Doom 3

Doom 3 is a Jeu of subjective shooting left on August 3rd 2004 for Windows. It was developed by Id Software and is since available for Mac OS (March 14th 2005), Linux, and also for Xbox (April 4th, 2005).

As in its predecessor, Doom , the play occurs on Mars. The scenario is linear and simple: it is necessary to kill the monsters which approach too much close (namely almost all being given exiguity of the decorations). The character traverses poisseux undergrounds in an endemic darkness and a decoration mechanist. The quality of made visual gives the permanent impression to suffocate in a branch of the Enfer and populated confined spaces of comparses trusted Zombi and infernal creatures - their specific absence increases the stress; it is reinforced by the sound environment particularly oppressive, made up of noises industrial, repetitive or démoniaques.

Doom ³ uses a not very realistic physical engine but the lights are managed in real-time. Technically speaking one can stress that if one is equipped consequently, this play restores a soundtrack on five channels, which increases realism. Moreover, Doom ³ is one of the first plays (but not the first) to apply the Modèle of light unified, which is copied on the behavior of the light in the real-world. Contrary to many its counterparts, Doom ³ uses the API graph OpenGL and not DirectGraphics. One can also stress that Doom ³ is the first play with really exploiting the potential of the graphic circuit GeForce 3.

History of the development

In June 2000, John Carmack announces in his file " .plan" ( plan update ) the beginning of a new version of Doom using technologies of the next generation as regards returned real-time in 3D. This plan made public in manner discussed was in fact intended to force the hand of id Software to launch the project officially.

Kevin Cloud and Adrian Carmack, two persons in charge of id Software who controlled more than 50% of the company, always was strongly opposed to the realization of new Doom. They thought that id Software too often re-used same the old women formulas and properties. However, after the very good reception of Return to Castle Wolfenstein and the last technological improvements of returned, the majority of the employees were convinced that a recasting of the play will be an good idea. Kevin and Adrian were confronted with an ultimatum: “We are working one DOOM for the next project unless you fire custom”, which means: “allow us to work on next Doom or lay off us” (John Carmack included). After a relatively calm confrontation (although the artist Paul Steed, one of the instigators of the conflict, was laid off) the agreement to work on Doom 3 was taken.

Four years were necessary to develop the play. The first public presentation was done in 2001, at MacWorld with Tōkyō, then later with the E3 in 2002, where a 15 minutes playable demo was shown in a small amphitheater. It gained five rewards in E3 this same year. Little time after the living room, a version of development was diffused quickly on the Internet, escape of ATI Technologies. The play was also shown with E3 the following exposures in 2003 and 2004, although Internet site of id Software was not updated to include the project Doom 3 until end in 2003. According to the dires of John Carmack, the development took longer than envisaged. In the beginning the play was projected to leave at the same time as another play such as Halo 2 or Half-Life 2 , is with Christmas 2003. However none of these plays could arrive has time for the season of Christmas.

Doom 3 reached its version gold the June 14th 2004, and the following day a version Mac OS X is confirmed. Doom 3 finally left to the the United States the August 3rd 2004. Moreover, one version for GNU/Linux left the October 4th 2004. Had with a strong pressure of the public, the play was made available to the stores as of midnight of the day concerned. The play then left in the rest of the world (except in Russia and in other countries of old the Soviet Union, where the official localization was delayed and where the pirated versions were available as of on August 3rd) about on August 13rd.

Two days before its official exit, Doom 3 was placed at the disposal by groups of pirates on the Internet, probably one of the fastest propagation ever noted. As the play is mainly interesting for its mode a player, the need for valid serial number essential for the play multijouor on line was very slightly dissuasive against piracy. The other factor contributing to the high request of the pirated version was certainly the time delayed for the exit apart from the United States.

The escape of ATI

More than one year before the official exit of the play, an unfinished version of test (English leaked) was found on the Internet. It made it possible to the players to realize of the beauty of the play. Officially id Software says that the escape comes from ATI.

Remarks allotted to Xian (Christian Antkow) in a discussion on IRC explain why all the versions of demonstration were marked (to be able to identify the possible escapes), and affirm that ATI distributed well the version of demonstration which had been provided to him. John Carmack precise in a message on Slashdot, only official declaration of id Software, that this escape is not a blow of publicity of their share, and that will have effects on the future relations between the two companies.

At the time of the first presentation E3 2002, the play functioned on a graphics card ATI Radeon 9700. However at the exit of the play in 2004, in fact the charts NVIDIA are advised by id Software. In same time, John Carmack explains that charts ATI are technically more powerful on the plays of the time, in particular for calculations of shade. One can however notice that benchmarch realized on Doom 3 showed that Doom 3 posts more images a second by using a chart nVIDIA.

Scenario

The history of Doom 3 is simple: a young navy is transferred on the basis from the UAC (Union Aerospace Corporation). As of his arrival, the sergeant Thomas Kelly asks him to go to find a missing scientist. Once the scientist located, an event Paranormal occurs, leading to the transformation of the personnel of the base into zombies like to the appearance of creatures. Thereafter, the player will have to cut through a path in the base by destroying all the monsters presenting itself in front of him, in order to be able to leave living base.

Environment

The play has of a realistic sound environment and credible sound effects. The personnel of the base consists of scientists, of Spaces Marines, technicians and soldiers of safety. The base is not very enlightened because them problems which seem to come from the Complex Delta. The démoniaque attack will not arrange the things… The buildings seem to be manufactured with prefabricated parts then assembled.

After the démoniaque attack, the base is little, to almost see not enlightened leaving the player in an almost total darkness, because Doom 3 is dark, very dark… It is there that the role of the flashlight becomes dominating, considering, in the majority of the cases, one does not see anything, thus leaving all the others weapons on side, the player advances not armed projecting in front of him the weak luminous ray to know if it is only one simple small noise at the bottom of the encumbered parts or if there is really something… what does nothing but accentuate the Stress this one which constantly expects to be attacked.

The totality of the play is based on three points: darkness; enfermement; and the sounds (growls démoniaques to which are added the machinery of the UAC, as well as the site of each monster (behind a wall, or a door while waiting for that the player opens it to attack it…). It is thus under the banner of the " jitter absolue" that the play captivates the player and getting to him a good amount of Adrénaline to each corridors.

Characters of the play

Elliot Swann

Elliot Swann is advisers of the UAC. It is a man who seems young, carries glasses and a dark clothing of color.

When the invasion starts, Elliot Swann, always followed by its bodyguard personnel, Campbell, tries to include/understand what occurs. By fear which the invasion is propagated on Earth, it tries by all the means of destroying the communication systems. It is killed, before its bodyguard. It gives a PDA to the player, who gives access to him the security zones.

Campbell

Campbell is the bodyguard of Swann. He also is a soldier and is equipped with his armor of combat of Space Marine. It fights with for weapon a BFG 9000 contents in its bag. He will die after Swann and being attacked by the Kelly Sergeant had by the Evil.

Malcolm Betruger

Malcolm Betruger is the scientist in load of the scientific operations in the complex Martian. The player realizes at the beginning of the play, that Betruger seems not very normal. While advancing in the play, the player discovers that it is Betruger which organized the démoniaque invasion. At the end of the play, Betruger is blocked in Hell.

Kelly sergeant

The Sergeant Thomas Kelly is the sergeant who directs the operations soldier over Mars in the play. It is a large man with shaven cranium. It is equipped with an armor of combat. It supervises all the military tasks and safety on the basis of Mars. When the invasion starts, it directs and gives the orders to all units of Spaces Marines, and allots the missions of the player. It seems not to make confidence has Swann and Campbell, but quickly, the Kelly Sergeant is him even corrupted by the Evil. The player will have finally to fight it, in the form of a tank equipped with a BFG.

Equip Bravo

The Bravo team is one of many the section Spaces Marines of the play. She loses all her units during the defense of her positions and the chart of transmission which is necessary to the player to send the distress message making it possible to save the last survivors of the complex Martian.

Weapons

Here the list of the weapons:

Poings
slicer
lamp-torch
gun
rifle has pump
rifle machine gunner
heavy machine gun
rifle plasma
BFG 9000
lance rocket
grenade
of the hearts

Monsters

Here the list of the monsters:

Z-dryness means " Zombie of guard of sécurité"
the trites are jumping spiders.
Sabaoth is the name of god in the Bible of the king Jacques (King James Version off bible).

Mods

5.56mm Full Metal Jacket
Classic Doom

configuration system

Requiring on the configuration, no PC general public could make turn the play with the options to the maximum to its exit. It should be noted that graphics cards ATI had great difficulty with this play, thus it was advised to use pilots 4.9 for these last.

Basic configuration Pentium4 1.5Ghz/Athlon 1500+ 384Mo of RAM (512Mo advised) graphics card 64Mo compatible DirectX 9 (GeForce 4/Radeon 8500)

Advised configuration Pentium4 3.2Ghz/Athlon 3200+ 1Go of RAM graphics card 256Mo (GeForce 6800/Radeon X800)

To note

a extension for Doom 3 left: Doom 3: Resurrection off Evil . This continuation, although less long and less fascinating than the play even, however allows him with the fans like immersing itself in the universe of the series once again. This extension also shows the success of the series of the Doom from its coming out date relatively close to that of Doom 3 .
explanation of " .plan update": literally " update of the file .plan". Under Unix, each user have the possibility of creating a file named " .plan". A program then makes it possible to make available the file " .plan" of each user by the network. The users of Internet do not have any more but to use the program " finger" to post information on the user and the contents of this file. Ex: the order Unix " finger johnc@idsoftware.com" the contents of the " posted; .plan" of John Carmack. This system was used a long time by the developers of Id-Software to communicate with the public, but it does not go any more following the problems involved in the exit of Doom 3 .

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