Doom 3

[golden_boy]

I'm doing a replay of Doom 3 with comments/review and screenies at my blog... I will be doing the whole thing as a little series. Obviously contains spoilers, but also has descriptions of all levels, including the later ones. So if you got bored halfway through, or can't remember, you might like this. Quite a long game.

I did the beginning, Alpha Labs, Enpro and the Communications levels and will be doing the Recycling ones next, then Monorail, then Delta Labs and Hell. Then the caves.

7 years later, this game doesn't look all that bad.

[Bloodshot]

I still like it, played it coop recently with a friend. It's very similar to Doom 1 in a lot of ways, I don't think it deserves a lot of the hate it gets. Regardless of that, it was still TOO DAMN DARK. Coop made using flashlights more bearable though, and kind of cool.

[golden_boy]

True dat, it was too dark in some parts.

[=peg=]

Even John Carmack himself acknowledged it is way too dark

[R00k]

I'm waiting for the release of the Doom3/Quake4 src so we can start working on ET:Return to the Slipgate...

[golden_boy]

John Carmack has a sense of humour

I still think that most of the areas aren't *that* dark, but I have a TFT which might help. It's quite possible that in 2004/5 many gamers were still using CRTs. I also play this game in a more laid back manner than I play Quake or the first Doom. Kill 2-3 monsters, take a sip of your favourite drink, and look at the surroundings / look for hidden items. That kind of thing. The pacing is different from Quake, it's clear.

I think the shot of Recycling 1 I posted above isn't too dark at all.

+ you have a flashlight.

[Bloodshot]

I wonder how Doom 4 is going to turn out compared to Doom 3. I hope it's like Doom 1/2 on a new engine

[MH]

It'll definitely be the Rage engine but with heavier-weight content; ID have already more or less confirmed this much. The big question is : how well can the Rage engine do a corridor shooter? Of course it doesn't have to be all a corridor shooter (the original wasn't), but it wouldn't earn the right to the name "Doom" without at least some corridor shooter elements in.

[golden_boy]

Crysis 2, only with flaming pentagrams and malfunctioning lifts and demons instead of aliens?

Oooh, and XP!

[Bloodshot]

A bit off topic, but does anyone notice every single game after Quake 2 from ID all feel like your playing...Quake 2?

Doom 3, Q4, ETQW all feel like I'm playing Quake 2 in a different universe - and you can tell from videos Rage looks like it plays similar. I guess it's because they seemed to keep the movement mechanics and view bob generally the same, huh?

[osjclatchford]

A bit off topic, but does anyone notice every single game after Quake 2 from ID all feel like your playing...Quake 2?

Doom 3, Q4, ETQW all feel like I'm playing Quake 2 in a different universe - and you can tell from videos Rage looks like it plays similar. I guess it's because they seemed to keep the movement mechanics and view bob generally the same, huh?

very true, I guess they found the fomula that worked and stuck at it.
if it aint broke don't fix it...

[Grim Warlock]

That's a bunch of bullshit, the reason Doom 3 was so dark is for atmosphere and to basically scare the shit out of you. They have already confirmed that Doom 4 will look 3 times better than Rage. They've said it will be more action based rather than horror based. Rumors have also spread that it may take place on earth as Doom II did. They've also said they're unsure if they're going to make a reboot. And they've said they'll show it at QuakeCon this year.

very true, I guess they found the fomula that worked and stuck at it.
if it aint broke don't fix it...

Yep, I found all gameplay similar to Quake 2. Btw, Quake 4 and Enemy Territory Quake Wars are in the same universe.

[golden_boy]

I suspect the main reason for the darkness was technical. Every single light in Doom 3 eats performance, MUCH MUCH more so than in Quake, since it is all realtime and for every light there must be an additional render pass.

Now figure in the best hardware of 2001-2004. They simply could not afford too many lights / too many surfaces lit.

It is a product of its time. Today's Doom 3 levels could be much brighter, and today's idtech4 games can also be much brighter and have bigger well-lit areas.

They made the best of the technical limitations when they went survival horror with it. It even worked, to a degree.

[LkMax]

Nah, I think it was dark only because it was supposed to be scary. And actually only the early start of the game scared me sometimes, but it became repetitive.
DooM 3 is a good game, but could be better with a little better plot, an attachable flashlight, more and bigger outdoor levels and a much, MUCH bigger oxigen limit in outdoor areas. It's still a good game anyway.

[Grim Warlock]

I suspect the main reason for the darkness was technical. Every single light in Doom 3 eats performance, MUCH MUCH more so than in Quake, since it is all realtime and for every light there must be an additional render pass.

Now figure in the best hardware of 2001-2004. They simply could not afford too many lights / too many surfaces lit.

It is a product of its time. Today's Doom 3 levels could be much brighter, and today's idtech4 games can also be much brighter and have bigger well-lit areas.

They made the best of the technical limitations when they went survival horror with it. It even worked, to a degree.

That's not true, Quake 4 wasn't dark.

Nah, I think it was dark only because it was supposed to be scary. And actually only the early start of the game scared me sometimes, but it became repetitive.
DooM 3 is a good game, but could be better with a little better plot, an attachable flashlight, more and bigger outdoor levels and a much, MUCH bigger oxigen limit in outdoor areas. It's still a good game anyway.

Exactly, it was meant to be dark. Think of it, Doom 3 wasn't dark on the first few levels before the invasion. I had no problem with the plot, seemed clear to me however I do agree with an attachable flashlight, more outdoor levels and a more efficient oxygen tank, it wouldn't even give you enough time to stay outside. Wasn't there an attached flashlight to your weapons in the alpha?