Doom 3 : August the 3rd 2004
 

Ok, so some of you know that I work in the Videogames Industry and get to see and hear all sorts of cool shit and a couple of days ago was no exception.

We received word that Doom 3 would be released worldwide on the 3rd of August, no word as yet whether it'd be the Collector's Edition or not but August the 3rd is Doomsday (cheap little pun).

Don't take me on this 100% but it's what I've heard from a lot of my inside sources and the info is already spreading over the net like wildfire so chances are you've already heard this, anyway, now is the time to rejoice! Doom 3 is on it's way at long last! (I hope)

I must stress that we can't put 100% faith in this, I just thought I'd let you guys know!

SOME EVIDENCE:
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/doom-3/525408p1.html?fromint=1

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/32365

http://pc.ign.com/articles/525/525394p1.html

Cool, can't wait for it to fail to live up to all the hype.

--jaded

*waits patiently for Duke Nukem Forver, then realises that I will be no doubt be living in a retirement home by then *
and of course that would mean having a video card more recent than a mid 2000 model.

Doomsday. heh heh. I like it :)

Yeah I read this I think sometime yesterday afternoon as well. Very cool stuff.

So, now I know. August 3, 2004 - the date I begin my search for a new video card. ;) No way in Hell I'm not playing that game with all the settings to the max.

So what are the machine specs?

I'll wait to rent it on the X-Box...but still, this is the first time I've been excited about Doom since the series actually started.

This is good news:)

And my grades will plummet....

Cool. Can't wait.

Hey, that's my grandmothers' birthday, and the day before mine! :D
I wonder if she would've liked these new video games.
She was a feisty ol' codger. :)
She used to play the old Atari games with us and kicked ass.

I can hardly wait for this. :cool:

August the 3rd! [takes out his Game Publisher Speak Dictionary] ...so that would be September 30th. Huray! Not that far into the future.

LOL, it's not like id to give a release date prematurely, they stand by their "When it's done" statement quite strongly (unlike Valve).

There's been quite a lead up to the announcement of a Street Date, mention of the DVD Collectors Edition, talk of the game having been finished prior to E3, so much work done on the X-Box port... Doom ain't too far away folks, at least we can be quite sure we'll see it this year.

Hasn't it been due to come out within 2 months for like the last two years??

I've heard min stats are:

Official Doom³ System Requirements
7/16/2003 | 15:40 Posted by RosOne 50 Comments
With all the hubbub floating around the net lately about what would and what wouldn't run DOOM³, we decided to bring an end to the system requirement confusion and contact the main man, John Carmack, himself. Here is the official word on the minimum system configuration you'll need to run Doom³.

1GHz CPU
256MB RAM
GF1 or Radeon 7xxx series card

Blah, that's the minimum to run Doom 3: the slideshow (if you're lucky edition). Of course that is "minimum", but I'm sure recommended would be >2.0 Ghz CPU (2000+), 512 MB RAM, and a GF4 or Radeon 9xxx series card.

Hrmmmm to go PC or Xbox... That is the question. My couch is so much more comfy than my computer desk...

But your mouse is so much more responsive than your x-box pad.

...but the couch!!! So, damn, comfy...

I dunno. I mean, it's your choice, but can you honestly say that it's even remotely as easy to play an FPS on a console? I don't think so personally. The mouse gives so much more accuracy, as was mentioned, and the keyboard gives you any number of easy combinations of key configurations. Not to mention that, I'm pretty positive, the max graphics on PC will be better. Just my 2c :) I'm still confused why they made it an XBox exclusive when John Carmack is such an open source advocate. I guess that's what happens when he reduces his role in the company and focuses on Armadillo instead *shrug*

I agree with the graphics bit and keyboard portion, because you do have more control-ability when using a kb/mouse combo. However, my 2c on the Xbox-exclusive launch has everything to do with the Xbox being, from a hardware standpoint, the most powerful console on the market. That, for me, is reason enough for Doom3 to be an Xbox-exclusive in the console arena.

I agree that the keyboard / mouse is more accurate. And the graphics will definitely be better with a well equiped computer. However there is a massive convenience factor with the Xbox. No worrying about installations going wrong, no worry about performance issues, no worrying about upgrading anything. It is a tough choice. I'll have to carefully weigh my options. The couch is very comfy and convenient though... I dunno I will have to wait and see how it plays out. Although there is one FPS that I much prefer on the box over the PC and that is Halo. But DOOM is not Halo and it is not designed for the box, it is designed for the PC. So I dunno. It's a toss up at this point...

you're gonna have to move your couch in front of ur computer....fps=must play on pc

Here's to hoping I get laid off next week so I can have time available for this important event.

/works for Miramax, is busy dodging HR Hit Squads

Nah...Perfect Dark, Goldeneye, and Halo have all treated me fine and dandy where my couch is right now. I'll wait a lil' bit for it to hit X-Box instead. Besides, my computer is crap. Crap. Utter and complete crap. Let me say it one more time, ccrraapp.

Halo is a lot lot lot lot better on the xbox than on the computer.

For me, playing on a 48'' tv, w/ surround sound vs a 17 inch monitor is no question.

Was just going to mention the official GOLD STATUS of the game but I've ben beaten to it:
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...threadid=62562

Anyway, an official link:
http://www.idsoftware.com/business/p...20040714000000

EDIT: Looks like Blitz beat me to it
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...0&pagenumber=2

Hook your PC up to your TV and Home Theatre, that's what I do sometimes, 43" of Call of Duty with Bullets whistling past you at Stalingrad will fuck you up for life.

Shit yeah dude, we got Doom 3 threads up half a mile over here. It's fuckin insane. We've 3 threads just for Doom 3 in Tilted Gaming dedicated just to Doom 3, mine mentions it, and then there's one in Tilted Computers. Search people search!!! Not that hard.

Me from the other thread:
Just for the record I started this thread regarding the release date a while back.

Yes, yes you did. Yours is the first to be dedicated to this subject, no arguing that.

New video card needed.

On another note No DVD version?

Hey are any of you guys from Future Mark????
My husband is INNOVA on futuremark, I just noticed because the same pics on their DOOM 3 threads.

Cool if you are........we have a lot in common.

I know this thread is for DOOM3 on pc, but does anyone know when the release date on the x box version? I'm thinking christmas or after the first of the year.

According to ign.com, you'll be pleasantly surprised that Doom 3 should be hitting Xbox on precisely October 4, 2004. This is gonna be a pretty fucking huge fall winter for gamers, as I've said before. MGS3, MP:Echoes, Halo 2, HL2, Doom 3, we're innundated with superb games this winter.

Not to contradict bltzkriegmcanon, but Oct 4 looks *extremely* unlikely. And 2004 is now in doubt, according to id.

"We can't say, at this point, that it's going to come out this year," said Hollenshead. "There are a couple of big pieces of work that still have to be done."

Linky:
http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/14/comm...ming/index.htm

Hey, what can I say, I could be just as wrong as ign. It wouldn't be the first time. I would definitely be willing to accept wrongness in this matter since it came from the mouths of id.

radeon 7xxx hahahahaha

October is when id/Activision want it on the street but what with the Linux binaries, the Mac version and of course the X-Box version id have a LOT of work to do. Can't complain though, been waiting for Doom 3 on PC for ten years... or at least since I first finished Doom 2.

http://www.doom3.com/ has just got fully live, no more static coming soon crap.

BTW (1), in their media section they have a clip of intro music to the game. The first thing I thought when I heard it was, "SHIT! That's Tool!!!" then I remembered the rumour about Tool and Reznor teaming up for music, that rumour just got confirmed! BTW (2), Reznor's sound design is incredible, having played the Alpha and having shit scared out of me when the neo-Pinky demon burst through the pipes... God that fucked me up.

EDIT: Shizzam! Just found out that Reznor pulled out of Doom 3 in 2003... what the shit man, I hope they didn't throw his stuff out!!!

Thanks for the update on the webpage. I opened it up and started looking around, but decided to close it. I don't know much about the game, but I heard the SP is short and the MP is limited. Since as far as I know, the only thing going for it is the horror factor, I've decided to try and shield myself from any info about it and just play the SP at night and see if I can't give myself nightmares and the screams!

Reznor pulled out?!?!?! WTF?!?!?!?! :mad:

Fry's is selling pre-orders for $47.99 with free shipping!

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4035782

Long ago - in fact, he was never officially signed. He did the sound for the E3 2001 demo as a favor to the id guys. Chris Vrenna is doing the music/sound for Doom 3.

Aw goddamnit! That was like, reason #2 I was looking forward to this release. I listened to the demo of the intro music on the website and it really sounded like Tool.

Looks like they didn't team up but yeah, it's freakin' Tool baby!

Okay, so I may have been wrong about what it's gonna take to run Doom3 at it's highest mode. From no source closer than the mouth of id itself, Robert Duffy, one of the programmers at id, from his .plan file: For those who want it, a link

the latest pc gamer already said that if you have at least a 2.0 ghz and geforce 4 mx, it should run the game fairly decent without too many hiccups or other stuff.
i cant' wait for this game! only a few more days!

MUAHAHAHAHA. Ladies and gents, I bring you pics of the first review for Doom 3. Courtesy of bittorrent and PC Gamer Magazine. Proceeds from one page to the next. My suggestion is that you save these pictures and zoom in. Warning Spoilers ahead! Not 56k friendly!


http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/img1.jpg
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/img2.jpg
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/img3.jpg
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/img4.jpg
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/img5.jpg
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/img6.jpg

94 fuckin' percent. Not bad for something that has "slightly lower expectations than the second coming of Jesus" according to Wired Magazine.

You know what? I have yet another review. Think I'll post it.
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/doomreview-1.jpg
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/doomreview-2.jpg
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/doomreview-3.jpg
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/doomreview-4.jpg
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/doomreview-5.jpg
http://appstate.edu/~bm48531/doomreview-6.jpg

Well, 96%! A little better. I imagine IGN's review of this game will say much the same, as well as EGM's. Let's face it folks, this is the showstopper, the game that begins a new generation of greatness. According to that PC Gamer review, a PC with a fuckin' 3GHz P4/GF6800 ran it well at 1024*768 with all the shit turned up. DAAAAMN.

All I can say after that is, you're all very damn welcome.

People have been getting in trouble everywhere for posting the PC Gamer review, be careful dude!

Id Software have conducted a hardware test, here are the results:
http://www2.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjQ0

And a summary from Gamespot.com
Oh, and the game is already in New Zealand and goes on sale here on the 3rd, looks like I may be one of the first people in the world to play Doom 3!

*nevermind*

I bought PC Gamer off the newstands just for that review :)

Am I the only person on this planet not looking forward or even getting a bit excited about this game? Maybe its because my PC cant run it :), maybe because of the hype, who knows.

Yeah man, you might want to see a Psychiatrist about that. ;)

Man if there were ever an argument to "go AMD" this was it: From HardOcp: The underlined part is really what hurts most. The rest is just concillatory.

http://www.ironnerd.com/temp/

hrmmm looks like some already have it! hehe

hey guys, just thought id send ya some love with some official doom 3 screenshot via prerelease...

Heres the thread... http://boards.ign.com/Doom_3/b5646/63929546/p1

AND HERES THE SCREENIES! WEWT! http://photobucket.com/albums/v373/supervillainx/

Note too guys, those are all on the lowest settings.

doh! ya beat me to it!

New Video Dudes:
http://www.filerush.com/download.php...nloadfinal.mov

I play this game on Monday, and am gonna jizz for weeks.

DOOM 3 early release?! Shots inside
 

I saw this on Fatwallet. Some guy who claims to work at best buy said that their manager got the Go Ahead from Activision to release the game early.

He posted these links to images.

http://home.comcast.net/~finalnight/d1.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~finalnight/d2.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~finalnight/d3.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~finalnight/d4.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~finalnight/d5.JPG

Fatwallet has removed the post I think because they have been in trouble with best buy before for posting their ads early. Is it real?! whos checking best buy tomorrow!!

and o yeah i remember someone else on the thread saying that they called their manager friend at best buy and said that its true.

he posted also on anandtech
http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...&enterthread=y

More here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robbiek...d/midget_porn/

But this really does belong in the Doom 3 thread:
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...0&pagenumber=1

Higher spec screenies:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robbiek...d/midget_porn/

holy shet, here also
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.ph...ic=197042&st=0

err... mod move or delete this please

Looks like BestBuy broke street day, there'll be hell to pay!

A funny flash film made with the help of Fanta regarding the "OMG! Doom 3 IS T3H OUTZORZ!" buzz...
http://www.fanta.dk/news.asp?nid=1CF...7-AB147CAB97A4

Man, this is a retailing debacle if I've ever seen one. Breaking street date, who the fuck does Best Buy think it is?

EDIT: Photobucket sux.

Why is it that all the screenshots are never anti-aliased. And re: Reznor - WTF?!

omg i can't wait!!!! =P

Well, the HardOCP article discusses the issue of AA very closely, and notes that, in most areas of the game, AA is unnecessary, as it brings little enhancement of visual effects to the game. Most surfaces are rendered so damn well that AA is useless, or since a good portion of the game (at least what they played) is in the dark, or around dark areas.
From hardOCP: Hope that answered your question. The real issue here is that 1) there not a machine that can really play this game at "Ultra Quality" settings, and 2) there's not really a noticeable difference when you do have it turned on. Not unless you've got that almost non-existant Tumwater-based system, what with 2 PCI-X16 slots for VGA, running 2 3.6+ Intel Xeons, and 2 fucking Geforce 6800 Ultra PEs OC'ed. And that requires some serious, serious cash. And some really good (read: water-based, or Prometia-based) cooling. Can't forget the RAM either, if you're gonna run Doom 3 at what's called "Ultra Quality" with some serious AA, then you probably need some DDR2-500 or DDR2-667. I don't even think those modules are available either. You might also want a RAID setup with a pair of 74 GB Raptors. In other words, AA at a high-ass resolution, where you're trying to run the game at their best framerates (consistent 60 FPS), then it's gonna be just about impossible (unless you have about $3,000 to flush :)).

*tears of joy"

Not really adding to the discussion, this picture just made me giggle when I saw it.

http://www.users.qwest.net/~amerrill/nirv_doom3.jpg

Haha, that's rich. I like how Best Buy had the grapes to break steet date. That makes that company look 1) incredibly egotistical and throwing their weight around just trying to look bigger by making a company who everyone respects look stupid by shitting all over their street date and saying "we can damn well put this game on the shelves waaaay before anyone else and generate shittons of sales" or 2) really stupid. I hope Activision goes apeshit on BB for this atrocity. Not that I would complain about getting to play Doom 3 a full weekend before the rest of the world gets their first stab at it, right Mr. Deflok ;)?

Just installing it now bltz.

feckers

Was it worth waiting 8 years? Fuck. Yes.

There's sooo much depth! Just the beginning when you're on noobie duty you can listen to people's conversations or just walk on by. And when all hell starts to break loose (after you take a quick walk on the amazingly rendered Martian surface) the voices and communications are incredible. I could tell you all how great the graphics are but you already know that.

I'll just say that on my rig:
Pentium 4 2.4Ghz
1GB DDR @ 333Mhz
GeForce FX 5900 128MB Ultra
SoundBlaster Audigy

My framerate is constantly at around 40, it's only dipped twice when there have been several Imps on screen at once shoots balls of fire at me.

This game is absolutely incredible, I love it!

(and yep guys there are a few Original DOOM homages, lot of familiar level design and even a coin-op game with the Original Doom-Guy face...)

BTW DOOM 3 CO-OP on PC!!!!
http://www.harvsnews.com/doom3mods/

Looks like a new mod, will have to wait and see (the vids have some minor spoilers).

Man, this game rocks, def leaps and bounds past what we are used to playing. After this it makes all other games feel 2D.!

It's hard as hell, too. I put it on normal mode and there are AI zombies with guns hunting your ass down.. and they're good shots.

I ended up dying before I made it back to where I was supposed to go. It is VERY dark, though.. almost too dark. It's hard to shoot stuff you can't see :\

I'll try the gamma adjustment that was given in the other Doom 3 thread.

Actually, Id said that the release date is Aug 3, but if retailers want to release it earlier, it's up to them.

They don't care if it's released a few days earlier.

I'm playing it now, after acquring it through, shall we say, other means, and it's some good shit. Hard, too. Don't turn up the gamma though, Stompy! You'll ruin the "OMG it's so dark" atmosphere.

Is it supposed to be that dark to the point where you can't really see what you're shooting?

It just seems that switching to the flashlight to see what's comin after you and quickly back to your gun is kinda tedious. It's understandable though, as it gives it a nice terrifying element. The thing is, it's only zombies right now, so you can kinda flip back and forth without much trouble. I don't think later levels will be as forgiving, however, when you have some beast that's 10x your size pouncing on you in pitch black. You'd be dead before you know it!

*just let out a squeal of excitement*

Ok.. I'm gonna go pick up a radeon 9800, then I'm gonna rock the doomage tomorrow.

Make sure it's a Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB 256-bit!

-Lasereth

darn it I should of pre-order this!

I'm picking up my pre-order today at 7pm from EB Games.

Can't wait!!

Yeah, I wanna know how your perfomance on the game goes Krycheck. With your specs, you should be able to run it well on ultra quality, with AA on, and all that good shit. HardOCP didn't go into any real detail about what an X800 could do with the game, so it should be interesting.

My system:
2.4B 533 FSB
786MB PC 2100
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
ASUS P4S8X

I have it on Medium Quality, 800*600, and there are portions where it definitely drops below 30 FPS. Don't worry Halx, if your system (other than video card) is less than 18 months old, it'll handle this game like a beast. The 9800 Pro that Las was referring to will definitely increase gaming performance at least 50-100% over the 9700 Pro, so you should be good to go at an either higher IQ, or higher resolution. Funny thing is, the game somehow "looks" like it's running at a higher resolution than it really is. So, 800*600 "really" looks like 1024*768 and so on. No matter what resolution, the game is fucking beautiful. In a scary kinda way.

Ok.. Radeon 9800 Pro. Check!

Doom 3? ... Pending

More shots, but from my machine:

http://krycheck.iceware.net/images/doomshot1.jpg

http://krycheck.iceware.net/images/doomshot2.jpg

Great game so far. Slow start but that was expected.

/me goes play some more

What level of detail are you playing at? Looks pretty good.

I hate to say it, but it looks just about that good on just about any setting. The real difference is AA, and due to Krycheck's setup (check me here), an AMD FX-53 coupled with a Radeon X800 Pro, he can actually pull this shit off. High AA, that's what we're talking about here. I'd say High Quality at least.

I'm kindof dissapointed about how the soldier looks. Blocky I'd say.
I'll wait a little longer before I upgrade then. Currently on a 1.6Ghz with 5700 ultra and a Gig of RAM.

This game is crazy.

The first few levels are fucking scary as hell. Tis midnight... and it is a very very dark game. You HAVE to run around with your flashlight and when you see an enemy switch to your gun ASAP!! And then shoot into the dark and hope you are hitting them! lol

Awsome game.

I dont want to go to sleep... they will get me...

Yea I just got my first bit of playtime on it as well, I am playing at low settings, at 1280x1024, and I can't really notice a lag, plus it looks good enough to quench my gaming thirst. The playing in the dark does make it kinda annoying switching back and forth, but there were at least 2 spots where I put up my light and there were 2 guys there pouncing on me, and I had to switch back real quick to smoke them. Needless to say this game has made me jump, and that's a hard thing to do for a game.

I'm running.. p4 2.53 / 512 meg ram / WinXP (which I installed only for this game.. so it's pretty clean) / nvidia gforce 4 mx

and DAMN.. did it drag if I had anything cool like high resolution/detail or any of the advanded features. I think it's my video card, and I plan on remedying that soon.

Still, the game was good. Sometimes the darkness got annoying, but I enjoyed it.. I'll be back to it tomorrow.. for now.. sleep (and then work :( ).

My ti4200 can run at high quality pretty well at 800x600 cant really tell a difference between medium at that resolution though.

This is a clear-cut case where I can say, with no ego, that your video card is definitely your bottleneck here. Drop that crap, go get an Sapphire ATI 9800 Pro from Newegg for about 200 bucks, and play merrily.

I'm not one to try and control another person, but maybe you should try it out on 1024*768 running at a higher detail level. You'll probably get just as good framerate and the game may look better.

Meh. I've never been a fan of the Doom games, I never found them entertaining. I did like Heretic, and Wolfenstein 3D, though.

I'll just probably pick it up for the Xbox, so I can play the Xbox-exclusive co-operative online mode with my friends via Xbox Live.

I was kinda disappointed when I heard only 4 players (maybe that's changed, but doubtful) can play online (in deathmatches).

I believe that count is up to 16 now.

Alpha Labs Sector 1
 

(warning: possible spoiler ahead)

I keep getting mauled by a pair of revenant/imp type things in Alpha Labs Sector 1. In the room beyond the reactor thing where they convert the ferrous oxide to useful materials (you hear a lecture as you walk past). Anyone else have trouble there? Grenades a solution here?

I say, lure them into the light, strafe like a bitch. That's my strategy. It works well for Lost Souls, you get them into an area where they can't really get behind you. If you're out in the open, you'll get slaughtered.

It's at high detail and 1280x1024. I'm gonna try ultra high and a lower res. Although im playing on a lcd monitor which is native at the higher res.


I'll try to take the same picture at different detail levels so we can see the difference.

I'm also playing it on a XP 2500+ / Ati 9600XT system and we can take a look at the performance of that as well.