[709]

Today's press release from id:

THE WORLDWIDE DOOM 3 INVASION BEGINS THE WEEK OF AUGUST 2 Mesquite, TX - July 14, 2004 - See you in Hell! id SoftwareTM and Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) confirmed today that id Software's highly anticipated DOOM 3 for the PC has entered manufacturing and will begin shipping to retail stores worldwide the week of August 2. A sci-fi horror masterpiece, DOOM 3's dramatic storyline, pulse-pounding action, incredible graphics, and ground-breaking technology combine to draw you into the most frightening and gripping first-person gaming experience ever created. "DOOM 3 is done! And you're going to have it in your hands in a matter of days," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "DOOM 3 is a videogame experience unlike any before it. From the cinema quality visuals and the incredible 5.1 sound, to the terrifying atmosphere and hyper-realistic environments, the whole game screams 'interactive horror film!' Add in the most ferocious line up of demons Hell has ever brought to bear, and you have an experience so intense that you'll need to keep your heart medicine handy." Built on id's revolutionary new 3D technology, DOOM 3 is a terrifying battle with the forces of Hell. In DOOM 3, your recent assignment to the Union Aerospace Corporation's Mars research facility seemed simple enough, until their discoveries and experiments unlocked the gates to Hell itself. Now, in an epic clash against pure evil you must fight to understand who is with you, who is against you, and what must be done to stop this nightmare from reaching earth. For more information, fans can visit www.doom3.com. DOOM 3 has been rated "M" for Mature by the ESRB.

That sucks big hairy scrota.

Does anyone have an idea if this 'Activision' has a history of porting games to the Mac platform? Am I going to have to buy my first ever goddamned PC just to play DOOM 3? Damn.

[Ebby]

Wasn't Doom 3 coming out for Mac and PC at roughly the same time? I thought I heard it somewhere.

http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/s...ArticleID=9819 No definite date, but it should be coming out soon.

[sCreeD]

CALM DOWN!!!

John Carmack was a fan of the NeXT platform and is virtually the last man standing in the PC game industry to back OpenGL. So that's two reasons right there. Add to that the fact that Carmack made a keynote appearance at the dawn of OS X, I think it's safe to say that Doom 3 will arrive... eventually.

Here endeth the history lesson...

Screed

[709]

Originally Posted by sCreeD CALM DOWN!!!

Hey there now...

I'm not a 'hardcore gamer' by a longshot. I've played only 3 game series that were worthwhile (imo) since friggin OS8: Marathon, Myst and DOOM. I was *really* excited about this game coming out, especially since it was rumoured that the Mac and PC versions were coming out simultaneously.

I'm not whining, I'm lamenting. Have pity on me.

[sCreeD]

There's a 94% chance that Doom 3 will ship for the Mac and soon.

Pity me more... because I await Half-Life 2 which has about a 0.7% chance of coming to the Mac. Plus given its specs, I'll have to spend some major pence for a PC to run it. HL2 will probably be the only game I'll build it for.

...At least I'll be viewing it with an Cinema Display (!SHIPPED!)

Screed

[onlyafterdark]

Here it is guys. DOOM 3 is coming to mac. http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/story.php?ID=9853

Now we just need HL2.

[Akumulator]

Originally Posted by onlyafterdark Now we just need HL2.

Don't count on it. I was actually considering buying a PC just for that game. I think it was a temporary bout of retardation. I'm not buying no friggin' PC, and pissing my time away playing games is the last thing I need to do.

[onlyafterdark]

Totally agree with you but I just cant help pissing my time away. At least you came to your senses before you made a purchase you would regret.

[propellerhead]

Originally Posted by 709 Does anyone have an idea if this 'Activision' has a history of porting games to the Mac platform?

Activision is one of the oldest electronic entertainment companies still operating.

Through Aspyr it brought us the likes of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, etc.

If demand is high enough, we'll probably get it.

[chucker]

Doom 3 will *absolutely* come for Mac OS X. John Carmack, as has been pointed out, is a big fan of the NeXTSTEP architecture. The first public Doom III presentation ever was on a Mac. id Software games (besides the Commander Keen series, I suppose) have almost always been ported to the Mac, and they always try and make their stuff portable.

[Mass Appeal]

It will be released for the X-Box shortly after the PC version.

X-Box = $150
PC GamingRig = $1500

[Luca]

Originally Posted by Mass Appeal It will be released for the X-Box shortly after the PC version. X-Box = $150 PC GamingRig = $1500

Or $500 for a PC that is good enough. Not a high-end one, but it'll run it decently at 1024x768 (I'm thinking Athlon 2000+ or 2400+, Radeon 9600 Pro, etc). A TV can only do really low, fuzzy resolutions, and you are forced to use a controller.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Yea, these first person shooter type games suck on the XBox controller. I got Unreal Championship, and I just can't seem to work with the controller. For FPS games, give me a mouse & keyboard anyday.

[Wrao]

My brother is playing doom3 right now


(on a $1200 gaming PC*, all the settings are on Low and it's still a little choppy, of course it's a 2 year old Gaming PC, but still...

*vital stats: windows XP Pro2.8 ghz P4, 1 GB DDR ram, Geforce 4600 w/ 128 Vram

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by Wrao My brother is playing doom3 right now (on a $1200 gaming PC*, all the settings are on Low and it's still a little choppy, of course it's a 2 year old Gaming PC, but still... *vital stats: windows XP Pro2.8 ghz P4, 1 GB DDR ram, Geforce 4600 w/ 128 Vram

Something must be wrong here. The official word is you can play at medium settings with a 1.5GHz chip, 384MB RAM and a 64MB GeForce 3 card. This is based on real testing at id Software with ATI and nVidia present, using the latest drivers for their cards.

If I didn't know better, I'd say it's time for your brother to do the semi-annual Windows reinstall.

[NosferaDrew]

I get my 6800GT for my Pee Cee gaming rig today, so I'll be Doomin' this weekend.
But I heard from a friend that Doom 3 won't do 1920X1200.

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by bassplayinMacFiend Something must be wrong here. The official word is you can play at medium settings with a 1.5GHz chip, 384MB RAM and a 64MB GeForce 3 card. This is based on real testing at id Software with ATI and nVidia present, using the latest drivers for their cards. If I didn't know better, I'd say it's time for your brother to do the semi-annual Windows reinstall.

I think that there are two malicious viruses on the computer right now(my older brother, who owns the computer runs a tight ship, but my younger brother who uses the computer, is a noob) That probably accounted for the main performance hit, additionally, I don't know if there might have been any background processes(like the timed virus scan) running while I was watching(briefly)

My brother said that it looked worse than it felt, like, it looked a little chunkier than how it actually played, which was pretty smooth, so I must have just got him at a bad time.

That said, the game has been scaring my little brother up something fierce.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Cool!

id makes some great shooter games. Maybe they'll bundle the Mac version with the new iMac next month! Talk about an out-the-door promo!

[Moogs]

All I can say is, that game looks truly vile. He's a very talented programmer but Carmack is one sick puppy if you ask me. Takes a bit of a warped mind to envision the things he does. Not the kind of guy I'd want to date my sister.

[spotcatbug]

Originally Posted by Moogs All I can say is, that game looks truly vile. He's a very talented programmer but Carmack is one sick puppy if you ask me.

I think the same thing. I loved Doom, but... I don't want to play Doom III. At all. I look at the awesome technical achievement and wonder why. There's got to be some other genre of game that can benefit greatly from that engine. Why does Id need to make gross-looking stuff?

[Luca]

id made one of the most widely-used first person shooter engines with Quake III. It was also a gross game, that basically assumed that humans were bags full of blood and if they were shot enough they would explode. Yeah. Gross.

But Call Of Duty, which is an *excellent* game, is based on the Quake III engine. It is as much a testament to Call Of Duty's developers as it is to id software for making such an amazingly flexible game engine that runs so fast on all hardware, Mac or PC, ATI or nVidia. Quake III dominated for a number of years, but now the Doom III engine will be taking over for a number of games. And between the popularity of the Quake III engine (which was getting old and tired in recent years) and the advent of the Doom III one, there is the Unreal 2 engine (UT2k3/2k4). But it runs slowly on Macs and seems to be completely CPU-bound, not really taking advantage of the Mac's graphics card.

I'll be trying this game out. Even if it's disgusting/vile/disturbing/whatever, I look forward to new games that use the engine. Because it really is time for Quake III to go away.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Quake III is the only thing I use my PC for. Which is why it has a good inch (2.54cm) of dust on it.

[Mass Appeal]

Originally Posted by Luca Or $500 for a PC that is good enough. Not a high-end one, but it'll run it decently at 1024x768 (I'm thinking Athlon 2000+ or 2400+, Radeon 9600 Pro, etc). A TV can only do really low, fuzzy resolutions, and you are forced to use a controller.

Video games should be played in a relaxed reclined state not hunched over a desk with your faced burried in a screen. My big screen t.v. and beanbag will do nicely.

Controllers do require some getting used to but once your in the zone they become an extention of your body (and mabye soul).

[Mass Appeal]

Originally Posted by Luca id made one of the most widely-used first person shooter engines with Quake III. It was also a gross game, that basically assumed that humans were bags full of blood and if they were shot enough they would explode. Yeah. Gross. I'll be trying this game out. Even if it's disgusting/vile/disturbing/whatever, I look forward to new games that use the engine. Because it really is time for Quake III to go away.

but humans are full of blood and gross squishy internal organs. It is this very reason why it is so much fun to shoot and stab your friends repeatedly in Soldier of Fortune at huge LAN parties.

For one of the few truley fear inspiring gaming experiences try out the Silent Hill series. Play it alone and after the sun goes down. It's best with a surround sound system so you can pick up the strange noises emanating from the bizarre creatures writhing on the ground behind you. The puzzle solving aspect can be a bit annoying but in the second installment I believe you can turn it off. I have yet to find a video game with a more disturbing collection of monsters.

[Luca]

I already have Eternal Darkness for my GameCube, and I should be getting Resident Evil soon. Yeah, I'm into scary games. Doom 3 should suit me well... well, except that blood and gore aren't necessarily my favorite things in the world.

[DMBand0026]

I just read a review of DOOM 3 in Time Magazine, and it's official, I really want this game. I'm not a gamer at all, the only games I own are Starcraft, The Sims, and the original DOOM series. But this really intrigues me. I guess my pockets will be 55 bucks lighter, hopefully sometime in the near future.

[sCreeD]

HardOCP and Anandtech (1 & 2) have posted benchmark tests.

Shorter the results: Nvidia 6800 beats ATI x800 and AMD 64 beats Intel (et al).

Screed

[Moogs]

Originally Posted by Luca id made one of the most widely-used first person shooter engines with Quake III. It was also a gross game, that basically assumed that humans were bags full of blood and if they were shot enough they would explode. Yeah. Gross. But Call Of Duty, which is an *excellent* game, is based on the Quake III engine. It is as much a testament to Call Of Duty's developers as it is to id software for making such an amazingly flexible game engine that runs so fast on all hardware...

...COD is awesome. I just received my copy yesterday. Like I said Carmack is an amazing programmer... but the ideas lurking around inside that head of his are a wee bit disturbing. Even for a violent video game.

[the_real_ffakr]

Originally Posted by Luca Or $500 for a PC that is good enough. Not a high-end one, but it'll run it decently at 1024x768 (I'm thinking Athlon 2000+ or 2400+, Radeon 9600 Pro, etc). A TV can only do really low, fuzzy resolutions, and you are forced to use a controller.

1024x768 on a lower end PC? Not with Doom 3

Doom 3 evaluates your hardware when it starts up and suggests a configuration. Both our P4 1.7GHz with ATI AIWonder 9800 Pro and my Athlon XP 2400+ with a Radeon 9800 Pro default to "Medium" quality. That turned out to be 640x480 resolution with the lighting effects turned on but Anti-aliasing disabled.

High quality appears to be 800x600 resolution with dynamic lighting turned up...
and there is an Ultimate setting with 1024x768 resolution. as far as I can tell, 1024 x 768 is the highest resolution supported by the engine right now.

(I'm thinking Athlon 2000+ or 2400+, Radeon 9600 Pro..

Doom 3 would have to be run at low resolution with a system like this. I have been running at 800x600 with the lighting, but it isn't smooth and it stutters quite a bit if more than one monster is on the screen at once. Otherwise, it's playable.. but certainly not fast. As a result, I just ordered an Athlon XP 3000+ since i've already got a pretty beefy video card.

Don't get the wrong idea about these resolutions though... Doom 3 at 800x600 with FSAA turned off looks way nicer than other games at 1280x1024.

[Xaqtly]

I have Doom 3 running at 1280x1024 on my Alienware system, P4 3.2, Radeon 9800 XT 256. The default setting when it first started up was "high quality", but I turned it up to Ultra, and it chugs along ok... about 20-30 fps on average. This is definitely a game that makes good use of the nVidia 6800, heh. Can't wait to see how it runs in OS X on a G5 with a 6800.