Doom 3 Reaches Gold Master, Due August 5th

Rogerpq3 writes "Yes, this is the official word that [long-awaited PC FPS] DOOM 3 has been code released and has been approved for manufacturing! According to the .plan file of id CEO Todd Hollenshead: 'We literally just hung up with Activision and have confirmed that our latest release candidate has been mutually approved and is finally GOLD. So, the next question is release dates. Retailers in the States will be allowed to pick up games starting at 12:01 AM on August 3rd. The official street date is actually August 5th in the U.S.A., but some of your favorite stores will probably have it early for those of you who have to have it first. Check with your local retailer for that information... [Internationally] the UK will probably get it first, on or about August 6th. Everywhere else will probably be Friday, August 13th (cue Twilight Zone Theme) or close to that date, with just a few exceptions (e.g. Russia and Poland)'."

Awesome!

[th1ckasabr1ck]

There's also a review in the new PC Gamer, and from what they write the game is everything we expected and then some. Here are a few exerpts:

"...we're here to tell you that Doom 3 is not only done, it's absolutely mind-blowing."

"You are basically subjecting yourself to a 20 hour cardiac episode."

"...you will never experience a dull moment. Or even a less than mesmerizing one."

"Doom 3 is a masterpiece of art form - staying true to the frantic legacy of the Doom series, while ambitiously reaching new heights and bashing down the doors of the next generation of PC shooter. The bar is raised."

I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

Minimum Specs

[johnhennessy]

Does anyone know what the minimum specs are ?

If I need hardware, I need to be ordering it now !!

Locked and Loaded

[z0ink]

yes, but will it run on linux .....

YES! A hit title that runs on linux right out of the box. Thank you ID Software!

amazon

[tuanjim_2001]

I know that amazon.com had it for pre order a few days ago. For those who give a crap: here [amazon.com] it is.

Requirements

[th1ckasabr1ck]

System Requirements - Recommended by PC Gamer:

2GHz CPU 512 MB Ram Radeon 9800 5-Channel Audio

Supported Graphics Cards: Ge-Force 4 MX Ge-Force 3 Ge-Force 4 Titanium Ge-Force FX (and higher) ATI 8500, 9000 (and higher)

Re:Minimum Specs

[peeon]

Check this thread. http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=8 c5efc6f1e66ec445b34ff4cb4010bac&t=31956 1. 6800 is a tad faster than X800 cards. Both run it in full glory 2. The game has four render paths: NV10, NV20, R200, and ARB2. All paths look awesome, even down to a g4mx, but the ARB2 path is the "full package," and is used for the R300+ and Geforce FX+ cards. It does all it's fancy **** in one pass. 3. PCI Express enhances NOTHING. 4. The difference between a 128mb and 256mb card is that the former uses compressed textures whereas the latter only compresses diffuse and specualr maps. In another words, no big deal. However, a 500mb card is needed to run the game in Ultra Quality mode. 5. 512MB is the ideal system total memory. 384 is required, 1GB is nice, but the difference is negligible. 6. Nothing special is included for a 64-bit OS. 7. A 1.5 Ghz processor is the least recommended, but a 2Ghz and above will help since... 8...The sound engine is entirely CPU dependant. Therefore a crappy soundcard works flawlessly. Not to worry, the enfine only uses a "small percentage of cycles, much less than if the engine relied on a soundcard. 9. The only reccommendation regarding faster framerates is to disable to "advanced special effects option." In other words, upgrade if you have problems. 10. They tie it up by providing three levels of "Doom lovin' PC's" Low-End: 1.5GhzP4 or equivalent 512MB Ram Geforce4 Ti 4800 or Radeon 9500 Mid-Range: 2.4GhzP4 or equivalent 1GB RAM Geforce5950 or Radeon 9800 Pro/XT High_End: Aka Hardware that doesn't exist, but best guess anyway 3.4GhzP4 or AMD equivalent 2GB RAM GeForce 6800 Ultra or Radeon X800 XT PE.

Re:Awesome!

[milamber.net]

Here's some more info [gametab.com] on the review:

And the cover [comcast.net] of the issue.

Simple Google Search

[ZeroGee]

Google for "Doom 3 minimum hardware specs", and you'll see on the first response:

From September's PC Gamer issue, they have the system requirements as:

PC Gamer recommends:
2Ghz CPU
512 MB ram
Radeon 9800
5-channel audio

Lowest supported GPU is a Geforce 4 MX (worse than Geforce 3)
Supported cards:
GF 4 MX
GF 3
GF 4
GF FX (and higher)
ATI 8500s, 9000s and higher

The graphics card is what's going to kill me...

Re:Minimum Specs

[viking099]

Here's what I found:
Low-End:
1.5GhzP4 or equivalent
512MB Ram
Geforce4 Ti 4800 or Radeon 9500

Mid-Range:
2.4GhzP4 or equivalent
1GB RAM
Geforce5950 or Radeon 9800 Pro/XT

High_End: Aka Hardware that doesn't exist, but best guess anyway
3.4GhzP4 or AMD equivalent
2GB RAM
GeForce 6800 Ultra or Radeon X800 XT PE

Re:Hardware Requirements?

[hoferbr]

from nvnews [nvnews.net]

Yeah, I was lucky enough to receive my copy today, so I'll share it with you guys.

1. 6800 is a tad faster than X800 cards. Both run it in full glory

2. The game has four render paths: NV10, NV20, R200, and ARB2. All paths look awesome, even down to a g4mx, but the ARB2 path is the full package, and is used for the R300+ and Geforce FX+ cards. It does all it's fancy **** in one pass.

3. PCI Express enhances NOTHING.

4. The difference between a 128mb and 256mb card is that the former uses compressed textures whereas the latter only compresses diffuse and specualr maps. In another words, no big deal. However, a 500mb card is needed to run the game in Ultra Quality mode.

5. 512MB is the ideal system total memory. 384 is required, 1GB is nice, but the difference is negligible.

6. Nothing special is included for a 64-bit OS.

7. A 1.5 Ghz processor is the least recommended, but a 2Ghz and above will help since...

8...The sound engine is entirely CPU dependant. Therefore a crappy soundcard works flawlessly. Not to worry, the enfine only uses a small percentage of cycles, much less than if the engine relied on a soundcard.

9. The only reccommendation regarding faster framerates is to disable to advanced special effects option. In other words, upgrade if you have problems.

10. They tie it up by providing three levels of Doom lovin' PC's

Low-End:
1.5GhzP4 or equivalent
512MB Ram
Geforce4 Ti 4800 or Radeon 9500

Mid-Range:
2.4GhzP4 or equivalent
1GB RAM
Geforce5950 or Radeon 9800 Pro/XT

High_End: Aka Hardware that doesn't exist, but best guess anyway
3.4GhzP4 or AMD equivalent
2GB RAM
GeForce 6800 Ultra or Radeon X800 XT PE.

In conclusion, the game will run well on a variety of hardware, and Rob Duffy, the lead programmer, says that the game looks real good no matter what, and that it will continue to look better as hardware improves. Like all previous id engines, we'll be playing games based on D3 for another five years down the road.

Enjoy everybody!

Re:Editor included?

[KDR_11k]

All the editors (except maybe Photoshop and Maya) are included in the game itself. You probably can switch between the map editor and game on the fly, changing the level, pressing a key and seeing it all in action. Not the first game ever to do this (e.g. the Battlezone action RTS had a similar stryle of level editing), but a welcome addition, nonetheless.

System Reqs

[turminalillness]

Here's a system req discussion at Planet Doom. [forumplanet.com]

Re:Locked and Loaded

[zaffir]

Quake 3 for linux was available on the same day the Windows version was, i believe. Or shortly thereafter. Carmack has always been a big open source fan.

Re:Awesome!

[SilentChris]

Just an FYI.. I used to write for a variety of gaming rags. PC Gamer is known (hell, famous) for reviewing beta software as "official". Considering the game just went gold, I can't imagine they have anything better than a release candidate.

A lot can change between RC and gold. Stability, performance. Things can actually get worse. I would take their reviews with a heavy dose of Sodium Chloride.

Re:Awesome!

[milamber.net]

Ok site [gametab.com] seems to be dead. Here's what it said:

Doom 3 fast approaches, and the newest edition of PC Gamer has the "world exclusive" review. How did it score? It scored a 94%. Check out its highs, lows and bottom line:

Highs: Extraordinary graphics and sound; incredible tension, atmosphere, and mayhem.

Lows: Some stabs at humor fall a bit flat.

Bottom Line: Just as we'd hoped, it's a non-stop ride of tension, carnage and terror. A new classic.

Here's the cover [comcast.net].

Check out this HardForum Thread [hardforum.com] for more information.

UPDATE: Here's some more info I've found over at NVNews [nvnews.net]:The game will apparantly have a DVD version. There are multiple covers for the PC Gamer mag and the game boxes are different than the pre-order boxes.

August 4th, in stores...August 4th in stores!!!

Re:Awesome!

[Anonymous Coward]

I stopped reading PC Gamer a long time ago because they frequently overrated average games and you could tell they were hyping games up because they got an exclusive on it.

I vividly recall the appalling Quake 2 review that they did. They made all these claims of amazing AI that hunted you down (the AI was nothing special) and that you could shoot off body parts (one enemy had a special "whoops, my head came off!" animation regardless of where he was shot). Some of the things they say are just flat out lies sometimes.

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[ScottGant]

Lets take a look at some dates...to place things in perspecive:

1993: Doom released
1994: Doom II released

1996: Duke Nukem 3D 1.0 came out using modified Doom II engine

1996: Quake released
1997: Quake II released
1999: Quake III released
2004: Doom III released.

So, Id's had 6 major releases in the past 11 years and in the time that 3D Realms has been working on ONE Duke Nukem Forever, Id has had 4 whole games come out.

Let's face it folks, Duke Nukem Forever isn't coming out. 8 years for one game?

Re:Locked and Loaded

[Dave2 Wickham]

Feb 29 22:51:12 <TTimo> heh .. nah I just said it was unlikely the linux binaries would be on the windows CD

As he specifically specified win32 when he mentioned the "gone gold" message (in the same chan), I'd assume it's Windows-only for the moment...

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[DaHat]

True... but part of the issue with many is the length of time Duke has been 'in development' I haven't been able to find an exact date, but Duke was announced in or before 99 and was originally being built on the Quake 2 engine, they gave up on that engine and moved to the Unreal engine. In that time, the Unreal engine has gone through several impressive revisions and we have seen plenty of shipped games using the Quake 2 and Quake 3 engine.

Re:Minimum Linux-compatible video card?

[kennedy]

If you're poor, get a Radeon 9600xt. If you've got the mad cash to blow, go for the 9800xt or 9800pro. I've got no idea the status of support for the x800, but you never know.

Doom3 Review out

[obsid1an]

Check it out at nV News. [nvnews.net]

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[LookSharp]

Exactly! The Radeon 9600SE cards or GeForceFX 5200 cards that run about $50 are more than sufficient to run DOOM3 at medium quality, according to previous remarks by developers and the review posted here. [nvnews.net]

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[AresTheImpaler]

you forgot Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[ischorr]

1996: Duke Nukem 3D 1.0 came out using modified Doom II engine

No, Duke3d used a engine developed completely independent of Id, called "BUILD". It was much closer in capabilities to the Quake engine than to the Doom II engine, though many (most?) people considered it inferior to the Quake engine.

See Planet Duke [planetduke.com] for details.

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[thrash242]

Do you have Far Cry? If not, I'd recommend it, becuase a) it's awesome and b) it's a good way to gauge whether your system will be good for Doom 3, since they're supposed to be similar in graphics and the like. Ditto for Half Life 2.

I can run Far Cry with pretty much maxed out graphics at 1280X1024 minus antialiasing and anisotropic filtering, so I should be ok for Doom3. I have an AMD Athlon 3000+ XP, a ATI Radeon 9800 XT and 1G RAM, in case you're wondering.

Re:Locked and Loaded

[foidulus]

Why can't Jobs just give ID a couple of G5s to guaranty that an OS X version is released simultaneously?
Probably because he doesn't have any to spare. I oredered one 2 weeks ago(dual 1.8, 9600 XT card just to play doom) and it hasn't even shipped yet, lots of others are having problems too, kinda makes me pissed at Apple....

Re:Editor included?

[88NoSoup4U88]

The current )third party editors (such as GTKRadiant) will still make a release for Doom 3, despite the in-game editor.

Giving id's previous record of releasing tools which all lacked options/user friendlyness, i think this is a good move (Standard Radiant is pure hell to work with, compared to, for example, GTKRadiant.)

And I'm not too sure bout this, but I also think mappers don't have to compile their .map to .bsp , anymore ( a -very- timeconsuming process) as the data in the .map file will be generated in real time in the D3 engine : Someone correct me on this if I'm wrong.

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[thrash242]

Duke Nukem 3D did not have a modified Doom Engine. It was built on Ken Silverman's Build engine along with Shadow Warrior and Blood.

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[AceMarkE]

Bit of a correction... Duke3D used the Build Engine, created by a guy named Ken Silverman, who was also responsible for an _old_ shareware game by the name of Ken's Labyrinth. Info on the history of the engine is available from Ken himself here [advsys.net]. He's also got several other useful utilities, such as an excellent PNG optimizer.

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[Mordaximus]

"So, Id's had 6 major releases in the past 11 years and in the time that 3D Realms has been working on ONE Duke Nukem Forever, Id has had 4 whole games come out."

Well let's see here... There have been around 13 releases of various Duke Nukem games since 1991 right up until 2004, not counting DNF.

Not to mention all of the other games that 3D Realms put out (Shadow Warrior, Wolfenstein 3D, Raptor, BioMenace, Max Payne 1/2 etc.). So no, they've been working on far more than just Duke Nukem Forever for 8 years.

Oh, I'm not sure where you got the modified DOOM II engine idea, pays to do a little trivial research though...

" When DOOM was released, Ken decided to have another go at a 3D engine. From this came BUILD, Ken's ever-evolving engine used in many, many games since, including Blood, Redneck Rampage, Shadow Warrior, and of course, Duke Nukem 3D. Not true "3D" but actually "2 1/2"D, the BUILD engine was one of the two most popular engines of its time, holding ground with Quake, id software's masterpiece."

Nice Troll, though.

Re:Might be better with Nvidia

[LookSharp]

That was what Carmack was saying back during the GeForce 4 TI vs Radeon 8500 days.

The GeForce 6 6800 Ultra GT vs Radeon X800 XT PE (wish I were making the product names up) seem to have similar performance on the ARB2 render path.

Something for FREE

[superpulpsicle]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/doom3/index.html

At least you can check out these live video feeds for free.

Re:What about SMP?

[veddermatic]

Quake 3 was SMP aware / enabled.

I don't see why DOOM3 would be different.

Re:Hey stupid

[guido1]

Parent has such an ironic subject line...

From TFA [shacknews.com],
"Internationally, the game will take a few more days to make it to the store shelves. The UK will probably get it first, on or about August 6th. Everywhere else will probably be Friday, August 13th (que Twilight Zone Theme) or close to that date, with just a few exceptions (e.g. Russia and Poland). This isn't because we don't have love for you folks outside the U.S., but the localization and manufacturing process takes a bit longer outside the U.S. where we will have JVC run 24/7 to get the units built. I guess the European manufacturers prefer to give their employees nights and weekends off. Go figure! "

Re:What about SMP?

[mbbac]

Quake 3 for the Macintosh supports SMP.

Re:What about SMP?

[brer_rabbit]

yup, Quake3 was SMP capable. But some Quake3 engine games, notably Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Enemy Territory, don't support SMP.

Whether Doom3 will be SMP capable is another question.

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[Sunspire]

Shadow Warrior: I'll give you this one, 3DRealms made it.
Wolfenstein 3D: WOLFENSTEIN! Are you nuts, this is the game that put iD on the map before 3D Realms was a speckle in Miller's eye. Maybe they own the rights now or something, but credit where credit is due.
Max Payne 1/2: Developed by the boys at Remedy way over in Finland. Can't really use this as a excuse for DNF never getting done.

I really don't see why people are waiting for DNF in the first place. Sure, Duke3D was sort of fun in it's time, I used to play it online a lot. But what makes people believe the Duke team has any sort of idea of how to create a modern game, why get hung up on Duke3D and not some other game? Except for their one single hit Duke3D the team's track record is frankly crap. Where the hell did all the expectations come from? Duke as a franchise is entirely mediocre if you take away the hype.

Re:What about Max Payne?

[Anonymous Coward]

It was Remedy Entertainment that created the Max Paynes. (Remedy is those former Future Crew guys who didn't go to FutureMark/MadOnion nor Bitboys.)

But I think 3D Realms was somehow involved, as a distributor maybe? Or was it Gathering Of Developers... can't remember offhand.

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[glassjaw rocks]

$100 - 1 Antec 550W True Power Supply

I assume you're going for the best of everything, so why this PSU?

Enter the PC Power & Cooling TurboCool 510 [pcpowerandcooling.com]

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[lullabud]

I'm not sure what the noted review was supposed to show, but I see nothing about Doom3 running well on average $50+ hardware.

Re:What about SMP?

[Rolphus]

Doom 3 does to an extent. One of the various quotes I've seen bandied about on the web is that the sound engine (which is entirely software-based) runs in a separate thread... The specific quote I've seen was related to the difficulty id had with thread-synchronisation for the sound and main threads.

So, yeah, it supports SMP. But as the sound engine takes a few percent of the overall CPU time, it's not going to do a whole lot.

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[The_Real_GooberMan]

Build/Doom engines are raycasters No they're not. Wolfenstein 3D was a raycaster. Doom used a two dimensional BSP tree. Build from memory was more akin to a portal renderer than a raycaster. If Duke3D's look mode used raycasting, it wouldn't have looked as bad as it did. Raycasting sends a ray out for each pixel on your screen to see what it should draw there. Wolf3D was as quick as it was as it only did it for the horizontal pixels and consequently only had to perform ray casts about 300 times instead of 300x150 times (I think that was the rough render area of Wolf3D). Duke3D used a method known as shearing for its look mode, which basically stretches the screen vertically.

Re:Ah... I can't... oh no...

[suraklin]

uhhhh....I played that alpha also with an Athlon XP 1800 and an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro with 128 MB of RAM. It was nowhere near playable. Best I ever got was 20 FPS until more than one MOb got on screen then it dropped to 1 FPS. So it seems really odd that you found it playable on a celeron 400 and a Geforce 2 MX