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Doom 3 Creators Huddle, Address Clamoring Press

Posted by simoniker on from the microphones-at-the-ready dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for its interview with CEO id Todd Hollenshead and Doom 3 lead designer Tim Willits, as part of a carefully orchestrated fusillade of interviews that also includes a subtly different interview at IGN and another interview at GameSpy - topics discussed include the limit on 4-player multiplayer ("I have no doubt that one of the first mods for Doom 3 to come out will be eight-player Doom 3. But it's my guess that eight-player Doom 3 will be most effectively played on LAN servers"), game pricing ("Activision has a minimum advertised price on the game at launch of $54.99; anything above that I would say is just retailers padding their margins"), and what id will do next ("Our very talented art staff has already started on the next game. Kenneth (Scott, id Software artist) is leading the team, working on some proof-of-concept stuff.")

51 comments

  1. Do I smell another sequel? by displague · · Score: 1

    Our very talented art staff has already started on the next game. Kenneth (Scott, id Software artist) is leading the team, working on some proof-of-concept stuff.

    Quake 4, anyone?

    --
    Marques Johansson
    1. Re:Do I smell another sequel? by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 1

      I read an story a few months ago about how id was going to start an entirely new franchise. Since they've sent the next Wolfenstein game to another developer (no doubt using the Doom 3 engine), this would probably refer to whatever new idea they want to try out.

      Since I had a Macintosh 'back in the day', I'm not much of a Doom fan. But if I just read "Doom 3" as "Marathon 4", I can understand why it gets people so excited. ;-)

      --
      Comment of the year
    2. Re:Do I smell another sequel? by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 4, Informative
      How about reading the actual article(s) ?

      Ohwait, this is Slashdot.

      Raven Software is currently developing Quake 4, and id's plans are to make a non IP game.

    3. Re:Do I smell another sequel? by login.pl · · Score: 1

      You don't have to play DOOM to get excited about DOOM 3. Just go look at some videos.

    4. Re:Do I smell another sequel? by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 1
      I was getting worried for a second that Doom 3 related news wasn't going to be on Slashdot today...
      I'm so lucky ;)

      On a more serious note : Hearing that 8 players would 'best be played on LAN's' makes me a bit worried if the D3 engine , if stripped down of all the eyecandy (that's most likely prohibiting more players at the moment) , will still be able to have games with the current Q3/RTCW engine maximum (64 players, iirc).

    5. Re:Do I smell another sequel? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Quake IV was announced in 2001.

    6. Re:Do I smell another sequel? by rpdillon · · Score: 1

      No...Quake 4 has been in the works for months over at Raven Software. This will be a new franchise. RTFA.

    7. Re:Do I smell another sequel? by inkless1 · · Score: 1

      Id suggested, but not come right and said, that the low player MP is more of a gameplay decision and not really much of a technical one.

      They make it sound as if mods and 3rd party games wont have a problem pushing that limit.

    8. Re:Do I smell another sequel? by swdunlop · · Score: 1

      RTFA -- Due to the dynamic environment, destructible and displaceable objects, Id thinks that the game is going to consume a lot more resources and bandwidth for the server than previous games. Hence the artificial 4 player limitation.

      --
      Weapons of Mass Analysis
    9. Re:Do I smell another sequel? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Raven Software is currently developing Quake 4, and id's plans are to make a non IP game.

      They're going NetBEUI only?

  2. Misreading? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I read the title as "Doom 3 Creatures Huddle, Address Clamoring Press", have I been playing the originals too much? If not, has this been made a feature of ingame AI?

    1. Re:Misreading? by mstorer3772 · · Score: 1

      In that case, I would think "address" would be more accurately interpretted as "Consume", "eat", or perhaps "mutilate".

      That'd rule.

      --
      Fooz Meister
  3. Next game is.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    World Of Quake
    A new MMOFPSRPG and it'll be done when it's done...

    1. Re:Next game is.... by login.pl · · Score: 1

      No no no no.... It'll be a cool new game about these "Gladiators", that fight to the death. And it'll be like a competition to be the best fighter and stuff. And you'll get all these cool weapons to pick up and stuff. And then people can have tournaments and win prizes and stuff.

  4. Won't be Quake 4. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've read many an interview, as well as "Masters of Doom" a book about the company, and I remember reading that two of the bosses of the company (there are three) did not want to create another Doom game, but the level designers and artists wanted to, and Paul Steed I think it was convinced Carmack to do it, and then the two owners fired Steed in retaliation for leading the lower level guys to mutiny. The two bosses wanted to do something new and different from what ID has been doing. So I suspect the next game will be anyhting but just another FPS... Unless of course the same problems ID had developing Quake occur again. Quake was not supposed to be an FPS but they gave up trying to make it into something more like an RPG, and took way too long, and didn't ahve good art direction which is why the game has four different styles of world.

  5. $55! by hambonewilkins · · Score: 1
    Fifty-five dollars? If the cost is directly related to time in development, Half-Life 2 will cost $70 and DNF will run in the thousands.

    Yes, that was another lame Duke Nukem joke. But dear Lord, $55 seems pretty high to me (unless it comes with a whole slew of stuff).

    --

    God Bless America. Why? Did it sneeze?
    1. Re:$55! by black+mariah · · Score: 1

      Most games have a retail price in the $45-60 range. What the stores actually charge is generally lower.

      --
      'Standards' in computing only impress those who are impressed by things like 'standards'.
    2. Re:$55! by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      the cost is directly related to guessing what people would be willing to pay to get it.

      55 for couple of weeks, drop it some 5 $, couple of weeks more and drop it another, then sell it at premium in the xmas boost.

      it's doom 3 anyways... it's not like they would have a shortage of people willing to pay 55..

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    3. Re:$55! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I
      CANT
      BUY
      55

      yeaaa da na na na da na da na

    4. Re:$55! by Flunitrazepam · · Score: 1

      i think you should express your disgust at the high price by downloading it from suprnova.org

      --
      1) Your analysis is based on bad assumptions so your result is way off. 2) You're a sick bastard for fucking a horse.
    5. Re:$55! by hambonewilkins · · Score: 1
      No, I understand economics and it's brillant that they are totally sticking it to all the advance buyers.

      I just don't have much interest in the game and thus fine the price very high. Maybe when it hits $20.

      --

      God Bless America. Why? Did it sneeze?
    6. Re:$55! by svallarian · · Score: 1

      But you have to think of all the gameplay you'll get from the countless excellent mods that will come out using the doom3 engine.

      It's just like unreal tournament 2004 is like getting 10-20 *very* different games for $35.

      Same concept for doom 3.

      --
      I patented screwing your mom. But it got revoked for "prior art."
  6. doom 3 to be available on aug 3rd 12:01am@bestbuy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
    "(Editor's Note: Activision later informed us that 10 select Best Buy stores, covering 6 markets -- Chicago, Washington D.C., Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Dallas -- will offer the game at 12:01AM on Aug 3 as part of a special midnight madness sale. We were unable to find out if any other stores will be conducting similar promotions.)"


    Looks like if there's a Best Buy near you, you'll be able to pick up Doom 3 faster than anyone else (and looks like Id lied about it shipping on August 3rd.. unless they have one-minute mails :)).

    But the big question is, does anyone know where we can find a list of these mystical stores? I live in Chicago and would like to find out, as I'm sure many other /. readers!
  7. Definition by acxr+is+wasted · · Score: 1
    fusillade
    n.
    1. A discharge from a number of firearms, fired simultaneously or in rapid succession.
    2. A rapid outburst or barrage: a fusillade of insults.
    tr.v. fusilladed, fusillading, fusillades
    • To attack with a fusillade.
    [French, from fusiller, to shoot, from fusil, firearm. See fusil.]
    --
    "Come on, let's go drink till we can't feel feelings anymore."
  8. So...? by Nasarius · · Score: 1

    Read that again:
    A rapid outburst or barrage: a fusillade of insults.

    --
    LOAD "SIG",8,1
  9. Just an FYI to Tim by inkless1 · · Score: 1, Informative

    From the IGN interview:

    "We're actually shipping all of the source maps for the game. No game has done this and no game is going to do this."

    That's categorically wrong. The Unreal series has always included their map sources. Maybe one should do some homework on other engines?

    1. Re:Just an FYI to Tim by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 0

      Morrowind was also shipped wide-open for modders. As was Serious Sam and Serious Sam 2. Given a few minutes, I could think of a few more, no doubt.

      --
      Comment of the year
    2. Re:Just an FYI to Tim by eliza_effect · · Score: 0

      "Wide open to modders" are shipping with the source for the commercial maps are very different things.

    3. Re:Just an FYI to Tim by TheAdventurer · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Oh my god, he made a mistake? We should burn him at the stake and let a gorilla rape him.

      I'm sure it was all a nefarious plot to get you to buy the game! In fact, I bet microsoft secretly developed DOOM 3 and Carmack is in fact a robot controlled by Bill Gates! WOW!

      In all seriousness, perhaps he meant something else, or something more specific that the context of the article didn't pick up on. Interviews so often come across poorly in text and I wouldn't be surprised if he was talking about some feature or aspect of maps/source that truly is a first for release inclusion. Somehow I doubt he is stupid and/or ignorant of what Epic has done with Unreal.

    4. Re:Just an FYI to Tim by jensen404 · · Score: 1

      I think he was just plain wrong. Unreal doesn't have seperate compiled and source maps though, there is just one file for the map.

    5. Re:Just an FYI to Tim by KDR_11k · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think he meant sources to maps that differ between source and final version. Unreal, Serious Sam, etc. use the same format for building as for playing, Quake has always used separate map formats. But then they said Doom 3 has an ingame map editor, so maybe they're no longer using precompiled maps.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  10. Re:doom 3 to be available on aug 3rd 12:01am@bestb by {8_8} · · Score: 1

    I'm being trolly today!

    Best Buy has stores in states other than those listed. Omaha, NE, for example, has two; I live 10 minutes from the one out west, but somehow I doubt that I'll be able to "pick up Doom 3 faster than anyone else" unless I drive ~6 hours to Chicago. People do live in cities besides Chicago, Washington D.C., Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Dallas.

    Then again, I don't know if you can rightly call it "living" ;)

  11. Re:doom 3 to be available on aug 3rd 12:01am@bestb by pio!pio! · · Score: 1

    0-day shipping!..they must be uber l33t to get on those!

  12. Games As Status Symbols by {8_8} · · Score: 1

    Most FPS games make me nauseous or bored when I play for extended periods of time, with the exception of Deus Ex and Morrowind. Painkiller and the Quakes bored me, I never finished HL, I never played CS or any of the recent multiplayer FPS hits, and the only fun I had in the Dooms was IDKFAing it to the end of the shareware episode. Before you flame, I freely admit that I suck at multiplayer FPS (any FPS, really) and I have no desire to get better.

    With that said, I'll probably buy (yes, BUY) Doom 3 when it comes out because It's Something That Gamers Have. At least some of you have to know what I'm talking about. There are games out there that we own/previously owned because Gamers Must Have This Game. I've got a copy of the Starcrafts, HL, and the Diablos for this reason.

    1. Re:Games As Status Symbols by LocoBurger · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There are games out there that we own/previously owned because Gamers Must Have This Game. I've got a copy of the Starcrafts, HL, and the Diablos for this reason.

      Really? Wow. I find that really sad. I consider myself a gamer, and I will be buying Doom 3 because I do in fact like that kind of game, and have enjoyed Half-Life, the Quakes,, etc. Though, as you mention, the Diablo games are classic, I never bought them or even played them much because I didn't enjoy them. I'm not going to waste (hard-drive|CD Jacket|Desk) space with a game I don't enjoy, no matter how popular they are. I gave Diablo a shot, but it ain't my cup of tea. I consider the "must have" games to be those games that I must have. I'll play before I buy..

      If you don't like FPS's, Doom 3 is probably not worth your $55+. At least wait until it's in the bargain bin. As for me, I'll be there day one.

    2. Re:Games As Status Symbols by {8_8} · · Score: 1

      I suppose the tone of my post indicated otherwise, but I did enjoy the few FPS games I could get into. Quake TF was fun, as was Deus Ex and Doom shareware. On the other hand, I find that as I get older my enjoyment of games requiring quick action and thought(multiplayer FPS/RTS, etc.) lessens, but the drive to buy popular games (currently FPS/RTS) remains the same. I don't quite understand it myself. I suppose if I were rich, I'd be one of those people who buy [popular fast/expensive car] but don't really enjoy it.

      I still enjoy playing the Diablos and Starcrafts. There was a brief time (~2 weeks) when I enjoyed playing HL, and an even more brief time (~2 hours) when I enjoyed playing Painkiller.

    3. Re:Games As Status Symbols by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      con-fucking-gratulations.

    4. Re:Games As Status Symbols by Deraj+DeZine · · Score: 1

      So you buy games because they're popular? You truly represent the pinnacle of materialism. Better start saving for that Escalade/H2 =)

      The above bit was in jest, but I suggest you start playing games before you buy them (through a friend or ... other means). Or continue to waste money.

      --
      True story.
    5. Re:Games As Status Symbols by {8_8} · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I went through a period when I was buying games left and right without really enjoying them before I realized how much money I was spending. My original post was based in part on that period. Lately, though, I've tried to cut back on my purchases.

      As far as buying games because they're popular, that's not exactly how it works for me. It's something more along the lines of "People say this game is fun, so I should buy it and see if it's fun." It's a subtle distinction, if it can be called that. I buy games that I think that I might like, and (arguably) one indication that I might like a game is if a lot of other people like it. I've begun to learn, however, that other people's recommended games no longer coincide with the type of games I enjoy playing. You're correct in saying that I should try before I buy, but I don't know anyone personally who plays FPS games and I'm too paranoid in my old age (waveeq := y''[t] == -w^2*y[t]) and career choice (assistant crack whore) to use "other means."

      I actually wouldn't buy an Escalade or an H2, despite their popularity, because I hate big cars (I recognize your jest, and appreciate the polite response =). My parents have always driven big cars, and I've never liked driving them. However, this scenario is distinguishable from my gaming comments in that the number and variety of cars I have the opportunity to purchase pales in comparison to the number of games available to me. If cars cost $50, and were as easily obtained/maintained (no licensing, insurance, gas costs, storage fees, etc.), it is entirely possible that I might own an Escalade or an H2. Actually, I'd probably own one of those bling-bling rap star Escalades with spray-on rubber tires and spinners. I'd never really enjoy driving it, but I'd buy it and pimp it out because there's an off chance that I might enjoy it. Yeeuh. Straight up. I'm staying true to my upper middle-class roots, yo. Word to somebody's mom.

  13. Re:doom 3 to be available on aug 3rd 12:01am@bestb by OOO0000OO0O0 · · Score: 1

    That's why it costs $55; the relativstic increase in mass (price) afforded by the extreme speeds at which it ships

  14. multiplayer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    what made me love quake, doom, etc was multiplayer mode, the more people the better. Never liked them much until i discovered network play. why would the newest installment of doom not support 32 or more players right out of the box? slap some quake net code into it or something at least..gheez.

    1. Re:multiplayer? by OOO0000OO0O0 · · Score: 1

      The lighting engine brings the server load up, so you'll likely be getting high pings if there are 32 players...RTFA.

    2. Re:multiplayer? by aiyo · · Score: 1

      I dont get it..why would lighting bring the server load up? Servers dont render lighting. Plus, if they wanted 4 players for best gaming experience then they should have set the default to 4 and have a little arrow next to it so the rest of us can bump it up to a 32 or 64 player orgy. Who cares if current servers cant handle the load, they will be able to handle it in 6-12 months easily. I know it's mod-able but geeze there'll probably be one or two admins who apply the mod while the rest of the lazy bastards just leave it as is.

    3. Re:multiplayer? by OOO0000OO0O0 · · Score: 1

      There IS lighting and it does have influence--Do you want to turn off a light, but have that not affect the other players' views either? Nope, so the server must keep track of lighting in some way. The server just doesn't need the graphics card to render it--but rendering is not all of the load. There are massive amounts of physics. When you fire a gun, the bullets will be individually modeled--the projectiles are polygonal and as such will be put through a dynamics solver. the SERVER must keep track of this if you dont want Counterstrike style BS with bullet physics. Servers won't get much faster in the next 6-12 months if corporate jackasses don't release fiber optics to the masses. Only one or two admins? Trust me, if this catches on it will be as common as the deathmatch mod and Admin Mod for Counterstrike. Lazy bastards may also apply + players mods with no modicum of skill, so that is not an issue. The game is also meant to be more methodical than other shooters, so 4 players ends up giving you a more personal, scary, and tactical experience--who wants a whole bunch of clowns running around with shotguns trying to make Doom 3 into Quake? That's what UT2004/3 is for.

    4. Re:multiplayer? by ThePuD · · Score: 0

      servers don't render lighting, and in every other fps on the planet they have no reason to even worry about it. But, the way i understand it, Doom3 has something like real-time rendered shadows and lights that you can shoot out and stuff, meaning you can hide in other players shadows and the like, or just shoot out all the lights and play some "hide and go seek in the dark", letting your inner 12 year old take over (come to think of it that might be a cool mod! maybe i will bust out unrealed and try it in 2k4). more to the point, in doom3 the server needs to know where all the light is so it can do cool things like that on the fly.

  15. Why Doom? by AliasTheRoot · · Score: 0

    I'm completly beffudled as to why /. devotes so much coverage to iD.

    Doom was good fun, The Quake series got less so over time - but I guess Quake 3 was a laugh if Halflife multiplayer wasn't about.

    We've seen it all with FPS, there's nothing new in the genre and iD don't add anything new.

    At the moment it has become a kind of spend 500 dorrah to experience the shadows.

    Noone asked if we thought shadows were worth 500 dorrah.

    1. Re:Why Doom? by obsid1an · · Score: 1

      id didn't add anything to the fps genre? They made the damn genre. As to why /. seems to favor id. It might have just a little to do with the fact that Carmack programs his engines using OpenGL and open sources the engine code eventually. In a world of DirectX games left and right he's sort of the /. game progamming messiah.

  16. Re:doom 3 to be available on aug 3rd 12:01am@bestb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm gonna wait for the bittorrent, available on Aug. 3rd, at around 2am. /just kidding

  17. Anyone have any info on Doom3 map/model making? by log0n · · Score: 1

    Proprietary tools or more trad-3d apps (I've seen rumors of Lightwave being used for modelling/mapping)? What platform? Formats? etc etc

  18. Woo. 8 players. by Telastyn · · Score: 1

    Pardon if I don't buy doom 3 then. The single player can be as suspenseful or as beautiful as it wants, but it's just one game with dumb AI. iD's games, even the old doom games, were fantastic because of the multiplayer additions to those games, new maps, new gameplay. All around actual people who weren't just something to exploit like AI monsters.

    I don't see multiplayer modders spending time on an engine which supports less players than games made a full decade ago. The singular lack of player support largely prevents any sort of CTF or similar team based gameplay....

    Just disappointing...

  19. Trinity by LordMyren · · Score: 1

    I want my outdoor worlds damn it! Give me Trinity or give me... well... something else.