A Little Doom III To Wet The Xbox Appetite!

[The Buzz]

http://microsoft.gamerfeed.com/gf/news/5558/

Just a little tid bit...to monge on Xbots!

[Glockstar]

... sorry kittie cubers - and especially you, coppertops - your system can't handle Doom III !!!
MWAHAHAHAH!

The following is taken from an IGN article dated Feb. 11. I don't know how I missed it!
But don't worry, I'm on it now - and I'll make sure that nobody misses anything else. :D

Available on both the PC and Xbox, both games look quite similar asides from higher resolutions, sharper textures, and perhaps a lighting effect here and there. Yet the Xbox's hardware specs are that of a less-than-midrange PC. Because everyone has the same Xbox with the same hardware specs, developers can tweak and optimize the code, using every bit of the console's potential power.

I know you're thinking, "Sure, but this is Doom 3 we're talking about here. Can the Xbox version really look even remotely similar?" The answer is a resounding "yes."

Actually, we had our doubts too. Fortunately for us, Tobi Saulnier, V.P. Product Development at Vicarious Visions, stopped by our offices yesterday and gave us a little more insight into how the game was progressing.

Apparently, the game is looking quite nicely according to Saulnier, with the hope of making the game look "at least as spiffy" as the PC version. She mentioned that feedback has been extremely positive in regards to early tests, and that through optimization and innovative use of the Xbox's hard drive, the game will look remarkably close to its PC counterpart. Better yet, the game is already running at a "solid" framerate. Programming guru and Doom creator John Carmack has even said that Doom 3 can be ported to the Xbox and that "the graphics fidelity on the Xbox version will be the same as the PC version." If anyone knows hardware, it's Carmack, so have a little faith.

Saulnier also let us in on a few other details. Obviously, both the PC and Xbox versions of the game are being developed simultaneously. Vicarious Visions has been given access to all of id's Doom 3 assets, and is more or less one step behind in terms of development. They can't port anything over that hasn't been created, can they? Overall, the development process is said to be going very smoothly. Vicarious Visions has been doing a job keeping up to pace with id, adapting and predicting during the process to keep on a timely schedule. The goal is to release the games as close to a simultaneous release as possible according to Saulnier. Again, because Vicarious Visions is porting id's code as it's created, there's inevitably a bit of delay between the two versions.

Doom 3 is going to be one of the Xbox's biggest games, and Microsoft knows it. Saulnier mentioned that Microsoft is pouring a huge amount of resources into the game, in hopes that it will become of one of, if not the primier Xbox Live game when it is launched. We're not quite sure if resources means manpower, money, or something different altogether, but a while back it was made known that Microsoft offered id a substantial amount of money to make Doom 3 an Xbox exclusive. Microsoft knows what this game means for the Xbox, and is apparently willing to help in any way it can.

So will the Xbox version be a direct port of the PC game? More or less, though there will be a few changes. See, a console game and a PC game are two completely different experiences because of the controls. When you play a game with a controller, there are things that feel more natural than if you are using a keyboard and mouse, and vice versa. Think about Halo for instance. The Xbox version was great because there were a lot of subtle details that made the game play so well with a controller. From the slower character movement to the reticule that lit up when over an enemy, the game was paced just right for a console first-person shooter. On the PC, the game feels like a console port, and doesn't feel as good.

Vicarious Visions is aware of this, and will be adjusting Doom 3 in a similar way. The core game will be the same, of course, but the game will be tuned to be more console-friendly, so to speak. This means that where the enemies appear, how many of them there are, and such will be adjusted. The game will not be an easier or "dumbed-down" version of the game. The pacing will just be better and more suited to console gaming. According to Saulnier, you're successful in doing such a thing if players don't realize that anything has even been changed.

As for multiplayer, other than the fact that it's going to be on Xbox Live, we don't know much but expect to see the same offerings as on the PC. One of the cool aspects about the PC version of Doom 3, though, is that player models no longer have a generous hit box around them. That means you actually have to hit the character's polygons to score damage. Why the change? Because, according to id CEO Todd Hollinshead, as players' skill increases, the targets must become smaller to compensate. Then again, making precise shots using a controller can be a bit more difficult than with a mouse, so maybe this will be one of the console changes added to the port.

Doom 3 still doesn't have an official release date, but we expect the title to surface sometime in the second half of the year. As for more info on the game, E3 seems like a likely time and place to make such announcements.

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/491/491780p1.html

Not much too show in the way of images. By that I mean, I think we've all seen them before a dozen times already. Plus, seeing that every image is from the PC version, I don't want to mix any oranges in with our apples, que pasa?

But now that I mention the PC... I would think that this news would please the PC gamers as much as, if not more so than, the Xbots.... hah?!?

[Renzatic Gear]

They still don't have any damn pictures of the Xbox version up! I wanna check it out!

[Nissian X]

I told you Doom 3 wouldn't be "dumbed down"! I TOLD ALL Y'ALL!
Especially you RENZATIC! ;) :D

[Deathstroke]

I'm having flashbacks of Ubisoft saying PS2 and GC ports of Splinter Cell were comparable to the X-box version.

[Glockstar]

I'm having flashbacks of Ubisoft saying PS2 and GC ports of Splinter Cell were comparable to the X-box version.

If it weren't for that stupid kiddie controller, I'll bet the Cube version just might have been.

As for the PS2 port - they weren't fooling anybody with that one.

[folken001]

I told you Doom 3 wouldn't be "dumbed down"! I TOLD ALL Y'ALL!
Especially you RENZATIC! ;) :D

That is because every copy of doom3 for Xbox is coded to run at low res. If you had it running at high res, you'll see how dumb down Xbox version really is.

[Thrower, WCG-Fanboy Flame]

But it has a good article on the xbox version of Doom 3. A lot of techy talk in the article naturally it won't look as good as the PC version I don't think the card that it's being optimized for is even out on the PC yet. Even dummbed down for the xbox it still has the potential of being one of the best games graphical on the console.

P.S. Gampro.com and the new mag have a lot of new Doom 3 xbox pics

[Renzatic Gear]

Actually the game is optimised from the Radeon 9800 Pro-XT and Geforce FX 5950's all the way down to the good ole Geforce 3..you apparently select which card you have in a menu and the game will automatically tweak the settings to run fluidly on your comp. Pretty cool if you ask me, more games should do that.

I just hit up Gamepro to check out some of the Xbox screenies...the game does look surprisingly close to what the PC offers. It's muddier in comparison, and it looks like alot of the enviroment lighting has been cut out (in this shot)..but still pretty impressive.

I just wish I could get more screenshots, GP has the other 2 locked out.

http://users.chartertn.net/greymatt/D3-Xbox.jpg

[Thrower, WCG-Fanboy Flame]

[QUOTE=Renzatic Gear]Actually the game is optimised from the Radeon 9800 Pro-XT and Geforce FX 5950's all the way down to the good ole Geforce 3..you apparently select which card you have in a menu and the game will automatically tweak the settings to run fluidly on your comp. Pretty cool if you ask me, more games should do that.

I didn't know that I read an interview with John Carmack a while back and he said the game was being optimized for the next generation radeon. Guess the bean counters told him that wasn't to good an Idea.

Vicarous visions are doing the port. They are pretty good with ports not so much as with developing there own games so it should be good. I haven't upgraded my PC since the first Geforce 3's came out. Hope the Xbox version is decent.

[Renzatic Gear]

If it was awhile back then he probably meant the 9800 series of cards..they haven't been out too long. Course Id could be throwing in a new set of tweaks for the R420 card that's coming out sometime this year, but it'd be stupid for them to optimise the game for it alone since not too many people will ever own that card.

[sw33tjimmy]

Since carmack was quoted in regard to developing D3 with the ATI board in mind (the 9800Pro, I'm sure), ATI pissed all over their relationship by leaking the doom3 alpha. I'd say that made for more than a little bad mojo between Id and ATI.

[folken001]

Since carmack was quoted in regard to developing D3 with the ATI board in mind (the 9800Pro, I'm sure), ATI pissed all over their relationship by leaking the doom3 alpha. I'd say that made for more than a little bad mojo between Id and ATI.
Didn't id officially endorse nvidia's new geforce card as recommanded spec recently?

[no.1gamer]

I told you Doom 3 wouldn't be "dumbed down"! I TOLD ALL Y'ALL!
Especially you RENZATIC! ;) :D

It's not so much that the Xbox Doom 3 will be dumbed down from the PC version because the game is being simultaneously developed for both platforms. The PC version will be dumbed down because of the Xbox hardware. If Doom 3 was exclusively a PC game, it would be better than it will be now that it's a PC/Xbox game.

I'll probably buy this for my PC. The last Doom game I've played was Doom for the SNES. Man did FPS gaming on the SNES suck. PC is the way to go for Doom 3 my friends...

[sw33tjimmy]

No.1gamer, you obviously know nothing about carmack. He's not the kind of guy to allow a console port disrupt the quality of a game he's working on. Besides, it's a totally different developement house that's creating Doom3 for the Xbox. Id is focusing their resources on the PC version.

[no.1gamer]

No.1gamer, you obviously know nothing about carmack. He's not the kind of guy to allow a console port disrupt the quality of a game he's working on. Besides, it's a totally different developement house that's creating Doom3 for the Xbox. Id is focusing their resources on the PC version.

I hope you're right about that. Just don't be surprised if Doom 3 for the PC doesn't turn out to be as good as Call of Duty.

[sw33tjimmy]

yeah. call of duty was an excellent game. I think the most important thing Doom3 brings to the table is its engine. Just like quake3; without quake3 there would have been no Call of Duty. ;)

[mandark]

yeah. call of duty was an excellent game. I think the most important thing Doom3 brings to the table is its engine. Just like quake3; without quake3 there would have been no Call of Duty. ;)

Comparing the two is kind of unfair to Doom III. Call of Duty is an excellent experience since its one of the first games that made the gamer not feel like a super soldier against a whole army. Doom III on the other hand is going to be about a super soldier. One against all. Also Id has mentioned that one of their primary goals is the scare the hell out of the gamer.

If you are expecting anything else from Doom III other than being a fragfest then you will be sorely disappointed.

[sw33tjimmy]

Comparing the two is kind of unfair to Doom III.

I wasn't comparing the two. I was merely stating that CoD was built on the Quake3 engine. Imagine what kind of games we'll have two years from now coming out on the Doom 3 engine. That's my point.

oh well. from a graphical standpoint, comparing the two is very unfair to CoD.

[no.1gamer]

From what I've heard the Doom 3 engine is phenomenal. We'll have to wait and see for ourselves though.

I (like many others I'm sure) started FPS gaming with Doom. Doom 3 has a lot to live up to. I really can't wait to experience this game in action.