Doom Eternal. Is there an actual date??

Hello guys. I think you have played this game more than I did and I just want to know something that has confused me a lot respect the year where Doom Eternal takes place. If you recall, the trailer displayed that this was taking place in 2151 but when playing the game I find the year 2150, 2151 and even in some audio logs in game we find this is recorded in the year 2162 or 2163 iirc. My question is, do you understand why these dates are mentioned in game? I just want to know which year Doom Eternal takes place. If you could explain this to me, is much appreciated. 

 

Regards. 

The thing is, the dates mentionned in Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal don't correspond. There are 2 main possibilities :

1) The people who made the game just didn't check and this is just an oversight.

2) Time flows differently in the different plane of existence. This is highly probable and would explain why there is a sign in the arc complex saying "25 years of ARC gala" or something along those lines. Or maybe the Slayer spent a really long time wherever he was during the 2 games, and then every time he goes to Hell the time is kinda accelerated.

I hope the DLC will give us more details about that frikked-up timeline.

Interesting find. Do you know a summary? I don't want to read through all the lore again.

@igg I'm gonna work now. Give me to find it. If someone can help would be nice too

1 hour ago, TheEvilGrin said:

This is highly probable and would explain why there is a sign in the arc complex saying "25 years of ARC gala" or something along those lines. Or maybe the Slayer spent a really long time wherever he was during the 2 games

Seems likely.

1 hour ago, TheEvilGrin said:

The thing is, the dates mentionned in Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal don't correspond. There are 2 main possibilities :

1) The people who made the game just didn't check and this is just an oversight.

2) Time flows differently in the different plane of existence. This is highly probable and would explain why there is a sign in the arc complex saying "25 years of ARC gala" or something along those lines. Or maybe the Slayer spent a really long time wherever he was during the 2 games, and then every time he goes to Hell the time is kinda accelerated.

I hope the DLC will give us more details about that frikked-up timeline.

Occams Razor...

"the simplest explanation is most likely the right one"

 

"1) The people who made the game just didn't check and this is just an oversight."

 

Option 1 is by far the most likely explanation.

 

 

Here is some background information about the ARC's formation:

 

(1) "By 2151, the formation of the ARC has taken highest priority and is considered to be, in all practical terms, the last hope for humanity."

 

(2) "A global military crisis-relief initiative established by the Allied Nations in 2151. The Armored Response Coalition is designed with the sole purpose to combat and contain the Hell invasion, to succeed where modern militaries are ineffective, utilizing cutting-edge Argent-powered technology."

 

(3) "By 2151 the ARC began running operations from the Mobile Command Carrier, a seaborne command center designed for long-range strike operations which would serve as ARC HQ."

 

(4) "In 2150, following the loss of communication between Earth and Mars-based facilities, UAC director Dr. Samuel Hayden suddenly resurfaced on Earth before the AN Council. The demonic invasion of Earth had already begun, and Dr. Hayden had arrived just in time to provide aid. He supplied the resistance armies with Argent technology and advanced armaments, taking helm of the newly-formed ARC as Lead Director."

 

So the ARC was "newly-formed" in 2150 but "established" in 2151 but its "formation" was also "highest priority" in 2151. However, there are posters about the "25th Annual ARC Expo", which would suggest a date of 2175 at the earliest. Otherwise, the ARC would have to have been established in 2138 to fit the 2163 timeline proposed by Dr. Richardson - which doesn't make sense at all because the Codex never suggests it and that would be 11 years before Doom 2016's story, before any demon invasion would necessitate its existence. One of the above quotations even says the Armored Response Coalition (ARC) was designed solely to combat the demon threat, so it's unlikely to have been repurposed from another organization (like a robot-building Expo group or something).

 

 

---

 

Dr. Richardon's log entries date from January 24th, 2163 to March 3rd, 2163.

 

Here is an excerpt that suggests the logs are about Hell on Earth and not the Argent Facility on Mars:

 

"We watched as the horde overwhelmed the very best and most advanced machinery and weapons technology that we could muster against the opposition. It was useless, they moved too quickly, they cared not for themselves, only sought out the blood of humanity. They were willing to sacrifice their own to get to the heart of our world. We slaughtered thousands and millions more followed, but then he came - he cut through them like a sickle through a field - his fury surpassing their own."

 

The "heart of our world" is likely referring to Earth and not Mars. And the Argent Facility on Mars also did not have a mustered opposition, everybody was killed from the surprise attack within 24 hours ("I'm willing to take full responsibility for all the horrible events in the last 24 hours...").

 

Perhaps even more strangely, we have the final log which suggests the Hell Priests are still alive at the time of recording:

 

"The Priests command the armies to the North and South, but he controls the fight. The inner circle of death is where he resides - hunting them at the far reaches of the earth and beyond."

 

The issue is that by the time we reach the ARC Complex, two of the Hell Priests are already dead. There's only one left and he's not even on Earth.

 

---

 

Here are some ARC broadcast excerpts that seem to contradict the timeline set by Dr. Richardon's logs:

 

(1) "The Doom Slayer, or 'Doomguy' as he is sometimes referred to, was thought to be a myth of the resistance - a sort of avenging angel. He was last reported to be seen on Mars and is allegedly responsible for the destruction of the Argent Tower there."

 

(2)  "While it is clear that the Slayer is an enemy of the challenged, it is unclear if he could also be a threat to civilians."

 

(3) "We believe the Slayer has joined us in the battle against the demons."

 

So despite Dr. Richardson's logs that study the Slayer over the period of two months, his existence is a "myth", he was "last reported to be seen on Mars", is an "unclear" threat to civilians, and has only just "joined" the battle against the demons during the events of Doom Eternal itself.

 

---

 

So:

 

* The ARC was either formed in 2150 or 2151. However, we have 25th Annual ARC Expo posters up during the events of Doom Eternal, which would imply a date for 2175 or 2176 at the earliest.

 

* Dr. Richardon's logs range from two months in 2163. They seem to be recorded in the past since it implies the Priests are still alive at the time of March 2163 but also imply she's discussing the the Slayer's fight on Earth.

 

* The ARC broadcasts suggest the Slayer hadn't been seen since 2149 (the date of Doom 2016's events).

 

---

 

2149 (Doom 2016) ----> 2150 / 2151 (ARC formation) ----> 2163 (Dr. Richardson's logs) ----> 2175 (ARC 25th Annual Expo)

 

If we're seeing 25th Annual ARC Expo posters during the ARC Complex mission, then it's possible maybe the Slayer was briefly on Earth in 2163 but disappeared shortly after. He wasn't after the Hell Priests back then if they were still alive for those two months. He would then return in 2175 to kill the Hell Priests. However, that still doesn't explain the ARC broadcast's "last reportedly seen on Mars" line, since it's an ARC employee who studied the Slayer for two months in 2163. Since we don't have an explanation yet as to what the Slayer was doing between Doom 2016 and Eternal, it's hard to imagine the Slayer would ignore the Hell Priests for so long if he was ever on Earth before. We see throughout the game, like on Mars Core, that the Slayer takes the quickest and most direct route to solutions. At least we do know he must've killed Deag Nilox's demon guardian if he was able to be killed. Maybe the Slayer was searching for a way to kill the Hell Priests and sought a Celestial Locator? I don't know how that would take 12 years though (2163 to 2175).

 

Personally, I think retconning Dr. Richardson's logs would be the easiest solution. Most of what the ARC broadcast says makes sense if those logs didn't exist: the "hasn't-been-seen-since-Mars" line, the "could-be-a-civilian-threat" line, and the "only-just-joined-the-fight" line. None of those lines make sense if Dr. Richardson's logs are true, or at least it would be very difficult to convincingly reconcile that both texts are true.

25 years is a long time to hold out against the forces of Hell. A testament to the power of the demonic Crucible in allowing the ARC to survive a quarter-century. Or possibly a demonstration of the cruelty of Hell in drawing it out that long.

3 hours ago, AtimZarr1 said:

So the ARC was "newly-formed" in 2150

 

Fantastic summary! Only one tiny correction: it doesn't explicitly say the ARC was newly formed in 2150. It says Samuel Hayden resurfaced in 2050. He subsequently supplied existing armies with Argent technology and advanced armaments before becoming the leader of ARC, so he has to have been around long enough on Earth to start the manufacturer the Argent-powered equipment. 

 

One of the earlier entries also states the ARC was created with the intention of using said Argent powered armaments, so there has to be have been at least a few months between Hayden arriving in 2050 and proving the effectiveness of of Argent powered weapons before the Allied Nations decides to create ARC using them exclusively in 2051.

 

I could see it going: Hayden arrives say September 2050. Starts manufacturer of Argent weapons for existing armies. By January 2051 the Allied Nations decide they need to unify efforts into a single military organization called ARC, with Hayden at the helm. ARC is successfully created and staffed by say June 2051.

Thank you for sharing @AtimZarr1 and @Bauul I really want to take this, Doom Eternal takes place in 2175, why not? Sounds cool!

11 hours ago, TheEvilGrin said:

This is highly probable and would explain why there is a sign in the arc complex saying "25 years of ARC gala" or something along those lines. Or maybe the Slayer spent a really long time wherever he was during the 2 games, and then every time he goes to Hell the time is kinda accelerated.

I never noticed that message about the ARC till you mentioned now. I like the idea that being in Hell, the time accelerates a lot. I adopted this idea from Doom 3.

 

What about the DLC?? Have you got your theories now?