice as well. I see people go by all the time and go "It's OUT! YES!" and then bitch and swear when they see pre-order.

  14. Re:It's vaporware 'till I can run it... by arendjr · · Score: 5, Informative

    A Linux version will be available as well.

  15. Good horror game! by DroopyStonx · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've been reading reviews and previews since the day this thing was announced, and they claim that this game will seriously scare the piss outta you mainly due to the graphics and lighting, but also due to the enemy AI. They'll actually HIDE from you only to jump your ass when you run by. Or you'll be walking down a faintly lit corridor only to see a vague silhouette of something moving, but by the time you think "..what was tha-," something's swiping and screeching at you.

    Amen to this... these are the best types of games to play. Nothing is better than playing these in the pitch black at 2 AM when no one else is up.

    Not that it's truly terrifying, but the fact that a game can remotely trigger the emotions to creep you the f'k out.. that's some quality stuff.

    I can't wait to see what comes out in the future.

    --
    We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
  16. Re:DOOM3 for Linux??? by ChopsMIDI · · Score: 5, Informative

    Carmack is a strong advocate of OSS and Linux and as such, Doom 3 will also be shipping with a linux binary. You can preorder the Linux the linux Binary Here

    --

    How could I say to men: "Speak louder, shout! For I am deaf!"? -Ludwig van Beethoven