Former id Software Worker Gives Gloomy Doom 4 Report

[NightLight]

It's simple really, doom was a puzzle/shooter game, and we never really had many like it since. It's just not random corridors, or getting from a to b like in doom 3, with a fixed path. People still make levels for doom/doom2 that are far more intricate then the games they make now. It's just missing eye candy. Current games are all eye candy and no story or bad gameplay. That's fine for an online shooter, but not for a story driven game. We need a reason to kill and a reason to survive all the onslaught. I didn't get killed once in doom3.

 

[Doug Lord]

Looks like Carmack planned this a long time ago. He steals a bunch of IP from I'D and takes it to Oculus. Then he steals all the top employees. Straight up gangster. This might make a good movie

 

[Doug Lord]

Wow he sold ID to Zenimax for $105mm at the height of the financial crisis when the S&P was 700. Today we're at 1,700 so that's like $200mm+ today. Then he gets paid a nice fat salary to develop VR tech with he steals on his way out and then burns the studio down! How much you think he got in the sale to Facebook? I see Facebook having to write a $1bbn check to Zenimax. Hopefully they make it back on the movie!!!

 

[Doug Lord]

Doom was FAR more revolutionary then quake. Doom was mind blowing when it came out. Games like that didn't exist (if we ignore Wolf, but Doom added heights). Doom sold 2.85mm units on PC and 0.75mm on PS. Quake was a great tech demo and a terrible ugly game. You could argue it created 3D, but to me Mechwarrior and Decent were far more influential in making it mainstream. Quake sold almost no copies.

 

[burtzum]

Id Software and all its IPs have been irrelevant to me since Quake 3. I enjoyed Wolf3D, Doom, and Quake2... but how many times can a company rehash the same thing over and over again? At least they tried to change things up a bit with Rage, I guess. But with mostly tired old IPs and none of the original developers, who cares about Id anymore?

 

[Pinhedd]

Doom was FAR more revolutionary then quake. Doom was mind blowing when it came out. Games like that didn't exist (if we ignore Wolf, but Doom added heights). Doom sold 2.85mm units on PC and 0.75mm on PS. Quake was a great tech demo and a terrible ugly game. You could argue it created 3D, but to me Mechwarrior and Decent were far more influential in making it mainstream. Quake sold almost no copies.

Quake didn't arguably create 3D, it was the first true arbitrary-geometry 3D game which didn't heightmap 2D geometry like Doom and Duke Nukem did.

 

[urbanman2004]

don't believe the hype. even if development doom 4 is in existence, it'll end up being another duke nukem forever

 

[dextermat]

If it gets the duke forever treatment, you can flush it down the toilet right now.

 

[AGTDenton]

The cracks started to appear way before they were taken over by ZeniMax but I think they put the cherry on the cake. It was fairly obvious by John Carmack's long speeches that something isn't right and hasn't been for some time.
id as I know and prefer to remember it died circa 2001.

 

[Christopher Shaffer]

Terrible of me to say, but who really is waiting for DOOM 4? Its been over a decade since DOOM 3 and 2 decades since DOOM 2... There isn't anyone holding their breath for this release (cause they would have passed on a decade ago if they were... yeah, lame joke). While DOOM was a revolutionary game in a way, taking the ball from Wolfenstein and running with it; It really was more of a bridging title to the most important game in early history of that genre, Quake.

I for one can wait for them to get it right. No need to rush it... it's been 10 years already... what's the harm in waiting another 5?

I am.

I still play the original Doom and Doom II about once every year or two just for fun. The no-holds-barred art style is still a little creepy and the level design is still enjoyable 20 years on. Doom 3 wasn't a perfect game but had a great dark and claustrophobic atmosphere that I really enjoyed.

I'm not saying DOOM is a bad series... frankly DOOM2 was freakin' great. hell DOOM1 was amazing too, just saying I can't imagine anyone is "holding their breath" for this one. With series like Crysis, Quake, MW, CoD, Halo ... and on and on, the FPS genre is filled with AAA+ titles from top to bottom... I'd rather see this series just be shelved till they can do it right, then have them rush it out half done.

We waited 10 years for this game we can wait longer i think. Its not like there is nothing good to play in this genre.

While they are considered AAA titles, I wouldn't call them AAA quality. Most of those you mentioned are yearly cash grabs with no real heart put into them.

I personally hope whatever they do with DooM 4 that they keep to the Doom ideal and make it fast paced and full of action.

This would be in the same vein as asking if HL3 is worth the wait, when I would say it is as it is not a yearly cash grab but a veteran franchise that deserves a fair try.

Later on in the review, the former employee begins to spill the juicy DOOM 4 details, reporting that the entire tech team has quit and moved over to Oculus VR. They exited the company in February in protest to the way management was treating the employees and contractors.

Wow, if that doesn't lend credibility to id's lawsuit laying claim to some of the IP associated with Oculus Rift, I don't know what does.

I'd say John Carmack is the dick behind this, too. This guy has been playing double agent for some time, going so far as to downplay the newer console systems as irrelevant and trying to completely disassociate the Rift from any other platform other than PC gaming.

Now that a bunch of id'ers have followed him to Oculus, it's no surprise they're trying to rebuff with a suggestion of "bad working conditions" to deter support for id's claim to the Rift IP.

Something stinks like shadiness to me.

Which is strange as I have seen quotes of him saying he is more interested in the consoles currently than PC.

Maybe he is just going crazy.

I can't believe John Carmack would be more interested in consoles. Maybe that's marketing gimmickry he's using to switch his tone now that he owns part of the Rift.

I think it's a no-brainer that the Rift will support consoles, eventually, if not at launch.