Doom 3 goes gold

[JohnnyCNote]

It's not "video", but it's still news:

Doom 3 goes gold

Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id, confirms last week's rumors that the long-awaited shooter sequel will arrive in stores the first week of August.
Confirming last week's rumors, id CEO Todd Hollenshead sent out an e-mail today revealing that Doom 3 has gone gold. "IT'S DONE!!!!!!!," he calmly announced. "Yes, this is the official word that DOOM 3 has been code released and has been approved for manufacturing!"

I'm not a big gamer, but I did spent many hours playing the original. I hope this is as good...

[marvel2020]

Yeah and pigs might fly.

I'll believe it when i see it, how many times have we heard this before.

[stiltman]

best buy is taking orders on their website....

Problem is, I can't seem to find the system requirements for it

[adam]

Problem is, I can't seem to find the system requirements for it

Correct, our current computers aren't even powerful enough to list the system requirements for Doom 3.

[chas0039]

Don't go by what the site release date is and get sucked in by ability to pre-order. I have had this on order and paid for from Amazon since last September and gone through THREE release dates. The card I bought to play it with is already obsolete. Even Amazon.UK is stating, with their release date of August 13, that the date is subject to change. At least I only paid $37.

[stiltman]

did find this for system requirements
http://www.doom3portal.com/info/systemreq.php

[adam]

Yeah but pushing back release dates is one thing, you never know what complications might arise during production and throw off your schedule. Here, they are claiming that it has in fact gone gold (glass master is made and disks are being pressed as we speak.) When it comes to pc software (which can always be patched later) there's not all that much that could delay the release after its gone gold.

[Nilfennasion]

I'm honestly concerned about the system specifcations. As system requirements keep going up and up, the enjoyability of the games seems to keep going down. I know I didn't enjoy Quake III on PC even a zillionth as much as I did on the Dreamcast, and given that the difficulty settings only seemed to range from Pushover to Impossible with nothing in between, I got sick of it really fast.

I doubt that Doom 3 will be any different. The independent spirit that used to categorise ID games is gone, and so too is the creativity. I can't honestly recall buying a PC game in years, and I doubt I ever will at this rate.

[ViRaL1]

Any idea if it will support SMP?

[yoda313]

Hello,
I can't wait for the XBOX version. I've heard it's out in October but another article I've read said it might not come out this year. I want to get a new Pentium 4 but I'm waiting until I get the right deal (and save a little). But at least I know the Xbox version of Doom3 will run without any problems (heres hoping!! ).

Doom is still fun and I'm sure this fully interactive version will deliver the thrills and chills we're waiting for. Just wait for hearing in 5.1 surround a monster around the corner and then having it crash through the wall to get at you!!! (or so the prerelease info said in an earlier article).

Kevin
Doom 3 - Its worth the wait!

[ViRaL1]

With such high requirements, it makes you wonder how it will look on a P3-733 (XBOX).

[neomaine]

I wouldn't worry too much about system requirements. Granted you may need to turn some abilities off or tone some down, but it should be playable on most systems bought within the last couple of years without issue.

At least that's what I've experienced. Never really had the latest and greatest but was always playing the games at least at an acceptable level. Which is still tons better than any console hooked up to a TV....

[ViRaL1]

Who's gonna help me build my quad-Xeon system with dual 6800s running in SLI mode? (donations accepted)

[chas0039]

but it should be playable on most systems bought within the last couple of years without issue.

Doom 3 is different. It is one of the first to use fully dynamic lighting along with self shadowing models and dynamic shadows. This is closer to real life than we have seen before. It also will thrive on a graphics card that is DirectX9 and probably DirectX10 (I know this is true for Half Life 2) and a lot of older systems are stuck with DirectX8 and don't even know it because of the backwards compatibility of the new versions.

While it is probably correct that it could be made to run in an older system but that would be like running your Ford GT40 exclusively in the city...with one eye closed...at night...alone...on a street with a stop sign every block. Why would you want to?

[Micker_C]

Just watch them screw it up, just like CS -Protecting ligit buyers by locking them out! Yes, that's a great stratagy, use IP as the source to connect and everyone has a field day; those that buy it may have more problems playing Doom3 than those that crack it!

[JohnnyCNote]

Date set for 'Doom 3'

Game developer Id Software and publisher Activision on Wednesday announced a release date for "Doom 3," the highly anticipated sequel to the top-selling shooting game. The PC version of the game will arrive in stores the week of Aug. 2, the companies said, with an Xbox version to arrive shortly after at a date to be announced.

Id has been teasing gamers with previews titled "Doom III" for several years. The game is expected to spur a round of PC upgrades because of its relatively stiff hardware requirements.

[neomaine]

I'm going to stick by my 'it'll run fine with 2yr stuff' and its seems to be backed up by these articles:

General article by GameSpy:
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/doom-3/532605p1.html

Link from that article on system specs and playing system on low, med, high and ULTRA settings:
http://www2.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjQ0

Link from that article on video card tests:
http://www2.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjQy


I immediately noticed that things worked and looked fine even without AA turned on. Now, looking at the screenshots they provide are just that, screen shots and not full video, it looks to be enjoyable even at the 'low' setting for us budget users. Even with my ATI AIW 32DDR, at below the listed requirement, I'm hoping to have it run well. Then again the card is now hitting almost 4-5 years old. If its not acceptable, then I'll start looking for a 9600 128. That ought to do for years to come as well and isn't even close to the top 'o the line 512mbcards. But it is 128mb and has DX9 support...

[RWANDREWS]

Well, I bought DOOM3 yesterday & I played it for about 4 hours already. It's much like Half Life, but the graphics are better & there is a definite lack of light in the scenario, so there are quite a few surprises & the gaming aspect is harder, as least for me.

I really liked the originals, & have NO complaints about this version. Yeah, it's the same kind of thing, but that's what I was looking for. You want complexity? Go play MYST.

[yoda313]

Hello,

neomaine-I'll start looking for a 9600 128. That ought to do for years to come as well and isn't even close to the top 'o the line 512mbcards

WHAT?!?! Man I'm out of the LOOP. I thought 256mb was the highest, ouch. I know I don't have the cpu horsepower for doom3 but I thought my 128mb (non ddr) 3d card still was decent. Guess I was wrong.
Kevin
P.S. I definitely need to buy a new pc

[ViRaL1]

I wonder how long before the average video memory surpasses the average system memory. I still have some 4MB Matrox Millenniums and a 1MB Trident card. Not using them at present, but I could still pop them in a system and make use, so long as I didn't need to do any high end graphics or gaming.

[yoda313]

Hello,

ViRaL1-I wonder how long before the average video memory surpasses the average system memory. I still have some 4MB Matrox Millenniums and a 1MB Trident card. Not using them at present, but I could still pop them in a system and make use, so long as I didn't need to do any high end graphics or gaming.

Know what you mean. I've got a 4mb 3d voodoo 1 card. I hooked it up and reformated a pentium1 with dos6.2 It rocked. I was able to do all the old dos games Unfortunately I reformated it again to give it to someone (and it crashed!!! ). I have to fix that one. Oh well.
Kevin