Now that Doom3 is out...

[ATI4EVER!]

Well, I myself have not played DOOM 3. But from what I have read, and seen, it seems that Half Life 2 has a lot more story and plot than DOOM 3. As for the graphics, well, honestly HL2 has worse graphics then D3. I haven't played HL2, but comparing screenshots, D3 looks better. That's old news probably. But HL2 would have had KICK ASS graphics in september 10th 2003, but I'm afraid that since it's a year late, it has lost the battle. But what will save it? It's obvious: (everyone say it together. 1...2....3.....) REAL TIME HAVOC PHYSICS!! AND PLOT!!!!! AND GMAN!!!!

see? both games will rock. period. But DOOM 3 is way to ****ing expensive. 55 bucks. woah. I know that's only 5 dollars more than a normal game (50), but hey, 50 is also to much. Boo ID!!! Hl2 retails for 50. yay valve!

 

[urseus]

^^^Are you ok? The game is 5 dollars more and it impacts the quality? Also whats 5 dollars anyway. Do you live on the streets?

...HL2 looks like its SP is its strong point! Are you insane!? :O

We haven't even seen HL2 MP..

Not the actual MP that comes with HL2, that will be complete shyte.

Wow lets run around with a few skins from the single player game and just kill each other in mindless deathmatch. Hay i have civilian skin and you have a combine skin. What is this crazy sillyness of fun!!lolz!

Im talking about the mod scene. That will kick so many colours of ass. Doom doesnt seem to be able to hold a candle to it. Even if they do support the modding comunity, it will only be the single player modding scene that will go anywhere, because you need massive massive servers to run the game.

 

[Zeus]

I just finished D3 and the plot was pretty decent.

edit- and you can get D3 for 49.90 from gogamer if 5 dollars is that much of an issue for you I can get that much by collecting some bottles for like 5 minutes.

 

[caged]

Well, D3 seems great. But... It's just a goodlooking game with the plot of the original Doom (none).

 

[BoRn[nBk]]

The only reason why i got a copy of doom 3 from a friend and didnt buy it is because john carmack optimized it too run flawlessly on Nvidia's cards with my ATI 9600 128-bit chip the game got studdery at points at 800x600 at 30-50fps so i unpacked all the pack.001-pack.004 too the doom3/base folder and the studdering stoped at i gained 5 fps i put my Nvidia 5800 ultra in and the game ran smooth as hell i didnt have too touch anything at all unless if i wanted too raise it too 1024x768 haha but as soon as i got done playing doom 3 with the 5800ultra i put my ATI card back in because i like it alot better and it runs the games i play a whole hell of alot better then the 5800ultra like painkiller and COD and Farcry

 

[urseus]

The only reason why i got a copy of doom 3 from a friend and didnt buy it is because john carmack optimized it too run flawlessly on Nvidia's cards with my ATI 9600 128-bit chip the game got studdery at points at 800x600 at 30-50fps so i unpacked all the pack.001-pack.004 too the doom3/base folder and the studdering stoped at i gained 5 fps i put my Nvidia 5800 ultra in and the game ran smooth as hell i didnt have too touch anything at all unless if i wanted too raise it too 1024x768 haha but as soon as i got done playing doom 3 with the 5800ultra i put my ATI card back in because i like it alot better and it runs the games i play a whole hell of alot better then the 5800ultra like painkiller and COD and Farcry

Do you think you can use punctuation next time? Reading your post was like climbing a flight of stairs.

 

[mbrithoms]

riz your full of crap mate, ultra quality is disabled untill the 512mb gfx cards are released, you freaking moron

 

[Mad Dog]

Ultra is NOT disabled, it's just not recommended with less than 512 megs of video ram.

I think you owe him and apology.

 

[FoB_Ed]

Ultra is NOT disabled, it's just not recommended with less than 512 megs of video ram.

I think you owe him and apology.

Hahahahahaha

 

[Mr Neutron]

Ok, number one: up your doom3 gamma to about 1.3 (command "r_gamma 1.3"). This makes a huge difference in visibility even though it doesn't make the totally dark bits any brighter. Oh, and set the brightness slider about in the middle (don't know what command this is; use the gui).

s_numberofspeakers x

Use this for number of speakers. The option menu won't switch to surround sound if you have 'quad speaers' set in the winxp audio options, so use this command. For 4.1 speakers use 5 and for 5.1 use 6 (I'm not certain, but it seems setting it to 6 instead of 5 for my 4.1 speakers makes some of the more intense sounds fuzzy like the speakers are being overburdened.)

As for the game itself, the gameplay is less repetitive on hard compared to medium because the monsters are a bit trickier. The polish of the game is mostly impeccable, so it miffs me that they didn't think a little harder about the weapons:

1) the flashlight and pistol should be equipped together with 18-24 rounds per clip instead of 12.

2) The grenades should be a hot button (something like we were discussing for hl2 in a thread a few weeks back); and as it is now, they're nearly useless because they fire slowly, don't toss far enough, bounce too much, and have a small splash damage (they're not useful for the one thing they should be useful for: taking out piles of those damn spiders; as it is, they take out just one at a time--all I can say is, WTF?).

3) Weapon switching should be a bit faster. Not instant, but this is supposed to be an id game, right?

4) Some weapons force reload when exhasted while some don't. Is this a bug? It makes no sense, and you can't switch away when the reloading starts. It's best non-automatic, but the machine gun will need a louder empty clicking sound. The warning beep when you're almost out is nice, though. When you're shooting spiders at your feet, it's very silly to think the marine wouldn't reach for his pistol instead of reloading.

5) On the medium setting at least, ammo and especially health and armour, are EVERYWHERE. It's really excessive. I agree with the design philosophy that each battle should be approached nearly at full health, but this is rediculous. The best solution is where an excuse has been contrived for the avatar to heal himself constantly (while this encourages players to sit around before moving on, the regular scheme encourages players to hunt around or backtrack for supplies before moving on--both present a problem of being repetitive chores). Ideally, supply opportunities would be presented in a logical context, not hidden EVERYWHERE (in Doom3, if there's an area under the stairs or floor in which to crawl, there WILL BE supplies there).

The biggest fault of the game though is the enemy spawning. It's not that awful kind where they keep coming everytime you backtrack into a room (there's a finite amount of monsters), but it's still silly and makes the fights too repetitive. I guess though, this is one area where they remain ultra faithful to the original Dooms. And it does solve a problem: if the monsters are just waiting around in their location for you, why don't they come get you? Why aren't the wandering around? Why doesn't the whole enemy army just close in on you? (this is a bigger suspension of disbelief problem when the enemies are human). It also creates fewer situations where the player simply alerts the AI's, backtracks, and mowes them down when they charge through a doorway. But spawning enemies deprives us of situations like, 'there are 5 monsters in that room, how can I take them out?'

As it stands, the easiest improvement they could have implemented (other than the weapons irks I mentioned) was to condense some of the mars base levels. The first half of the game before HELL is too long. Why are there three parts of every lab (like the two teleporter levels before the final one)? Too many of the base environments blend in together; this despite the architecture of the facilities being totally random. When an early reviewer said the early levels are too repetitive, I think he should have said the architecture. The fights all become the same while the architecture makes no sense whatsoever. More regular layout of the interiors could have allowed the player and development team to focus on more battle varience. I should say, though, everything in the last half of the game is much better paced.

BTW, anyone know how to play demos with sound?

 

[Dynasty]

The only reason why i got a copy of doom 3 from a friend and didnt buy it is because john carmack optimized it too run flawlessly on Nvidia's cards with my ATI 9600 128-bit chip the game got studdery at points at 800x600 at 30-50fps so i unpacked all the pack.001-pack.004 too the doom3/base folder and the studdering stoped at i gained 5 fps i put my Nvidia 5800 ultra in and the game ran smooth as hell i didnt have too touch anything at all unless if i wanted too raise it too 1024x768 haha but as soon as i got done playing doom 3 with the 5800ultra i put my ATI card back in because i like it alot better and it runs the games i play a whole hell of alot better then the 5800ultra like painkiller and COD and Farcry

i have to say that this is supposed to be in the hardware forums welcome to the forums i think you should rethink about where you put replies and also make sure that you use commas and full stops as like this reply you can see it gets very annoying and makes you look like a 3 year old who had to ask his/her granny to help write it

lol, soz but that kind of thing really pisses me off in these forums :E

'ATI ARE VALVE'S PREFERED GRAPHICS CARD FOR HALF LIFE 2' - half life radio....enough said.

 

[Algor]

What can I say.
There are so many people here making the most ignorant posts I have ever seen.
One person has posted at least a dozen times about their Doom 3 review, and then only to state that they havent even played it.
What?
And the people who say Doom 3 has no plot... either they have not played it... or they just played it and didnt ever read the PDA, look at their screen, or listen to the audio.
Doom 3 has a great plot, even if it is not amazingly complex.
You'd have to be a complete fool to say Doom 3 has no plot.

 

[ATI4EVER!]

doom 3 has no plot

I'm just messing with you Algor. lol

 

[Eon Blue]

And the people who say Doom 3 has no plot... either they have not played it... or they just played it and didnt ever read the PDA, look at their screen, or listen to the audio.

You mean people who just don't like taking 10 seconds to read something

 

[Head_Crab_04]

Excuse me, Half Life's plot was as cliched as they come. Half Life 2 plot doesnt look to be any better.

 

[B-MAn]

Half Life may have had a 'so so' story but it was very well told.

all the evens were well placed and the plot unfolded perfectly

 

[A2597]

Excuse me, Half Life's plot was as cliched as they come. Half Life 2 plot doesnt look to be any better.

We know this much about HL2's plot.

Jack Shit. Thats how much.

 

[Spitfire8]

he http://www.darktheory.com/d3/5.jpg

 

[Equipto]

hehe that's really good

 

[Dynasty]

What can I say.
There are so many people here making the most ignorant posts I have ever seen.
One person has posted at least a dozen times about their Doom 3 review, and then only to state that they havent even played it.
What?
And the people who say Doom 3 has no plot... either they have not played it... or they just played it and didnt ever read the PDA, look at their screen, or listen to the audio.
Doom 3 has a great plot, even if it is not amazingly complex.
You'd have to be a complete fool to say Doom 3 has no plot.

i hear that. i have cheek agreeing as ive never played it...but bring on the 13th and i will have. doom3's plot unfolds in cut scenes (slightly), but like Algor says, mostly through audio announcements and the PDA's you pick up. Doom 3, according to the latest review, is deliberately repetitive, and the plot isnt really that important anyway (*cough* bull shit *cough*).
tbh i cant wait to play it as i havent played a decent game in ages...deus ex 2 was good. ROFL! :E

(note the drifting away from the subject)

 

[CR0M]

The Halflife plot worked because it was a movie storyline. The context was on YOU as the main character getting out of a claustrophobic complex in one piece, with other encounters happening along the way that enriched it - fps survival horror. It would have worked on film very well - a sort of Resident Evil for the 90's.

Most other games however follow simple and clichéd plots that are simply there to connect a sequence of inane A-B missions, the primary emphasis on the player non-existant. If HL2 continues with the movie theme it won't fail.

why am I writing this? nobody will read it and I don't really care anyway. I must be bored. TFI friday.

 

[Dynasty]

lol, another reply just to get the posts number up :E

nah, hl will always be the best game ever as it was ORIGINAL. it took everything we were used to in previous shooting gallery games, stuck it in a blender, added a few new ingredients, and hit the 'on' button. what came out was a new breed of game that was driven by a GOOD story.

tbh tho, i never think the story is relevant until you have played a few times. look at doom 3, hl2, whatever game you choose that is fairly new...you spend the first play going 'omg that was cool', 'wow ive never seen that kind of thing in a game', etc etc etc. for hl2, we'll all be playing the game time after time, restarting the second the credits hit the screen. drooling over the graphics, in awe about the physics system, and then there's the mp side of the game....mmmmmmm

cant ****ing wait :E

 

[Eon Blue]

Jesus, that demo they showed, showing off some of the physics options... well, when I get it, I'm gonna go USP only (because I love the pistols, and the USP is the best line of pistols I've seen ), and then manipulator on lastinv, just so I can do cool stuff to people.

Anyone play Painkiller? Yeah, my primary was always the stakegun, just so I could nail stuff to the floors and walls and cielings and each other... oh so many options. <3 Havoc, <3 Ragdoll.

 

[Dynasty]

physics make a game worth playing. set pieces suk ass as you cant move something as simple as a chair or table. oooooo sweat hl2 and doom 3, cant wait for either to be released (in the UK that is...bloody yanks :E)