Ling's Ideas, 8/99

[Linguica]

I figured that this would be as good of a time as any to post this... last August I wrote up and sent an email to Graeme Devine, designer for id Software, that detailed my wishes if id were to make a Doom2000. Now that they've announced that they're making a new Doom game, I figure I should post it so you all can see my ideas. Post your reactions and your own ideas here if you want.

I think of myself as being in a better position that most to give suggestions on where to go with a new Doom game. I have played Doom and Doom 2 since the summer of 1994 -- almost exactly five years now -- and for the last year and a half I've run Doomworld, the premiere Doom website on the internet. My site has introduced Doom to a new generation of gamers and reminded an older one of days gone by -- a few have even returned to the fold, drawn in once again by Doom source ports featuring sophisticated scripting, colored lighting, true 3D, OpenGL acceleration, and much more.

But my past experience isn't what would make my ideas worth consideration, of course; it's what my ideas consist of.

Ever since the original Doom came out, id's games haven't been known for their enthralling single-player modes. Both Quake and Quake 2 have achieved vastly more popularity as a multiplayer game than one where you traipse through halls and kill monsters. Quake 3's lack of a traditional single-player mode altogether only solidifies this claim.

However, more recent games such as last year's Half-Life and the just-released System Shock 2 have shown that the single-player FPS is nowhere near facing extinction and, in fact, can make for just as intense and involving of an experience as any multiplayer blood orgy could possibly hope.

If id Software decides to make their next project another chapter in the Doom series, the emphasis would undoubtedly have to be swung back over to the single-player aspect of the game. Doom and Doom 2 achieved immense and unparalleled popularity based mainly on the strengths of its single-player game: while Doom deathmatch and co-op were great fun, the Internet was barely even a factor to consider and games could only really be played over a LAN or IPX network.

The question, then, is how to create, in today's marketplace, a single-player experience which is just as engrossing and enthralling as the original Doom was 5 years ago.

The competition is much more intense. Games like the previously mentioned Half-Life and System Shock 2 have in-game cutscenes, scenarios, and objectives which make them more like an interactive movie. The original Doom was nowhere near as complex: find a monster. Kill it. Repeat.

My vision for the ideal Doom2000 is, therefore, the following.

***

THE CONCEPT

id Software cannot be considered one of the more "design-oriented" gaming companies out there. Ever since Tom Hall first wrote the Doom Design Document in 1992, id has had a tendency to throw such documents out the window. Doom and Doom 2 collected mostly-unrelated levels together and slapped on a storyline which often didn't explain a levels' archietcture. Quake was a game designer's nightmare; originally supposed to be a game where the hero wields a hammer and faces only a handful or monsters per level, it slowly mutated through an Aztec-inspired period (still evident in level names like "Ziggurat Vertigo") and eventually ended up as a mixture of medieval-gothic and future-industrial levels with an even thinner plot than that for Doom. id solidified somewhat with the plot of Quake II, which followed a marine through his attack against the forces of Stroggos, aided by mission objectives and cutscenes. Quake 3 appears to be another swing towards a loosely defined plot which gives the makers much leeway in what they can create.

Single-player games nowadays, on the other hand, are extremely design-oriented. Half-Life has a very well-defined plot and everything makes sense in the context of the game world. System Shock 2 is full of discarded personal logs and e-mails which slowly congeal into an intricate plot as the game progresses. If id Software wants to make a game which was even better then these single-player masterpieces, there will have to be a definite plan going into the project which can not be deviated from without ruining the integrity of the game. id also has shown that they very seldom will stick to such a plan.

In other words, Doom2000 in all probability cannot be "better" than a game like Half-Life, because in order to succeed it would have to be very different from a game like Half-Life.

id Software's strength in creating a new single-player game is their ability to create raw, visceral action, rather than intriguing plots or objectives. Blinding speed and lightning-fast gameplay is what would make Doom2000 a great game -- it's not only what Doom originally was, but it's what id Software knows how to do.

THE PLOT

id has never been one to develop much of a plot in their games, and Doom2000 is no place to start. In fact, D2K would be better off to steal the original Doom plot: a space marine is trapped on Phobos along with vast hordes of demonic monsters. He makes his way through the base and into a dimensional portal, ending up on Deimos, which is floating above the surface of Hell itself. After conquering Deimos the space marine rappels down to challenge the legions of Hell on their own turf.

THE LEVELS

D2K would follow the "3-episode" structure of the original commercial Doom; the first taking place on Phobos, the second on Deimos, and the final episode in Hell. The first episode would be predominantly high-tech: a distant moon base with all the futuristic refinements. The second episode on Deimos would be a little more lax; while it would be another space outpost, it would have been taken under control by the hellspawn with noticable effects. The third episode would be, well, Hellish -- lots of fire and brimstone, full of "hot" colors like orange and red.

The progression of the levels would emulate those in Doom. You would start on level 1, proceeding to level 2, and so on. Each level could be broken up into sub-levels to reduce loading time or increase size, if necessary, but each level would have a distinct start and endpoint.

Once again, as in Doom, Doom2000 would take a cue regarding between-level statistics. The player would be shown the percentage of enemies killed, items grabbed, and secrets discovered, as well as the time taken to complete the level.

Between episodes, a short cutscene would be shown to advance the plot as much as necessary.

THE ENGINE

The Doom2000 engine would probably be a tweaked Quake 3 engine, but possibly might be John Carmack's next-generation engine, built from the ground up to take full advantage of ever-evolving hardware. Everything found in Quake 3 would be present, and additional features may include more realistic physics, bumpmapping, and realistically cast shadows.

Another aspect in which the engine would be enhanced is in its handling of models. The Doom2000 engine would use level-of-detail technology to modify the amount of polygons used by enemies in view, thus enabling the engine to handle upwards of 50 enemies onscreen at once.

Tipping their hat to the work of the thousands of Doomers who created their own levels for Doom and Doom 2, id Software would ship Doom2000 with a program which would convert .WAD files into the format used by Doom2000's levels. This process would turn any properly-constructed level for Doom or Doom 2 into a level fully playable within Doom2000, preserving the original textures (which would be included in a special PAK file with the game), monsters (which would be replaced by their Doom2000 counterparts), and lighting (the engine would be capable of displaying arbitrary light levels in certain areas, just as in the original Doom engine). This move would give id an instantaneous base of thousands of add-on levels even on the first day of release, as well as disproving naysayers who would complain that Doom2000 could never retain the gameplay and action that characterized the original game.

THE GAMEPLAY

Fast and furious. The player's movement speed would be increased to match that of the original space marine, and enemies would be as fast and deadly as ever. With the Doom2000 engine allowing for hundreds of monsters on any level, the game would often revolve around battling giant hordes of relatively weak monsters, rather than fighting one or two strong monsters. The emphasis would not be on sneaking and cunning, but rather on near-constant fighting.

THE ENEMIES

Every monster found in Doom 2 would appear in Doom2000, all given the 3D treatment. A handful of new enemies would be introduced, including several new mid-level monsters and a new end-boss which would put the Cyberdemon to shame.

All monsters would sport loads of new animations. Monsters would be able to walk, run, strafe, and backstep just like the player. They could look around, sniff scents, and jerk their heads in reaction to loud noises. Monsters hunting you down would appear more cautious and alert than those caught off-guard. Monsters would also all have numerous pain and death animations, expecially the weaker and more often-used ones.

Additionally. every monster would use sound as a tactic to unnerve the player. The former humans would utter low moans and call out to the player when they were searching for him. Demons and Lost Souls would have a wide variety of snorts and growls as they roamed. The archvile would be brimming in Satanic energy and would utter obscure Latin phrases in an unearthly voice. Hell would be filled with the moans and screams of the tortured dead who had been banished there.

THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The levels of intelligence of the monsters would differ dramatically, from the nearly brain-dead Troopers to the nerfarious and cunning Archviles. The smarter monsters would be able to dodge and hide, but generally would not run away and call for reinforcements -- after all, this is a purely action game.

THE WEAPONS

Most, if not all, of the original Doom/Doom 2 weapons would make a reappearance, from the chainsaw to the BFG. Again, a handful of new weapons would be introduced to keep the action lively.

The weapon animations would be very detailed and distinct. For instance, the super-shotgun would be cracked open with a flick of the wrist. Wisps of blue smoke would curl from the edges of the dual barrels, and the empty shells would be pulled out and dropped, clinking on the ground. The player would take two new shells and shove them into the vacated chamber, and then would whip the whip the barrel upwards, closing the chambers with a satisfying thunk.

THE INTERFACE

The interface would be carefully constructed to reflect the nature of Doom2000, rather than being added on without much thought or care. The format would remain the same: a basic menu would offer a few options which would then be elaborated upon in further sub-menus. However, the interface would be more visually appealing than simply pressing enter and watching the new screen appear. Letters and graphics would slide onscreen from all directions, sometime scaling and spinning. During level intermissions, the numbers counting the percentage of enemies killed would slam down as if flying into place from behind your head. The interface would be fast-paced, loud, and exciting to watch -- just like the game itself.

***

There is much more that I could say about my hopers for Doom2000, but I feel that I've covered most of the basic points. I hope you take my suggestions into consideration. If you like any ideas or have any questions, please let me know.

[Guest Confusion]

Ling proves again that he knows what he's talking about, and that he knows DOOM the way it should be. I like these ideas a lot. Latin archviles...nice.

[AndrewB]

I've never read this before. Pretty much everything said here reflects what I want the new DOOM to be. The classic DOOM feel, yet newer. It's a little optimistic, though. I don't know if I can believe that iD would try to develop the editibility and fun factor that we so desire. A dead-on analysis bt Linguica, although optimistic. Still, it's not a bad thing to hope for. Tell iD what you want the game to be. It can happen.

[Guest ViolentEd]

I was thinking more on the lines of this: The same brutal weapons from the original Doom/Doom2 with a new look. For the most part (besides the bfg and plasma rifle) the weapons look like something from 30 years ago, never mind however far into the future doom is. Same with the monsters, have the same monsters. But again, with a more sinister look. Zombies that walk half dragging one leg and just holding the rilfe up to squeeze one shot off then let the barrel fall to the floor. Only to struggle to pick it up and try to shoot you once again. Maybe scientist zombies that just walk aimlessly and lunge at you, swinging their arms around in confusion when you come close to them. Some with full Space Marine gear with the visor broken out and bloody. The demons could have a more raptor look. Not so bulky and muscular but sleek and manuverable. Something you see charging down the hallways and dont think "Just a demon" but instead "Run!" Just remix the game to make people afraid to open the door or hit that switch. Music would have to be more cinimatic, cd music wont cut it. Midi sures hell wont either ;) But it would be cool to open into a level and hear a famillar techno remix of Running From Evil. Hubs, maybe. But just to have large levels. Like Half Life. When you finish one go into an intermission screen. The usual kill percentage. No par, or time. Have a map like Quake2 and Ultimate Doom. Maybe in 3d though, could rotate it around and zoom in. That would be pretty nifty. Story? Keep it as story based as Quake2. Doom doesnt need a story. No missions either, maybe in labs and such you have to turn on reactors and such to power the base. But thats it. Non stop action.

[Guest skatepunk]

I totally agree with everything you say. Doom should be about balls to the walls 100% action. That's what Doom 1 and 2 were about, right? Let's just hope id follows through.

[Guest Firebrandt]

I completely agree! Personally I would like a bit of a plot though--just for the original SP game, and maybe the option to add intro/outro or mission objective screens to custom maps. I always figured that UAC was a lot more "knowledgeable" than they would let their marines know, kinda as if they almost "purposely" opened a rift to hell. When you read the Q3A manual you see that ID has a similar thing in mind... The concept of Latin Archviles is also nice--reinforcing the idea that Hell was always a lot closer than UAC would have you believe... /me ponders

[SailorScout]

Yeah, what Ling said! The Latin chanting thing is particularly clever.. *gets the tune to One Winged Angel from FF7 in his head*

[Guest XMark]

What DooM needs is a kickass soundtrack to go along with it! Either CD audio or MP3's with instrumental versions of the original music. The original DooM soundtrack has some of the most awesome headbanging metal music around, even with the limitations of MIDI. There's everything from the immortal guitar riff of E1M1 to the haunting solo of E1M8 to the blues-inspired rock of E2M1, and the thrash insanity of E3M8! Combine the original DooM soundtrack with real guitars and drums and you'll get probably the best video game soundtrack ever made! Oh, and if they get enough money for the project, they should bring in Metallica or Pantera or something to do the music!

[Guest Wyvern]

A lot of interesting thoughts going on here, so I thought I may as well throw mine in the pool.

I think that the next DooM should focus on what it lacked to begin with: a more in-depth storyline. The whole concept of fighting the forces of hell intrigues me to no end, and I do think that more can be done with it. Something like this.

The UAC has been mining ore, doing research, and exploring our solar system for a while now.

Phobos is the high-tech research and development facility. Numerous operations are stationed there, including but not limited to weapon development, astrological research, and is the communications center for the UAC's Mars occupation.

Deimos is the ore refining facility and manufacturing plant.

The UAC has investigated Mars for the simple fact of finding the Gates, left from some civilization from long ago. They do not appear to be human in origin. The UAC has been doing constant research and testing on said Gates, located in various locations across the face of Mars. Some are even on Phobos and Deimos.

The player, the good ol' Marine, has been stationed on Phobos along with his platoon. The UAC requested some Marine occupancy from the government to keep order and to provide defense.

One day, as you play poker with your platoon buddies, the lights go out, immediately followed by red emergency lights. Thinking this is either a drill or the power has simply gone out like it sometimes will, you and your pals patiently wait it out.

The sense of importance grips you as you hear numerous loud explosions off in the distance. Something's not right.

You and your buddies grab your autorifles and fan out from the barracks. Taking postions with you being point, you silently lead 4 of your comrades down a smoke-filled hall. The only thing heard after the explosions is dead silence. Not good.

As you progress down the hall, you hear the quickly-silenced scream of one of your team members to your right. As the 4 of you remaining turn quickly to the right, you are greeted by the ghastly scene of an imp with it's razor-sharp teeth buried into your pal's neck. With an evil grin, he twists his head quickly up and to the left, snapping the marine's neck in half and ripping his throat right out. No sooner do you all raise your rifles to fire than he disappears back into the shadows.

You all give careful chase, paying close attention to everything around you. What's frightening is that your teammates, who you swore had been right by your side, are being picked off one by one.

You turn back around to find only yourself in the darkened hallway. Facing the way you were going, you stare at the imp's bloody fangs...

You know, something like that. :) It's a lot like the original, but I believe that the original premise was GREAT and should be expanded on. Background on the UAC, how the Marines got involved, more NPC contact, more scenes that anger you, frighten you, and disgust you.

Just my two cents, for all it's worth. :)

[Guest pagb666]

A DooM game should be FAST handling 10s of monsters at once, which is not easy at all with real 3d engines... They should also provide a decent single player mode, with a good plot, not just the Find-the-exit old idea. A soundtrack like DooM1 would be awesome!!

[Guest citrus]

A fair amount of valid points in there, but I disagree with some stuff as well. For example, this is where Ling loses it:

<font face="courier new" size="1">"The progression of the levels would emulate those in Doom. You would start on level 1, proceeding to level 2, and so on. Each level could be broken up into sub-levels to reduce loading time or increase size, if necessary, but each level would have a distinct start and endpoint. "</font>

No thanks. If you want to immerse the player into the game completely, you can't do that. I don't want to see the new Doom turn into some cheap arcade game. These days games are about experiences, since the technology allows it. The days of hunting points are over, or at least I hope so. This is also something I cannot agree with:

<font face="courier new" size="1">"Once again, as in Doom, Doom2000 would take a cue regarding between-level statistics. The player would be shown the percentage of enemies killed, items grabbed, and secrets discovered, as well as the time taken to complete the level."</font>

It sounds too much like an arcade game to me. You can have plenty of action without making it an arcade game. A way to have some type of statistics in there is to have some type of bioscanner á la Alien 2 along with the automap, which I certainly hope will come back to the FPS genre. Also, I don't want pre-rendered cutscenes. They break the spell more than adding game value. Non-interactive stuff should, if it has to be included, be rendered using the engine since it can output produce such high quality cinematics anyway.

I would like to see a lot of HELL in the next Doom. The original engine can't render such environments in a very realistic way, but Quake 3 has shown what can be done these days. The levels that are almost entirely constructed by flesh, horns and other organic materials feel very hell-ish to me. I would like to see that taken one step further.

Regarding player speed, I for hope that we do NOT get the same movement speed as in DOOM. Seeing as we will have an extra dimension to consider, such speeds will be almost unplayable in single player and just stupid in deathmatch. Try doubling your speed in some Quake game and you'll see.

The next Doom will not be doom with a new rendering engine. It will be a new game that shares some resemblance with doom and doom 2 regarding plot, locations and perhaps enemines and weaponry. Face the facts: The vast majority of the target audience for this game is not the same people who read this site every day. If id were to make the game as similar to doom 2 as possible but with updated graphics, it would sell like shit. Even I, who consider myself a fairly big Doom fan, don't want it to be like Doom 2. It's time for a new game in a new generation of technology and gaming. The market has matured, and so has peoples tastes to a certain extent.

If Adrian Carmack and Kevin Cloud don't want to make a new Doom game, I'm concerned. They could probably give us the most awesome monsters and environments one could imagine, but if they don't want to make the game they might not do a very good job at it now that they have to. However, the game was just announced and a lot can still happen. None of us know whats going on at id so we should perhaps not be speculating about their internal conflicts.

[Guest Arp]

This is quite right - Doom is constant action, with a campy, fun edge to it. I think ID started to take themselves very serious about the time of 'Quake', and a lot of people forget that Doom was, in part, an amusing spoof of 'Evil Dead'. Even 'Duke Nukem 3D' was more 'Doom-y' than 'Quake' (that's not to say that 'Quake' was bad in it's own way, just that it's wasn't very 'Doom-y'). The best bit is: "the game would often revolve around battling giant hordes of relatively weak monsters, rather than fighting one or two strong monsters." I agree totally - one of the best things about the original Doom was the enormous gratification to be had in mowing down huge crowds of monsters with a big gun. It wasn't subtle, but it was great fun, and something that Quake lacked completely.

[Guest Anonymous User]

Well we sure need packs of monsters to mow down with nice wide spread bash weapons such as the double barreled (remember the fun of moving down 5 former humans with on blow of the gun) but we need gore , good gore , good gibbing sounds , but not buch of round and square and triangular red thingies , we want ot be able to recognize the mutilated body, such as half of it blown off the restburnt and ripped about, blood must fly everywhere and splatter on the walls , the body's should stay on the ground as well as the blood (yes system heavy but the computers should manage it by then) The sounds when your killing are very important , they must be satisfying like in the original dooms There sure must be about 150 monsters per level , good solid packs of weaker ones to mow down in a fest of gore. severable limbs and localised damage on monsters could gring a good plus , shoot the zombie in the legs with 2ble barrled shotgun, see the legs fly off or break and then whatch him crawl towards you, then u give him the coup de grace. Yes this may sound disgusting but thats doom after all. And if you wish for real innovation the a proper mathematical based physics system calculating weight of ammo shot , speed , wight of monster , balance of monster and such to make the body deform itself frely whe nthe bullet hits , eg u shoot with the shotgun in some light monster' right shoulder , this sending the shoulder shooting backwards followed by the rest of the body maybee causing him to fall depending on which foot he was standing, of course the 600 kilo weighing cyberdemon wudnt even budge to such a shot. These physics could be applied to the player but that could get frustrating having your aim budged and postion changed all the time you get hit. This sounds extravagant and resource heavy, but if its going to be the next generation engine , thats a minimum of innovation. -Killes

[Guest Anonymous User]

For the soundtrack i think we should have PRUE heavy metal like Pantera or even better Bobby Prince cos he seemed to like nicking riffs from Pantera :). Hell yeah we need monster galore i want to be scared by the new ones just as i am still with with the old one. instead of a stats screen after every level i think after every episode would be better.

[Guest Confusion]

A few small points...everyone else gets their say, so I get mine...for a start - Wyvern: I don't know what you think when you hear 'DOOM', but I for one do not think 'plot'. Plot is irrelevant when you're playing a game like DOOM - for RPGs, you need a proper plot, but with DOOM, a little background, tell you what you're doing, and bang, that's all the plot you need. DOOM with a plot is just...well...useless. And, ViolentEd - this is DOOM. Not Quake, not Half-Life, not Unreal, it's DOOM. Too much remixing WILL NOT work. You're raptor-like demons...well...i don't know, I really don't. And scientist zombies..."that just walk aimlessly and lunge at you..."...that's you're view of a scientist is it? Hmm...finally, XMark...Metallica? Well I'm not sure I like that too much...IMNSHO, bp should be doing the music for DOOM, no-one else. id lost it with Quake and its sequals, we need to get back to basics. In the end, I have to agree more-or-less completely with what Linguica said. Seriously. I hope id agree.

[Guest Confusion]

"For the soundtrack i think we should have PRUE heavy metal like Pantera..." Whatever happened to ambience?

[Guest Anonymous User]

anyone fancy a fuck??

[Guest Gimly]

Battling giant hordes - that's exactly the feature that puts Doom ahead of any other FPS around. (YES, there are other things :) Emphasize single player mode? Yep, but please don't forget co-op mode because that's why I'm still here. Egoistic, I know... Ling has got a lot of interesting ideas up there and a lot of them won't make it into a game that is released in the next years. (Otherwise the whole rest of the computer (action) games industry could stop producing today...) But, remember, it's the giant hordes that make it a success! Ling? you haven't been talking about an interface with spinning letters coming in from all directions, have you?!?

[Guest Anonymous User]

FEEL FREE TO RE-POST THIS Hi Im DarkYouth[TGZ], These are my ideas for doom3 The year is 2074, Humanity is embracing the start of a new era. An alien species known only as Stroggs has sent a welcome message to our solar system. Scientists have translated the message to: "Peace is our future, Glory awaits" 2733, 2717, 4373 (Coordinates relate to the position of the third moon of Jupiter) 28030818 (Possible date/time to meet) The ambassadors of the human race headed to the meeting point and in the night sky above them they saw the Stroggs arrive via some form of Wormhole. They had a fleet with them and it certainly didn't look peaceful. Within 10 minutes the moon base and the Mcullen Space station in orbit were destroyed. Leaving only small atoms of debris. The first wave were unexpected, Millions died and a general withdraw from the area once known as Europe was issued. A dedicated group of Marines restored the PDG (Planetary Defence Grid) and no more Stroggs landed. The hoards that landed are being systematicaly annihilated. The Phobos, The marine cores largest ever spaceship was launched taking the best marines to the Stroggs homeworld. Battling through the Strogg fleet the Phobos carried on and proceded with its mission. Meanwhile our solar system was ablaze with war. Episode Listings ============ Episode 1 - Recall from Europe In this episode the player has to follow a platoon of Marines as they travell to an escape point. Along the way there are ambushes and tonnes of Stroggs in pursuit. The episode ends when the player reaches the top of a skyscraper and escapes via dropship. * The environment should be a dense urban area with a blood red sky * Episode 2 - Space Dock Fury At the start of this episode the player leaves the dropship and enters the main USMC space dock. Greeted by other marines and evacuated civilions the scene becomes hectic as Stroggs attack the station and start to board. Soon the station is overrun. The player is told by a dying scientist to use a teleporter on the lab-deck to escape. The episode ends when the player has restored ships power and escaped via the teleporter. * The environments should be a dense, Angular space station. The windows should show Earth and from a certain outlook, The Strogg fleet* Episode 3 - Doomed to Survive. The episode begins with the player arriving in the middle of a Strogg converted military outpost. There are no objectives here other than to survive. The enemys should drive the player into secluded traps and so on. The episode reaches a climax in an open area when the player signals for help. A marine dropship arrives and a battle begins. When all enemys in the area are dead the episode ends and the marines escape. * The base should look futuristic but have organic overtones to give it an infested feel* Episode 4 - Impending Death The episode briefing tells the player that the Strogg fleet has been mainly wiped out, But a super-carrier has arrived via the strogg galactic gate. This carrier has destroyed everything in its path and is ony a course for our planet, Earth. The plan is to infiltrate the ship and destroy it from within. The player is sent in with a squad in a stealth shuttle. The shuttle gets damaged however and the marines are left for dead. You assume you are the sole survivor and carry on with the mission. * This ship should be larger than life. Lots of buzzing lights, Organic componants and wall panels in one scene in an elevator the player should see an army assembing in a hanger bay* Endgame sequence ============== We should see the ship exploding and out of the flames a pod emerging. The camera zooms and pans to show the windows through which we see the player laughing. The image then flashes to black and the techno soundtrack begins, The credits then scroll and a game-over screen comes up. Weapons ======= 0) Combat Knife- For manual cutting of stroggs. 1) Blaster - Basic 8 shot rechargeable energy blaster 2) Pistol - 17 round clip semi-automatic pistol 3) Shotgun - The pump action pal we all love. (Based on the Q2 Super Shotgun) 4) Machinegun - 50 round clip death dealing device. 5) Minigun - Who dares oppose me. 6) Minelayer - Lays four different types of mines. (Timed, Proxy, Flame, Stun) 7) Flamer - Burn baby 8) R.P.G. - The heavy infantry prefered weapon. BOOOM 9) Hyperblaster II - The prototype new hyperblaster 10) Railgun - The classic Q2 weapon re-skinned/modelled 11) BFG - Need I say more? I hope my ideas are liked.

[myk]

The Plot: Thin, just a base. The true reason for this is because, in addition to bloody action, DOOM's forte is it's mood: you are battling the UNKNOWN, this cannot really be explained, just felt. If there were a story for it, it would be made up of the verses and aphorisms of an insane intelligence. The game's mood has to be felt deeply (and you can't tie some "realistic" story to it unless you want to ruin the awsome alien feel in the game). The Music: Bobby Prince made half of DOOM's atmosphere. His music is not heavy metal and not ambience. It draws from both, but is well integrated into the game (unlike the stupid Q2 guitar riffs) and is more effective than ambience music (that's only a "background" thing). Hellish flutes, unearthly vibrant riffs, and eerie voices, that's what DOOM music should be. The Artwork: I think that it should be heavyly based on the original (though innovations are always possible). I think that working on a base can be quite inspiring. Being completely original is both impossible and often boring. Something really good has to have an antecedent, an if it's your own the better - it'll be more like art and not just a new product to fill up a commercial "slot" in the market. Consider that all of the quakes still had a lot of DOOM (though "sterilized") in the graphics area, so... (here may lie the artists' complaint - but I think they're being short-sighted). WAD Compatibility with the Original: That sounds impossible. Conclusion: Gore... strangeness... wild action intermingled with suspense. The difference between DOOM and eyecandy is that the latter grows stale after a while, DOOM gets better.

[Hyena]

Linguica, you really set the scenes when talking about enemies.
I thought I was there.

[Jon]

I was going to be clever and post a unix command here but I couldnt remember the correct one. If the doom3 plot contained the word 'strogg' ANYWHERE I'd explode. I DONT WANT THE LINES CROSSED! doom != quake! NONONO!

[Guest Anonymous User]

Doom plot = Quake I plot EASILY. Its the same plot! Military scientists develop dimensional gates, allowing Hellish extradimensional forces access to their world. In Doom, it was Hell's minions, in Quake I it was the forces of a demon known as Quake. Besides the zombies in Quake I, just about all the other monsters could co-exist with Dooms', they just may be from another hellish dimension, or even another corner of Hell. Hopefully Qdoom will show how the two can mix. I do agree that the whole Strogg thing should be left out. I disliked Quake II. Too much sci-fi and no Hell. C'mon, that leaping demon would be cool to fight against in DooM...

[Guest Fanatic]

I'm hoping to see a break in the pattern that most newer games follow -slow gameplay.

I want to have the same fear that the first episode of DOOM brought on. I used to lose sleep from playing those levels, thinking Cacodemon's were in my room. I started hearing things. It was incredible.

Fast and scarry, that's what I'm expecting.

[Guest Anonymous User]

Wouldn't it be nice, if some of the old levels of Doom I and II were in the new Doom?

[Guest Anonymous User]

I think they should make a linear level system. The cut-off point in a level should be clearly marked as a sector which you walk over to get into the next. The game should still break and tell you your stats as you cross the line, but I think it should be like that. It gets you into the action faster. Also I think they should add more special stuff in Doom2000. There should be items like a rocket belt or something that allows you to fly and there should be portions of levels where you have to fly to get anywhere. Besides that I agree with the stuff Linguica said.

[Guest Anonymous User]

What the hell was DarkYouth on when he wrote that? It sounded like a plot for Quake 2.5 not DooM Think Boy Think!

[Hyena]

Darkyouth, I don't think you put any thought into that story at all. It's pure guns and explosions. Where's the intrigue?
Give me a few hours. I'll come up with a better story.

[Guest Confusion]

I just saw Myk's post. Your ideas are brilliant my friend. Exactly what I would like to see in DOOM III (or whatever he hell it's going to be called). But DarkYouth...sorry. I'll give you my soul if you can find *anyone* who agrees that your idea of the new DOOM storyline is a good one. Or even an okay one. Seriously.

[Guest Confusion]

Sorry...I meant Myk knows his STUFF. S-tuff. Sorry.