Hey everyone
I'm a somewhat late Doom lover, I only got into Doom in the past few years, but I love the franchise! I beat Doom 1, Doom2, Doom3, working on playstation doom, doing some random skulltag and etc. I liked the different direction Doom 3 took, however it didnt force me to play it again like Doom 2 did. Here is a few things I would like to see in Doom4:
1. Easy to Learn, hard to master Level design tools for Mappers:
Only recently did I realize how vast the universe of fan made Doom Maps/Mega Wads. People are still making wads and levels and mods, sprites, add ons to this day. I cant think of any other game that has such a long lasting community still making content for a game. From what I gleaned from a few level builders and youtube tutorials, is that level construction in this game is very easy to learn since (in general) levels can be built top down because of the no floor over floor restriction. I felt this allowed many new mappers immediately see the fruit of their works, and egg them onto making their level more detailed, and more balanced as they let their buddies play it.
Imagine if Doom4 was able to read the old level wads of the older games, and do a crude "next-gen" update to the level. Brick textures can be given automatic bump maps/normal mapping, unlimited dynamic lights from light casting objects, realtime shadowmapping, SSAO, etc. This could help new players discover a world of content that is still relevant in the new generation.
2. Dead bodies:
I know its a strange request, but Doom is still one of the only games that technically gave almost every monster the ability to leave a dead body. Fighting a huge room of demons and finally killing them all let you wade through their one sided carcass sprites. It felt like you left your mark in their world with the sign of the battle that took place. I would be awesome to allow at least the major chunks of a dead demon's carcass stay indefinitely, or leave some kind of long lasting mark in the level. I dont want sanitary fade outs or sinking dissolving of bodies. I want their to be dead stinking corpses, pushable by living entities, maybe even some flies. I want them to be the sign of your dominance over the demons. Coming from a game designer/developer/artist background, I fully understand that increasing dead bodies drive up the visible polycount which can slow down the game to a degree. But there has got to be a clever way (hide carcasses not visible, Level Of Detail, imposters etc)
3. Increase the Gore:
Every ballistic weapon you posses should have the ability to visibly open flesh of the demons, and or dismember limbs. Blood is the short term instant gratification you get when your weapon connects with the enemy, it validates your playstyle, and lets you know youre doing the right thing. Let blood splatter all over the walls and stay there. Let the blood of one demon splatter onto the demon next to him. Unload into a melee demon and let us see his insides twitching, his spinal cord exposed. DooM is violence incarnate. I want this game to be at that forefront once again. This is a game where the lines of good and evil are black and white, you arent shooting other soldiers with their own morals and emotions. These are heartless demons with nothing but perfect hatred for humanity. It is easier on the conscience to see them splatter.
4. Sounds:
Meatier, bassier, louder, awesomer sounds. The original doom took many sounds from a stock sound CD, and I have heard some of these sounds in other productions. But every time i hear them, I can only think of their context in doom. I want the sounds of this game to be unique to Doom. I dont want generic monster screeches from random Dinosaur Sound Effect CD. I want sound that reminds me of Doom 4 when it comes out. Look at half life 2 for some iconic sounds for an FPS.
5. Remember, You (the Doom Marine) are the hope of humanity:
Yes, I understand that the game is supposed to be a survival horror demonic FPS, scaring you with dark halls and sound effects, with skulls and pentagrams everywhere. But somewhere along the line, the game became some horror game, trying to scare you in everything like a horror movie. I understand this was the intention of the Id team from the beginning. But once I heard the rock music of the original games, once I saw how fast you can run, the berserk pack, I could think of nothing but adrenaline pumping anger coursing through a human hero. The game needs to drive home the fact that you ARE the punishment, you are armed to the teeth and you are alone, but not outgunned. Drive up the fact that even though you are a weak human, you use technology, speed and weaponry to outrun, outflank and out-awesome the demons. I would even go far as to say to reflect this in the music. Im not asking for patriotic orchestra anthems that make it seem everything is good, but put some hope into the soundtrack. Put some hope into the game. Let me defend a building of civilians, some of them even joining me in the fight.
6. Doom is about Hell fighting Technology, or subverting it:
Yes, hell is mountainous, chaotic, rocky, without reason, unforgiving and etc. This is welcome. But I dont want there to be 50 hell levels. Play up the Hell vs Technology idea. I want fortified human buildings across the street from corrupted buildings. I love the idea of demons smartening up and using our technology whenever their asses get kicked. I want to see human bombers bombing an infested moon base that corrupted fighter jets into flesh monstrosities. It is the war between human ingenuity and frailty, vs demonic strength and visciousness.
7. Stop Sprinting at lightspeed:
This mainly goes for multiplayer. I dont think its visually appealing that everyone moves at 60 mph, especially in multiplayer. Everyone's darting around, shooting ahead of their target's position like a fighter jet. Many of you have gotten used to it, but I never got it, because i felt it was too unrealistic (in a game about demons vs humans, go figure). It doesnt feel right to me.
Sorry for the huge post, Im really excited about a new Doom coming out. I really really dont want them to f*ck it up. Let me know what you think if you read any of it.
