Doom 3 Demo Available 391
sanderb writes "The Doom 3 demo is out (on Windows). It does not seem to be linked on the Doom 3 site yet, but is available from e.g. 3D Gamers (includes torrent). Time to see what my FX5200 can do..." Other readers point to Fileaholic.Com and Shacknews.com.
oh the power (Score:5, Funny)
Where is the Linux version (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Where is the Linux version (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Where is the Linux version (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Where is the Linux version (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Where is the Linux version (Score:3, Interesting)
Pfft... I don't see SDL causing any massive performance hits on Neverwinter Nights. The Linux version (which is based on SDL) runs just as fast as the Windows version (which is not based on SDL, oddly.)
So what makes Doom 3 so special that a performance hit would actually take place, and do you really think id are going to use raw X calls to get the keyboard input and such?
Re:Where is the Linux version (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Where is the Linux version (Score:3, Informative)
Playing sounds is A LOT simpler than graphics. That's why the DirectX SDK is FULL of graphics examples and documentation while audio has only a few that cover nearly everything one would need to know to get sounds playing with positional effects and whatnot.
Re:Where is the Linux version (Score:3, Funny)
Re:oh the power (Score:2)
You mean (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:You mean (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:You mean (Score:5, Interesting)
a) the demo comes out
b) you upgrade
or
c) you cave in and try anyway
It isn't id's fault if people do c)
And the trend lately has been for demos to come out shortly following the full release. Fact is, people who release a demo before a game's release are doing it with the knowledge it will probably not be a full showcase and it is worth it to try and drum up business. On the other hand, if a company knows that the game is high profile and will sell, there is far more incentive to finish the full game and then do a polished demo.
Re:You mean (Score:5, Informative)
Getting off topic here but something I will ALWAYS check for first is what copy prevention methods they use. I just got burned with Sims2. It will refuse to load if you have any "CD/DVD emulation applications installed", that means CloneCD, Nero, or Roxio installed on the computer. I am not talking trying to use the virtual CD to run the game, it will refuse to run from the original CD because it detects that software. The FAQ [custhelp.com] states to unload those applications and then play the game. I have CloneCD and Nero. I could not get the game to work unless I completely uninstalled CloneCD through control panal, not just "disable" it by removing the virtual drive option. The FAQ states there is a compatibility issue between virtual cd software and Sims2 which is COMPLETE BULLSHIT and a complete f**king lie, what they really mean is there is a chance that with those programs installed, you might be able to play the game with out the CD in the drive. I now either have to install/uninstall CloneCD all the time, sit and look at a $50 disc I purchased from EA, or wait until I can get a crack for the game I already bought. I should have just waited for the crack and not even bought the game to begin with. I tried to take the game back but of course, they refused because I opened it. I am still waiting back from EA tech support for what I can do with the game I just bought. I have a feeling I will get a canned response that it conflicts with the game or some other canned response that basically says tough shit sucker, you are out $50. What that means to me is don't buy any more games from EA, just wait for them in alt.binaries.games, you'll have a better chance of them working correctly.
Defect rate (Score:4, Insightful)
I tried to take the game back but of course, they refused because I opened it.
Exchange it, and exchange the copy they give you. Repeat until the store finally runs out of copies and gives you a $50 gift card. Retailers watch products' return rates; an abnormally high rate of exchanges for a given title will raise suspicion of a real defect in the title.
workaround: (Score:4, Informative)
just create a new user account and play from there... no need to uninstall clonecd or whatnot, you just need to switch user profiles for playing...
or you can still simply download a crack
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:You mean (Score:3, Funny)
Re:You mean (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:You mean (Score:2)
Id decided to go ahead and take care of the fans who have waited years for this game and get the full thing out there as quickly as possible. The people who aren't sure if they want to buy it or not can wait, I guess.
When I put it like that it sounds like bad business.
Re:You mean (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:You mean (Score:2)
Re:You mean (Score:2)
can't say that much for other companies which pretty much just drop everything on a game once it's out of the door.
Re:You mean (Score:5, Insightful)
Now, only if they hired an extra person to work concurrently on the demo so it could've been ready in August...
Re:You mean (Score:5, Funny)
Re:You mean (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:You mean (Score:2, Insightful)
Let's see. I've got a game that millions pre-ordered years in advance. It's arguably the most anticipated computer game ever. It will sell out on the first day.
What exactly do I gain with a pre-release demo?
Seriously folks: why on earth would they demo DOOM 3 before the release? People were going to buy it anyway. Heck, a demo might well have decreased early sales as some (such as me) found it maybe the third
Re:You mean (Score:2)
Re:You mean (Score:3, Insightful)
That used to be the case. First the demo, then the game. The demo would drive sales.
But recent events have proven the Demo is either un-necessary or can even hurt sales.
If a game has such a major fan base, like the people drooling over DOOM 3, then you have their sales already without the demo. They're going to buy the game opening day whether they've played a demo or not.
Besides, nowadays there
Re:You mean (Score:5, Insightful)
As for multiplayer, I have 2 points. First: DOOM3 is primarily a SINGLE PLAYER game. They added multiplayer as an extra. If you bought it for multiplayer, you're stupid. Second point: Check out the maps. They're small, dark, and close quarters. (much like the single player game) 4 players is a good limit for the maps that shipped with the game. I know that limit is not hard coded, and player made stuff has already upped that player limit.
Re:You mean (Score:5, Funny)
1. A spacesuit with a large illuminated helmet with headcam so the aliens know where to shoot.
2. A large rifle with infinite rounds of ammunition with and grenade thrower and flame thrower, and laser pointer that shows everyone where you are. Glow sticks are optional.
3. A dodgy radio communications system that will alway pack up when you go into a washroom or are within 5 metres of an large alien with sharp teeth.
4. A state-of-the-art alien detector that tells you how far away the aliens are to the nearest nanometer, but won't tell you if they are
above or below you.
5. An android with reflexes faster than a laser-rifle, and an IQ to match your PC's clock speed, but who has decided to contemplate the meaning of life and become a buddhist monk instead.
Re:You mean (Score:5, Funny)
3. A dodgy radio communications system that will alway pack up when you go into a washroom or are within 5 metres of an large alien with sharp teeth.
Of course, every xenobiomelecular.. ologist.. person.. Knows that aliens give off radio interference that does _not_ comply with US federal regulations.
4. A state-of-the-art alien detector that tells you how far away the aliens are to the nearest nanometer, but won't tell you if they are above or below you.
Obviously designed by Microsoft. Or open source, but the open source solution is meant to mimic Microsoft's.
5. An android with reflexes faster than a laser-rifle, and an IQ to match your PC's clock speed, but who has decided to contemplate the meaning of life and become a buddhist monk instead.
The android has reached a level of existence much beoyond our own feeble contemplation; the AI programmer thus has succeeded - I for one welcome... ah nevermind.
Re:You mean (Score:3, Funny)
Or open source, but the open source solution is meant to mimic Microsoft's.
Hey, I'm writing this for free! If you want vertical as well, hire me to add it, ya cheapskate!
Getting your hopes up. (Score:5, Funny)
Please don't.
[and please don't buy an iMac for the purpose of playing Doom 3 acceptably - the 'Ultra' tacked onto the end doesn't change much].
On second thought, if you just run around the game without ever using the flashlight, you won't be able to see anything anyway, so you won't realize that you're only getting 13 frames per second!
-Bullseye
Re:Getting your hopes up. (Score:5, Informative)
So yes, a FX5200 isn't enough to play the game, but its enough to look at the graphics and walk around a bit.
Re:Getting your hopes up. (Score:5, Funny)
I forgot!
-Bullseye
Re:Getting your hopes up. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Getting your hopes up. (Score:2)
Short performance review: Pentium 4 2.8 GHz with FX 5200 does not really cut it. What is nice is that the 'heated air' effects work really nice because it's a DirectX 9.0 card (I also see no real slowdown there), but even at the lowest of all graphics configurations it's realllyyy slow. I wish I would get 13 frames when one of these goblin type creatures enters the picture, feels more like 2 frames a second then.
I always planned on upgrading the videocard after the new generation of games came
Re:Getting your hopes up. (Score:3, Informative)
Doom3 is based on OpenGL, not DirectX-Anything. Actually, all of Carmack's work is OpenGL based. Hence why Mac and Linux love his games, and there is always a linux/mac port of his games eventually
Sunny Dubey
Re:Getting your hopes up. (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, OpenGL is just for graphics rendering. The "GL" stands for Graphics Library, IIRC. The game may still use things like DirectSound, DirectSound 3D, DirectInput, and other DX odds and ends. That's why the installer requests that you have DX9.0b on your rig before running the game.
actually with a 5200 (Score:5, Informative)
And I'm talking a X2 improvement here, from ~15 to ~30 on my machine.
Try to find all the other available tips that are on every d3 forum and put them in a separate cfg file. Some of them DO work.
All in all, i found i got much more for the same money with ut2004 (2 dvds, a great editor, mapping and modeling video tutorials, mods, mods and mods) but still, d3 is a very good and very intense solo game. They did manage to keep the stress level up. Usually it really slows down after a few levels, here it keeps on being tense.
Re:actually with a 5200 (Score:2)
You need to run timedemo's to verify that unpacking actually helps.
The question is, which is faster: the files unpacked, using the OS's file system; or Doom 3 handling the unpacking of resources? My guess is id probably did a good job and had a good reason for packing the files.
Re:actually with a 5200 (Score:2)
Re:actually with a 5200 (Score:3, Informative)
Decompressing the paks gave a boost, and removing the shadows from the options>/i> helped also.
I presume that the decompression of the pak can only help for slow system, like mine which has a little slow memory and a 5000rpm hard drive. But I also presume that systems with a geforce5200 are quite low ended.
Re:actually with a 5200 (Score:2)
If you want to join mp games, you can, just put back the paks you kept in a separate folder and put elsewhere the decompressed files and folder.
Re:Getting your hopes up. (Score:5, Interesting)
I completed Doom 3 on my rather antiquated GF4 Ti4400, and have a few comments regarding this:
Re:Getting your hopes up. (Score:3, Insightful)
First, the Ti 4400 just doesn't support some of the slower stuff that the game is trying to do - you miss out on stuff like heat effects, while the FX 5200 will try to do all of that.
Second, I'm pretty sure the 4400 actually has more render pipes on it than the 5200, which means it's slightly faster overall.
Between those two effects, I wouldn't be supprised if there was a 10-15 FPS difference between th
Re:Mac version??? (Score:4, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Minimum System Requirements (Score:3, Informative)
Looks like my ATI 9200 *might* cut it
Re:I can tell you what happens: (Score:4, Funny)
Straight overhead with the birdies.
Short review of the game (Score:5, Insightful)
I played Doom 1 & 2 for many hours when they came out, both solo, co-op and deathmatch. I played Doom 3 through once and had no desire to play it again.
Once you realized that when you picked up that 'too good to be true' item, you'd be blitzed by ten monsters suddenly spawning, it got old REAL quick. And yes, it does look pretty. But so did Matrix Revolutions.
Re:Short review of the game (Score:2)
The game is great if you like fighting demons jumping out at you in a dark space station. If you'd rather play online war games, you won't like it. My only real complaint is that it was too long -- beginning and end are good. The middle was trudging through a dozen identical levels fighting the same guys over and over.
Re:Short review of the game (Score:5, Insightful)
That just isn't true, there was more variation between the different levels in the original game than in Doom 3. The dark corridors do their job, this is an incredibly scary game, but gameplay wise it becomes boring and repetitive very quickly.
Graphically it is astounding and no doubt some great games will be made with the engine. But ID is now just a tech house if the lack of gameplay innovation in Doom 3 is anything to go by. We have all laughed at Romero's failings since leaving ID but they need more really creative people like him.
Doom3 isn't a awful game, just not a trailblazer like Doom and Quake were.
Re:Short review of the game (Score:2)
Re:Short review of the game (Score:4, Insightful)
But creatively they haven't done anything interesting since Quake 1.
Re:Short review of the game (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Short review of the game (Score:5, Insightful)
Agreed 100%. At this point, I'm counting on people making their own levels [gamespy.com] to save this game. Ahh, if only I had the kind of time I used to have in High School and College.
Contrast Doom 3 levels with the level designs in Quake 2 [idsoftware.com]. I'll never forget the alien scientists doing Mengele-style operations on the Marines, while they cried out "Make it Stop!"... now THAT was FUCKING SCARY.
The dark corridors do their job, this is an incredibly scary game
Sorry, I disagree. Yes, even after setting the Brightness control to a pretty high value, I am still left asking: why the fuck did I shell out the cash for a Radeon9800 Pro, just to see a fucking 90% BLACK SCREEN?
Re:Short review of the game (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Short review of the game (Score:4, Insightful)
So in other words, you had preconceptions about this game which weren't met and therefor you set it aside. Personally, I found the element of surprise to be the main attraction. This is a horror game, along the lines of the original Resident Evil games and the like. Doom and Doom2 were full on FPS games with no 'terror moments', but Doom3 is full of them. The spawning monsters are anything but surprising; the teleportation process takes a second or 2 and by then you should be in a good vantage point to mow them down with whatever weapon you choose. The real fear comes from the creatures that are already there, lurking in shadows and not making BAMPH noises when they attack.
Try playing it when you're in the mood, and with a bit of effort put into getting absorbed in the game such as a darkened room, headphones, etc. Also, try not to make broad generalizations such as saying "when you pick up that 'too good to be true' item you get blitzed by 10 monsters". This game is anything but a one trick pony and if that is all you saw I really wonder if you spent any time at all examining the game. Doom3 is rich with backstory, interwoven into the game System Shock2 style with logfiles and email communications, not to mention the videos explaining the whole purpose of the lab installation.
Its too bad you couldn't look at the game carefully enough to notice these things. Doom3 is a work of art.
Re:Short review of the game (Score:3, Interesting)
I didn't really witness too much of that. If you want to see a real pain in the ass, try Serious Sam. A mere +2 health vial will cause about 300 monsters to spawn and attack you.
As for trying to be too much like Doom 2, I wish it actually was more like Doom 1 or 2, but instead you get closed, dark areas, overly difficult monsters, and few scenery changes.
Re:Short review of the game (Score:2)
I would have to add that Doom 3 just isn't about innovative gameplay. If that's what you want, look elsewhere (HL 2?). This game is just a straight-up FPS game, nothing more, besides the awesome engine.
Re:Short review of the game (Score:5, Interesting)
It is better for a multitude of technical reasons, but I'll first mention why Doom is worse - the whole thing is flashlights, scripts and triggers. It might have been acceptable to use triggers in the original, but not in this day and age.
Progress through the game consists of a Quick Save, edge forward with the flashlight, Quick Save, step on trigger, look for baddies, fumble for gun, shoot baddies. If successfull repeat. It's just boring and shows little imagination. The baddies simply appear for the most part from nowhere so there is no anticipation, planning or strategy - just step on the trigger and shoot. There is little AI to speak of except for zombie troopers who at least duck behind cover. It's a shame because some of the levels are fantastically designed.
Now compare to Far Cry. First off this has outdoor zones that are truly massive, leading to some interesting play (e.g. you can snipe, attack in a vehicle, from the sea etc.) It also has drivable vehicles. It has a great physics model. The baddies are also fairly intelligent (they do some dumb things but they not are not completely stupid). There is a lot of randomness to the play so the game plays differently each time. Finally, the level design is better again than Doom. It also got there first with the "evil doctor" plot.
On the bad side, Far Cry has few save points but there is a console command to work around that. It also has much higher system requirements but looks gorgeous if you turn the quality up the full way.
Neither has much in the way of network play (capture the flag etc.) but at least Far Cry sets you up with a server list making it easy to join a game.
To me Doom feels a year out of date. And for my money Doom was something of a let down. If you haven't bought it already, play the demo and make up your own minds, but my advice would be to skip it.
I never played the original Half Life, so I'm keen to see what the fuss is about for the sequel, but that would the one I am interested in a demo for.
Re:Short review of the game (Score:5, Interesting)
I've also played both, and would tend to disagree.
IMHO, Far Cry wins on one thing and one thing only; the fact that you can choose several different approaches means I'll probably play it more times.
Doom 3 wins on plot... it was much more believable than Far Cry. Sure, it got samey after a while, but unless you completed it all in one sitting, that wasn't a problem... Far Cry also starts to feel a bit repetitive towards the end.
Incidentally, I think that if you cheated to save in Far Cry you missed out... the tension that came from not having saved recently was a big part of the playing experience for me. (It got frustrating once or twice, but was well worth it in the end).
Basically, I think both are awesome :-)
This isn't gonna increase sales (Score:5, Insightful)
Those that buy the software, install and discover their computer needs $300+ worth of upgrades are stuck with the software due to the no open returns policies. Thus hype sells more games if you don't put out a preview.
Re:This isn't gonna increase sales (Score:2, Insightful)
Seriously, Doom 3 isn't that demanding, a system that cannot keep up with Doom 3 likely has problems with other current games as well.
Quote^2 (Score:4, Funny)
"Get used to disappointment."
Although I have to say that so much of the game is black, one could almost expect it to run on a RivaTNT.
at least (Score:2)
and its too bad too cause they may well take the "piracy fukced us"
i for exmaple pay for the games i pirate if they're any good (like neverwinter nights, which i played all the way through before i ever bought it and which subsequently
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Pretty Crappy Demo (Score:2)
Re:Pretty Crappy Demo (Score:5, Insightful)
sorry for the rant, but my college just firewalled off the use of BT because of piracy, rendering the entire protocall useless for legit purposes. 1 million times better than FTP, and yet i have to wait for linux ISO downloads...tsktsk
Re:Pretty Crappy Demo (Score:3, Insightful)
This is wrongfully incriminating.
demo after release (Score:3, Insightful)
Playable on GeForce4 (Score:2)
This is where being crap a games helps... (Score:2)
All the servers are slashdotted at the moment though (Torrent is no use as I'm behind NAT). Need to wait a few days.
Re:This is where being crap a games helps... (Score:2, Informative)
Linux? (Score:4, Insightful)
When they release them I will probably buy the game just for supporting them back but are they comming anytime soon??
Re:Linux? (Score:2)
Re:Linux? (Score:3, Informative)
Demo later than release -- seems normal to me (Score:5, Insightful)
In my mind, a game software manufacturer will release a demo POST-release to entice those who haven't decided yet to purchase the game. Someone who downloads, say, the Doom3 demo, can decide if the software will work on his/her machine without some of the pre-release bugs that might plague the product. ATI vs. Nvidia compatibility immediately comes to mind.
On the other hand, if you're releasing something that's entirely new (in terms of a game/concept), then you could potentially risk lack of interest by releasing the demo AFTER the game itself. A new product can benefit greatly from a demo, I think, and in this regard, it would be wise to release it with some bugs.
In the case of Doom3, I must admit, though, that making people wait another month or two for a demo for a game that took 4-5 years to develop is a little dumb. Reviewers and gamers alike have been mediocre about the game -- for it being more of a technology demo (the Carmack engine -- hehehehe) than a good game with a good story. This sort of reviews, I think, would make a buyer think twice about getting the game at initial release prices.
If the demo had been out beforehand, perhaps potential buyers would not have pre-conceived notions of what to expect of the game overall because they would only play a small portion of it in the demo. The graphics would ooh and ahh and really get the idea of buying such a terrific looking game in the minds of potential buyers. It would be a buyer's remorse thing (after iD has pocketed the sale) if the buyer then decided that, "Yeah, the graphics rock, but it was kind of bland and the story was OK."
I am one who read the Doom3 reviews, waited until a friend bought a copy and got tired of trying to finish the bland story, and played it for him. I enjoyed the experience, but given my expectations after reading reviews, I am still glad my friend shelled out the $55 for the game. He has the discs back now, and I will most likely wait until the game drops to $30 or something to buy it. There are other things to play right now.
My two cents.
IronChefMorimoto
Re:Demo later than release -- seems normal to me (Score:3, Insightful)
Mac version (Score:2, Interesting)
I really want to see how Doom 3 performs on my new DP 2.5GHz G5, particularly when I get my Nvidia 6800 Ultra DDL card.
A faster Doom 3 download... (Score:5, Funny)
Anyone tried it... (Score:2, Interesting)
All the reviews I've seen are running it on pretty current hardware.
Radeon 9800 pros and newer.
And the nVidia equivalents.
I have a TNT2 (Score:4, Funny)
Remember all the news about D3 P2P "theft"? (Score:2, Insightful)
quick review of Doom3 (Score:2)
Here's the game in a nutshell: Land on planet, end up being (nearly) the sole human survivor, go into room, get ambushed, open door, get ambushed, find keycards to unlock doors, get ambushed, etc.. Then fight the boss at the end.
Even though the gameplay is stale, the graphics are excellent. But I did notice that t
the size (matters?) (Score:2, Funny)
I know what I'll be doing at work on Monday.
Yes, but what about... (Score:2, Informative)
At least UT2004 shipped with linux support out of the box.
I have that nice shiny Doom3 box sitting on my shelf, purchased with the assurance from id that support for linux would be following closely on the heels of the retail release.
Running on GeForce 3 Ti200 (Score:3, Informative)
Believe it or not, at 800x600, medium quality all around my little GeForce 3 plays this just fine. My system isn't the fastest thing around either (P4 1.8 oc'd to 2.4, 1GB RAM, fast WD SE Hard drives) so even with modest hardware the game is still very playable. One of these days I'll do some actual benchmarks (maybe today) and see what kind of framerates I'm getting. In any event it is very playable and very enjoyable.
Cliff
another fast mirror (Score:4, Informative)
5200 actually plays well (Score:4, Informative)
Most recent linux client status update... (Score:5, Informative)
...and it's very very very dark... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Uh...the game is out (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Uh...the game is out (Score:5, Informative)
timedemo demoname - run a demo for a benchmark
Here's the list of common cheats [tech-recipes.com] and here's the list of all the console commands [tech-recipes.com] for you uberdoom guys out there.
Re:The real 'demo' (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:The real 'demo' (Score:2)
Re:Linux Version (Score:5, Informative)
First, if you haven't used a joystick with Tux racer, you're missing out.
Next, check out Unreal Tournament 2004. The Linux binaries are included on the game DVD (or CDs, if you prefer), and the feel of the Unreal games has improved dramatically (in this ID fanboi's opinion). There is classic deathmatch available, but there are also a whole host of other game types, some including vehicles.
Finally, check out freely downloadable 'Enemy Territory', which is based on Return to Castle Wolfenstein. But this one is strictly multiplayer.
Oh, and of course, I played around with Cedega/Doom3 already, and found it to be a less than satisfactory experience on the one machine where I got the game binary to function, that being a 1.5 Ghz P4. For some reason I haven't yet gotten my Athlon 3000+ XP to give me anything other than an 'Error 21' when launching the game. This despite running a vanilla kernel on this box, but a Fedora Core 2 kernel on the P4. *shrug*
Re:Linux Version (Score:2)