Doom3world

I'd like to collect everybody's opinion about the game right here, please do not post any spoilers as that's not needed to express an impression.

Here's mine:

Single Player:

Although I made it only one third into the game I can wholeheartly say it's an absolutely great SP experience. There is not one single dull moment or occasion where you get bored or frustrated.

The level design is very good, the proportions feel right, the world is credible (therefore immersive), the details are great and thoughtfull placed and it doesn't feel claustrophobic.

There is a nice variety of inside and outside locations - so whenever you feel like you'd want to see daylight again you'll soon reach the surface again and vice versa.

Various comments have been made about the lack of detailing in the outdoor areas and I fully support that, yet I'd like to restate that expectations often are too high. Now that we live in the world of incredibly detailed indoor levels everybody gets the natural impression that outdoors lag behind. No big deal unless you totally focus on that and decide to troll around and exaggerating it. I have no objective complaints about the outdoors, only subjective comments. Ths said one must note that outdoor textures look mighty fine albeit they lack in variety (from a nitpicky amateur custom level designer point of view).

"That ugly skybox" syndrome...

Here people definetly have a point. The skybox is absolutely gorgeous HR Giger style itself, but simply too low res - to me it's the only real letdown, yet one that doesn't make or break the game.
We should start a petition for Raven to redo the skybox as a portal sky for people like me willing to sell their home for more graphics processing power

Team Mates / NPC's:

The character design is almost flawless and the artwork absolutely adorable. You don't feel like you're interacting with the same 3 NPC's all the time but rather with a whole army.
Your team mates accompany you, the techies restore your armour and the medics your health, so it's alyways a welcome co-challenge to keep them alive as long as possible. The other squad members are really helpful in combat and pack enough damage. So you're not nursing them through the game but you really team up with them - nice touch which feels absolutely right.
They sometimes stand in your way when you retreat, but not the point where it becomes annoying.
The characters look at you, but sometimes they stare through you in a strange way - while not intended that makes them look like nervous war verteran wrecks. Somehow fitting considering the gruesome setting you're in.

Enemies / AI:

The enemies are great and the AI servies it's purpose unless you want to battle them in a chess game. The artwork and enemy detail leaves you with the desire to open up LightWave and do something on your own as a tribute to Ravens modelling skills. The skins appear a bit stretched in places, but unless you have spent countless nights pulling your hair out over UV mapping it's nothing you notice and even then you accept it without any bad feeling.

Weapons:

All fine, but the lack of recoil make the Rocket Launcher feel weak.
Again a minor complaint which falls into the nitpicky category at best.
Sounds are fine.

Atmosphere:

The game design inherits the Q2 war atmosphere and there is no occasion where you suddenly stand in a totally silent room (unless it's an intended effect). So whatever you expect to happen around you in a war scenario it constantly happens. That keeps me from standing around in boredom askig the famous "nore more level or not" question. If it were a nove I'd clearly rank it in the all-night-page-turner category.

Look and feel:

Just as it should, no ice skating.
At times your character feels a little bit too "light" - can't really explain that better. Still people with ego problems can get their fair share of mental "badassness" out of the game.

MP:

To keep it short - think Q3.
I've spent a few hours on q4dm8 (aka DM17 in Q3) and it plays just as it should. Sure it's different, but after a few matches you're "in there" again.
For myself I have made the decision that Quake4 is "it" for now.
Happy welcome back bouncepads!
Expect to see a plethora of user made MP maps in the next few months.

Edting:

Haven't poked around much in the editor, but the Q3 and D3 mapping folks will feel instantly at home.

Final personal verdict:

A must have, even if you substract the "fanboy" suspicion you might have reading a review on a dedicated id software technology site.

GG Raven and id!

I've never really been a sound guy, but lately I've started to appreciate the importance of good sounds. The sounds in Q4 are awesome. The weapon sounds especially, but the AI is great too.

The outdoor environments are pretty bland. They just lacked the detail needed to keep the same look across the game. A much rockier terrain would have probably helped this out. Some could be faked with busier textures but it would also call for a lot more rock models and some distant rock facades.

The enemies are a lot of fun to play against. I look forward to finding interesting ways to pit you against them in a custom level.

Q4 multiplayer is great. Like BNA said - it's Q3 with weapon tweaks. The weapons in Q3 were a little weird and the models weren't so great but the Q4 ones are awesome.

I love Doom 3 but this game just pulled it's little pants down and slapped it's ass (not in a kinky way).

amazing f&$#%ing game!

That sum it up. Only a few things I don't like (mostly very very minor & doesn't detract from the game)

1) sometimes the strogg seem "stuck" in an AI mode. Kinda like to save CPU resources they are inactive unless activated (no idle anim, no searching for players,etc). Really only noticable with the "small" strogg like the new transfers & machine/shotty/nail gunners.

2) more "porerful" weapons seem "weak" in SP. 3-4 rails to take out the "pinky"-esque strogg or 3-4 close/med-close shotgun blats. Plasma, & Nail see jsut as powerfull as eachother (until the nail is upgraded later in the game) & lightning seems to take forever on smaller baddies (I was expecting Q1 touch-a-baddie-and-boom effect). This is my biggest gripe. The BIGGEST (it could be that I'm on the lt. difficulity)

3) surround sound doesn't seem to work on non-EAX cards (I heard it on a SB with EAX 4 HD & it sounded great. MY AC97 surround isn't surround, just stereo. Got the latest drivers & everything, still not real surround like in D3 or SS2). This could be a glitch though.

4) i don't mind the skybox. I don't sped time looking up at the sky while playing.

besides those minor things (besides the weapon power for me) this game kicks ass! Best SP experience on a PC I've had since CoD1!

Singleplayer: Like most games I found that you can see visually where the Raven mappers started to get used to the engine, the first few levels are a little bland; however things really pick up visually when you get further into the game (Really). I found the AI to be just fine for the enemies, for your teamates it's quite good. In most games I find that teammates are pretty useless, but in Quake 4 I find that they actually can hold thier own in combat; thats not to say that they don't die, they'll often get saughtered on the more "Exotic" or less than humanoid enemies that use melee more often, it really adds to the whole effect of things. Another thing I like about your teammates is that you have the choice of protecting them or not, you weigh the options of losing that infinite armor giving teammate of yours by just blasting the guy (And the Strogg attacking him) with a rocket; the AI have a valid reason for being in the game instead of just geing plopped in there as a gimmick.

The visual effects are awsome, they somtimes fool you into thinking that is has bloom lighting at some points in the game (One of the enemies, also the "Lasers" gotta love those). Also, the textures are top-notch (I'm fond of the normal mapping on concrete ).

The game preforms much better that Doom 3 ever did, its been a long time since I've had any slowdown at all; and thats with the same visual settings as I had in Doom 3 and ROE! Don't let the system requirements on the back of the box fool you.

So far I agree with everything BNA said about single player the game never gets boring, you always feel engaged in whats going on. The "Lack of detail" in the environments isn't as noticeable as you might think, I've had nary a thought about that since I started playing! Everything in the game seems plausable (Aside from the whole intergalactic war thing I kid I kid.). Also, the skybox really isn't so bad.

Multiplayer: I've played quite a few games of it, and its good. Things feel fine (I don't feel comfortable with commenting on "weapon balance" and stuff, Im no tournament player; I prefer things lopsided, I like to be the underdog). Its a shame about the no bots thing though.

So go get the game, its the next Quake. Everyone will be mapping for it, if you still want to map for Doom 3 be sure that your maps likely won't get played very much (If at all); all the players and mappers will be playing and mapping (Modding) for Quake 4.

Just played it for the first time. And i must say this gam RULEEEESSSSSS.

I havent had the chance to try the mp yet but the sp is very very well done. The atmosphere is perfect. I really feel like im in a warzone.

It doesnt feel dark theres a lot more enemies than in d3 and the missions are very diverse (so far theyve been whats gonna happen later on well see)

And whats most important when i first fired that machine gun, its sound the way it just pummeled the strogg in front of me it just gave me such an enourmous sense of power.

So to conclude, in my opinion this is the best fps shooter thats been within the last year.

I just really really really love it

Yeah, I noticed it too. I'm positive that they stayed in cover until they were hurt, then they came out to flush me out. It made the railgun lots of fun as I'd gib them as they ran forward.



I think with the railgun, you really needed to get a headshot in order for it to be an insta-kill, and I found that was only really possible on Light Guards or Tactical Transfers; everything else either ducks a lot, or doesn't really have your standard "head" (the robo-puppies and Gladiators mainly).

I felt the shotgun was weak, even at blank. It usually took me 2 shots to take out some of the smaller guards (3 for Transfers), and you have to unload pretty well all your ammo to take down some of the toughies like the Tanks. Then again, I'm also a lousy shot.

Lightning was meh. It was good at frying, but you had to be able to keep it on the enemy at all times, and that becomes difficult when they move around alot.



It's probably not a glitch. Remember, game companies have a tendency to make games that force consumers to either upgrade their machines to the latest hardware or be forgotten. This is one of them.

Besides that, AC97 is alright if all you're gonna do is listen to music or play Bejeweled, but if you're gonna be playing games like this one, you should really invest in a proper soundcard. (And no, I will not front the money )



The skybox looked awesome at some points, but I can see where the gripe comes from. However, given the level of detail they went for, I'd rather have a grainy sky texture than a portal sky that's going to grind my machine to a halt.

Haven't finished the SP yet, it's taking me a while and I need to be productive again.

I'll start on the art and design, just because that's what surprised me the most. When I bought this game, I did so just for the modding aspect. I didn't really expect the game to be any good, based on the screenshots. The game really won me over though, especially later in the levels. The D3 engine really must be played to be appreciated. It doesn't really give good screenshots, and even movies don't really do it either. The level of immersion is jaw-dropping.

Environment:
Raven really put together a fine set of environments. My least favorites were the vehicle levels. With the exception of the tram levels, the expreience wasn't very cohesive. I think the outdoor scales just didn't have enough details, especially when you're in a tank/walker. Giving me more intricate building exteriors would have helped, they were extremely simple.

Indoor levels were incredible. There's tons of variety. The nexus levels felt almost Tron like, the way everything (including characters) is lit by numerous LEDs. The new transfer area is a real blood and horror show, very scary stuff. The tower guards and 'fatso' were really nice additions. The medical facilities weren't as good as I thought they would be- stroggofication was kinda a non-event.

The Hannibal is a great looking environment- the meeting room in particular is very clean and modern.

Character design.
The strogg have always reminded me of star trek borg, and that's a little annoying. Playing the game, the only time that really felt apparent were the somersaulting/sidestepping strogg. Otherwise, the cybog/horror show felt pretty original. Stroggofied Kane is Robocop, just occurred to me.

The lipsynching is a bit spotty at times- I get the impression they just let the computer do it, and didn't go back and tidy up the visemes. Facial animation I go back and forth on. I got used to the eyes, but honestly they were kinda bad. There was a tendency for them to glass over with too big a specular. Maybe someone could fix that with a new shader. The marine combat uniforms are pretty good looking, but I felt like I'd seen it before, specifically the old Marathon player design.

Level Design:
I've read a few reviews that comment on the linear nature of the maps, and I think it's a big plus. I didn't finish D3 or ROE, simply because I spent too much time backtracking/lost. In general, I never felt like I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing, or where to go. Frustration was limited to the one boss battle with the stroggofied marine. I think they made that one a little too hard, but then, it could have been because I've been playing with a wacom tablet instead of a proper mouse.

The new transfer/zombie level took me back to the Q1 graveyard level- not sure why, but the vibe was similar. This is probably where things felt the most D3, and I wish they would have used monster spawns like these instead of the monster closet trick. I don't want to spoil it, but the new transfers are a lot of fun.

MP:
Spent a few hours on it. I spent a good bit of time playing Q3, and when people say Q4 multiplayer is Q3, they mean it. It's exactly the same, from my non-pro pov. To me, this is acceptable, because the single player is worth 50 alone. Tacking on Q3 with (sorta) updated graphics feels like a strong bonus.

Editing:
Scaling lights like brushes is priceless. The FX/particle editor is a huge addition, lots of controls for how the particles move.
Hopefully, new flexibility in shader languages means we'll see more interest from the shader progamming community.

Here's a nice review by Josh Holmes (VIA Arena) which basically sums it up as I would have done it with more time and better writing skills:

http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?Pa ... icleID=441

I can't really say anything that hasn't been said, aside from that I really liked the use of music in this game. It was light and well-placed, and added to the atmosphere instead of detracting from it.

Frankly speaking, I did not expect it from Raven,but they made the excellent game.
I was ( and am) a crazy fan of Q2 and spent years for making
custom SP levels for it, the game was extremely inspiring for
editing and Raven created the game I have just been dreaming

i'm still working thru the game (about 1/3 done i think). all i can say is that the game gets better and better. very immersive (when you are indoors ).

i'll just go into my gripes since everything else about the game is so good:

- i never really felt that i was fighting an organized army. the strogg just pop out at you at random times and locations. i would have liked to see them be a little more tactical (even if it was just scripted).

-a few times i ran ahead of my squad and saw the strogg spawning into the map.

-outdoor design < indoor design.

-strogg burnaway effect.


i'll mention a few detail that i liked:

-the "cold breath" effect on my squad mates. i'm sure "cold breath" has been done many times before, but it still surprised me.

-the flashlight effect on the squad weapons.

-the explosions with burning debris flying around.


@BNA "We should start a petition for Raven to redo the skybox as a portal sky for people like me willing to sell their home for more graphics processing power.

the skybox actually is a skyportal. i'm working on a nifty little mod that will add a landscape to the portal (without having to redistribute the whole map file).

By the time I get to think about my impressions, everyone will have long forgotten theirs !

On my travelmate 4101LMi, runs ok, but model textures look like mud no matter what and I crash to the desktop after a few mins.

* sniff - I miss my desktop PC - sniff *

I've only managed to play the intro, but it looks very promising. Probably will be another month at least until I get a rig worthy of the game - until then ? - shelved !

I'm trying to sort out my sound before I get too far into it. Thought I was having sound card probs, but, no the speakers are dead. More money to shell out before I can really play. I've taken a tool or two around in it, though, it seems funner than Doom 3, but it seems a lot easier to shoot people than in Doom 3. Guess I'll have to up my skill level a bit. I'm totally stoked to see the game editing stuff, as in MP maps. Just what I've been waiting for.

Absolutely Kicks Ass. Doom3 was scary and HL2 was fun, but Quake4 rocked! The game really takes you for a wild ride with many twists and turns. Stroggification was definitely brutal...almost made me check my lunch. But, I think the Quake4 engine has much more available that hasn't been explored yet. The limiting factor is our computer systems. I'm really hoping to see a well done mission pack that can exploit more of the atmospheric effects that we see briefly in Q4 like levels with loads of fog and smoke.

MP is definetely where it should be...given time to learn the new maps and weapons (and the lack of being able to hop up or RJ as high as in Q3) it will surely be the most desired mode of tournament gaming today.

i just finished the game last night. to be honest, i can see why a lot of people complained about it not being very innovative. there are parts in q4 that feel directly lifted from other games.

but i'd still rate it around 85% because it was still a very fun game.

i dunno, is anyone else getting tired of "big bosses" and stuff like that in first person shooters? it does seem kinda 1990's...

I've eventually resigned myself to the fact that I won't have a powerful desktop PC for some time, so I've started playing the game and am really enjoying it.

Running at 800x600 in low quality, some real framerate dives, but otherwise more or less playable.

My opinion is that it's a far better game (so far) than Doom3, which I would say was more a technology demo and a "tip of the hat" to the original Doom.

I'm enjoying the voice acting, but I've not noticed much humour yet, which was something I enjoyed in Doom3.

The models are great - wish I could actually see them as intended in terms of quality tho.

A well rounded game.

Played a bit of DM and got my ass kicked. Low FPS is as bad as Lag when it comes to the railgun and aiming at 640x480 with low quality textures isn't easy.

I hope that MP gets more popular, because there doesn't seem to be a great deal of activity in the server browser.

Hmmm - silly me - just noticed that turning off shadows in MP results in a major leap in FPS, which has improved my game. Still got my ass kicked tho, out of practice !

I must say i'm a bit dissapointed
I bought the game for 20$ and tbh i wouldn't give more (well, maybe a bit).
There was just not enough Q2 in there - some of the enemies were too different from the original. I miss old Light Guards, i think they had this "something" new guys don't have. I miss Icarus', mutants, parasites and old Tanks (i just hate the new one). Many enemies are not human enough for me. Here's a full list if someone doesn't remember what i'm talking about.
I won't even talk about puking Slimey transfers, new Iron Maidens and silly looking Grunts, because those were totaly out of place in this game.

There was some moments in the game that i looked at something and thinked "damn, that's really stroggos", but those were rather rare.
Big bosses annoyed me. I liked them back in '98, but now it's simply lame, especialy that i somehow don't feel right about those huge gargantuas in Q2 universe.
SIngleplayer was kinda dull. I'm not talking about level of difficulty - that was pretty fine at Lieutenant - but i've seen this all a thousand times before in many, many games. Barely anything was innovative in Q4 -everytime i have entered a new room or level, everytime i got new objective i already knew what will happen
Word about vehicles - what hevicles? I mean those two(?) short rides were cool, but just not enough.
What really bugs me about technical side: there's no gawd damn water again! And skybox sux big time...

OK, enough whining, let's talk about something that makes me happy to own this game:
Let's start with correctly revamped enemies - Berserkers, Gladiators and Gunners were sweet - just like i would imagine them. A+ for those.
Teleport dropper was cool - woud be cooler as a new Parasite. Tactical transers would be uber if they would have some working AI (it's cool that they hide behind crates, but it's rather uncool when they "hide" in front of it - lol) - A+ for the idea, C+ for implementanion. Stream guardians were nice, but again - a bit out of place.
The overall atmosphere was quite nice, not q2ish enough in many places, but still good. There was plenty of great cinematic moments, nice touch of music and i won't even mention graphics, because it's quality is pretty obvious.

I really hope for some great MODs and SP/MP maps that would compensate what is lacking for me.

My rating? 75% (and i would rate Q2 98% back in '98 when i played it for a first time). Someone must complain to maintain the balance

P.S. Sorry for being a bit chaotic, it took me over 1h to post this as i was doing too many things at one

P.P.S. I almost forgot - Makron sucked big time and he was meaningless. I still wonder how they salvaged his destroyed brain that explodes along with the moon(?) he was on and put it back in the new head

The SP was pretty solid. Graphics on ultra high made the game look excellent; even better with hi-res textures, lighting, and shader mods. My only gripe with the single player campaign was the crappy cliff-hanger ending and those weird "human battery" things aka "digesters" in the sdk. Kinda ruined the experience for me as I was very distracted by them lol. I REALLY liked the multiplayer. I dunno why everyone said it sucked... I found it to be quite fun. Imo, the "feel" of it felt so much more smooth and rewarding than Quake 3's, but maybe that's just because it's on an improved engine. I unfortunately was very late to the Q4 mp party and now the only ones left are the hosts and the three hung over guys still asleep on the floor . Wish more people played and hosted.

Just noticed the op date lol. Late again