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First Pictures of Quake IV

Snaller writes "Yahoos GameDomain are looking ahead to 2005, and have the first pictures of Quake IV. For all those who have missed the Stroggs since Quake 2 - fear not, they are baaack! Quake IV will be made by Raven software using the Doom 3 engine."

107 comments

  1. Yet another.... by AtariAmarok · · Score: 4, Insightful

    On the down side, it looks like yet another game where all the colors are too dark (murky greys, greens, and browns). Must every game look like it takes place inside the "Nostromo" from "Alien" (1)? The same old same old. On the plus side, the refinement makes it look as good as the "Final Fantasy" movie. If that is considered to be a plus...

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
    1. Re:Yet another.... by Poseidon88 · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Must every game look like it takes place inside the "Nostromo" from "Alien" (1)?

      Id certainly seems to think so. But if you check out other recent releases, such as Far Cry or Half Life 2, you'll see that other palettes are not only possible, but absolutely delightful. Personally, I'm yawning in anticipation for yet another Quake.

    2. Re:Yet another.... by macrom · · Score: 1

      Well, for games to get away from the Nostromo motif, they need to get off of other planets and out of space bases. It's not like alien bases are designed by Willy Wonka and his Oompa Loompas; they have no choice but to look bland because that's what a space ship/space base would look like.

    3. Re:Yet another.... by AtariAmarok · · Score: 1
      "they have no choice but to look bland because that's what a space ship/space base would look like."

      Only in a certain sci-fi paradigm. However, look back to the silly old Sierra "Space Quest". Looked nothing like Nostromo. Look at real space stations, which are often white inside.

      "not like alien bases are designed by Willy Wonka and his Oompa Loompas"

      Yet, in many of these games, they look like they are designed by Oscar the Grouch.

      --
      Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
    4. Re:Yet another.... by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 1

      Looked nothing like Nostromo. Look at real space stations, which are often white inside.

      Um, Nostromo was WHITE inside. Bland yes, but white and well-lit. Several posters here seem to have forgotten that many of the interior living space (as opposed to garage/plumbing) rooms were painted a uniform beige.

  2. Those aren't the first by NotAPirate · · Score: 2, Informative

    PC Gamer had exclusive pics months before this.

    1. Re:Those aren't the first by gothzilla · · Score: 1

      That PCGamer came out Sept 21st. The article above is the first to put the pictures on the net.

    2. Re:Those aren't the first by NotAPirate · · Score: 1

      My mistake. Still, people have seen the pics long before this.

    3. Re:Those aren't the first by gothzilla · · Score: 1

      Oh, no mistake. That issue came out, literally, months ago. I was just providing the date. Kinda surprised nobody scanned the images and posted them. A google search didn't turn much up. Maybe that says something about how excited (or not) people are about Quake IV.

    4. Re:Those aren't the first by 10537 · · Score: 1

      You need to take Google lessons! Here they are.

      (Google for quake iv forum screenshots scan -- couldn't be simpler!)

      --
      This sentence no verb.
    5. Re:Those aren't the first by superpulpsicle · · Score: 1

      What picture? It's pitch dark to me.

    6. Re:Those aren't the first by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      Yeah and these are even older.

      Doe snot render in FireFox and is missing a few images now though.

      But I am pretty sure these predate the article.

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
  3. PC Gamer by th1ckasabr1ck · · Score: 5, Informative
    There is a ten page (or so) interview/first look at Quake 4 in the November PC Gamer. In it they state (amongst other things):
    • With Doom 3 it was horror, with Quake 4 it's going to be war. Doom 3 was slow-paced, tense gameplay. Quake 4 is going to be over the top, all-out action.
    • Vehicles! They show a really cool outdoor shot of a bunch of Strogg (I think) fighter jets blasting everything.
    • Squad-based gameplay. A lot of the time you will be fighting as part of a squad.
    • Their multiplayer goal is to re-create the Quake III experience in the Doom3 engine, which sounds so amazingly sweet to me.
    • The storyline picks up where Quake 2 left off.
    • Quake 4 will smash the perception that the Doom 3 engine is only good at indoor environments. There are many huge, open, outdoor levels.
    1. Re:PC Gamer by vjmurphy · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Quake 4 will smash the perception that the Doom 3 engine is only good at indoor environments. There are many huge, open, outdoor levels."

      On the downside, all the outdoor levels take place in complete darkness, and you'll need to push around a spotlight to actually see anything.

      --
      Vincent J. Murphy
      Spandex Justice
    2. Re:PC Gamer by slapout · · Score: 1

      Sounds like they are trying to make Halo 3!

      --
      Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
    3. Re:PC Gamer by jasonmicron · · Score: 1

      For that, Halo would have to be revolutionary to say the least. None of the Halo games have really contributed to pushing the envelope to date. Seriously, what is so great about Halo? Doom 3 brought a great graphical and gaming engine and Half-Life 2 really upped the ante for in-game physics. Halo 2 ... built up lines at the store at midnight.

    4. Re:PC Gamer by memfrob · · Score: 2, Funny

      Does a lot of this sound like re-hash to anyone else?

      With Doom 3 it was horror, with Quake 4 it's going to be war. Doom 3 was slow-paced, tense gameplay. Quake 4 is going to be over the top, all-out action.

      Gee, all-out action in an FPS? Who'da thunk it? Kind of an empty claim...

      Vehicles! They show a really cool outdoor shot of a bunch of Strogg (I think) fighter jets blasting everything.

      I should hope so. Battlefield has been out how long, now? Any FPS coming out today that doesn't support and include a variety of vehicles isn't worth its engine. There's only so much 'running around with Generic Machinegun 5' can do for entertainment.

      Squad-based gameplay. A lot of the time you will be fighting as part of a squad.

      Hopefully squad intelligence is better than Daikatana, or even AvP2. But still, I've seen it before.

      Quake 4 will smash the perception that the Doom 3 engine is only good at indoor environments. There are many huge, open, outdoor levels.

      ...with an amazing palette of 16 million shades of gray. Fight on Asteroid Generica, Planet Bland, and the outerspace surface of the S.S.Dismal!

      I can't wait. What new is this bringing to the table to warrant me spending $49.99? (or is it $59.99 now?)

      --
      The Wizard utters the word 'frobnoid!' and cackles gleefully
    5. Re:PC Gamer by DeadScreenSky · · Score: 0

      None of the Halo games have really contributed to pushing the envelope to date. Seriously, what is so great about Halo?

      It's shield system was a huge innovation. It completely changes the pace of the FPS game, making it focus on the battles more like the game should. (Halo 2 refined it to perfection.) Games with health and armor packs just don't play as well.

      It also made weapon management the focus of item collection, another change for the better. Truly every weapon is useful and deadly - the player doesn't waste their time with lame pistols, etc.

      Halo was the first FPS game to really do vehicles right. Even big games like HL2 still aren't getting it right (probably because of the deficiencies of the keyboard-mouse setup).

      Oh yeah - it also had the best cooperative play in an FPS. How it did respawns is exactly the right method to take.

      Neither of the Halo games are remotely perfect, but they did both introduce plenty of innovation and had tons of raw gameplay polish. They did also feature some graphics innovations of a sort (no FPS game prior to Halo1 had everything bump-mapped, for example, and its shader usage was also pretty new), not to mention all of the sound advancements, but honestly all of that pales in comparison to the gameplay.

      (And HL2 only upped the ante for physics to PC-only gamers. Console-only games like Psi-ops used the exact same freaking physics engine earlier, took it further [ex: round things can be rolled around the environment], enemies will use the physics more actively against you [ex: one character throws train cars at you], enemies being manipulated will still try and fight you, etc.)

      --
      There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Francis Bacon
    6. Re:PC Gamer by PedanticSpellingTrol · · Score: 1

      It didn't up the physics ante for anyone. Deus Ex: Invisible War and Max Payne 2 both used Havok.

    7. Re:PC Gamer by DeadScreenSky · · Score: 1

      Yeah, for rag dolls and crates. In Psi-ops it is an integral part of the gameplay (since you and certain enemies use plenty of telekinetic powers).

      --
      There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Francis Bacon
    8. Re:PC Gamer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the vehicles in Unreal Tournament 2004 are very easy to control with a mouse and keyboard, and fun to use. I've played Halo on pc, but not on xbox, so I can't compare.

  4. Remember when..? by dasunt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As much as I like id software, remember when the occasional new game was different and unique, instead of the same old game with graphics updates?

    I know there are new games out there that are different, but they never seem to reach our side of the pond.

    I want more than FPS 17: This Sequal Requires DirectX 12. I want more than MMORPG: The Quest To Pay Us Money. And I want more than Super Mario Branded Piss Poor Game Remake and Zelda: We Are Whoring This Franchise Out For the Money.

    Processing power has increased to insane levels, the gaming industry has more money than Hollywood, and yet we get the same bland crap?

    *Waves cane!*

    1. Re:Remember when..? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately, you get the same bland crap because that's what the masses are buying.

      All the "hardcore" people are clamoring on the internet for "something new" but publishers aren't going to fund those just to keep a vocal minority happy.

      They're going to go where the masses are plunking down their money, which is unfortunately the "same bland crap".

      If the mass consumers would quit being sheep and buy titles based on quality instead of what they saw on T.V. things would be different.

    2. Re:Remember when..? by parcel · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This is a direct result of the sheer amount of cash required to make a game. As "processing power has increased to insane levels", so has graphic detail, and graphic detail is VERY expensive/time consuming. Modern game production teams are nearly always comprised mostly of artists. The kind of people who could write up a game even like quake3 on their own in their basements with little/no capital are extremely rare if they even exist at all. Game development is vastly different on the ps2 than it was on the intellivision.

      So the corporations with the kind of cash hanging around that it now takes to make a game are faced with an option. They can make a few tweaks to an existing model, pay off some reviewers and sell a couple million copies, or create a game vastly different from anything that came before it and run a rather good risk of losing quite a lot of money.

      Eventually the market will turn, people won't buy UT 2023, Quake XVII, and Super Mario 4096, and these companies will look at games like Katamari Damacy and Gish that will be taking over the market, and there will be a switch.

      But my guess is that this won't happen for quite a long time. People like bland familiarity. Over 60 billion served.

    3. Re:Remember when..? by eviltypeguy · · Score: 1

      Dunno about others, but World of Warcraft is the first MMORPG I feel that doesn't isn't MMORPG: The Quest to Pay Us Money. It has a very polished unique feel to it that I haven't encountered in a game in a long time...

    4. Re:Remember when..? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know about that. World of Warcraft seems to be just another MMORPG to me with a shitty crafting system. Only being able to learn two skills is kind of stupid.

      Ultima Online had a way way way better skill system.

      How do you consider it to be unique? I'm legitimately asking this question, not trying to be an asshole.

    5. Re:Remember when..? by MindStalker · · Score: 1

      The Movie industry made this same turn to the dark side many years ago, and it has yet to turn back. What should make me think the gaming industry will be any different. Sure you have the occasional hit indie movie and even frequently good but unnoticed indie movies, but the very idea that either industry will some day be poping out consistant quality is beyond me. Though after the amazement that is GTA3: San Andreas mabye there is hope.

    6. Re:Remember when..? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Huh? Zelda? Mario?

      You're talking about complete rehashes, and then you say something about Zelda and Mario?

      Zelda series pretty much changes with each new iteration. Cel shaded graphics, the move to 3D, etc. You'd be hard pressed to call each experience the same.

      Mario is harder to argue I'll admit, but the last game had the water pack, which did dramatically change the game.

      The characters themselves? Overused. But they are not nearly in the same line as these others you mention.

      There's much better examples of whoring out there.

    7. Re:Remember when..? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *cough*Metroid*cough*

      Okay, they made the transition from side scroller to FPS. Has there REALLY been a new metroid game since Super Metroid on the SNES ?

    8. Re:Remember when..? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess you haven't played them then if you pass them off as an FPS and nothing more.

      Console Metroid...2 since Snes.

      Gameboy Metroid...2 since Snes, one a remake and the other is different.

      Not sure what kind of point you are trying to make here.

      I guess 4 games over 10 years is massive rehashing. I'd hate to see what isn't whoring in your book. How many 3D plaformers have come out on the PS2 that are pretty much the same thing as everything else? What about Tony Hawk? What about Madden?

      You can't even begin to compare.

    9. Re:Remember when..? by SoVeryWrong · · Score: 1

      I'm not quite sure how to quantify my love of the game, it's somehow fun where previous efforts were not. I haven't been sucked into a MMORPG like this since early on in Ultima Online, and I've played damn near every major one that has come out since (and a few less popular ones). There isn't anything revolutionary (or even evolutionary) about the game, but somehow it just seems much more polished than anything else right now. I enjoy playing it, rather than viewing it as work.

      The crafting system doesn't bother me too much, because it's more of a suppliment than a requirement (at least so far). I have skinning and leatherworking as a Hunter so I can make my own armor (and make armor kits), but most of the equipment I wear comes from drops (even though I can make stuff that I can't wear yet).

    10. Re:Remember when..? by patternjuggler · · Score: 2, Insightful

      remember when the occasional new game was different and unique, instead of the same old game with graphics updates?

      If I had any moderator points I'd mark all these kinds of posts as trolls. There's plenty of shareware, open source, and obscure commercial stuff that is different and unique. They don't get millions of dollars in development money because they aren't that profitable. Since they don't get lots of ads or media coverage, you have to put in the effort to find something to your tastes (slashdot whining doesn't count).

      Processing power has increased to insane levels... and yet we get the same bland crap?

      Ignoring the uncanny valley for the moment, normal people positively react to realistic depictions of human faces and mannerisms and so on much more so that blocks of pixels- the better games are at depicting humans in a realtime interactive fashion, the more popular and accessible they will be. We are just now reaching the production values and computer graphics capability to really take off in that area- games like The Sims point the way to games that cover a wider range of emotions and etc. than the generic anger and brutality of most games, and see HL2 for the facial animation stuff.

    11. Re:Remember when..? by DeadScreenSky · · Score: 1

      Sure, most movies are derivative crap. But the big studios still put out nowadays a lot artier films that they recently used to. In the 70s they did the same kind of artistic stuff - these things go in cycles.

      I am not convinced the same thing will happen in gaming (especially with the increasing irrelevance of the PC platform), but this kind of change does happen in other big business art-forms.

      --
      There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Francis Bacon
    12. Re:Remember when..? by bsartist · · Score: 1

      these companies will look at games like Katamari Damacy and Gish that will be taking over the market, and there will be a switch.

      I highly doubt it. They won't change their basic tactics, they'll just start cloning whatever the new trend is.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    13. Re:Remember when..? by Zorilla · · Score: 1

      When I think of 70s movies, I think of cop movies. You know, the ones with the soundtrack that was a little bit too locked into the trends at the time (trumpets and wakachika wa) and the car chases that were always on a cliffside road - and one guy, usually the bad guy, gets knocked off the cliff and his car explodes a couple feet before impact. Those movies seemed to be the start of cop movies where the captain goes, "You're a loose cannon, buddy! You always destroy everything when all this was was a simple bust! You're on vacation, you understand?"

      "Forget it, pal! I quit!"

      Needless to say, I don't think that much from the 70s was creative. It was probably better than it became later on, though.

      --

      It would be cool if it didn't suck.
    14. Re:Remember when..? by Chibi · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I want more than FPS 17: This Sequal Requires DirectX 12. I want more than MMORPG: The Quest To Pay Us Money. And I want more than Super Mario Branded Piss Poor Game Remake and Zelda: We Are Whoring This Franchise Out For the Money.


      While I agree with you that the FPS and MMORPG genres are a bit lacking in terms of revolutionary gameplay, there are plenty of other games which have changed drastically.

      To just use the two games you pointed out, Mario has gone from a side-scrolling action game, to be one of the first truly 3D games. Super Mario 64 inspired a generation of console games. Eventually we got Mario Sunshine. I personally haven't played it, and I've heard mixed reviews about the water hose thingy's affect on gameplay (you can tell I haven't played it, based on my scientific explanation of the device in the game), but it is adding some variety to the traditional gameplay.

      The Zelda franchise has gone through similar changes. Overhead view -> Side scrolling -> Full 3D with target-locking -> Cell-shaded water adventure, with more complicated environments and Gameboy Advance integration.

      You can argue that these are piss-poor remakes and whoring of the franchise, but others look at these games as breaths of fresh air and solid games made with very likeable characters.

      Anyway, to each his own. :)

      --
      If all you have are silver bullets, everything looks like a werewolf.
    15. Re:Remember when..? by eviltypeguy · · Score: 1

      I think Blizzard is trying to make sure the economy doesn't get out of control.

      And technically, you can learn more than two skills, you're only restricted to two primary skills.

      What makes WoW unique is that it isn't completely open-ended, it's guided by an overlying lore for the World, and Blizz just doesn't do whatever what players want.

      They've been making games far longer than anyone posting here most likely and are probably a better judge of things, considering how well their games continue to sell.

  5. It looks great... by Dragoon412 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...but let's face it, this is Quake - the gameplay will still be stuck in 1996.

    Unreal has grown up and matured. The FPS market is oversaturated with as it is, and there are a lot of good games. I know Quake has tons of name recognition, but is there really much room for a game that hasn't changed much of anything since its first incarnation 8 years ago?

    1. Re:It looks great... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      What is so different about Unreal? You run around and you blast people. Not THAT much has changed since the original Doom, all FPSs are still the same basic game.

    2. Re:It looks great... by Dragoon412 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      UT has added new weapons, new game modes, and has a large variety of maps available right out of the box.

      Quake is still just about who finds the rocket launcher/rail gun first, and small, crowded arenas. They haven't changed weapons, the single-player mode is still "Hey, I can be like Doom, too!" and the multiplayer has been done better by dozens of games, now. It was being done better even when Quake 3 was new.

    3. Re:It looks great... by syrinx · · Score: 1

      Not THAT much has changed since the original Doom, all FPSs are still the same basic game.

      If you're going to say that, then you need to go back to Wolf3D.

      (that is, if you're going to say Quake is the same game as Doom, then Doom is also the same game as Wolf3D)

      --
      Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
    4. Re:It looks great... by Meagermanx · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Not THAT much has changed since the original Doom, all FPSs are still the same basic game.

      While it is true that MOST FPSs are exactly the same, there are a few that bend the genre. Take Rainbow Six, for example. Try strafing through the levels with a shotgun, and see what happens. Or Thief: The Dark Project. Excellent game, and it seriously broke the mold. Of course now you have all the Thief sequels, and Rainbow Six spinoffs like Ghost recon, and Splinter Cell...

    5. Re:It looks great... by Total_Wimp · · Score: 1

      I know Quake has tons of name recognition, but is there really much room for a game that hasn't changed much of anything since its first incarnation 8 years ago?

      Baseball, football and basketball haven't changed much in 100 years, but people still enjoy them.

      Some of the things that keeps these games exciting are fresh faces, higher levels of athletic skills and new world records. Oh yeah, and the fact that regular folk can play pretty close to the same game with their out-of-shape co-workers.

      I like the fresh face of a new FPS, espcially one that makes a real difference visually because of new technology. I like to see new weapons that reaquire new skills. And I like to play against other people on the internet who really end up challenging my skills.

      I think this game will do just fine.

      TW

    6. Re:It looks great... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      That's a different genre, the stealth game.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  6. too bad... by Moustache+N+Tits · · Score: 3, Informative

    ... the pics are poorly photoshopped. notice the one with the two marines!? one marine isn't even holding a weapon... and the other one is in a different environment all together (notice the red behind him)... oh, and lots not notice the very obvious seams. why in the world would you release a picture of an upcoming game when you can't even do a decent photoshop job. I liked the quake series as much as the next fragger... but I'm weary that Raven has to resort to crap like this...

    1. Re:too bad... by 10537 · · Score: 1

      Man, what a bunch of ass-hats. If faking a screenshot in such a crude fashion wasn't bad enough, they couldn't even be bothered to do it properly. (Unless they've gone back to the original DOOM 2d-sprite on 3d-background way of doing things? After all, retro is k3wL!!1!11!!1!ONE!!!ONE!)

      --
      This sentence no verb.
    2. Re:too bad... by Phixxr · · Score: 1

      Parent makes damn good point.. I didn't even notice it the first time around, but now, it's friggin lame... BOOOOOO!

      --
      ungggghhhh
  7. Looks too much like Doom by vasqzr · · Score: 1


    Looks more like a space-marine theme.

    I was hoping to see them go back to a gothic look like the original Quake or Heretic.

    1. Re:Looks too much like Doom by mahdi13 · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Looks more like a space-marine theme.
      Quake 2 was a space-marine theme, and considering the Quake 4 story takes place after the Quake 2 story...
      --
      "Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson
  8. Obligatory HL2 bashing... by 10537 · · Score: 1

    Squad-based gameplay. A lot of the time you will be fighting as part of a squad.

    I just hope to god the squad is more sensible than the travesty of HL2 -- whoever decided that having a bunch of people following you around in confined spaces would be fun ought to be shot.

    Vehicles! They show a really cool outdoor shot of a bunch of Strogg (I think) fighter jets blasting everything.

    Again, this had better not suck as much as the vehicle sections in HL2 did; as far as I could tell they were designed soleley to make the game take longer to finish...

    As this is the third high-profile follow up to a hugely successful but old FPS (assuming you ignore Quake 3, which apart from the name had nothing to do with Quakes 1 and 2), I hope it doesn't follow the same cycle of "being hyped beyond all imagining, getting delayed again and again, and completely licking balls when it's finally released" that plagued DOOM3 and HL2.

    --
    This sentence no verb.
    1. Re:Obligatory HL2 bashing... by rvw14 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I actually found the vehicle scenes in HL2 to be the most fun.

    2. Re:Obligatory HL2 bashing... by orcus · · Score: 1

      As did I, I'm hoping someone makes some levels exclusively for the airboat - preferably with lots of ramps :-)

      --
      First they burn books, then they burn people.
    3. Re:Obligatory HL2 bashing... by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 1

      Quake 1 and 2 also shared only the name.

    4. Re:Obligatory HL2 bashing... by Zorilla · · Score: 1

      Again, this had better not suck as much as the vehicle sections in HL2 did; as far as I could tell they were designed soleley to make the game take longer to finish...

      Oh, yeah? Try missing the swamp boat and see how long it takes you to progress! (It happened to me - what a dumbass)

      On a similar note, the swamp boat and buggy portions of the game were my favorite parts. Conversely, I found the Ravenholm and the Nova Prospekt (indoors) parts kind of a drag to get through, although still an important piece of the game.

      --

      It would be cool if it didn't suck.
  9. Your memory fails you. by Kevin+Stevens · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Other than Quake, which completely blew everyone away by going from 2 dimensions to 3, Every game they have produced has been "more of the same" with only graphics, monster, and gun updates. Wolfenstein -> Doom had the difference of what... larger rooms and diagonal walls? Doom II was also just more of the same. Quake - Quake3 were only marginal improvemens also. Doom 3 IMHO was a huge step forward, but again not revolutionary, though I certainly would not call it bland crap- I have found most of their games to be exceptionally good.

    This is what id does. They make FPS games. Asking them to do something completely different is like asking Britney Spears to start making hardcore rock music.

    Game genres are similar to music in that certain styles go in and out of favor. A few, like RPG's and FPS's are always around. Others like puzzle/adventure games go in and out of style like disco/dance music does every few years. The main difference between the two is that regardless of how fun a certain genre is (aka side scroller) if it is deemed outdated it gets buried and is never really seen again.

    1. Re:Your memory fails you. by Thrakkerzog · · Score: 2, Informative

      Doom added rooms with different heights. You could not have stairs in Wolfenstein 3D.

      Doom also added lights and projectiles.

      It might seem small by today's standards, but it was a big deal at the time.

    2. Re:Your memory fails you. by _xeno_ · · Score: 1

      This is what id does. They make FPS games. Asking them to do something completely different is like asking Britney Spears to start making hardcore rock music.

      I should ask them to create a side-scrolling game about an 8-year-old who built a spaceship out of household parts and flew to Mars...

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
    3. Re:Your memory fails you. by Grave · · Score: 1

      In all seriousness, a Commander Keen game utilizing the next generation game engine would be amazing. It had such a fun storyline, and quite a lot of randomness that made it uniquely enjoyable to play. Such a game would use a wide variety of bright colors, thus shutting up all those people who think id's very talented artists can't work in anything but dreary darkness.

  10. look as good as the "Final Fantasy" movie by dpilot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Remember when the graphics mantra was, "Toy Story in realtime on a graphics card?" Did anyone notice when we passed that landmark? I won't even get into the, "There's more to games than graphics quality and speed," since others are covering that area so well.

    Years back, I read an article about what happens as you model people better. Once you get to the threshold of recognition, simulated people become "cute." For the most part, improve the simulation, and they get cuter. Then as you get more realistic, you reach a threshold, and they're no longer cute, they're *wrong*, and repulsive. According to the article, the brain has a line between "art" and "real" and as long as you're on the art side you're OK. But once you cross to the real side, you'd better *be* real, or else.

    This gap between art and reality forms a chasm that may have to be crossed in the laboratory, because in-chasm games may not be marketable. (Hey, how about a "zombie" single-player FPS game? Zombies are *supposed* to look "wrong", and you can't see yourself in first-person.) Plus, why bother? I predict a resurgence in classic animation in a few years, once the novelty of today's 3D wears off and as we approach the chasm.

    One of my pet fantasies as graphics get more realistic is to get into young kids' games. You know, things like "tag", "hide and seek" - the things I really did. Disgusting idea really, worse than battery-powered kid's vehicles. Even worse, I'll bet such a game would sell. I think I'd cry all the way to the bank. I'm happy I don't have time to even try such a thing.

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    1. Re:look as good as the "Final Fantasy" movie by bskin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      One of my pet fantasies as graphics get more realistic is to get into young kids' games. You know, things like "tag", "hide and seek" - the things I really did. Disgusting idea really, worse than battery-powered kid's vehicles. Even worse, I'll bet such a game would sell. I think I'd cry all the way to the bank. I'm happy I don't have time to even try such a thing.

      Something like, I dunno, Capture the Flag? And Splinter Cell multiplayer is basically hide and seek where everyone's both hiding and seeking at the same time. I can't think of a direct analog of tag offhand, but I'm sure it's out there.

      Thing about kids games is that they're often pretty much archetypes of games...games boiled down to the purest form it can be in and still be a game. These tend to translate pretty well to any medium. Frankly if you could find a popular kid's game that hasn't been translated to FPS form yet, you could probably design a killer mod...

      --
      hot foreign sheep.
    2. Re:look as good as the "Final Fantasy" movie by EnVisiCrypt · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's called the uncanny valley, and you can read more about it here

      --


      *everything* is Orwellian to cats.
    3. Re:look as good as the "Final Fantasy" movie by Poseidon88 · · Score: 1
      I can't think of a direct analog of tag offhand, but I'm sure it's out there.

      Traditional tag is kind of hard to write as a game because there really isn't a way to win. But I wrote a gametype mod for the original Unreal Tournament, called Rabbit Hunt. It was very similar to a game we played in elementary school, and was sort of like tag in reverse. The guy with the ball was "it" and everyone tried to get the ball away from him by any means necessary.

      In my mod, the first person to make a kill became the rabbit and started scoring points on a timed basis. If you killed the rabbit you became the next rabbit. You won by hitting a score threshold. I tested it by throwing a couple small LAN parties with friends, and we had a blast. I released it on the web and it was actually pretty popular for a while. Guess that was my 15 minutes :o)

    4. Re:look as good as the "Final Fantasy" movie by everyplace · · Score: 1

      Thank you so much for that answer. I've read this a long time ago (or something covering the same ground) but couldn't recall where.

    5. Re:look as good as the "Final Fantasy" movie by duncangough · · Score: 2, Informative


      It's my favourite meme of the moment, the Uncanny Valley:



      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_Valley


      Playaholics: Free online games: Boat Rider
    6. Re:look as good as the "Final Fantasy" movie by Moonshadow · · Score: 1

      Tag is done in a lot of games. For example, in Unreal Tournament 2004, you have the "Mutant" game type, which is basically just tag with guns.

      You also have the "Bombing Run" gametype, which is essentially rugby with guns.

  11. Plastic wrap by supabeast! · · Score: 4, Interesting

    One thing that really bugged me about Doom III was that everything appears to be wrapped in plastic. Be it metal, skin, paper or stone, everything was shiny. When I look at the Quake IV shots I see the same thing. I don't see this in games like Farcry, Painkiller, or UT 2004 (Or the next-gen UT engine demos) so I'm assuming that it's just got something to do with Doom III's lighting engine.

    Does this bug anyone else.

    1. Re:Plastic wrap by Mike+Hawk · · Score: 2, Funny

      It doesn't bug me. I've never been to space in the future so maybe they DO wrap everything in plastic wrap.

    2. Re:Plastic wrap by TomorrowPlusX · · Score: 3, Informative

      As an opengl programmer, I understand, and have noticed this too. The thing is that in a way, they're showing off. They're showing how good their per-pixel specular lighting is and as a result everything gets the quasi-shiny effect.

      This is almost certainly their way of saying "look how next-gen our lighting system is" since a few years ago you had to rely on the fixed pipeline for lighting textured fragments, and this resulted in very non-shiny materials.

      I haven't played any of these games ( I'm on a Mac, sigh ) but I'm guessing it's really just a matter of art direction. Farcry, Painkiller, et al, have artists who Know What They're Doing. The ID team are great programmers, but their artwork looks like old Boris Valejo fantasy paintings. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But they probably could use a little breadth to their work.

      Clearly, the Doom 3 engine is amazing. They just happen to have painted themselves into a dark, gloomy, *shiny* corner.

      --

      lorem ipsum, dolor sit amet
    3. Re:Plastic wrap by Eil · · Score: 1


      No, you missed the point. You're supposed to take the game out of it's cellophane and cardboard packaging and play it on your computer.

    4. Re:Plastic wrap by imr · · Score: 1

      It bugged carmack to the point that he said it in one of his first interview after the release.

    5. Re:Plastic wrap by Have+Blue · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I personally chalk this up to the sudden appearance of detailed shaders. 3D games have had a certain "look" for years- a look that is missing a lot of aspects of real scenes. A lot of stylistic tricks were created to get around these limitations and improve appearances, and this is what we became used to as "looking good" or "realistic graphics". Suddenly, it becomes possible to put a lot more detail into things, the bar is raised, and the tricks can be replaced with more realistic alternatives- but this breaks the expectations we've developed.

      The real world really does have a lot of shiny things in it- walk around your room/office and see how many things have faint or blurry reflections in them, and how many have specular highlights (that change location depending on your view angle).

  12. I bet this'll be mediocre by code-e255 · · Score: 1

    Raven haven't made any awesome games lately. The Jedi Knight games were good, at best (I found the level design in the games really uncreative), and Soldiers of Fortune... well, I haven't played it, but as far as I know there's better stuff to play.

    Quake III rocked (and still does, in some ways) thanks to its great multiplayer deathmatch. And I believe multiplayer is what made Quake III's predecessors so popular too. Raven will need a lot of magic to create something better than Quake III and the current (and upcoming) competition (UT2K4, CS:S...).

    The Quake singleplayer modes were always quite crap. Since the Jedi Knight singleplayer modes weren't that good, I doubt Quake IV will change this trend. :(

  13. Doom Movie by Taulin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So far Quake 4 sounds more like Doom the game than Doom the movie does.

  14. whaaaaa? by Eil · · Score: 3, Insightful


    Have they gone mad? How can I possibly bring myself to shell out for a new Quake title that Carmack himself didn't lovingly craft with his own hand and sick, twisted brain?

    Heresy, I say!

    1. Re:whaaaaa? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Carmack just writes the engine. I don't get the feeling that he has much input into the content except at a high level.

    2. Re:whaaaaa? by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Well, he was the guy who made Doom 3 not use a use button and have those "touchscreens" instead.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  15. Whoa. by mshiltonj · · Score: 3, Funny

    That monsters in the first pic has a HUGE FRICKIN NIPPLE!

    see for youself. -- it's casting its own shadow.

  16. Hopefully more realistic gameplay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I haven't played other FPS games lately, so maybe someone else has it right. We used to play Quake 2 and 3 on the lan where I used to work on Friday afternoons and the thing that bugged me wasn't the graphics but the stupidity of the play.

    The only way to survive was to put your character into constant run mode and constantly be jumping so as to make you a harder to hit target. This made everyone look like overcharged jackrabbits bouncing around unendingly.

    A little more realistic gameplay would be accomplished by adding something like FATIGUE to the game. The more you run, the more tired you get. You need to slow down occasionally to catch your breath, etc. Also, the more tired you get, the worse your aim should get (slightly). This would IMHO increase the playability of these games quite a bit, as you could then act in a sane manner with your character instead of bouncing around at full speed until the fraglimit is hit taking you to the next level.

    1. Re:Hopefully more realistic gameplay by 10537 · · Score: 1

      It's been done to death -- FarCry, Call of Duty: United Offensive, Hidden & Dangerous 2, blah, blah. Ducking for cover, sneaking about, etc., is all part of the fun, but there's still a load of lunatic leaping-up-and-down action going on as it does make you harder to hit -- A Good Thing in any FPS.

      Frankly if realism is your bag join the Army, rob a bank, or move to West Virginia and say you're gay -- all sure fire ways of getting people to shoot at you... :)

      --
      This sentence no verb.
    2. Re:Hopefully more realistic gameplay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jumping around to make yourself a harder target = N00bs

      Strafe jumping to make yourself move faster, now that's something else.

  17. Watch Out for Flying Hams by AtariAmarok · · Score: 1
    "....about Doom III was that everything appears to be wrapped in plastic..."

    The very first thing I noticed when playing Quake (for the first time) was that when I "fragged" a bad guy, he exploded instantly into a pile of plastic-wrapped pink picnic hams. These hamsspeed then fell to the ground. The effect was similar to that of knocking over a grocery cart in a Safeway during the week before Easter.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
  18. This reminds me... by rplacd · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Where's Quake 3?

  19. Weak! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We need a sequel to Quake III Arena DAMMIT!!

    Not a sequel to Quake II!

    We want tight multiplay based on the Doom3 Engine.

    Not another single FPS based on the Doom 3 engine. We already have Doom3.

    For the love of Sarge. Do not screw this up Raven!

    1. Re:Weak! by FLAGGR · · Score: 1

      They mentioned that they wanted to add the Quake multiplayer experience. RTFA next time. btw, "not quake 2"? Quake 2 had the best fps multiplayer of its time, so I don't know what your complaining about.

  20. Ok lets do it your way by AzraelKans · · Score: 1

    I think this game (whatever this game it is) will be Crap, games 10 years ago were better, MS sucks, mmorpgs sucks its crap, crap, crap ,crap.

    Can I get +5 insightful now?

    Seriously modders, why in the world does the parent desserve any mod points?

    Anyway, old school players will be glad to know that the game is going to be a sequel to quake 2 and that is going to put the doom3 engine to good use specially in multiplayer. And in case you havent noticed doom 3 doesnt need a new GFX card. It needs a better cpu and memory. thats wat actually alters the fps you get.

    --
    Go ahead MOD my day!
    More opinions here
    1. Re:Ok lets do it your way by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      No matter what you say, if you manage to bring it across convincingly you get mod points.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  21. Turn on the lights by El_Smack · · Score: 1

    I propose a new acronym. TOTFL. Especially you D3 engine using designers.

    --


    There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
    1. Re:Turn on the lights by stonecypher · · Score: 1

      Totfl? Rotfl.

      --
      StoneCypher is Full of BS
  22. I don't think so... by ReKleSS · · Score: 1

    There will always be those who make more realistic mods with that kind of stuff, but the quake and unreal games were never like that. It would change the basic gameplay too much. The whole idea of the quake and unreal games is fast-paced, over-the-top action, and adding realism would change that too much. By the way, bouncing around like a rabbit makes you easier to hit. Keep you feet on the ground.
    -ReK

    --
    md5sum -c reality.md5
    reality: FAILED
    md5sum: WARNING: 1 of 1 computed checksum did NOT match
  23. another hoax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yes yes we know we should look amazed and dazzled cause ./ published something just to have a laugh at us.

  24. The Uncanny Valley by dpilot · · Score: 1

    That was the same article I read.

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
  25. Kids' games by dpilot · · Score: 1

    You and your peers playing FPS CTF or Rabbit Hunt is one thing - because I doubt people of your age would be playing real-life CTF or tag, anyway.

    I was more thinking/fearing the idea of kids who *should* be outside playing real-life CTF, hide'n'seek, and tag - instead inside playing the very same games on networked computers, and turning into couch potatoes as they do. My pet peeve about battery-powered ride-ons for kids is in the same vein. IMHO, vehicles for kids should be kid-powered. Play has that parents' hidden agenda of exercise, good health, and with some proper supervision, good socialization.

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    1. Re:Kids' games by bskin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I definitely agree. Seems like every time I see a little kid walking around these days they're quite overweight, which I suspect is because of the phenomenon that you're describing. Not that I don't think TV and video games have a place for kids, since they develop other sorts of skills (How many of us know the alphabet from watching sesame street? And video games develop things like hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills.), but parents have to draw the line somewhere.

      And childhood games also teach kids what bastards people can be, which I think is a valuable lesson that needs learned early on.

      --
      hot foreign sheep.
    2. Re:Kids' games by Zorilla · · Score: 1

      How many of us know the alphabet from watching sesame street?

      Don't forget valuable lessons in eating cookies responsibly! Cookie Monster was my hero.

      "OK. I no eat cookie. I save...cookie..for....AAAAHMMHMMNUMNUMMMNUMMNUMM!"

      --

      It would be cool if it didn't suck.
    3. Re:Kids' games by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1
      My pet peeve about battery-powered ride-ons for kids is in the same vein. IMHO, vehicles for kids should be kid-powered.


      I don't know, my friends and I had a lot of fun with home-brewed electric and petrol vehicles when we were children. Of course, we got plenty exercise humphing car batteries about, and dragging the damn things home when the engine mounting cracked its weld *again* (for the third time this morning, dammit!). In fact, we probably spend more time hauling them about with ropes than actually driving them.

    4. Re:Kids' games by dpilot · · Score: 1

      By the time you're hauling batteries and welding, you're out of the realm of 'kid' that I was complaining about. I'm thinking about little overweight 5 year olds riding an electric car for kids.

      --
      The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    5. Re:Kids' games by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1

      Well, I was maybe about 6 or 7 at the time...

  26. Britney Spears by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Asking them to do something completely different is like asking Britney Spears to start making hardcore rock music.

    I'd like to ask Britney Spears to do something involving "hardcore", but rock music isn't the top of my list.

  27. How about a more realistic environment? by killmenow · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Fatigue is only the beginning. How about creating a physical model in which I'm really able to run around and do what I want?

    Why is it I can sit in most FPS games and fire my big ass gun at a wall until the cows come home but never blow a hole through it? (...unlesss it's one the game designers specifically put there for that purpose)

    I'd like to see a FPS in which *all* walls act like walls, *all* doors act like doors, and if it's visible on screen, it's an object I can act upon. I don't just want to see bullet holes mapped onto the texture of something I shoot, I want to be able to blow a freaking hole through a wall, tie a rope to something in the room, and climb down (or jump to my death if I'm done playing). I can't stand it when there's some door I can't get through until I get the red key or some crap like that. I've got enough explosives to bring down a skyscraper and I can't even dent this door? Riiiight... It's just BS to keep you following the script.

    I think the whole FPS genre could get a lot more people back into it if the environment were a more realistic physical model. That's why the whole thing jumped when it went from 2D to 3D, there was additional freedom to move about and do things the game designers never necessarily intended you to do.

    I imagine games will eventually get to this point, where walls, doors, floors, tables, ceilings, windows, and, well, everything has qualities that make up how strong they are, how much they weigh, how far I can throw them, how much weight they can support, how big a blast it takes to destroy them, etc. Just overall a more realistic phyiscal model instead of "wow! what awesome lighting effects!"

    But for now, I think a lot of people are sick of following the game script. I know I am.

    1. Re:How about a more realistic environment? by code-e255 · · Score: 1

      That stuff (breakable environments) has been done before (Red Faction), and it didn't really add anything to the game, except probably a couple of months of development time.

      Realistic physics in games such as Half-Life 2 are, just like realistic lighting effects and nice textures, nothing more but props. Although they may enable the developers to do some fairly special things (Half-Life 2: physics puzzles; Doom III: scary environments thanks to lighting), they do not make up the game.

      Games will always have limits, constraints and rules (by definition). A first person shooter in which you could do the things you mentioned, and more, would probably suck because there are so many random things one could do. And, of course, creating a limitless game's impossible.

  28. Hello. Descent, anyone? by genrader · · Score: 1

    Descent > Quake...wasn't Descent out first?

  29. Linux Support? by nukem996 · · Score: 2

    Im wondering if Raven will have a Linux port. Im asking this because games based on idsoftware engines done by other companies tend not to have Linux ports even though it would be very easy to do. I love Call of Duty but the makers refuse to make a Linux port even though its based off the Q3A engine.

  30. Are you insane? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The red light behind the marine is a reflection from a warning light on the ground behind him. The other marine is holding up his hands in surprise.

    Explanations aside... Why on earth would they photoshop it? They have the Doom 3 engine. You can go buy Doom 3 at the store if you don't believe this engine is real. Nothing in those shots is out of the reach of that engine. They're quite ordinary.

    Photoshopping only makes sense when you already have the pictures of the marine and the strogg and the background, and you want to stick them all together without actually having a rendering engine.

    In this case, photoshopping that whole scene would be vastly more effort than just taking your finished but not animated models and posing them in the engine, diorama style.

    Possibly you're joking. If so, your timing and delivery are quite weak.

    1. Re:Are you insane? by Scooter · · Score: 1

      I see no warning light. And the other guy is holding his hands as if he was holding a rifle.

      I take your point about the "why", but the fact remains, that red bit looks well dodgy. It's all contained in that rectangle that does look like it's been pasted on. It may be just the angle of the shot. The textures on the red bit looks like they're from Q2DM3 but then again, this *is* supposed be the same place.

      I suspect it's more "unfinished" than "faked".

  31. overcharged jackrabbits! by E+IS+mC(Square) · · Score: 1

    I remember those days when we used to play this the whole damn evening after/before/during work! (YEAH! those were the days!)

    After 3 weeks, we were like 30+ mad overcharged jumping hopping jackrabbits in the same arena! There were ppl materialzing everywhere. I mean as soon as you are re-born, just run or you will die of somebody else being materializing IN you!! ha ha.. that was classic multiplay!!

    The sleep at the end of the day (or was it night?) was full of jackrabbits running everywhere!

    Those were the days of quake!

  32. Screenshots have been out for a long time.... by Dark_Link2135 · · Score: 1

    Quake IV screenshots have been out for a LONG time. PC gamer has had them for awhile, why did this just make news now?

    --
    "Potpourii doesn't taste as good as it smells." - Dark_Link2135
  33. Does it include a South Asia level? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    After all, this is the mother of all Quake for all of us in years to come...