Marine Finds Duct Tape on Mars

mhore writes "It seems that one of the biggest complaints about Doom 3 has been resolved. Thanks to Glen Murphy, you may now use your flashlight and weapon at the same time, thanks to the ingenious 'Duct Tape' mod! While some may think this ruins the game play, I disagree and think it is worth noting." There's plenty of other Doom 3-related coverage over at PlanetDoom, including a pointer to a new IGN review, which PlanetDoom considers "a lot more fair and balanced than some of the reviews we've seen so far", with an overall 8.9/10 score.

Comments

Poor guy...

[Compholio]

"In anticipation of a slashdotting due in 10 minutes (god bless being a /. subscriber), the images have been removed from the front page. You may still view them here, if you're interested: screenshot 1, screenshot 2 (image quality has also been reduced)."

Flashlight + Pistol

[HungSquirrel]

There is another mod that gives just your pistol a flashlight.

http://dlx.gamespot.com/pc/doom3/moreinfo_610416 8. html

Re:Appropriate name.

[randyest]

Yes. The name is clever. Many have asked "don't they have duct tape in 2045?"

Of course the anwer is yes, but you don't have any when this particular shit hits this particular fan. Sorry. Life is hard. And it's much scarier this way!

But, if you're as scared as this guy or this guy's friends then I have I a deal* for you (*not a monorail.)

It's easier to install than this new duct tape mod, requires no file download, and works 100% of the time. You're not restricted to a smaller-beam, or to duct-taping your flashlight to small arms only. And there's no modified doom3 files to cause problems in multiplayer when cheat detectors check your files.

Ready for it?

You think I'm effing with you, don't you?

I'm not.

Pull down the console (ctrl+alt+~ -- now that's security through obscurity! I be you were expecting just ~ eh?) and enter:

r_gamma 2

If it's still too dim for your panties to hold your dump, up it to something closer to 3 (over 3 is meaningless.)

Still crying mama every time you hear "come one hurry!"? Ok, open up Mr. Console again and do a:

r_brightness 1.6

You can push that up a bit higher if your teeth are chipping each other, but it gets ugly fast.

If you don't want to do that every game, find C:\Program Files\Doom 3\base\DoomConfig.cfg (or your equivalent in the case of non-standard install or other OS) and search/replace any existing settings of the above mentioned variables. Add them if they're not already there. Anything in DoomConfig.cfg gets executed on startup.

Be sure to use a nightlight and make sure mommy tucks you in, BTW.









And yes. There are monsters both under your bed and in your closet.

Bwahaha! :)

HOW-TO: Fix your Gamma in game

[Jonah Hex]

..for those of you still playing, hell I would of quit in the first level without adjusting the engine's gamma. This doesn't do anything to my framerate, YMMV

Pull up the console (Ctrl + Alt + ~)
type "r_gamma 2" (max is 3, default 1)
Adjust brightness downward a notch or two; especially if you cranked it up while looking for the fucking gamma control like I did.

And here's a bonus hacking tip, the developer's own config files (keybindings, video settings, etc) are stored in one of the *.pk? files (in D3's case pak000.pk4). Usually you can pull out some interesting command usage, especially when one developer has binds to useful commands and functions as in-game editing menus. From the johnc.cfg file, a few lines out of many such as rebinding console to a normal "~" and Flashlight Batteries (MP option?), plus the fact that he doesn't mind his game dark.

bind ~ "toggleconsole"
seta si_flashLightBatteries "0"
seta si_allowFlashLight "1"
seta r_customHeight "486"
seta r_customWidth "720"
seta r_gamma "1"

Jonah Hex (aka [TFO]DogMeat to my MOHAA old mod friends :)

If you want to modify this mod

[nedder]

The flashlight intensity and pattern of this mod is controlled by a .tga file that acts as an alpha channel. I opened it in photoshop and used the circle gradient to make the spot larger with a softer edge (the one in the mod is way too small and hard edged). Add it back to the pk4 and make sure it retains the /lights path. On a sidenote, this mod seems to screw up screenshots. I took 4 to show people and they were solid blue. You can also have some fun with the .tga and have like 2 flashlights or give it a wide/narrow shape, etc.

Combat survival 101

[SmallFurryCreature]

Lesson 1: DO NOT SIGNAL YOUR PRESENCE TO THE ENEMY.

One of the things any real soldier knows is that once you give your position away you MOVE. So a sniper never stays in one place after a shot (make note snipers who are suprised that after they shoot me I kill them in computer games). With night fighting the flash of your weapon means that after you fire a round you move since the enemy now knows exactly were you are.

Same deal really with search lights. Sure they make it easier to see but the poor guy operating it will probably be the first to die as he is the easiest to target.

Putting lights on your body or weapon is a big NO-NO. Why not just paint your self a big fluorescent target on your chest and be done with it?

The only ones who use lights on their guns are special forces like swat teams. They operate at such speed and with such overwhelming force that the enemy doesn't have time to respond. A swat team could go in with sirens on their head since they are not supposed to stay still and engage a heavily armed enemy.

Watch the movie ET and the opening scene where all the cops are walking with their flashlights shining. Now imagine they are soldiers and you are the enemy waiting in ambush. Who do you think is going to win?

There is also an other reason why not to use a flashlight at night. Your eyes can adjust to the dark and make use of what little light there is available. Start shining a flashlight around however and your eyes won't adjust. You will see very good in the small cone of the flashlight and be blind outside. Not good.

So lights on weapons or worse the body are a clear sign you are watching a movie. They can only really be used when you are reasonably certain that you are operating at such speed against a less prepared enemy that the giving away your position and presenting a brightly lit target makes up for you being able to see.

How does this relate to doom3? Well what happened is pretty realistic. The marine realises he is not in a normal combat scenario so he uses duct tape to adjust to the situation. So the question is not why the marins do not have lights on their weapons or body pre-fitted. The question is why ID did not give their soldier some duct-tape after he learned of the changed situation. Then again how many FPS have you seen where the hero tapes clips together for faster reload, tapes two guns together for extra fire power? We seen it in the movies, gotta be sound tactics or they wouldn't use it.