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Doom 3 Reaches Gold Master, Due August 5th

Posted by simoniker on from the happy-days-are-here-again dept.

Rogerpq3 writes "Yes, this is the official word that [long-awaited PC FPS] DOOM 3 has been code released and has been approved for manufacturing! According to the .plan file of id CEO Todd Hollenshead: 'We literally just hung up with Activision and have confirmed that our latest release candidate has been mutually approved and is finally GOLD. So, the next question is release dates. Retailers in the States will be allowed to pick up games starting at 12:01 AM on August 3rd. The official street date is actually August 5th in the U.S.A., but some of your favorite stores will probably have it early for those of you who have to have it first. Check with your local retailer for that information... [Internationally] the UK will probably get it first, on or about August 6th. Everywhere else will probably be Friday, August 13th (cue Twilight Zone Theme) or close to that date, with just a few exceptions (e.g. Russia and Poland)'."

133 of 753 comments (clear)

  1. Ah... I can't... oh no... by TWooster · · Score: 5, Funny

    Damn, there goes the $50 I lost on the bet that Duke Nukem would come out first. :(

    1. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by tolan-b · · Score: 4, Funny

      You never know, they might have been waiting for this announcement just so they could trump Doom3 by a day!
      If only I could afford a graphics card to actually run Doom on :/

    2. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by Rei · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You can take consolation in the fact that, when you buy Doom 3, you're supporting ameteur rocketry. ;)

      --
      Very well; let this abomination unto the Lord begin!
    3. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by LDoggg_ · · Score: 4, Funny

      If only I could afford a graphics card to actually run Doom on :/

      What, fifty bucks?

      --

      "If they have both, tell them we use Linux. And if they have that, tell them the computers are down." -Dave Chapelle
    4. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by DaHat · · Score: 2, Funny

      id released a game or two between Doom 2 and Doom 3.

      See: Quake(1|2|3)

      --
      Help Brendan pay off his student loans
    5. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by ScottGant · · Score: 3, Informative

      Lets take a look at some dates...to place things in perspecive:

      1993: Doom released
      1994: Doom II released

      1996: Duke Nukem 3D 1.0 came out using modified Doom II engine

      1996: Quake released
      1997: Quake II released
      1999: Quake III released
      2004: Doom III released.

      So, Id's had 6 major releases in the past 11 years and in the time that 3D Realms has been working on ONE Duke Nukem Forever, Id has had 4 whole games come out.

      Let's face it folks, Duke Nukem Forever isn't coming out. 8 years for one game?

      --

      "Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
    6. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by DaHat · · Score: 2, Informative

      True... but part of the issue with many is the length of time Duke has been 'in development' I haven't been able to find an exact date, but Duke was announced in or before 99 and was originally being built on the Quake 2 engine, they gave up on that engine and moved to the Unreal engine. In that time, the Unreal engine has gone through several impressive revisions and we have seen plenty of shipped games using the Quake 2 and Quake 3 engine.

      --
      Help Brendan pay off his student loans
    7. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by DaHat · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Looks like Duke was announced to be moving to the Unreal engine back in June of 98... so 6 years since the engine switch. Lets not forget the quote from the release "As for machine specifications, Duke Nukem Forever is a 1999 game and we think that timeframe matches very well with what we have planned for the game."

      Also... aren't we all waiting for the Duke Nukem movie as well?

      --
      Help Brendan pay off his student loans
    8. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by LookSharp · · Score: 5, Informative

      Exactly! The Radeon 9600SE cards or GeForceFX 5200 cards that run about $50 are more than sufficient to run DOOM3 at medium quality, according to previous remarks by developers and the review posted here.

    9. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by AresTheImpaler · · Score: 2, Informative

      you forgot Return to Castle Wolfenstein

    10. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by PhotoBoy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Are you sure Duke3D was a modified Doom 2 engine? I thought they specially developed their own and trumpeted is as a Doom-beater.

      I remember the rumours that LucasArts had pulled the Doom engine apart to develop Dark Forces.

    11. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by ischorr · · Score: 5, Informative

      1996: Duke Nukem 3D 1.0 came out using modified Doom II engine

      No, Duke3d used a engine developed completely independent of Id, called "BUILD". It was much closer in capabilities to the Quake engine than to the Doom II engine, though many (most?) people considered it inferior to the Quake engine.

      See Planet Duke for details.

    12. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by thrash242 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Do you have Far Cry? If not, I'd recommend it, becuase a) it's awesome and b) it's a good way to gauge whether your system will be good for Doom 3, since they're supposed to be similar in graphics and the like. Ditto for Half Life 2.

      I can run Far Cry with pretty much maxed out graphics at 1280X1024 minus antialiasing and anisotropic filtering, so I should be ok for Doom3. I have an AMD Athlon 3000+ XP, a ATI Radeon 9800 XT and 1G RAM, in case you're wondering.

    13. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by thrash242 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Duke Nukem 3D did not have a modified Doom Engine. It was built on Ken Silverman's Build engine along with Shadow Warrior and Blood.

    14. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by AceMarkE · · Score: 4, Informative

      Bit of a correction... Duke3D used the Build Engine, created by a guy named Ken Silverman, who was also responsible for an _old_ shareware game by the name of Ken's Labyrinth. Info on the history of the engine is available from Ken himself here. He's also got several other useful utilities, such as an excellent PNG optimizer.

    15. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by Idealius · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually, that's a bit misguided.

      It really is more related to the Doom engine in design because Quake was "real 3D" where as the Doom/Build engines were basically hacks which is why they ran so much faster.

      For instance, it was really a challenge for the developer of the Build engine to have support of a room directly above another room.

      Build/Doom engines are raycasters. That's why when you looked up or down (or 3rd-person mode) in the Build/Doom engines walls looked skewed.

      The Quake engine was actual 3D and never had this problem.

      But, I will say that Duke 3D and Quake came out about the same time and were direct competitors.

    16. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by Mordaximus · · Score: 2, Informative
      "So, Id's had 6 major releases in the past 11 years and in the time that 3D Realms has been working on ONE Duke Nukem Forever, Id has had 4 whole games come out."

      Well let's see here... There have been around 13 releases of various Duke Nukem games since 1991 right up until 2004, not counting DNF.

      Not to mention all of the other games that 3D Realms put out (Shadow Warrior, Wolfenstein 3D, Raptor, BioMenace, Max Payne 1/2 etc.). So no, they've been working on far more than just Duke Nukem Forever for 8 years.

      Oh, I'm not sure where you got the modified DOOM II engine idea, pays to do a little trivial research though...

      " When DOOM was released, Ken decided to have another go at a 3D engine. From this came BUILD, Ken's ever-evolving engine used in many, many games since, including Blood, Redneck Rampage, Shadow Warrior, and of course, Duke Nukem 3D. Not true "3D" but actually "2 1/2"D, the BUILD engine was one of the two most popular engines of its time, holding ground with Quake, id software's masterpiece."

      Nice Troll, though.

    17. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by rsd · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Let's face it folks, Duke Nukem Forever isn't coming out. 8 years for one game?"

      Of course it is.

      You just have to wait Forever....

    18. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by Ollierose · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Don't forget to round it up to $9700, and have a copy of the game to play

    19. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by chrismcdirty · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm not quite sure exactly why you need a DVD burner, 24" monitor, or whatever the nVentiv things are (presumably cooling system?). The game will run extremely well with the other components you listed.

      --
      It's like sex, except I'm having it!
    20. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by nine-times · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I don't really think so. Duke Nukem 3D was a terrific game, but not because it blew everyone else out of the water as far as technological achievement or anything. As I remember, it looked much better than a lot of games when it first came out, but Tomb Raider and Quake were both out not long after, and Duke was suddenly a 2.5 dimension game in a 3D world. But the weapons were kind of clever (pipe-bombs, shrink-rays, jetpacks), and the level design was kinda cool, and it was just fun to play. Plus, it wasn't too hard to make maps for the BUILD engine, and it came with an editor, so you could always download some new maps and stuff.

      I think game companies are too often trying to be the newest to the market with yet-unheard-of new graphics that only run on $500 video cards, but that really only appeals to a relatively small audience. Grand Theft Auto has been one of the most successful games lately, and it hasn't been because of the graphics. Make a game fun, just really fun, and even if it doesn't put other games' graphics to shame, people will dig it. At this point, I'd be happy if they're just remake Duke Nukem 3D in a new engine, not even so much to improve the graphics, but just so I can play what was a really fun game on my current computer.

    21. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by WuphonsReach · · Score: 3, Interesting

      For instance, it was really a challenge for the developer of the Build engine to have support of a room directly above another room.

      I don't remember any level designs in Duke Nukem 3D where there were rooms directly above other rooms. (In fact, I'm not sure it was possible at all given the way that the builder worked.)

      Instead, they would be clever and use teleport to move the user to a different part of the grid where the "upper" room would be (but you wouldn't be able to see out of that upper room). Multi-level towers were usually just built at multiple spots on the world grid with teleports between the levels.

      Or they'd play around with the layout so that after running around in a big circle, it felt like you were above the other room.

      Sure, it wasn't real 3D, but it was extremely easy to bang out levels since you weren't trying to layout 3D objects without all of the tools of a 3D CAD program. With the builder, you could map out your level design in 2D, then you just went in and changed your floor/ceiling heights to be whatever you wanted. (Duke 3D didn't have "outdoors", just textures that sorta looked like they were outdoors.)

      Designing Quake's 3D levels, OTOH, was definitely an order of magnitude more difficult, and you really had to plan ahead. (I'd guess that more modern tools are easier to use... this was back in the 1997-1999 timeframe.)

      --
      Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
    22. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by cgenman · · Score: 2, Interesting

      As an aside, can anyone fill me in on what the Quake engine did that Descent didn't? I'm sure there's a reason why Quake's 3D is better than Descent's, but I really have no idea what it is other than Romero had better hair.

      Umm... Quake had gravity? Descent was block-based while Quake was polygon based? Descent spread their people and their RAM more thinly? Descent's artists were obsessed with high-color contrast, which only accentuated the blockyness of it all, while Quake featured muted browns that almost didn't make it look like you were being attacked by Mr. Square and his 2D minions?

      Art direction and design decisions can go a long way to the differences between games. It can't hurt, though, that quake was implemented by a bunch of truly top notch coders.

      --
      The ______ Agenda
    23. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by Nurgled · · Score: 3, Interesting

      For the sake of adding a bit more info to your explanation...

      In later games using Duke's BUILD engine (written by then-teen-programmer Ken Silverman) the developers make the "room-over-room" illusion even better by simply doing two render passes. If you are in the upper part, then the first render pass will be the lower room, which since you are outside it doesn't include the ceiling, and then the second render pass renders the upper room using a null texture for the floor making it transparent. You had to line it all up quite carefully, but you could then get a room-above-room illusion that you can actually see, which was pretty neat.

      Ken also later added support for voxel (volume pixel) objects, allowing true 3D objects to take the place of selected in-world sprites, although that implementation used low-res voxels so they looked a little blocky.

    24. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by Sunspire · · Score: 2, Informative

      Shadow Warrior: I'll give you this one, 3DRealms made it.
      Wolfenstein 3D: WOLFENSTEIN! Are you nuts, this is the game that put iD on the map before 3D Realms was a speckle in Miller's eye. Maybe they own the rights now or something, but credit where credit is due.
      Max Payne 1/2: Developed by the boys at Remedy way over in Finland. Can't really use this as a excuse for DNF never getting done.

      I really don't see why people are waiting for DNF in the first place. Sure, Duke3D was sort of fun in it's time, I used to play it online a lot. But what makes people believe the Duke team has any sort of idea of how to create a modern game, why get hung up on Duke3D and not some other game? Except for their one single hit Duke3D the team's track record is frankly crap. Where the hell did all the expectations come from? Duke as a franchise is entirely mediocre if you take away the hype.

      --
      It's like deja vu all over again.
    25. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by glassjaw+rocks · · Score: 2, Informative
      $100 - 1 Antec 550W True Power Supply

      I assume you're going for the best of everything, so why this PSU?

      Enter the PC Power & Cooling TurboCool 510

      --
      -gjr
    26. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by G-funk · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Build/Doom engines are raycasters. That's why when you looked up or down (or 3rd-person mode) in the Build/Doom engines walls looked skewed.

      Wow, even in this day and age, even after the source was released, slashdotters still sprout this old axim. I can't speak for the build engine, but doom was not a raycaster (wolf was), it was a polygon renderer, with bsp-based culling and sorting. The reason the look up-look down was skewed is because the polygons were never meant to be rotated on the x/z axes, and so they were just skewed.

      And yes I know you couldn't look up in doom, but you could in a few doom-based games (hexen?)

      --
      Send lawyers, guns, and money!
    27. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by Soul-Burn666 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually that was possible since the engine was based on portals rather than absolute positions.
      Meaning, from each room, you can see and move to the rooms that connected to it. You could infact make a complete circle, and place different things in the same "real" space, but it would work cuz it connects the objects to the rooms, and the rooms are different.

      Same thing could be made in the Descent engine (a rather underrated engine, while actually being the first almost real 3D engine, before DN3D and quake). In Descent, the rooms were created by adding 3D shapes to existing walls and therefore connecting them. You could, if you wanted, to make 10 loops that occupy the same "real" space, but could only move thru the connected parts.
      There a user made map called "Pandora's Box" (iirc), which was a cube where u could fly around the outer part of it, and every cycle it would change. It was really mad, and playing these maps in multiplayer is really interesting!
      Another cool thing you could have done, is have a cube in the middle of the room, and instead of connecting it normally, you could have corridors coming from the outside of the cube and continuing outside the room! So you could have a cube in the middle of the room, that actually let you go to 6 different areas of the map!

      --
      ^_^
    28. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by lullabud · · Score: 2, Informative

      I'm not sure what the noted review was supposed to show, but I see nothing about Doom3 running well on average $50+ hardware.

    29. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by suraklin · · Score: 2, Informative

      uhhhh....I played that alpha also with an Athlon XP 1800 and an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro with 128 MB of RAM. It was nowhere near playable. Best I ever got was 20 FPS until more than one MOb got on screen then it dropped to 1 FPS. So it seems really odd that you found it playable on a celeron 400 and a Geforce 2 MX

    30. Re:Ah... I can't... oh no... by nathanh · · Score: 4, Funny
      1993: Doom released
      1994: Doom II released
      1996: Quake released
      1997: Quake II released
      1999: Quake III released

      Oh, I've got a better history.

      1993: Doom released
      1 month later I go broke buying a 486
      1994: Doom II released
      1 month later I go broke buying a better 486
      1996: Quake released
      1 month later I go broke buying a Pentium
      1997: Quake II released
      1 month later I go broke buying a Pentium MMX
      1999: Quake III released
      1 month later I go broke buying a Celeron

      id Software is the bane of my existence. Curse you Carmack!

  2. In other news... by Nos. · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hell has frozen over and pigs have learned to fly

    1. Re:In other news... by EpsCylonB · · Score: 3, Funny

      This is Doom 3, not Duke Nukem Forever....

    2. Re:In other news... by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well,

      In the earlier game, Doom 2, the subtitle was Hell On Earth. Being on Earth and thus susceptible to its changing climate one could assume that it is feasible for Hell to freeze over. As for teaching pigs to fly I dunno, BFG maybe?

      But then again, it is Hell - an evil place where sanity and rationality are unknown - so maybe there you are taught to fly and there are frozen pigs running around.

      Or maybe I'm just talking bullshit.

      --
      Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
    3. Re:In other news... by NanoGator · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Hell has frozen over and pigs have learned to fly"

      So what's it like not being a virgin anymore?

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    4. Re:In other news... by AresTheImpaler · · Score: 4, Funny
      So what's it like not being a virgin anymore?

      Oh well... It's amazing. So sad you are never going to experience it. :D

    5. Re:In other news... by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Oh well... It's amazing. So sad you are never going to experience it. :D"

      Just watch yourself. One of these days, us Autosexuals will band together and have pride parades!

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    6. Re:In other news... by p4ul13 · · Score: 4, Funny
      One of these days, us Autosexuals will band together and have pride parades!

      Is this some weird way of declaring that you have sex with gay cars? Not that I have a problem with that mind you, it's your perogative. I just want to get the message straight. Err, I mean clear.

      --
      Paul Lenhart writes words!
    7. Re:In other news... by mickwd · · Score: 2, Funny

      "As for teaching pigs to fly I dunno..."

      Well if someone called Hogwash McFly doesn't know, who does know ?

  3. Now that's a bright idea by sulli · · Score: 4, Funny

    linking to a finger server. You'd think someone could have put the text on a website or something.

    --

    sulli
    RTFJ.
  4. Hey boss... by DaHat · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just to let you know... Starting August 5th... I will not be coming into work for a week or two because of... personal reasons. If it is an emergency and you need me to come in... do not expect me to be showered, well fed or able to adapt to bright lights.

    Sincerely,
    Your groveling employee.

    --
    Help Brendan pay off his student loans
    1. Re:Hey boss... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Tell your boss you are fighting personal Demons

    2. Re:Hey boss... by Tsunayoshi · · Score: 3, Funny

      A friend from my last job and I have already planned to take 2-3 days off when Halo2 comes out for the X-box...his girlfriend and my wife just don't realize it yet...

      {ring} {ring}
      ME: {checks caller ID} @#!&, hit the mute button. it's my wife...
      Wife: What time will you be home from work dear?
      Me: Honey, we're swamped, I'll have to work late tonight...
      Wife: Ok dear, see you when you get home. Bye. {hangs up}
      Me: Ok, un-mute. WTF!!!! You team-killing-fucktard!!!!!!

      --
      "Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live." - Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"
  5. Oh sweet honey yes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's all falling into place.

    Doom 3.
    Soon Half-life 2.
    The second coming of Jesus.

    And then - Duke Nukem Forever will at last be mine!

    1. Re:Oh sweet honey yes by suso · · Score: 5, Funny

      The second coming of Jesus.

      I haven't heard about that one. Who is publishing it? Does anyone have any screenshots?

    2. Re:Oh sweet honey yes by Citizen+of+Earth · · Score: 2, Funny

      Soon Half-life 2.

      Why don't they just call it "Whole Life"?

      The second coming of Jesus.

      Sorry, there will be no second coming in the age of instant international media. There will be no saintly 'miracles', either, so there will be no more 'legitimate' saints.

    3. Re:Oh sweet honey yes by QEDog · · Score: 4, Funny
      The second coming of Jesus.

      I haven't heard about that one. Who is publishing it? Does anyone have any screenshots?

      It will be based in this movie

      --
      "There is no teacher but the enemy."-Mazer Rackham
    4. Re:Oh sweet honey yes by PerpetualMonkey · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yes, and what are the hardware requirements?

    5. Re:Oh sweet honey yes by cgenman · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, and what are the hardware requirements?

      Not much... A couple of boards, some nails...

      --
      The ______ Agenda
    6. Re:Oh sweet honey yes by Thedalek · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not much... A couple of boards, some nails...

      Sweet mother of... You mean you're going to nail Him up again? For crimeny's sake, man, why?

      --
      Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
    7. Re:Oh sweet honey yes by cgenman · · Score: 2, Funny

      An omnipotent dictator with a god complex from thousands of years ago is back to take over the world. And only one man can stop him!

      You are Pontius Pilate. You must fight to save the empire from this madman. But he is not alone. He has resurrected Peter, Paul, and Luke, and 9 other henchmen and has created an army of thousands of half-living zombie followers. Your job is not going to be an easy one.

      Fight through 12 levels of pulse pounding action!
      Fight through thousands of zombies, 12 henchmen, 4 horsemen, and the big man himself.
      Enjoy amazing atmospheric effects such as snow and rain of frogs.
      Only for the Game Cube.

      Are you Ro-MAN enough?

      [gratuitous picture of an underdressed Mary Magdalene removed]

      --
      The ______ Agenda
  6. The end of the universe is nigh.... by PierceLabs · · Score: 4, Funny

    and I wanted to have kids :( This isn't fair... all that time wasted...

    1. Re:The end of the universe is nigh.... by koreth · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'd hardly call time spent attempting to produce children wasted.

    2. Re:The end of the universe is nigh.... by S.O.B. · · Score: 3, Funny

      It depends on the partner. :D

      --
      Some of what I say is fact, some is conjecture, the rest I'm just blowing out my ass...you guess.
  7. Awesome! by th1ckasabr1ck · · Score: 5, Informative
    There's also a review in the new PC Gamer, and from what they write the game is everything we expected and then some. Here are a few exerpts:

    "...we're here to tell you that Doom 3 is not only done, it's absolutely mind-blowing."

    "You are basically subjecting yourself to a 20 hour cardiac episode."

    "...you will never experience a dull moment. Or even a less than mesmerizing one."

    "Doom 3 is a masterpiece of art form - staying true to the frantic legacy of the Doom series, while ambitiously reaching new heights and bashing down the doors of the next generation of PC shooter. The bar is raised."

    I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

    1. Re:Awesome! by milamber.net · · Score: 5, Informative

      Here's some more info on the review:

      And the cover of the issue.

    2. Re:Awesome! by SilentChris · · Score: 5, Informative

      Just an FYI.. I used to write for a variety of gaming rags. PC Gamer is known (hell, famous) for reviewing beta software as "official". Considering the game just went gold, I can't imagine they have anything better than a release candidate.

      A lot can change between RC and gold. Stability, performance. Things can actually get worse. I would take their reviews with a heavy dose of Sodium Chloride.

    3. Re:Awesome! by milamber.net · · Score: 2, Informative
      Ok site seems to be dead. Here's what it said:


      Doom 3 fast approaches, and the newest edition of PC Gamer has the "world exclusive" review. How did it score? It scored a 94%. Check out its highs, lows and bottom line:

      Highs: Extraordinary graphics and sound; incredible tension, atmosphere, and mayhem.

      Lows: Some stabs at humor fall a bit flat.

      Bottom Line: Just as we'd hoped, it's a non-stop ride of tension, carnage and terror. A new classic.

      Here's the cover.

      Check out this HardForum Thread for more information.

      UPDATE: Here's some more info I've found over at NVNews:The game will apparantly have a DVD version. There are multiple covers for the PC Gamer mag and the game boxes are different than the pre-order boxes.

      August 4th, in stores...August 4th in stores!!!



    4. Re:Awesome! by TheCyko1 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sodium Chloride? isn't that salt?

      oooooooooh... i get it! Hah, you're smart. Using those big sciency words. Wow, man, didn't see that twist comming.

      --
      This message was brought to you by the death of 30 brain cells.
    5. Re:Awesome! by Mike+Hawk · · Score: 3, Funny

      And we shouldn't take someone who has been fired from a variety of gaming rags with the same seasoning?

    6. Re:Awesome! by nacturation · · Score: 5, Funny

      I would take their reviews with a heavy dose of Sodium Chloride.

      I wish I could make them write their reviews with a heavy dose of Sodium Pentothal.

      --
      Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
  8. Minimum Specs by johnhennessy · · Score: 2, Informative

    Does anyone know what the minimum specs are ?

    If I need hardware, I need to be ordering it now !!

    --
    [ Monday is a terrible way to spend one seventh of your life. ]
    1. Re:Minimum Specs by peeon · · Score: 2, Informative

      Check this thread. http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=8 c5efc6f1e66ec445b34ff4cb4010bac&t=31956 1. 6800 is a tad faster than X800 cards. Both run it in full glory 2. The game has four render paths: NV10, NV20, R200, and ARB2. All paths look awesome, even down to a g4mx, but the ARB2 path is the "full package," and is used for the R300+ and Geforce FX+ cards. It does all it's fancy **** in one pass. 3. PCI Express enhances NOTHING. 4. The difference between a 128mb and 256mb card is that the former uses compressed textures whereas the latter only compresses diffuse and specualr maps. In another words, no big deal. However, a 500mb card is needed to run the game in Ultra Quality mode. 5. 512MB is the ideal system total memory. 384 is required, 1GB is nice, but the difference is negligible. 6. Nothing special is included for a 64-bit OS. 7. A 1.5 Ghz processor is the least recommended, but a 2Ghz and above will help since... 8...The sound engine is entirely CPU dependant. Therefore a crappy soundcard works flawlessly. Not to worry, the enfine only uses a "small percentage of cycles, much less than if the engine relied on a soundcard. 9. The only reccommendation regarding faster framerates is to disable to "advanced special effects option." In other words, upgrade if you have problems. 10. They tie it up by providing three levels of "Doom lovin' PC's" Low-End: 1.5GhzP4 or equivalent 512MB Ram Geforce4 Ti 4800 or Radeon 9500 Mid-Range: 2.4GhzP4 or equivalent 1GB RAM Geforce5950 or Radeon 9800 Pro/XT High_End: Aka Hardware that doesn't exist, but best guess anyway 3.4GhzP4 or AMD equivalent 2GB RAM GeForce 6800 Ultra or Radeon X800 XT PE.

    2. Re:Minimum Specs by viking099 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Here's what I found:
      Low-End:
      1.5GhzP4 or equivalent
      512MB Ram
      Geforce4 Ti 4800 or Radeon 9500

      Mid-Range:
      2.4GhzP4 or equivalent
      1GB RAM
      Geforce5950 or Radeon 9800 Pro/XT

      High_End: Aka Hardware that doesn't exist, but best guess anyway
      3.4GhzP4 or AMD equivalent
      2GB RAM
      GeForce 6800 Ultra or Radeon X800 XT PE

    3. Re:Minimum Specs by anon*127.0.0.1 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Minimum specs are a 286 processor, 640K of RAM (620 free), and 12 megabytes of hard drive space.

      Note that with the minimum configuration, Doom 3 will only run in "text mode".

      --
      I am NOT a man!
      I am a free number!
    4. Re:Minimum Specs by KevinKnSC · · Score: 5, Funny

      You realize that you just inspired about two dozen Sourceforge projects, right?

    5. Re:Minimum Specs by Alzheimers · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dark Room
      You are in dark room. There are a couple barrels in one corner. A quickly fading light fixture above provides what little illumination there is.
      There is a slobbering demon here.

      >Shoot Demon with handgun.

      The demon turns to face you, mildly annoyed by your pathetic attempts at exorcism.

      >Equip Rocketlauncher

      You heft the Rocklauncher to your shoulder. Something on the right side of your body makes a bone-cracking sound.

      >Fire Rocketlauncher

      Your random display of violence has caused the destruction of a pile of barrels in the corner. The resulting explosion has engulfed the demon, and the failing light fixture above.

      It is dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

    6. Re:Minimum Specs by kfg · · Score: 5, Funny

      Does anyone know what the minimum specs are ?

      New box.

      KFG

    7. Re:Minimum Specs by betelgeuse-4 · · Score: 5, Funny

      You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

      We need a nostalgic mod point.

      --
      Decode these
  9. Editor included? by Rayonic · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I seem to have missed the part about the level editor. Are they including it in the box, or will they release it later?

    The bar has been raised with regards to packaged content editors, after all. Heck, the Morrowind editing tools would let you re-create the entire game!

    --
    [PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
    1. Re:Editor included? by KDR_11k · · Score: 4, Informative

      All the editors (except maybe Photoshop and Maya) are included in the game itself. You probably can switch between the map editor and game on the fly, changing the level, pressing a key and seeing it all in action. Not the first game ever to do this (e.g. the Battlezone action RTS had a similar stryle of level editing), but a welcome addition, nonetheless.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    2. Re:Editor included? by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 3, Informative
      The current )third party editors (such as GTKRadiant) will still make a release for Doom 3, despite the in-game editor.

      Giving id's previous record of releasing tools which all lacked options/user friendlyness, i think this is a good move (Standard Radiant is pure hell to work with, compared to, for example, GTKRadiant.)

      And I'm not too sure bout this, but I also think mappers don't have to compile their .map to .bsp , anymore ( a -very- timeconsuming process) as the data in the .map file will be generated in real time in the D3 engine : Someone correct me on this if I'm wrong.

  10. Locked and Loaded by z0ink · · Score: 3, Informative

    yes, but will it run on linux .....

    YES! A hit title that runs on linux right out of the box. Thank you ID Software!

    --
    Steal This Sig
    1. Re:Locked and Loaded by zaffir · · Score: 2, Informative

      Quake 3 for linux was available on the same day the Windows version was, i believe. Or shortly thereafter. Carmack has always been a big open source fan.

      --
      "Upon attaching the waterblock to my penis, I began to notice that I know nothing about computers." -- JRockway
    2. Re:Locked and Loaded by Dave2+Wickham · · Score: 3, Informative

      Feb 29 22:51:12 <TTimo> heh .. nah I just said it was unlikely the linux binaries would be on the windows CD

      As he specifically specified win32 when he mentioned the "gone gold" message (in the same chan), I'd assume it's Windows-only for the moment...

    3. Re:Locked and Loaded by foidulus · · Score: 2, Informative

      Why can't Jobs just give ID a couple of G5s to guaranty that an OS X version is released simultaneously?
      Probably because he doesn't have any to spare. I oredered one 2 weeks ago(dual 1.8, 9600 XT card just to play doom) and it hasn't even shipped yet, lots of others are having problems too, kinda makes me pissed at Apple....

  11. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  12. amazon by tuanjim_2001 · · Score: 4, Informative
    I know that amazon.com had it for pre order a few days ago. For those who give a crap: here it is.

    --
    "If a quarter is two bits, then a dollar's a byte." -R Deric Miller
  13. Hey stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Look, if you want to combat piracy, release it on the same date world-wide. This one-week-later crap will only result in lots of illegal copies in "late" countries.

    1. Re:Hey stupid by Wireless+Joe · · Score: 2, Funny
      I thought of the exact same thing when I read this in the summary:

      "The official street date is actually August 5th in the U.S.A.,...with just a few exceptions (e.g. Russia and Poland)'."

      The first thing I thought was:

      (e.g. Russia and Poland, which will have bootleg copies including jacket art available tomorrow at 6 AM local time)."
    2. Re:Hey stupid by guido1 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Parent has such an ironic subject line...

      From TFA,
      "Internationally, the game will take a few more days to make it to the store shelves. The UK will probably get it first, on or about August 6th. Everywhere else will probably be Friday, August 13th (que Twilight Zone Theme) or close to that date, with just a few exceptions (e.g. Russia and Poland). This isn't because we don't have love for you folks outside the U.S., but the localization and manufacturing process takes a bit longer outside the U.S. where we will have JVC run 24/7 to get the units built. I guess the European manufacturers prefer to give their employees nights and weekends off. Go figure! "

    3. Re:Hey stupid by Innova · · Score: 2, Insightful
      If you RTF.P (Read the Flippin' .plan), you would understand why it isn't released at the same time world wide.

      Everywhere else will probably be Friday, August 13th (que Twilight Zone Theme) or close to that date, with just a few exceptions (e.g. Russia and Poland). This isn't because we don't have love for you folks outside the U.S., but the localization and manufacturing process takes a bit longer outside the U.S. where we will have JVC run 24/7 to get the units built. I guess the European manufacturers prefer to give their employees nights and weekends off. Go figure!


      They would love to release it the same day world wide, but it's just not possible. And the thought of making the US wait until Friday the 13th for this game, well that's just crazy talk.
      --
      See my Home Theater
  14. very cool by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Interesting

    it's been awhile since i heard an imp gurgle, or a bfg go bzzzt...

    do you think iddqd will still work? ;-)

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:very cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If they are true to their form, it will "work" in an unexpected way: sarcastic error message, stronger enemies, or maybe just an instadeath.

      If they were really '733t, it would launch DOOM I, a la Day of the Tentacle, or at least 'port you into a DOOM I-alike level.

  15. osx version? by asv108 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is there any word on a port to OSX?

    1. Re:osx version? by dancingmad · · Score: 5, Funny

      God bless the moderator who modded this funny.

      --
      "There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
    2. Re:osx version? by gabe · · Score: 2

      Why is that modded as funny? Every other id game has a Mac port, why shouldn't this one? I'd love to play DooM 3 on a dual 2.5GHz G5.

      --
      Gabriel Ricard
  16. At last by AngryScot · · Score: 2, Funny

    Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 coming out soon, I think its time to upgrade from windows 95 :)

    --

    All spelling mistakes are due to solar flares...honest

  17. First Doom3 review by hoferbr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    PC Gamer magazine reviewed Doom3 in its newest edition and gave the game a 94%.
    Here is an interesting post in the nvNews boards, with the full review, hardware and multiplayer details

  18. Will we see a spike in Intel today, given this PR? by Willie_the_Wimp · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I would seriously like to see any statistics on the amount of PC hardware that is sold due to the arrival of games like Doom 3 / Half Life 2 / etc. Personally, I have been waiting for the last 2 years to upgrade, specifically for this game. My system has been okay for everything else I need to do, so it just didn't make sense to go out and build a system, knowing full well that I will be behind the tech curve when this games comes out.

    I know some will think I am an idiot, but I am an unapologetic id fan. I have played most other FPS games out there, and id just seems to get the "feel" of FPS down to a science. The instant snap is perfect.

    I just wish they had included cooperative mode, like in the original Doom. Some of my best gaming experiences were all night coop Doom on nightmare mode. Good times.

    Todd

  19. Requirements by th1ckasabr1ck · · Score: 5, Informative
    System Requirements - Recommended by PC Gamer:

    2GHz CPU 512 MB Ram Radeon 9800 5-Channel Audio

    Supported Graphics Cards: Ge-Force 4 MX Ge-Force 3 Ge-Force 4 Titanium Ge-Force FX (and higher) ATI 8500, 9000 (and higher)

  20. Too bad... by Rayonic · · Score: 5, Funny

    Looks like you'll miss the office-wide lan party.

    Nope, you can't take it back. I've already scheduled your vacation into the system.

    - Your Boss

    --
    [PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
  21. Simple Google Search by ZeroGee · · Score: 5, Informative
    Google for "Doom 3 minimum hardware specs", and you'll see on the first response:
    From September's PC Gamer issue, they have the system requirements as:

    PC Gamer recommends:
    2Ghz CPU
    512 MB ram
    Radeon 9800
    5-channel audio

    Lowest supported GPU is a Geforce 4 MX (worse than Geforce 3)
    Supported cards:
    GF 4 MX
    GF 3
    GF 4
    GF FX (and higher)
    ATI 8500s, 9000s and higher
    The graphics card is what's going to kill me...
  22. Call Work.... by xojins · · Score: 5, Funny

    hmm, lets figure this out... 1) Brand new gaming rig $1200 2) 2 Weeks of vacation time $3000 3) Using up all my vacation time starting Aug 3 and not being able to take time off to help my wife with our son who is expected in Sept and then getting a call from her divorce lawyer, PRICELESS wow...id games took so much of my life and now they are gonna take my marriage. btw, thanks for the free shipping!

    1. Re:Call Work.... by JediTrainer · · Score: 3, Funny

      If you're my brother in law, you're already in big trouble (I'm expecting a nephew at the end of September) :)

      --

      You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
  23. Re:Russia and Poland? by StuckInSyrup · · Score: 2, Funny

    No.
    That means, they will start spreading the cracked version tomorrow.

    --
    Ni.
  24. Re:Hardware Requirements? by hoferbr · · Score: 5, Informative
    from nvnews
    Yeah, I was lucky enough to receive my copy today, so I'll share it with you guys.

    1. 6800 is a tad faster than X800 cards. Both run it in full glory

    2. The game has four render paths: NV10, NV20, R200, and ARB2. All paths look awesome, even down to a g4mx, but the ARB2 path is the full package, and is used for the R300+ and Geforce FX+ cards. It does all it's fancy **** in one pass.

    3. PCI Express enhances NOTHING.

    4. The difference between a 128mb and 256mb card is that the former uses compressed textures whereas the latter only compresses diffuse and specualr maps. In another words, no big deal. However, a 500mb card is needed to run the game in Ultra Quality mode.

    5. 512MB is the ideal system total memory. 384 is required, 1GB is nice, but the difference is negligible.

    6. Nothing special is included for a 64-bit OS.

    7. A 1.5 Ghz processor is the least recommended, but a 2Ghz and above will help since...

    8...The sound engine is entirely CPU dependant. Therefore a crappy soundcard works flawlessly. Not to worry, the enfine only uses a small percentage of cycles, much less than if the engine relied on a soundcard.

    9. The only reccommendation regarding faster framerates is to disable to advanced special effects option. In other words, upgrade if you have problems.

    10. They tie it up by providing three levels of Doom lovin' PC's

    Low-End:
    1.5GhzP4 or equivalent
    512MB Ram
    Geforce4 Ti 4800 or Radeon 9500

    Mid-Range:
    2.4GhzP4 or equivalent
    1GB RAM
    Geforce5950 or Radeon 9800 Pro/XT

    High_End: Aka Hardware that doesn't exist, but best guess anyway
    3.4GhzP4 or AMD equivalent
    2GB RAM
    GeForce 6800 Ultra or Radeon X800 XT PE.

    In conclusion, the game will run well on a variety of hardware, and Rob Duffy, the lead programmer, says that the game looks real good no matter what, and that it will continue to look better as hardware improves. Like all previous id engines, we'll be playing games based on D3 for another five years down the road.

    Enjoy everybody!
  25. Reviews and Box Quotes by syr · · Score: 4, Interesting
    So far only one source has reviewed Doom3. PC Gamer gave the game an 94%, but how trustworthy can that be when they had the exclusive and have a quote on the box?

    Over on GameTab you can see the large version of the game box and information on the PC Gamer review. Only time will tell whether the other reviews and gamers fall in line with PC Gamer's opinion.

  26. I think they've got that backwards by h_jurvanen · · Score: 4, Funny

    Everywhere else will probably be Friday, August 13th [...] with just a few exceptions (e.g. Russia and Poland)

    I guarantee you that it will be available on every street corner in Russia and Poland long before it is released anywhere else.

  27. In other news by eldimo · · Score: 2, Funny

    Stock of AMD, Intel, NVidia and ATI are expected to raise 200% in the next following week... ;)

  28. I'm stunned. by julesh · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I thought I'd never see another day like this one.

    No, not the release of Doom 3. To quote the poster:

    According to the .plan file of id CEO Todd Hollenshead

    Somebody's actually running a finger daemon, and it does more than just say "finger disabled for privacy reasons, try sending an e-mail".

    1. Re:I'm stunned. by cant_get_a_good_nick · · Score: 4, Funny

      I saw this too, I guess we've come a long way since worrying about the Morris worm.

      My favorite finger story: I'm working an employment fair at my old University, and a cute girl comes over and gives her resume. It's light, we placed it in the "to be made into cool paper airplanes as we pray to Bernoulli" but I noticed she had finger: mane@university.edu on her resume. I tried it, and her .plan said "blah blah, thanks for fingering me!!" Maybe we shoulda hired her.

  29. Re:Great! by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Now my wife will kill me after I spend $500 on a new video card to play this game."

    Get a Diamond video card and call it an anniversary present!

    Warning: Only do this ONCE.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  30. What about Germany? by KDR_11k · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Will this even be released in Germany and if, can I have a date? I mean, it'll probably indexed because it's by iD Software (hey, it's a tradition!) so I doubt I'll hear about the release in any news outlets (because bringing news on indexed titles is advertising them and therefore illegal... D'Oh!). Means I'll need to know about it from a foreign source.

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  31. Re:Minimum Linux-compatible video card? by kennedy · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you're poor, get a Radeon 9600xt. If you've got the mad cash to blow, go for the 9800xt or 9800pro. I've got no idea the status of support for the x800, but you never know.

  32. Doom3 Review out by obsid1an · · Score: 4, Informative

    Check it out at nV News.

  33. It's a trick! a plot I tell ya! by Joe+Sixpacks · · Score: 2, Funny

    Part of the Bush administrations plot to distract us during the critical pre-election lies!

    --

    Joe Sixpacks, defender of the common man.

  34. The Doom Carol by noname3 · · Score: 2, Funny

    (Doom 3 was meant to come out Christmas '03, but it didn't)

    Dashing through the demons,
    in a single player eff-pee-ess,
    through the corridors we go, shrieking all the way!
    Ahh-ha-ha-ha!

    Belts on chainguns fling, barrels blazing bright,
    what fun it is to kill and sing a slaying song tonight!

    Ohhh.. Doom in hell, Doom in hell, iD's game is almost here!
    Oh what a price it is to buy, just fifty four ninety niiii-ine!

    Pick it up at Best Buy, EB Games, or Gamespot!

  35. Actually.... by LordPixie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Since this is Slashdot, he's probably been busy trying to build a child in the basement.


    --LordPixie

    1. Re:Actually.... by overbom · · Score: 2, Funny

      with some other dude. :-)

  36. Re:Great! by djh101010 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Get a Diamond video card and call it an anniversary present! Warning: Only do this ONCE.

    ...per wife...

  37. Re:Who is right now? by eddy · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm suddenly reminded why amdzone is no longer on my sites-I-check-every-day rotation.

    --
    Belief is the currency of delusion.
  38. Buggy releases by Quinn_Inuit · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Given the tendency to release games too early, I suspect that this one will be playable around the time they get the fifth patch out in October.

    --

    Stop learning! Only you can prevent esoterrorism.
  39. OS X Port? by carbona · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Anyone have any news on an OS X port? Seems like this was all but certain at the gestation of the development process when Carmack ran an early demo on a Mac with an NVIDIA card a few years ago.

    But I haven't read anything recently on anything except the PC and XBOX versions.

  40. What about the DEMO? by Mitleid · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is an interesting display in how much we've let our standards go in regards to gaming. While there is all this salivating over the fact that DOOM III is finally fucking done, I've yet to hear any mention about a possible demo release. I was too young to experience it firsthand, but I recall hearing about BBS systems and FTPs being brought to a complete standstill when the original shareware copy of DOOM was released back in 93 or 94 as everyone tried to get their grubby little paws on it. Who cares if the final version has gone gold? As gamers it's only fair that we're able to download a demo before we trust the words of a "exclusive" review. Games like this get hyped for so long, and the pre-order BS get's pushed down your throat everytime you step into a GameStop, that it seems no game is sold on merit anymore. Personally I won't be impressed with anything until I can actually play a little taste of the game without having to pay id a cent.

    --

    --
    Is it me, or did it just get fatter in here?
    1. Re:What about the DEMO? by Obiwan+Kenobi · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Personally I won't be impressed with anything until I can actually play a little taste of the game without having to pay id a cent.

      Oh, get off it. Has id ever made a bad game? Yes Quake 2 wasn't exactly the pinnacle of their achievements, but it was fun and had some interesting ideas.

      Do you have to believe the hype? No. Do you need a demo to prove id's worthiness of your cash? I see very few people in your state of mind.

      I have a little thing called loyalty. It has, by en large, served me well. I follow and trust certain people and products until they screw up or do me wrong. Then I don't buy from them again. id has always steered me in the right. I've always enjoyed their work.

      I'm sure a demo will come, but this is a game designed for a single-player experience with a multiplayer option on the back-end. Quake 3 had a net demo because it was meant to work on the net, and needed the kind of testing only an open beta client could provide.

      Doom 3 needed months of tweaking and graphic/sound design to truly make it hit home. 30 minutes of this type of gameplay would be the worst type of storytelling.

      It's like reading a single chapter from a good book: One chapter won't tell you much, but taken as a whole it represents a greater achievement.

    2. Re:What about the DEMO? by ShinmaWa · · Score: 2, Insightful

      One chapter won't tell you much...

      It'll sure tell me if attempting to read the story with my 18-month-old 1.4GHz AMD/GF4MX eyeballs will blow their retinas out.

      --
      The /. Effect: Thousands of users simultaneously accessing a site to not read its content.
  41. Re:Half-Life 2 == Vapourware? by Talon33 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Umm, that's rediculous. People have played HL2. To even think that it is Vaporware is simply ignorant. Yes, it has a very delayed launch, I personally spoke with some of the lead designers at valve last may at E3. I also attented the sneak peak conference which showed off Half Life 2. let's just say they've spent a lot of their time on that physics engine, which was absolutely amazing. I won't be the only one who will spend entirely too much time playing with the gravity gun.

    What this really boils down to is that Valve has all the money in the world. Just like ID. They can take their sweet time making games. They don't have to meet deadlines, because they get to set them. They are concerned with making the best game they can and getting it to us when it's finished. I will take that ANYDAY over a rushed to market product that is riddled with bugs and the ending chopped and nice features left off for "expansion packs". If you'll notice well funded companies that actually finish their games rarely need "expansion packs" every 6 months, which is the industries new way of making you pay for a beta test, and then pay again for the finished product.

    Thank god Blizzard is taking this same stance with WoW. I'm in Beta, they don't have all the classes even finished yet, there's no way they are releasing in August, and they won't. Every blizzard game has been delayed, and everyone complains, yet how many copies did Diablo 2 sell? Yeaaah ...

  42. Re:Might be better with Nvidia by LookSharp · · Score: 2, Informative

    That was what Carmack was saying back during the GeForce 4 TI vs Radeon 8500 days.

    The GeForce 6 6800 Ultra GT vs Radeon X800 XT PE (wish I were making the product names up) seem to have similar performance on the ARB2 render path.

  43. Re:Now, will all the "vaporware" people step forwa by thrash242 · · Score: 2

    I agree, I don't see why people do this either. It was officially announced only a few years ago and then the *rumored* release date was pushed back *once*. The first *official* release date "this summer" is looking to be correct.

    Screenshots and trailers were released fairly early on to show that it was in fact real.

    id's policy has always been to release things when they're done, and it's always been worth the wait. Doom3 has not taken an inordinatedly long time or anything. Compare this to Duke Nukem Forever and Daikatana. DNF was announced around the time Quake came out. It's still not out, or showing any signs of being out soon. Doom3 was hinted at (as I remember) a little while before RTCW came out and officially announced afterwards. It's officially coming out soon. We've been waiting...what, maybe 3 years since first unofficially hearing about it? Yes, it sucked that it didn't come out last May like was rumored, but that was never officially announced, and thus, can't be counted against id or Doom3.

  44. DOOM3 will ruin the modern world economy for weeks by IronChefMorimoto · · Score: 5, Funny

    I predict that the release of this game will have so many computer geeks, nerds, gamers, etc. (I'm in all those categories) out of the office for most of August that the following will happen:

    1. backups will be left undone; servers worldwide will fail and not come back up; electronic commerce as we know it will halt
    2. viruses will run rampant; OS patches and virus definitions will remain uninstalled
    3. traffic management systems will be left unattended; millions will die in horrible car accidents
    4. Apple will go out of business; its approx. 4% market share will dwindle as Mac users realize that an OS X native version of DOOM3 isn't being released
    5. skeletons will be spotted via the International Space Station cameras around mid-September; mission control specialists will have ignored their pleas for a replacement crew/supply ship for 6+ weeks
    6. Al Qaeda will blow up 7 buildings, resulting in the deaths of the elderly, women, and children; teenage and 20-40-something males will mysteriously escape the carnage by sheer absenteeism (gamer chicks will also escape -- we're not all men)
    7. first semester classes around the world will be canceled; not enough students will show to class to occupy faculty members' time
    8. divorce will skyrocket to millions/day within the first week of DOOM3's release

    IronChefMorimoto

  45. Something for FREE by superpulpsicle · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/doom3/index.html

    At least you can check out these live video feeds for free.

  46. What about SMP? by Dr.+Manhattan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Does any major commercial game these days make any good use out of dual-CPU systems? Or do they still just use one processor?

    --
    PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
    1. Re:What about SMP? by veddermatic · · Score: 2, Informative

      Quake 3 was SMP aware / enabled.

      I don't see why DOOM3 would be different.

      --
      Department of Homeland Security: Removing the rights real patriots fought and died for since 2001
    2. Re:What about SMP? by mbbac · · Score: 2, Informative

      Quake 3 for the Macintosh supports SMP.

      --

      mbbac

    3. Re:What about SMP? by brer_rabbit · · Score: 2, Informative

      yup, Quake3 was SMP capable. But some Quake3 engine games, notably Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Enemy Territory, don't support SMP.

      Whether Doom3 will be SMP capable is another question.

    4. Re:What about SMP? by Rolphus · · Score: 2, Informative

      Doom 3 does to an extent. One of the various quotes I've seen bandied about on the web is that the sound engine (which is entirely software-based) runs in a separate thread... The specific quote I've seen was related to the difficulty id had with thread-synchronisation for the sound and main threads.

      So, yeah, it supports SMP. But as the sound engine takes a few percent of the overall CPU time, it's not going to do a whole lot.

      --
      ~Rolphus
    5. Re:What about SMP? by mike260 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Some details on Q3A's use of SMP:
      1st attempt
      2nd attempt

  47. Relax. by pragma_x · · Score: 2, Funny

    I head a rumor that it's being shrink-wrapped and bundled along with MS Longhorn. ;)

  48. August 5th = LinuxWorld by jwkane · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Release date for Doom III == final day of LinuxWorld.

    Coincidence?

    If they were friggin' brilliant they would have a Linux build, an ongoing lan game, and a huge mountain of units shrinkwraped and ready-to-sell.

  49. it's on cnn too by Magius_AR · · Score: 3, Insightful
    CNN article One of my personal peeves is addressed in the CNN article:

    The game will ship on either three or four CDs. Despite the hopes of hard-core gamers, though, there will not be a DVD version of the game, id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead told CNN/Money.

    "There's just not a compelling reason," he said, taking a break from a company celebration.

    "I know some gamers are hoping to use the DVD players on their machines for something other than watching movies, but there are downsides," he said. "For us the cost of the goods and the cost of the replication and having to make two masters just isn't worth it."

    Compelling reason? TWO masters? Man, everyone and their mother has a DVD drive in their comp nowadays. How about doing a DVD ONLY release. Backwards compatibility is great and all, but frankly if you can't afford 20 bucks for a DVD drive and/or don't have one by now, you probably wouldn't buy this game in the first place.

    What's the damn holdup with the transition to DVD games? I'm fed up with this Multi-CD crap.

  50. Re:Half-Life 2 == Vapourware? by Talon33 · · Score: 2

    You should be able to, I've already gotten a free Steam account through the purchase of my Radeon 9800XT which was supposed to come bundled with HL2. Instead they gave me a steam acccount and said, when HL2 is ready, it will be downloaded and you can play the day it releases.

  51. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion