Doom 3 |
Doom 3 is a first-person shooter computer game developed by id Software and published by Activision. Set in 2145 in the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) research center on Mars (planet), it is a reimagining of the original Doom , with completely new graphics and game engine.
The Personal Computer version (Microsoft Windows and Linux) was released, a Mac OS X version (ported by Aspyr) and a version for Xbox (co-developed by Vicarious Visions) followed. The Xbox version is graphically similar to the original but features an additional two player co-operation mode.
An expansion, , has been released.
A Doom Doom (movie), loosely based on the franchise, was released on October 21st, 2005.
=History=
In using next generation technology. This plan revealed controversy had been brewing within id over the decision.
, one of the instigators, was fired in retaliation) the agreement to work on Doom 3 was made.
The game was in development for four years. In 2001 it was first shown to the public at MacWorld in Tokyo and was later demonstrated at E3 in 2002, where a 15 minute gameplay demo was shown in a small theater. It won five awards at E3 that year. Shortly after E3, a development version of the game leaked from ATI Technologies and quickly spread on the Internet. The game was also shown at the subsequent E3 exhibitions in 2003 and 2004, although id software s website was not updated to include the Doom 3 project until America s autumn in 2003. According to some comments by John Carmack, the development took longer than expected. Originally the game was planned for release around the same time as two other highly anticipated games, Halo 2 and Half-Life 2 , in Christmas 2003. However none of those games managed to make Christmas season.
Doom 3 achieved Development stage status on July 14, 2004, and a Mac OS X release was confirmed the next day on July 15, 2004. Doom 3 was released in the US on August 3, 2004. Additionally, a Linux version was released on October 4, 2004. Due to high demand, the game was made available at select outlets at midnight on the date of release. The game was released to the rest of the world on August 13, 2004 (except for Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, where official localisation was delayed, and the game was released on December 10, 2004).
Two days before its official release, Doom 3 was released by pirate groups onto the Internet where it became possibly the fastest spreading pirated game ever. As the game s focus is its single-player mode, the need for a valid retail serial number for online multiplayer gaming was a weak deterrent against piracy. Other factors contributing to the high demand for the pirated version were the gamers expectations for Doom 3 and delayed release outside of the US.
=Features=
According to John Carmack, the lead graphics engine developer at id, the tripod of features in Doom 3 technology are:
The key aspect of the Doom 3 graphics engine is the unified lighting and shadowing. Rather than computing or rendering lightmaps during map creation and saving that information in the map data, most light sources are computed on the fly. This allows lights to cast shadows even on non-static objects such as monsters or machinery, which was impossible with static lightmaps. A shortcoming of this approach is the engine s inability to render soft shadows and ambient lighting.
To create a more movie-like atmosphere, id interspersed the gameplay with many in-game animated sequences of monsters ambushing the player or just lurking around.
To increase the interactivity with the game-world, id designed hundreds of high-resolution animated screens for in-game computers. Rather than using a simple use key , the crosshair acts as a mouse cursor over the screens allowing the player to use a computer in the game world.
Other important features of Doom 3 engine were normal mapping and specular highlighting of textures, realistic handling of object physics, dynamic, ambient soundtrack and multi-channel sound.
=Weapons=
=Story=
Similar to the story of the original Doom , the game focuses on the marine who was transferred to Mars and sent out on a routine mission. In contrast to its earlier disdain for storytelling, this time id Software employed a professional science-fiction writer Matthew Castello to write the script and assist in story-boarding the entire game. id focused on retelling the story and creating a tense horror atmosphere. The game s events and atmosphere show a great deal of influence from George Romero s Living Dead series.
Unlike in previous id games, there are now cut scenes that give purpose and context for the player s actions. Similar to other science fiction action/horror games such as System Shock , System Shock 2 and Aliens versus Predator (computer game) , hundreds of text, voice, and video messages are scattered throughout the base. The messages are internal e-mails and audio reports sent between lab workers, administrators, maintenance staff, and security personnel at the Mars base. The messages explain the background story, show the feelings and concern of the people on the Mars base and reveal information related to plot and gameplay. Video booths and televisions give planetary news, corporate propaganda, visitor information and technical data about the base.
The story of Doom 3 surrounds the discovery of ancient ruins underneath Martian soil. These tablets record how an ancient Martian race developed a form of teleporter technology. They realized an important fact all too late, however; the route the teleporter took passed through Hell. Quickly invaded by demons, this alien race created and sacrificed themselves to a weapon known as the Soul Cube. This cube, powered by the souls of almost every being of this alien race, was used by their strongest warrior to defeat and contain the demons in Hell.
Having done so, the remainder of the alien race constructed warnings to any who visited Mars, warning them not to recreate this technology; to avoid opening Hell. They then teleported to an unknown location, fleeing Mars, although there are hints that humans may be the descendants of this race. It s stated that the demons once inhabited Earth but lost it (probably due to the martian race coming to Earth and defeating them there, or some other unknown cause) and were banished to Hell which they consider to be a prison. That shows that the demons want to reclaim Earth. The concept of the demons living on Earth could also explain the extinction of the dinosaurs.
The UAC, discovering the Soul Cube and the warnings, used them to invent the same teleporter technology. Discovering that they opened a gate to Hell, scientists instead decided to explore further (encouraged by the head scientist, Malcolm Betruger), sending teams in and even capturing living specimens from the realm. After Betruger took the Soul Cube into Hell, the Demons again invaded Mars, confident that the only key to their defeat lay safe in their hands. However one man, the marine who the player controls, proves too tough for the forces of Hell to contain, and soon learns of the Soul Cube, and the portal to Hell where it is held.
Surviving many battles, the player enters Hell, and defeats , and seal the second portal to Hell. The ending scene shows the sole surviving marine being rescued by the fleet, and Malcolm Betruger s head is briefly seen before half becoming a dragon-like demon called the Maledict.
=Atmosphere=
The most important element in the gameplay and action of Doom 3 is the atmosphere. Most of the levels are very dark, to create the feeling of helplessness and scare the player
=Hardware requirements=
For a modern game with an Unified lighting and shadowing, Doom 3 had suitably high minimum system requirements. Early during development it was widely expected that the recommended video cards would be DirectX 8 capable, such as Radeon 8500/9000 and GeForce 3 (where Doom 3 made its debut in 2001), but nearing release those cards only constituted near-minimum requirements. Early reports also indicated that there was supposed to be legacy support for the widespread DirectX 7 technology such as the Radeon 7200 and GeForce 2, but at release, the GeForce 4 MX was the only DirectX 7 chip officially supported.
It was widely reported on various review sites that a minimally recommended 1.5 GHz processor coupled with a GeForce 2 MX graphics card achieved satisfactory performance with the game (about 20 frame/s in low resolution). The Macintosh version runs satisfactorily even on a 1.25 Ghz G4 powerbook with an NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 GPU.
However, to make full use of the game engine, newer hardware is required. A high-end CPU (based on those available in 2004) coupled with the GeForce 7800 graphics card or ATI Technologies s Radeon X800 benchmark well over 70 frame/s in 1024x768 resolution (more than the built-in engine s framerate of 60 frame/s). A 6600GT however will also easily play the game on the same hardware at those speeds under the same conditions in most situations. As of 2005 the best videocard for Doom 3 is two Geforce 7800 GTX s running in SLI mode.
While the game s packaging declared that 384MB RAM was required to run the game, it was highly recommended that around 1GB RAM be present in the machine. Having 512MB RAM or lower would cause the game to freeze for lengthened periods of time when entering a new room, due to the textures being preloaded into the limited memory. This could, however, be avoided by reducing the texture size to medium, which was recommended for video cards with 128 mb of RAM in any case, and keeping the resolution at 800x600 or 640x480. It is possible, but difficult, to achieve smooth gameplay at 1024x768 with detail set to high on a machine with 512MB RAM. Alternatively, the data package containing the textures could be ZIP archiver (the file was essentially a ZIP archive with a different file ending), speeding up file access.
=Reception=
Few games have polarized gaming as much as Doom 3 has, causing the two groups reactions to the game to be wildly different.
==Critical and hardcore reception==
The most often named gameplay shortcomings of the game are:
It has been argued that many of these criticisms are based on expectations for other types of FPS games. During development, Doom 3 was often compared with the equally anticipated , which has drawn the ire of those who feel id is pandering to Half-Life 2 fans.
Some critical reviewers consider that the technological level of Doom 3 is similar to that of other games of .
==Rebuttals to critical reception==
Many gamers claim the apparent shortcomings are not shortcomings at all, but are integral to the gameplay id determined to display for Doom 3.
Since Doom 3 is a remake of the original Doom - a game which did not have high-end concepts common in today s more complex games, remaking Doom with too much complexity would remove a key component that made Doom popular in the first place.
In addition, the flashlight is a key element of Doom 3 s gameplay - the player must balance between seeing the enemy, and defeating it. In the default game, (without any modifications added) almost every monster has glowing eyes, or some aspect of bioilluminescence which offers a target for the player. Modifying the weapons to project light, results in the mystery of the unknown to be less potent and frightening. Additionally, muzzle flashes can be enabled for marginally better visibility while firing.
Another rebuttal concerns the story of Doom 3, which is done through the use of audio and video logs. Using logs like this harkens back to the age of System Shock 2 and aids the progression of the story. Interestingly, it has been commented that normally the type of gamer who has played System Shock 2 is the breed of gamer who would be expected to be critical of the comparatively simple Doom 3 .
Despite its apparent flaws , the game was still a success for id Software, with the planned total revenue estimated by .
As of of 2004.
=List of levels=
There are 27 levels in Doom 3. Most of them are quite large and require at least an hour each for a first-time player to complete.
Introduction - introduces the player to the game s controls Mars City Underground - in the Communications Building, things start to go awry. The shooting begins here. Mars City - The same level as the Introduction, but after the demon invasion. UAC Administration - the pinky demon is introduced Alpha Labs (4 sectors) - Built in 2095 and located on Site 2, Alpha is the UAC s center research lab. Sector 1 houses the EPD, and Hydrocon systems/maggots are introducedSector 2 - Trites appearSector 3 - contains a very hidden plasma gunSector 4 - Player must navigate the EFR, vagary (the first boss) appears, and there is the they took my baby sequence Energy Processing (EnPro) - The player is introduced to the Lost Soul/wraiths and must repair the reactor. Communications Transfer - introduction of cacodemons, most outdoor areas in the game, chainsaw makes it s appearance, berserk pack appears for the first time Communications - player has to make decision to send, or not send the SOS transmition Recycling (2 sectors) - Where trash is processed in the UAC. The Revenant is introduced, and the only level with toxic waste poolsSector 2 - Level is filled with toxic gas, Mancubus/cherubs are introduced Monorail - The player must take it to reach the Delta Labs. Delta Labs (4 sectors)- Sector 1 - player must turn on main reactorSector 2 South - player teleports for the first timeSector 2 North - archviles start showing up/soulcube backplot is revealedSector 3 - numerous teleporting tripsSector 4 - hellknights appear/Betruger sends you to hell Hell - The player must defeat the Guardian (Boss 2) to retrieve the Soul Cube. Delta Labs revisited - It is revealed that Sarge has become a bad guy/ first and only appearance of ticks Central Processing - Campbell dies/player must enter lab A Central Server Banks - The player fights boss #3, Sabaoth, the demon transformation of Sergeant Kelly. Site 3 - Where archaeological research is done/ the last time you see the surface of mars Caverns (2 sectors) - The player advances towards the primary excavation site, where the hell-portal is located. Sector 1 contains the old mars base, and you have many vertical decents to faceCaverns 2 - features ancient martian ruins/double vagary boss battle at end of level Primary Excavation - The player must defeat the Cyberdemon (4th and final boss) and seal the hell-portal.
=Software patent controversy=
A week before the game s release, it became known that an agreement to include Environmental Audio Extensions audio technology in Doom 3 reached by id Software and Creative Labs was heavily influenced by a software patent owned by the latter company. The patent dealt with a technique for rendering shadows called Carmack s Reverse, which was developed independently by both John Carmack and programmers at Creative Labs. id Software would have been putting themselves under legal liability if they used the technique in the finished game, so to defuse the issue, id Software agreed to license Creative Labs sound technologies in exchange for indemnification against lawsuits. [http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/32824]
=Web-integration=
Shortly following the announcement of Doom 3s development, a promotional website was released that serves as the homepage of the fictional corporation operating on Mars in the game. Until the announcement of gold status, the site served as a teaser; later a countdown to the release date was added. The website for Martian Buddy, a fictional corporation prominently featured in the game, was also revealed before the game launch.
Some other developers have also created websites for in-game companies in the past. For example, Rockstar Games created sites for most companies mentioned in commercials on the in-game radio in Grand Theft Auto (series) .
=Linux=
Doom 3 continued id s long track record of creating games that were Linux compatible. This was primarily a result of id s decision to use the with information regarding the Linux version [http://zerowing.idsoftware.com/linux/doom/].
=Development team=
Some work was done by outside specialists:
=External links=
; Guides
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