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Quake IV Details Emerge

1up.com has details as released by Activision and id about the upcoming first person shooter Quake IV. The game, in development by Madison, WI company Raven Software, QIV is going to return to the single-player roots of the second Quake title. From the article: " The Strogg are quickly regrouping. However, with the Strogg's planetary defenses still destroyed, Earth's forces can deliver a full and final assault. This time, you're not alone. You are Matthew Kane, an elite member of Rhino Squad, and part of Earth's next invasion wave. An army of soldiers are fighting with you and an arsenal of weapons and vehicles are at your disposal in this heroic and epic battle between worlds."

93 comments

  1. Hexen by Leiterfluid · · Score: 1

    Didn't Raven do Hexen?
    That game was freaking awesome.

    Used to date a girl in Madison

    1. Re:Hexen by kinadian · · Score: 1

      Raven has done a lot more than Hexen. Heretic, Heretic II, Hexen II, Soldier of Fortune, Soldier of Fortune 2, Star Trek Voyager Elite Force.

      Raven has made a game for every single id software engine since Doom 1. And I've enjoyed them all. I'm all a flutter with anticipation for Q4 because of that fact.

    2. Re:Hexen by th1ckasabr1ck · · Score: 4, Informative
      Raven has done:

      • Heretic
      • Heretic II
      • Hexen
      • Hexen II
      • Jedi Knight II
      • Jedi Knight III
      • Soldier of Fortune
      • Soldier of Fortune II
      • X-Men Legends
      • ... and now Quake IV

      Amongst others.

    3. Re:Hexen by FidelCatsro · · Score: 1

      my opinion of those games

      Heretic: cool
      Heretic 2 :not so great but allot of fun
      hexen : oh yeah
      Hexen 2: .. it was fun
      jedi knight II : one of the best star wars license games
      Jedi Knight II jedi academy: really should have been an expansion pack, or atleast in that price range , but fun all the less
      Soldier of fortune: fun knee blasting action
      Soldier of fortune II: what a waste
      X-men legends : havnt played it

      Raven really does have some major points in my esteem . and i hope they make good use of the quake name , ofcourse a linux port and a mac port will amongst the top priorities for me , these are ofcourse on par with the gameplay(i dont use windows so i have to have the ability to use them on par with gameplay , normaly gameplay is über alles)

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    4. Re:Hexen by Leiterfluid · · Score: 1

      I think I still have a Hexen CD somewhere. I may have to install that.

    5. Re:Hexen by drjenk · · Score: 1

      Raven has worked hand in hand with ID for years and years, and every time the game has been quality and did not disappoint. Hexen did rule for it's time. I remember buying that game because I just bought my shiny new canopus pure3d card, with a whopping 6mb texture memory, and wanted to run something other than glquake. There weren't a lot of 3d accelerated titles at the time. I have no doubt Quak34 will be of excellent quality. I just hope the rumors are true, that it will be an xbox 360 launch title. I'm more console FPS nowadays.

    6. Re:Hexen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you might be talking about HexenII as that was the one based off of the Quake engine and could use 3D acceleration. The original Hexen was based off of the Doom engine and didn't use any 3D functionality.

    7. Re:Hexen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no Jedi Knight III, it's Jedi Academy and is still part of JK II.

    8. Re:Hexen by zr-rifle · · Score: 1

      They're around since the long gone Amiga days. Their first title was the well known Black Crypt, a Dungeon Master clone that made use of the Extra Half Bright mode that gave the game graphics a glorious 64 colors on-screen.The game was visually impressive, but was quite unattractive compared to the competitors offerings, especially Eye of the Beholder which was an official AD&D license.

      It is rumored that the original working title of Heretic was "Black Crupt 3D". There are quite a lot of similiarities.

      --
      Hack your mind out of its sandbox.
    9. Re:Hexen by Tibor+the+Hun · · Score: 1

      what was the difference between heretic and hexen?

      --
      If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
    10. Re:Hexen by Pxtl · · Score: 1

      Hmm. I look at that list, and all the games I think are "solid, decent games - but nothing that really rocked my socks".

      Hexen was frustrating and dull. Hexen 2 was slightly less frustrating and slighly more dull. JK2 was good, but got old with time. S.O.F was directorial genius and gameplay boredom.

      Basically, I'm looking at Raven and seeing a long history of unimaginative gameplay. But I guess I'm just bitchy and negative - I still haven't seen a single player action experience to top Abuse.

  2. Where's Coop by superpulpsicle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The best part about Quake 1 was Coop and team fortress. We don't need team fortess since we technically have plenty of team alternatives like Wolfenstein. But Coop modes are really lacking in today's games.

    1. Re:Where's Coop by rbarreira · · Score: 1

      I disagree. Not many people used to play in coop mode, at least compared with the number of people who played deathmatch... Not to mention Quakeworld, which made deathmatch spectacular.

      --

      The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
    2. Re:Where's Coop by Naikrovek · · Score: 1

      Nah man I loved Coop. I played coop over a modem without an ISP, if any of you can remember those days. Quake actually handled the dialing and the connections. good times.

    3. Re:Where's Coop by bersl2 · · Score: 1

      That's because co-op is (generally) only fun if you know and can trust the other people.

    4. Re:Where's Coop by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      coop makes games fun, gives them extra *ooomph*. playing with a pre-programmed bunch of stupid hicks that the bots are is not anything like cooping with some good friends. what the hell you think was the funnest thing about halo with friends on splitscreen? TFA is pretty much useless though. all it says there's some squad action in there. I friggin hated republic commando because of that.. that wasn't squad action.. that was "you can't press that button yourself" action... the squad wasn't your weapon, rather a scripted bunch of loonies you needed to open doors. brothers in arms had it better, but even in it it wasn't all peachy because the ai wasn't really up to it at times(however.. I did like how the squad thing worked in unreal 2, not that there was much squad action in it but it was pretty good imho).

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    5. Re:Where's Coop by vadim_t · · Score: 1

      Bah, I don't play FPSes *because* all there is these days is deathmatch in one form or another.

      If it's pure deathmatch, then it's just general free for all madness, which makes me bored fairly quickly. Team play is often not a lot better.

      Now finishing Quake 1 in cooperative mode was one of the most fun times I had. You can actually plan things out, discuss some kind of strategy, decide who gets the ammo/goes first, provide help, protect a team mate, etc, that is, it can actually involve THOUGHT, instead of just shooting whatever happens to be nearby.

    6. Re:Where's Coop by ERJ · · Score: 1

      Bah, I have never had more fun playing a FPS then when my four college buddies and I would team up to beat Doom 2 levels in nightmare difficulty COOP.

      Also never been presented with more of a challenge.

    7. Re:Where's Coop by Jagasian · · Score: 1

      You also still have the option of playing the original Quake COOP and the original Teamfortress, just as it is still fun to play other old games like Chess.

    8. Re:Where's Coop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, I find chess pretty boring since I started playing Advance Wars... -former chess club captain.

    9. Re:Where's Coop by Captain+Splendid · · Score: 1
      Have you tried Enemy Territory? It's a free online multiplayer game, and the best part, IMO is that it's objective based (with some great stock maps to boot). A variety of different classes allow you to play to your strengths, particularly if you're not up for a fragfest.

      Granted, your mileage may vary with how many noobs and assholes you're willing to deal with, but there are some good servers and some great players out there.

      I've been playing it for almost two years solid and I'm still not bored. I'm also more than willing to help out newcomers to the game, so if you need/want some guidance, feel free to ask me.

      --
      Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
    10. Re:Where's Coop by pmsyyz · · Score: 1

      For co-op check out Serious Sam and Serious Sam: The Second Encounter. They are cheap, use a great engine, and has lots of Doom I/II style action, tons of monsters.

      --
      Phillip
    11. Re:Where's Coop by Siener · · Score: 1

      Co-op whas my favourite part of Doom, Doom2 and Quake. Duke Nukem 3D also had co-op that was fun, but after that, co-op seems to have gone out of fashion.

      Everything is just deatmatch, or some variant of it, and I really miss co-op. I am sick & tired of deatmatch, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

    12. Re:Where's Coop by ildon · · Score: 1

      Someone will make Q4 TF, and I have a feeling no one will play it. :(

    13. Re:Where's Coop by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 1
      We don't need team fortess since we technically have plenty of team alternatives like Wolfenstein.

      Or better yet, ETF, a free Team Fortress modification for the free game, Enemy Territory. [/shameless plug]

    14. Re:Where's Coop by qoa · · Score: 1

      A list of games with coop either shipped with or through a mod:
      Quake 2 (and all of the doom/quakes before it)
      No One Lives Forever 2
      System Shock 2
      Farcry (mod)
      SWAT 4
      Serious Sam (first and second encounters)
      Doom 3? (I've heard of mods for it)
      Diablo 1, 2
      Ghost Recon
      Lego Star Wars (site says it's coop)
      Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
      Alien vs Predator 1, 2 (mod)
      Delta Force
      Rune (mod)
      Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising
      Baldur's Gate
      Obscure
      Half Life 1 (sven coop mod)
      Half Life 2 (sven is in the works)

      Rumored(I haven't played any of these):
      Ravenshield
      Empire Earth
      Age of Empires I, II
      Red Faction
      Black Hawk Down
      I highly vouch for System Shock 2 and No One Lives Forever 2.

      --
      Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
  3. Raven Rocks! by MBraynard · · Score: 1

    Raven's record gives me high hopes. A pure play is looking at what they did with the Q3 engine and Elite Force and Jedi Knight. That, along with JK2 and Xmen Legends and SoF 2 lead me to believe this will be the best Q game yet.

    1. Re:Raven Rocks! by Mishura · · Score: 1

      Jedi Academy (JK3) is my life addiction. I'll be playing that until I die probably (multiplayer, not singleplayer.). Heretic/Hexen are pure gems to remain immortal in the days to come (Not Hexen2/Heretic2.. both are good, but not as good as the Doom1-engine originals). I've heard from several friends that X-Men Legends is kick ass (I plan to play it eventually).

      Raven Software ranks up there with the greats of Video gaming. Unless something really fucks up, this game will kick ass. I hope TTimo pulls a Linux client to go with it.

    2. Re:Raven Rocks! by jackbird · · Score: 1
      Heretic was indeed the best deathmatch ever. Not only could you turn your opponents into mostly-helpless chickens, there was a countermove that meant it wasn't always a good idea to do so.

      Now that's thinking it all the way through.

    3. Re:Raven Rocks! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jedi Academy is not Jedi Knight 3, it's Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.

  4. A 'Team' helping me out?? by Spokehedz · · Score: 3, Funny

    Don't you mean 'Meat Shield(s)' helping me out?

    1. Re:A 'Team' helping me out?? by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

      As a friend of mine's character said, "He's pretty dumb. All he can do is walk point and take the first hit."

      Probably a quote, but I don't know from where.

      I thoroughly enjoyed the Eraser Bots for Quake II. Quake IV might actually entice me to upgrade my hardware.

    2. Re:A 'Team' helping me out?? by Captain+Splendid · · Score: 1
      That would be from Soldier.

      Colonel Mekum: Do you know how much it costs to breed you, you big moron? To train you? To feed you? What good is this man now? He's got no depth perception? All he can do is walk point and take the first hit.

      --
      Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
  5. Rhino Squad? by dougmc · · Score: 4, Funny

    Rhino Squad? I guess it's official -- there must be no good names for squads left now.

    1. Re:Rhino Squad? by syynnapse · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't say that - Cotton Candy squad has yet to be taken.

      --

      System.out.println(syynnapse.getSig());

    2. Re:Rhino Squad? by Leffe · · Score: 1

      God, I don't want a squad, I just want single player where I take on an army from Hell--ALONE! I don't want some stupid AI cannon fodder to watch out for, especially if they are not skeletons you can resummon all day long.

  6. What's the point? It's just like every other FPS. by oni · · Score: 3, Insightful

    IMHO, every FPS is just like every other FPS in terms of gameplay. If you've played one then you've played them all. Sure, they keep adding eye candy, but that's about it. Only two FPS games every stood out from the pack in my opinion.

    The first one was Quake 3. The thing that made is so different was the speed of it. That game was fast as hell. Particularly in some of the mods, like RA or threewave or CPMA, it felt like you could run like a bat out of hell. The maneuverability made it feel more like kung fu than a firefight. After playing quake for years, I tried to play UT2k3 and I just felt like I was stuck in molasses.

    The other unusual game was tribes.

    Anyway my point is, RTCW, Doom3, Halo, HF2, they all seemed pretty much the same to me. They're cool. Don't get me wrong (this being Slashdot I'm sure someone will take this the wrong way). All I'm saying is that Quake4 should be a sequel to Quake 3 in terms of gameplay. For the story, yeah you pretty much have to make a sequel to Q2 because Q3 didn't have much of a story. But for the gameplay, they should follow Q3 and make this a game unlike all the others. As it stands, I'm afraid Q4 is going to be YAFPS

    but I'll buy it anyway I guess.

  7. Doom3, Quake2 and HL2 by fodi · · Score: 0

    What do they all have in common? They're focussing on single player gaming. Why, oh why?!! Multiplayer is so much more fun. IMHO they should be concentrating on improving multiplayer dynamics, like RTCW and ET. There, the different classes force people to teamplay to be productive.

    1. Re:Doom3, Quake2 and HL2 by fodi · · Score: 1

      oops, subject should read Quake 4, not 2.... it's early in Oz, forgive me...

    2. Re:Doom3, Quake2 and HL2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'll be happy when a single player campaign can be played Multiplayer. The Maps approach is too limiting. Multiplayer with an unfolding narrative--that's the future.

    3. Re:Doom3, Quake2 and HL2 by syrinx · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Multiplayer is only fun if you know a bunch of other people who have the same game, want to play, etc. (And admittedly, some games are definitely awesome if you have a group of gamer friends.)

      Sure you could play online with random people, but frankly, as a group, people online are stupid assholes.

      Give me a good single player game any day.

      --
      Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
    4. Re:Doom3, Quake2 and HL2 by RsG · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Have you tried the UT games? Best multiplayer FPS I've played.

      But why expect these games to be? People don't play moody dark survival horror games for deathmatch, they play those games alone (preferably with the lights out). Multiplayer FPS is about one thing, single player is about something else, both have their merits. Just because you prefer one does not mean the designers shouldn't make some of each.

      --
      Erotic is when you use a feather. Exotic is when you use the whole chicken.
    5. Re:Doom3, Quake2 and HL2 by IntergalacticWalrus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Multiplayer is so much more fun."

      Guess what? Some people have different preferences than you. They may even (gasp!) prefer single-player over multi.

    6. Re:Doom3, Quake2 and HL2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think there are probably a few good reasons for this.

      First of all, there are still a lot of gamers out there without broadband. Often, this isn't through choice; even here in a relatively small country like the UK, there are still big patches where you can't get anything better than dialup (or satellite... but that's no use for gaming). When you make a multiplayer-oriented game like Quake 3, you're largely cutting yourself out of that market.

      Second, single-player games are generally cheaper and easier to support. If you release a game which is effectively multiplayer-only (eg. Quake 3, Tribes), this creates expectations as to the level of support/patches you'll have to provide. By contrast, with a single-player game, once it's out there, unless you had any show-stopper bugs, you can basically forget about it.

      Third, focussing on multiplayer largely restricts the kind of atmosphere you can use for your game. Multiplayer fpses tend to be either "realism" shooters, like Counter-Strike, or "bounce round at warp speed" like Quake/Quake 3. If you want to do something darker and slower paced, you game isn't going to fit well into a deathmatch environment.

      Finally, there's the pitiful state of many online fps communities. I used to play first Quake 2 and later Counter-Strike pretty heavily, along with a bit of Quake 3 on the side, and I can honestly say that online fps communities are basically cess-pits of arrogance and hostility. Developers know by now that no matter how much they listen to what their fan-base want while developing a game, they're still going to spend most of their time after the release criticising you loudly on public forum, for "dumbing down" their game or not listening to their own personal number one pet peeve. This was especially noticable around the time that Quake 3 appeared. Also, if you make multiplayer the central component of your game, you're basically creating a situation where many players' first experience is going to be having some idiot veteran player killing them every 3 seconds while hurling abuse. At least MMORPGs generally have dedicated newbie zones and the option to opt-out of PvP. Although this isn't the developer's fault, it still reflects badly on them.

    7. Re:Doom3, Quake2 and HL2 by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 1
      As an id-fanboy, slightly biased, I always found the gravity in UT-games to be a bit off. The moving/jumping just seems... weird.

      The Onslaught-gametype in UT2004 kicks mayor ass though.

    8. Re:Doom3, Quake2 and HL2 by kn0tw0rk · · Score: 0

      Maybe the people who prefer to play single player games like to be the 'Hero' of the story, not some poor noob getting fragged every couple of seconds?

      Each type of game has its merrits and flaws, so I guess the proof of how successful they are will be in the pudding when/if it sells.

      --
      See my art -> http://herbevore.deviantart.com
  8. Meh. by TsukasaZero · · Score: 2, Informative

    As long as this has either:

    A) Big battles like in Rome Total War but in First Person and shiny.
    or
    B) Multiplayer like Quake III.

    I'm good.

    1. Re:Meh. by |/|/||| · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Big battles like in Rome Total War but in First Person and shiny
      Yeah, that would be pretty awesome, and that's pretty much the image I got from this quote:
      An army of soldiers are fighting with you and an arsenal of weapons and vehicles are at your disposal in this heroic and epic battle between worlds.
      Sounds great, but I think it's doubtful. The one screenshot with the article shows a single enemy in a dark room. Can the DOOM3 engine actually handle large outdoor environments with hundreds of enemies and vehicles? I don't know, but I certainly haven't seen anything to suggest that it can. :(

      --
      [javac] 100 errors
    2. Re:Meh. by C0rinthian · · Score: 1

      I'm sure the engine can handle it.

      Our hardware is another story.

    3. Re:Meh. by evil-osm · · Score: 1

      Exactly, the engine isn't the bottleneck, its the systems.

      --


      E.

      Never rub another man's rhubarb - The Joker
    4. Re:Meh. by eric_brissette · · Score: 1

      The bottleneck might be the system, but it's because the engine dosn't scale very well.

    5. Re:Meh. by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 2, Informative

      One example and another

      Now, I won't claim that these shots prove the viability for outdoor maps on the Doom3 engine, but they do look promising. The first screenshot from the first link is especially good, I think. The trees underneath the power lines really are that far away. And the map plays really well, too.

      I can't find it right now, but somewhere on the Doom3World forums is a screenshot of a really friggin' big landscape, so big that the Cyberdemon put in is only a few pixels tall at a normal gameplay resolution. And that was with a pretty good framerate, too.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    6. Re:Meh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Can the DOOM3 engine actually handle large outdoor environments with hundreds of enemies and vehicles?

      Shouldn't the first question be "Can the DOOM3 engine actually handle color and light?"

  9. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by FidelCatsro · · Score: 2, Insightful

    not true , whilst it may tar a few games , Compare Thief , System shock 2 and deus ex alot of fps games do follow a paint by numbers aproch but not all .
    these may not be typical fps games and are far better when compared to rpg games , these are still under the fps brush .
    (the only reason i had windows installed on any system ,untill cedega caught up were these games)

    --
    The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
  10. Re:Doom3, Quake4 and HL2 by |/|/||| · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Well, that's your opinion. I actually prefer single player games. Co-op multiplayer could be fun, but I've never seen it done really well.

    I enjoy deathmatch, CTF, etc, but they get pretty old after a while. The pace is always the same - full throttle. With single player games you get slower paced exploration and puzzle solving (hopefully not just "find the key" puzzles) interspersed with gunplay. You also get characters with different motivations - no actual human character is going to want to hang around and guard the reactor. Only an NPC will tolerate something so boring. Even if you got a human player to do it, they would be "playing the game" rather than "playing the security guard." The NPC guard is more likely to be looking at his watch than strafing back and forth looking for somebody to snipe.

    I guess the sum-up is that I like single player games because they tend to be more immersive. Of course, you could make a multiplayer game with these elements, and maybe such a game exists - but I haven't played it.

    --
    [javac] 100 errors
  11. Yay! by Xanlexian · · Score: 2, Funny

    I hope this doesn't turn into, "Quake IV: Forever".

    If so, then I'll just have to play it on my Phantom console.

    --Xan

    --
    "Congratulations, Boots. Your robot has become self-aware. You're a daddy now." -- Dr. Rho Bowman
  12. Screenshot looks like Doom3 by BrookHarty · · Score: 1

    Humm, was expecting more I guess than a doom3 remake.

    1. Re:Screenshot looks like Doom3 by houseofzeus · · Score: 0

      The screenshots of a game made using the Doom 3 engine look like they come from a game using the Doom 3 engine. Wonders never cease.

  13. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by QuantumRiff · · Score: 1
    As it stands, I'm afraid Q4 is going to be YAFPS

    Yet Another Freakin Pointless Seqel?

    --

    What are we going to do tonight Brain?
  14. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by cgenman · · Score: 1

    If you've played one then you've played them all.

    I'm thinking Savage, Deus Ex, Counterstrike, Metroid Prime, Thief, Battlefield 1942, Natural Selection, Avara... There are a lot of FPS games that don't follow the standard FPS mold. Some are even successful.

    I do agree with you about Quake 4, though. I would really rather Quake 4 be an extension of the gameplay driven arena style FPS pioneered by Quake 3 than another story-driven FPS like Doom 3.

  15. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by Jagasian · · Score: 1

    Apparently you have never played Quakeworld, which is where Quake 2, Quake 3, and mods such as CPMA got their inspiration from. Quakeworld is even faster than CPMA btw. Also, since the client and server are free and open source, with ports to most computer platforms, there is little reason not to play if all you want is hardcore, fast, and furious deathmatch.

  16. Re:Doom3, Quake4 and HL2 by karnal · · Score: 1

    I just have one thing to say:

    FarCry rocks.

    That said, I'm usually the deathmatch shoot-kill-die-shoot kinda person. But this game has me addicted.

    --
    Karnal
  17. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by drxray · · Score: 1

    Quake 3 was fast, but unreal tournament (and 2k4) has the game speed slider... push it to maximum and you need to drink espresso between frags to have a hope of keeping up. 2k4 also has some fancy jumping and dodging moves like CPMA, though not really on the same level.

    Anyway, more on topic - Quake 4 will have Doom 3 style lighting, so I'd expect that the single player will have lots of shooting at shadows and the multiplayer will be a camper's paradise. So it'll be different to previous Quake games whatever happens.

    --
    Slashdot - Mutual Assured Discussion
  18. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by terriblecertainty · · Score: 1

    After playing quake for years, I tried to play UT2k3 and I just felt like I was stuck in molasses.

    Which is why I always played it at 1.35 speed, in mostly low gravity... I think almost everyone agrees with you that the apparent speed of 2k3 was too low.

  19. Prequel by owlman17 · · Score: 1

    Quake 5 (after this one) might be pushing it too far in terms of story. I wonder if they'll ever do a Quake Zero, a prequel?

  20. old screenshots by AvitarX · · Score: 1
    --
    Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    1. Re:old screenshots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oops Preview.

      Link

    2. Re:old screenshots by evil-osm · · Score: 1

      Anyone have the cache of these?

      --


      E.

      Never rub another man's rhubarb - The Joker
  21. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by X0563511 · · Score: 1

    Maybe I'm just too used to realistic games, but UT2k3 was way too fast for me. Don't even get me going on Q3. I don't see how you can call UT2k3 slow.

    --
    For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  22. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by IntergalacticWalrus · · Score: 1

    Quake 3 fast?? God no. IMHO everything after the shift to "real 3D" has been slow as molasses. Bring me back any DOOM (or Build) engine game and _then_ we'll talk about fast-paced deathmatches.

  23. Duke Nukem coop was the best. by DocSavage64109 · · Score: 1

    Nothing beats "accidentally" hitting your teammate with the shrink ray and stepping on him. Muahahahaha

  24. Re:Doom3, Quake4 and HL2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Battlefield 1942's Conquest mode

  25. Quake 4 will fail by Ka+D'Argo · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Sorry but this is just bad news.

    If anything id Software should have learned by now what works and what doesn't. After the lukewarm luster of Doom 3 (sorry but the uber darkness of the game combined with no weapon use while using a flash light was fucking ridiculous), they need to stay on course.

    Quake is a multiplayer game. Sure Quake 1 had a singleplayer but it wasn't all that great. id Software's singleplayer kings are Doom and Wolfenstein (though RTCW had both a great single and multiplayer). Quake is their staple multiplayer.

    Honestly if they market Quake 4 as a singleplayer game with a half ass multiplayer like Doom 3, Epic Games will destroy them. The Unreal 3 engine is already looking onpar if not better than the Doom 3 engine (which I assume Raven Soft. will be using for Quake 4), so they aren't behind on eyecandy. They've proven to make solid multiplayers just like id Soft. so this could be a true turning point, where Epic pulls ahead and gains some ground to being second to Valve in multiplayer (unfortunately CS/HL/HL2/CS:S and their mods are still king).

    The screens so far look more like conceptual 3D renderings than actual screens. And even if they are screens they look more like MECH's of some kind. If that is the iteration of how enemies or player models are they look slow and cumbersome, not what we're used to as a fast paced gameplay in Quakes 1-3 (yes looks can be decieving, but if they are just as fast then the models look ridiculous being that large and bulky).

    It's too early to really tell but as said, this could be the game that really kills off id Software. Unless it comes out of the gate awesome then followed by a really good RTCW 2 well then...

    --
    Aw Frell this
    1. Re:Quake 4 will fail by mconeone · · Score: 1

      Honestly if they market Quake 4 as a singleplayer game with a half ass multiplayer like Doom 3, Epic Games will destroy them.

      Isn't Quake 4 supposed to have a much higher max player limit in multiplayer? I heard it was around 16 or 20. It seems pretty logical that they would want to focus on multiplayer since Doom 3's multiplayer sucked so badly, which contributed to the lack of ongoing popularity.

    2. Re:Quake 4 will fail by ildon · · Score: 1

      Am I the only one who has even heard of Q4 before this point? Quake 4 is the fusion of Q2 single player and Q3 multiplayer on the Doom3 engine. That is how it has been described in every article up until this point.

      And the models? Did you PLAY Q3? Did you SEE Keel and Tankjr? Quake2 had big stupid looking robots, too, but obviously the multiplayer was super slow paced with giant robots lumbering around!!!

    3. Re:Quake 4 will fail by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 1
      Sure Quake 1 had a singleplayer but it wasn't all that great.

      Riiight...This is so un-true.
      You're on par though, that the D3-engine is getting quite some heavy competition from the Unreal 3 tech, and John Carmack really has to put in quite some work to beat the visuals of that.

      Imo, one of the biggest backstabs id gave to themselves, is limiting the multiplayer of D3 to 8 players.
      It seems they will be getting back to -real- multiplayer in Q4 though.

    4. Re:Quake 4 will fail by billcopc · · Score: 1

      I think the reason you were disappointed with Doom 3 is that you expected it to be Quake, which it clearly isn't. Doom isn't so much about twitch reflexes as it is about ambience. The reason the flashlight is so annoying is so it builds tension. When you encounter the first zombies in total darkness and they're literally inches from your throat you get nervous, and that's what the Doom experience is about.

      Go back to Doom 1 and 2, and tell me if you see any shock surprises like that ? Walk past an invisible line and you hear the familiar "clunk-bzzz" of a door opening in the distance. You know something's coming after you, but you don't know what. Next thing you know, that room you just existed has been populated with a bunch of Barons and you just wasted all your rockets on a room full of Cacodemons. Panic sets in as you try to dodge the assault while your stupid shotgun reloads, when you see a stray fireball shoot from the side and you realize there's more hell coming down the hall.

      THAT's Doom.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    5. Re:Quake 4 will fail by zero_offset · · Score: 1

      The reason *I* was disappointed with Doom 3 was that I couldn't see a damned thing.

      Other than that, I agree with you.

      --

      Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005

  26. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by mangobrain · · Score: 1

    UT2k3 is still my favourite multiplayer FPS. Either that, or one of the Action Quakes (I've played 2 and 3). (For those not in the know, AQ is probably best described as "CS for people who don't like CS"; it was also the first FPS I was actually capable of consistently winning a game of.)

    What I love about UT2k3 is the game's style - graphical, aural, and in terms of movement and weapon selection. In what other game can you jump, double-jump, and wall-rebound in one move? Plus the way the player models flipped around, you looked cool doing it. Also, IMHO, it has ragdoll physics that still feel more right than D3 or HL2; bodies tend to get stuck in unrealistic-looking positions less often, and the bone-crunching sounds while it all happens are so very satisfying.

    And the weapons... oh my, the weapons! Flak grenades, shock combos, multiple rockets.. so much potential, almost none of it wasted.

    You want fast? Turn up the speed slider and play InstaGib.

    I played the UT2k4 demo, and while the addition of vehicles seemed cool at first, I wasn't inspired to go out and buy the game - when it comes to FPS games, I'm not really a team player, and 2k3 is really a showcase for talented lone wolves.

  27. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by eric_brissette · · Score: 1

    The campers paradice thing really depends on the level design.. the Doom3 levels didn't really lend themselves to any sniping or sneaking, the gameplay was more like UT03 but not as good.

    While some people really dig spastic hyperactive gameplay (ADHD?), I prefer slow and stelathy. I don't camp, but I do get a lot of satisfaction from taking someone's head off from across the map, especially when playing on a lan when you can hear someone scream upstairs. The reaction from your friends is the best part of multiplayer.

  28. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

    Also, IMHO, it has ragdoll physics that still feel more right than D3 or HL2; bodies tend to get stuck in unrealistic-looking positions less often, and the bone-crunching sounds while it all happens are so very satisfying.

    I disagree completely, UT's ragdolls feel like there is no weight or friction involved, the deaths feel floaty and tweaked towards showing off instead of simulating death. A dead body is heavy, the ragdolls in UT didn't look like it. And I've seen many more unrealistic poses (and clipping into walls) with UT than D3. Sure, the monsters in D3 SP are pretty bad in that respect but in MP you see people falling over like they should.

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  29. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by mangobrain · · Score: 1

    I'll have to own up here and admit that I've not been able to play a decent game of multiplayer D3 ever (yet), or for that matter any FPS for a while now. I'm stuck in rented accomodation with no landline, so I have wireless broadband, which means decent downloads but terrible latency.

    Therefore, it's single-player HL2 and D3 that I'm going by, and even you admit that D3's monster ragdolls

    As a final note, I don't think a game like UT2k3 is overly concerned with physics realism, as long as things look good, fit with the overall style, and run at speed. I think the ragdolls fill these three criteria (this is a fast-paced, visceral, almost arcade-style action game, thus corpses should flail and be limp), and I may be guilty of wearing rose-tinted spectacles, but I don't remember any unacceptable level of wall-clipping.

  30. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by mangobrain · · Score: 1

    "even you admit that D3's monster ragdolls misbehave", that ought to read.

  31. What a shame by funkify · · Score: 1

    I find it appalling that they say that Q4 is going back to the roots of Quake by focusing on Q2-style single player missions. Roots of quake? OMFG. The roots of quake are in releasing an innovative engine and environment and in fast-paced fragging. Q1 was the very first real 3d engine and still has the best network play IMO. Q3 was the ultimate in innovation at the time. Single-player missions are a dime a dozen these days, but IMO id did themselves and the Quake franchise a tremendous disservice by not giving this game the same treatment. In my mind, another studio doing Quake represents the death of id.

  32. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by Irashtar · · Score: 0

    What I would like would be a best of both worlds. Say, level-based missions with freeform exploring, ala zelda, with arenas as minigames, or unlockables!

  33. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by ildon · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Don't you people read anything about these games before complaining about them? The single player component is modeled after Quake 2, while the multiplayer component is modeled after Quake 3.

    All that remains to be see is how effective the multiplayer is at recreating Quake 3.

  34. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 1
    The first one was Quake 3. The thing that made is so different was the speed of it. That game was fast as hell. Particularly in some of the mods, like RA or threewave or CPMA, it felt like you could run like a bat out of hell.

    If you like speedy gameplay, be sure to have a look at ETF, a free mod for Enemy Territory (another free game). (ported from the Q3-mod, Q3F

    I know this is my second shameless plug in this thread ; But hell, if speed is what made you like Quake 3... This is -your- game :)

  35. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by Cochonou · · Score: 1

    I'd expect that the single player will have lots of shooting at shadows and the multiplayer will be a camper's paradise. So it'll be different to previous Quake games whatever happens.

    Quake was also a very dark game. Quake2 and 3 were brighter, though.

  36. Re:Doom3, Quake4 and HL2 by billcopc · · Score: 1

    Yep it exists and it's called PlanetSide, and it gets really boring when you're one of the mechs guarding the friggin' reactor for 15 minutes with no enemies in a 15 mile radius.

    --
    -Billco, Fnarg.com
  37. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by ThePuD · · Score: 0

    funny I don't remember any per-pixel shadows in quake1. *checks* nope, you lose.

  38. Re:Doom3, Quake4 and HL2 by the_ed_dawg · · Score: 1
    I actually prefer single player games.
    Finally... someone who agrees with me. Call me crazy, but I don't like sharing my gaming experience. I can take it as seriously or as retarded as I want. I can pause at my leisure (becoming more important as real-life responsibility kicks in) or take my time lining up that beautiful headshot on a guard (as opposed to everyone rushing in the room shooting everything). It's just a more relaxing experience. :)
    --
    There are two types of people: those prepared for the zombie apocalypse and those who will be eaten.
  39. Re:What's the point? It's just like every other FP by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

    Sometimes when you're killed by a large force (e.g. Flak Cannon at point blank range) in UT part of your body can get moved into the floor. That's much more annoying with vehicles that sometimes permanently attach to small obstacles.

    D3 MP isn't very fun online because it lags terribly even with broadband. Luckily there are bots available.

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.