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#229944 - 06/08/2004 05:02 Doom 3
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
Doom 3 is now officially the second game that I've had to take a break from playing because it was too scary. The other one was the original Thief.

I wanted to play for several hours tonight because I'm out of town all weekend and I wanted to satisfy the itch before leaving. But I could only play for about an hour and a half before the intensity of all the scary stuff made me too jittery to continue. Thief got to me with its overall atmosphere of creepiness (Thief 3 only did that to me for one level), but Doom 3 has that creepy atmosphere *plus* all the cheap-scare moments. Individually, the cheap startles are no big deal, but cumulatively, they really get to you.

I think a big part of it was the immersive sound environment. I'm only using stereo headphones, but they're those Fontopias so they have really good bass response and they blot out all other sounds in the room so I get really immersed in the game. And there's enough 3d positioning cues in the stereo field so that I've got a pretty good handle on where the sounds are coming from, even if they're behind me. I've had more than one moment of distinctly hearing a growl from behind and doing a 180-and-fire-in-a-panic move. Boy it's been a long time since a game made me do that.

One of the rooms I entered was deliberately designed so that the sounds would get to you. There was a bunch of venting pipes and machinery, which were deliberately making noises that were hard to distinguish from the monster's noises. So I made my way through this room constantly getting startled by stuff that was just machinery. But then around that *next* column, bam, another monster. I'm now in the habit of cursing the level designers when they "get" me like that. Evil genius bastards.

Jumping in your chair, getting goose bumps, getting so immersed in a game that it produces physical responses... Not many games give you that.

If I can only tolerate an hour or two's worth of gameplay per night, it's going to take me a while to finish this game... I'm not even half way through yet. I'm told you get the BFG at about the halfway mark, and I don't have it yet...
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Tony Fabris

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#229945 - 06/08/2004 06:57 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
visuvius
addict

Registered: 18/02/2002
Posts: 658
Awesome. Hey would you mind posted the specs of your machine? The game looks gorgeous and I'm sure its got some insane requirements. I've got a p4 with 128 mb ATI 9700 and want to make sure it will run at a decent setting before I shell out $50. I'm assuming you havn't tried multiplayer yet?

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#229946 - 06/08/2004 07:02 Re: Doom 3 [Re: visuvius]
furtive
old hand

Registered: 14/08/2001
Posts: 886
Loc: London, UK
Invest in some more memory and you should be fine. 128Mb is nowhere near enough these days. Treat yourself to a 1Gb upgrade.

Edit: Unless the 128Mb you mentioned is the video card memory


Edited by furtive (06/08/2004 07:02)
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#229947 - 06/08/2004 09:01 Re: Doom 3 [Re: furtive]
Cybjorg
addict

Registered: 23/12/2002
Posts: 652
Loc: Winston Salem, NC
I have a 2.4GHz with 1GB RAM and a 9700 Pro (128MB). I'm running the game at 800x600 on Medium quality. Nothing fancy, but the game looks good enough and plays smoothly.

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#229948 - 06/08/2004 09:26 Re: Doom 3 [Re: Cybjorg]
pgrzelak
carpal tunnel

Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
On a completely unrelated and coincidental topic, NASA just got a new linux supercomputer...
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Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs

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#229949 - 06/08/2004 12:41 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
TheRhino
member

Registered: 06/03/2001
Posts: 135
Loc: Aurora, CO
I know what you're talking about in Thief 3 - The Cradle level. Would you say that Doom 3 is scarier than that level? That one had me really freaked out. Several times, I was picking locks, and had to stop midway through just to make sure nothing was coming for me. I couldn't finish the level until it was day time again.
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#229950 - 06/08/2004 13:56 Re: Doom 3 [Re: TheRhino]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
Quote:
I know what you're talking about in Thief 3 - The Cradle level. Would you say that Doom 3 is scarier than that level?


Overall, yes, but in a much more overt and "hit you over the head" way. That Cradle level in Thief 3 was atmospherically creepy in a ghost-story kind of way. Doom 3 is all about the surprises. At least so far... I'm not even half way through yet.

For Visuvius: My computer is a 3.2ghz P4 with a gig of RAM and a GeForce FX 5900 video card with 256 megs of video memory. I'm able to run at 1024x768 High Detail and it performs flawlessly.
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Tony Fabris

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#229951 - 06/08/2004 14:19 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
Tim
veteran

Registered: 25/04/2000
Posts: 1525
Loc: Arizona
The original Thief almost gave me a heart attack. I wasn't expecting it at all, but there is one part where you walk over some corpses, and the jump up and start eating you. I had to turn the machine off and left the room and watched TV... I never watch TV

I've been taking a lot of breaks playing Doom 3... The sound effects just really creep me out, and that is with some cheeseball headphones that came with the UT2004 Special Edition. I ordered some new speakers after hearing how much the game benefits from good speakers. Now I'm wondering if that was a good move...

Overall, the atmosphere in Doom 3 is phenomenal. From jumping just because a corpse falls over a lip, to the insane amount of anticipation because lights start clicking off one at a time. They did an awesome job with this game.

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#229952 - 06/08/2004 15:29 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
eliceo
enthusiast

Registered: 18/02/2002
Posts: 335
I'll try the headphone thing tonight, I have been using a pair of 5 $ speakers since my Altec Lansings blew up.

Unfortunately I am due for a major video upgrade as I can only run comfortably in 800x600 at low quality. I am using a ti4200 64 mb ram, 2500 barton with 512 mb ram.

Doom 3 is the scariest game I have played, is there anyway to kill those imps that leap at you before they do any damage?

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#229953 - 06/08/2004 16:14 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
Cybjorg
addict

Registered: 23/12/2002
Posts: 652
Loc: Winston Salem, NC
The thing that gets me is trying to shoot zombies (even at their snail's pace) in the pitch black. I hate to waste shotgun shells when the pistol will extinguish them easily enough, but I have to be able to see what's coming for me first.

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#229954 - 06/08/2004 16:17 Re: Doom 3 [Re: eliceo]
ninti
old hand

Registered: 28/12/2001
Posts: 868
Loc: Los Angeles
Well, I have to agree that it is scary, and very creepy at times too, though not as much as the undead levels of Thief I and II and the aformentioned Cradle level of Thief III (and let me throw in Alone In The Dark as being one of the scariest games ever.) And the graphics and sound are great, with some decent eye candy, smooth monster animation, good playability and well done voice acting. Kudos to all of that. (P4 2.4ghz, 9700 AIW, 2 gigs memory, and plays smoothly, for those interested)

But I am still extremely disappointed in this game. It is just so tedious, the level design is some of the most boring and unimiginative I have EVER seen, and I mean all the way back to the start of the FPS genre. It reminds me of a quote from another old game "You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike." The entire game so far consists of me going into a smallish room with random machinery working and some steam coming out of a vent, having me get to some point in the room where the trigger is, having some sound happen or the lights go out or the screen go all red, and have the monsters appear out of a "monster closet" or just randomly out of thin air, killing them, going down a small passage to another mid-size room, and repeat ad-nauseum. That is 90% of the game right there so far, and I have played for many hours. I don't have a problem with making things suprise you like that every now and then, but it really is a cheap trick, like the kind that bad horror movies use, and they just do it over and over and over again.

It's funny, they use a lot of monsters inspiried by the ones in Dooms I and II, and it just reminds me of when I saw those monsters originally and how good those levels were compared to these; despite the few textures and small number of polygons, they showed infinitely more imagination.

In any event, the game is fun enough for me to continue, and I understand that eventually it changes to another location, though I have not seen it yet, so I will keep going in the hopes it gets better. But if you have 60 bucks to burn and are looking for a good FPS game, might I suggest ignoring the hype and get Call Of Duty or Farcry instead, which are much better games.
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#229955 - 06/08/2004 17:05 Re: Doom 3 [Re: ninti]
Cybjorg
addict

Registered: 23/12/2002
Posts: 652
Loc: Winston Salem, NC
Quote:
The entire game so far consists of me going into a smallish room with random machinery working and some steam coming out of a vent, having me get to some point in the room where the trigger is, having some sound happen or the lights go out or the screen go all red, and have the monsters appear out of a "monster closet" or just randomly out of thin air, killing them, going down a small passage to another mid-size room, and repeat ad-nauseum.


That was my biggest beef with Halo. Much of the game was spent in the same passages and buildings. I would walk through the door thinking "deja vu." I think Half-Life 2 will lend itself to more exotic locales.

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#229956 - 06/08/2004 17:09 Re: Doom 3 [Re: Cybjorg]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
"locales"
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#229957 - 06/08/2004 18:54 Re: Doom 3 [Re: wfaulk]
peter
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
Quote:
"locales"

Hey, you don't know he didn't mean "locals". Plenty of places in the world -- Christiania, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, the dons' common room of an Oxbridge college -- are at least partly defined by their exotic locals.

Peter

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#229958 - 06/08/2004 19:14 Re: Doom 3 [Re: peter]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
It was context. The Doom 3 locals are already pretty exotic. If that's not going to keep him happy, I don't think Half Life 2 tripods are gonna get it done for him.

Beanpole lives!
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Bitt Faulk

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#229959 - 06/08/2004 19:19 Re: Doom 3 [Re: wfaulk]
Cybjorg
addict

Registered: 23/12/2002
Posts: 652
Loc: Winston Salem, NC
Of course. Edited the typo.

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#229960 - 06/08/2004 21:52 Re: Doom 3 [Re: Cybjorg]
ninti
old hand

Registered: 28/12/2001
Posts: 868
Loc: Los Angeles
Quote:
That was my biggest beef with Halo. Much of the game was spent in the same passages and buildings. I would walk through the door thinking "deja vu."

Oh yeah, I forgot about Halo....hmm, it is not repetitive in quite that way though. None of the rooms look exactly like other rooms like Halo did, I will give it that much, they are all different in design, they just use the same kinds of textures. Whereas Halo would give you 4 or 5 rooms that look almost exactly alike, then switch and give you something completely different for a couple of more, Doom 3 gives you endless amount of rooms that look very similar but not exactly the same...if that makes any sense.

BTW, if you are like me you are getting awfully sick of pulling out your flashlight out all the time. So with the "crazy presumption that a roll of duct tape has to exist somewhere on the Mars facility" someone has designed a mod that sticks the flashlight onto the end of your gun. Genius.
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Ninti - MK IIa 60GB Smoke, 30GB, 10GB

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#229961 - 07/08/2004 11:42 Re: Doom 3 [Re: ninti]
Cybjorg
addict

Registered: 23/12/2002
Posts: 652
Loc: Winston Salem, NC
Sweetness. I'll have to install it at the beginning of the next level.

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#229962 - 08/08/2004 01:59 Re: Doom 3 [Re: ninti]
ninti
old hand

Registered: 28/12/2001
Posts: 868
Loc: Los Angeles
I should mention that about 2/3 of the way through, the level design does indeed get more interesting. It just takes a Hell of a long time to get there.

Edit: I won....I won't be playing it again I think.


Edited by ninti (08/08/2004 16:03)
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Ninti - MK IIa 60GB Smoke, 30GB, 10GB

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#229963 - 08/08/2004 13:34 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
lopan
old hand

Registered: 28/01/2002
Posts: 970
Loc: Manassas VA
Wow, haven't been here in a while.... anyway been playing Doom 3 and I'm stuck at the enpro facility, where the 3 lift stations are... Any one know how to get out? Any help would be greatly appreciated...
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Brett 60Gb MK2a with Led's

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#229964 - 09/08/2004 12:22 Re: Doom 3 [Re: Cybjorg]
mschrag
pooh-bah

Registered: 09/09/2000
Posts: 2303
Loc: Richmond, VA
I have the exact same specs and took it up to 1024x768 and it plays at a nearly identical speed.

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#229965 - 09/08/2004 16:16 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
Dignan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12338
Loc: Sterling, VA
Quote:
Doom 3 is now officially the second game that I've had to take a break from playing because it was too scary. The other one was the original Thief.
...
Jumping in your chair, getting goose bumps, getting so immersed in a game that it produces physical responses... Not many games give you that.

Has anyone here played Silent Hill 3 yet? I bought it yesterday and for some reason decided to install and start it at 4AM this morning. Holy crap! I had to stop and go to bed after exploring for about two minutes, because I was tired but also didn't want to play something so completely insane at the moment. I have no idea how I'm going to get through this game.

If anyone wants a good scare, check it out. CompUSA (also known as "we overcharge everything") has it for $10! I was going to buy it anyway, but 10 dollars is incredible for such a good game. The graphics are (sometimes unfortunately) absolutely incredible.

*shiver*

Sorry, go back to Doom 3. I would talk about it too, but I seem to be physically unable to play FPS games without getting terrible motion sickness.
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Matt

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#229966 - 10/08/2004 10:59 Re: Doom 3 [Re: lopan]
lopan
old hand

Registered: 28/01/2002
Posts: 970
Loc: Manassas VA
ok... just figured out that the little lift thing, has wow, lift controls! Can't believe it took 2 hours to figure that one out.... ugh...
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Brett 60Gb MK2a with Led's

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#229967 - 11/08/2004 15:26 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
Negative Doom 3 review, FWIW. Look in the "news" section below the strip.
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Bitt Faulk

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#229968 - 12/08/2004 15:34 Re: Doom 3 [Re: wfaulk]
genixia
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 3411
From that, and from what else has been written here, I don't think that I'll be spending any money on Doom 3. The graphics look fantastic (which means that I would need a new video card anyway ) but I like my games to play well. From what I'm seeing it just doesn't match up to RTCW or BF1942 in terms of gameplay.
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#229969 - 12/08/2004 15:50 Re: Doom 3 [Re: genixia]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
From the screenshots I saw before the release, that had always been my guessed-at opinion. I think Half-Life 2 looks a lot more interesting. Of course, I'd love it if they'd make new Infocom games, so what do I know?
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Bitt Faulk

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#229970 - 12/08/2004 16:01 Re: Doom 3 [Re: wfaulk]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
The Doom 3 gameplay has exceeded my expectations. Yes, it's a lot of creeping around dark hallways and shooting things that jump out at you. Which doesn't sound very fun when you describe it that way. But it is. I find the gameplay to be intense, engrossing, entertaining, and very much worth the price of admission. Your mileage may vary.

I even like having to switch back and forth between the flashlight and the gun. It enhances the feeling of being surrounded by dark creepy things and not knowing what's going to jump out from around the next corner.
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Tony Fabris

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#229971 - 12/08/2004 16:12 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
On the other hand, you're a big FPS fan anyway, whereas I'm not. FPS by itself doesn't really turn me on, so there's got to be a lot more to it to draw my interest, and it seems there isn't.
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Bitt Faulk

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#229972 - 12/08/2004 16:31 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
SE_Sport_Driver
carpal tunnel

Registered: 05/01/2001
Posts: 4903
Loc: Detroit, MI USA
Did you ever get into America's Army? I loved that one for its realism. No respawning, 2 hits and you're dead, heartbeat effects aim, etc. Very team based as well. I'd get nervous playing that game because I couldn't just find a health pack to get back in the game. It took me quite a while to get used to the pace of BF1942 (and weak graffics) but I love that one because you can fly, drive, run, etc.
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#229973 - 13/08/2004 01:11 Re: Doom 3 [Re: tfabris]
mschrag
pooh-bah

Registered: 09/09/2000
Posts: 2303
Loc: Richmond, VA
[creepy-disembodied-whisper-female-voice]over here... come on .... follow me[/creepy-disembodied-whisper-female-voice]
that's enough for me tonight ... holy crap ... that voice alone is going to give me nightmares ... and the dripping/chewing/blood/meat sounds in surround sound after it speaks? [shiver/]

Edit: Worth noting that the sound in this game is absolutely phenomenal. The ambient sounds are so well done and the three dimensionality is incredible (the Zalmans really do work, though i feel like i get a better sense of front-back if I wear them off-center, pushed further back -- makes the rear speakers more rear). There's all these noises going on around you, and that damn creepy voice is positioned in surround sound such that it appears to be inside your own head. Nice touch. There have been quite a few times when i can hear something coming up behind me (the little spiders clicking, breathing, or some cheap-yet-effective scare tactic) and I do the Tony Fabris trademarked fearful-spin-and-shoot maneuver. A huge part of the success/enjoyment of this game, I believe, is the audio experience.


Edited by mschrag (13/08/2004 01:20)

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